00:00The man never could have imagined that, under the grueling training regime of his monstrously
00:03powerful mentors, he would, in just two short years, ascend from the lowest F rank all the
00:08way to S rank.
00:09Yet, his formidable mentors had never once offered him a word of praise regarding his
00:13abilities.
00:14Consequently, he remained under the delusion that he was still nothing more than a novice.
00:18One day, he learned that the promotion exam for first-class adventurers was about to begin,
00:22a perfect opportunity for him to finally descend from the mountains.
00:25Upon arriving at the guild, the receptionist immediately recognized him.
00:28As it turned out, they had been colleagues two years prior.
00:31She had been utterly astonished back then when she heard he was resigning to pursue a career
00:35as an adventurer.
00:36After all, in a world where most people become adventurers in their early teens, he had waited
00:40until the age of 32 to make that decision, boldly walking away from a career he had cultivated
00:44over the previous decade.
00:46Suddenly, a drunken man approached and began causing a disturbance.
00:49The protagonist, a man of sturdy build, quickly stepped in to mediate while attempting to calm
00:53the drunkard down.
00:54He casually placed his hand on the man's stomach.
00:56To his utter astonishment, however, the drunkard's name was the only one that was
00:58suddenly collapsed unconscious.
01:00Even foaming at the mouth, the protagonist hurriedly tried to explain it away, claiming
01:03the man must have simply consumed too much bad liquor.
01:06At that moment, the receptionist remembered she hadn't yet handed him his exam admission
01:10slip.
01:10After wishing him good luck on the test, the protagonist took his leave.
01:13Little did he know that no sooner had he departed than his visit sparked an uproar within
01:17the guild, all because of a single handprint he had left behind.
01:20For one must understand, that surface was composed of solid steel armor.
01:23The receptionist had witnessed the entire incident clearly.
01:26She recalled how, while coming to her aid, the protagonist had merely given the drunkard's
01:30stomach a light pat.
01:31Next came the magic power assessment phase, where candidates simply had to place their
01:35hands upon a crystal orb situated before them.
01:37Their magical rank would be determined by the intensity of the orb's reaction.
01:41A quick glance around the room revealed that the other candidates present were all ranked
01:44C or D.
01:45Yet, when the protagonist stepped up to the plate, the crystal orb merely let out a pathetic
01:49little puff.
01:49Much like a faint fart, upon learning that his result was a dismal F rank, the entire
01:53crowd burst into uncontrollable laughter.
01:56The second stage of the examination tested physical attack power.
01:59Candidates were required to strike a slime sandbag situated before them with their absolute
02:03maximum force, with their attack power being judged by the degree to which the sandbag wobbled.
02:08Since the slime sandbag possessed an exceptionally high capacity for absorbing physical impact,
02:12the examiner explicitly instructed the candidates not to hold anything back.
02:16The protagonist was well aware of the nature of the slime sandbags.
02:19In his understanding, the golden ones possessed the highest durability, while the green ones
02:23had the lowest.
02:23Yet, for the past two years, he had trained exclusively against the golden ones.
02:27This had been a requirement set by his master, but the ability to destroy a golden sandbag signified
02:32that one's physical body had reached a state of absolute mastery.
02:35Back then, his master had forced him to strike the bag 50,000 times a day, a memory that, even
02:40now, still left him shuddering with lingering dread.
02:42The examination began.
02:44The first candidate stepped up, utilizing enhancement magic to strike the sandbag.
02:47The examiner's subsequent evaluation was quite favorable.
02:50The second candidate, however, was on a whole different level.
02:53He exuded an aura of brilliance the moment he appeared.
02:55Rumor had it that by the age of 11, he already possessed the magical capacity equivalent to
03:00a C-ranked mage.
03:01He was, quite simply, a prodigy.
03:02The test commenced.
03:03Upon hearing the examiner's assessment, the protagonist couldn't help but question his
03:07entire reality.
03:08In his own experience, his master's magic possessed destructive power comparable to a nuclear
03:12warhead.
03:13A single, casual strike could level an entire mountain.
03:15Consequently, the protagonist assumed that this blonde-haired youth had merely compressed
03:19his magic into a form suitable for indoor use specifically for this examination, truly
03:23worthy of the title prodigy.
03:25As the candidates continued to demonstrate their abilities one after another, the protagonist
03:29became increasingly convinced of his hypothesis.
03:31It seemed that even the green sandbags possessed an incredibly high resistance to physical impact.
03:36Finally, it was the protagonist's turn.
03:38However, before he could take more than two steps, the examiner called out to stop him.
03:41The reason being is, advanced age of 32, by conventional wisdom, one's magical capacity
03:46must be cultivated during youth.
03:48Growth becomes exceedingly difficult thereafter, a fact that the protagonist's own previous
03:52test results had seemingly corroborated.
03:54The examiner's intervention was intended as a well-meaning suggestion that he simply
03:58give up, a suggestion that had always struck a raw nerve with the protagonist.
04:01No one else knew the sheer hell he had endured over the past two years, yet he had survived
04:05it all.
04:06So what if he had started late?
04:07To him, it made absolutely no difference.
04:09At that moment, the protagonist froze in stunned disbelief.
04:12He had genuinely assumed the sandbag was a defective unit.
04:15This scene left the blonde-haired youth equally dumbfounded.
04:17However, he quickly regained his composure, since he specialized in defensive magic.
04:21The upcoming durability test would be his true moment to shine.
04:24His home turf.
04:25Yeah, that thought was as fleeting as it was sudden.
04:27Once the next phase of the examination began, he discovered that the protagonist's defensive
04:31capabilities were quite literally off the charts.
04:33Had he not witnessed it with his own eyes, he would never have been able to conceive
04:36that the protagonist could withstand the examiner's fourth magical attack completely in scape.
04:41In order to thoroughly assess the true extent of the protagonist's magical prowess, the examiner
04:45prepared to unleash his ultimate technique, his fifth and strongest magical attack.
04:48Little did they know that this scene was witnessed by a first-class knight of the kingdom, who
04:52immediately rushed to the examination grounds to ask the examiner what had transpired.
04:56Such an occurrence was highly irregular for a level one examination.
05:00Upon learning that the individual responsible was merely an F-rank adventurer, a rank typically
05:04associated with very limited capabilities, and seeing just how formidable his performance
05:09had been, the examiner was left utterly astonished.
05:12By this time, the protagonist had already completed the combat portion of the exam.
05:16He remained completely unconcerned.
05:17After all, the 15 years he had spent serving as a royal guard had not been in vain, and he
05:22was confident he would achieve a perfect score.
05:24Seated beside him was one of his mentors.
05:26Before the two could exchange more than a few pleasantries, the blonde-haired youth from
05:29earlier came running over.
05:31He berated the protagonist for stealing his thunder during the recent examination.
05:35It turned out he had intended to use this exam to make a spectacular debut and shock everyone,
05:39but his plans had been completely ruined by the protagonist.
05:42As he spoke, the corners of his eyes began to well up with tears.
05:45As the old saying goes, when you beat the small one, the big one comes calling.
05:48After the younger blonde, little blonde, was reduced to tears by the protagonist, his older
05:52sister, big blonde, flew into a rage.
05:54She immediately issued a haughty challenge, demanding a duel with the protagonist to avenge
05:59her younger brother.
06:00The protagonist had no intention of accepting, but when he saw the glove she had thrown down
06:04as a challenge, he instinctively reached out to pick it up, intending to simply hand it
06:07back to her.
06:08And just like that, almost by accident, he found himself having accepted the duel.
06:11Big blonde stipulated that the loser of the match would be required to serve as the winner's
06:15personal servant.
06:16Big blonde confidently asserted that, were her abilities to be translated into the adventurer ranking
06:21system, she would easily qualify as a B rank.
06:23Upon hearing this, the protagonist felt a sudden pang of apprehension, as he privately
06:27considered his own abilities to be merely at the F rank level.
06:30The battle was now imminent.
06:31Big blonde warned the protagonist to be wary of her speed, boasting that in that particular
06:35regard, she was easily on par with an A rank adventurer.
06:38Big blonde's first strike was deliberately aimed wide, as the protagonist stood there looking
06:42utterly bewildered.
06:43The younger yellow brother, little yellow, assumed the protagonist had been intimidated by
06:47his sister's speed.
06:48After all, his sister was hailed as the Yellow Flash, the fastest woman among all B rank knights.
06:53Seeing that her objective had been achieved, Big Yellow warned the protagonist that her next
06:57strike wouldn't miss its mark, then decisively executed her signature flowing kick once again.
07:01Yet, in the protagonist's eyes, her movements were as slow as a crawling tortoise.
07:05Big Yellow, assuming the protagonist had merely gotten lucky, launched another flowing kick.
07:10The protagonist was baffled once more, performing two moves so sluggishly.
07:13Could this woman be a second-class knight who had simply bought her title with money?
07:17Just as the protagonist was pondering this, Big Yellow, distracted for a moment, tripped over a
07:21clod of earth.
07:21Ironically, this unexpected mishap served as a catalyst, elevating Big Yellow's technique
07:25to an entirely new level.
07:27When the protagonist looked again, she was moving with the speed and intensity of a blazing
07:31whirlwind.
07:31Faced with such listering attack speed, the protagonist's earlier doubts vanished without
07:35a trace.
07:36This was the true standard of a second-class knight.
07:38He found himself utterly unable to predict her movements.
07:40Big Yellow was quite the actress.
07:42Outwardly, she remained poker-faced.
07:44Even complimenting the protagonist on his ability to dodge such an attack.
07:47Since he had managed to evade it, she declared, she would now have to unleash her full power.
07:51Shaken by the near-miss he had just witnessed, and just to be safe, the protagonist chose to
07:55dodge once more.
07:56This left the Yellow's siblings stunned again.
07:58They were now convinced that the protagonist was no ordinary individual.
08:02With this realization, Big Yellow decided to execute two moves in seamless succession.
08:06A continuous, fierce assault designed to catch the protagonist off guard with a sudden
08:10comfort attack.
08:11She stayed all her hopes on this final, decisive strike.
08:13When the dust and smoke finally cleared, Big Yellow felt a sudden surge of sheer terror.
08:17Had she not tripped earlier, the massive crater now gouged into the ground would have been
08:21her final resting place.
08:22Deciding to cut her losses, she declared that she would concede the victory to the protagonist
08:26this time, then turned to walk away.
08:28However, the protagonist hadn't forgotten the wager they had made.
08:31Specifically, Big Yellow's stipulation that the loser would be bound to serve the winner
08:35as a personal servant for the rest of their life.
08:37Just as the protagonist stood there, momentarily dumbfounded, the white-haired sibling spoke
08:41up.
08:41Forget about Big Yellow for now.
08:43You should be worrying about yourself.
08:45He reminded the protagonist that the results of the certification exam were about to be
08:48posted.
08:49And since his various mentors had promised to come and check the results in person,
08:53they were likely already on their way.
08:54Only then did the protagonist suddenly remember this crucial detail.
08:58He knew better than anyone just how terrifying his mentors could be.
09:01What on earth was he going to do if the exam results came out and they discovered that
09:04he had failed?
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