As Ray maneuvered through the crowded streets towards the Martial Quarter clutching a letter in her hands, she pondered the information Eileen had given her about the talent and aptitude tests.

There were two general tests and several special tests that depended on the results of the general tests.

The general test for talents almost always took the form of mock combat. An individual dueled one-on-one with an experienced instructor and the instructor would attempt to discover the individual’s physical talents. There were five different martial pathways that were well established in Hanulfall and most people would have a talent for or tendency towards one of these five paths.

Those pathways were: warrior, berserker, martial artist, samurai, and guardian.

The general test for aptitudes was facilitated by a magician. They would use some measuring tools and their experience with reading mana to estimate an individual’s aptitude for the various types of magic.

The five most common types of magicians were elementalists, priests, warlocks, druids, and arcanists.

It was possible to combine two or more types of magic into a new one. One example being that those who could use both elemental magic and druidism were often called shamans.

It was also possible to combine magic and martial pathways. Among humans, the most common was combining a priest’s holy magic with warrior or martial artist techniques to become a cleric or a monk, respectively.

The tests to determine talents and aptitudes varied in different countries and amongst different races, but this system of one-on-one testing facilitated by well-established professionals was how it was performed by humans here in the Kingdom of Rovar.

If the instructor was impressed, it wasn’t uncommon for them to sponsor the individual being tested. They would use their connections to help the individual foster their talents and become strong.

If the instructor were extremely impressed, sometimes they would offer to take the individual on as an apprentice. This, however, was a rare case. Most instructors already had several apprentices and were not interested in taking on new students.

In the Kingdom of Rovar, the martial instructors were predominantly warriors while the magicians were mostly priests or elementalists. There were a handful of famous people who trained in unusual paths, but the majority followed the trends of the regions in which they lived.

Just based on the verbal explanation, Ray wasn’t particularly inclined towards being a warrior. Warrior was a kind of jack-of-all-trades martial fighter. There were subcategories of the warrior pathway that were relatively self-explanatory, such as swordsman or archer.

Berserker sounded incredibly appealing, though. A raging storm that cleaved through the enemy. An all-offensive class with little defense.

At first, Ray had been leaning towards that idea because of her unusual regeneration ability. Unfortunately, she figured it was unlikely for her to become a samurai or berserker. There were very few humans who took to these paths and there were currently no known teachers in Cairel. These two pathways were extremely common in the Empire of the Dragon King to the southwest beyond the Voskeg Mountains, but that journey would take at least a month and the mountains were full of wild monsters like the roc she had fought.

There was also an option to become a guardian. Guardians were referred to as ‘tanks’ in this world. They protected allies from damage by drawing the attention of opponents to themselves. If she couldn’t be a berserker, she suspected that becoming a guardian would be the best way to capitalize on her regenerative ability. If she managed to learn berserker techniques later, then she would be both an unstoppable force and an immovable object.

Given her recent experiences fighting opponents, words such as ‘unstoppable’ and ‘immovable’ sounded like a rather nice change of pace.

She turned the corner and walked through an archway into the martial quarter. The man she was searching for, Siegfried, was supposed to be in the training fields at this time of day. The sun was firmly in the sky and the steady clanging and clashing of swords reached Ray’s ears as she walked onto the field.

She followed the sound to an area where men and women in armor were facing off against each other. She couldn’t see any magic being used - they were all fighting with their raw physical abilities and nothing else.

A whistle sounded from the side and Ray followed the sound to see three previously unnoticed figures observing the spars. The one in the center towered over the other two.

“Break for lunch!” the one in the center shouted.

The fighting stopped immediately and many of the fighters collapsed to the ground in relief and exhaustion while others simply stared into the distance with tired, dazed expressions.

A handful of people moved towards a large pavilion that emitted a strange, appetizing smell that Ray had learned to associate with human cooking.

She approached the three observers, assuming them to be the trainers.

“What’s a little lady doin’ wanderin’ round these parts?” the man on the right said, giving her a pointed glare.

He looked like a guy who was obsessed with weapons to the point of impracticality. He had three swords, a dagger, an axe tied to his belt, two large swords across his back, and daggers strapped to his legs and to his chest.

The other two focused their eyes on Ray as well, a hint of curiosity evident in their gazes.

Ray gave them a half-smile as she held up the letter she’d received from Eileen. “I’m looking for Siegfried, the Guardian. I’ve got a letter of recommendation from Sister Eileen.”

All three trainers froze. A range of expressions ran across the faces of the two men standing near the giant, finally settling on a concerned frown. The giant in the center merely raised an eyebrow, stepping away from the other two, and reached for the letter.

“I’m Siegfried,” he rumbled.

Observing him from up close, she saw that he had blue eyes and dark hair. A thick scar ran from his clean-shaven chin to his left ear. He wore heavy plate armor and had a huge shield draped across his back.

Ray gave him the letter and waited patiently as he opened and read it.

A minute later, he grunted as he tore a corner off the letter and put the piece into a bag tied to his waist. He then refolded the letter and sealed it once more before returning it to Ray.

“This is a bit unusual, but I have to admit that it’s not the strangest request I’ve received from her. A talent test, is it? I can do it, but I can’t guarantee anything beyond that.”

“That’s fine.”

Siegfried shrugged and then started walking across the field, moving his hand through the air in front of him. With a practiced motion, he lightly tapped his plate armor and shield and they disappeared. Underneath the metal armor, he was wearing leather over his torso and legs, which he promptly removed in a similar fashion to reveal a tank top and gym shorts that both strongly accented his muscular form.

Ray hesitantly moved to stand across from him. As she sized him up, she felt ridiculously small. He had nearly two feet on her in height and a lot more rippling muscle on his arms and legs. She had no idea how she was supposed to beat him… but she would be damned if she didn’t try. She bent her knees slightly and prepared to dash forward.

Siegfried saw her movement and smiled, his eyes showing a faint interest.

“Begin!” he commanded.

Ray launched herself forward like an arrow, her fist already raised to strike. Siegfried stood unwavering as she approached. He raised an arm and took her punch in the palm of his hand, testing out the force.

He grunted in surprise.

“Hmm, two and a half, maybe three times the norm?” he rumbled.

Ray bit her lip when she saw his nonchalant attitude and spun, whipping her left fist in a backhand towards his chin.

He caught her arm with his other hand and twisted. The world spun as she sailed through the air before crashing into the ground.

“Your speed is exceptional. I don’t sense any magic, so this is just your base ability?”

She pushed herself to her feet, feeling for any serious injuries. Her wrist was bruised and her side hurt, but she was okay. She turned and faced Siegfried again warily. He hadn’t moved from his original standing position.

Ray ran forward. This time instead of leaping she went for a low strike. She punched out with her right arm as a feint and revealed a victorious smirk as he raised his left arm to block. She deftly hooked a hand underneath his guard, grabbed his arm, and pulled with all her might.

He took a step forward to regain his balance, his stoic expression shifting as he raised his eyebrows. Ray took advantage of that moment to weave her free hand towards his face.

Just before her hand made contact, she felt a strange prickling aura fill the air around them. His face went rigid like a rock and her eyes widened as her knuckles split against the terribly hard surface.

Her wrist collapsed and a sharp crack resounded as several bones crushed together. Ray grimaced and kicked off the man’s chest to leap back to a safe distance.

She took a moment to catch her breath and examine her wrist.

“Damn…” she muttered.

It was broken but the regeneration had already started. The pain flared, demanding her attention. She glanced warily at Siegfried but he wasn’t moving toward her. He had a contemplative look as he observed her, his eyes alternating between her clearly broken wrist and her face.

She returned her attention to Siegfried. He had a contemplative look as he observed her, his eyes alternating between her clearly broken wrist and her face.

“Are you done?” he rumbled.

Ray snorted.

“Of course not!”

She ran forward, swinging her right arm in a wide arc.

Siegfried raised a single hand to block the blow. She reached out, but instead of punching his hand, she grabbed his left wrist. Siegfried grunted in surprise as she jumped and pushed off his arm, the built momentum propelling her over his head like an acrobat.

She landed gracefully behind him and then immediately twisted, hooking her right foot around in a low crescent kick.

Her foot caught Siegfried behind his left knee. His knee collapsed and he stumbled forward. Unfortunately, she was finding it difficult to follow up as her ankle crumbled under the impact. She stumbled, barely regaining her balance as her foot started to shift back into its natural position. Her left hand was almost finished healing.

“I’ve seen enough.”

Siegfried rose back to his feet and looked down at Ray’s injured form. His eyes gleamed with interest as he motioned toward the other trainers. One of them had already produced a pair of red potions. They approached while Siegfried began his evaluation.

“Young lady, color me impressed. You’ve got strength, speed, and good instincts. Most importantly, though? You’ve got spunk. Not many people taking this test will continue after breaking a bone.”

Ray grunted in response. The pain in her foot was unbearable. If she was still fighting, she could manage it somehow, but the moment Siegfried ended the test, her arm and leg screamed in protest at the abuse she heaped on them.

“What was that…?” she groaned. “Your jaw and your knee were ridiculously hard!”

Siegfried chuckled, his rumbling voice echoing like the clash of boulders.

“It’s a guardian technique that I call Steel Skin. It’s what makes me the most famous guardian on this side of the continent.”

Steel Skin. It was a rather lame name for such an awesome technique.

“With your abilities, I don’t really understand why you want to be a guardian. You’re so strong and fast that I almost wouldn’t believe that you’re a human,” he muttered.

Ray flinched and he winked.

“It was probably written in the letter,” the voice in her head supplied.

Well then. Ray figured Eileen wouldn’t have sent her to someone who went batshit crazy at the sight of monsters. Still, she might have stood out a bit too much.

“I actually wanted to be a berserker but there are none around here,” she explained.

“Oh? Well then, I should consider this my good fortune. It seems that I’ll be lucky enough to teach this era's second prodigy.”

“Second?” Ray asked curiously.

“Well, ‘cause of Prince Doug, of course. He’s only sixteen and he’s already a Tether and a gold-ranked paladin. The damn kid has charged against armies alone twice and won both times.”

Ray nodded as if she knew what he was talking about. She did remember seeing the images of Douglas, Tether of the Strong One on the cathedral windows. That was probably the person Siegfried was talking about.

The other trainers arrived and tried to offer her the red potions but stopped with confused expressions.

“Were you not injured?” asked the weapon-covered trainer.

Ray shook her head as her foot finished snapping back into position.

Siegfried, strangely enough, came to her rescue.

“She was just surprised by the impact and overreacted. There shouldn’t have been any substantial injuries, judging from the force of her blows.

The two instructors shared a glance and then shrugged.

“We’ll let you take care of it then,” the weapon guy replied. “We’re going to go get some lunch.”

The two trainers waved goodbye and left.

“Thanks…” Ray mumbled as she started to push herself to her feet, looking up at the bear-like man.

Siegfried reached a hand out. She accepted it and he helped her stand up.

“I’ve always found that fighting is the best way to get the measure of a person. You have conviction, and I have a feeling that you will be extraordinarily strong one day. Add on Eileen’s recommendation and I would be honored to leech some reputation from your great successes.”

Siegfried paused for a moment, folding his arms, and tapping his elbow as he thought about how to rate her on the test.

“I’d rate your talent for every martial discipline as top tier. Considering your incredible speed and physical strength, with a little training, you would be a devastating berserker. If you choose to go down that path later, I won't stop you, but if you would have me, I would be more than happy to teach you my guardian techniques.”

Ray’s expression lit up like a child receiving an unexpected present. Siegfried’s eyes softened.

“Yes! Please teach me!”

He placed a hand on her shoulder.

“Let’s start first thing tomorrow morning. You’d better get over to see that grouchy magician, though. He gets irritable when people are late.”

“Okay! I’ll be here!” Ray promised as she turned and left towards the Magic Quarter.

Siegfried watched her as she walked away.

“What on earth did that old witch have to do to find her?” he mused to himself. He probably thought she was far enough away that she couldn’t hear him. Then he turned and stomped towards the cafeteria.

“Doesn’t matter, though. Looks like we finally found one.”