Ash looked at The Bull, then at the test participant, who was walking from his seat towards the field. He was wearing simple armor and holding a spear.
The Bull just stared at the person and said in a booming voice, "Come on, hurry up. We don't have all day."
The person about to take the test quickened his steps with fear then immediately got into a fighting stance, facing The Bull.
"Attack me!" The Bull commanded again, his voice loud and firm.
In a daring move, the test participant thrust his spear towards The Bull's head. The Bull simply dodged it by tilting his head slightly to the side.
Then, with his free hand—the one not holding the greatsword—grabbed the participant's spear and pulled, causing him to stumble forward awkwardly.
The Bull wasted no time and immediately called for the next participant, shouting, "Next!"
The spear-wielding participant left the test area dejectedly, while another participant with a sword stepped in.
This time as well, the participant was effortlessly defeated by The Bull with just a single light movement.
One by one, the test participants were quickly defeated, until finally, it was Ash's turn to be tested.
Hearing the word "Next!", Ash immediately walked towards the test area. The Bull, standing before him, seemed even larger than Ash had imagined.
However, Ash was unfazed. He had faced many creatures during his journey to BlizzViel. Calmly, he unsheathed his sword.
The Bull observed him and said, "Special item sword, huh?"
"Yeah," Ash replied as he began attacking The Bull. His sword moved quickly, aiming straight for The Bull's chest.
The Bull lowered his greatsword, ready to block the attack, but suddenly, Ash spun his body, pivoting on his right foot.
Ash's Tenebris sword shifted its motion—from a thrust to a spinning slash—aiming for The Bull's right side at the waist.
The massive man smirked and flung his body to the left. His greatsword swung along with him, its blade edge scraping the ground, effectively blocking Ash's attack.
Ash felt a slight tingling in his hand from the impact of the block. But without hesitation, he spun again to the left, thrusting his sword towards The Bull's head, which was tilted from his earlier movement.
The Bull stomped his foot and jumped back, dodging Ash's thrust. Without hesitation, he jumped forward again, swinging his massive greatsword downward, aiming straight for Ash's head.
Ash raised his sword to block the strike. The impact landed heavily, and he felt the force of The Bull's strength reverberate through his arms.
Grimacing, Ash rolled to the side and swung his sword again, aiming for The Bull's legs just as he landed from his jump.
The large man, not expecting an attack on his legs, quickly leaped backward to avoid the strike.
He smirked, letting out a laugh.
"What level are you, kid?" he asked, resting his massive sword on his shoulder.
Ash stood up while muttering in his head, 'Kid?'
"I'm only level 4, Sword Skill level #42," he replied, sheathing his sword.
The Bull nodded in approval. "You're only level 4, and you're already this good. Nice job. You pass," he said.
"Thank you," said Ash, bowing to The Bull.
The man nodded and said, "Head back to Steve. Tell him you passed, and he'll explain the next steps to you."
"Alright," Ash replied and walked toward Steven's location, followed by the envious gazes of the other participants who had witnessed their fight.
"What's your name?" The Bull suddenly asked loudly, startling Ash.
Ash turned to him and replied, "My name is Ash. Ashborn Locke."
"Haha, okay, Ash. See you later in the team," The Bull said with a grin before shouting, "Next!"
The next participant stepped down towards The Bull, casting a glance at Ash, who was heading toward Steven. Ash paid no attention to the stares of the others watching him.
When Ash reached Steven's desk, he informed him that The Bull had declared him passed.
Steven laughed and said, "Good job, Ash. Here, take this form to the Headquarters," as he stamped the form Ash had filled out earlier with the word "Passed."
Ash accepted the form, thanked Steven, and then made his way to The Unveilers' Headquarters.
Since it was already noon, Ash decided to have lunch first at one of the eateries near The Unveilers' Headquarters, of course, after asking the locals for directions.
While eating, Ash kept observing everything around him and listened carefully for any useful information he could gather.
However, nothing seemed to be of any value, so he decided to head straight to the Headquarters.
The headquarters was in a building that looked more like a small bar than an actual base.
Its saloon-style swinging doors made Ash a bit doubtful.
Still, he stepped inside and found the place bustling with people.
Most were standing in groups, chatting, while others sat across from each other at large tables.
Everyone turned to look at Ash as he entered, but Ash, growing slightly annoyed at always being stared at whenever he entered a new place, ignored them.
He walked straight to a tall counter in the middle of the room and asked a young woman dressed in revealing clothes behind the counter, "Where should I submit the certificate that I passed the test?"
The woman turned to him and smiled. She found Ash, with his innocent face but muscular build, to be quite cute.
She stood up, revealing the top of her chest, and walked over to the counter.
"Hello, hand me the form," she said with a flirty smile at Ash. Her intentionally curled brown hair swayed with every step she took.
Ash handed over the form, and the woman took it, immediately recording it in a ledger.
He glanced at the woman and thought to himself, "Big cities really are different, both here and in the real world. The women here are so bold.'
The woman handed Ash a card with his name on it and said, "You'll need to go into that room," pointing at the door labeled "Chief."
"Since you wrote on the form that you can use summoning magic, you need to tell the Chief about it. Okay?" she added with another flirty smile.
"Oh, okay," Ash replied politely as he took the card. "Thank you, ma'am."
The woman pretended to pout and said, "Call me Anesha, not ma'am."