"To pass the first test, the requirement is to have a spear of your own." As these words came out of Arves' mouth, a slightly skeptical expression appeared on Valyr's face as he recalled that the requirements to obtain the Spearman class back when he was a player was more stringent than what Arves was doing.
Noticing the slight skepticism on Valyr's face, Arves let out a faint chuckle. "In actuality, there's not a lot that goes on into obtaining the Spearman class as a subclass. However, the Spearman Guild has made it mandatory to lengthen the process as much as possible, the reasons of which I don't know."
"Either way, the first requirement does kind of make sense from their perspective. After all, if you want to obtain the Spearman subclass, then that means you've already practiced with the spear, which in turn means you already have a spear of your own."
While listening to Arves dissuade him into thinking that there was something suspicious going on with the trial process, Valyr noticed that Arves' manner of speaking seemed quite casual. Naturally, it did not take long for the pieces in his mind to come together as he felt that the reason behind the casual tone was due to him knowing Arcenne and Aster.
Of course, he wasn't sure if that was truly the case, yet he felt inclined to believe so as the man shifted his gaze towards the spear affixed to his back.
"Is it fine if I could hold your spear for a bit?" With a slightly entranced expression on his face, Arves posed the question to Valyr, who responded by raising his eyebrow in slight suspicion. Nevertheless, the latter grabbed the spear behind his back before giving it to the man, making sure to keep an eye on him lest he ran away with it.
Thanking Valyr for letting him hold the spear, Arves calmly examined the spear given to him as the slightly excited expression on his face was gradually replaced with a neutral one. Every once in a while, he would stare at a certain part of the spear, only to nod in satisfaction before moving onto the other parts.
After examining the spear, Arves then asked Valyr to move back a few steps before doing a few basic movements with it. At that instant, Valyr was made privy to the reason why Arves was an instructor of the Spearman Guild.
'He's definitely at the Elite level of proficiency with the spear at the very least.' This was the thought that popped up into Valyr's mind as he watched Arves wield his spear as if he were doing a dance. However, if one looked closely, the graceful nature of the dance shrouded a highly destructive portion, which only appeared at the very end as Arves thrust out with the spear.
"Hah!"
Whoosh!
Conserving all of the momentum he had generated before transferring all of it into the spear, a large shockwave was sent through the tip of Valyr's spear as Arves stood in place for a few seconds before giving the spear back to the former. "Am I right to assume that this spear has undergone a great amount of upgrades and modifications?"
"Yeah." Valyr nodded. "It used to be a simple wooden spear when I first got it."
"Really?" Arves' eyes widened in slight surprise. "I had a feeling the spear had undergone through wear and tear by your side, but never did I expect for it to start from such humble beginnings."
"Are you a blacksmith by any chance?" Hearing the question that escaped Arves' mouth after he was done speaking, Valyr swiftly responded with a firm nod, informing his instructor that he had upgraded and modified his spear into what it was today. At the same time, he could not help but inwardly shudder in slight fear as another thought surfaced in his mind.
'I take back what I said earlier. At least Master level proficiency.'
"Ah! We've gotten sidetracked. I apologize." Though Arves was interested to know what kind of modifications and upgrades Valyr's spear had gone through, the thought of the test he was currently holding for Valyr eventually surfaced in his mind once more, leaving him no choice but to place all of those thoughts at the back of his head for now, including the thought of requesting Valyr to forge him a spear of his own.
"With a spear like the one you currently own, it's a given that you pass the first part of this test with flying colors," said Arves as he organized the thoughts lingering in his mind. "With that, let us move onto the second part of this test, which is to see if you have the capabilities to skillfully wield a spear."
"There are actually two ways we can go about this part of the test," he continued. "The first way is to give me proof that your proficiency with the spear has reached a certain level. This proof could come in many forms, but generally, proof from training halls of your proficiency is more than enough to complete the requirement."
"On the other hand, the second way involves having to fight against me with the spear so I could assess what level of proficiency with the spear you currently possess."
"In any case, if the proof of proficiency you show informs me that you haven't reached the Novice level of proficiency at the very least, or if I assess your proficiency with the spear to be below that of a novice while fighting, then we'll have to stop the process there, unfortunately."
Nodding in response to Arves' words, Valyr rummaged through his pockets before bringing out the rectangular plate of metal he had gotten from Clossbay City's Combat Training Hall. Making sure that he had gotten the right item out of his pocket, Valyr took a look at the plate, only to notice that his real first name was written on it.
At that moment, thoughts of Arves realizing who he was talking to just by reading the name on the plate lingered in his mind, making him feel anxious. However, in the end, Valyr still gave the plate to the man, hoping that he would give him the benefit of the doubt.
Receiving the plate from Valyr, Arves took a look at the plate and immediately nodded in satisfaction, noticing that he had been given a certification plate from a combat training hall. With that, he swiftly headed to lower section of the plate, which listed down all of the things Valyr was proficient with, which had been certified by the combat training hall.
"Adept level with the spear… Elite level in combat…" Muttering out the words he was reading in slight disbelief, a wave of greater disbelief washed over his body once he read on the plate that Valyr was Rank 1 when he had gotten these proficiencies certified. Eventually, his gaze shifted towards the name written on the plate, prompting him to look at Valyr and the plate back and forth for a while.
"I don't know who made your plate, but I'm surprised such an absurd misspelling of your name went through." At some point, Arves nodded as he gave the plate back to Valyr while saying a few things, the words he spoke allowing Valyr to inwardly let out a long sigh of relief.
"Either way, you've proven to me that you have the necessary qualifications in order to obtain the Spearman subclass," said Arves not long after, prompting a hint of panic to appear on Valyr's face as that was not the outcome he wanted to obtain. Fortunately, Arves' words removed that panic, instead replacing the expression on his face with a faint smirk.
"However, in order to make sure that the qualifications you've shown me are legitimate, would it be possible for you to show me a few moves with the spear."
"Gladly." As the faint smirk on his face morphed into a pleasant smile, Valyr took out the Spear of the Prodigious Tidemother from behind his back once more before distancing himself from where Arves stood. Taking in a deep breath, he tightly gripped onto the shaft of the spear as he did a few basic movements with it, earning a brief nod from Arves as he watched from afar.
Continuing to do basic movements with the spear, Valyr went ahead and activated the offensive skills that paired with the spear, such as [Strong Pierce]. Unsurprisingly, the gaze Arves gave him turned into that of respect as the man now confirmed with his own eyes that the qualifications were not falsified.
However, just as Arves was about to tell Valyr that he had seen enough, the latter had unleashed a move out of nowhere that left him no choice but to stand frozen in place as his mouth went agape.
"[Shadow Serpent Style]."
"[Descending Shadow Maw]."
Whoosh!
Condensing all of the momentum he had built up throughout his exhibition so far, Valyr swiftly transferred all of it towards his spear as he swung it in a forward arc as he felt his body smoothly connect with the source of energy he had become acquainted with after absorbing the orb of Shadow Serpent Essence.
In an instant, a dark haze covered the entirety of his spear as it collided with the floor, causing the room to quake with great intensity for a brief moment as everything soon returned to normal.
Amidst the silence that covered the entire room after Valyr's sudden move, Valyr went ahead and affixed the spear he wielded onto his back once more as he took a look at the aftereffects of the move he had just unleashed.
Inwardly sucking in a bit of cold air through his teeth as he gazed at the small yet deep crater that had formed from his attack, he then shifted his gaze towards Arves, who looked at him in silence as immense stupefaction was written on his face. Fortunately, the silence between the two was broken as Arves awkwardly asked Valyr a question.
"Could you… uh... could you wait here for a moment?"
