Salma's Test

Adam turned his face towards Layla.

She looked stressed out and worried.

"She's pretty strong, you know?"

"Salma is strong. But she's my little sister. She gets stupidly excited sometimes. That's not always a good thing."

A white light appeared.

'I froze when I saw it. How will she react?' Adam thought.

A Skeleton stood at the center of the room.

Salma immediately ran towards it and slashed it with her weapon.

It fell to the ground and its body disappeared a second later.

Salma raised her weapon up and jumped around while shouting "Did you see? Haha!".

Layla stood up and started clapping and cheering her on.

Adam smiled and gave her a thumbs up.

But Salma couldn't hear them.

Once she realized that, she took her corner once more.

"What's the next Test?"

[ The next Test will be a Goblin.]

She easily defeated it.

[ The next Test will be a One-Horned Gazelle.]

Salma summoned Roxie.

Her Fire Fox easily dealt with the monster.

[ The next Test will be a Gray Wolf.]

She teamed up with Roxie and beat the Gray Wolf using her weapon.

[ The next Test will be a Black Wolf Alpha.]

'What will she do?' Adam wondered as he looked at Salma.

'The same as Light before he got bigger, huh?' Salma thought.

[5 seconds left.]

She aimed a Fire Arrow at the center of the room.

Once the light appeared, she shot her arrow.

'300 Mana Points. A quarter than my Total Mana.'

She readied her weapon and Roxie stared at the monster that appeared.

The Fire Arrow hit the monster's side and it fell to the ground.

Layla and Adam laughed out loud at her victory and she waved at them while shouting how easy it was.

[ The next Test will be an Orc.]

'The fact that they all appear at the center of the room does give her a big advantage. Orcs have a low Sense Stat. She should have no problem especially if she uses this same tactic.

[The next test will be one Red Orc.]

'I will use half my Mana Points for this one.'

[ The next Test will be one Mutated Polar Bear.]

"This one had scared me a lot. I think it was the hardest one for me. I'm not sure why." Adam told Layla as they watched Salma walking towards her corner.

"Really? Was it strong?"

"Not really. Just very big. I mean, it was a bit bigger than Light is right now. But when it stands on both legs and extends its arms, it looks huge."

"I think Salma will be okay though. The Fire Lion will probably be the first actually hard Test."

"Maybe..."

Roxie was standing about 10 meters away from the center in order to grab the monster's attention, while Salma shoots Fire Arrows.

For now, she didn't need to shoot more than one Fire Arrow.

She had used 600 Mana points in order to get rid of the Red Orc, which is more Mana Points than Adam even has!

[5 seconds left.]

'Let's go for 800 Mana Points. The bear is supposed to be big.'

The huge monster appeared.

She hesitated and her arm trembled.

She missed her shot.

The Fire Arrow flew by the monster's body.

Layla suddenly stood up and held her hands together.

'What?' Salma thought as she aimed a second Fire Arrow.

The Mutated Polar Bear was standing on its two back legs with its arms extended.

'It is bigger than I expected. But that makes it easier to hit. I'll put my remaining Mana Points.' She thought as she let go of her 460 Mana Points Fire Arrow.

It hit the standing monster's stomach and exploded.

Part of its white pelt was burnt and it started bleeding massively.

The monster lowered its front legs to the ground and started approaching the closest target, Roxie.

The Fire Fox was not scared by the difference in size and shot a Fire Ball at the monster.

It hit the monster's limb, but it only burnt its surface.

'It's very slow. She'll win for sure. I guess when I fought it, it only moved to run away. It hit me because I came to it.' Adam thought.

Roxie was moving away and shooting Fire Balls while the Mutated Polar Bear was following it.

Salma who had been drinking Heavy Mana Potions recovered half her Mana Points.

She shot a second Fire Arrow.

'I'll use all the 600 Mana Points I recovered.

As the monster had been following Roxie, Salma was standing behind it.

The Fire Arrow hit the monster's back and exploded.

A big part of the monster's back was missing.

Adam felt a shiver go down his spine.

'She's strong. And aims very well. I never realized that.' Layla thought.

The Mutated Polar Bear fell to the ground.

Salma started breathing heavily.

'Somehow... This was stressful...' She thought as she replenished her Mana Points.

[ The next Test will be a Fire Lion.]

'This one shouldn't be a problem. It has low Health Points. I need to hit it as soon as it appears.'

[Your Sponsor says that the Fire Lion probably has Fire resistance or Fire Immunity.]

"Is that so? I guess that makes sense." Salma whispered.

[Your Sponsor says you should use most of your Mana points and follow up by attacking with your weapon in case it has Fire Immunity.]

'Alright.' Salma thought as she aimed her Fire Arrow.

[Your Sponsor says that the Fox Transformation it has blessed you with would help you finish the fight right away.]

"No... that's the last resort." Salma whispered.

[5 seconds left.]

The monster appeared.

Salma shot her Fire Arrow and at the same time, Roxie shot a Fire Ball.

With Roxie being closer, the Fire Lion turned towards Roxie first.

It responded to the weak Fire Ball with a stronger one of its own.

But it completely ignored Salma's attack. Or rather, it hadn't noticed it.

The Concentrated Fire Ball the Fire Lion shot went through Roxie's Fire Ball and flew towards the Fire Fox.

Meanwhile, Salma Fire Arrow exploded on the monster's side.

It roared in pain.

Once the smoke dissipated, the attack's effect could be seen.

Even though she had used more Mana Points on this attack than she has on any attack before, the Fire Lion's body was only burnt.

It was completely burnt and had lost massive Health Points.

But it still was less damage than Salma, Layla and Adam had expected.

They were used to Salma's hits making parts of the monster's body disappear.

"Fire Resistance..." Salma and Adam muttered.

The Fire Lion turned towards Salma and Started condensing a Fire Ball.

Salma took out her Spider Queen's Shortsword and started running towards the monster.

[Your Sponsor says that you should focus on dodging the attack.]

[Your Sponsor says that your Agility Stat is high enough for that.]

'Alright.' She thought as she approached the monster.

Thanks to her high Sense Stat and her Primal Instinct Skill, she could easily tell when the Condensed Fire ball was about to leave the monster's mouth.

She jumped sideways as soon as the attack was launched.

Roxie. who was being ignored, did not miss the opportunity and slashed the Fire Lion's body with his claws made of flames.

'Fire Claws.' Salma thought as she approached the monster.

It was a Skill that Roxie had and it was the first time it was being used.

The Fire Fox's claws catched fire. The claws both slashed and burnt the enemy.

The Fire Lion, who had already been burnt thoroughly, used its Fire Barrier Skill to protect itself.

Salma stopped running and stood in front of the monster.

'According to Adam, it can't attack while protecting itself.'

[You Sponsor says you should use your Explosion Skill.]

'Explosion? Oh....' Salma thought while a smirk appeared on her face.

Explosion was a Magic Skill she had acquired inside the Spider Queen's Lair.

[ Magic Skill: Explosion[E]

The user chooses any location within a 30 meters radius. A bright light will appear and an explosion will follow 3 seconds later.

Mana Consumption: 25 Mana Points.

Damage: 50 Damage Points+ Burn Effect.

]

A blinding light appeared in front of the monster.

'Huh?'

Salma had hoped that she could place the explosion inside the Fire Lion's barrier.

Instead, it appeared just outside the barrier.

Her Explosions cannot be placed inside barriers, just like they cannot be placed inside matter.

The monster was blinded and jumped back, therefore undoing its barrier.

An explosion followed, but the Fire Lion was not damaged.

The Fire Fox slashed its body once more as soon as the barrier dissipated.

The monster turned towards Roxie and opened its mouth wide to shoot a Condensed Fire Ball, but Salma was too and fast and was already standing in front of it.

She had sprinted towards it with her weapon in hand.

The Fire Lion extended its paw towards Salma to push her back as it didn't have the time to use its Fire Barrier Magic Skill.

She took a sidestep and slashed it with her Spider Queen's Shortsword.

The weapon's Attack Power was very high.

A whopping 155 if Paralysis Damage and Venomous Damage are added.

The monster fell to the ground.

Salma raised her hands up and waved at Layla and Adam.

They had been holding their breath every since Salma had decided to take out her weapon and attack the monster.

[Your Sponsor says that focusing too much on Magic Skills and Mana can cause problems.]

"Oh... Like the Fire Lion? I get it. That's true." Salma said as she took her corner and drank Mana Potions.

[The Next Test is one Troll.]

She used all her Mana Points in one Fire Arrow.

1260 Mana points were used and the attack hit the monster's head.

It immediately lost its whole upper body and fell to the ground.

Salma laughed out loud and turned towards Adam and Layla.

They both held shocked faces.

[The next Test is a Frost Cheetah.]

[Your Sponsor says that you should stop soon.]

"Really? Why?" Salma asked as she drank Mana Potions.

[Your Sponsor says that you shouldn't go beyond the 11th Test.]

[Your Sponsor says that you aren't ready.]

"Oh come on! What if I use Fox Transformation?"

[Your Sponsor says that it is okay to come back another time.]

[Your Sponsor says that you should let your friends compete.]

[Your Sponsor says that if your go too high, they might feel discouraged.]

Salma laughed out loud after reading the messages.

"Alright, I'll stop after this one. But only because I don't want them to feel that way." She said while wiping tears from her face.

[Your Sponsor chuckles.]

[Your Sponsor says that Incarnation Adam is shocked to see you deal with the Troll so easily.]

"I knooow right? His face was so funny!" Salma said loudly.

[Your Sponsor says that it is time to focus.]

[10 seconds left.]

"Right." Salma said as she aimed her Fire Arrow.

[Congratulations! You have passed Test Number 11.]

[ The next Test will be a Thunder Eagle.]

"Alright. We're leaving." Salma said as she petted Roxie's head.

A Gate appeared at the center of the room.

Salma stepped through the gate and found herself alone on the other side.

[You have cleared 11 Tests inside the Dungeon "The Testing Room".]

[Rewards are being calculated.]

[You currently detain the third-highest score out of all those who entered "The Testing Room" in your World.]

[You have obtained the Title "Avid Fighter".]

[You have been awarded 4500 Gold Coins.]

[You have been awarded three Summoner's Pills.]

[You have been awarded one Mage's Staff.]

[You have been awarded one Summoner's Necklace.]

She completely ignored the messages

"Huh? Why aren't they here?"

[Your Sponsor says that you should re-enter the Dungeon Gate.]

'Alright.' She stepped inside.

Salma had complete trust in her Sponsor The Nine-Tailed Fox.

She perceived her Sponsor as joyful and playful.

Salma found herself inside the white room.

She turned back and found Adam and Layla in a corner.

A message was in front of each one of them.

[ Would you like to Fight or Spectate?]

Salma entered the Spectator's Area after hugging her sister while Layla exited it.

Adam high-fived Salma and they started talking about the fights she had gone through.

'So her Sponsor kept her calm and collected, huh?'

"Alright. It's Layla's turn now." Adam said as a bright light appeared at the center of the room.

"I wonder how she'll use those Necromancer Skill." Salma said as a Skeleton appeared.

Just as quickly as it appeared, the Skeleton crumbled.

[Congratulations! You have passed Test Number 1.]

"Let's think back. Which of those monsters do I want on my side...?" Layla muttered to herself.