"What?" Chase, as well as everyone else was floored by this information. Besides Damian of course. Andrew had just finished explaining how His father wants to kill them. And their expressions ranged from surprised to worry, to downright anger.

Donny was the angry one. The moment he had made some success with a girl and now some crazy man wants him killed. Again.

"Damn. We’ll have to hurry. The longer we wait the more in danger we and everyone around us is in."

Chase was worried. Jasmin was close by, wrapping her arm around his. Their casual intimacy didn’t go unnoticed, it was just they they had bigger fish to fry right now.

Damian already knew everything and was discussing the current plan of action.

"So naturally, we just gotta take more quests.

Do more missions with less breaks in between."

"But these shitty missions are gonna cut it anymore. It’s time to take a combat assessment." Andrew said.

Chase had a gleam in his eyes. "We should’ve done that ages ago. Glad we’re doing it now."

A combat assessment test could vary. It could range from a test of raw power output, a personal fight against a trained professional,

Or even a mission to test one’s capabilities and versatility.

Obviously everyone Picked a fight with a professional. After all, what better way to become rank C than defeating someone who was already at that rank?

In the more illustrious and rich parts of mintstone, Academies for the magically gifted

And those with enough money to get in were spread.

Teachers in these classes were often times mages with either vast knowledge of how mana functions, or learned from combat experience.

Some were war heroes, others bodyguards of those in power and so on. Sometimes they were also recruited to be benchmarks of power for adventurers to test their mettle.

On the outskirts of a prestigious academy, a large stage was erected in the middle of the schools backyard. It was mostly used for combat testing students, but today a long line of adventurers were here to see if they were strong enough to move up a rank.

Five people stood on the stage. the one in

the middle wore a suit, had a beard and a mustache. As well as slicked back hair.

His voice was both commanding and neutral all at once. "Today you have all come for one reason. You think your better than what your plate has on it, and decided that you’ve outgrown it."

His eyes scanned across everyone in the area, calculating. "We will be the judges of that."

Chase could tell. These people were strong.

This was just the rank C one. They put people who were too strong for the rank to minimize threat of harm even if they did come across someone worthy of rank C.

What happened next was a routine kicking of ass. Adventurers were experienced and some were mages, but these people were rank two.

They would hand you your ass on a silver platter no matter what. If you didn’t get absolutely humiliated or treated like a rodent,

You were probably rank C. But that was few and far between. Most people were out in moments.

Eventually it was Their turn. Donny was first in line.

As he walked up to the stage, A few children who were student at the academy were already laughing. They enjoyed watching commoners and people they thought less than get trampled by true power.

"Some commoners just don’t know their place." Comments like that were hurled.

Donny didn’t even hear them.

Readying his short sword, his opponent, a woman with a sword. No doubt she was good with it.

The man from earlier cleared his throat as Donny and the lady got in combat stances.

"BEGIN."

In an instant, She Began swinging her blade. Out from it waves of wind, almost invisible shot out in cutting arcs.

Donnie make quick work of them, dodging before pressing forward. Their swords clashed, with him seeming going blow for blow with her.

While they were in a sword clash, the woman kicked up a gust of wing with her foot, making him fall over. The moment he picked up his blade, she was already standing over him, sword pointed at his neck.

"You’re...Definitely better than you look."

Not to be misconstrued, he was a catch,

But being a pretty boy didn’t equate to looking strong.

"I’ll hope that was a complement." Donny got up and shook the woman’s hand. He was now rank C.

Walking back, first Chase, then everyone else began patting him on the back. "Good job bro,

Making us look good." Chase was also quite the hype man when he wanted to be.

But deep down, Donnie wasn’t doing to hot.

Yes he had someone who he was seeing, but now she was in more danger. And right now he didn’t have the means to gain strength the Chase Andrew and Damian. He wasn’t yet a demon.

’I want my own way to get stronger, But I can’t use that as an excuse, when a clear path is in front of me.’

Andrew was next. As he stood upon the stage, he had no form of weapons. It didn’t matter. A woman with dark skin and a mage uniform greeted him, staff in hand.

"Hello there. How is your day going?"

One couldn’t read Andrew’s expression through his mask, but his voice sounded upbeat. "Hello ma’am. Ive been doing fine, but it’s getting worrying."

The woman frowned. "I hope you’re strong enough to earn this rank. Hopefully that will lift your feelings, if even a little."

"I appreciate the support."

And with that, A voice rung out.

"BEGIN."

The woman’s staff glowed and she channeled energy. a gust of what looked like air was channeled, but it was more like fog.

It was then cast onto the battlefield, blinding almost everyone. Almost. The instructors could see just fine with mana sense.

As could the lady and Andrew.

The moment smoke poomed, he dodged two projectiles. "A fog mage?" These were only found in rare rural areas.

A large wall of fog came at him. He could feel it. And he would take it head on. "A massive amount of water pooled one between his hands and when he pointed them towards the fog blast, it quickly went forward, colliding with it.

The massive blast began clearing the fog and exposing what was happening to the viewers.

Seeing her original strategy was not working, she stepped on a piece of fog as it began floating, blocking and evading the water bullets Andrew was now shooting at her.

This was quite the fight. But it had to end.

Making a construct out of water, Andrew encased his body in that of a small dragon made of water.

As it took off, it lifted with him inside.

The woman tried blocking it, using clouds to

Halt his progress, and yet his dragon burrowed through her defenses.

As he closed in on the woman, his dragon disappeared, but he was close now.

And with a spell he had already cast, he was about to win.

But it never landed. His hand was grabbed, and the main speaker, who had somehow floated in without his noticing, stopped his advance.

"You’re quite different than the rest of these people aren’t you? You pass."