“Oh, are these the new recruits? They looked quite weak and I can’t sense any mana from any of them.”
Suddenly, a heavy voice resounded from the side, causing Yuan and his wives to turn their heads. They saw a middle-aged man slowly approaching them, numerous cut marks on his face testifying that he had gone through many life-and-death situations.
The man looked at Yuan and his wives with a disappointed look, finding them quite weak as he couldn’t detect any slightest bit of mana in their bodies.
“I can tell that you all are not mages nor knights, so why did you decide to become a hunter? You should already know very well that how dangerous a hunter’s life can be; we often receive missions to hunt strong monsters and sometimes hunters lose their lives against those monsters while completing the mission.”
“Even with our strong magical powers, we sometimes face defeat against those monsters,” The man paused for a moment, looked at Yuan and his wives with a disdainful expression, and continued. “And you all don’t even have a slightest bit of magical power in your bodies; you’re all walking on a path with no return.”
‘Marcus is as reckless as always, he always makes his own assumptions without having any idea who he’s speaking to. I hope Mr. Yuan doesn’t feel offended by this idiot’s words,’ Receptionist Elle thought, praying that Yuan doesn’t get offended by Marcus’s words.
“Therefore, don’t be reckless and listen to my advice, stop dreaming of becoming a hunter; you’re all not fit for it.” Marcus then turned towards Elle, with a somewhat disappointed look on his face. “Elle, I didn’t expect you to be so reckless and recruit a group of weaklings like them. What were you thinking at that time?”
Elle rolled her eyes after hearing Marcus’s words and looked at Yuan with an apologetic expression. “Mr. Yuan and Mr. Yuan, please ignore that musclehead’s words. He is just being concerned about you all, since he couldn’t detect any magical powers from your bodies.”
Yuan shook his head. “Well, it’s fine. We understand his concern since many new hunters end up dead due to their recklessness.”
‘Thank god he is not offended by this idiot’s words, or I’m afraid I won’t be able to stop Mr. Yuan from beating this idiot to death.’ Receptionist Elle released a long sigh of relief.
‘What happened to the fierce Elle that I know? Why is she acting like a small kitten in front of these youngsters?’ The man named Marcus wondered inwardly, looking at how polite Elle is towards Yuan and his wives.
Elle quickly turned her head towards Marcus, and with a smile, she said. “Marcus, this may sound crazy to you, but this young man over here is the one responsible for Joe’s current condition, and he still hasn’t woken up yet.”
“Ehhhh?!!!” Marcus was baffled by Elle’s words. He couldn’t believe what he just heard. A young and weak-looking boy defeated an A-rank Hunter like Joe in a single move? How is that even possible?
“Elle, are you kidding me? How can a skinny-looking youngster like him defeat someone like Joe? I don’t believe this shit.” Marcus didn’t believe Elle’s words. No matter how he looked at Yuan, he didn’t find anything interesting except for his good looks.
“Do I look like I’m joking to you? I have more important tasks than playing pranks on you, Marcus.”
‘Is she really telling the truth? But how could a weak-looking youngster like him cause such serious damage to Joe? This doesn’t make any sense to me at all.’ Marcus mumbled inwardly in frustration, finding it really hard to believe that Yuan was the one responsible for Joe’s current condition.
“Oh, I forgot to inform you that only three of them will take the test, and they’re his wives. Mr. Yuan and the other women by his side already have their hunter licenses,” Elle said to Marcus afterward.
“Is that so?” Marcus exclaimed with a surprised look on his face. Then he shifted his gaze at Yuan and his wives. “So, which ones of you will take the test?”
“We’ll be taking the test.” Rose and her two sisters quickly stepped forward.
“I see. In that case, let me fill you three in about what kind of test it will be and the rules of the test,” Marcus said to them.
He continued, “Since you three are not mages, you three will spar with me in turns, and I’ll determine if you three are eligible to receive your hunter licenses or not.”
After that, Marcus explained the rules of the test to Rose, Julie, and Ava. “The rule is simple. All you have to do is land three hits on me within five minutes, then you’ll pass the test immediately, and if you last 10 minutes within the circle while defending, then you’ll also pass the test.”
“In case you’re wondering, I’m a magic knight. I can use both the sword and magic at the same time, and I have trained with the sword more than my magic.” Marcus then touched the magic pouch around his waist, and a sword appeared in his hand. He looked at the Monroe sisters.
“So which one of you will be the first to take the test?”
“I’ll take the first.” Without waiting for her sisters to respond, Julie quickly stepped forward with an excited look on her face.
Although she has trained with her two mother-in-laws and her sister-in-law, she still hasn’t fought against other opponents, and thus, she was pretty excited for the little spar.
“Here is your sword, Julie.” Yuan quickly retrieved Julie’s sword from his system storage and tossed it towards her, as he still hasn’t given her a spatial ring, and Julie easily caught the sword.
“I’m ready, we can begin the test now,” Julie said as she grasped the sword tightly in her hand, arriving in the middle of the testing ground.
“Alright then, I’ll start the timer,” Receptionist Elle then shouted. “Begin the match!”
Marcus immediately unsheathed his sword from the scabbard, his sword adorned with many strange symbols drawn in a straight line from the tip to the handle. “Give it your all, young lady. I’ll be sure to hold myself back.”
“No, I don’t want you to go easy on me. I’m not as weak as you think,” Julie replied with a serious look on her face.
“In that case, don’t blame me for failing the test later.”
Marcus tightened his grip on the handle of his sword and swiftly executed his move. He rushed at Julie, using a bit of mana in his feet for fast movement.
Julie prepared herself to defend against Marcus’s attack, recognizing his refined and swift movements despite not being a cultivator. ‘Although he is not a cultivator, his movements are much more refined and swift compared to me,’ Julie thought.
Clang!
Julie blocked Marcus’s sword with hers, sparks flying around as two metals collided, producing a powerful shockwave.
‘What monstrous strength this young lady has. She didn’t even budge a single inch after receiving such a powerful blow… Unbelievable!’ Marcus mumbled inwardly, seemingly in disbelief.
He didn’t think in his wildest dreams that a day would come when a woman could take his attack head-on without budging a single inch.
“Is that all you’ve got? If that was it, then I’m quite disappointed,” Julie exclaimed with a wide and playful grin on her face, as though mocking Marcus. She swiftly moved her sword, pushing Marcus a meter away.
Clang! Clang!
Dang! Shash!
Julie rushed at Marcus again, clashing their swords repeatedly. Sparks flew as the two metals collided again and again, and Marcus struggled to keep up with Julie, her speed simply too fast for him.
‘Not only is her strength monstrous, but her speed is also quite fast. All in all, she is a monster!’ Marcus cried inwardly.
Smirking at Marcus’s stunned expression, Julie saw an opening and swung her sword swiftly. Marcus’s sword flew out of his grasp and fell onto the ground.
‘Huh? Was I defeated so easily by a woman?!’ Marcus thought, seeing his sword fall on the ground, his expression filled with disbelief.
“This is it. I passed the test,” Julie exclaimed with an excited look on her face, having defeated Marcus quite easily and not breaking a sweat.
After that, she quickly returned to Yuan’s side and said, “Did you see? I passed the test so easily.”
Yuan smiled and said, “Well, how can a mortal like him compare with you? Your physical strength is enough to win against him quite easily if you want to.”
“I never thought that one day I’d face defeat against a woman…” Marcus mumbled in a low voice as he picked up his sword from the ground.
‘Not only is her husband a monster, but she herself is also a monster! I never thought that Marcus would face such a defeat against a woman…’ Receptionist Elle thought, with a disbelief look on her face.
“Well, Miss Rose, congratulations. You’ve passed the test with full marks,” Elle congratulated Rose for her victory against Marcus, and she looked at Julie and Ava. “So, which one of you will take the next?”
Ava turned to her sister Rose and asked, “Big sis, do you mind if I go first?”
“Why, of course not. You can take the test first,” Rose smiled.
“Husband, give me my dagger,” she said to Yuan, and Yuan quickly gave her the dagger after retrieving it from his system storage.