Chapter 194: Rank Up Test (2)

Following closely behind the two towering soldiers, Cole and Aiden entered into the same large dojo-like room where Aiden took his registration test before. In the upper section, the same group of examiners, with Sarah hiding behind her large hooded robe stood in the middle. Although her eyes and face were hidden behind the cover, she was clearly, obviously looking at the newcomers, and a small, barely perceptible nod could be witnessed as her gaze met Aiden's.

Cole had a determined look on his face as he followed behind the two, black-armored towering giants. His right hand was gripping his sheathed sword's handle tightly on his left, ready to unsheathe it and swing it at any incoming threat at a moment's notice.

Next to him, Aiden was following along, with a rather nonchalant, carefree attitude. His hands were behind the top of his head, focusing on nothing in particular, looking like a guest if anything else. As he walked in his carefree manner, he took a casual glance at the group upstairs leaning against the handrails, looking at the boys with their judgemental, condescending eyes. The bald captain-looking unarmed man, who usually stood to the right of the leader, was there this time as well, looking at Cole instead of Aiden. Although it was only for a fraction of a second, Aiden still managed to catch as a cruel glint flashed across the man's eyes as he sized up his friend from head to toe. No doubt, he had nothing good going on inside his head.

'Just what is up with humans and their tendency to cruelty against their own kind? How could they be the ruling race across the world? I just can't believe it…' Aiden lamented inwardly, masking a sneer with a friendly smile as his eyes met with the bald examiner. Taking his eyes off the man, he looked at the two giants walking in front of them.

The one on the left had a painted, black, studded, leather chest placed over his similarly colored, charcoal black linen shirt. Padded fingerless black leather gloves protected mostly his palm, and going with the same routine, a black leather padded pants completed his armor set. He had a large ebony black brogue protecting his feet, matching his outlook. He wore a simplistic black leather head cap, buckled up, and protected most of his head but leaving his face free. His rough, scruffy expression, matched his set, giving the whole dark-set a rather ominous feel. The only elevating decor on him was the guild's logo of a sword hitting a shield with golden threads sewed above his heart.

The man on the right, albeit donning the same color-scheme, wore a completely different set of protection. First, he wore heavier, somewhat metallic material, but Aiden wasn't sure if it was steel, iron, or something else entirely. One thing that he was sure of was that it had the same metallic shine as Sir Michael's flashy but most likely useless garment. His breastplate had the same logo decorating and quite unfortunately, marking his heart making it a clear and visible target for attackers from a range. Contrary to his leather-armored partner, his entire arm was also protected by the metallic frame, all the way down to his hands, where he wore a gauntlet with a few protruding rivets carefully placed above his knuckles to provide a nasty surprise during a fistfight.

The same black protruding rivets could be also witnessed above his kneecaps, and around his neck, providing protection against suffocation attempts. He wore a full helmet, providing complete coverage with the addition of the visor that he had also closed shut.

As for weapons, they both used slightly similar types, focused on causing bludgeoning, and trauma-type injury. The dark leather-armored one on the left had a one-handed war mace hanging from his side. The mace head was circular with large spikes protruding from its surface. As for the metal-knight, his weapon consisted of two of the same type: a war hammer. It had a slightly similar shape to what his friend was using, the head of the weapon was crude, it looked like a simple large metal brick attached to two wooden handles. Both weapons were capable of causing serious injury, and with the size and strength of these two, it was obvious that this battle would be decided by sheer strength, rather than skill.

With a continued slow pace, they eventually reached the middle of the battle area, and the two warriors suddenly stopped. They both looked to the bald man leaning against the railing upstairs and waited for his approval before turning around. The man kept his cold demeanor as he nodded, although his eyes slightly betrayed him, as the same cruel glint flashed through once again as he bowed his head.

Returning the nod, and understanding the underlying, unvoiced order of their superior, they both turned around at the same time and looked at the brown-haired youth in front of them. Aiden stood still next to his friend, unmoving, despite the upcoming battle, the only change he made was to move his hands from the top of his head, resting against the sides.

The black warriors looked at him, and waved with their heads, giving a silent command for the boy to move to the side and not interfere with the upcoming duel, an order which Aiden completely ignored.

Seeing that this would be going nowhere and that his fun could potentially be ruined by that monstrous golden-eyed boy just like before, the bald-man turned towards him and angrily yelled out.

"Hey, you there! It's one thing that you were allowed to watch the test, but that does not mean you can just go ahead and assist him during it! Move to the side and do not interfere!"

Aiden slowly turned his head to match the bald man's annoyed gaze, and whilst revealing a friendly smile, he answered calmly.

"Do not worry, as long as there is no foul play involved, I will not interfere. However…" He turned and looked at both warriors facing in front of them. His eyes suddenly flashed with a bright golden luster causing a shiver of fright to wash through the seasoned veterans. ��...If you have any ill intentions, I will make sure you will fail, and suffer the consequences…" His calm tone only gave an eerie contrast to the coldness that radiated from his eyes. 

Unable to withstand the sudden invisible weight of his threats pressuring them down, both warriors took a step back and looked back at the bald man for assistance. 

Just as expected, the baldie, although shocked by the power of the youth's underlying threat, managed to keep his composure, and angrily yelled back.

"H-how dare you, a meager newly joined, little boy threaten the examiners and accuse them of foul play?! You should be puni-" However, before he could finish, he was silenced with Sarah's right palm being raised in the air. She looked at Aiden and began to speak in her usual public style, the melodious, heavenly tune, giving her the mystical aura.

"Aiden is right, there will be no foul play here. We are just and honest judges, and want nothing more than to make sure that the candidates are ready for the increased responsibility. Isn't that right?" 

Although she didn't directly phrase it, the bald man understood the meaning behind her words, and hurriedly nodded, speaking in an apologetic and frightened tone.

"Yes, Leader, you are absolutely correct. What we want is to make sure that the eager youngsters are strong and skilled enough to handle the increased weight of what the community will be putting on them. There is nothing more, nothing less here."

He did not speak further, and just silently watched the upcoming fight with a solemn, somber expression on his face. He did not answer the asking gazes of his warriors, nor did he bother to answer the annoying smiling face of that long black-haired brat. Inwardly, however, he was fuming, and was deep in thought of how he could deal with him in the future… After all, his previous attempts were met with horrendous failure…

Hearing Sarah's reassurance and then acquiescing to the baldie's words, Aiden continued to look and smile at him for a while longer before he turned back to face the 2 giants dwarfing them. He took a step backward, exiting the upcoming combat, and patted his friend's back.

"Now it's your turn, Cole. I did all that I could, the rest is up to you." He spoke in a lowered tone, making it so that only Cole could understand it. "They may be huge and fearsome, but don't forget, that size is not everything, it's actually a hindrance as it will make them slow, much slower than you! Do your best, and don't lose focus!"

Listening to his words, Cole nodded whilst keeping his focus on the two opponents in front of him.

As the seconds continued to pass in tense silence, making them feel like an eternity had passed, the leader of the examiners finally raised both of his hands in the air, grabbing the attention of everyone in the room.