Because Minami Yojuro's speed was simply too fast, the onlookers hadn't even had time to react before they realized his body had already appeared in front of the massive crimson fireball.
Yet just as they were wondering what he was about to do, Yojuro gripped the crude bone blade in his hand tightly, channeling his spiritual pressure—no, his magic—into the weapon, before slashing forward with a single strike!
"Yagami Ittō-ryū—Divine Rend!"
Yojuro had his own sword style. Although he came from the Rukongai, he had once encountered a sword master of a particular school in his younger days. Because the master had shown him great kindness, Yojuro was taught martial arts under him.
No matter how strong a martial arts master may be, they too must one day meet the end of their life. And in the setting of the Soul Reaper world, the dead would either become wandering souls or fall into hollows.
Many of these martial masters had already grown old and frail when they died, leaving them inconspicuous in Rukongai. But Yojuro had learned to make use of every advantage, even before he had any "cheats" to rely on.
Not only swordsmanship—whether in hand-to-hand combat or other techniques, Yojuro had trained in many disciplines long before he ever entered Shin'ō Academy.
This was why, despite having no background, no connections, and no cheats, he had once been able to outpace many of the "side characters" in the original story.
The high-density spiritual-particle slash that should have been wrapped in reiryoku in his old world had been converted here into a pure, compressed magic slash.
Because of the compressed magic, the bright white slash took on a physical form. The instant it left his blade, it turned into a crescent moon several meters high, cleaving straight through the "Red Fire Cannon" Yojuro had unleashed earlier—splitting it cleanly in half like a melon!
"BOOOOM!!!"
When the crimson fireball was cut in two, its terrifying energy instantly erupted. The violent heat engulfed the surroundings completely, the ground buckling under the force and leaving behind a crater several meters wide. The nearby floor scorched into blackened earth, and the air's temperature surged by several degrees in an instant.
But what was even more outrageous was the slash that had split the fireball. That crescent-shaped strike, several meters high, plowed a deep gash into the ground, even tearing through the ceiling.
After bisecting the massive fireball, it continued forward, slicing apart every table and chair in its path, finally leaving behind a deep scar carved into the wall of the Adventurers' Guild!
Because it had all happened in just an instant, everyone present stood frozen in shock.
When they finally came back to their senses and looked at Minami Yojuro again, their gazes had completely changed from before.
No wonder Rex had treated him like such a dangerous opponent. If a terrifying monster like this could still be considered a "rookie adventurer," then weren't the rest of them nothing more than babies in swaddling cloth?
"Miss Soya, I'm truly sorry. I haven't fought seriously in such a long time, so I lost control of my strength just now.
All the damages here—I'll compensate for them. I might be short on money at the moment, but I'll earn plenty very soon."
If the others had heard Minami Yojuro say such a thing earlier, they would have dismissed him as a clueless rookie bragging without shame.
But after witnessing that battle just now, not a single person present could doubt his words anymore.
What a joke—though the fight between Yojuro and Rex had been brief, Yojuro had already proven his extraordinary swordsmanship, his overwhelming magical power, and his astonishing physical abilities!
His superb swordsmanship was shown when he split the fireball in half with a single slash. His immense magical power was proven by the crimson fire cannon he had released. His frightening physical ability was demonstrated when he moved as if teleporting, appearing in front of the fireball with unmatched speed.
Swordsmanship, magic, physical ability—no matter which aspect, Yojuro completely outclassed every other adventurer in the guild. Even though he had just registered as a rookie, he was, without doubt, the strongest newcomer.
"About this incident, I also bear part of the responsibility," Soya added. "So I will share some of the damages. Honestly, I thought it was just going to be a light spar… but when you said you had 'a bit of strength,' you really meant this kind of strength."
To tell the truth, Soya never imagined Yojuro and Rex's spar would escalate into something like this. She had thought Yojuro was just a pure rookie—so even sparring in the guild hall instead of the training grounds wouldn't cause much damage. But who could have predicted…
"Then, Miss Soya," Yojuro said, "since I've proven my strength, can I now accept missions above the E-rank?"
Rex: (ToT)Who am I? Where am I? Did everyone just forget about me?!
Leaving the Adventurers' Guild once more, Minami Yojuro wore a satisfied expression. Having proven his strength, not only had he been allowed to take higher-ranked missions, but he had directly received an A-rank mission.
For a rookie adventurer who had just registered as E-rank to be entrusted with an A-rank commission—such a thing would have been unimaginable before.
But this privilege had been granted personally by the guild master himself.
Originally, the man had been upstairs sipping black tea while his assistant did something under his table. The sudden commotion below had been so loud that he thought his wife had stormed in to catch him, so he quickly pushed the secretary aside and rushed downstairs.
After understanding the full situation, the guild master decisively granted Yojuro this special privilege.
The Adventurers' Guild didn't only exist in one place; almost every sizable town had its own branch, and the central headquarters carried out annual performance evaluations of all branches.
The stronger the adventurers gathered in a town, the greater the number and difficulty of missions completed each year—and that was, of course, highly beneficial for the local guild master.
So, realizing Yojuro was a promising young man with immense potential, the guild master generously declared that compensation for the damages was unnecessary. Instead, he even allowed Yojuro to accept higher-ranked missions immediately.
Of course, as for official adventurer rank advancement—even the guild master could not bend the rules.
To raise one's rank, an adventurer had to complete the required quotas step by step. That was a rule set by the headquarters, and even he couldn't change it.
But Yojuro didn't particularly care about ranks or fame anyway.
His goal right now was simple: money.
As long as he could accept higher-level missions, he could earn money quickly.
Whether it was to better understand this otherworld or to strengthen himself further, wealth was something he absolutely needed.