Blood flame lizards

"Don't worry about it, just sign him up for the exam," Seer said.

"Yes, right away," the receptionist said. She pulled out her drawer and started searching through it, her hands shaking as she did.

Jake couldn't believe how deep her fear was for them. She finally pulled out two pieces of paper and a quill for him.

"This is an information slip and a contract," she said, pushing it toward him slightly.

Jake walked to the counter. He picked up the paper and read the contract. It stated that whatever happened during the exams was not the guild's fault.

He didn't think about it much and signed it, before taking the next paper and filling in his information. He handed it to her. She read through the information to be sure everything was in order.

Her eyes widened at one point. She stared at the paper. "You're a necromancer?" she asked.

"Yes, is that an issue?" Jake replied.

"No, it isn't. I was just surprised. It's hard to come by," she said. She filled the documents and closed the drawer.

"Please come with me," she said. There was a door at the other end of the back wall. She walked to it, and they followed her.

She opened the door and walked inside while they all followed her. Jake stepped into the hallway that was behind the door. Crystal lamps lined the wall, illuminating the darkness and bringing warmth.

She walked down the hallway. It led in only one direction. Finally, she got to a large metal door. She pulled out a key from her uniform pocket and opened the door.

The door squeaked as it opened, revealing a large dome inside. The walls were made of marble, and runes covered the entire wall.

The room was completely illuminated, yet there wasn't a single light source in sight.

"This is the test room. The moment you enter, your test begins. You can go as many levels as you can. Each level is a one-star climb.

If you can't keep going, all you need to do is say you surrender, and the test will end," she said.

"Is that all?" Jake asked.

"Yes, that's all. You can enter now," she said and moved out of the way. Jake turned to look at Seer. "Watch Ophelia for me," he said, and then he bent down in front of Ophelia.

"Crypt and I will be back soon. Stay with Seer," he said. He got up and faced the room, took a deep breath, and unsummoned Crypt before entering.

The heavy door immediately shut after he walked in. He walked to the center of the dome. There were no windows, no gaps, only walls covered in runes.

He took another deep breath and waited for the test to start. The runes on the walls lit up, glowing brightly. Mana surged all over the room, and soon the entire dome began changing.

When it was done, he was standing inside what looked like a ruined city. The air felt like razor blades going down his throat. The sun burned so hot he could see the waves of heat rising like worms.

He looked into the distance, and all he saw was nothing—a dry and empty wasteland that went on and on.

[Mission Update: I did something]

[Assist with all you can during the test. Do not leave all the work to your summons.]

[Assistance will be measured only when you give your all.]

[Rewards: one level for every test level you assist in. New skill if you assist in all.]

[Penalty: permanent 4 reduction in stats from every level of the test you didn't assist in.]

"A mission?"

Jake carefully read the details of the mission he had just gotten. The rewards were good, but the punishments felt crazy as well.

"System, isn't this too much punishment?" he asked.

[I can't do anything about it. My processor weighed the reward and penalty and found it as perfect. You have to take it as it is.]

Jake knew there was no arguing with the system, so he simply got ready. He summoned Crypt and all his skeletons. He took the sword of one of the skeletons and unsummoned it.

"Leveling up is very important to me now. I'll have to give my all here," he muttered.

A minute passed since he had gotten here, and what he had meant to fight finally came. He heard the growls coming from the ruined houses. One by one, they came out.

Lizard-like creatures, seven feet tall. The best way to describe them was to call them lizard men. Their scales were blood red, same as their eyes. Spikes ran down their backs all the way to their tails. The tip of their tails had spikes in all directions.

They had teeth and claws that could rip through armor.

[.....]

On the second floor of the guild, Seer and Rion were inside a room with the receptionist, watching a projection of the test.

Their eyes lit up when they saw the lizard men.

"Why the hell is he facing Blood Flame Lizards right off the bat?" Seer asked.

The receptionist was startled when she heard Seer speak. She waved her hands. "I don't know! Please, I didn't do anything to the test," she said.

"No one is saying you did anything. We just want to know why blood Flame Lizards are showing up in the first test. Shouldn't it be goblins or something weaker?" Rion asked.

"Yes, it should. This is the first time I've seen blood Flame Lizards show up as the first level. But the test is a semi-sentient being linked across the entire kingdom. There are times it makes unusual decisions," she said.

"We'll need to stop it. If he's facing the lizards in level one, he'll surely face worse going up," Seer said.

"It's impossible to stop an already started test, Lady Seer," the receptionist said.

"She is right, Seer. The test will take your forced entry or stopping as someone trying to cheat, and it will attack the trial taker even more—killing him," Rion said.