The duel with the Allogan... or rather five days from the farce.Later that afternoon, Ray was in a conference room on the second floor of the guild.
　Yes, it was in the conference room where Bobbs explained about the Oak expedition.
　In addition to Ray, there are about five other adventurers in the conference room.Including Ray, there are 6 people in total.That's who take the upgrade exam to rank D.
　Among them is the figure of Allogan, who spread his name by playing a farce with Ray in the opposite sense to his original goal.The moment you meet Ray, who comes into the conference room, you can see how he feels about Ray by looking away.

(Rankup exam?)

　The day before, it was Lenora, who had already become the person in charge, who came to the guild as usual.I remember the conversation I had with Lenora.

'Oh, Mr. Ray.I would like you to come to the conference room shortly after noon, as it will start tomorrow."
'...it's too sudden.Wouldn't it be easier to let them know?"
"Well, that's true, but in this case, it's just an adventurer's rank-up exam.In the event of an urgent request or an emergency, I don't have time to ask you to wait a little longer, can I?'
'I see, that's true.It's past noon to-morrow?"
'Yes, it's the fastest time in Guild city to take an upgrade exam less than a month after registering.Good luck to you."

　Remembering these conversations, I look at the people around me and those who take the rank-up exam together.
　The first was, of course, the well-known Alogan.Even though he was humiliated by the recent incident, he is still a rank E magician. Regardless of his skill, he probably likes to fight hard as long as he has a very high-performance magician.
　Second, a woman with her hair cut short so that she can move.Like its hair, it wears leather armour made of some kind of monster skin, and two daggers around its waist.They are probably thieves who check traps and reconnaissance.I guess I'm in my late teens.
　Third, wearing a robe similar to Ray's, with a cane in his hand.He was a typical wizard-type man, with a somewhat languid face.Seeing the second woman sitting next to her with a smile on her face, she must have known her.I'm also in my late teens.
　Fourth, a man with keen eyes.The equipment itself was far inferior to that of Arogan's, an ordinary long-sword that was sold in the streets, but in Ray's view it seemed superior to that of Allogan in the warrior class.I feel like I'm in my early twenties and one or two years older than Alogan.
　Fifth, a woman sitting in a chair, with her eyes closed.His features are rather neat.What is noteworthy is their ears.Her ears, which were larger and more pointed than ordinary people, proved that she was an elf.And when he saw a large bow placed on the table in front of him, he must have been a bowman.He is said to be in his late teens.

(And me? Well, what kind of examination will be held?)

　When I think like that, I suddenly meet the thief woman.

『……』

　They look at each other silently for a few seconds, and then the woman of the bandit opens her mouth as if she had given up.

"What do you want from me?"
"No, I have nothing in particular to do,"
"But you've been staring at me.Did you have anything to do with me, or did you mean to pick up at a time like this?"
"Come on, Currotto.What's wrong with you?I'm sorry.I'm nervous because it's my first time taking a rank-up exam.I hope you don't mind too much."

　The sorcerer sitting next to the bandit, Culotte, bows his head like a woman.

"Schola, why are you bowing?"This is the one who's to blame.I don't like people's eyes."
"Oh, come on. Sorry.I'm really sorry.I don't mean any harm, but I don't usually mean this much."
"Don't worry. At least I don't care."
"What, I'm not worth dealing with...""Don't be noisy,"

　Culotte's screeching and noisy voice suddenly reverberated in the room.Not to mention Ray, who felt the man coming into the conference room, the others turned their eyes reflexively to the voice.
　There was a middle-aged man in his 40s, but his well-trained body could be said to belong to an active adventurer.

"Here, I'm going to start explaining the rank-up exam.Are you ready to listen?"

(...that's the face I've seen somewhere.I'm sure... oh, when the goblin's mouth rubbed."

　Yes, there was Gran, the man who decided Ray's fighting power was sufficient when he had a fight with Falcon's claws and made him rank G.
　Recalling his face, Ray turns to Gran to ignore Currotte.
　Culotte must have also realized who Gran is.Finally, he glares at Ray with stern eyes for a moment and turns to Gran.
　Next to him, he bowed his head to Ray and then turned to Gran.

"Well, it seems that we are all ready to listen.Now, let's start explaining the upgrade exam to Rank D.First of all, I'll have you fight among yourself."

　As soon as Gran tells him that, Alogan turns to Ray with a startled expression, ignoring Ray and Culotte's previous interactions.
　It's only been five days since I realized the difference in fighting power.If you hit Ray, you'll have no chance of winning, and his face will faintly bleed.
　But Gran continues, reassuring him.

"But losing the battle doesn't mean you're disqualified from the rank-up exam... well, I don't deny that you're going to use it as a reference for your assessment.The main purpose of the battle is to get to know each other's abilities, and the most important ranking test was to find out that there was a fortress of thieves about two days from here.It is the content of the ranking test to defeat this bandit."

　It was said that the bandits would be put down, and the inside of the conference room became quiet.
　Essentially, most of the people here take the Rank D upgrade test, so most of them only get requests below Rank E.The guild's regularity allows you to receive a request one rank higher than your own, but only a few people actually receive a request for a rank D because they hear of the existence of a wall between E and D from senior adventurers.
　And requests for rank E or lower and requests for rank D or higher.The clear difference between them was that people such as robbers and the head of prize money were included in the targets of subjugation.
　Even in this world where fighting with monsters is commonplace, many people are still reluctant to kill people.That's why requests for robbers and prize heads to be hunted down are ranked higher than rank D.

"As far as we can see, it is very rare for a request above rank D to have the task of subjugating robbers or guarding merchants and travelers.It would be the worst if they were asked to do so, and if they had hesitated to kill the enemy in case of emergency, they were attacked back and killed their comrades and bodyguards.The former may well be, but the latter may also involve the trust of the adventurer's guild as a whole.That's why the grading examination to upgrade to D rank is basically a request to kill people."

　Only Gran's words resonate in the conference room, and those who take the rank-up exam are listening intently.
　But Ray was not as nervous as the others.for he had four of the stars in his hands on a mission to subdue the Oaks.Killing a person was certainly not the kind of thing I wanted to do, but that does not mean I have the weakness to hesitate in times of need.
　And one more.

(He, too, isn't he?

　Beyond Ray's gaze is the non-Arogan warrior.He seems to be listening to Gran with concentration, but he is not as nervous as anyone else.Ray somehow understood that that alone had probably killed someone as much as he had.

"Well, I see what you mean.Then I'll have each of you fight right away.Of course you're here to take the examination, and you're bringing me the weapon you're going to use, aren't you? Come with me."

　and Gran left the conference room.After that, Ray and his colleagues follow suit.

"Well, as for combat, there's a training ground behind the guild, and I'll do it there."
"The training ground?"

　Culotte, who was walking nearby, looked dumbfounded at Ray's words.

"I'm dumbfounded. You don't even know the training ground behind the guild? That's why you came up to Rank E.""Oh, come on. Why are you hitting this guy so hard?I'm sorry, but I'd appreciate it if you didn't care about the culottes."
"Don't worry,"

　I think about the training ground with a wry smile on their combination.

(Goblin's mouth, Allogan, why don't you go out of your way to fight me in front of the guild... oh, I see.Did you want to expose me to the ridicule of my victory?）

　He follows Gran to the first floor of the guild, where he walks out through the back door of the guild with a little wry smile at Kenny's appearance and Lenora's thrusting at him.
　After a few minutes, I saw what Gran was saying.
　However, it does not mean that the facilities are especially exaggerated.It was only fenced up in a large space, and there was no roof even.k.a. roof.
　The training camp itself is so large that it seems that there is still room for mock battles between the knights.At present, there are about 10 people and one in the training center, each of whom is training.

"What? What is that group?"
"Oh, look. Gran is probably leading the rookie, so it's probably a rank-up exam."
"Oh, I see,"

　Ray hears the voices of the adventurers who were shooting each other with swords and spears.The other trainers were interested in it, and their eyes were on all of them.
　Gran moves to the center of the training school as if he knew such a thing.
　But it's not surprising.It's like this every time I take a rank-up test.Because if we can pull promising newcomers out to our party, we'd like to see any number of newcomers who can be considered a good stepping stone for a party adventurer, because they're more likely to survive when asked to do so.

"Look, boys.Don't be too distracted by the gaze around you.Even though it is said that the results of the simulation match from now on are not directly related to the results of the test, it is no different to refer to them.First of all, let's introduce ourselves.Say your name, occupation, and skills in turn, starting with you."

　The person Gran appointed was Ray, in other words, the harmony of schedule.
　Gran smiles bitterly and opens his mouth.

"I'm Ray. I'm a magician.My favorite weapon is..."

　Remove the death size from the mistling and shake it.With just one swing, the eyes of those in the training ground glued to Ray and Death's size.

"This scythe is a death-size scythe.He is also good at the magic of fire....as for Tame?"

　He asks implicitly if he talks about Seto, who is not here, but Gran nods back slightly.

"I'm also taming one more monster.who, as some of you may know, often lie down in the cab-space of the guild."
"Oh! Then you kill the Oak King!"

　cried Culotte unconsciously, wondering if he understood Ray's background by the word Gryphon.

"Hey, I'm sure you're killing Oak King..."
"Oh, yes,"I've heard that an adventurer named Ray killed Oak King, but I've heard of Rank G."
"Then, for the achievement of defeating Oak King, he went up from G to E all at once and went up to D in the rank-up exam?"

　I heard this kind of voice coming from all around me, but it was the same for all the other rank-up test participants."Look, I know you're making a fuss, but I'm not done introducing myself.It's you next."

　Gran clapped his hands and got everyone's attention, and the next one he named was Cylotte, a bandit.
　Looking at Ray dumbfoundedly, Culotte was hit in the back by a scola next to her and came back to life.

"I am Currot.I'm a thief by profession. As you can see, I'm good at daggering.As for my skills... I'm good at reconnaissance and setting traps."
"Well, a thief.I think I'll do a lot of good in this exam. Next."

　The next thing I was told was Schola next to the culotte.

"I'm a Scola, and I'm a wizard by profession, and I wonder if I have any particular weapon I'm good at.As for magic, we can use water, wind, and recovery magic."

　He finishes his self-introduction with a slight nervousness, perhaps because he was noticed not only by the participants in the rank-up exam but also by other adventurers at the training ground.
　Gran, who was listening to the explanation, looked at the school in admiration.

"Well, can you use recovery magic other than attack magic?This may be a promising future."

　Wizards are generally not good at recovery magic if they are good at attack magic, and similarly, those who are good at recovery magic are not good at attack magic.Therefore, Schola is one of the few wizards among adventurers who are suitable for both attack and recovery.It was no exaggeration to say that he was even rarer among those wizards.

"He caught the eye of our party."
"Oh, let's get out of course.
"It's called first come first served."

　You must be happy to hear yourself being evaluated while listening to such a voice is heard.Schola looks down shyly with a red cheeks and a smile.

"Next".

　The next person to be nominated was Arogan.She opens her mouth, worrying about Ray's gaze, but not intentionally.

"I am Alogan.He's a swordsman. His weapon is this magical sword.I'm confident in my direct offensive ability, not my skills."
"He is a magician in Rank E, and he seems to be a very powerful magician. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .."

　Perhaps he knew of the conflict with Ray the other day, but he hints that you have lost your treasure and turns to the next person.
　When Alogan heard the remark, he frowned slightly and remained silent.

"Next".

　The next man to be named was a sharp-eyed swordsman who seemed to have killed someone other than Ray.

"Spelvia, a swordsman,"The weapon is not as well-founded as the arogan described earlier in this long sword.I don't have any special skills other than my ability as a swordsman."
"... I see.I see no problem with your arms. Next."

　He nodded a little and looked at the last one, as if he had seen through Spelvia's arm.
　Elf's woman with a big bow on her back receives Gran's gaze and nods small and opens her mouth.

"Firma Patrono. My main weapon is a bow.I think he's a ranger or a spirit wizard.Skills, as I have said, can still use spirit magic to some extent."

　The adventurers of the training school were once again annoyed by these words.not only is she a beauty of the Elves, who is confined to the woods and rarely appears in the streets of man, but she is also capable of spiritual magic.
　The elves are known to be masters of archery from old to young.He is also an excellent wizard because he has greater magical powers than humans, but few people can master both.Its rarity is no less than that of the previously mentioned Scola, which can use both offensive and recovery magic.
　And Fierma Patrono, whose family name was indicative of a certain family background in the Elf world.Gran also smirks at the introduction of himself.

"Oh, the elves are rare, but are you good at archery and spiritual magic?It's called Ray, it's called Schola, and it's a very good crop this time."

　He muttered, glancing at the test participants who had finished introducing themselves.

"Well, this is a brief self-introduction.Next, we will have a mock battle with each other to understand their abilities.for basically you're the only one who's going to get rid of the bandits.Better get used to than learn.The first game is... Ray and Spellvia."

　Gran said so and named Ray and Spelvia.