Fantasy Assassin in a modern world

Chapter 89 - Start Of The Rank Assessment

'No this should be alright, Michael also had mana but that wasn't detected... It could also be that his mana was too weak.'

"Is everything alright? Just touch the detector so that we can head to the next test." 

"Sorry, I was just thinking about something." 

'Tsk, I guess I should just do it and adapt to whatever happens next.' Loki touched the orb and it started glowing. As he waited for the verdict Loki looked at the reaction of the two Grandmasters. 

On the outside, the two Grandmaster martial artists didn't have any kind of reaction but it was different on the inside.

On the inside, They were both shocked as the color of the light indicated the level of one's inner energy and the intensity of the light was the strength and stability of the inner energy. 

They had expected Loki to have a rank two or at most a rank three level of inner energy. Yet Loki's inner energy level was that of a rank four. He had just awakened his inner energy a few weeks ago and was only given one fist technique it wasn't even a meditation technique or a breathing technique that helps increase inner energy. 

The only possible way that the Grandmasters could think of for Loki to have such powerful inner energy so quickly is if that was at that level since the beginning. 

'It was said that in the ancient times, that the children of martial artists beyond the Grandmaster rank would be born with inner energy as dense and powerful as a modern Grandmaster level martial artist. Were Loki and his siblings' descendants of some powerful martial artists? I better check on that later.' Bernard started to make plans to better understand why Loki and his siblings were so peculiar. 

"Sir, Bernard is the test over?" 

"Oh... Yes, the test is over you can let go now." 

"So how was it?" 

"You did very well, based on the color and density of the light, you should have the inner energy necessary for a rank four martial artist." 

"... Is that good or is that bad?... Sorry, I'm not really sure about this martial arts thing. I do know some basic knowledge but since I was tested before as someone without inner energy, I have no clue about the ranks and such." 

Loki looked genuinely confused and worried, and that's what the Grandmasters thought as well before they answered his question with a smile on their faces. 

"Having a rank-four level inner energy before reaching the age of twenty-five is already above average, but you just awakened your inner energy a few weeks ago and already had that as the starting phase. Well, that is something only a select few had in this generation. It's rare, but not entirely impossible." 

...

When Loki heard Bernard's reply he felt relieved. It would've been very bad if he was the only one, he was glad that there were other people that had a similar experience as him. Well, it could've been worse if they found out the truth that he did awaken his inner energy at the same level as a rank two martial artist. He only improved fast because of the combination of his meditation technique as well as his mana trying to merge with his inner energy. If they learned of that particular truth then who knows what would happen to him. 

"So what should I do next?" 

"The next part of the assessment is to test one's physical strength. As you know martial artists are different from normal people because of their inner energy. That same inner energy isn't just used to make those fancy techniques you have seen on Television. That inner energy is also what makes a martial artist have a stronger body than any normal human. Even without training a seven-year-old young martial artist's body that has inner energy will grow stronger than even that of a fully trained adult male without inner energy. So the next test will be a test on how much your body has improved from what it was when you were still a non martial artist." 

...

The three of them then headed towards another room. This time it was a room with a large machine that almost filled the entire room and two other smaller machines. Loki could only recognize the treadmill at the side but the other two machines were something he saw for the first time. 

"First thing you need to do is punch this punching machine. Oh right, since you learned a fist technique I should tell you that you're not allowed to use it when you punch. This is to measure your pure physical strength, so you can't use any technique and just punch it normally." 

Loki nodded his head as he approached the punching machine. He touched the machine for a second. 'I guess after that thing with my inner energy, them learning how strong my physical body is, isn't really that bad. Well, I am also rather curious as to how strong my current strength is without the use of 'Enhancement', I guess I can really try my best for this test.'

Loki without getting to any kind of stance simply punched the machine with all his might. The score of his punch appeared on the machine's screen that was located on top. It said that his punching power was 1500 pounds.

Even though he tried his best to make it look like he didn't know anything about fighting, the Grandmasters noticed something with that single punch of his. 

'Though it was crude and the strength of the punch itself isn't that impressive for a martial artist with rank-four level inner energy, the way he threw it while unconsciously balancing his body to accommodate the increase of his strength was pretty good. It's also worth noting that it has only been a few weeks since he awakened his inner energy, meaning that his body is still in a state of improvement. It would take a few months for his body to fully accommodate the entirety of his inner energy.' Bernard made a mental note to himself as he nodded his head in satisfaction. 

'This lad has potential, even though he's a bit old and he's late in starting his journey as a martial artist, I'm sure if he works hard enough he would be able to catch up with the others. I wonder should I invite him to my sect....' Niko seriously thought as he looked at Loki in appreciation.