The Training Ground Behind the Guild

The training ground was about the size of two tennis courts, with spectator seats set up around the perimeter.

Ryuujin’s rank-up test was about to begin there.

Adventurers, having heard the rumors, had come to watch as spectators in the surrounding seats.

Daniel, “The test is a mock battle. Injuries are unavoidable, but killing is prohibited. The applicant passes if they ‘win’ against the examiners.”

Normally, rank-up tests don’t require the applicant to win. If the examiners acknowledge that the applicant has the strength required for a rank-up, that’s all it takes.

After all, the examiners are higher-ranked adventurers. If the test required the applicant to win, no one would pass.

But in this case, they had deliberately set the condition that Ryuujin had to win. It was something Ryuujin himself had suggested, but Daniel had deliberately agreed to it.

He wanted Ryuujin to suffer and give up on being an adventurer.

That’s what he was telling himself, for the sake of Ryuujin, who had been an adventurer for three years but hadn’t leveled up from 1.

The ranks certified by the Adventurer’s Guild are:

F: Beginner (Lv 3-15)

E: Apprentice (Lv 10-25)

D: Journeyman (Lv 20-40)

C: Veteran, Expert (Lv 30-60)

B: Master (Lv 50-80)

A: Supernatural (Lv 60-100)

S: Divine (Lv 100+)

(Levels are approximate guidelines)

Normally, newly registered beginners start at F-rank. However, Ryuujin’s ability was so low that Daniel had certified him as a G-rank, even lower than F-rank, when he registered.

(There is also an H-rank, but it’s essentially a “paper rank” for those who need to be registered but don’t actually engage in any real activities. H-rank adventurers can still take requests, but they are limited to within the city and are not allowed to accept requests that require them to go outside.)

“Rank” is a comprehensive assessment by the guild based on the adventurer’s contributions to the guild, etc., so it doesn’t clearly represent the difference in fighting strength. However, in general, there is usually a significant difference in strength, such that a one-rank difference means an absolute loss.

“Rank” is a human-made designation, while “level”, revealed by “Appraisal”, is a relatively objective numerical value. A 15-level difference means a guaranteed loss, and a 30-level difference means that they are essentially different species in terms of ability. (Although this value can also be concealed or falsified, so it’s not an absolute guarantee of truth.)

Ryuujin’s passing conditions for this test were to win against all three C- to D-rank adventurers, plus the B-rank Yorma.

Since not all the adventurers who participated in the raid the previous day were present, only members of Yorma’s party were involved, but it was still a ridiculous condition.

Even looking at level values, Yorma was level 40, and the other three were over 20. Compared to Ryuujin’s level 1, it was a complete mismatch on paper, literally a difference between a baby and an adult.

Everyone assumed that Ryuujin would be instantly killed.

However, Yorma was a little bothered by the terrifying aura he felt coming from Ryuujin the day before. Maybe this Ryuujin was different from the one he knew.

After all, how did he manage to come back alive from the dungeon where the dragon was?

His instinct as a veteran B-rank adventurer was telling him something. But his preconceived notions about Ryuujin, a perennial G-rank, had caused him to ignore his gut feeling…

The test began, and Arthur, Bill, and Ban surrounded Ryuujin.

Ryuujin, “One at a time, right?”

Arthur, “We never agreed to anything like that! Scared? Oh, the irony!”

Bill, “You’re the one who said you’d fight all of us.”

Ban, “Whatever, the outcome will be the same anyway. Saves time!”

Ryuujin, “You guys are such cowards…”

Arthur, “You gonna ask the monsters in the dungeon to attack one at a time?!”

But despite Arthur’s taunts, Ryuujin just smiled wryly.

Ryuujin, “Well, I don’t mind. It is a bit of a waste of time, you’re right.”

As Daniel declared “Begin!”, Ryuujin, with his wooden sword hanging loosely, casually closed the distance between himself and Arthur.

Arthur, slightly disoriented by Ryuujin’s complete lack of hesitation as he approached, stepped back two or three steps, then hastily swung his sword downward.

But in the next instant, there was a loud crack, and Arthur’s wooden sword snapped in two, disappearing.

Ryuujin had swung his wooden sword to deflect Arthur’s, but the speed of the swing was so fast that no one saw it. If he had aimed for his wrist instead of the sword, it would have been severed.

Ryuujin was a reincarnated person from Earth. When he was reincarnated, he had asked the goddess for a job, but in return, he had been quite demanding, and she had granted him a variety of abilities.

He knew about these abilities in terms of knowledge, but he had never used them to their full potential in this world.

He decided to first unleash his extremely powerful physical abilities, but…

Though he had broken his opponent’s sword, the impact was so great that his own wooden sword also broke.

Ryuujin thought that he might as well fight barehanded and threw the broken wooden sword to the corner of the training ground.

But Arthur, instead of throwing away the broken sword in the middle of the attack, thrust it towards Ryuujin. The broken end of the sword was sharp, and it could easily pierce Ryuujin’s body and injure him.

Even with his sword broken, he immediately turned it into a dangerous weapon. He was indeed a seasoned C-rank adventurer.

However, Ryuujin dodged the thrust with ease.

Ryuujin could accelerate his movements as needed.

It was a time-space magic ability, but this ability activated passively without his conscious effort. Ryuujin was automatically disconnected from the flow of time the moment he desired to move quickly. As a result, his movements were accelerated. This wasn’t Ryuujin becoming faster, but rather, the flow of time around him slowing down.

Ryuujin dodged Arthur’s slow thrust, grabbed Arthur by the collar, and lifted him up. He then hurled him away like a shotput.

With incredible strength further amplified by the “Accelerate” effect, Arthur flew through the air and finally stopped after crashing into the training ground wall.

But Ryuujin thought he had made a mistake. Arthur fell unconscious, having hit his head against the wall. If he hit the wrong spot on his head, it could be fatal. He needed to be more careful. This was too easy, it wouldn’t be revenge. He didn’t want to make it easy for him.

But there was another enemy. At that moment, Bill was charging at Ryuujin from behind.

However, Ryuujin only moved half a step, without even looking back, and dodged the attack.

Ryuujin was actually immune to “surprise attacks”. One of the “abilities” he desired was “Danger Precognition”. It was a precognitive ability, specifically attuned to sensing events that posed a threat to him in the immediate future. This ability also activated passively at all times.

Ryuujin turned around, shifting his body as he did so, grabbed Bill by the collar, lifted him high above his head, and slammed him onto the ground on the opposite side.

Bill, as if he weighed nothing at all, flew over Ryuujin’s head, soared through the air, and crashed into the ground.

Ryuujin’s strength was so immense that he could easily lift and slam Bill with one hand, so he used his other hand to grab Bill’s hair, protecting his head. It would be inconvenient if Bill died or became unconscious from hitting his head.

Bill, slammed against the training ground’s floor with enough force to cause a slight depression, was rendered immobile by the impact.

(In this world, throwing techniques against humans were not widely used, so “breakfalls” were not widespread.)

Ryuujin had been careful not to kill him, but Bill, thrown from his back onto the ground without a breakfall, stopped breathing and was unable to move from the impact alone.

People in this world were stronger and more resilient than Earthlings, but Ryuujin’s strength was abnormal, so it was simply unbearable.

But Ryuujin didn’t let go of Bill’s collar, he dragged him back up, lifted him high above his head again, and slammed him onto the ground on the opposite side.

Ryuujin began repeating this process.

Bill, repeatedly soaring through the air and crashing onto the ground.

Of course, he always made sure to protect his head. The rule was that he couldn’t kill him.

These were the guys who had tried to kill him, making him a sacrificial lamb. He didn’t care if he killed them, but he had to follow the rules of the rank-up test or he would be disqualified.

So he had decided on a “throwing technique” to hurt them without killing them…

But throwing techniques were surprisingly dangerous. If you’re not careful, you could hit their head hard, or break their neck, and they could die instantly.

Even in a world where magic and potions could heal injuries, instant death could not be reversed. So Ryuujin decided to slam them to the ground while making sure not to hit their heads.

But that meant the ones being thrown couldn’t even lose consciousness, just suffering even more.

Bill, “Ugh!…Bwoo!…Ch…gh…y…oo…n…”

Bill, repeatedly flying through the air and being slammed against the ground, eventually could not take it anymore and began to convulse, foaming at the mouth, and passed out.

Arthur, “Stop it!!”

Arthur, having regained consciousness and recovered with a potion, grabbed a new wooden sword and lunged at Ryuujin.

But Arthur’s sword swung through empty air, and Ryuujin’s fist pierced Arthur’s abdomen.

It was a light punch for Ryuujin, a restrained blow, but the damage was heavy for Arthur, forcing him to his knees.

Ryuujin casually grabbed Arthur by the shoulder, and began to slam him against the ground, just like he did with Bill.

Arthur soared through the air, then slammed against the ground. Anyone could see, from the ease with which Ryuujin was tossing him around, that this was an opponent you shouldn’t fight. The onlookers, bewildered, watched with growing fear.

But Arthur’s clothes were apparently flimsy, and after two or three throws, his clothes ripped. Arthur slipped out of his clothes and rolled across the training ground’s floor.

Ryuujin went to continue his assault, but a powerful fireball came from behind, attacking him.

It was a magical fireball launched by Ban, who was a magician.

But Ryuujin, without even looking back, dodged the attack by moving sideways. He had anticipated the fireball’s trajectory using his ability to precognize immediate danger.

As a result, the fireball hit Arthur directly.

Arthur, “Ughhhhhhh!”

Arthur screamed in pain, scorched by the fireball.

Ban must have been holding back, because Arthur wasn’t turned to charcoal, but he was in terrible shape, with burns all over his body.

Ryuujin turned back and locked eyes with Ban.

Ban hastily began to cast another spell, but Ryuujin was already behind him, using his ability to transcend the flow of time and move at high speed.

Ryuujin lightly tapped Ban on the back of the head with his palm. Even a light palm strike from Ryuujin, combined with his strength, the surprise attack, and the blow to the back of the head, resulted in a momentary loss of consciousness.

Ban’s knees buckled.

His loss of consciousness was brief, but it was too late.

Ban, whose collar and head were grabbed, experienced the same “human-powered ground pound” as Arthur and Bill.

Once you’re slammed hard against the ground, the impact makes you immobile, and you’re at their mercy.

Ban, “Wooo…ugh…damn…barima…gh…”

Ban, repeatedly lifted high into the air and slammed against the ground, eventually passed out, his eyes wide and his bladder letting go.

Daniel watched the situation with a stunned expression.

He had no idea what was happening.

The spectators were just as bewildered.

In the space of a few minutes, three C-rank adventurers had been beaten to a pulp and rendered combat-incapable. And it had been a completely one-sided, overwhelming domination by Ryuujin.

Ryuujin picked up Arthur’s fallen wooden sword and pointed it at Yorma.

Ryuujin, “Your turn.”

However, Yorma didn’t draw his sword, he said in a panicked voice.

Yorma, “Wait, that’s enough! The test is over.”

Ryuujin, “The rule was that you had to win against everyone. I’d be in trouble if you said I was disqualified later. Let’s see it through to the end, shall we?”

Yorma, “You’ve shown enough strength, you’ve clearly passed! Right, Daniel?!”

Daniel, “Y-yeah, that’s right.”

Ryuujin, “Then are you going to admit your attempted murder in the dungeon?”

Daniel, “W-what are you talking about? That’s completely different…”

Yorma, “I’m not admitting anything. It was unavoidable! We made the right decision!”

Ryuujin, “If you win against me, I’ll forget about it.”

Ryuujin used the incident with being left behind to provoke Yorma and draw him into a mock battle.

It was risky to press charges for murder. There was a good chance that murder within the dungeon would be deemed non-culpable, but even a rumor like that would be a negative.

Just as Ryuujin had intended, Yorma gripped his sword.