(Risa, why are you putting 'Rin' as your name?) I asked telepathically, noticing Risa forging her paperwork.
(Because we're gonna be famous monsters one day?) She replied, (I feel bad about leaving everything blank, though… I'm gonna put spirit magic down.)
(That's fine. You're going for A-rank, anyway. Put swordsmanship along with it. I'll just put swordsmanship by itself. I already wrote my own name, though…) I hadn't thought about that. I was building a nation. It'd probably end up being pretty difficult to go around anonymously if my anonymous name was the same as my real name… It wasn't that big of a deal, though, so I just let it be. After all, I was sure that, by the time Tempest was capable of standing without me and I could take an extended leave to really adventure, I could find some way to re-register or something.
As for Risa's spirit magic, she could use powerful fire-aspect spirit magic, since she was technically a high level fire elemental. Really, spirit magic was converting part of your 'soul' into an element, then manipulating it, so I could copy it with my Dark Flame, but the difference between her spirit flames and my dark flames were about the same as the difference between spirits and monsters.
…
"You know, monster slaying can be really dangerous. Are you sure that-"
"Don't worry. We'll be fine."
"Okay… Then, I hereby grant you both permission to take the examination. You'll both need to take the tests solo, and achieve at least a D in rank in order to become an adventurer."
"Alright. Rin can go first." I said. I didn't mind waiting, anyway.
The woman nodded and went to get the examiner.
When she got back, she was followed by a man with a wooden leg. "So, you two taking the test? Recommended by Kabal, huh? Alright, then! Follow me." He gave us a mean-looking glare and began leading us to the test site. As he did, Kabal explained that Thegis, our proctor, had been acting all jealous of them ever since he retired while they ranked up.
…
"Alright, here's the deal. Once you earn an E-rank, you can immediately try for the next rank, right up until you fail. If, or when you fail, you will not be able to take the rank up challenge again until you earn enough points in your work to do so. This magic circle on the floor is a safety barrier that will protect you somewhat if you get injured, but in taking this test, you're accepting the chance that you might die." Thegis explained.
"Okay." Risa casually said, stepping into the circle. Yeah, no chance of her being scared of something like this.
That seemed to irritate Thegis, but he ignored it, chanting a spell. Summoning magic. Hey, didn't I learn a skill for that, from Charybdis?
'Answer. Yes. Summon Spiritual Being. Draws a spiritual lifeform forth from another world. Charybdis used it to call forth his megalodons. Since it does not work in Testing Space, results of summon are entirely unknown. Usage not recommended.' So there's a good chance that I could call forth some sort of incredibly dangerous spiritual lifeform, then? Yeah, let's not test it.
The first monster Thegis summoned to test Risa was a low ranked Hunter Hound. It seemed that Thegis had trained it well, but Risa didn't even draw the steel sword she had at her waist for it. She just kneeled down as it rushed her, and suddenly the dog stopped mid-lunge and showed its belly, pathetically whining.
Someone, one of the trio behind me probably, let out a stifled laugh at that, while Risa rubbed the dog's belly amiably.
To anyone looking, it seemed like a lovely moment with a dog that suddenly changed masters, but I could tell what'd really happened.
Even if one wasn't actually giving off any aura, most monsters could tell other monsters' strength just by looking at them. On top of that, Risa had that crazy Chaos Warrior skill that gave her total control in battle. It didn't take a genius to realize that the Hunter Hound had noticed the incredible gap between them and immediately had its poor spirits completely broken. It was Risa's dog now.
"Uhh…" Thegis was at a loss. I doubted that'd ever happened before. "Attack…?"
"Roll over." Risa commanded the dog. It did so. "Sit. Here." She pointed to her feet. The dog sat at her feet. "Keeping him. Next test?"
"Umm…?!"
"You know, there really should be a taming division." I mused.
"Since monsters only really respect strength, taming isn't really a thing that happens, you know?" Kabal offered.
"Well, wouldn't that kinda be a subdivision of monster slaying?" Elen wondered.
"Can I have the next test, please?" Risa repeated.
"...Fine. Just don't get cocky. That doesn't mean anything." I could tell that he was inwardly seething, though. He summoned Risa's next opponent, a jet-black Dark Goblin, with full armor and huge muscles.
"Umm… isn't that Thegis's main servant?" Someone in the audience, which had gathered some time when I wasn't looking, muttered.
"Yeah. That's a fully armored, rank C monster there." another voice replied.
"Ooh! I've never seen an evolved goblin like this before! How cool! I wonder…?" Aand Risa's in Curiosity mode, running through something in her head, over and over again, because it's new.
"Begin!" Thegis's voice didn't snap her out of it at all.
"Oh, man… I really hope she doesn't…!" I muttered to myself as the Dark Goblin rushed in to attack her.
"Hey!" The audience was screaming, save for Kabal, Elen, Gido, and I, as the monster attempted to land a downward strike on the clearly distracted Risa.
And… it collapsed to the ground.
"Where'd its head go?"
"That was spirit magic, right? And high level, too!"
"No, it was just a fireball!"
The audience was arguing vehemently with each other. Risa's actions had been too quick, I was probably the only one in the room who had fast enough perceptions to see it. Covering her hand with a bright orange flame, she'd taken it and thrust it at the Dark Goblin's neck.
Just a simple thrust. That's all she did. No technique, no nothing. Just her hand.
And the goblin's head exploded, its neck instantly cauterizing itself.
"Hooh!" I wasn't sure if Thegis was flipping out, or just choking.
It took him nearly a minute to stop the weird coughing. "How about some group combat experience?"
"Sure."
Thegis summoned three Giant Bats next. Finally, Risa drew her sword.
Then, she covered it with fire and swiped all three down at once. Nothing new, interesting, or cute about Giant Bats.