Chapter 14: Test (1)

Chapter 14: Test (1) Roger was walking towards his house when he heard hammering and wood cutting noises coming from the direction of his house. At first, he thought maybe his neighbor was renovating his place but as he reached near, the sounds seemed to come from his house rather than the neighbor. He hurried his footsteps, just when he reached his place, he was surprised to see that three workers were busy working at his backward. One was cutting the wood while infusing mana into the saw. The other one was chanting and moving his hands, lifting the pieces to the upper floor and the last one was holding a huge hammer, infused with blue mana and hammering nails and fixing the wall. "What the hell happened!?" Roger asked out loud. "Oh, uncle! You’re back!" Luke and Noah were observing the work when they heard Roger and rushed towards his side. "I’m sorry! I got excited and punched through the wall! It was a mistake, really! I didn’t mean to!" Luke said in an apologetic tone. "What do you mean you punched through the wall!? You can’t use mana and...wait a minute, do you mean to say you succeeded in the method!?" "Hehe!" Luke grinned as he raised a fist in front of Roger and showed a glowing amber colored prana infused fist. "I was surprised too! he really did it!" Noah said excitedly. ’He really did it! I can’t believe this!’ Roger was taken aback. He never imagined Luke to succeed in just a day. He was even doubtful about the method Luke had told him, but the method of cultivation really exists and to even succeed, he still couldn’t believe. "So, you weren’t lying!" Roger said. "Did you not believe me then!?" Luke protested at not being trusted. "No! No! I did believe you! I just hadn’t thought you’d do it in a single day. Well, I didn’t know my nephew was a genius! Hahaha!" Roger laughed out loud, trying to cover his mistake. "I’m ready for the test now!" Luke said. "Right now!? You just learned how to channel mana, don’t you need a few more days to adjust and get used to it? You haven’t even learned the spells properly too!" "I don’t! I’ve practiced this hundreds of times in my mind. I’ll get a feel as I progress through your test." A sigh escaped Roger. He felt Luke was too excited to understand anything right now. He would get a feel of reality as he takes the test. "Alright! let’s move a little away from here, we shouldn’t hinder their work." Roger moved towards the far end of the backyard as Luke and Noah followed. A huge rectangular shield and a halberd appeared out of thin year in Roger’s hands. "Woah! You have a dimensional ring?" Noah asked in surprise. "I got it from an old dungeon. Do you think I have the money to buy such an expensive ring?" The dimensional rings were sold for about two hundred to three hundred gold coins, which was not possible for Roger in his low salary. "You should’ve became an adventurer then!" Luke said. "I don’t want to be a selfish and greedy bastard! If the military was not there, the city would have been annihilated long ago. They are the protectors and guardians. I would live with respect and selflessness rather than a greedy and selfish money filled life!" Roger said puffing his chest in determination. Luke and Noah kept their silence. They just looked towards each other and smiled. They knew that the military and enforcers hate the adventurers, they are like mortal enemies to each other, since the adventurers would do anything for money and nothing without it. They were also quite an obstacle during the independence movement of the Gemburn city. So the military had all the reasons to hate them and they respected their uncle and the military for their selfless service to the people of the city. Roger drew a circle on the ground with his halberd and stepped inside it. He turned towards Luke and stomped the shield on the ground, leading to a wave of dust flying out. "If you can make me move out of the circle, then it’s your win and you can go and become an adventurer. But if you can’t, then you’ll be joining the military under my division! This is your test!" "What!? you’re a fifth circle mage fighter, how the hell am I supposed to win?" Luke protested. "I’m not asking you to defeat me. you just have to move me out of this circle. If you can’t even do this, how will you fight all those dangerous beasts in the forest? They won’t spare you because you are weaker than them...or rather...Don’t tell me you’re scared!" Roger grinned as he gave a teasing smile at Luke. "Never! Alright, I accept!" Luke said with determination. "You have two minutes. Noah! Count the time." Roger said as Noah pulled a round pocket watch and held the button on the timer. "Only two minutes! That’s impossible!" Luke yelled in frustration. "Do you think the enemy will stand and wait for you? Two minutes are enough to decide life and death. Don’t worry, I won’t use mana to hold my feet in place." Luke sighed and took position as he bent his knees and lifted both hands up, he rolled his fingers into fists, ready to strike anytime. "Come on then! Your time starts now!" Luke channeled mana into his feet and took a step forward and vanished from his spot. In the blink of an eye, he was right behind Roger. His fist was covered in prana as he was ready for a punch. He swung his fist right towards Roger’s back. It was about to hit him when suddenly his fist collided at the thick shaft of the halberd. Roger had blocked the punch without even looking back. Luke took his hand back and vanished from the spot again, this time he was in front of Roger. He swung his fists again and a punch hit hard right on Roger’s shield. A shockwave spread throughout the shield as Roger Felt his hands go numb for a moment. "You’ve got quite the power packed in those punches! It’s time I get serious too!" a smile spread on Roger’s face as he swung his halberd. The swing was so fast that Luke couldn’t react at all, and the flat part of the blade of the halberd hit squarely on his face, throwing him away as he blasted off, sliding along the ground for a few meters.