Chapter 76

Anyone who knew Rod would almost certainly be aware of one of his characteristics.

That is, he absolutely detests being mistaken for a woman.

After spending so much time together, Rijie was well aware of this, and although Marin didn't know at first, she gradually discovered this trait of Rod's. Even Old Walker never joked about it, because they all knew it was Rod's sore spot, and who knew what would happen once it was touched.

And now, this unfamiliar girl had so boldly and flamboyantly exposed it.

For a moment, a sense of impending doom made all three of them shiver involuntarily.

"I'm sorry, Miss."

Rod didn't fly into a rage as everyone expected. He calmly pulled his hand away from the girl's and then spoke.

"I am a man."

"A man?"

Hearing Rod's response, the girl widened her eyes in surprise, carefully observing Rod for a moment, then once again showed an innocent and pure smile, patting Rod's shoulder.

"Big brother, I really didn't realize you were so beautiful!"

If we were to measure by danger level, she had already jumped two levels and entered the nuclear reaction zone...

"Miss..."

"Call me Annie, Annie Verroca. Just call me Annie, big brother."

"Then... Annie..."

Rod pressed his hand to his forehead, and after a while, he continued speaking to the girl in front of him.

"Although it was indeed I who asked Walker to find you, I haven't yet approved your entry into the mercenary group. First, you need to pass my test. Only if I acknowledge that you have passed can you join. Otherwise..."

At this point, Rod turned his head and glanced at the old Walker, whose expression was peculiar.

"I'm afraid I'll have to deduct his salary as compensation."

"No problem!"

Whether the girl didn't understand or simply didn't intend to listen, as soon as Rod finished speaking, she nodded eagerly. She tapped her shield and showed a confident and proud smile.

"Whatever the test, just bring it on. Annie will definitely, definitely have no problem."

"Very good."

Hearing the girl's response, Rod nodded, then turned and looked at the old Walker, whose expression was extremely unpleasant, with a cold gaze.

"Mr. Walker, I'm sure you won't mind helping me, as this is an order from the leader."

"......"

Since it's an order, what's the point of asking if I mind?

Facing Rod's gaze, the old man rolled his eyes helplessly—there was nothing he could do but leave it to fate.

Rod's test was very simple. He required the girl to ensure that the old ranger remained unharmed for a certain period of time. If she could accomplish this, she would pass the test. There was a reason for his approach.

After coming to this world, Rod found that many methods from the game had subtle differences. For example, in the game, a tank player could just taunt and shout "bastard," and the monster would obediently follow. But in the real world, it wasn't that simple. Low-level monsters would clearly focus on the enemy causing the most damage to them. And enemies with some intelligence were even harder to deal with. When facing a necromancer, Rod had once tried to have the Red Eagle Mercenary Group's shield warrior play the role of a tank, but no matter how hard the warrior tried, the necromancer wouldn't even glance at him, instead focusing all his attention on Rod, who was waiting to strike. Clearly, the necromancer didn't see Rod as much of a threat, and the damage was minimal... This showed that there was a difference between reality and the game.

However, this didn't mean that tanks were useless in reality. In fact, whether in reality or in the game, the main task of a tank wasn't to deal damage but to protect. In the game, tanks protected their teammates by actively attracting and taunting monsters. In reality, they mostly played a passive defensive role. This required them to have good reaction, defense, and response abilities. Otherwise, no one would entrust their life safety to them.

And this was exactly what Rod was testing.

"Hey! Kid, this is personal revenge!!"

Standing pale on the lawn of the back garden, Old Walker loudly protested, but it was clear that Rod had made his final decision and would not accept any appeals.

"This is a fair choice, Mr. Walker. The girl was your choice, so you must believe in her abilities. Now, relax and trust that she can do it. Isn't that what you should do?"

"Don't think that just because you say it nicely, I don't know what you're up to! You little rascal full of mischief!"

Old Walker angrily waved his fist, but then immediately looked nervously at Annie, who stood in front of him, raising her shield and focusing on the front.

"Old man, I'm entrusting my life to you. You have to make it work!"

"Don't worry, old man, it'll be fine, probably."

"What do you mean 'probably'? Don't say that last word! I trusted you so much!"

Before Old Walker could say more, Rod had already started.

He extended his hand, and three cards appeared in the air one after another. Then, with the shining of the summoning array, a centaur knight, a black hound, and a spirit bird immediately appeared.

"Wow, so cool! What are these?"

Seeing this, the girl's eyes widened in surprise, which startled Old Walker.

"Don't get distracted! Kid, that guy is just trying to scare you. Be careful, don't touch the black dog, it will explode!"

"From now, three minutes. If you can keep Old Walker from getting hurt for three minutes, you pass the test."

Saying this, Rod looked at Marin, who was watching the show, and nodded.

"You keep time."

"Sure, Mr. Rod."

As she responded to Rod, Marin took out a pocket watch from her chest and then Rod snapped his fingers.

"Go."

"——!!"

As if responding to Rod's command, the three summoned creatures roared in different ways and then charged forward.

Leading the charge was the black hound, the captain of the kamikaze squad. After continuous self-detonations, this poor summoned creature seemed to have awakened some not-so-good traits. Seeing its current expression, which was both fearless and excited—if it were human, it might need to see a psychologist.

At this moment, the girl, who had been smiling all along, finally put away her smile and became serious.

She bent slightly, holding her shield in front of her, and made a standard starting stance. Then, with a "clank," sharp hooks emerged from the gaps on both sides of the shield, gleaming coldly. At this moment, the black hound howled and pounced.

The girl shouted and swung her shield forward with great force.

The heavy, massive shield, weighing several kilograms, seemed weightless in the girl's hands, but the whistling sound it made proved its weight was real. The black hound didn't expect the girl to move so quickly and was immediately smashed away, howling as it flew backward and rolled to the ground.

But at this moment, the centaur knight had already arrived.

The thick knight's lance stabbed forward, but the girl suddenly changed the direction of her shield just before it made contact, deflecting the centaur knight's charge. Then she raised her shield and knocked the lance aimed at Old Walker into the air. Although the situation was dangerous, the girl didn't relax her guard. After deflecting the lance, she immediately slammed her shield into the ground.

"Crack!"

The heavy shield slid down and formed a large full-body shield covering the girl's body, with the bottom of the shield firmly embedded in the ground. Almost simultaneously, the shield in the centaur's other hand flew over and collided with the large shield.

"Bang!!"

The deep, muffled sound made everyone's hearts skip a beat. The powerful recoil made the centaur stagger and step back. The girl also took a half-step back, but unlike the centaur, she had a purpose.

The spirit bird, which had been circling in the night sky, finally swooped down.

As a creature made of wind elements, the spirit bird's speed was incomparable to the other two. Everyone saw a flash of green light, and the spirit bird was about to hit Walker.

This is it.

Seeing the green bird suddenly appear in front of him, the old ranger inwardly cried out in alarm, but he had no way to react. The spirit bird's speed was too fast, and even if Walker wanted to react, it was impossible. At this moment, Walker was in tears inside—was he really going to lose his salary?

Just as the old ranger was mourning the loss of his money, an arm pulled him back from the edge of the cliff.

The girl grabbed Walker's collar, pressed him down, and then raised her shield in front of her.

The unprepared Walker didn't react and was immediately pressed to the ground. The spirit bird, having lost its target, didn't give up. Instead, it howled and continued its descent, then crashed heavily into the shield.

"Boom!!"

"Ugh!!"

Walker felt a huge impact force from the girl's body, which then transmitted to his own, making the poor old man feel like a flattened pancake, unable to breathe. Just as he was about to call for help, he felt a sudden lightness, and then Walker saw the girl jump up.

The girl in mid-air looked so relaxed, but her expression was quite serious. Facing the three summoned creatures attacking again, she extended her left hand, took out another shield from the inside of her impact shield, and quickly threw it.

"Whoosh!!"

The sharp, hook-bladed shield immediately began to spin around the girl, forming a whirlwind barrier that completely isolated the three summoned creatures.

Seeing this, Rod raised an eyebrow and then suddenly drew his longsword and threw it forward.

A flash of light appeared, and the silver blade cut through the night sky, rushing into the whirlwind.

"Clang!!"

With a light sound, the sword storm finally stopped.

Inside, Walker had been scared to sit on the ground. Behind him, a deep sword mark was clearly visible.

In front of him, the girl held her shield half-raised, the damage on it shocking to see.

At the same time, Marin raised her pocket watch.

Three minutes.

"Very well done, Miss Annie."

Rod sheathed his sword.

"I have understood your abilities... To be honest, you do meet my requirements. However, this is just a test. How you perform in real combat, I will be watching. I hope you don't disappoint me."

"Don't worry, big brother."

The girl put away her shield, and her face once again showed a youthful, lively, and enthusiastic smile.

"I won't let you down!!"

"I hope so."

Facing the girl's determined promise, Rod didn't say anything more. He just nodded and then looked around.

"Rijie, take her to choose a room. Marin, you can rest. As for you..."

At this point, Rod turned and looked at the old Walker, who was just getting up from the ground.

"Mr. Walker, come to my study. I want to know how that matter is progressing."

C!.