Promotion Exam (2)

Meanwhile, the other examinees trudged off dejectedly.

Someone they had mocked relentlessly had effortlessly defeated the monster they themselves couldn’t beat. They were probably too ashamed to stay there any longer.

Goodbye. Not that we’d probably ever meet again.

Our next destination was a marshy plain farther up the mountain.

The A-rank monster was called a Thunder Snake.

Apparently, they sometimes descended into populated areas and carried off children.

Right in the middle of the plain, two Thunder Snakes raised their heads, spread their necks wide, and threatened us.

Thunder Snakes were characterized by their smooth, peppermint-green bodies and measured ten meters from head to tail. If one opened its mouth, it could swallow someone like Yuri whole.

Touching one sent something like an electric shock through your body, so you couldn’t attack it directly with a sword.

“When there are multiple monsters, I’m supposed to take care of the extras.”

They were monsters that lived in the wild, after all.

Things wouldn’t conveniently turn into one-on-one fights every time. If there were more monsters than adventurers, the examiner would deal with the remaining monsters.

Incidentally, if there were far too many monsters compared to the examinees’ strength and numbers, the exam would be called off.

Well, when Wolk was the examiner, it would take something truly extraordinary for that to happen.

“I can handle two of them by myself.”

“Yeah, I figured. After seeing how you fought earlier, I think you’ll be just fine on your own.”

Wolk nodded emphatically and gave Yuri a thumbs-up.

Without showing the slightest fear, Yuri stood before the two enormous monsters towering over her.

The moment the Thunder Snakes noticed Yuri, they both opened their enormous mouths and lunged forward, each trying to swallow her first.

Yuri lightly sprang backward while chanting a spell.

“Icicle.”

It was an ice-element spell.

The instant she cast it, long, slender icicles came crashing down and pierced straight through both Thunder Snakes.

The Thunder Snakes thrashed around for a while, but before long, their strength gave out and they died.

You could practically call it an instant kill.

Icicle was a spell that only advanced mages could use.

Even if she’d chosen Mage or Priest as her occupation, she probably could have made a first-rate career out of it.

Yuri had once said that she wasn’t exceptionally good at either swordsmanship or magic. Apparently, she hadn’t meant that she was bad at everything—she meant that she could do everything at a first-rate level, so nothing in particular stood out.

Wolk stood there dumbfounded for a while.

“That was incredible… You passed the A-rank exam too. Want to go straight on to the S-rank test?”

Yuri nodded in response to Wolk’s question.

Her eyes were overflowing with determination. At this rate, S-rank would probably be a breeze too.

The S-rank monster for the final exam was a Windwood Dragon.

Perhaps it had evolved for camouflage, because its body looked almost exactly like a tree trunk. Its wings were also covered in scales that closely resembled leaves.

Windwood Dragons sometimes attacked villages and towns in search of their preferred prey—humans.

Its body resembled bark, its horns looked like resin, and the branchlike framework of its wings was covered in leaflike scales.

The instant it realized its human prey had come right to it, the Windwood Dragon let out a cry of delight.

Keshyaaaaaaaah!!

Animals naturally targeted whatever looked weakest first.

Of course, the one it was aiming for was Yuri.

But the Windwood Dragon had no idea that it, too, had already become Yuri’s target.

The Windwood Dragon beat its wings with tremendous force, creating a violent gust that sent its leaflike scales slicing toward Yuri like blades.

“Full Shield!!”

The instant Yuri cast the spell, a translucent dome appeared.

The leaf blades struck the dome’s thin barrier and shattered like glass.

“Fireball!!”

A ball of flame far more powerful than the one that man had cast earlier hurtled toward the Windwood Dragon.

Not only that, several fireballs appeared at once, slamming into its wings and body.

It flapped its wings desperately in an attempt to shake off the flames, but they showed no sign of going out.

Its body was quickly engulfed by fire, its natural weakness, and the Windwood Dragon screamed.

Keshyaaaaaaaah!!

Still burning, the Windwood Dragon charged straight at Yuri.

However.

“Wind Sickle.”

When Yuri cast the spell, a whirlwind sharpened into blades and tore through the Windwood Dragon. Already badly damaged by the flames, the monster was sliced apart with ease.

Watching the burning Windwood Dragon fall from the sky, Wolk spoke in an excited voice.

“A-Amazing! You passed with flying colors. Starting today, you’re an S-rank adventurer.”

“M-Me… an S-rank?”

Yuri pointed at herself, still looking as though she couldn’t believe it.

Then she asked Wolk somewhat anxiously.

“Um… shouldn’t I have to fight something stronger?”

“There isn’t anything stronger than that on this mountain.”

“B-But… weren’t all the monsters we’ve fought so far actually pretty weak?”

“No. You’re just far too strong. That last monster in particular is one you normally can’t defeat unless you’re S-rank. Those guys who were making fun of you earlier couldn’t even defeat a Saber White Wolf, remember? That’s what’s normal.”

“…”

Yuri’s eyes widened at Wolk’s words.

Then she lowered her head and seemed to think for a while.

“I see… So what I’ve been used to until now wasn’t normal.”

Since the Hero and his companions had defeated Saber White Wolves and Windwood Dragons as though it were nothing, Yuri probably hadn’t considered them particularly powerful monsters.

But now Yuri must have understood.

She wasn’t nearly as weak as she’d believed. In fact, compared to ordinary people, she was overwhelmingly strong. I hoped she’d be able to approach her adventurer work with confidence from now on.

Wolk clenched both fists and stared at Yuri with sparkling eyes.

“Going from E-rank all the way to S-rank in a single day is an unprecedented achievement since the Eto Branch was founded. You’re an incredibly promising rookie.”

“Me? Really?”

Apparently still unable to believe it, Yuri pointed at herself again, while Wolk nodded emphatically several times.

“Once we get back to the Guild Hall, I’ll register your name on the S-rank roster. There’s no exam for SS-rank. It’s a title you’re granted after completing thirty S-rank jobs. Work hard and make it to SS-rank.”

“Y-Yes!”

After nodding in satisfaction at Yuri’s energetic reply, Wolk turned toward me.

“Hey, Roy. You should take the S-rank test too. It’ll look pretty pathetic if your rank is lower than hers, won’t it?”

“I told you, I’m fine.”

“You really don’t have a shred of vanity or ambition, do you?”

When I answered him dismissively, Wolk shrugged.

And with that, Yuri was officially no longer an E-rank adventurer, but an S-rank adventurer starting today.

From prestigious assignments to requests offering enormous rewards, work would probably start pouring in for her.

I hoped she’d keep taking down S-rank monsters one after another, reach SS-rank, and show those idiot Heroes just how wrong they’d been about her.

“Congratulations on passing the S-rank exam!”

Yuri and I returned to the Adventurers’ Guild’s Eto Branch.

Erin-chan sounded as delighted as though she’d passed the exam herself as she held out a box containing a pendant to Yuri.

Inside was a teardrop-shaped pendant, transparent and colorless yet shimmering with all seven colors of the rainbow.

It was proof that she was an S-rank adventurer.

Still looking somewhat unable to believe it, Yuri stared intently at the rainbow-colored Magic Stone.

I put the pendant around Yuri’s neck for her.

Incidentally, as a B-rank adventurer, my Magic Stone was jade green. I rather liked the color.

You could either wear the thing or simply keep it in your bag. I kept mine in my bag.

If you lost one, they could make you another, but it cost an absurd amount of money and required a ridiculous amount of paperwork.

And buying or selling the Magic Stone that served as proof of an adventurer’s rank was a crime that would land you in the Guild Hall’s underground jail. So if yours was stolen or lost, you had to report it immediately.

Yuri had been staring at her Magic Stone, but suddenly snapped back to reality and turned toward me.

“Um… Roy.”

I tilted my head when Yuri timidly called out to me.

“What is it?”

“Well… could we keep working together from now on? I’ve become S-rank, but I’m still a beginner.”

…Don’t look up at me all cutely like that.

How the hell was I supposed to say no when she asked me with a face like that?

Skillfully hiding my agitation, I patted Yuri on the shoulder and spoke.

“Sure. Having a dependable partner around would make things easier for me too.”

“D-Dependable…?”

She’d probably never been told anything like that before.

Seeing Yuri’s bashful expression filled me with affection for her.

Before I realized it, I pulled her into a hug.

“You did a great job, Yuri.”

“…!?”

Yuri’s face turned bright red in an instant. It looked like she might start steaming like an instant water heater.

C-Crap! Was she not used to being hugged?

Back at the orphanage, I’d often done the same thing with the younger kids, so I’d only meant it in that sort of way.

Y-You don’t have to turn that red… I only hugged you without thinking, and now you’re making me embarrassed too.

That hug had been completely unconscious. It was strictly the kind of thing a guardian would do.

And yet, when I saw how embarrassed she looked, for some reason I couldn’t settle down either.

Somehow, I felt that Yuri was different from the brothers and sisters I’d grown up with at the orphanage.