The employee who assessed the Matsuda siblings rushed out of the room. She hurried towards where the Head of the Martial Arts Department of Leim City was resting. The head was a rank two Grandmaster martial artist who was currently having a drink of tea with a compatriot of his. 

…

Two old men were sitting down drinking tea in the top room of the Martial Arts Department Building while staring at the clouds. 

“What do you think of the fall of the Yui Clan?” The Grandmaster of the Leim City Martial Arts Department, Bernard asked his fellow Grandmaster Niko. Hearing the question Niko took a sip of his tea and looked at Bernard. 

“There were too many forces involved in that incident to comment on, but all in all I think that the Yui Clan was just unlucky.” 

“Unlucky huh… Indeed they were pretty unlucky, the moment the former head of the Clan died and their genius was killed they already sealed their fate.”

“… The genius of the Yui Clan, Yui Sakura was it… She was indeed one of the best I’ve seen in her generation. She would’ve had the chance to become a Grandmaster before reaching thirty years old if she were alive.” 

“Yes, it was a shame that her foolish siblings had killed their genius of a sister. I’m sure that if she didn’t die, the Elite Dragon Brigade wouldn’t have used the Yui Clan as bait. In fact, if she was still alive and had become the head of the Clan, I’m sure that they wouldn’t even have involved themselves with that fearful sect.”

“… Enough about that, what happened to the Yui Clan has already passed and there’s nothing we can do about it. What I want to talk about is that urban legend that was growing popular lately.” 

“Urban legend, which one?” 

“The assassin called Fade.” 

“That guy huh… The assassin that has never failed to kill his target, not to mention he never kills anyone else but his intended target, he pretty much has a hundred percent success rate ever since he appeared. Then there’s that famous line that made many people secretly admire him… As long as the reason is just and the price is right I would bring death to any and all evil.” 

“I won’t comment too much about his moral principles, but the skill he displayed on that one video was quite something.”

“Indeed, I don’t really know how strong he truly is and what rank he’s at, but based on how he fought in that video I can tell his technique is first class. The moves he did without using any kind of battle skill were truly precise. I dare say, that he could match up with the assassins in the top twenty of the dark rankings.” 

“The top twenty… Hmm, I, on the other hand, think that if given enough time he has got the talent to become the best assassin there is.”

While the two of them were continuing their conversation on Fade, they sensed someone coming closer to the door. 

“Don’t bother knocking and just come in.” Before the employee was able to do anything she heard Bernard speaking to her. She quickly stopped herself from knocking and entered the room. 

“What is it?” Bernard asked while taking another sip from his tea. 

“Sir, I have something to report.” The employee then recounted what happened in the inner energy examination room. The two Grandmasters were rather surprised to hear the report. 

“Oh, late bloomers that directly gain inner energy at the level of a rank two martial artist. Hmm, that’s interesting.” Niko spoke while touching his beard and rubbing it. 

“There’s also that big brother of theirs that hasn’t registered as a martial artist yet. We won’t know his exact inner energy level without testing him too. He’s here to take the rank assessment test right?” The employee nodded her head in response to Bernard’s question. “Alright then, guide me to them I want to see what that big brother has to offer. Do you want to come and watch as well Niko?” 

“Of course, this should be rather interesting to watch.” 

“Very well, come on then lead the way.” Bernard urged the employee to guide them to where Loki and his siblings were. 

…

“What do you think will happen to us?” Alisa spoke while looking worried. 

“Of course, they’re going to praise us as geniuses and we’ll both get better treatment than most. It’s like a fantasy story, we didn’t even have an inkling of inner energy, and the moment it awakens it’s at the level of a rank two martial artist.” Unlike the worried Alisa, Liam was very excited. 

On the other hand, while his siblings were having their own conversation, Loki was deep in thought. Now that his siblings have shown such talents, he would stand out if he showed too little of his true skills. If he showed too much he would still stand out more than necessary. 

‘I wonder what level of strength I should show these people. If it’s only my inner energy I should be at the same level as a rank four martial artist. Still, it’s only been a few days since my inner energy awakened. If I show them my rank four level of inner energy, then it might become quite troublesome. On the other hand, simply showing the same level as Alisa and Liam will lower my standing as their reliable older brother. I guess showing a rank-three level of inner energy should suffice. Then there’s also the problem with my fighting technique. If a librarian like me shows refined techniques then it would raise suspicion as to how I learned those techniques. Hmm, I guess I can use the same flashy moves that I’ve seen on T.V. If I show them that I can say that I just copied those moves because I don’t really know how to fight properly… This might actually be harder than I thought.’ 

Loki sighed as he realized the problems he was going to face during and after this martial artist rank assessment. While he was deep in thought Loki realized that the two powerful presences he sensed before entering the building were heading towards them.

‘Damn, this is just getting more troublesome by the minute.’