The first thing that I saw when I opened my eyes was Ovis. She was sitting on the chair beside me while her head and arms were on the bed, sleeping.

I tried to sit upright as my eyes wandered around the unfamiliar room. I gazed at the window. The sky had a reddish glow, giving me the idea that it was already nearing evening.

 I tried to remember what happened and why was I sleeping in an unknown place.

The scenery of my helplessness played back in my mind, giving me the feeling of insecurity and anguish. I bit my lip as I tightly clenched at the bed as if I was trying to rip it off.

“M-master? Y-you’re awake! How are you f-feeling?”

Ovis drowsily got up. She used her arm to wipe the saliva off from her cheeks.

“I’m alright, where are we?”

“W-we’re on the guild, t-they brought you here after the e-exam.”

“How about the exam, what happened?”

“A-after you l-lost consciousness, the examiner appeared and stopped the fighting. H-he said that the exam was already c-concluded.”

“I see. By the way, are you the one who healed my wounds?” I stretched my left arm yet I felt no pain.

My clothes were ripped and pierced as to where I took damage. Yet my body was all good, no wounds or bruises. It was as if all of what happened earlier was a dream.

“I t-tried to but I was n-not able to…” She then averted her eyes from me. “The g-guild’s healers were the one who took care of i-it.”

“I see, how about you? Weren’t you hurt?”

“I-I just got a few scratches but they t-took care of it as well.”

“That’s great then.”

“I-I’m sorry, M-master”

“Huh?”

“I-I was not able to p-protect you. I am your f-familiar yet you were always the one p-protecting me.”

“You don’t have to worry about it.” I was about to pat her head when she evaded.

“I am unworthy of your kindness, M-master! All I am is but a b-burden!” Tears then began to stream off her face.

I was speechless.

I viewed her as a meek and shy girl, fighting only because she had no choice. I did not notice that she as well hated the feeling of being weak.

“I t-tried training my magic because that w-was the only thing that I thought had it going for me b-but… I-I was not able to use it when I needed to”

“Have you forgotten that I am your master? Why do you think I am called a tamer?”

“H-huh?”

“It is because it is my responsibility to bring the best out of my familiars. If you are weak then it is my shortcoming as a tamer.”

“B-but!”

“It has only about a week since you were introduced to combat, of course you won’t be strong yet.”

“…”

“Don’t be too hard on yourself, okay?” I then softly brushed my hand through her fluffy hair.

“Y-yes!” She smiled back despite the tears in her eyes.

 I threw words of encouragement at Ovis but it was as if I was saying it to myself.

She was weak because of me. If I really wanted to not lose again, I would need to be stronger both as a fighter and as a tamer. That was a fact especially since I was no longer the only one who would suffer from my own inability. It would be bad if she became disheartened and refused to fight any longer.

I needed to do the best I could to bring out her full potential, both physically and mentally.

“I hate to interrupt your sweet moment but the exam is still not finished.” Reyvin peeked by the door of the room.

“Huh? What do you mean?”

“Go to my office quickly, everyone is waiting.” Reyvin walked away.

“Hey! Can you at least give me a proper explanation?” I called out to him but he did not bother responding.

 Since the guild master ordered it, I quickly got up from the bed. I stretched my arms and did some squats yet there was really no trace of the pain from my injuries. Magic proved to be really convenient.

I had Ovis wait in the room I was in while I went to the guild master’s office. As I entered, there were already four people in the room sitting on the chairs by the long table. Those were Reyvin, Lavinia, the archer guy, and the mage guy.

“You had the nerve to arrive in such a pitiful state after making us wait.” Lavinia said with crossed arms.

“Now now, give the little guy a break will you, Lady Von Freugg?” The archer guy leaned on the table.

As the archer went closer to the noble, Lavinia turned her head away from him. Her rudeness was nothing new.

“Will you take a seat so we can begin?” Reyvin asked.

I made my way to sit on the chair beside the archer and across the mage. The mage averted his eyes from me, I was unsure if it was out of guilt or he just did not like me at all.

“I invited you all here to give the conclusion of the exam. You might not know but I was the examiner.”

“You are?” I was genuinely surprised.

 “As for the exam’s results, only Lady Von Freugg and Mest passed. They are now E rank tamers. Here are your badges.” Reyvin handed Lavinia her badge and threw mine to my direction.

Everybody was shocked for a moment. Silence was produced unwillingly due to the confusion.

“How can that be? Mest passed the exam while I did not? I practically beat his ass to a pulp!” The archer broke the silence as he stood up and slammed the table.

“I too, protest with the result.” The mage also rose.

“I see, so things weren’t clear. Let me review my instructions then.”

Reyvin produced a letter from underneath his coat and opened it.

“Promotion Exam Rules: Get the tamer’s badge located in a hut in the forest then bring it to me, I will be waiting at the guild. There are limited number of badges so be sure to be quick. You can start the moment you read this letter. Make sure to always act as per the rules of the guild.” Reyvin read the letter aloud. “These are my instructions, yes?”

“It is! I was about to get the badge when you appeared to stop the goddamn exam!” The archer shouted.

“You? It was me who was about to get it. You are simply no match for me.” The mage protested.

“What did you say? You want to get it on, huh?”

“You talk as if you actually stand a chance.”

“Enough, do you want me to read the instructions again so you’ll understand?” Reyvin interrupted the scuffle of the two.

“Just say it directly and enough with those riddles of yours!” The archer punched the table.

“Make sure to always act as per the rules of the guild, it was clearly stated in the instructions.”

“So?”

“Tamer’s guild rules: Rule 1: Always act with the guild’s reputation in mind, Rule 2: Never attempt to hurt a fellow tamer unless it is a duel or otherwise issued by the guild, Rule 3: Be the best you can be with your familiar.”

“…”

“The two of you clearly broke the guild’s second rule. That is enough reason for your disqualification.”

“Then how that hell will we be able to pass if we hadn’t done that? They already had the badges!”

“That’s right! We only did what needs to be done!”

“So you are willing to accomplish a mission even if it means sacrificing a comrade?”

I thought that they were finally going to accept the guild master’s decision but I was wrong. The mage did not back down.

“Let’s say we failed, but how the hell did Mest pass? He was not able to take the badge to you!”

“The goal of this exam is not to observe your fighting abilities or skill. What we value most here is the integrity of the members. The members shall always go by the rules dictated by the guild.”

“But he fought us as well! He should have failed too!” The mage pointed at me.

These guys… since they weren’t able to pass, they decided to drag me down as well. They were definitely selfish bastards.

“It seemed to me as what he only did was self defense.” Reyvin responded.

“How can you be so sure?”

“If he really wanted it, he could have rendered you unconscious the moment that you flinched out of fear. But did he?” Reyvin gave the mage a serious glare.

The mage was speechless, he finally sat back down but the archer did not.

“I still cannot accept this!”

“You can still retake the next exam. But if you continue protesting upon your guild master’s decision…” It suddenly felt as if a dark cloud surrounded him.

Intimidated by Reyvin’s presence, the archer had no choice but to yield as well.

“If you have nothing else to discuss, you may now leave,” the guild master announced.

The archer quickly left the room with stomping feet, clearly showing his dissatisfaction with the result. The mage just silently took off and so did Lavinia. Only I and Reyvin were left in the room.

“Do you also have some protests with the exam result?” he asked.

“I am just unsure whether it is really alright for me to be promoted like this.”

“I already explained why I let you pass. Was it not clear to you?”

“It was. But with my current strength, will I be able to adequately carry out E rank quests?”

“Self doubt, I see.”

“…”

“Compared to the skirmish you had in the exam, E ranked quests should be a walk in the park.”

“Really?”

“Those quests will only likely include the interference of lower ranked beasts which are way weaker than the Beastkins. Battling Beastkins starts on ranked D, and fighting two tamers at a time is for C rank or above.”

“I see…”

“If you are still doubtful of your own strength, why not get yourself another familiar?”

“Is it not too early to get another?”

“It actually depends on you but it is undeniable that having more familiars gives more combat potential. Not only that there is strength in numbers, having different familiars also increases the number of strategies you may employ.”

“I see, I’ll think about it. Thanks for the advice, Guild Master!” I said before I went out of the room.

Although his advice was really logical, I did not have enough resources for that. I only had less than ten silver coins as my savings while the amount that I used to buy Ovis was fifty.

I would definitely make it my goal to save some money so I could buy another one. Having someone to share Ovis’ burden would make much difference. It might also help in covering my inability to use magic.

I went to the room where I woke up a while ago and told Ovis the good news. Ovis smiled but I felt like she was faking it. She was obviously dissatisfied with her performance. I guess we just felt the same.

Despite the favourable result, I could not help but be worried for the future. Even though that was the case, we ate good food for dinner as a celebration before we went home to rest.