"While it may have seemed otherwise, the reason I wanted to take on this test myself was to confirm something about you, boy. However…"

He then slowly shifted his gaze and fixated it on the girl's masked, cloaked and hooded figure.

"…after witnessing the miracle of what your partner just did… I am now certain that I have finally found what I have been searching for... for decades…"

The old man's words caused a frown to appear and replace Aiden's cold outlook.

"What do you mean by that?" He asked, still keeping the tip of his obsidian blade aimed towards the old man. "What… or more importantly, who were you searching for and why?"

"Well…" Keeping his gaze on the girl standing behind the boy, he revealed a bitter smile. "It would be better if we were to bring this discussion to somewhere… less crowded."

He then looked at the boy once more as he continued with a small, knowing smirk appearing at the corners of his bearded face.

"What do you say we bring this to the back? I believe you are already acquainted with the young miss… *khm* leader of the examiners… or am I wrong?"

Thinking about it for a bit, Aiden finally lowered his sword and stepped closer to Galina. Making sure that he was covering the frightened and shy little girl, he pointed towards the door.

"Fine… Let's talk. We'll meet you there shortly. Please, go ahead, Sir Arthur… Sonovan."

He pushed his family name deliberately, giving the old man yet another wry look. The old man shook his head dismissively, with a wry-looking smile donning his old face, and silently stepped forward towards the door, whilst keeping his hand raised above his head all the while.

Arriving at the edges of the battlefield, he stopped in front of the golden barrier that was still up and looked back at the girl and boy duo over his shoulders.

"Young Miss… Would you please…" He glanced at the barrier, waiting for the pair to remove the magical block.

Feeling his gaze, Galina felt rather uncomfortable, despite that there was no ill intent behind it. She hid behind her young master, as she waved with her small right hand in the air.

In the next moment, the barrier began to fade out, vanishing in a couple of moments completely and returning the ability for the still lingering crowded upstairs to see what was happening below once again.

However, as they looked below, they couldn't understand what was going on. Was the fight already over? If so, who won? Both sides looked completely fine, healthy.

Furthermore, why would Sir Arthur leave? Why are his hands raised above his head? Did he surrender?

Did the boy win? Was it a draw?

"Who won?! Godsdammit how will I know if I won the bet or not?!"

"Yeah, this is not fair! We demand an explanation!"

"Look at his stance! Did the Roaring Lion lose? Did he surrender for some reason?"

"Impossible! What are you even saying?! How could the legend lose to this scrawny kid? His victory over Sir Michael was already way too suspicious!"

"Yeah, I also felt that something was not right with that! Did he used some enhancement drug?"

"I bet that little b*tch also did something… Maybe used dark magic and cursed Sir Arthur?"

"How could someone like these two be accepted?!"

The crowd instantly erupted, throwing not-so-kind remarks towards the youngsters, looking rather displeased at the confusing sight ahead of them.

Hearing the not-so-friendly remarks, feeling the growing hostility around them, Galina shivered, hiding her slender frame behind her Young Master. She buried her mask-covered face in his back, not daring to look away.

Being a girl, and from goblin origin, she naturally feared these aggressive humans, even if she were no longer the weak and frail little creature like before. Her nature, her shyness, and the fright of humans was after all, instinctively ingrained into her soul. It was not something she could undress from one moment to another.

Feeling her rapid heartbeat, her fright, Aiden's frown only deepened, he clenched his fists. He scowled, his anger steadily rising, the faint glimmer in his eyes began to throw brighter and more intense sparkles.

Before the situation could get too out of hand, Sir Arthur turned around and stepped closer to them. Finally lowering his hands, he bowed before the two youngsters in a courteous manner.

"Please… allow me to resolve this slight mishap. After all, it was due to my actions that this situation happened at all." He offered.

Then, without waiting for a response from the two, he straightened his back and turned to face the crowd above.

Her gentle, warm smile instantly vanished, replaced by a stern, fierce look as he gazed at the rabble occupying the balcony.

"SILENCE!" He bellowed suddenly. His cold tone instantly filled the spacious room, his ferocious cry caused the crowd's chatter to freeze up on the spot.

"I will ask each and every one of you, spending their time here watching a newly registered adventurer's test rather than going out and resolving the citizen's issues, that instead of yelling and acting like some uncivilized barbarians, but instead direct your complaints to me."

His short speech filled the room, bolstering in the spacious hall. Even as he finished, there were no words spoken from above, they kept listening and watching in silence. Faces filled with fright, scare, shock, and a tinge of regret could be seen all around, before slowly, but surely they began to disperse and leave one by one.

With that, the old man, humphed with satisfaction, before turning back to the duo. He bowed once again, before finally shifting towards the door and slowly walking away. Before he left, he called back one last time.

"I will be waiting for you all at the back. Don't worry, I will get the lady examiner to join us."

Having said that he resumed and was about to leave before he seemingly realized something. Stopping in the doorway, he turned his head to the side to look at the masked girl and the black-haired boy once more.

"Oh… I almost forgot. I will also report your successful test to the receptionist. Don't worry, Miss Galina, from this moment forth, you are a full-fledged Rank 1 Adventurer. Congratulations!"

With that, he stepped out, finally leaving the arena, and with hurried steps, he entered the back office door, not giving any chance for the slowly returning rabble to get to him.

Meanwhile, as the old man left, and they were now alone, Ryg vanished, returning to Aiden's body in a flash of light.

As soon as he was unarmed, Aiden reached out and pulled Galina into his embrace, and hugged her tightly.

"Are you alright, Galina?" He whispered, his words carrying a great amount of concern.

The shocked, stunned little girl couldn't say a word, her face was burning under the cover of her mask, her eyes were blurry with the sheer volume of tears that gathered.

Without any choice she planted her face in her young master's chest, lightly shaking it.

"Hey, Aiden! You will suffocate the girl! What are you so worried about, she was behind you all the time!" Patting his shoulder, Drake laughed at his action from behind.

From the other side, a pair of slender hands grabbed his hand and slowly peeled off from Galina's back. He didn't even need to look to know it was his little sister, who not wanting to be left out, forcefully squeezed himself into their moment.

"Brother! Sister Galina! I am so happy that both of you are okay! That old man was scary!"

"Sir Arthur Sonovan, The Roaring Lion. The stories about him don't give him justice…" Drake muttered looking at the door.

"What is he anyway?" Aiden asked, turning his attention to his friend. The only thing he learned was that this old man was incredibly powerful, probably much, much stronger than himself. "Is he really just a Rank 6 Adventurer?"

Drake frowned as he heard Aiden's remark.

"Just a rank 6? Are you really this clueless, Aiden?!" He exclaimed. "Just so you know, Rank 6 is the highest rank anybody ever achieved in the Kingdom's Branches. From what I know, ranks below that are almost impossible to achieve and would require you to visit the guild's headquarters to qualify. Sir Arthur's achievement is the height of what one can accomplish!"

"Still…" Aiden muttered, still not truly accepting the fact. "There's such a large gap between the ranks… That man is the first human I couldn't sense his limits. I cannot even fathom what his true power would be like…"

Hearing his friend, Drake chuckled, slapping his back.

"That's for sure! Once we have some time again, remind me to tell you some of the stories! There are so many incredible tales, legends, and myths… You wouldn't believe half of them!"

With a sigh, he turned towards the door, gesturing for the group to leave as he went on.

"Anyway… come, let's go, we should go and join him and listen to what he has to say. There must be a reason behind his sudden appearance… Could it be related to the upcoming war games?"