(x.)

Linda focused her mana into the mysterious card in her hand and a wall of black mist materialized in front of Lazarus. This must be the Black Bark Panther! The lich watched, entranced, as the creature gained a corporeal body before his very eyes.

It had to be at least three times the size of an ordinary panther and heavily muscled. Despite its ludicrous size, Lazarus had a strong suspicion that the creature was much more agile than it appeared. Truly, cats were bastards like that. It had two long protruding fangs and bright green eyes that shone with intelligence. Perhaps most worrisome, it was covered with several hard, armor-like patches on its body protecting its most vulnerable areas. He had to think quickly.

That armor is going to be a problem. I have no sword and I don't have the mana to summon another, either. And there's no way I will be able to evade the beast in this heavy set of armor.

The panther crouched down low to the ground and leapt for the wall to Lazarus' immediate left. It twisted its monstrous body in midair, aiming directly for his blind spot. He did not attempt to evade the beast; any such attempt would be folly. Instead, he infused 50 mana into his left fist and slammed it directly into the throat of the beast, directing the mana straight up though the roof of the panther's mouth.

It does not matter how armored the beast is if I destroy it from the inside!

His armored fist blasted straight though the creature's head, killing it instantly. The rush of power from his attack extended beyond the reach of his gauntleted fist and punched a sizeable hole in the roof of the building.

Well, ah, that was rather anticlimactic... I suppose she did say not to worry about causing property damage?

The aftermath, however, was nothing short of awe-inspiring as several things happened at once:

The beast imploded violently and disappeared in a fine black mist. Linda yelped in alarm as the card she was holding burst into a small black flame before disintegrating to nothing more than ash. Her knees wobbled and collapsed under her slim frame; she tumbled from the wall and landed in an inelegant heap in the arena below, dazed. Lazarus hardly noticed as he suddenly received a rather lengthy wall of Red Text:

Required Skill: Unarmed Combat Confirmed

Required Strength of 10 or more: Confirmed

Required Intelligence of 10 or more: Confirmed

Skill Acquired: Charged Strike – User is able to infuse mana into their body to increase its effectiveness in combat. Level 1

All hail the Red Text! This seemed to be a rather unique skill acquisition, too. This was the first time Lazarus saw the Red Text take his personal stat points into account and create a skill based on that information. Uncanny!

The spiky haired adventurer rushed in though the gate to check on Linda. He helped her to her feet and made a feeble effort of dusting her off before being waved away. Fortunately, it seemed there was no harm done at all. The poor receptionist had been merely stunned. Lazarus was somewhat relieved and made a quick mental note, 253 mana remaining.

He looked over toward Linda, triumphant. “How was that?” the lich inquired politely.

Her mouth fell open and her mouth opened and closed several times attempting to form words. Alas, her attempt was unsuccessful. The spiky haired adventurer broke out in a cold sweat right alongside Linda, seeing her perfect facade in tatters.

After a few minutes she regained her composure enough to say, “Yes, that... that was... a perfect score. I would have ended the testing two tests ago, but I did not want anyone saying that you received any special treatment. There is one assessment remaining. Your final test will be a battle against an adventurer of the rank you achieved in the arena here.”

Lazarus glanced toward the spiky haired adventurer who immediately threw his hands up in the air saying, “Nope, not me! I'm just a Ruby ranked adventurer. I wouldn't dare even try to hold your armor for you, sir,” he gulped.

“Linda, unfortunately you will need to escort our new candidate to the waiting room while we summon an Emerald ranked adventurer so that the entrance test may be completed,” he said apologetically, running a hand through his unkempt mop of hair.

With that, Linda and Lazarus exchanged pleasantries and left the Ruby ranked adventurer. She numbly guided the lich back to the minuscule side room where he was politely asked to wait. The door closed behind her and he could hear her footsteps getting fainter and fainter until he couldn't hear anything anymore. He took a seat at the table with the black obelisk and pondered the afternoon's events.

That panther... nevermind the beast itself. The process of summoning it was fascinating. Did she use some kind of summoning magic to bring the monster to the arena?

He tapped his gauntleted phalanges rhythmically against the tabletop, deep in thought.

That... does not seem quite right. It could easily have gotten out of that small walled space if it wanted to. Plus, it did not seem to take much mana from Linda to bring the beast to the arena. I could feel only a small amount pass from her to the card she was holding. What was that technique? I should appraise her when I see her again. Maybe that will shine some light on that strange beast summoning.

He sighed, frustrated. It came out as a rather ghoulish rattle.

Not to mention, my attacks seem way stronger than average based on how the Ruby adventurer reacted to me. What if--

Lazarus's thoughts were interrupted by a sharp knock on the door.