MMORPG: Rise of the Primordial Godsmith
chapter-1107

"Hmm?" Briefly left at a slight loss for words from having someone talk to him all of a sudden, Valyr took a bit of time to react to the question thrown at him, looking at the man that appeared beside him just now.

Though the man couldn't be said to be ugly by any means, the man's appearance definitely gave one a feeling of repulsion whenever one looked at him.

Then again, that feeling was mostly due to the various traces of food stains all over the man's face and hands, as well as the overall condition of the man's military uniform, which seemed to be barely hanging onto dear life at this point.

Making it seem like he wasn't holding his breath as he immediately got a whiff of the man's pungent body odor, Valyr took a few steps back to distance himself from the man before asking, "Combat readiness test?"

"You haven't heard of it yet?" replied the man in the same mocking tone, which made Valyr begin to frown. "That confirms it, then. You really haven't taken Juba's combat readiness test yet."

At those words, a number of thoughts began to swirl in Valyr's mind, prompting him to wonder to himself what the combat readiness test was. Although the man's appearance was unkempt, there was a reason why the man mentioned the same thing twice, right?

'Pretty sure Major Rahlberd didn't mention anything like that to me earlier,' inwardly muttered the young man to himself, only to then notice that his interaction with the man had caused a group of people to start gathering around them.

Ignoring the small conversations those people were having in the meantime, Valyr briefly glanced at the confident grin that appeared on the man's face before deciding to contact Eivann through the system to obtain more information on the matter.

Surprisingly, it did not take long for the man to reply back to his query. "Ah, the combat readiness test. Takes me back to my old days, to be honest."

"That's a thing?" Though Eivann's words confirmed its existence, Valyr felt that there was more to the matter.

"It's a thing, but it's not official, if that's what you were wondering," wrote Eivann in his response message. "Consider the entire thing a way for those with higher ranks to boss around those with lower ranks."

"A few have been successful in ignoring it, a few have also been successful in fighting back, but most of them accede to it and let themselves be bossed around." Reading this message from the man, Valyr imagined Eivann letting out a sigh.

"Well, what could they do? The higher ranks aren't higher ranks for nothing."

"So, what do I do, then?" As Valyr sent this message to Eivann, he noticed that the people surrounding them had already grown into a sizable crowd.

"Up to you," Eivann replied somewhat lackadaisically. "You could ignore it, but you'd have to put up with the pestering for a while till they get tired. You could also accept it, but you wouldn't have asked about the test if that was your plan in the first place."

Going through the man's words for a bit more, Valyr inwardly had a frown on his face, only for his expression to return to its original calm. "I think I have my answer now. Just to make sure, this 'combat readiness test' thing is just a pretense for a fight, right?"

"Yep." Obtaining this reply back to Eivann, the young man now imagined the man letting out an amused chuckle. "Well, good luck on whatever you end up doing."

Whoosh!

Closing the chat screen he brought up in his mind, Valyr briefly took in a deep breath as he returned his attention to the sight surrounding him.

Watching the unkempt man in front of him continue to proclaim about the combat readiness test he was about to undertake, it was there that the young man understood why such a crowd had begun to surround them.

At the same time, the small conversations among the crowd were enough to give him insight as to why they began to gather in the first place.

"Juba's found another newbie to pick on, huh?"

"Poor guy. Seems like it's his first day in the military base, even."

"I don't even understand why Juba's doing this. He's already a sergeant, equivalent to a 4- star mercenary. Shouldn't he focus on improving his rank instead of doing this?"

"Anyone would be doing that if they were in his shoes. However, as far as I've heard, Juba's lost the steam necessary to aim for an even higher rank than what he has. He's already pushed both his classes and skills to his limit."

"Why not buy a new set of equipment? Or some elixirs, then?"

"Give him the merit points to buy those, then."

'So, the man who came up to me is named Juba.' Valyr nodded in understanding after listening around for a while, now beginning to look at the man in front of him from a different perspective.

Seeing the man still continue to advertise what seemed like entertainment to the others, Valyr decided to let him continue doing that for a bit more after hearing some of the people in the crowd talk about him.

"Any idea on the newbie Juba targeted?"

"None. Wouldn't be surprised if he can't handle Juba's attacks. The man's a sergeant, after all."

"Shame. The armor the newbie's got seems to be pretty good too."

"Not just pretty good, they're incredibly good, even. Haven't you checked it out with your identification skill yet?"

"...Damn. With a bit of upgrading, Juba's gonna get his hands on a really good set of armor, then."

Hearing how all of them were expecting him to lose later on, Valyr inwardly had a wry smile on his face, though he wasn't surprised why they were thinking that way.

After all, aside from the world of blacksmithing, where his name had already garnered a certain level of prestige thanks to his achievements, it was mostly limited to those that wielded a considerable level of power and authority.

To those that weren't part of that circle, such as the common populace, his name would not ring any bells up whatsoever.

'Then again, that's one of the reasons why I came to the frontlines in the first place,' thought Valyr to himself. 'After all, there's no better way to amass reputation other than to fight in the

battlefield.'

'... Unless if I do something crazy.'

With that in mind, the young man had a faint smile on his face as the unkempt man eventually returned his attention on him. 'Well, I guess this is already a good first step.'

"Newbie." Calling for his attention, Juba continued to speak to him in a mocking tone. "Before I explain the rules of the combat readiness test, could you tell everyone your name

first?"

"It's Ylvar," replied Valyr with a slight shrug as he prepared himself for what's to come.

"Ylvar, eh?" Juba gave a toothy grin. "Quite a nice name. Definitely fitting for someone taking

on Juba's combat readiness test."

"In any case, the rules of the combat readiness test are simple. No lethal blows and no underhanded moves. The test only ends when someone admits defeat."

"Is that clear?"

"Loud and clear," said Valyr in response, causing the grin on Juba's face to widen as a fierce

glint briefly appeared in the man's eyes.

Taking in a deep breath as he readied himself, the young man continued to have a calm expression on his face, only for it to change as Juba charged towards him.

"Still remaining calm, eh? Let's see you remain calm after this!"

Whoosh!

Flaring the entirety of his aura out, Juba appeared in front of the young man in less than an

instant before sending both of his palms outward.

Seeing the young man remain standing, even though he'd already made a move, he was

confident that this test of his would be over in no other time, causing him to inwardly let out a

cackle in response.

However, just as he was expecting his palms to collide with his opponent's torso, Juba

realized that what he hit instead was thin air.

Confused as to what was going on, Juba's eyes widened in surprise as he realized Valyr had already disappeared from where he once stood, relying on the reactions of the crowd to figure

out where the young man went.

Forcing the gears in his mind to turn as madly as they could, the man immediately put more of his weight into his palms, allowing himself to continue moving onward as he felt a breeze

blow on his back.

Swoosh!

Understanding what was going on, Juba swiftly stabilized himself before turning around, only to be greeted by the sight of Valyr in the midst of kicking out.

"Damn." Returning to his original position, Valyr slightly clicked his tongue as he noticed

that his kick didn't connect at all.

Seeing Juba look back at him with a trace of surprise on his face, the calm expression on Valyr's face soon had a smile on it as he faintly released a bit of his aura.

"Surely the combat readiness test is just getting started, no?"

Whoosh!