4 The Selected Five
Luke approached the mansion, but he chose to stay across the street. As soon as most of the competitors entered, he would go.
Because he didn’t know what the test would be like, he feared it would be some kind of performance, and if it was something like that, he would rather not have to perform in front of dozens of people. Not out of shame or shyness, he just preferred to keep his identity and abilities a secret from as many people as possible.
Right in front of the gate, there was a giant man who stood over two meters tall. He had long hair, several scars on his face, and wore huge armor, the fundamental characteristics of Tanks. The giant man was serious and kept his eyes focused on the main door of the mansion.
No one dared to come within a meter radius of the man, and a few people were whispering:
“Is this the Dota? He’s even bigger than they say.”
“The S-Class really is on another level. Just looking at him makes me intimidated already.”
“But isn’t it overkill to wear armor like that for a test?”
“He can do whatever he wants. He’s an S-Class, he has already won that job offer.”
Some people would come close just to look at the man and then leave. Luke couldn’t tell if they were fans of the Dota or quitters.
The half-wolf had also never seen such a strong person in his life. To become an S-Class, you didn’t just need talent and strength, you needed experience, mental strength, money, and many other factors that few people on the continent could achieve.
It was also rare to see an S-Class because most spent weeks or months inside Dungeons. There was even one man who spent several years lost inside a deep Dungeon, which was not that unusual, but since he was the only one to make it out alive after so much, he was idolized as a hero.
Even Luke, who had no interest in Dungeons or adventurers, knew that he had to respect this kind of person.
When everyone heard the main door of the mansion open, a large man stepped out, everyone knew that the time had come and the buzzing began. However, when Dota stepped forward, everyone shut up.
The old family guard, who was already bald and no longer had the strength to enter a Dungeon, needed to choose someone worthy to replace his post when he became even older. There were many good candidates among the younger bodyguards of the family, but none of them were ideal.
The moment the gates opened, Oliver spoke loud enough for everyone on the street to hear: “Good afternoon, everyone! Is everyone who wants to participate in the Test present here?”
“Yes!” The crowd shouted, and other latecomers joined in the roar.
“All right. I will explain what will occur here: Only five people will enter through this gate, and I, personally, will select them.”
Everyone present was surprised but did not protest because they wanted to be chosen.
“First, you were at the back. Introduce yourself from there and come over here.” Oliver said to a boy standing across the street.
“I-I’m Wallace! Knight r-recently graduated from the Noble Academy of Oukiwa. Identified as Rank D.” shouted the young man in golden armor. He seemed to be a bit nervous.
The crowd looked back in surprise, after all, a Class D had just been chosen while an Class S was right in front of Oliver. Wallace approached the gate, looked fearfully at Dota, and walked over to Oliver.
“I see you are not carrying any weaponry. So, you possess a Panspermia Weapon, right?”
“Y-yes.” Said the boy and summoned his Weapon of Panspermia, which was a shiny, silver spear whose blade was made of a semi-transparent crystal.
All Luke knew about Panspermia Weapons, was that they were very expensive, and their values depended on their levels. They were: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary.
The half-wolf couldn’t tell what level the one Wallace showed was, but he knew it was something good because everyone there seemed impressed.
“Very well, leave that to me, and you may enter.” Wallace was undecided for a second, but he handed it over and went through the gate. “Now… the next one will be… you here on the left. That’s right, you!”
A girl with short hair and light armor was so happy to have been chosen that she couldn’t hold back her excitement. “Yeeey!”
“Come on, introduce yourself.”
“My name is Atilath and I have recently moved to the continent of Broteforge. I come from the Melki Empire to the south.” The girl walked over to Oliver, and unlike Wallace, she carried a sword in her scabbard instead of a Panspermia Weapon.
After the girl, a boy similar in appearance and manner to Wallace was called. He carried a bow and his quiver was packed, if not for the fact that the rain had increased, Luke could tell he was ready to hunt after the test.
The fourth person to be selected was a woman standing on the right. She had brown skin and had gray hair. She wore a bold blue dress and a large red cape on her back. The only parts of her body that were covered by some kind of armor were her two arms and the part of her chest near her neck.
The beautiful woman checked her heel before she started walking towards Oliver. Just lifting her left leg, all the men around her stared at that smooth skin. Luke almost made a face of disgust when he noted the voracious gaze of the boys.
“Get out of here!” Oliver shouted to those who looked adamantly at the woman’s legs.
About five men after the head guard’s order, grumbling and babbling.
“Introduce yourself.” He ordered as the woman approached.
“I am Stella. I was rated Rank A after the Tournament of Legends, which I won.” And then she handed over the great sword she carried and joined the other three who were waiting on the other side of the gate.
Some people at that moment left, after all, there was only one more person left to complete the five the guard mentioned and there was still the S-Class Knight left. So, they believed that they would never be chosen. Nevertheless, Luke was still there on the other side of the street.
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Discord for illustrations of the characters:
https://discord.gg/qz2vDAn7Kb