Everyone froze.
The Newbies who had come running were looking at the dead spider in shock, just like the examiner.
What the hell?!
This guy was weaker than all of them, and yet, he killed this spider with ease!
Was this a weaker specimen?
No, based on its size and the Ether they felt, this one was just as strong as the other one.
But then, how did a mere Peak Adept kill an Initial Ferocious Beast on his own?!
Sure, Dylan could have probably killed that first spider on his own, but it would have taken a bit of time.
Usually, humans worked together when fighting beasts due to their size.
Ferocious Beasts tended to be rather large, which made it difficult to injure their vital areas.
One person focused on defense, while one person focused on offense.
And yet, Kyle did both!
He dealt with the spider’s attacks and then unleashed a devastating attack of his own.
For the first time, the Newbies actually evaluated Kyle.
When they looked at Kyle’s hammer and armor, they realized something.
They had thought that he was an Armor Breaker, but that was not true.
At least, that wasn’t the only thing.
His armor and the way he used it made him into a Shouter as well, and the pick on his hammer also turned him into an Armor Piercer.
Just like Shouters, Armor Piercers and Armor Breakers were roles people fulfilled during fights, more specifically, in fights against beasts.
An Armor Breaker destroyed a beast’s armor, opening them up to an attack.
For example, when Dylan struck the spider’s chitin, he completely destroyed its armor, allowing Marvin to attack its vulnerable parts.
An Armor Piercer, on the other hand, was somebody with incredible offensive potential who didn’t care about any enemy’s armor.
The Newbie, who used a spear, was a good example.
If he thrust his spear towards a beast, he would most likely be able to pierce through the armor and injure the beast.
However, this was essentially a single opening, and the armor around the hole was still intact.
Sure, the others could try to hit the hole with their own attacks, but that wasn’t easy since the beast would be on a constant move.
Armor Breakers gave others an opportunity to attack, while Armor Piercers didn’t care about armor themselves.
When they realized that Kyle could fulfill three roles at once, they didn’t know how to feel.
Usually, focusing on several roles at once meant that the person was lackluster in all of them.
And yet, it seemed to work out for Kyle.
Naturally, the examiner also noticed all of these things and more.
He had seen Kyle fighting the spider, and he could see how Kyle had managed to win.
In fact, the reason why he had won so easily wasn’t because he had three roles.
It was because of the way he had fought.
When humans fought beasts, they were very methodical and careful.
One attack from the beast could kill them, which was why they made sure to never give the beast an opportunity.
They would grind the beast down slowly and methodically.
Kyle had not acted like that.
In fact, jumping forward and blocking the fangs with his shoulder plates was about as risky as it got.
If he misjudged the spider’s movements, its fangs would have hit his helmet, and he might have died.
After all, his helmet was not as thick as his shoulder plates, and a strike to the helmet could also shake Kyle’s mind, making it harder for him to move in a controlled manner.
However, what other choice did he have?
Without this risky maneuver, the spider would have eventually overwhelmed him.
Fighting carefully would have made the fight way harder.
The examiner closely examined Kyle, and he could tell that this hadn’t just been a desperation move.
Kyle had been confident.
He had been in control.
It was almost like Kyle knew that the spider wouldn’t be able to injure him.
Of course, Kyle didn’t know that.
He was experienced in fighting against beasts, but he wasn’t some sort of prodigy who became a perfect beast fighter after just a couple of months.
Yet, despite not consciously knowing, Kyle had still felt confident during this battle.
He just felt like it would work out.
Kyle didn’t pay this confidence any mind, but the examiner realized what was going on.
‘His Momentum when fighting against beasts is extremely high,’ the examiner realized. ‘He must have fought many beasts that are way stronger than him and won every time.’
Momentum was one of the most important things for anyone walking the path to power.
“It’s getting a bit awkward,” Kyle said. “You just keep staring at me.”
The examiner just kept staring at Kyle with narrowed eyes.
“How did you fight so many powerful beasts?” the examiner asked.
“I mean, I ran over and just killed the spider, if that is what you’re asking,” Kyle said.
“That’s not what I’m asking,” the examiner said as he walked closer. “I can see that you’ve fought many powerful beasts before. Yet, you claim you’ve had no real fighting education. How did you fight that many beasts?”
“Oh, that,” Kyle said. “I’m from the peninsula, and I was forced to travel through the outside world for a while.”
“That doesn’t explain anything,” the examiner said.
“How so?” Kyle asked.
“Because you would only meet a couple of beasts like that,” the examiner said.
“I mean, if you follow the safe paths, sure,” Kyle answered. “But I didn’t know those existed.”
The Newbies didn’t pay that much attention since none of them had been on the peninsula.
Sure, somebody could run through the forests here, but it wouldn’t be thaaat dangerous.
Yet, the examiner knew what it meant to travel through the peninsula blindly.
“How did you survive?” he asked.
“Canyons, Abyss Eye crevices, Skysand, ant nests, sand hills, tunnels, mountains,” Kyle answered. “You know, anything that isn’t just open terrain.”
It was difficult for the examiner to believe Kyle.
This guy should be dead.
After a while, the examiner made a decision.
“Good work,” he said. “You’ve passed this part of the tryouts.”
Then, he looked at the remaining three Newbies who hadn’t fought a beast yet.
“Now, I need to test you.”
tg://resolv?domain=StrongestHammerGod
The author’s patreon. If he gets more than 1000€ per month, he will increase the number of words in the chapter.
