Chapter 364: C-Rank Advancement Examination (16)

“Sorry to have kept you waiting. It’s my turn next, is that right?”

Akari teleported out of the Guild, and Sitri came in as her replacement. She was also a powerful being who could easily destroy my dungeon if she were to fight seriously. That was why I didn’t bring everyone back to the arena.

We might need to do an emergency escape, just like with Akari earlier.

“...No. You also pass.”

“Eh?”

Sitri was about to face Gad in the next battle, but he suddenly declared that she had also passed.

“You’re just like the others—a Bakemono, right?”

Well, technically, he was right, since Sitri used to be the demon king. She was probably the most suitable for that title among us.

“That’s why there’s no need to battle. Or should I say, I don’t want to fight against you.”

“That’s it.”

“Is that so… I was looking forward to unleashing my full power after a long time.”

Sitri seemed to be disappointed.

But it’s a big NO to kill someone when it’s not even during the exam.

“The next one should be the last, right? Hurry up and bring her here.”

The last examinee was Luna.

Gad seemed intent on fighting against her.

I was a bit worried, but…

It would probably be alright.

“Luna, it’s your turn to take the exam. Can I call you here?”

I called out to Luna through the bracelet.

“Ah, Sitri-san’s exam is already over? Okay, I’m ready anytime!”

It seemed like she was okay, so I summoned Luna to the arena using teleportation magic.

I cut off this area from the outside world, so they wouldn’t be able to enter or leave without using teleportation. Since it was Luna we're talking about, her attacks probably wouldn’t be too powerful. However, I considered a few things, so I didn’t summon the rest of my family back here. I also asked Sitri to leave first.

If there was a one-in-a-million chance that Gad would defile Luna, then I would definitely ignore the rules and save her. However, knowing that scum’s personality, Gad would probably say that Luna didn't pass if I did that, and he would even go as far as to deprive her of other opportunities to take the promotion exam.

If that would happen, I'd request help from Kikyou or Youko and have them alter Gad’s memory. Sitri might be able to do it too if it was just erasing memories—actually, I could also do it, albeit roughly.

Honestly speaking, all I’m planning to do was cheat here.

“I’m Luna. I’m in your care.”

But… cheating isn’t good, right? It would be ideal if Luna could win against him fair and square.

“Kihihih.. Finally, finally!! You’re here!!”

Gad’s expression turned creepily twisted.

“I can see it, you know. You’re strong, right?"

“M-Me?”

“Yeah, that’s right. Although compared to the other Bakemono, your level is lower, but speaking frankly, everyone, including that guy over there, are all way above my league, so I didn’t grasp just how powerful they were.”

Apparently, it was difficult to accurately assess the difference in power if the gap was quite significant. I completely relied on my intuition in that aspect, so I have no practical sense of my own when it came to that.

Gad probably couldn’t gauge Sitri’s power either, so he assumed that she was at our level, so he gave up on fighting against her.

“But you—I can gauge your power! As a human, you're definitely one of the strongest out there!"

Luna’s combat ability wasn’t that high when compared to the rest of the Ernol family. Still, she was able to become the strongest “Soul of Language User”, a third-tier occupation. She was one of the very few who managed to climb to the pinnacle of combat occupations in this world, so Gad was right—she was indeed a powerful person.

“T-Thank you very much.”

Luna was embarrassed after mistakenly taking Gad’s words as compliments.

However, that wasn’t Gad’s point.

“You’re the only one I managed to see through—yeah, I can see that you’re powerful. In short—”

Despite being unable to gauge the difference between my and his strength, Gad could still grasp the extent of Luna’s power.

“Your strength is still within the extent I can gauge! And you… you’re weaker than me!”

Yeah, what Gad said might be true.

Luna has a third-tier auxiliary occupation, while Gad was the same tier but a combat one.

If they were to fight on equal grounds, then Luna would have no chance of winning against him.

I already knew that much.

That was why I confirmed something first with Gad.

“Excuse me… Did the exam start already?”

“Ah? Yeah, let’s start now. Let’s enjoy this together, shall we?”

I already knew his plan to disgrace Luna, even without peeking into his mind.

“Okay, I’ll go now!”

Luna pointed her hand toward Gad.

“You can only do auxiliary or support combat moves, right? Not sure what sort of spell you’re thinking, but—”

Gad’s movements stopped as if he just realized something.

That was because he saw the thing on Luna’s right wrist.

Luna was wearing a bracelet on her right arm that was aimed toward Gad.

“D-Don’t tell me, don’t tell me that’s the weapon that guy prepared?”

‘That guy’ referred to me.

Gad turned to look at me, so I nodded in response.

And smirked a bit while at it.

That was the very reason I confirmed it first with him, after all.

“Tsk!!”

He probably realized that he had to stop her at all costs.

He attempted to charge towards her at great speed, but—

“Fire Lance!”

Luna was faster than him. She activated the spell before he could reach her.

Actually, it wasn’t her own magic.

“Ehehe, I wanted to try casting the spell like this just once.”

Luna looked satisfied as she beamed while saying that as if she truly succeeded in casting amazing magic herself.

Blazing Fire Knights carrying their spears stood in between Gad and Luna.

“W-What the heck…”

Gad stopped in his tracks the moment the fire knights appeared.

The reason he stopped was probably because he was able to grasp that his strength was probably the same as the fire knights.

If there was only one fire knight, then it would be at a disadvantage in this battle because it still had to protect Luna. If that were the case, then Gad probably wouldn’t freeze and would just continue fighting against Luna.

But five Flaming Knights appeared from Luna’s bracelet, so the scale of power was instantly tipped in reverse.

Gad silently pointed at the Fire Knights while staring at me.

“Didn’t you say it’s okay to use magic tools right from the start?”

I felt like I could see a hint of tears in Gad's eyes because of what I said.

That might have been enough. But Luna, the last candidate, was the most serious girl in the Ernol family.

She must have thought that winning with just the power of the magical tool I gave her would have no meaning in terms of the adventurer promotion test.

Such a serious Luna was dealing a finishing blow to Gad, who was already on the verge of mental collapse.

"Damage invalid, Ultimate Power, Ultimate Magic, Ultimate Speed, Ultimate Concentration!"

The Five Flame Knight, each with equivalent strength to Gad, had its power boosted dozens of times over by the world's best support magician.