"Welcome to the weapon range, please deposit your personal weapon here"
Mark looked around the large, completely empty room as he removed his pistol from his holster and placed it in a lockbox the guild android had opened up, after the guild android closed the lockbox it spoke again
"While a proxy to your weapon is created, I will explain the parameters of the personal combat ability test"
As soon as the android finished speaking the room shock as a large metal section of the floor rose up, a few moments later the empty room had transformed into a shooting range
"The personal combat ability test is made up of 3 main parts, ranged combat, then hand-to-hand combat and finally a combined arms test"
Mark followed the android over to the range, where a section of the metal shooting stand opened up, revealing a smooth metal replicate of the pistol Mark had deposited
"The test begins now, please follow my instructions. Please disassemble and check your weapon for faults"
"Alright"
Mark first removed the magazine and cleared the chamber by pulling the slide before he pointed it towards the metal counter and pulled the trigger, when a click sounded out the guild android spoke
"Weapon is confirmed clear by user, proceed"
Mark nodded and pulled the slide back slightly before he pressed the slide release and pulled the slide off forwards, then he removed the recoil spring and barrel from the slide
"Weapon have been stripped, proceed"
Mark began checking over the parts, first he checked over the magazine and trigger assembly before he discovered a damaged part in the trigger assembly
"These parts have been damaged"
"Confirmed, please replace it and continue"
A moment passed before another compartment with a replacement part along with a set of tools
popped out of the metal shooting stand
'Thankfully, I obsessed over this pistol since the little one got it for me…'
Mark continued checking over the parts, he replaced another 2 parts before he reassembled it again and looked over at the guild android that still showed a perfect service smile
"Good, please proceed to expend the provided ammunition at the indicated targets"
Another compartment opened up on the metal shooting stand where 5 magazines popped out, Mark checked them over before he loaded the first one and took a shooting stand, however before he could fire the guild android spoke again
"Please hold, the test have been paused"
Mark lowered the pistol again and re-enabled the safety before he placed it on the shooting stand and asked
"Did I do something wrong?"
"No, a group of guest with an observer privilege will be arriving shortly and could disrupt the test, so it is temporarily on hold"
Mark nodded and crossed his arms before he closed his eyes, as his attention left the outside world he started doing mental shooting practice while his thoughts drifted away from his current test
'...I really should get a longer rifle too, if not just for longer ranges then for higher penetration and post penetration damage… Maybe the little one can help me out with manufacturing one… Maybe the forge can make one? The little one is already alloying metal for my ammunition, so more weapons shouldn't be that hard to make, right? Oh..?'
Catching a whiff of a familiar scent, Mark opened his eyes before he turned towards the closed door to the hallway that opened a moment later
"…"
Blinking twice, before swiftly rejecting reality, Mark turned back around and faced the shooting range once more before he asked the receptionist android
"Can I continue my test now?"
"Certainly, please stand ready, once again the current test is to expend the provided ammunition at the indicated targets"
"Got it"
Mark picked up the pistol replica once more and rechecked the chamber before he spoke
"Ready"
A few moments passed before a circular target shot out of the floor, quickly lining up his target Mark squeezed the trigger, the loud gunshot echoed out as the pistol recoiled backwards in his grip, his aim struck true and the circular target split in half before falling to the floor
"Hit, proceed"
Another moment passed before another target shot out of the ground in another location, quickly adjusting his aim Mark fired again, narrowly missing the target he followed up instantly with a 2nd and 3rd shot which both impacted the target
'Slow is smooth, smooth is fast… I never understood that before now…'
Continuing shooting the targets as they popped up Mark's focus sharpened, as it did he was able to spare more attention to the group of 3 that had entered to observe his test. One was Alcia still clad in her 'power suit', the other was a large burly man with multiple scars on his arms and face wearing a pair of khaki jeans and a tight-fitting white shirt and the last were the hostage he had handed over to Alcia the day before, only now the mystery of her identity had completely disappeared due to the fancy outfit she were wearing
'The trouble comes later, focus Mark…'
By now, Mark had expended the first magazine and had just finished reloading when another target shot up sideways from the ground, nearly instantly destroying it Mark's aim snapped to another target that sprung down from the ceiling, splitting the ceiling target another target sprung up giving him no rest
'...Easy does it'
Firing the remaining rounds in his magazine nearly without pause, Mark released the magazine without bothering to catch it as he inserted a fresh one and only just managed to release the slide catch before another target sprung out from the wall
'...'
Heightening his focus even more, Mark found his body acting almost on autopilot, by now he was shooting the targets before they made it all the way out of their launchers, and before he noticed he had emptied the magazine
"Ranged combat evaluation completed, please put down the weapon"
Letting out a deep breath, Mark gradually loosened the grip on the pistol before he placed it on the shooting stand, a moment after he let go of it, the polished metal pistol morphed into the shooting stand which also lowered down into the floor. Feeling the hole that was being stared into his back, Mark weighed the possibility of asking the guild android to continued on to the next test at once, however he eventually decided against it
"Could you give me a moment to greet the observers?"
The guild android shock its head before it spoke
"Certainly, please take as much time as you need"
Turning towards the 3 observers, Mark focused on the hostage he had rescued she was wearing a light blue dress with numerous silver decorations, a golden tiara sporting a large white gemstone planted on top of her head, Alcia stood to her side and covered her ears with her hands, seeming frozen in place from before Mark finished his test
"That sure is one hell of a glow up…But what is…"
At Mark's mutter the 2 of the 3 observers unfroze and Alcia mouthed something like 'be nice' to Mark before she uncovered the young ladies ears, however now that he had already received all he needed from his relationship with Alcia he wasn't that inclined to play nice
'...What is this discomfort..?'
"Hello… Man… You sure do look a lot more regal than now than you did last night"
The corner of the young ladies eye twitched slightly for a moment, however she managed to compose herself before she grabbed the hems of her skirt and made a very formal looking bow as she spoke
'... Annoying'
"I am pleased to make your acquaintance, I am Lisa Fiorica, first in line to the succession of the Marquis house of Fiorica"
Instead of giving his name, Mark looked over at Alcia and asked
"Is she your boss?"
Alcia froze for a moment, she was clearly not expecting Mark to disregard Lisa's greeting nor ask her of all things, however before she answered Mark casually returned the greeting
"Hi, Lisa I am Mark"
'Why am I so annoyed with her..?'
"I-It's good to finally greet you formally Mark, I have come here today to personally thank you for the valor you showed doing my rescue"
At Lisa's increasingly visible annoyance at how he was acting, Mark showed a thin smile
'... If you can't take a little teasing you shouldn't have come here, princess… How about this then?'
Mark straightened his back and responded respectfully
"Thank you, fair lady, I've already been compensated for my work, so please don't feel troubled about it"
However, before Lisa could respond to his polite words, Mark spun around and walked back over to the shooting stand and spoke
'No luck… Why does she make me so annoyed?'
"Let's continue the test"
The reception Android glanced back at the 3 guest before it nodded
"Alright, the next test will be proceed, please change into the required set of clothing and prepare for hand to hand combat"
After the Android finished speaking a changing room rose from the floor which it gestured towards
"...Got it"
'I guess showing up wearing an armored vacuum suit or exo-frame won't increase one's chances then… interesting'
Mark quickly changed into the provided set of clothing, a white loose fitting training shirt and a pair of soft training shorts
'...These are really comfortable, I should buy a few sets like this'
Walking out of the changing room that lowered into the floor again after him Mark saw the 3 observers' moods had soured somewhat. The large scarred man wore a frosty expression as he looked at him, Lisa had covered half her face with a metal fan and stared at him with frosty eyes Alcia looked incredibly bitter with her face clouded
Seeing this Mark expression turned dark as he muttered
"...This isn't a fucking performance, of you don't like it then fuck off"
The guild android lowered it's head before it responded to Marks annoyed mutterings
"Unfortunately a observer privilege can't be reworked unless physical interference in a exam or other guild operations is detected, please stand ready for the test"
"...Fine"
Mark turned around and face what he assumed to be his opponent in the hand to hand test, first impression reminded him of one of those test dummies used to test car crash safety
'... It's not a combat android though, maybe it's a specially built sparring model?'
While it looked like a dummy to Mark that first impression quickly faded, the sparring android stood around 2 meters tall, its body, head 2 arms and 2 legs where all covered in some softer looking half transparent gel that covered the internal metal frame
"The hand to hand test begins now, inflict as much damage to the sparring androids within the allocated amount of time, your score will be based on the number of defeated sparring androids"
'...Well then, that seems easy enough, right?'