27 Testing Begins

"We are far enough away from the village. Let us stop here for a moment." The executive told Jack as he turned around to face him.

"So, Jack, as an inner member, you understand this test all too well, correct?"

"That is correct, we had the same test for my advancement to my current rank within the household." Replied Jack, wondering when they were going to begin.

"Very good, I should warn you, this test will be done a little differently. You see, depending on how strong you now are, will determine how our household will determine your fate within the alliance. If you meet the requirements to become a core member, our household will support your side, however, if you aren't at least that strong, you will be on your own once we arrive back at the city."

"As for your other friend Natalia, she is in the same position. I just hope that you both pass this test, otherwise, it will be much harder for you both individually. Now time to explain this test in detail once again so there is no confusion."

"You are to attack me at full strength. You will use your best techniques and are to continuously attack with your killing intent. The test will end once you run out of energy and collapse onto the ground, or, if I deem you strong enough for a single promotion. Understood?" asked the expert while Jack listened closely.

"Understood." With that single reply, Jack hopped back, giving both men space between each other. Jack was not nervous since the test only allowed him to attack at full strength. He would not be the one being attacked, which meant that he can feel comfortable unleashing his all.

"I must warn you, right now I am wearing thick enough body armor to prevent your dagger from leaving a heavy wound on my body. Good luck, Jack!" shouted the executive as he placed his arms behind his back which was taunting him.

Instead of dashing forward right away, Jack casually pulled out his daggers. Like a peaceful monk, Jack stared at the expert in front of him with very clear eyes. It was almost as if Jack was not a killer, rather, a protective disciple of Buddhism.

Slowly waving his arms up and down, it was as if Jack was creating a small illusion. His arms were neither moving fast or slow but held within them was a power which could not be measured or seen. This technique gave the expert conducting this test goosebumps on his body!

"This is the illusion art, but how is he not giving out any killing intent?" the expert thought as he took his hands behind his back and set up a defensive stance. "Using this technique in such a way, is enough for him to easily enter the core member rank. No, this is enough for him to receive that rank with additional resources!"

"Good, you seem ready for my attacks now." Jack casually said as his eyes became sharper and it seemed as if he fell forward before dashing at his full strength towards his opponent. By leaning forward so much, this allowed Jack to focus entirely on his offense without worrying about his openings. This was his fastest dashing method, but in a normal battle it left quite a few openings.

"Come!" not feeling any killing intent coming from Jack, the expert became rather angry. Within any household, it was extremely difficult for warriors to hide their killing intent from others. Being in a more assassin type household, it was a requirement for executive level experts to be able to do this flawlessly when facing weaker opponents.

For Jack to be able to hide his killing intent with ease against a stronger opponent as himself, this meant that Jack had even more potential than this expert had. During a battle like this, the expert wanted to stop Jack to tell him that he passed, however, part of him wanted to see just how formidable Jack became. This expert, his loyalty to the household was unwavering and once he saw that someone from a younger generation had potential, he wanted to protect them.

In what could only be described as an instant, Jack appeared under this expert's body while he stabbed both knives towards him. In this moment, the expert jumped in midair, making Jack completely miss his target! Grabbing both of Jack's arms, he then flipped him while still in midair, making Jack's body seem as if it was simply floating away!

With his feet touching the ground again, Jack had to stab his daggers into the ground to prevent him from being pushed too far away from his target. Not understanding why this expert chose to act in this way, Jack wanted nothing more than to simply kill him!

-On the other side of the village-

"So, Natalia sweetie, tell auntie what type of spells you can now cast without any chants." The witch asked Natalia as they both sat next to each other on the ground right outside the village.

"How did you know that I can now do that?" caught off guard, Natalia questioned the witch.

"A full report of the incident was brought to the alliance and I looked over every small detail. For you to be able to not only kill all those warriors, but to even last in a more endurance driven battle and coming out on top, that takes far more strength than a simple apprentice witch." The witch replied as she tapped Natalia lightly on the hat in a playful manner, causing her hat to cover her eyes.

"To answer auntie, I am now able to cast the Fire Ghouls spell without any issues. According to our household's requirements, when an apprentice witch that specializes in fire spells can do this, that apprentice witch could become an inner member of the household." Natalia explained to the witch as she lifted her hat out of her eyes.

"Fire Ghouls spell? That is correct, however, you should know the requirements for a core member of the household is to have enough mana to last you thirty minutes while casting spells." Standing up, the witch replied to Natalia with a look of joy in her face. In their household, every member regardless of strength were extremely close compared to other households. This was because, not every household were able to have even their weaker members learning spells or buffs.

Having enough mana to do this while still weak, was due to their bloodline. So, while other households often recruited commoners who showed enough potential, a household like Natalia's were solely bloodline related.

"Our household will absolutely support you even though you are now only promoted to an inner member. I must warn you that if you do not take the test to become a core member right now, we will not be able to shield you entirely."

"If your friend can become a core member as well as you, both of our households would come together. Once this is done, you both would not feel any pressure from the rest of the alliance since the Crimson household is neutral and only the Moon household has some ill intentions." Now pointing to a small field in front them, the witch started to close her eyes to concentrate.

Within just a few moments, the surrounding patches of grass started to lose the life in them and died instantly. While this was all happening, the ground started to turn tougher and what could only be described as an array started to form!

This was the power of an executive level expert who specialized in spell casting. This witch specialized in the earth element, and with her current mana, she was more than capable of casting a level three earth spell in order to create this array.

"Are you ready Natalia?" no longer referring to her as a sweetie, this witch's facial expression now became extremely serious. "For the next thirty minutes, you are to cast as many spells as you can into that array. Thanks to its circular shape, any fire spells you throw at it, will remain inside. Just in case, I left some room if a small spark falls out unexpectedly. Last thing we want, is for you to be responsible for burning up this entire grassland." Letting out a small chuckle, the witch sat down for a second time.

"Understood." At this moment, though Natalia was not confident in lasting the whole thirty minutes without collapsing, she felt headstrong to tackle this test. When she saw Jack's new power, she was confident that he could pass his test, which meant, that the rest was up to her!

"Begin!" the witch shouted as Natalia started to cast her low leveled spells without any chants. Natalia was not sure how many spells she would need to cast in this time frame in order to qualify, so she went at a very steady pace.