Chapter 22: test
A/N: BONUS Chapter, at the 1050 power stones there another!!! thank you for the support, the comments and all.
"Eh...? Thank you, I guess? I like this perfume, by the way."
There really wasn’t anything else Takuya could say.
What was I supposed to answer to that?
Cha Hae-In seemed to realize how strange she had been acting. She gave a small cough before regaining her composure.
"I’m sorry," she said. "For me, magical power has... a particular smell. It’s not pleasant. You don’t have it, so... it caught me off guard."
"I guess that’s okay," Takuya replied with an awkward smile.
Cha Hae-In nodded before walking back across the training field until she reached the opposite side.
Once she was in position, she spoke clearly.
"This is an evaluation, but you don’t need to hold back."
"Don’t worry about the facility. The walls are reinforced and can withstand a normal training session."
"I’ll be evaluating your offensive output, versatility, combat adaptability, and the synergy between your abilities."
She rested the training sword on her shoulder.
"The Guild Master told me that your registered combat class is a monk."
"That’s good."
"We already have plenty of mages. What we need are capable close-range fighters."
Takuya nodded while settling into position.
"You may attack whenever you’re ready," the S-Rank Hunter said calmly.
He nodded once more.
Immediately, data surged throughout his body.
Like flames consuming dry wood, glowing streams of digital data enveloped him. In less than a second, Takuya disappeared, replaced by the armored figure of Agnimon.
The transformation erupted in brilliant flames.
Even though everyone had been told he possessed a transformation-type ability, actually witnessing it was something entirely different.
Only the Hunters who had accompanied him yesterday remained relatively calm.
Even they, however, watched him with renewed interest.
"...The armor comes with the transformation?" Cha Hae-In muttered.
"That’s convenient."
She had known he transformed, but she hadn’t expected equipment to materialize alongside it.
In practical terms...
He was always battle-ready.
She tightened her grip around the training sword.
Unlike the blade she carried during actual raids, this weapon had been specially forged for sparring.
It was made from reinforced metal but featured a dulled edge.
The last thing she wanted was to accidentally cut an A-Rank Hunter in half during an evaluation.
Across the arena, Takuya slowly lowered his center of gravity.
Then...
His entire body ignited.
Flames wrapped around both of his arms before spreading across his armor, dancing over every surface.
He wasn’t merely coated in fire.
He was surrounded by it.
His elemental output surged to its maximum.
The temperature inside the arena climbed instantly.
Even the reinforced floor beneath his feet began to darken under the intense heat.
Watching from the sidelines, Choi Jong-In smiled.
Excellent...
He could already picture the boy fighting alongside his own raid team.
Takuya wasn’t simply a fire mage.
He was a warrior who fought through fire.
Someone naturally resistant—perhaps even immune—to his own flames, at least to some exent.
That meant Choi could unleash his own devastating infernos without worrying about catching a teammate in the blast.
The synergy...
It was nearly perfect.
In the next instant, Takuya thrust both hands forward.
"Burning Salamander!"
Two enormous torrents of fire—each nearly the size of a car—shot across the arena.
Cha Hae-In reacted immediately.
With a single fluid motion, she swung her training sword.
The flames split apart.
The attacks detonated on either side of her in massive explosions that shook the entire training hall.
Dust and waves of scorching heat spread throughout the room.
Several of the A-Rank Hunters instinctively raised an arm to shield their faces, while the B-RRanks behind them were forced to step back as the shockwave rolled over them.
The destructive power was undeniable.
Without question...
It was A-Rank, a higher one.
Yet everyone present understood one thing.
That had only been the opening move.
Using the recoil from his own flames, Takuya propelled himself forward like a rocket.
His speed increased dramatically.
In the blink of an eye, he was already above Cha Hae-In.
He came crashing down with a descending kick.
Cha calmly raised her sword.
The block was flawless.
Steel met armored greave with a deafening clang.
The strike never reached her body.
But physics cared little for technique.
The tremendous force transferred through her blade and into the ground beneath her.
A thunderous crack echoed throughout the arena.
The reinforced floor shattered beneath Cha Hae-In’s feet, spiderwebs of fractured concrete spreading several meters in every direction as the impact sank her slightly into the ground. The spectators couldn’t help but widen their eyes.
That wasn’t just firepower.
The transformed boy possessed terrifying physical strength as well.
Cha Hae-In smiled faintly before bending her knees and pushing upward, sending Takuya flying backward.
Even while airborne, Takuya didn’t lose the initiative.
He fired a barrage of blazing projectiles toward her.
Cha calmly deflected every single one with precise swings of her sword.
Then an idea crossed Takuya’s mind.
I’m already in the air...
Flames erupted from the soles of his boots.
Using them as thrusters, he accelerated like a rocket, shooting straight toward Cha Hae-In with explosive speed.
Wrapped in fire, he unleashed a relentless barrage of punches, elbows, knees, and kicks.
Cha blocked every strike.
At the same time, however, Takuya began raising the temperature around them.
If he couldn’t overpower her directly...
Then maybe he could wear her down.
Drain her stamina.
Slowly suffocate her beneath the overwhelming heat.
It was admittedly wishful thinking.
He was a solid A-Rank.
She was an solid S-Rank.
The gap between them was enormous.
Still, he refused to stop.
Using bursts of flame to propel each movement, he continuously increased the speed of his attacks.
For the first time, Cha Hae-In was forced to grip her sword with both hands.
Then...
She finally began using proper footwork, retreating and repositioning instead of standing her ground.
She was responding to his speed.
That alone was enough to make several spectators raise their eyebrows.
The rest of the guild members watched the sparring match with complete attention.
A stronger teammate meant safer raids.
Better odds of survival.
No one disliked what they were seeing.
At one point, Takuya unleashed Burning Salamander at point-blank range.
Instead of simply firing the technique, he intentionally allowed the explosion to engulf both of them.
The blast wasn’t only an attack.
It also served as propulsion.
Using the recoil, he launched himself backward before immediately bursting forward again.
The instant he closed the distance, he began spinning.
"Salamander Break!"
His legs became a whirlwind of blazing kicks.
At the same time, a vortex of flames spiraled around his body.
Cha blocked every kick.
That wasn’t difficult.
Blocking the flames was another matter entirely.
She reinforced herself with mana, allowing the inferno to wash over her without taking serious damage.
Even so...
She could feel the heat and her skin felt like burning.
He’s troublesome...
Not because he was stronger than her.
Far from it.
But because every attack forced his opponent to fight inside an ever-growing furnace.
Against someone on his own level...
That fighting style would become increasingly dangerous the longer the battle lasted.
The exchange continued for several more seconds before reaching its peak.
Just as Takuya prepared to press the attack again, he noticed Choi Jong-In calmly walking onto the training field.
Seeing the Guild Master approach, Takuya immediately disengaged.
He extinguished the flames around his body and leaped backward.
Looks like the evaluation is over.
At that exact moment, Cha Hae-In finally relaxed.
Taking advantage of the pause, she wiped the sweat from her forehead with the back of her hand.
The heat had been intense.
She felt as though she had spent an entire summer afternoon standing on a beach without sunscreen, she indeed was a little burned.
Even with her mana reinforcing her body, the constant temperature had been oppressive.
...I think my skincare routine is going to need some extra work after this, she thought dryly.
Meanwhile, Choi Jong-In’s smile had grown noticeably wider.
The evaluation had confirmed exactly what he had hoped.
Takuya wasn’t merely an A-Rank with impressive firepower.
He was a close-combat specialist capable of combining martial arts, mobility, and elemental control into a seamless fighting style.
And perhaps most importantly...
He still had plenty of room to grow.
however there was one thing he wanted to test, that’s the reason of him steping in.
"Cha, I’ll relieve you for now." The guild master stepped forward. "I want to test something."
Cha Hae-In raised an eyebrow but nodded, jumping back to the rest of the guild. Immediately afterward, the guild master turned his attention to Takuya.
"I’m quite happy with the results. Now, what I want to test isn’t your ability to fight me. I want to see your resistance to fire... or perhaps your immunity. Is that okay?" he asked.
Takuya understood the reasoning. Still, a thought slipped through his mind as he answered.
"Sure. Let’s just hope I don’t get burned alive." He laughed.
His response earned a chuckle from the guild master.
"Don’t worry. I’ll start with a little heat."
In the next moment, flames gathered in one of Choi’s hands before he launched a small fireball toward Takuya. The flames blended seamlessly with the fire already surrounding the boy, who simply looked around, tilted his head, and waited.
Seeing no reaction, the guild master chuckled again.
He increased the size of the flames around Takuya. The temperature itself didn’t rise much; instead, the volume of fire expanded, meaning the amount of mana Choi was pouring into it remained relatively low.
Takuya decided to try something.
He extended one hand, reaching out with his control over fire. With a single motion, Choi’s flames swirled into a vortex around his palm before being absorbed into his body, becoming part of his own fire.
Everyone watching widened their eyes.
He had just taken control of an S-Rank hunter’s flames as if they were nothing.
How was that even possible?
Choi, however, smiled.
He understood what had happened better than anyone.
The strength of his flames depended on how much mana he invested into them. Since he had intentionally used only a small amount, the boy had been able to wrest control of them away.
That was... more than good.
It confirmed exactly what he had suspected.
The boy wasn’t merely resistant to fire.
He possessed an extraordinary affinity for it.
This time, Choi increased the output of his flames considerably, surrounding Takuya in an inferno.
Yet the boy remained unfazed.
So Choi continued raising the intensity.
It was obvious he wasn’t going to unleash his strongest attacks during a simple evaluation, but he steadily pushed the flames further and further.
Only then did Takuya begin to feel uncomfortable.
The strange part was that it wasn’t because of the heat.
He barely felt the temperature at all.
It was difficult to explain, but what was slowly affecting him wasn’t the fire itself—it was the overwhelming magical power infused within Choi’s flames.
Seeing the point at which the boy finally showed the slightest discomfort, Choi was satisfied.
He lowered the flames and smiled.
"Takuya..."
He adjusted his glasses.
"Welcome to my team."