<To obtain this class, you have to go through an evaluation. Confirm?>

After finally deciding on my class, a message appeared.

“An evaluation?... Confirm!” I hesitated for a few moments but inevitably decided on doing it.

When I spoke out, a white line appeared in the air in front of me.

It started vibrating and after a few seconds, it split in down the middle.

It formed a tight oval and slowly expanded.

The air around it distorted and flashes of light escaped as the energy previously used to hold the space together escaped.

The size of the oval increased until, eventually, it became a perfect circle with a diameter of 2 meters.

I could see through the circle but the cave wall I expected to see wasn’t there.

Instead, I could see a large field of grass.

“What’s this then, some kind of portal?” I approached the circle and studied it; When I tried to look at the back of it, the circle’s face kept following me, only allowing me to see its front.

‘The evaluation is through here, I guess’ I hesitated for a moment and then entered.

I stepped through the portal and immediately felt a strong wind hitting me, making it difficult for me to stand still.

The portal behind me closed rapidly, and within seconds I was left alone.

When I looked around me, I could see nothing but grassy fields until the horizon.

I hadn’t noticed before I went through the portal, but the blades of grass were all at least as tall as me. The only reason I could see until the horizon was because of the wind; All the grass was blown flat to the ground.

<The first trial will begin >

As the message faded, dark clouds appeared from over the horizon.

The wind became increasingly fierce and I had to dig my feet into the ground to stay standing.

‘They are convenient’ Because I had been transformed into a dragon-kin in the past, I had much more grip then I had before; I could actually ‘grab’ the ground by piercing my feet’s claws into it.

<This world has been caught in the fight of two immortals. Although the fight only lasted a few moments, it caused a storm that is now ravaging the lands.>

<Do not get caught by the storm>

‘…Right’ Although I wanted to dissect the information I had been given thoroughly, I didn’t get that chance.

The clouds that had been at the horizon only a moment ago were already overhead.

The wind had increased in severity just as fast, and I had no choice but to also use my hands to brace myself.

The claws on my hands pierced the ground and I made my self as small as possible.

Because I’d lied down flat on the ground, the wind had much less grip on me than before.

Consequently, it became much easier to hold myself in place.

As time passed, the wind became more and more fierce; now and again clumps of dirt were pulled from the ground and flung away.

The pieces of dirt became increasingly large and eventually clumps as large as a house were seen flying about.

Despite all this, I managed to tightly stick to the ground.

Eventually, however, the ground I was holding started to move.

Dirt struck me in the face as more and more ground around me got loose.

‘Damn, I might hold on, but the ground definitely won’t’ cold sweat formed on my forehead as I desperately searched for a solution.

‘Right, if I can strengthen myself with mana, why can’t I do the same to the ground’ Having thought it up, I immediately put my idea into practice.

I moved mana to my hands and infused it into the ground.

The dirt the mana passed through immediately started to strengthen and the dirt around me no longer got caught by the wind.

Having found a solution, I let out a sigh.

After a few more minutes, however, I frowned; Although the ground I’d strengthened didn’t get pulled apart, I could only strengthen a limited part.

The part I’d strengthened slowly got pulled up from the ground in its entirety and was about to fly off.

I poured more mana into the ground, but every bit of extra ground I strengthened only delayed my demise by a few seconds.

Based on the mana I had left, I’d only be able to hang on for ten more minutes.

It might be enough, but if the storm hadn’t passed by then, I’d be toast.

I started looking for a way to solve this issue and time passed.

When I had only 25% of my mana left, I thought of an idea.

I moved the mana to my palms and, instead of infusing it into the ground, I twisted it together, forming a thick bundle of mana.

Manipulating the mana, I send it burrowing into the ground.

The mana dug deeper and deeper into the ground and, when it encountered significant resistance, it stopped. Several strands of mana extended themselves from it, securing the mana firmly in the ground.

A long rope of mana had formed, extending deep into the ground.

I held onto the rope with both hands and absorbed the mana I’d previously used to strengthen the ground.

The dirt I had been holding onto until then flew away promptly and I only had the rope connecting me with solid land.

I held on with all my strength and, after a whole hour, the wind suddenly disappeared.

“What!” I yelled out, as the force keeping me suspended suddenly disappeared.

I fell down to the ground from several meters high and had the air blown out of me.

“Why’d it sudden-“ I looked around me and quickly figured out why the wind had suddenly stopped.

I had entered the eye of the storm; Several dozen meters away from me, a giant wall of wind, rain and debris rapidly moved away from me.

At the same time, an equally large wall of disaster was approaching me from behind.

I had a few minutes until the storm hit me again, and this time I’d be prepared for it.

Using my mana, I quickly dug a narrow tunnel into the ground, following after the rope I’d previously made.

When I eventually encountered rock, I created several chains of mana and secured myself to it.

Just as I did, the sound of the storm travelled down the tunnel I’d made and barraged my eardrums.

Unlike before, I had little trouble withstanding the storm; Little wind reached me in the tunnel and that, that did, failed to put pressure on me.

When one and a half hours passed, the storm finally died down.

I climbed back up the tunnel and emerged out of the ground.

Looking around, I took in the surroundings; What had initially been a peaceful landscape, now looked like the aftermath of a giant battle.

The ground had been ripped apart and giant craters had formed where the ground was flung away.

The grass that had been lying flat on the ground because of the wind slowly straightened itself and after a few minutes, all I could see was a wall of green.

<The second trial will begin>

“Oh, give me a break…”

 

A figure was moving quickly through the dense grass.

Even though it could only see half a meter around it at most, it seemed to have a clear goal.

As it came within a dozen meters of its goal, it suddenly sped up.

It lifted its weapon and burst out from the grass, appearing in front of its victim.

A slight grin was visible on its face; it had found a nice target and was about to finish it off.

Unexpectedly, however, the target, which had been standing still, moved at an incredible speed.

The figure didn’t have any time to react and its grin remained plastered on its face as it died.

The former target let out a sigh and approached the body.

“Let’s loot him quick; his friends are approaching fast” I muttered to myself as I emptied the attacker's pockets.

These guys had been attacking me for a few hours now; They chased after the storm and attacked anyone hit by it. 

This way, their victims were likely to be drained of energy and not able to put up a fight. 

Although I had indeed used a lot of energy to get through the storm, unluckily for these guys, I wasn’t completely human anymore and could use ‘Mana absorption’, quickly restoring my strength.

I sent out a pulse of mana and located the nearest attacker with it.

I corrected my stance to receive him and raised my dagger.

A figure burst out from the grass and I quickly dodged its attack.

In the same movement, I brought up my leg and kicked the figure away.

It hit the ground hard and before it could get back up, I plunged my dagger into its chest.

I pulled my dagger out of its chest and prepared to strike down again.

Before I could do so, however, the attacker conjured up a flame and threw it at me.

I rolled aside and jumped up.

Making sure to hit one of his vitals this time, I finished off the attacker.

‘Tsk’ I clicked my tongue and quickly started to run

The fireball that the attacker had fired off hadn’t been intended to hurt me; Instead, it was used to give away my location.

Although they could locate me from dozens of meters away without it, now everyone within several kilometres would know where I was.

I ran at full speed for about half an hour, dispatching anyone I came across without incident, and judged I had moved far enough away.

“I can’t sense anyone nearby, guess I’ll rest a little” I promptly sat down on the ground and started absorbing the surrounding mana.

I circulated it around my body, reinvigorating my tired muscles and refilling my mana core.

After half an hour of this, I opened my eyes and stood back up; I’d recharged completely.

“Strange, I haven’t discovered someone for a while.” Before, I would be attacked every few minutes and only get little time to rest, but I hadn’t even spotted anyone for the last thirty minutes.

<Second trial completed>

“Ah, that explains it” I muttered as the message popped up.

<In 72 hours the final trial, ‘three-strike mortal tribulation’, will begin>