The faint outlines slowly transformed into five lean reptilian figures, their bodies defined by curved talons and twitching tails.
"What are those?" Zion whispered, raising an eyebrow.
[Raptors,] Uriel replied. [They are F-rank creatures that mainly rely on speed and group hunting.]
"Got it," Zion nodded, staring at the raptors that had already started to circle him.
One of the raptors suddenly hissed, its claws scraping against the floor as it lunged toward Zion.
Zion stepped aside and swung his arm in a wide arc, cleanly slicing through the creature's head.
As its body clattered on the floor behind him, the entire creature suddenly vanished from the battleground.
'These illusions are not that advanced compared to the one I train with,' Zion thought, glancing at the empty spot behind him. 'It didn't even feel like my sword passed through it.'
While he was in thought, the remaining four raptors dashed toward him. Two of them jumped up from both his sides while the other two went straight for his back.
'Right,' he thought, quickly calculating the best move to make.
Zion raised his scaled arm and jumped toward the raptor on his right.
The raptor's talons scratched across his armored forearm as he smashed into it, leaving a faint mark while the raptor was sent flying back, disappearing from the simulation mid-air as its neck was broken.
Zion immediately spun around, his blade slicing through the two raptors that had come for his back.
Both immediately vanished from the simulation, leaving him with only one more opponent.
The final raptor didn't approach him immediately; it stood still as if it was trying to figure out what to do next.
Finally, it dashed straight toward him, its mouth wide open in a last-ditch effort to bite him to death.
Zion simply stepped aside and pushed his blade through the raptor's head. He watched as its body skidded across the ground before vanishing.
'That was rather simple,' he thought, shaking his head slightly. 'But I guess that's to be expected from a few F-rank creatures.'
Before he got more time to think, the area in front of him began to distort.
Slowly, one new figure generated in front of him. Its appearance was strikingly similar to that of a Deathcrawler, yet there were faint differences such as its short tail and single eye.
'Uriel?' Zion thought, lowering himself into a proper stance.
[E-rank Ironjaw Hound,] Uriel immediately responded. [A creature that's pretty well-rounded in all areas.]
"Mhm," he murmured, eyes locked on the creature.
As the Hound let out a low growl, its metallic jaw plates began grinding together. It slowly approached Zion while its claws grew to nearly eight inches long.
Zion didn't hesitate, kicking himself off the ground in an instant.
The Hound barely had enough time to react to Zion's speed before he closed the distance, only managing to twist its metal jaw in front of his blade.
Zion's blade collided with its jaw, knocking it a few feet back while its metal plates were damaged beyond function.
Just as the Hound lifted its head again, a thin shadow of a blade swept across its vision.
A split second later, its body vanished from the simulation.
"That should be it, right?" Zion asked, watching the simulated surroundings finally disappear.
A loud beep echoed through the assessment room, and a second later the lights returned to normal as the platform beneath him came to a stop.
From the corner of the room, the judge looked up from his hologram, surprise flickering across his normally blank face.
"…Assessment complete," he muttered. "You cleared it in under a minute."
Zion stepped off the platform, rolling his shoulders lightly. "So? Did I pass?"
The judge stood still for a moment, then tapped a few buttons on his hologram, and a soft chime came from Zion's license card.
"E-Rank qualification confirmed," the man said. "Your card will update once you leave the room."
Zion glanced at the card, then back at the judge. "Alright… what now?"
"Now?" The judge shrugged. "You can start taking E-Rank missions. That's how mercenaries actually build their records."
'Simple enough,' Zion thought, staring at the license. 'But most missions will be on a similar difficulty level as this test… Can I really grow from that?'
Though that was the most important benefit, Zion knew it was far from the only one. Reaching D-Rank meant improved treatment, better equipment vendors, reliable shipwrights, and the chance to take missions backed by influential groups.
'I should be able to clear the D-Rank exam even without using my gravity wings,' he reasoned. 'So… am I really going to ignore all those advantages just to play it safe?'
Finally, Zion pushed his mercenary license back into his pocket and stared up at the judge. "Is it possible to take the D-Rank exam right away?"
The judge raised an eyebrow. "You?" he muttered. "…I guess your skill level is more than high enough."
"But…" the judge started, locking eyes with Zion. "Are you sure you don't want actual experience under your belt first? Just jumping into D-rank missions can be quite hard."
Zion shook his head. "No. I'll be fine."
The judge stared at him for a moment, as if waiting for hesitation that never came.
"…Alright then," he muttered, turning back to his hologram. "Your choice."
His fingers moved across the screen, bringing up a new set of authorization windows. "The system needs a minute to reset for the D-Rank exam. Stay on the platform."
Zion stepped back into position without a word as he was already discussing his strategy with Uriel.
'We'll conserve most energy for the final round,' he thought. 'The E-rank creatures shouldn't be too much trouble after all. I just hope it isn't something as annoying as the Shadeleecher.'
"The D-Rank assessment will begin shortly," the judge called out, snapping him out of his thoughts.
Zion gave a slight nod, his scaly armor immediately covering his arms as his sword pierced through his knuckles again.
'I was looking forward to this,' he thought, feeling his heartbeat rapidly. 'Finally… a real challenge.'