For a brief moment, Valyr could not help but tense up, slightly wary of what Gabriel was planning to do with the wave of mana he had sent out. Though, once the mana passed through his body and nothing ended up happening, this feeling of slight fear quickly turned into that of confusion as he looked at the man that continued to hover in the air.
In the meantime, the mana Gabriel sent out had returned to him, prompting him to close his eyes as he inwardly nodded soon after. Looking at Valyr, whose expression screamed out that he wanted to know what had just happened, Gabriel went ahead and filled him in as to what he had just done. "The first mechanic of this test is that your opponents shall be the average fighter at the same level as you. The wave of mana I sent out just now allowed me to gauge your current level."
"Correct me if I'm wrong, but are you currently Level 11?" Gabriel asked soon after, to which Valyr nodded in response. As Arcenne listened in on this conversation, a light smile could not help but creep up her face, expectant of the time when Gabriel eventually found out that Valyr was no ordinary Level 11 being.
Nodding back, Gabriel continued with his explanation. "Since I've received your confirmation, the opponents you shall be facing are those with the average combat proficiency and strength to be expected of those at Level 11. With that in mind, the test shall be conducted in waves, with the first wave having you fight against one opponent."
"For every wave that comes after, another opponent shall be added, with the second wave needing you to defeat two opponents at once on your own, third wave three opponents, and so on and so forth," he added. "Since Lady Stelyra has accompanied you here, then there's no need for me to go over the various levels of prowess you could obtain during this test. Instead, I shall tell you the requirements to achieve said levels."
"Once you clear the second wave, you'll be considered a Combat Novice. Clearing the fifth wave warrants you the title of Combat Adept, while clearing the tenth wave makes you a Combat Veteran."
"Reaching the twentieth wave in this test, or successfully defeating 20 opponents at once on your own in other words, makes you a Combat Elite." Gabriel decided to end his explanation there. "Just so you're informed, I do know the requirements needed to reach the higher levels of prowess, but for the most part, most people who come to the training hall to get their combat proficiency tested only reach Adept or Veteran at most, with only a scant few barely entering the Elite stage."
"Anyways, is my explanation clear? Would you like me to clarify anything?" In response to the final question, Valyr shook his head, telling the man in charge of the test that the explanation was clear. With that, Gabriel nodded once more as he soon released a great amount of his mana into the room, with all of them entering the floor Valyr stood on.
Rumble…
Not long after, the ground started to rumble as an entity that vaguely resembled a human appeared a couple dozen meters away from Valyr, only to charge at him as it seemed that the entity was gearing up for an attack. Noticing this, Valyr retrieved the spear from his back and brandished it, swiftly sending out a diagonal slash to end the first wave before anything eventful could even happen.
With that, the entity crumbled down into the very material the floor was made out of before melding with it, making it seem as if the entity hadn't even appeared in the first place. Though, a few seconds later, two entities soon appeared around the same distance as the first entity, running in Valyr's direction as they seemed hellbent on landing an attack.
But of course, just like the first one, the second wave was also finished within seconds, with Valyr swiping horizontally with his spear that bisected his opponents crosswise.
Thud. Thud.
As the materials making up Valyr's two previous opponents melded with the ground, Gabriel's voice swiftly boomed throughout the room. "Since you've cleared the second wave, you are now officially a Combat Novice."
"Note that this is the only time I'll be making an announcement. After this, the waves shall continue to appear one after the other until you either concede or I deem you unfit for further combat," he said. "Are there any questions?"
Shaking his head in response, Gabriel nodded once more as he infused a bit more of his mana onto the ground, causing three opponents to appear a fair distance away from Valyr. However, unlike the two previous waves he had "fought" against, these opponents now wielded rudimentary weapons.
Nevertheless, with the disparity that existed between his stats and the stats of an average Level 11 being, even the inclusion of weapons did not affect how fast Valyr cleared the next three waves, swiftly clearing out the fifth wave of opponents while only relying on the basic spear movements.
At this point, Gabriel could not help but land on the ground beside where Arcenne sat, watching as Valyr proceeded to go through the waves of opponents without so much as breaking a sweat. Feeling a hint of curiosity as to why Arcenne had accompanied Valyr, Gabriel went ahead and asked her a question. "Lady Stelyra, how did you come to know Valyr?"
"I was the one who administered his test before yours," said Arcenne in response, eliciting a bit of surprise to appear on Gabriel's face as his eyes slightly widened.
"So, you're saying that he took a test to gauge his spear prowess before taking this test for overall combat proficiency?" Seeing that Arcenne nodded at his question, a bit more curiosity filled up Gabriel as Valyr seemed to blaze through the subsequent waves without a problem. "Would it be possible to find out what kind of result did he get?"
In his mind, he thought that the man before him would have just barely passed through the Novice stage. After all, the results one would obtain in one's test for overall combat were usually one to two stages higher compared to tests regarding weapon proficiency.
Of course, it was that same thinking that left Gabriel at a loss for words when Arcenne told him that the one taking the test at the moment had passed the Adept stage. Sharply inhaling air in slight shock, Gabriel could not help but glance at Arcenne for a moment before returning his attention towards the center of the room, getting a signal from the mana he sent to the ground earlier that Valyr had already finished the 10th wave.
"He's already passed the Veteran stage…" Muttering out these words, Gabriel's gaze was fixated on Valyr, wondering if the latter was nearing his limits. However, what he saw instead was the exact opposite.
At the moment, a faint battle intent emanated from Valyr as a slightly ferocious grin adorned his face. Tightly gripping onto his blood red spear, he waited for the next wave of opponents to arrive as he got into a battle-ready stance, giving off the feeling that he was a predator waiting for its prey to arrive at its trap.
If anything, it felt like he was just about to get started.
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