Bro, I'm not an Undead!

The man walking with Silrat had quickly drawn Skullius' attention.

Being resisted like that wasn't something that had happened to the Hybrid Luman a lot, if ever.

In most cases, he was able to probe the mana core of his opponent without any obstruction, which had made him relax, not accounting for situations where he couldn't.

This was a dangerous level of confidence in his skills.

When it came to mana cores, everyone with a combat capacity above the mundane level could identify what kind of core another person had simply by feeling the innate domination or suppression that their core had in relation to another in close proximity.

Every trained individual was naturally aware of their core and the cores in their surroundings but the intricate details were hidden from them.

For Skullius who had [Elevated Mana Manipulation], his perception of the core was a lot more established but now, even with that, he was still pushed back.

'Another reason to evolve this skill,' Skullius thought.

"Let's get this over with immediately before you cause me trouble," Silrat said to Skullius before turning to Daggs and Terese.

"Lady Terese, you... really came?"

"Of course I did. I never go back on my word!" the young girl said. "I was going to attend because it's a family matter but I'm getting even more curious with you and Stylla giving this blind man so much attention."

"Blind man?" the man beside Skullius asked with a strange expression as he scrutinised Skullius.

Silrat, as if shaking himself out of a reverie, gave a swift introduction.

"Festos, this is Alaris, one of the Guilds Association's evaluation officers. He will be spearheading the Aptitude Evaluation Test," he said. "Alaris, this is Festos."

"I see..." the man identified as Alaris said, the friendly look in his eyes dimming somewhat.

Skullius gave most of his focus to this man, his Koten making sure every aspect of Alaris was vibrantly clear to him.

The most notable feature on Alaris was his handlebar moustache made of well kempt caramel hairs and the topaz blue eyes of his that had a masculine allure to them.

His figure was full of distinctive contours of taut muscles against honey coloured skin, a beige, short sleeved loose shirt covering his torso while being tucked into tight dark brown pants.

Alaris also wore black steel greaves over his legs that reached up to his knees, this being his signature clothing style as every regularly visitor the Guilds Association knew.

He was highly ranked and highly regarded among all the executive combatants of the Guilds Association, a trait that led him to have many benefactors in Inhone City.

"It's good to meet you, Festos," Alaris said as he stretched his hand to shake Skullius', the Hybrid Luman doing did the same.

"Follow me. I had other errands to run since you were a bit late but I'm also intrigued by Silrat's choice, as the young girl said."

Silrat glanced at Skullius before smiling, praying silently in his heart for there to be a positive outcome to this.

The group, led by Alaris, ventured from the foyer and headed up a flight of stairs to the fourth floor.

They passed entire floors dedicated to different things, one for storing trophies of slain Cluster beasts and another for detaining common thieves before they could be punished.

On the fourth floor was a wide space with vacant rooms that looked to be quite small.

Several individuals who nodded to Alaris as they passed, with what looked like amateur mercenaries behind them could be seen on this floor, Skullius guessing that this floor was reserved for evaluations only.

This certainly beat that shabby cramped space he had been taken to by Jac that time.

As they moved through the passage on this floor, seemingly going to a predetermined space, two individuals joined them.

One was a fit woman with an athletic body, her hair brown tied up into a messy bun. She didn't have a face that would strike most man as beautiful, but her presence was very vivid, as if to make up for it. She wore leather armour on her torso, but a plain pair of pants below, this combination emphasising her body immaculately.

The other was a haughty looking man with spiky black hair cut into a fade at the sides. He looked agile because of his tall and lean frame, his long arms that had braces like steel rings on them folded before his chest.

These two were Lemorine and Stephin respectively, the other evaluation officers for the Aptitude Evaluation Test.

Alaris introduced the two after leading everyone into an extraordinarily massive room that certainly didn't look so from the outside.

On average, it could fit up to six hundred people with tons of space to spare!

"Lemorine and Stephin are going to be helping me evaluate your potential and whether or not you are fit to enter the exclusive circle of mercenaries along with your recruiter, Silrat," Alaris explained as his gaze remained planted on Skullius.

"Unlike normal evaluations, as I'm sure you've already been told, Aptitude Evaluation Tests measure how far above the standard of high quality mercenaries you are – your potential, your attitude and even your goals. All this can be ascertained through this evaluation where you will fight all three of us separately."

'Silrat didn't mention any of this!' Skullius complained internally.

'I was busy!' Silrat screamed in his mind as if hearing Skullius' complain, justifying himself righteously.

"Additionally, unlike normal evaluations, you have to win against all three of us. That is the official setup but it can be overruled by special circumstances. You're supposed to be special in some way considering you've been regarded for this test and nothing short of a win is required. Outside of fighting to kill, every one of us will be battling seriously, so make sure to give it your all," Alaris concluded to which Skullius nodded.

This was going to be interesting.

As Alaris no longer spoke, Skullius guessed that this was all he was going to receive in terms of information.

Classes, Stages and Cores...

All this was probably left for him to guess.

Of course!

If one wanted to be regarded as an elite, they had to be aware of their opponent without receiving a monologue!

Daggs, Silrat, Terese and the guards were led to one end of the room where a compartment, like a very thick reflective glass with sparkling texts glowing on it could be seen, its size accommodative of only a few individuals.

These texts were runes and this compartment was meant for spectators.

On the other end of the room was another large compartment, but within it, dozens of weapons of different kinds could be seen hung on racks, as if on display. One could freely choose whatever they wanted to use in the test.

"Who would you like to fight first?" Alaris asked Skullius. He was concerned that Skullius would need help but...

With barely any delay, Skullius pointed at the long armed man with an arrogant look on his face that shifted to a sneer a second later.

"I'll flesh this one up first," Skullius said with a smile that leaned towards being a smirk.

The tall man cackled while shaking his head at this. He didn't understand the phrase, but he could tell it was a taunt.

A horribly misplaced one.

"Ha. I don't know whether to feel flattered or grossly underestimated," Stephin said while walking to the centre of the room.

The first bout was about to begin.