Chapter 121: Guinea pig
Chatter immediately erupted across the arena.
"Over two million six hundred thousand!"
"He hit that number even with his Acceleration constantly being blocked?"
"Strong as expected."
Cassian slowly stood up. He looked at the number above his head, then turned to the piles of shattered stone scattered across the testing zone.
Two million six hundred eighty-four thousand.
That was a result impressive enough to make a great many people look up in awe. But Cassian wasn’t smiling at all.
He understood perfectly well that the strike just now was far from his strongest state. Most of his energy had been drained breaking through obstacles, and his Acceleration had been repeatedly interrupted. By the time he actually reached the sphere, his speed wasn’t even half of what he’d originally planned.
If he’d had a clear straight path to accelerate, the result would have been far higher.
Cassian clenched his metal fist. The satisfaction that had briefly surfaced was quickly replaced by frustration.
The sphere floated back from the distance. Its misshapen eyes looked down at him, and the enormous mouth stretched into another grin.
"Kekeke... Pretty strong. But all that running really tired you out, huh?"
Cassian stared at it coldly. If the rules allowed a second attack, he probably would have charged right at it.
Irino was the first to laugh.
She stood outside the testing zone, one hand resting on her Crescent Wheel, the corner of her mouth curving up noticeably.
"So that’s how it works."
Cassian turned to her.
Irino made no effort to hide her amusement. She tilted her head and said softly: "Thank you."
"Thank me for what?"
"Thank you for helping me see the rules clearly."
Cassian’s expression immediately darkened.
On the other side, Roamer also opened his eyes. The gray-haired young man rarely showed emotion, but right now even the corner of his mouth lifted slightly.
Cassian looked at them both, his voice turning cold. "What’s so funny?"
Irino removed the Crescent Wheel from her back and walked toward the testing zone. "Obviously it’s funny. If I’d been the first one in, I might still have had to worry about what tricks that thing would pull."
She walked past Cassian, her hair swaying lightly with each step.
"But now there’s no need."
Cassian ground his teeth.
He had truly become a guinea pig for the other two.
The moment Irino stepped into the testing zone, the timer appeared.
[60]
The sphere swiveled both eyes toward her.
"Kekeke..."
The ground began to rumble. Precise square lines appeared on the floor, signaling that the cubic blocks were about to rise.
Irino remained where she stood. She gripped the Crescent Wheel with both hands, slowly channeling energy into the weapon.
One ring of blue-green wind appeared.
Then a second.
A third.
The wind swirling around the Crescent Wheel spun faster and faster, producing a sharp whistling sound. The cubic blocks ahead had already begun rising, but Irino only glanced at them once before adjusting the angle of her wrist.
She didn’t need to close the distance to the sphere, nor did she need a clear stretch to build momentum.
Cassian immediately understood the problem. His expression grew even worse.
Ruo Yan also noticed the advantage. "Her weapon can attack from range."
Ethan nodded slightly. "The shifting terrain can counter Cassian, but for Irino, the walls are just things she needs to keep out of her line of attack. She can even wait for them to drop and then strike through the gaps."
[43]
Irino continued gathering power calmly. The wind around the Crescent Wheel spun ever faster, pulling the strands of hair by her cheeks backward.
The sphere kept commanding walls to rise, but each time her attack line was blocked, Irino simply adjusted her standing angle or shifted the weapon’s direction.
When a gap just wide enough finally appeared between two walls, the corner of her mouth curved slightly.
"Thanks, Cassian."
Standing outside, Cassian’s expression instantly grew a shade darker.
Irino swung her arm.
"Go."
Whoosh!
The Crescent Wheel vanished from her hand.
A streak of blue-green light cut through the gap between the two walls, slicing straight toward the sphere.
SLASH!
A cut appeared across the white surface. Immediately after, all the compressed wind energy inside detonated at once.
BOOM!
The sphere was blasted high into the air. Its misshapen eyes were even warped by the force of the wind.
The scoreboard quickly appeared.
[2,748,302]
The number kept climbing.
[3,041,677]
[3,186,490]
[Requirement met.]
Irino extended her hand forward. The Crescent Wheel arced through the air and landed neatly in her palm.
She looked at the number of over three million one hundred thousand above her head, then turned to Cassian.
"Much easier, as expected."
Cassian’s face went cold. He didn’t respond.
Irino laughed again and left the testing zone.
Roamer was the next to step forward.
He didn’t say a word of thanks, but the mere fact that his expression was noticeably calmer than before was enough to irritate Cassian.
Roamer entered the testing zone, unwrapped the red cloth around the Blood Saber, and slowly drew the weapon from its sheath.
Clang!
The metallic ring echoed out.
Blood energy immediately poured forth, causing the temperature in the surrounding area to seemingly plummet. A few Awakened standing nearby unconsciously stepped back, their eyes growing wary.
The sphere immediately swiveled toward him and grinned.
"Kekeke..."
The cubic blocks began to rise.
Roamer didn’t even look at them. He simply held the Blood Saber in both hands, lowered the blade, and concentrated his energy.
A wall appeared between him and the sphere.
Roamer tilted his head slightly.
Then swung.
BOOM!
A flash of crimson light tore straight through the wall. The thick stone block was cleaved in two, both halves toppling to either side.
The slash didn’t stop there. It cut through the open space behind and struck the Measurement Sphere dead-on.
CRASH!
The sphere was slashed into the ground. A deep gash appeared across its white surface, causing the grinning mouth to vanish completely for the first time.
The scoreboard appeared.
[3,012,494]
The number kept jumping upward.
[3,384,871]
[3,697,208]
[Requirement met.]
The entire arena erupted.
"Over three million six hundred thousand!"
"Highest so far!"
"Roamer’s in first place!"
Irino raised an eyebrow slightly at the number. Cassian’s expression grew even more sour.
Roamer merely glanced up at the result once before calmly sheathing the Blood Saber. There was no smugness on his face, and even his breathing remained steady, as if that strike hadn’t required his full strength.
As he walked past Cassian, Roamer suddenly paused mid-step.
"Thanks."
Just two syllables.
Then he kept walking.
Cassian watched Roamer’s retreating back, momentarily unable to say a word.
Irino, standing nearby, finally couldn’t hold it in and burst out laughing.
All three of the most highly regarded contenders had cleared the test.
Cassian scored over two million six hundred thousand.
Irino scored over three million one hundred thousand.
Roamer scored nearly three million seven hundred thousand.
At a glance, the one-million-unit threshold no longer seemed quite so terrifying. And yet, nobody immediately stepped forward.
Everyone still remembered the first person’s fate all too clearly. The cubic blocks had only needed to close once to crush his body into mush. Not everyone here possessed S-rank Acceleration, an Epic Crescent Wheel, or an Epic Blood Saber.
If you failed, the price was your life.
There was no second chance.
The atmosphere in the arena quickly settled back into silence. A few people who had been considering stepping up quietly retreated into the crowd, their eyes constantly scanning the stone blocks around the testing zone.
Irino looked around and raised an eyebrow slightly. "Nobody’s going up?"
No one answered.
Roamer also glanced across the crowd, his gaze pausing on Ethan for a brief moment.
Cassian immediately followed his line of sight.
Ethan was still standing in the same spot, one hand in his pocket, not looking the least bit anxious. Laira stood behind him, and Ruo Yan continued calmly observing the testing zone.
That indifferent attitude made the irritation inside Cassian flare up at once.
He crossed his arms and deliberately raised his voice so everyone around could hear: "Ethan Ashford, all three of us have finished the test. How much longer do you plan to stand there?"
Ethan turned his head, but he wasn’t looking at Cassian.
He just lifted his pinky finger to his ear, gave it a casual twist twice, then tilted his head toward Ruo Yan.
"Did somebody just say something?"
Ruo Yan paused. When she saw the perfectly serious look on his face, the corner of her mouth immediately curved upward.
Laira had no intention of holding back whatsoever. She laughed out loud, the sound ringing clearly through the quiet arena.
Cassian’s expression went dark instantly.
"You..."
Ethan kept picking at his ear, not sparing him a single glance.
Irino, standing nearby, was initially caught off guard. Then she raised a hand to cover her mouth, but a soft laugh still escaped.
"That guy..." She observed Ethan for a few more seconds, curiosity gradually appearing in her eyes. "Interesting."
Cassian immediately turned to look at her.
Irino didn’t care about his gaze at all. She crossed her arms and continued watching Ethan.
Roamer also opened his eyes once more.
All three of the current strongest were now looking in the same direction.
Ethan finally pulled his finger from his ear. He looked at the Measurement Sphere in the center of the arena, then studied the cubic blocks still protruding from the ground.
The corner of his mouth curved slightly.
"What’s the rush?"
He had absolutely no intention of stepping forward just yet.
At least, now still wasn’t the time.