The staff asked for Jack's general information and recorded everything, similar to when Jack had applied at the Adventurers and Hunters Association. After verifying Jack's Warrior class, Jack was instructed to head further inside the building. He followed the instruction and ca into a room filled with sitting NPCs. Jack was instructed to sit alongside these NPCs until his na was called.
The heck! Why did this feel like the complicated bureaucracy crap from real life? He complained in his mind. But still, he followed the rule as he sat down and waited.
It was around fifteen minutes before his na was called. He was brought into another large room that looked like a training room. There were several wooden dummies, two of these dummies were having a spar with two NPCs.
Soone with glasses approached him and said, "I am Dormu, your examiner. I was told you want to join our faction? You will need to pass through a series of tests for that. This will be the first test."
"A series?" Jack asked. "How many tests would there be?"
"Twelve," the examiner answered.
"Twelve?" Jack was confounded. "How long will these tests take?"
"Depends, but generally it takes around two to three days."
What? I did not have that ti! Jack exclaid in his mind.
'Hey, Peniel. Do you know it will take this long?' Jack asked in his mind.
"No. The test changes every while. I don't know every specific of factions' rules. These series of tests are probably applied under the new administration."
"Is there a way to shorten the tests to just one day?" Jack asked the examiner.
"No. Even if you perform excellently, you still need two days at least. You may only take six tests on one given day."
Jack was downcast. Guess he would just have to give up on joining this faction till he was done with the expedition, he thought.
When he was about to tell the examiner, a familiar rough voice was heard.
"I was wondering when you will show up here. I have instructed people to notify
imdiately when your na popped out in the registry."
Jack turned to the source of the voice and found Gruff walking over.
"Gruff?" He asked with a puzzled expression. "What are you doing here?"
"What do you an what am I doing here? I work here," he answered.
"Eh? Aren't you with the Themisphere kingdom faction?" Jack asked him in confusion.
"Aren't you the sa? You are already a mber of the kingdom faction but are still applying to join here. Being in a kingdom faction does not limit you from joining a league faction. It does limit your progress in the faction though. As for , I am mainly an executive mber of this League of Champions while being a partial mber of Themisphere kingdom faction."
"Executive? How high is your position in this faction?"
"Why do you ask? Are you trying to have
lobby for you to allow you easy access into this faction?"
"Uh… Is that not possible?" Jack asked with an awkward smile.
Gruff gave him a stern stare. "boy, what kind of executive do you think I am…?" He said, then gave a wide grin, "well, that's exactly why I co here after seeing your na! Hahaha."
Jack paused for a bit before grasping what he said, "ahaha, you had
for a mont there."
The two of them laughed for a bit before a voice interrupted, "did you two take my presence here as empty air?"
Jack and Gruff turned to the examiner who was putting on a steely expression.
"Oh, co on, Dormu. Lighten up! The guy here only has one day, he will be going on an expedition with Duke Alfredo tomorrow. He will have no ti to undergo the entry test," Gruff told Dormu.
"You know about it?" Jack said to Gruff.
"Of course I do, I was even asked to join as well. Unfortunately, my duties here render
unavailable, but my deputy, Bailey, will go on the expedition with you."
"Bailey was with this faction as well? I thought she was an instructor in the kingdom faction."
"She is both."
"You two are pretty busy, being in two factions and also serve as the overseers in the Warrior academy as well."
"Oh, you don't know? The Warrior academy was operated under the League of Champions. The day when you went to take the Warrior test, Bailey and I were coincidentally at the academy conducting the monthly audit. The person in charge of the class change test was here in the headquarter giving his monthly report, so I also handle his job for that day. So as you see, our first eting was rather fated."
"Are you two done?" Dormu stood there with an annoyed expression. He felt as if he had been ignored as the two chatted. "If he has to go sowhere, he can just take the test when he cos back."
Gruff tried to persuade the examiner again, "co on, this guy here is a potential recruit. Do you know that the Royal Advisor himself has invited him to join our kingdom faction?"
"I don't care if the King himself invited him. A rule is a rule. Everyone should abide by it," Dormu was adamant.
"Really? Are you telling
that if the king asked you to bend the rule, you really will tell him no?"
"Well, I… that's not the subject here! He should either take the test after he cos back or he quit the expedition."
"You really are such a hard-shell person. Do rember that I have an executive right to recomnd a recruit. The recruit recomnded through such a an would have no need to go through all these red tapes."
"I rember that such recomndation will also require the support of at least one other executive mber, or the approval of the examiner, which in this case, !"
"Don't make
go drag another executive mber here, that won't go well for you," Gruff warned.
"I don't respond well to threat, you should know that," Dormu fired back.
Before things went out of hand, Jack decided to interfere, "how about this? I did the first test here following the regulation. If I pass this one test, you consider
as passing as a compromise to Gruff's executive recomndation. Will that do?"
Gruff gave Dormu a sharp stare. "Say yes," he said to the man.
Dormu seed to be contemplating. He looked at Gruff after a while, who was still giving him the hard stare. Finally, he uttered, "fine, but he must pass the first test with a flying color!"
"You truly don't know how to back down, do you?" Gruff said.
"How will it be considered as flying color? And how is the test conducted, by the way?" Jack asked. He had been observing the two NPCs sparring with the wooden dummies while they were chatting. Interestingly, the fight only went back and forth in a linear manner. He noticed there were lines on the floor, creating lanes along the testing area. The two NPCs never seed to go out from this lane.
As expected, Dormu explained that the first test was to force the wooden dummy to back off. The participants were not allowed to go out from the narrow lane they were assigned to. Even if their feet touched the line that separated the lane, they would be considered disqualified already. So one would need to fight against the wooden dummy without relying on their movent speed.
The participant would be considered to pass if they managed to push the wooden dummy five ters back. There was another line on the floor marking this five-ter borderline. Then there were another two lines behind it, marking eight-ter borderline and ten-ter one. To be considered passing with flying color, one must fight the wooden dummy while pushing them back to this ten-ter borderline.
Dormu explained that each passing of borderline would cause the wooden dummies' attributes to increase.
"Is everything clear?" Dormu asked. "Do I have to explain it all again?"
"Can you please give yourself a break and not insult our future prominent mber?" Gruff said to him.
"You are pretty confident of him," Dormu said with a hint of mocking.
"And you sound like you are belittling him a bit too much."
"I simply never believe a person who is looking for a shortcut is anything but a dud."
Jack was walking towards one of the wooden dummies as the two were still quibbling.
"Can I start now?" Jack asked them.
"You can start anyti you want," Dormu answered. "the dummy will start moving once he received your first hit."
So it will not move if I did not attack? Wasn't that giving him a free first strike? Jack thought. But since the rule gave such an advantage, he would not let it go free.
He unleashed Life Burning Art from the get-go, a fiery aura enveloped his body. He then landed his max-leveled Power Strike squarely on the wooden dummy chest.
The strike hit with a loud boom. The wooden dummy was sent flying across the training room. Passing all the three line-boundaries, and crashing onto the wall on the opposite side of the room.
Reviews
All reviews (0)