Gigas Core

The next day, in the guild arena right behind the Adventurer Guild building, Rai and Erin walked in. They saw Saber with a huge sword, a dark elf woman with a beautiful, big bow, and a human man in royal wizard clothes, holding a staff with a large, gorgeous gem on it.

"Welcome, Rai, Erin," Saber greeted with a big smile, his massive sword slung over his shoulder.

Trisha and a few other receptionists came to judge. Adventurers and treasure hunters gathered, expecting to see the two F-rank adventurers, whom they looked down on, get publicly shamed. Rai and Erin calmly walked to the center of the arena. "Thud," Saber stuck his greatsword into the ground, then stepped forward to Rai.

"Alright, the test is pretty simple. First, let me introduce myself, beyond being the guild master, and my two colleagues. I'm Sabertooth, an SS-rank treasure hunter, and an SSS-rank Sword God. (He looked at the dark elf) She's Zalara Shadowgazer, an SS-rank treasure hunter, and an SS-rank Phantom Ranger. And finally (he looked at the wizard) Varin Godrilock, an SS-rank treasure hunter, and an SS-rank Great Sage," Saber said, introducing himself and his two partners.

Rai and Erin looked at each other, then back at Saber in front of them.

"So, what's the test?" Rai asked.

"Survive our attacks for 2 minutes and attack us for 2 minutes," Saber replied.

"Um... two minutes is enough?" Erin asked.

"Hahahahaha... Of course, it's enough! No one has ever survived our attacks for two minutes!" Saber answered confidently.

"Alright, let's just start," Rai said.

"Yeah, Trisha will keep time," Saber said, turning around.

The adventurers and treasure hunters, seeing the three powerful individuals facing Rai and Erin, immediately started whispering things like, "They're dead meat, F-rank against the strongest party in this city!" or "What a waste of time, why would the Guild Master even bother with them?" or "Well, at least it's good entertainment. How about we bet on whether they can last 2 minutes?" and many other similar comments.

Saber put on his helmet. "Shink," he lifted his sword and got ready.

"Alright... go!" Trisha shouted.

Saber immediately dashed towards Rai, who stood still. "Whoosh," he swung his sword, and "Clang!" Rai didn't move but raised his arms to block Saber's huge sword.

"Clang... clang... clang," Saber attacked Rai relentlessly from right, left, top, and bottom with incredible speed. The sword, as big as his body, seemed feather-light in his hand. But none of his attacks landed on Rai because Rai blocked every single one with both arms, without missing a beat.

Meanwhile, Erin ran around the arena, with Zalara chasing her, firing arrows shrouded in dark energy. "Hop... hop... hop," Erin jumped, ducked, and weaved, dodging the arrows. Finally, when Erin was cornered against the wall and couldn't run anymore, Zalara leaped, then let loose ten arrows simultaneously at Erin. Seeing the ten arrows, covered in dark aura, rushing towards her, Erin stomped her foot to kick up dirt and dust, then "Whoosh!" she extended her tentacles to catch all the arrows and flung them back at Zalara.

"Waaaaaaaaaah!" Zalara shrieked in surprise as all ten of her arrows, imbued with her phantom power, burst out of the dust that had blocked her view and flew straight back at her. "Thwack!" She managed to dodge and block almost all the arrows, but "Thump!" "Aaaah!" one arrow hit her shoulder. Zalara landed and "Clatter!" she fell to a sitting position, her bow clattering to the ground.

"Hahaha... I lost," she said, pulling the arrow out of her shoulder.

"S-sorry," Erin said, emerging from behind the dust.

"It's okay, you're amazing," Zalara replied with a wink.

The adventurers and treasure hunters watching were utterly stunned, their mouths hanging open. Not a single person spoke as their eyes fixated on Zalara, sitting in the arena and chatting with Erin, who sat next to her. Meanwhile, Saber started panting, none of his attacks having managed to hit Rai. Finally, "Wham!" Rai punched Saber, and Saber managed to block Rai's punch by crossing his sword, but he was sent flying back and "Scrape!" he landed on his knees next to Zalara.

"Lost, Chief?" Zalara asked with a smile.

"Hahahahaha, truly incredible. I admit defeat," Saber said.

The adventurers and treasure hunters looked on in disbelief. Their faces seemed to be asking, "Was that... no-job?" with utter skepticism. Rai walked over to Saber and Zalara.

"Are we finished, Mr. Saber?" Rai asked.

"Hmm (he turned to look at Varin) Hey Varin, why were you just standing there?" Saber yelled.

"Ah, yes... they had already won from the moment they entered the arena. I didn't need to do anything because the outcome was already obvious," Varin said, walking and stroking his beard.

"Hahahahaha.... alright (looking at Rai and Erin, who were now standing side-by-side) You passed! I'll give you permission to enter the tower. Please pick up your new cards from Trisha later. Starting today, you are D-rank Treasure Hunters!" Saber said, standing up and looking at Rai with a smiling face.

Hearing Saber's words, Rai and Erin looked thrilled. They immediately high-fived, then helped Zalara stand up, and they all chatted in the arena. The adventurers and treasure hunters who had watched the test walked out of the arena to return to the Adventurer Guild building. Those who had previously hoped to see Rai and Erin humiliated ended up bowing their heads in shame and seemed unlikely to dare bother Rai or Erin again.

Trisha, who was watching, also breathed a sigh of relief and smiled broadly as she watched Rai and Erin standing in the middle of the arena, chatting with Saber, Zalara, and Varin. A Treasure Hunter is a higher profession than an Adventurer. They also have a ranking system, just like Adventurers, but an SS-rank Adventurer is equivalent to a D-rank Treasure Hunter because Treasure Hunters have six rank tiers, starting from D up to the highest, SS. A Treasure Hunter's job is to find artifacts or relics left by gods in highly dangerous towers. It is not uncommon for them to have to fight against powerful monsters that stand in their way and guard the treasures in the tower.

With Saber's permission, this meant Rai and Erin had jumped from their previous F-rank Adventurer status to D-rank Treasure Hunters, and now they were allowed to enter the tower. Among the adventurers leaving the arena, there was one still standing at the side of the arena.

"Rai... Erin, now they're treasure hunters. Can I catch up to them?" Rafina thought to herself, having also watched the test unfold.