The hustle and bustle in the lobby of the Pixa City Adventurers' Guild had not fully subsided after Keyzier received his reward money bag. Sera was still busy cataloging evidence, while other adventurers whispered among themselves, glancing at the pile of treasure and bandit corpses being handled by officers.
Amidst the busyness, the door to the Guild Master's office on the second floor opened. A middle-aged man with a sturdy posture and wearing an official dark blue robe descended the stairs.
He was Patrick, the Guild Master of the Pixa Branch. He had just arrived back that afternoon from the royal capital after attending the central guild's annual meeting.
Seeing Patrick's arrival, Sera immediately stood straight to salute. Patrick nodded, then his eyes fell on the three young people who were the center of attention in the lobby. He had already heard a brief report from his staff the moment he set foot in the building.
Patrick approached the reception desk, smiling warmly at Party Noiver.
"So, you are the young ones who are the talk of the town?" Patrick greeted with an authoritative baritone voice. "Thank you very much for helping us catch the 'Wolf's Fang' bandit gang. Their existence has long been a thorn in the flesh for the security of this city."
Party Noiver accepted the thanks politely. Donovan, standing beside Keyzier, replied in a humble yet firm tone, "It is our duty once we have taken a mission from the guild, Guild Master. We simply finished what we started."
Patrick looked at them with an appraising gaze. He could sense a different aura from the three of them. Not the aura of beginners, but the aura of veterans accustomed to danger.
"If I may ask, what Rank are you currently?" Patrick asked.
"We are Rank C!" Keyzier answered briefly while taking out his copper license card, already full of verification stamps.
Patrick accepted the card, looked at it for a moment, then his eyebrows raised. "Rank C with the ability to single-handedly wipe out bandits who had even killed two people from a Rank C party? Hmm, interesting. Your abilities clearly exceed this level."
He returned the card to Keyzier. "Are you interested in taking a rank promotion exam? With this achievement, I can recommend you for promotion to Rank B, or even directly take the Rank A qualification test."
Hearing the offer, the eyes of the three Party Noiver members lit up. Naturally, they were very enthusiastic. Ranking up wasn't just about prestige, but also access to higher-paying missions and better guild facilities. They agreed to the rank promotion and didn't want to waste the rare opportunity offered directly by the Guild Master.
"We are willing, Guild Master!" Keyzier answered firmly. "Then, what must we do to increase our rank? Do we have to kill more monsters?"
Patrick shook his head while smiling. "No! To rise to the elite level, what is needed isn't just brute strength, but also technique and strategy. You will be tested through a sparring match against a veteran party. They will be the ones to assess your abilities directly."
Patrick then turned to face the crowd of adventurers sitting in the lobby. He clapped his hands to ask for attention.
"Attention everyone! I need one Rank A party willing to test Party Noiver's abilities tomorrow morning. Of course, the guild will pay for your services with an additional bonus!" Patrick shouted loudly.
Usually, an announcement like this would be greeted with an uproar, Patrick thought in wonder. Senior adventurers usually competed to volunteer as testers, either for the bonus money or simply to show off their strength in front of their juniors.
However, this time, total silence fell over the guild lobby.
Not a single hand was raised. The Rank A adventurers in the room suddenly became busy with their drinks, pretended to read the mission board, or turned their faces away to avoid Patrick's gaze.
Patrick frowned, confused. "Come on? Party 'Black Axe'? Party 'Wind Rider'? You guys are usually at the front when it comes to fighting."
One of the Rank A party leaders cleared his throat awkwardly. "Ahem... sorry Guild Master, we... uh... have urgent business tomorrow."
"Me too, Guild Master. My back is acting up!" another chimed in with an unreasonable excuse.
Patrick became very puzzled by the adventurers in his guild. The reason they refused was actually very simple: they had all seen Party Noiver's horror since they first arrived at the guild yesterday.
They saw how Keyzier froze the guild room in the blink of an eye. Today, they saw the pile of bandit corpses Keyzier threw without disgust. And most terrifyingly, they felt the killing intent Keyzier emitted when facing Gardo.
For them, fighting Party Noiver wasn't a test, but ridiculous suicide.
What is wrong with them? Why, when Rank Noiver wants to be tested, does no one volunteer to be their tester? Patrick muttered in wonder to himself.
The awkward silence broke when the guild's double doors opened wide. The night wind blew in, bringing with it a group of adventurers with high-class combat gear gleaming under the lights.
They were a party that had just completed a high-level monster subjugation mission and wanted to report it to the guild. The party was named Wild Dragon, the pride of Pixa City, a Rank S party.
The group was led by a tall man with fiery orange hair named Fred. On his back hung a large spear covered in dragon scales.
Fred walked in confidently, but his steps halted when he realized the strange atmosphere in the lobby.
"What is going on here?" Fred asked in a loud voice. "Why is the atmosphere inside the guild so tense? Did someone die?"
Patrick sighed in relief seeing Fred's arrival. "Ah, Fred! It's great timing that you came. No one died, don't worry. We are just looking for testers for Party Noiver's rank promotion test. However... strangely, no one has volunteered."
Fred raised an eyebrow, staring at Keyzier, Donovan, and Novalia. "Just to test these three Rank C brats? And all the Rank A's here are scared?"
Fred laughed crisply, a laugh full of confidence. "Your mentality is pathetic! Alright, since no one dares, let us take over. Party Wild Dragon volunteers to be Party Noiver's tester."
Everyone inside the guild sighed in relief. They were grateful they didn't have to face the teenage-looking monsters. They could only surrender and pray for the safety of Fred's pride.
When Fred was about to head to the reception desk to register, one of the adventurers who had fainted yesterday due to Keyzier's aura gathered the courage to approach Fred. He gripped Fred's arm gently, his face serious and pale.
"Fred... listen to me!" the adventurer whispered. "If you don't want to be seriously injured or lose in an instant in public... use all your abilities from the start. Do not underestimate them in the slightest. They... are not ordinary humans."
After uttering that warning, the adventurer immediately rushed out of the guild without saying another word, as if wanting to get away from Keyzier's aura immediately.
Naturally, this puzzled Fred. He stared at the adventurer's back, then shifted his gaze to Keyzier who was engrossed in a casual chat with Donovan.
"Interesting!" Fred muttered.
Although he felt the warning was exaggerated, Fred was a professional. As a Rank S, he knew that underestimating an opponent was the beginning of defeat. So, just in case, he indeed resolved to use all his abilities from the start and assess the potential Rank A candidates seriously.
Patrick clapped his hands once more. "Alright! Your testers have been decided. Rank S Party, Wild Dragon, will be your opponents. In three days, your test will be held at the guild's special field behind the city!"
Everyone inside the guild cheered. The tension turned into enthusiasm. They couldn't wait for the day Party Noiver would fight against Party Wild Dragon.
And of course, it would be the biggest and greatest spectacle among adventurers. Most adventurers were very curious about the true limits of Party Noiver's members' abilities.
Since administrative matters were finished, Party Noiver said goodbye to Patrick and Sera, then left the guild to return to the Moonlight Inn.
The next day, news about Party Noiver fighting against Party Wild Dragon spread like wildfire. From the market to taverns, everyone was talking about the "three newcomers from Altoria" challenging the "Wild Dragon of Pixa".
More and more people were looking forward to the rank promotion test match, and illegal betting even began to open secretly.
However, Keyzier and his colleagues didn't care about the rumors. They knew their opponent this time was Rank S, the highest level they had ever officially faced in a duel.
"We can't mess around!" Keyzier said at breakfast. "Fred is strong. I can feel it."
While waiting for the match day, they didn't relax in the city, but went to the dense forest outside Pixa City every early morning and only returned at sunset. All members of Party Noiver utilized the three available days to train hard.
Inside the forest, the clash of swords and magic explosions were heard interchangeably.
Keyzier accustomed himself to his new shortsword, which he named Phantom Demonic. He trained his mana flow to synchronize perfectly with the sword's crystal core, creating faster and deadlier attacks.
Donovan swung his new Mythril Greatsword, crushing large boulders to train his destructive power and new balance. The weight of the sword now felt one with his arm.
Novalia trained the casting speed of her support and debuff magic, ensuring she could provide assistance a fraction of a second faster to her two colleagues.
They always strove to surpass their limits to become stronger than before. Sweat and fatigue became their loyal companions during those three days.
And time passed very quickly.
The sun rose on the eastern horizon, illuminating Pixa City with a warm golden light that carried a palpable tension in the air. The awaited three days had finally arrived.