Thanks to the magic that was Compression Technology, the basement beneath Marble’s Vocational Office ended up being a massive chamber that was more than a kilometer wide and 300m in height. This was more than enough to accommodate the needs of most Regulars beneath C-Rank so, while it was a little ‘cramped’ for Gandr’s taste, it was fun to imagine bouncing around off the walls as he had back in Danmachi.
Before the Special Test could get underway, Marble tossed out a handful of golden spheroids with fairy-like wings. These were her personalized Observers, and, though they would give her quite the advantage if she used them during the fight, their sole purpose during the Special Test was simply to record everything that happened. This data would then be uploaded to the network used by the Administration to determine the provisional Ranking of Regulars, a status that was important if they wanted to participate in Special Events and Tournaments further up the Tower.
Though the only status that truly mattered was becoming a Ranker, each of the Regular grades had an internal Ranking System. The top 10 of each rank, ranging between F~A-Rank Regulars, enjoyed a status similar to Rankers within their respective groupings. This provided them numerous benefits, but, most importantly, it made recruiting other powerful Regulars a lot easier.
Not every group was fortunate enough to have multiple Irregulars, two Princesses of Jahad, and a variety of descendants from the Ten Great Families. Rather, most of the Teams that formed on the Floor of Tests would have disbanded by the time they reached the 20th Floor. After all, if they were serious about climbing the Tower, finding strong teammates and expanding your influence among Regulars of a similar Rank were the most important steps to ensuring success.
Fortunately, neither Gandr nor Anak needed to worry about these things. They were inordinately powerful, and, even if they decided to lay low and avoid the limelight, it was only a matter of time before they became famous. This applied to most of Team Wolf Pack, and, thanks to the existence of the Quest Board, even relatively normal people like Shibisu, Nare, Chunhwa, and Aleksai had the potential to become powerhouses…
—
Staring back at the petite duo, Marble briefly made eye contact with both Gandr and Anak before saying, “As we discussed previously, my Special Test requires that you either survive my assault for ten minutes or obtain the badge that will be pinned to my back. I will be limited to two Baangs of Shinsu, one for each of you. As for the use of weapons, that is entirely dependent on you. So long as you abstain from using weapons, I am prohibited from doing the same. Don’t worry, regardless of your choice, I am forbidden from igniting my Scalesplitter against testing Regulars.”
Since he wasn’t really in the mood to cut up the petite Ranker before him, Gandr surprised both Marble and Anak by placing Laev-tan into his chest. Then, with a confident expression on his face, he turned to Anak and asked, “Are you okay with just using our bodies? Even if it doesn’t make too much of a difference, I’d rather avoid seeing anyone seriously injured because of a weapon.”
Remembering how easily Gandr had dealt with Ren, Anak could understand his decision to forgo the use of a weapon. It would become extremely problematic if they actually killed Administrators during their climb up the Tower, so, in response to his question, she simply nodded her head before cracking her knuckles and saying, “That’s fine with me…”
Marble wasn’t particularly fond of Anak’s display of bravado, but, rather than let it bother her, she placed her Scalesplitter into her Reel Inventory before pulling out a saucer-sized badge from the satchel worn across her body. It was a Compression Bag similar to the one carried around by Khun, and, though it couldn’t store living beings or duplicate items, it was able to store 50,000kgs before the Weight Reduction Enchantment no longer functioned.
With her weapon safely tucked away, Marble did something neither Gandr nor Anak had expected, retracting her arms into her tunic before shifting around the fabric so that the back was now facing the front. This was honestly a little adorable, especially when her arms popped out of her oversized sleeves, pinning the badge onto her chest before promptly shuffling around a second time so that her clothes were worn properly. Unfortunately, immediately after she had fixed her clothing, Marble bent her knees slightly, saying, “The time starts now…” before subsequently creating an afterimage.
Though Scouts were traditionally considered the ‘fastest’ Position, there were quite a few Fishermen who were more than capable of keeping pace with them. This was especially true for someone like Marble, who, due to her small size, could cut through the Shinsu with greater ease than those larger than her. She was also the type who relied on speed rather than power, so, before Anak could even blink, Marble’s hooved foot was only a few centimeters away from her face when her view abruptly shifted.
Surprising both girls, Gandr had a smile on his face as Marble phased through his body, impacting the ground behind him before promptly somersaulting more than one-hundred-meters away. Then, with an incredulous look on her face, she stared back at the boy before turning her attention to the surroundings and asking, “Is this some kind of Projection? I didn’t think you would have mastered that kind of skill this early on…”
Though it was ‘extremely’ uncommon prior to C-Rank, there were a number of talented Regulars who were able to use their Observers to create realistic projections of themselves. This could be used to fool their enemies, but, more often than not, they were simple distractions. It was only when the projections were combined with various stealth capabilities and assassination techniques that they became truly powerful…
Shaking his head, Gandr maintained his smile as he explained, “I assure you, this is my real body. I just have the ability to become immaterial at will.”
Furrowing her brows slightly, Marble withheld any further questions, this time charging directly at Gandr. She didn’t know when he had activated the technique, but he had clearly swapped places with the lizard girl before her attack could connect. It was too dangerous to simply ignore him, so, determined to figure out the ‘trick’ behind his ability, she decided to pressure him directly.
Instead of charging forward like a freight train, Marble appeared directly in front of Gandr, body lowered as she adopted a loose martial arts stance. Then, while making sure her back was never within his range, she began to chain together a series of swift punches and kicks, changing up her tempo depending on his reactions. Unfortunately, all of her attacks phased through his body with absolutely no feedback, annoying her enough that she absorbed a Baang into her body, drastically increasing the power behind her blows.
To Gandr’s surprise, he could feel a ‘wave’ pass through his body as the shockwave produced by Marble’s fist phased through him. This wasn’t enough to cause him any damage, but, at the very least, it indicated his State of Nothingness didn’t make him completely immune to Shinsu. This was an important discovery, but, considering even Musashi had been vulnerable to magic attacks above a certain threshold, it wasn’t particularly surprising.
Fortunately, thanks to the restrictions of the Floor Guardian, it was impossible for Marble to marshal enough Shinsu to deal any lasting damage. Rather, her attack was actually a little ticklish, emulating the pins and needles one would experience during sleep paralysis. This caused the smile on his face to become a little more prominent, his canines on full display as his hand phased through the front of her body.
Seeing where Gandr’s hand was moving, a slightly panicky feeling spread through Marble’s mind as her opinion of the young boy immediately lowered. She thought he was trying to take advantage of the conflict to cop a feel, but, as could be expected, his hand simply phased through her body. This didn’t make Marble feel any better, however, as it was still a very ‘cheap’ move in her opinion.
Twisting her body to the left with superhuman speed, Marble used her left leg as a spring, avoiding Gandr’s attempt to grab the badge and allowing her to vault through the air, kicking Anak’s crossed arms with enough force to send the girl flying across the room. Before the force could transfer into the girl’s body, however, Marble’s expression morphed into a deep frown as Gandr appeared with a smile on his face…
—
Though she knew Rankers were far beyond her current level, Anak was feeling increasingly annoyed as the fight progressed. She could barely even see Marble’s movements, and, if not for Gandr using some strange technique to swap places with her, there was a chance they would have already failed the Special Test.
Realizing that Gandr might have brought her along ‘specifically’ to use the swapping technique, an angry glower replaced Anak’s previously excited expression. She was happy to be able to help him out, but, rather than simply stand off to the side like a helpless bystander, she wanted to be able to fight alongside him. She hated feeling helpless more than anything, so, after watching Gandr evade Marble’s attacks for the better part of a full minute, a vein bulged at Anak’s temple as she shouted, “Hey, you bastards! I’m also participating in this Test!”
Following her outburst, a watery ripple spread from Anak’s feet, shattering the floor beneath her as she pounced toward Marble. This cause the latter to spin around, a calm expression on her face as her hoof swept towards the side of Anak’s face like an executioner’s blade. Before the attack could connect, however, Gandr appeared where Anak had been, a mischievous smile on his face as her attack passed harmlessly through his body.
Though she had already observed it several times, Marble still couldn’t figure out how Gandr was swapping positions with Anak. As for the latter, she was surprised when she was suddenly behind Marble, her momentum still preserved from her previous charge. This caused her to ‘realize’ what Gandr had been aiming for this entire time, a mean smile spreading across her face as she reached toward the badge on Marble’s back.
Since she had been aware of Gandr’s position prior to the swap, Marble already knew that Anak had appeared behind her. As a result, she instinctively arrested the momentum from her previous kick, stopping mid-motion with her hooved foot phasing through Gandr’s face. At the same time, a pair of vibrant blue wings erupted from her back, vaguely resembling the wings of a fairy formed from bluish-white light.
Even if Shinsu wings weren’t traditionally used to attack, they directly affected the currents naturally found within the air. As a result, they generated what appeared to be a tremendous amount of wind pressure whenever something came into contact with them, more than enough to send Anak flying backward like a cannonball.
With a smile spreading across her face, Marble quickly backed away from Gandr before saying, “As I suspected. You can’t swap positions if there is something overlapping your body. I guess you didn’t want to see my foot stuck in your friend’s face…?”
Since her words had hit the nail on the proverbial head, Gandr scratched the back of his own as he replied, “You’re really something, Ms. Marble. It’s only been four minutes and you’ve already figured out one of my technique’s weaknesses. Those wings are also pretty amazing. Once this is over with, can you teach me how to use them?”
Though she got the impression that Gandr was stalling for time, Marble had always been weak to compliments. As a result, her demure smile became slightly more pronounced as she flittered her wings and said, “I can teach you, but you won’t be able to use it freely before becoming a B-Rank Regular. Unless it is a natural-born ability, the Guardian restricts Regulars from flying freely within the Inner Tower. Even Levitation only works for an hour each day so you are better off learning how to maneuver across the ground rather than through the sky…”
Hearing Marble’s explanation, Gandr allowed his ears to droop as he slumped his shoulders and muttered, “I see…” in a sad tone. This caused Marble’s expression to turn slightly apologetic, but, before she could say anything to try and cheer him up, Gandr adopted his usual smile as he said, “Well, it never hurts to learn. Even if I can only use it for a few minutes each day, having the option to pursue aerial enemies will give me a tremendous advantage against Light Bearers~!”
Seeing how quickly Gandr bounced back, an approving smile spread across Marble’s face. Before she could compliment him, however, her entire body tensed up when another voice echoed from right behind her, muttering, “Thanks in advance…” as the fabric of her tunic was pulled slightly.
Turning her head in a mechanical motion, Marble was at a complete loss for words when she saw an identical copy of Gandr standing behind her, badge in hand. She was well aware of the fact that Gandr didn’t have a ‘presence’ in his immaterial form. This, alone, was a horrifyingly effective technique for any Scout, but, when combined with the ability to produce clones, it was simply monstrous…
For the first time since becoming a Test Administrator, Marble felt legitimate fear towards one of her Regulars. Gandr’s capabilities were unlike anything she had ever seen before, bringing to mind his earlier remark about becoming a renowned swordsman whose name resonated throughout the Tower. At the time, she believed he was just being overconfident, but, now that she had witnessed how monstrous his skills were without a sword, she couldn’t even imagine how terrifying he would be with a sword in hand…
Restraining the urge to swallow the knot in her throat, Marble simply nodded towards the second Gandr before looking toward the first and saying, “You have passed the Test. Congratulations…”
(A/N: Alternate Titles: ‘The power of an enraged Loli’,’Gandr is quite the showoff’,’Marble has lost all of hers xD…’)
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