Chapter 26: Maximum Difficulty
An hour later, Otonashi Chiya and Hayakawa Aki returned to Tokyo Public Safety, ready for their assessment.
The testing site was located in the underground base of Tokyo Public Safety, specifically a combat arena surrounded on all sides by reinforced explosion-proof glass. Several individuals in Public Safety uniforms were already seated in the observation gallery outside the glass; they were clearly the ones responsible for the ranking.
"Which of you two will go first? The other can stay out here and watch," the examiner told them.
"I'll go first," Aki spoke up immediately.
"Alright. Enter through that door." The examiner opened a nearby blast door via fingerprint recognition.
"Good luck," Chiya said.
Aki nodded, his expression turning cold and focused as he stepped into the combat arena.
"Hayakawa Aki, before the assessment officially begins, there are a few points to remind you of," the examiner said to Aki once he was inside.
"One: You may choose from different difficulty levels for your devil opponent. Higher difficulty devils make it easier to earn a high rating, but only if you successfully hunt them. You must kill the target to pass; otherwise, it is an immediate failure."
"Two: If you find you can no longer hold on, shout 'I forfeit,' and we will restrain the devil immediately."
"Three: Please take the assessment seriously. No matter how strong you are, if your attitude is improper, we will not consider recruiting you."
"That's about it. Choose your difficulty first—just say One, Two, or Three. One is the easiest, Three is the hardest."
After listening, Aki said without hesitation, "One."
To him, the specific rank didn't matter much; he just wanted to ensure he got into Tokyo Public Safety. Choosing "One" was the safest bet; if he failed by aiming too high, he would be in serious trouble.
"Very well. Raise your hand when you are ready."
The moment the examiner finished speaking, Aki raised his hand.
"Then, the assessment begins."
A massive tunnel opened in the reinforced glass a short distance in front of Aki. The depths of the tunnel were pitch black, but the silhouette of a large devil gradually emerged. As it came into view, it appeared to be the Fly Devil—essentially a giant version of a common housefly, but with an appearance far more nauseating and terrifying.
"Human, forfeit now, or I won't show any mercy," the Fly Devil said, attempting to intimidate him the moment it stepped out.
Public Safety didn't just hunt devils; they frequently captured them and kept them in the underground base. Some devils were average in strength and had no value for contracts. Others simply refused to sign with humans—especially Public Safety hunters—or intentionally demanded absurd prices. Even so, Public Safety made use of these "useless" devils by using them for newcomer assessments.
For the devil, losing meant death; winning meant another day of meager survival. Since Public Safety would never set them free, the Fly Devil had no intention of holding back. It didn't want to die.
"..."
Aki completely ignored the Fly Devil's taunts. He drew the katana from his waist, having already used his devil power to strengthen his physical body. He had no intention of using the Curse Devil's power; using it wouldn't necessarily guarantee a higher rating, and the cost of reducing his lifespan was far too severe. It was a trump card meant for life-and-death situations, not something to throw away just to pass an exam.
Seeing that communication had failed, the Fly Devil quickly lost patience. It flapped its giant wings and lunged at Aki. Initially, Aki struggled a bit to fend it off, but once he figured out its patterns, he began his counterattack. The Fly Devil's methods were quite one-dimensional, relying entirely on the high mobility of its wings—otherwise, it just pounced, lunged, and bit.
Soon, Aki turned the tide. He sliced off all the Fly Devil's legs, rendering it immobile, and then decapitated it with a single stroke. This type of ordinary devil wasn't particularly resilient; generally speaking, once the head was gone, it was dead.
As the Fly Devil's head hit the floor and ceased moving, the blast door opened.
"Assessment over. You may come out."
Hearing the examiner's voice, Aki walked out of the arena.
Chiya had watched the entire fight and had a general idea of the strength of a "Difficulty Level One" devil. This Fly Devil seemed slightly stronger than the Ant Devil but weaker than the Crawfish Devil. No wonder the interviewer said they should have no problem passing.
While waiting for someone to clear away the Fly Devil's corpse, Chiya stood by. The examiner let Aki out and said, "A good performance. Congratulations on passing the assessment. However, the specific ranking will be determined by tomorrow. We'll arrange your preparatory work before the rating is finalized."
"Understood," Aki replied. He looked physically weak and was breathing heavily; the price for strengthening his body was having a portion of his blood drained by his devil—the exact amount depending on how long he used the power.
"Go and register your detailed information, including the devil power you used in this fight. Tokyo Public Safety keeps all information strictly confidential."
After finishing with Aki, the examiner turned to Chiya. "Otonashi Chiya, it's your turn."
Chiya nodded slightly and walked calmly into the combat arena.
"You heard the precautions I gave Hayakawa Aki earlier, so I won't repeat them. If you have any questions, ask now and I will answer," the examiner said.
"No questions."
"Then, what difficulty level do you choose?"
"Three."
Chiya answered instantly without a hint of hesitation. He had already made up his mind while watching. Choosing the maximum difficulty would help maximize his ranking and gain him more attribute points.
Unlike Aki, Chiya placed quite a bit of importance on his rank. High-ranking newcomers had shorter "internship periods"—for example, Rank A only required one month. During the internship, one couldn't take on high-difficulty missions; if he was stuck on routine patrols, it would be hard to encounter strong devils, or even find an ordinary devil to kill.
Ordinary devils were usually snatched up by civilian hunters first. Public Safety cannot "steal" a devil discovered by a civilian; they only step in when the civilians can't handle it and a mission is officially issued. Newbies, however, aren't allowed to take on those dangerous tasks.
Upon hearing Chiya's answer, the expressions of the examiners in the observation gallery shifted. They became visibly serious.
The examiner who had been speaking warned him solemnly, "Think carefully. 'Three' is the maximum difficulty. It involves a devil that has consumed a fragment of the Gun Devil's flesh."