The tryouts continued, and the examiner tested the other three as well.
Fighting beasts needed strategy and a fitting team.
The remaining three Newbies were all focused on dealing damage, and a Shouter was almost always necessary when fighting a beast.
Because of that, the examiner just told Dylan to team up with one of them each for the next fights.
Dylan had essentially already passed, and the examiner just used him to test the others.
Kyle was technically also a Shouter, but the way he fought was very different.
Using him to test the others would not be as effective.
The first one the examiner tested was the woman with the staff, and their opponent was a surprising one.
An Ore Fiend.
Dylan kept its attention, and the woman kept attacking it with her staff.
Her attacks constantly destabilized it, making it almost impossible for it to attack.
The Ore Fiend was too slow and couldn't catch her.
However, a staff also wasn't very great at getting through armor.
Because of that, the Ore Fiend barely got injured.
In the middle of the fight, the examiner told Dylan to pull back, letting the woman fight on her own.
Nothing really changed.
The Ore Fiend kept losing its balance, but it also wasn't getting injured.
Meanwhile, the woman was slowly running out of Ether.
After around 30 seconds, the examiner had seen enough.
Naturally, the woman was a Controller.
Controllers had the job of keeping targets busy and keeping them from attacking.
Controllers were generally used to keep Shouters busy and away from the team.
They were not supposed to kill the Shouters. They were just supposed to keep them from interfering in the battle.
Controllers could also be used as a replacement for Shouters during a battle against beasts.
Naturally, the woman had done well enough on her own and had proved her worth.
It became clear that she had also passed.
She had been one of the three victors in the first tryout, and now, she had also shown that she could fight beasts.
"Go finish it," the examiner told Kyle.
"Sure," Kyle said as he ran forward.
When the Ore Fiend fell over once again, Kyle just lifted his hammer and smashed it into pieces.
"Good job, Tracy," the examiner said. "You've also passed."
The woman, Tracy, looked at the examiner and bowed politely, still breathing heavily in exhaustion.
Next, the examiner wanted to test the man with the spear.
"Sir, I can take it on my own," the man said, pointing at the distant deer with fiery antlers.
"Then, go deal with it on your own," the examiner said.
The man with the spear shot forward and attacked the deer.
They fought for about five seconds.
'Oh boy, this is not good,' Kyle thought as he watched.
The deer just kept jumping out of the man's range, pelting him with explosive antler shards.
The man was busy just running after the deer, but he couldn't catch up.
The examiner just shook his head when he saw that.
It was obvious that the man was desperate.
He had been one of the losers, and he wanted to stand out during the beast battle to get a chance to succeed.
Sadly, he had overestimated himself.
"Dylan," the examiner said.
Dylan charged forward and ran into the deer's path.
The deer wanted to jump around him, but Dylan used his Gravity Affinity to slow it down.
This was all the man with the spear needed to catch up, and he quickly dispatched the deer with his terrifying attacking power.
If he could just catch up with the deer, he would have annihilated it on his own.
Sadly, he hadn't been able to.
He needed the help of someone else.
"You're done," the examiner told the man evenly.
The man gritted his teeth.
He knew that he wouldn't pass.
Then, the examiner tested the last person, the man with the one-handed sword.
"I can deal with that on my own," the man said with confidence when he saw a big brown pangolin.
"Go ahead," the examiner said.
The man with the sword charged at the pangolin.
The pangolin summoned several earthen spires beneath the man, but he easily avoided all of them.
The following display was pathetic.
Yet, it was not the man who was pathetic but the pangolin.
The man expertly used his free hand to weave past the pangolin's attacks before stabbing his sword deep into it, time and time again.
'Oh, I see!' Kyle thought. 'This guy has a Metal Affinity!'
From time to time, the man's hand turned metallic, allowing him to parry sharp attacks.
Additionally, he infused his sword with Metal Ether, making it sharper and harder.
It took him 30 seconds, but the man actually managed to kill the pangolin on his own.
"Well done, Horatio," the examiner told the man with the sword. "You've passed this part of the tryouts as well."
"Thanks," Horatio said with a pleasant smile.
"We're done here," the examiner told everyone. "We'll be returning to the Fighter Guild now."
As they were traveling back, Kyle thought about the results.
'The dagger guy and the spear guy are essentially out of the race. They were lackluster in both parts.'
'Dylan and Horatio are safe picks. They were both excellent, and they can both kill beasts on their own.'
'If there are four people who get accepted into the Fighter Guild, I will be one of them.'
Kyle looked at Tracy.
'But if there are only three, she might take the spot.'
Naturally, Tracy also occasionally glanced at Kyle.
She had the same thoughts as him.
It was between the two of them.
The group entered Starkhold again and moved to the Fighter Guild.
"Marvin, Ignatius," the examiner said, looking at the two Newbies. "You did not pass. You may try again in the future or join another Fighter Guild."
The two of them were disappointed, but they still respectfully bid their farewells.
They just hadn't been good enough.
"Now, the last part of the tryouts," the examiner said, looking at the four remaining Newbies.
'Wait, it's not over yet?' Kyle thought.
"As far as I am concerned, all four of you can join the Fighter Guild," the examiner said. "But it's not up to me."
"The last part of the tryouts is an interview with the Chief. He will decide whether you can join us or not."
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