in a desolate Wasteland Rick is hurled several feet across the ground during a fierce battle leaving him genuinely concerned for his life just then his mentors emerged from the smoke instead of administering first aid they lawed him for his significant improvement over the past two years of training assuring him that he should have no trouble with the e- rank Adventurer exams now although the praise is appreciated Rick still desperately needs medical attention typically adventurers in this world are young due to the physical demands of the profession but some adults refuse to abandon their dreams Rick is one of those adults still striving to pass the entrance exam he approaches the reception desk and requests his exam ticket while the receptionist verifies his details she recognizes Rick and excitedly reminds him that they used to know each other at first Rick doesn't recognize her but soon recalls that they last saw each other two years ago they were co-workers and she was shocked when Rick abruptly resigned she was even more astonished to hear that he had quit to become an adventurer Rick feels a bit embarrassed since it's unusual for someone in their 30s to apply to become an advent vent typically one would start at G rank in their teens and advance to e- rank within a year or two the receptionist inquires about what Rick has been up to over the past 2 years as she hadn't heard from him at all Rick explains that he has been secluded in the mountains training rigorously with his mentors just then the Guild's habitual drunkard approaches the front desk and begins flirting with the receptionist when she tries to decline his advances explaining that she is obviously still working the man refuses to take no for an answer and starts getting a bit rough with her that's when Rick decides to intervene he pulls the drunkard aside and lightly Taps his stomach with just enough Force to knock him out instantly the receptionist apologizes for the inconvenience but Rick reassures her that it's fine since he used to work as a receptionist himself he adds that he still doesn't understand why the guild thinks it's a good idea to serve alcohol on the premises after receiving his exam number Rick heads outside where a maid named rinette greets him she asks if he has finished his registration and Rick confirms thanking her for waiting while he speaks he finds him staring at rinette's ample bosom she calls him out on it prompting Rick to quickly change the subject and talk about his excitement for the exam back inside the other adventurers are in Shock at the handprint left on the drunkard's armor the armor was made of dense steel indicating that whoever did this must be incredibly strong just then two men walk in and recognize the drunkard from a mug shot they had seen earlier his name is doml and he is an A- rank Adventurer wanted for 30 counts of assault the receptionist realizes that Rick was the one who subdued doml if Rick was truly able to take down an A- rank Adventurer he might be significantly overqualified for the exams in the meantime Rick is getting a physical exam done and his height is measured to be about 5' 8 in the Physicians are surprised Rick is taking this test when he's already 32 years old after that all the examinees are led to the next room where they are instructed to place their hands on the crystal ball to measure their Mana it will glow depending on the level of man a person possesses the others touch it and they get varying results with the highest being a c but when it's Rick's turn the orb barely lights up at all so the examiner gives Rick an F on his Mona exam the other candidates begin mocking Rick for having such a low monos score as he leaves but once the examiner calls for the next candidate to step up the orb spontaneously shatters the next test is designed to measure the candidate's offensive abilities they are instructed to strike a green rod with as much force as possible this Rod is a special slime bag capable of absorbing significant impacts so there is no need to worry about damaging it rick recalls training with a similar slime bag in the past at that time one of his mentors had told him that he needed to be able to destroy a golden slime bag using nothing but his fists Rick had thought it an impossible task given that a golden slime bag is as hard as a dragon's Fang however his mentor insisted that it was the minimum requirement for becoming an adventurer since his mentor could effortlessly destroy one with a single punch Rick was motivated to train relentlessly until he could break it even if it meant punching the bag 50,000 times a day he detested that training turning to the present the candidates line up to strike the bag with all their might after the first person kicks it the next candidate called up is the Second Son of the duria family rumor has it that his magic is as strong as that of a c rank Adventurer despite his being only 11 years old as the boy begins he casts a hell fling spell and everyone is surprised including Rick although the spell produces a surprisingly tiny Fireball it hits the target and the judges are impressed by the boy's output Rick is even more astonished since the Fireballs his own magic teacher would throw at him were far more deadly than what the boy just produced naturally Rick assumes the boy's Fireball must have been as powerful as his teachers but speculates that the boy shrunk it down to avoid destroying the building as the attack power exam goes on it eventually gets to Rick's turn but as he is walking up to the Slime bag The Examiner calls his attention and asks if he is really over 30 years old Rick answers yes so the examiner tells him that he is too old to be doing stuff like this training usually doesn't yield much of a result unless it is started very early on in life and with how bad his Mona exam score was he should just quit before he makes a fool of himself Rick knows people are judging him for being too old and he really feels like giving up but he has worked too hard to get to this point punching slime bags until his knuckles were red with blood and he still kept punching all that pain has to count for something so even if he is at a disadvantage for being old he's going to give this everything he's got Rick winds up his punch and as he makes contact with the bag it splatters everywhere and goes flying through the wall leaving everyone shocked including Rick since he wasn't expecting the bag to be so weak the kid cannot believe what he has just witnessed and feels deeply frustrated by Rick's success as this was supposed to be his moment to shine nonetheless he can accept losing to Rick for now as his true specialty lies in defensive magic he resolves to outperform Rick in the next test however by the time the next test commences the kid is left utterly speechless as Rick effortlessly tanks a fourth order nature spell The Examiner Praises Rick for being skilled enough to block his attacks and Rick appreciates the compliment knowing he is giving his best effort the instructor however doubts that Rick is truly giving his all as he has only been using first order spells to defend himself thus far he advises Rick to employ a higher tier of defensive magic moving forward Rick however informs him that he does not actually know any spells Beyond first order ones insisting that he really is doing the best he can the examiner finds it hard to believe that Rick is only capable of using first order spells given his precise control over his Mana Rick however reassures him that there should be no problem S as his first order spells seem more than adequate to handle anything The Examiner can throw at him the examiner feeling personally insulted decides to demonstrate his power he prepares to use a fifth order spell to show Rick that he should not be taken lightly as he gas the spell and unleashes a shock Cyclone a massive shock wave reverberates throughout the Kingdom so powerful that even a knight on the far side of town hears it a few minutes later Sylvester arrives at the exam Center to figure out what's going on he is informed that an f-rank adventurer manag to completely destroy a slime bag with his bare hands and perfectly block a fifth nature spell while only using basic defense magic Sylvester thinks she must be playing a prank on him or something but she is dead serious about everything she just told him right now Rick is busy taking the written part of this exam he looks like he's confident in his knowledge for this one after the test is over Rick takes a break with rette and she asks him how the written test went Rick confidently answers that he is sure he will get 100% on the written test after all he spent 14 years working as a a receptionist for the guild so there's no way he could fail however he's still not sure his overall scores will be good enough to pass the exam rette asks if Rick is worried about his practical exam scores but he thinks he did pretty well in all the categories however he still got an F on his Mana exam so he's not sure how that will affect his chances of passing bonette assures Rick that he should be fine after all the training he did to prepare for this exam moments later the boy from earlier confronts Rick shouting at him for performing too well on the tests Rick is puzzled by this outburst and assumes Fred must be lost or confused so he offers to help him freed however is upset because this was supposed to be his day to Showcase his exceptional skills to everyone but Rick outshone him reducing him to tears Rick tries to explain that he had no intention of stealing Fred's Spotlight but before he can Fred's sister arrives upon seeing her brother crying she immediately starts yelling at Rick Rick asks if she is related to Fred and she introduces herself as Angelica dude freed quickly complains to her saying that this 40-year-old man ruined his day Rick offended corrects him stating he is only 30 but Angelica and freed persist in calling him a 40-year-old man eventually Angelica throws her glove at Rick challenging him to a duel Rick unaware of the custom picks up the glove to keep it from getting dirty unfortunately in Noble Customs picking up the glove signifies acceptance of the Dual challenge Angelica delighted sets a venue for the fight declaring that she will take great pleasure in punishing Rick for making her brother cry she also states that they must adhere to the rules in the film Kingdom duels allow the winner to impose a penalty on the loser Angelica sets the penalty that the loser will have to serve the winner for the rest of their life Angelica is apparently a second class Royal Knight but Rick is unsure how strong a second class Knight is supposed to be rette provides some context explaining that a second class Knight is roughly equivalent to a B- rank Adventurer Rick starts to panic because he knows B- rank adventurers are capable of defeating massive monsters on their own however rette doesn't think it's a big deal and asks Rick to hold back so doesn't accidentally kill Angelica Rick finds it unimaginable to hold back against someone at B rank while he is still F rank as he has no real context for his true strength rette reassures him to trust in the training he has undergone for the past 2 years suddenly memories of the traumatic training sessions flood Rick's mind causing him to throw up he curses rette for making him relive such torture but she reminds him that if he could survive all that he shouldn't have any problem handling Angelica after all he is a member of the strongest party on the continent so he should have more faith in himself Rick acknowledges that she is right and Rises to face Angelica without fear he remains uncertain about how his current level of strength will fare against a second class Knight but there's no point in worrying about it now Angelica is confident in her Superior strength promising to hold back so Rick doesn't die and then begins charging her attack she uses blink step to dash past Rick flaunting her speed a trait that has earned her the title of light speed Angelica Rick is definitely surprised but not for the reason she assumes and announcing that she will finish him with her next attack Angelica employs blink step again however as she approaches Rick is astounded because Angelica appears to be moving in slow motion the evaluators must have been overly generous in bestowing her light speeed title because she is moving slower than his normal running pace Rick easily Dodges her strike leaving Angelica incredulous as it should be impossible for an f-rank adventurer to react to her speed historically only first class Mages have been able to do so she rationalizes it as a fluke and resolves not to let it happen again Angelica employs blink step once more yet in Rick's eyes she remains sluggish he wonders how she attained B rank with such limited speed just as he prepares to dodge her attack again Angelica trips on a rock and inadvertently unlocks a vertical Beyblade like attack Rick finds himself unable to predict Angelica's chaotic strikes making it difficult to dodge by the time Angelica finally stops Rick no longer believes he can call himself strong as he was completely unprepared for her erratic attack however Angelica didn't plan any of it either trying to maintain her composure she tells Rick she's impressed he managed to dodge her last attack pretending it was intentional she declares she will have to move even faster to overwhelm him using her special technique she triples her speed but to Rick she still appears slow choosing not to attack recklessly unsure of any trick she might have up her sleeve Rick continues to dodge Angelica is astonished that Rick can still keep up with her with only two uses of her technique left before exhausting her energy she gives it everything she has for one final desperate attack however she trips again and as Rick attempts to intercept her with a punch he ends up creating a crater in the ground realizing that a punch like that would have killed her if it had connected Angelica is terrified and questions who Rick really is Rick simply replies that he's a former receptionist turned Adventurer Rick eager to continue the battle climbs out of the hole to face Angelica again however Angelica unexpectedly surrenders to avoid potential harm perplexed by her sudden capitulation Rick becomes the Victor by default according to the she set Angelica now owes him a lifetime of service Angelica having forgotten about the penalty reacts by fleeing in confusion Rick unconcerned with the BET makes no effort to pursue her with the exam results impending he returns to check if he passed rette informs Rick that his other mentors will soon arrive causing him to panic as their presence often brings trouble according to Legend defeating the ultimate monster Kaiser alipate would Grant one access to the akashic record capable of fulfilling any wish akin to their world's Dragon Balls sadly no one has yet succeeded but the author hopes future adventurers will Triumph where others have failed one of these hopefuls is Rick who read the legend in a book as a child in the present the first stage of the e- rank promotion exam has concluded and the results are about to be announced examinees will receive Mona to their tickets and if the ticket glows blue they pass the second stage a mock battle will commence tomorrow after the instructor's announcement Rick sigh and stares intently at his card beside him rinette assures him that he will pass Rick Smiles gratefully at her encouragement however rinette's words send a chill down his spine if he doesn't pass they will train him three times as hard soon after Rick's card begins to flash as the results load with baited breath he nervously waits for the outcome I guess it also has ads or something thankfully it soon completes loading and emits a blue glow Rick elated shows it to renette who congratulates him with his nervousness dissipated they exit the hall only for Rick's nose to be assailed by a foul odor a blonde man approaches them initiating flirtation with rinette he introduces himself as raster the eldest son of the House of Duke dhama his lengthy introduction grates on Rick who decides to refer to him as northy Rick attempts to introduce himself to raster but raster dismissively ignores him choosing instead to focus on his flirtation with renette his pickup lines are so cringeworthy and cliche that they seem to have been sourced from Reddit raster even takes hold of reet's hand and begins to caress it going so far as to propose that she become his second wife Rick intervenes positioning himself between them he explains that reinette is his girlfriend and urges raster to desist no ing Rick's exam card raster laughs derisively he begins to deride Rick for being an F rank despite his Advanced age raster in fact boasts that he had already achieved e- Rank by the age of 14 currently he holds the rank of a and serves as an examiner for the second stage of the exams raster dismisses Rick and invites renette to dinner but renette declines and even clings to Rick's arm she also critiques raster's overpowering cologne suggesting he must have liberally applied Axe Body Spray feeling insulted raster warns Rick To Tread carefully should he become his examiner and strides away hotly after raster departs Rick extricates himself from rinette's arm and apologizes for claiming to be her boyfriend rinette Smiles admitting that his intervention actually pleased her Rick had saved her from a predicament for which she was very grateful later that night raster is dining and still seething over the encounter with Rick so irate was he that he slammed his glass onto the table shattering it his younger siblings Fred and Angelica then arrive and immediately cling to his legs sobbing they recount how a middle-aged man had bullied them rash is a gas that anyone could bring his adorable siblings to tears the description instantly conjures an image of Rick after extracting more details about the man's identity from his siblings raster Smiles wickedly the next day Rick is exceedingly anxious about his exam if northy were to be his examiner he would undoubtedly complicate matters unnecessarily fortunately another individual soon approaches and introduces himself he is ly's laurett the examiner for Rick's second exam Rick cheers inwardly relieved it isn't r to his surprise Lynx is actually a fan of Rick admiring his determination to become an adventurer despite being 32 years old as a fellow middle-aged man Lynx finds inspiration in observing Rick he even shares his own Journey revealing that he didn't embark on his adventurer's path until the age of 24 despite now being in his 40s Lyn still Harbors Ambitions of reaching a rank it took him two decades to attain B rank but he remains undeterred the two seasoned adventurers acknowledge each other's dedication and Shake Hands warmly unbeknownst to them another individual lurks beyond the corridor watching with a wicked Smile as they Converse later as Lynx makes his way toward his classroom he is accosted by raster raster addresses him derisively as Third Rate and flashes a malevolent grin meanwhile Rick waits in the examination room with other candidates his spirits high as he hums to himself however his Tranquility is shattered when a staff member enters and announces that links laurett the intended examiner has suddenly Fallen ill consequently all exams will now be overseen by raster Rick is taken a back spitting out his drink in Surprise renette speculates further that since raster is a member of the diamond family he is likely related to Fred and Angelica with whom they clashed the previous day Rick overhears other candidates gossiping about their new instructor it's revealed that raster achieved A- rank at the age of 17 and is renowned as the man of a thousand spells however he is also Infamous under another moniker the f-rank crusher due to his pension for tormenting participants who catch his attention Rick grows increasingly une as he listens to these rumors at the arena a disgruntled raster is already honing his spells he employs forth nature magic to hurl ice Boulders scattering debris across the entire field his aggression is palpable though perhaps a bit excessive behind him one of his Elite guards an elderly man in a suit calls out to him meanwhile Rick Paces anxiously back and forth in the hallway pondering his next move knowing full well that a ranker raster will not make his test easy he confides in rinette expressing fear and a desire to flee home but dreads the intensified training his master would impose as punishment renette advises him not to be swayed by others words but rather to focus on the positive she believes criticism can fuel confidence and reaffirms her faith in Rick's abilities despite Rick's wavering resolve renette remains steadfast in her trust in him assuring him based on his past matches that he will overcome raster the notorious perfume Enthusiast rinette discloses that since the day Rick chose to pursue adventuring over his Guild receptionist job she has believed in his success and placed her trust in him to achieve his goals Rises to her feet and encourages Rick to place his trust in her believing that doing so will enable him to believe in himself her motivational words reignite Rick's confidence and he expresses gratitude for her unwavering support suddenly a young boy cloaked in mystery appears before Rick demanding their attention he inquires if either of them is participating in the ongoing exam Rick proudly identifies himself as the examinee the cloaked figure then questions Rick about any challenges he might face due to his age before Rick can respond the mysterious youth claims to be a fortune teller offering to unveil Rick's future skeptical yet intrigued Rick hesitates but the fortune teller assures him of his authenticity and even offers the first reading free of charge despite his reservations about such practices Rick decides to indulge in the offer inviting Rick to take a seat for the session the fortune teller proceeds confidently and Rick unsuspecting complies and settles into the chair as Rick settles into the chair a magical Circle suddenly materializes beneath him transporting him away in an instant with Rick vanished the cloaked figure reveals himself to be none other than the Troublesome youth freed from the notorious Noble family he Chuckles at the unexpected turn of events renette enraged by the prank unleashes her power swiftly demolishing their surroundings to emphasize the gravity of their situation to Fred seizing his collar she demands to know Rick's whereabouts Fred initially resists but rinette's threat to harm him in her Swift action of cutting his eyelashes make him fear for his safety relenting Fred discloses that he teleported Rick just 100 m away true to his word Rick finds himself behind the exam venue near the river suddenly the butler of the Damu family appears with a contingent of thugs he apologizes to Rick explaining that what is to follow is pun business not personal bewildered Rick assumes they have mistaken him for someone else but the butler assures him otherwise introducing the guards as loyal Servants of the Damu family Rick realizes that those three BRS from the Damu family sent the Butler and the guards because they didn't want to participate in the exams being completely outnumbered Rick gives up both mentally and physically but at that moment Rick's three senior party members show up there and ask Rick why he is here instead of attending the exams being scared to death by his own party members Rick lies saying that he was only practicing with these dudes here before taking the actual exam heing this the tall orc Brun decides to take part in it as well the Damu guards don't understand what's happening so they attack Braun causing their weapons to break as they touch him Braun obviously doesn't know that these goons here are trying to hurt Rick so he lets them off easily but unlike the dumb orc the second party member misset instantly figures out everything and so he punishes the Damu guards using his own invented Magic imbued Machine Gun with most of the guards down for good one of them desperately takes Rick's third party member the red-haired little girl eler hostage Bron advises the goons to let go of the little girl stating that she is the most dangerous of them all to make sure that she accidentally doesn't kill all of them Rick tells her that these losers with their knives are only trying to play with her but the goons State otherwise and grab alysa's collar her in her determined to retaliate reinette unleashes her formidable seventh nature magic at just 10 years old she is hailed as the strongest mage of her generation earning the ominous moniker demon child of Ruin due to her destructive prowess the Damu family Butler recognizes misset a prodigy who despite his youthful appearance is a half dwarf half elf hybrid aged 50 renowned for his intellectual Brilliance that allows him to innovate Technologies centuries ahead of his time he also acknowledges Braun and orc of immense strength and intellect efficient in all manner of supportive magic together with eler these three are esteemed s-ranked adventurers belonging to the renowned oricalcum fist party overwhelmed by their presence the old Butler surrenders deciding to retire in peace after encountering such legendary figures despite his surrender eler teaches the Butler and his henchmen a lesson sending them Airborne with a display of his power with the situation resolved Rick returns to the exam Hall finding rinette still holding freed by the collar assured of Rick's safety renette hurls freed against the the wall dispatching him swiftly meanwhile a battered Lynx approaches Rick and reveals that raster Damu assaulted him to take charge of Rick's examination moved by lynx's plight Rick vows to avenge him promising to make raster pay dearly with unwavering determination Rick heads to the battlefield where raster is engaged in toying with f rankers declaring his intent to confront him in the upcoming episode