The E-rank promotion exam is divided into two parts.
The first part consists of a physical check, attack power measurement, written test, and defense power measurement.
The second part is a mock battle.
After finishing the initial physical check in about an hour, I arrived at the venue for the attack power test.
The room was a wooden building in the style of a martial arts dojo.
In front of me and the other five examinees hung training tools called slime bags.
These were made from slime-type monster materials wrapped in durable leather. They absorbed impact well and were commonly used as targets for magic and martial arts training.
The task was to hit them with any attack and have the power scored.
I had used these a lot during my training.
I recalled words from one of the party seniors during those days.
He was an orc man who was an adventurer despite being a monster. Everything about him was strange.
"Listen, Rick. No matter what magic or weapon you use, the foundation is your own body. Once you can punch straight through a slime bag made from ultimate slime material, you can consider your body reliable enough. What? You say something that can pierce a dragon's fang without flinching even if it hits a castle wall like butter cannot be pierced bare-handed? Is that so? I can destroy over two hundred at once, you know? Hahaha, do not worry. You have the guts for it. Punch it fifty thousand times a day and you will break through one in no time. Hey, stop running. Alice Rate, grab Rick!"
That was hell. Thanks to it, I eventually managed to punch through them, but I never wanted to do it again.
If I failed today's exam, I would probably be forced to do it all over.
The material used this time looked green. It was probably the lowest-strength green slime.
"Examinee number 4237, Freid Dilmutt. Step forward."
The number five before mine was called. A blond boy with blue eyes stepped up.
The others were young, but this boy was especially so. His expensive-looking robe and strong perfume screamed high status in an annoying way.
"Heh, heh, heh. The time has finally come to show my power."
The blond boy brushed back his hair and stood in front of the slime bag.
"Hey, isn't that the rumored third son of Duke Dilmutt?"
"I heard his magic is already on par with C-rank."
"Yeah, I heard the magic party 'Fairy Rond' spent a fortune to scout him."
"Eleven years old and already that good. They call kids like him prodigies."
So, he was famous. A prodigy, huh. At my age, seeing young talent like that made me a little jealous.
But this was perfect. If he was that strong, he would pass the exam easily. I could use his power as a reference for how much to hold back.
"Inferno flames, with your heat, reduce all creation to ashes. Flame Heat Third Realm Binding Magic: 'Flame Heat Annihilation Wave (Flame Illuminate)'!"
(Third Realm Binding Magic at that age? Impressive.)
The spell the prodigy boy chanted was a high-difficulty one that even few C-rank adventurers could master. My party had a member who used similar flame heat magic. Of course, she did it without chanting.
(Wait, is it safe to be here?)
My mind flashed to the wide-area destruction attacks from the party's top destroyer over the past two years.
She was a vampire girl with a very young and cute appearance.
"Ahahahahaha! Look, Rick-kun! I casually mixed some magic power, and a new flame heat spell came out! Oops, the mountain over there got blown away, but whatever! More importantly, magma bubbles and looks so pretty. The smoke looks like a mushroom, so fun! Let's do it again! Wait, why are you running, Rick-kun? Hey!"
I thought I was going to die that time. Being her experiment subject helped me learn to defend against her holding-back attacks. If I could not cancel them, I would be floating in the clouds by now.
She was what people called a genius. The blond boy in front of me was also a genius called a prodigy.
We were in a sealed room. If a spell of that level was released here...
The boy's right hand glowed red.
I braced myself with full strength. I might not save myself, but I had to protect the other examinees and examiners too!
Pop.
Whoosh.
"Huh? So small!?"
A fireball about twenty centimeters in diameter came from the boy's hand.
When that girl playfully used the same magic, it was over a hundred times bigger!
"No way. Did he hold back?"
Wait a second.
Magic is not judged only by how flashy or big it looks.
My head had been blown away for a moment because the strongest magic user I knew had ridiculous magic power. But magic power gains high potency when compressed. Compressing a huge amount requires delicate control, but the boy was a prodigy. Surely, he had compressed enough magic to swallow this room.
Impressive. I had never tried compression on that scale because my total magic power was not that high. As expected of a prodigy.
That fireball would surely pierce the slime bag like paper, break through the wall behind it, and burn everything in a straight line—
Bon.
Shhh.
It hit normally, exploded normally, and the bag swayed about twenty degrees.
The blond boy turned to us, brushed his hair back, and spoke.
"Ah, sorry. I messed up the adjustment a little." He smirked.
"Wowwwwwww!!!"
The other four examinees let out admiring shouts.
Hold on. No way. This is too weak for a prodigy! Wait, maybe it is not weak, but still!
No, I'm surely missing something. Everyone else is cheering.
"Hmm, truly a genius..."
The bearded examiner nodded generously.
This is different from the geniuses I know.
First off, with that level of power, he could do it bare-handed without enchanting magic!
After that, the remaining four examinees each attacked. Honestly, their levels were too low. I started to suspect they had all agreed to hold back just to surprise me.
One guy used reinforced magic for a kick. The slime bag bent slightly in a V shape.
"Hmm... This one is also a genius..."
As the examiner said that a thought hit me.
Wait. Could it be? Have I been trained at an insanely high level all this time? Surely, that isn't the case.
"Next, examinee number 4242. Rick Gladiator, step forward."
Now it was finally my turn.