NOVEL NEXT Chapter 45: Platinum
William remembered what Jenny said before he left Thin Creek Village. He needed to take a Rankup test if he wanted to become a Platinum Rank Adventurer.
"If that's the case, can I request a Rankup to Platinum?"
Rui was a bit surprised, "You reached Gold Rank yesterday morning and you want to promote already? You do realize the difference in ranks is not small..right?"
"Yes I know, but I would still like to apply."
"Alright, I the instructor." Rui held up a communicator to her ear, then turned to the side and spoke a few words that William couldn't hear clearly.
He waited in the lobby for half an hour, until a middle-aged man with two massive greatswords on his back entered the room. William sensed a pressure equal to the guard Captains from the man.
The man didn't speak to William at all, but turned to Rui. "Is this the kid I'm supposed to evaluate? Looking at his arms, are you sure he can even hurt a Magical Beast?"
William was angered, "Hey guy, I'm stronger than I look!"ƒreewebɳovel.com
The man ignored him, much to William's annoyance.
Rui looked at both of them and sighed. Her gaze returned to the man "I don't know Vern, but he requested the test himself. He can't bother you again for a year if he fails."
Vern looked back at William and felt mocked, but this was his job. "Alright kid, let's get in the ring." he walked over to the Arena and entered through a set of doors on the side.
William followed without saying much. This guy is underestimating me, I'm much stronger than I was a few weeks ago.
Once they both took their places, Vern explained the rules. "You need to defend my attacks for ten minutes. If you can do so, you qualify for Platinum Rank. Let's get this over with so I can do more important things like polish my sword."
William nodded, completely serious.
The battle started after a five second countdown. Vern rushed forward at a speed slightly slower than the guard Captains, appearing as a blur to outsiders.
William prepared an Advanced Barrier Array but sacrificed some defense for coverage to give William more space. The Array spread in a five-meter radius and blocked the first attack of Vern effortlessly, giving the man a surprise.
William used the time to create another Array but was forced to take a few steps backwards when a massive Lightning Bolt fell from the sky and shattered his Array.
William was confused at first but realized that Vern had managed to counter the Array by targeting a precise location with the Lightning Bolt. He raised an Earth Wall to counter the remaining energy of the Lightning Bolt, then used the Water Element to spread water on the floor of the Arena.
Vern didn't understand William's thought process with the last move, so he went on the offensive. The kid was stronger than he expected, but William was dreaming if he thought the Rankup would be so easy.
Vern prepared another Lightning Bolt in the sky. William saw it coming and prepared a thin Earth shield made of a pure white substance above his head.
The Lightning Bolt crashed down. It tore through the Earth shield like paper and continued towards William, causing Vern to smirk. William used his speed to dodge the Lightning Bolt, quickly jumping out of the water and into the air at a diagonal.
Vern, who was still standing in the water, received an intense shock. His own Lightning Bolt spread into millions of sparks in the water that paralyzed Vern. His eyes widened in shock and he could only stare as William prepared a Lightning Bolt of the same size in his hands and threw it, obliterating Vern's life force.
His body was reconstructed in the Arena but didn't move for a long time. Despite his many battles, this was Vern's first death in the Arena. He was used to always winning, and many times he would go easy on his opponents. This is what made him a good evaluator.
But that streak had been ended by a mere boy, not much older than Vern's son. "How did you do it?" he asked in a less arrogant tone than before.
William realized this world didn't have a great understanding of science. He tried to explain it in the simplest terms, as if he was explaining to a child.
"Lightning can move through water with the help of salt, which is what I made with the Earth Element. When your spell destroyed my barrier, I made all the salt that fell in the water move towards you, channeling the Lightning in your direction."
Vern understood most of William's explanation. he had never thought of using Magic this way. He thought for a moment on how to evaluate the kid. "Your strength and ability definitely qualify. I can safely say you qualify for Platinum Rank. With a bit more training, you may even qualify for Diamond Rank soon."
William thanked Vern and went to the receptionists to refresh his badge and accept the quests from earlier. They were a bit surprised to find that William had actually killed Vern in the Arena and felt more at ease for his trip to the Foam Desert.
William was in a hurry, so he didn't stick around for long. He followed the directions to the Foam Desert, which was a four-day trip by wagon. He was too cheap to rent anything, so William stocked up on supplies and prepared to walk using one of the main paths.
He felt this was a great chance to practice some movement techniques. He used the Wind Element for a few hours to gain a tailwind, falling occasionally. Once he had mastered this aspect, he added the Light Element.
The experience was a bit different than he expected. When Light Magic was used for speed, William could feel his body being pulled in a straight line, almost as if he had turned into a ray of sunlight with no choice but to move forward.
When turning, William needed to lower the intensity of the Light Element. He needed to remove its influence completely to make sharp turns.
When coupling the Light and Wind Elements together, William was able to turn his body and maintain his speed, albeit awkwardly.
He tested over the next few days with the other Elements, finding that the best combinations were using the Wind, Lightning, and Light Elements. With the effects of these spells, William could reach speeds at the Core Formation Realm even without the help of Arrays or his natural movement.
William was able to shorten the trip to three days while testing his Magic. The path continued through the Foam Desert, but William already sensed many Life signatures of beasts in the Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment Realms.
The desert completely filled William's vision, riddled with sand dunes and sparse cacti. There were unique rock formations that appeared from time to time, naturally colored in shades of red or brown.
"Let's get to work!" William climbed to the top of a sand dune near the main path and created a series of Barrier Arrays that covered a 25-meter area. In the center, William created an Advanced Concealment Array to hide his presence.
He realized he had forgotten to add a door, so William edited one of the Barrier Arrays to have a door that could only be opened by tapping the correct spot with Life Mana.