To be honest, Leyang had wanted to take the Silver-rank assessment right away.

But that would've been way too high-profile. It might even draw the Empire's powerhouses' attention.

Iron rank was too weak, though. He probably wouldn't get any commissions with decent pay.

So he went with a middle ground and decided to get a Bronze-rank warrior badge first.

But he hadn't expected this guy to look down on him and assume he was here to cause trouble.

Sometimes, age really was a pain.

“I don't have time to play with you. Get out. Now.”

“If that's how it is, then I won't hold back.”

Leyang's eyes darkened. He used Bronze-rank strength and slammed a palm toward the man.

The middle-aged man jumped in shock and hurriedly raised his guard.

In the next instant, even the stool under him was shattered by the force of Leyang's strike.

“This is the power of a second-tier warrior?! How old is this kid supposed to be? How is that even possible?!”

The middle-aged man was utterly stunned.

Back then, it had taken him more than ten full years of tempering his body and power to rise from Iron rank to Bronze-rank warrior.

But the boy in front of him looked under ten years old, and he already possessed such terrifying strength.

Could he be some genius born with monstrous natural power?

“Now can you believe I'm not here to make trouble?”

Leyang didn't make another move. He withdrew his fist and looked at the middle-aged man calmly.

“Kid, what's your name?”

The middle-aged man let out a breath and stared at the boy with burning eyes.

Leyang hesitated for a moment, then slowly spoke two words.

“Evil Slaughter.”

There was no rule saying you had to use your real name to register as an adventurer.

Evil Slaughter was the alias Leyang had used in his previous life, when he walked the cracks of the darkness.

“Evil Slaughter? Hahaha, what a name. Evil Slaughter. I'm Sid Will, the examiner for this test.”

“Since you've made up your mind, let's begin at once.”

“The first round is a strength test. But your strength already meets the requirement, so we'll skip it.”

“We'll go straight to the final test.”

“The final test is simple.”

“Once it starts, I'll attack you for one minute using second-tier strength.”

“During that time, you must defend against my attacks and stay on your feet. If you fall, you fail.”

Sid Will immediately explained the rules and content of the warrior assessment to Leyang.

“Then let me ask one thing. Can I counterattack?”

“Of course.”

“Use any method you want. If you can injure me, that also counts as passing.”

“Oh, and don't say I didn't warn you. I'm a third-tier Silver-rank warrior.”

“If you hadn't caught me off guard just now, you wouldn't have even touched me.”

Sid Will folded his arms across his chest with complete confidence and looked down at Leyang.

“I understand. Then let's start right away?”

“The testing area is limited to this room. If you leave the room, it'll count as forfeiting automatically.”

“When the sand in the hourglass runs out, the test ends.”

“And don't expect me to go easy on you just because you're a child.”

Sid Will took out a small hourglass and flipped it over onto the table.

The grains of sand began to trickle down little by little.

Sid Will turned to look at Leyang.

But to his shock, the boy had somehow already rushed right in front of him.

That tiny fist contained terrifying power.

“Hey! Wait—”

Leyang's punch smashed into his face without the slightest mercy.

Half his face twisted from the blow, and his whole body was sent flying backward.

Bang!

A dull thud rang out.

Sid Will sprawled miserably on the floor, his backside facing Leyang.

His consciousness turned hazy, and he couldn't get back up for a long while.

“I won this test, right?”

Leyang said it flatly.

“You... you're too shameless... You sneak attacked me again...”

“You said it yourself. The test ends when the hourglass runs out.”

“If the sand has started falling, then the test has already started.”

“I attacked according to the rules. How is that shameless?”

Leyang spread his hands innocently and put on a completely harmless expression.

“F-fine... you win.”

“Here's your Bronze-rank warrior badge. Take it!”

This was easily the most humiliating day in Sid Will's life.

He'd actually been toyed with by a milk-faced little brat.

And on top of that, he'd taken a solid punch to the face.

Damn it, his face really hurt. It was burning hot.

“Haha, thanks.”

Leyang took the Bronze-rank warrior badge from his hand and left the room.

“What a terrifying little monster... Is he really just a child?”

Leyang returned to the Adventurers Guild hall and walked up to the pretty young receptionist's counter from earlier.

He took out two large Doro coins and the Bronze-rank warrior badge.

“Please help me with the registration.”

“What?! A Bronze-rank warrior badge?!”

At the sight of it, the pretty receptionist was instantly shocked out of her mind.

“You just got this from passing the test?”

“Yeah.”

“Please wait a moment.”

The young woman grabbed Leyang's Bronze-rank warrior badge and hurried into the same passage Leyang had entered earlier.

She was obviously going to verify it.

Leyang didn't mind. He simply sat there and waited in silence.

Very soon, she came back.

Her face was full of disbelief, and the way she looked at Leyang now clearly held an extra trace of respect.

“Sorry to keep you waiting. I'll process your second-tier adventurer badge right away.”

Because Leyang's strength was more than solid enough, the Adventurers Guild skipped first tier entirely and made him a second-tier adventurer.

That had also been Sid Will's suggestion.

Normally, for a first-tier adventurer to become second-tier, strength at the Bronze rank wasn't enough by itself.

They also had to accumulate enough points before they could rank up.

The higher an adventurer's rank, the harder the commissions they could accept.

Naturally, the rewards were higher too.

“Here is your adventurer pass and your warrior badge. Please keep them safe.”

“And this is the beginner's handbook for adventurers.”

“It contains some basic adventurer knowledge, so please read it carefully.”

“Alright. Thank you.”

Leyang took the three items she handed over.

He put them all away, hid them beneath his cloak, and quietly stored them inside his Spatial Magic Tool.

“We wish you a pleasant adventure. If you need any help, please let us know anytime.”

Leyang walked over to the commission board and looked up at the posted requests.

The Adventurers Guild had a total of six commission boards.

The first five corresponded to adventurers from rank one to rank five.

The sixth board was special. It was used for all kinds of urgent requests.

Anyone could accept urgent requests.

Whoever completed the task first would receive the reward, so it worked more like open competition for commissions.

Sometimes, they were also requests for adventurers to gather certain special herbs.

In that case, each person would be paid according to the amount they turned in.

“Right now, I can only take first-tier and second-tier requests.”

“I'll see if there's anything suitable for me first.”