[2:24 PM - after the 4th a.s.sessment had just been completed]"Alright! With the end of the fourth test, there are only 128 of you remaining! All candidates, please take a break - the next text, the combat a.s.sessment, will be the most gruelling of the tests! Far more intense than any of the earlier ones!"
Mr White glanced at the magic screen above his head and checked the time - 2:24 PM. Then he ended his address to the remaining few contestants, merely 128 left of the original 2,000 plus testees.
"I"ll see you back here at 3:00 PM. You can ask the guards at the entrance where the canteen and resting area are. Don"t be late."
Then he left in a hurry.
He needed to make a report to the council of representatives from the Five Great Powers.
The preliminary candidates began to disperse, some of them yawning, the others keeping quiet and just leaving.
By now, Charley had long left and gone to wait in the resting areas. He didn"t dare to go outside right now when Natalie"s lackeys could possibly be laying an ambush for him! As such, he could only wait until the entire tests were over and hope that Lars could make it all the way to the end.
And true enough, the impossibly skilful, strong, fast and talented boy had made it all the way to this point!
Not just that, whenever any of the contestants, crew or even the administrators looked at the scoreboard, they would have a look of disbelief on their faces and rub their eyes.
Not because of how high the scores were, though that was also amazing, but because again and again, the goofy boy would manage to score just below Natalie Sarouneh!
By this time, after the 4th event, the scoreboard looked something like this:
[RankIDCombined ScoreMax 12,000 points for 4 events]
1.#1010 - 10,997 points
2. #777 - 10,996 points
3. #557- 9,852 points
.
.
64. #238 - 8,717 points
.
.
128. # 1924 - 7,834 points
After the first round, when Natalie had seen the score, she had accused Lars of cheating. When she was rebuffed by the administrative team, she had stormed off angrily.
In the second round, she managed to score the highest and end up the overall ranked #1.
But when she saw how the boy scored exactly the same amount of points as her in the running speed test, her jaw had dropped, mouth open and unable to close in shock. This time she didn"t accuse him of cheating but glared at him as her face turned entirely red. There was only 1 point difference between her and the boy - 1 point coming from the first test.
She couldn"t believe her eyes and almost went crazy when the same thing repeated in the 3rd and 4th test. No matter how much she displayed her magnificent all-rounded talents, she could only cover her face in shame. The no-name no-body who walked like a village idiot would b.u.mble around but somehow score exactly the same as her??? This was unbearable!!! A black mark on her history, an embarra.s.sment that must be erased forever!!!
But she could not deny the numbers staring her in the face as she stared up at the board: Just 1 point difference. 1 freakin" point difference despite 4 events having concluded.
She trembled in rage, shame and frustration.
"Why is this happening to me...? I"m a filial daughter, perfect girl and always pious to the teachings of G.o.ddess Sierra... I"ve done nothing wrong and yet... And yet..." She stared with eyes fully turned red, shooting daggers at Lars.
"AND YET YOU ANTAGONISE ME FOR NO REASON!!!??" She screamed at him then ran away, unable to hold back her tears of frustration anymore.
Leaving a speechless but smirking boy to laugh at the girl who could not recognise her own faults.
* * * * *
[3:00 PM - just before the final preliminary round, combat a.s.sessment]
"Hmm... At this point, I might even need to abandon the 3 quests I took on... I"m already so late and there"s still a combat a.s.sessment left!"
Lars stood with his legs akimbo, giving off the impression that he was a trained court jester instead of a combatant. But by now the others knew that he was actually a wolf in sheep"s skin and posing as a pig to devour the tiger!
Despite his ridiculous behaviour, by now no one dared to poke fun at him. His score proved that he was on a whole other level, granted, as long as the results weren"t fake...
"Alright! Glad that you are back. I see that there are still 128 of you; let"s begin!"
The crew members had finished preparing the illusion arrays. What was surprising was that unlike the earlier two rounds of magic arrays, each of these was only 4 metres in diameter. The small size was what allowed 128 formations to be set up together.
"Dear contestants. As usual, I"ll only explain this once. This time round, everyone will be tested at the same time. There is no time limit, but trust me, time is the least of your concerns!" He smiled as if he had just told a funny joke - the preliminary candidates tried to laugh along to humour him but found it hard as they were puzzled where the joke was.
"When you step into the magic formation, don"t resist. Unlike the earlier tests, this round will be run entirely in your mind. At that point, the illusion array will bring your mind to an imaginary world where you will face wave after wave of enemies! The reason we did not make it physical in nature was to preserve both your condition as well as your mana and blood energy. Also, your capabilities will be standardised to the beginner Adept level. What we are testing is not your cultivation speed, but your actual combat power and multiplier relative to your level!"
Sounds of appreciation were heard from the crowds. That was a rather interesting method of testing, touching on the usage of skills and abilities mentally only!
"The first wave will begin at the beginning of the Normal level, while the second wave will be at the mid-Normal level and so on. As you can guess, the 4th wave will be at the beginning Adept-level while the 7th wave will be at the beginning Elite-level and the 10th wave is up to the beginning Master realm! Points are scored at the end, based on the level you reach. In case you are wondering, even if two contestants reach the same level of difficulty, the points given are automatically computed based on how many enemies you defeated at that level and how much time it took to reach that point."
That drew some murmurs from the crowd.
"So timing does matter after all..."
"But, doesn"t this seem to favour attacking-type fighters?"
"No, I think if you fight carefully and consistently like me, you"ll still make it far as a defensive fighter!"
"Just for the record, no one under the age of 18 has ever completed the 9th wave! So I wish you all luck, and I hope this year we"ll have some surprises who can match the record set by the esteemed talent Lina Sarouneh 20 odd years ago!"
"And to address any of your unspoken concerns about cheating..." He cast a questioning glance around, paying special attention to Natalie who looked away uncomfortably. He raised his eyebrows and leaned closer dramatically for this part.
"Every single one of your mental worlds will be broadcast live on the magic screen above!" Then Mr White suddenly turned towards a black device pointed at him, a magic broadcast lense that was recording and replaying his every activity to be shown throughout the city!
"Only 10 silvers for an all-access pa.s.s to watch the coming combat a.s.sessment! Contact your mana cable TV provider for details!" He showed a salesman-like smile as he said that.
Having finished his cable TV promo shoot, he reverted to his serious self.
"Any questions? If not, you may begin!"
A voice chipped in at that time - Lars" voice.
"Sir administrator, I have a question."
Mr White raised his eyebrows and his eyes widened slightly when he saw the troublemaker ask a question for the first time. Also, a source of stress and consternation - he would have to bring the boy to see the General and other representatives once this was done...
"Ahem. Yes, go ahead. What do you want to ask?"
Lars then spoke rather normally and casually as he asked a simple question. "Sir, in the illusion array prepared, are there still levels higher than the 10th?"
This time the elderly administrator frowned deeply. Wasn"t that too pretentious a question? Why would a boy not even at the beginning of the Elite-level want to know? Mr White even felt tempted to bet that he would not even pa.s.s the 7th level, much less the 10th!
But he maintained his professionalism and answered cordially, "Boy, that"s a good question. In fact, the illusion array was designed for children of the Five Great Powers development and training. As such, the highest level is the 15th level - up to the peak of the Grandmaster level!"
Sounds of people and contestants inhaling sharply were heard - what kind of illusion array was this? And were the children of the Five Great Powers even remotely human? How could any mortal even get past the 10th level, much less need the 15th level at the Grandmaster realm?!
Even Lars had a look of surprise and appreciation on his face - the illusion array was of a far higher quality than he expected!
Then he smiled as he said a simple, "Thank you, sir."
Looked like this would be an interesting show.
"Alright, if there are no more questions... May the best contestant win! Let us begin!"
The contestants shuffled over towards the testing areas and into the arrays with their numbers on them.
* * * * *
Lars stepped into his magic array. To his pleasant surprise, he was side by side with Natalie!
The girl pointedly decided to ignore him, scowling and frowning, furious at him for humiliating her thus far.
But then, suddenly something occurred to her. Her face began to transform in realisation as a Eureka moment hit her.
"Boy!"
"Mmm hmm...?" Lars replied languidly as he stretched and stepped into the illusion array. Some of the other contestants were already in the array while others were doing some final preparations or discussing something with the crew members.
Then Natalie pursed her lips tightly together as her eyes were set in determination. She had suddenly decided to swallow her pride and use her other forms of powers to solve this situation.
No, not her looks or her body! NEVER! She admired her Aunt Lina and how she had never, ever, ever relied on her transcendent beauty or her body of a devil to solve her problems. She, Natalie Sarouneh, swore she would never stoop so low to use the honeytrap tactic no matter what!
She spoke. "Boy... You"re helping Charley because of money, right...?"
Lars nodded as he went through a series of mental exercises to improve his mind"s agility, not even looking at her.
She flashed him a scowl, but then calmed herself down with a deep breath. Then she said, "Well... What if I offered you more than he"s paying...? I"m absolutely confident, whatever he"s giving you, I can double - no, multiply by ten times what he"s offered!" She looked pa.s.sionate and confident as she spoke.
This time Lars paused whatever he was doing then slowly turned to look at her.
"He"s promised to sell me his service for 10 years. So are you offering yourself for 100 years...?" Lars did not smile, but somehow right now in Natalie"s eyes, he looked like a s.e.xual predator leering at her, eyes piercing through all her clothes and at her naked body! His mouth seemed to transform into the salivating lips of a pervert, while his long and graceful fingers suddenly looked like the practiced hands of a molester!
Natalie suddenly turned pale and stepped back involuntarily. She was terribly shaken as she asked, "W-w-w-what type of... Service...?" But despite her fear, there was something within her, carnal and b.e.s.t.i.a.l, buried so deep that even she herself couldn"t recognise. Something that felt excited at the thought of what the deviant boy had just suggested!
Lars looked surprised, maintaining his neutral expression and c.o.c.ked his head slightly. He was puzzled, was she so afraid of work? It wasn"t like he"d get her to do menial labour or was.h.i.+ng, that would be too great of a waste of her services! He would definitely get her to work in government or commerce and earn tons of money instead!
So he tilted his head and looked at her, before speaking words that would shatter her mental state.
"Isn"t it obvious what I would want to do with Charley and you...?" He said matter-of-factly and smiled.
A sound of gla.s.s breaking rang out in Natalie"s ears. "W-what... What did you just say...?" She gulped as she wondered if she had really understood it correctly.
In her eyes, the pervert"s gaze was burning with l.u.s.t and "obviously" wanted to devour her along with Charley - TOGETHER?!? And his depraved smile threatened to devour her right her on the spot!
Then Lars spoke as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, "Well, he"s already been serving me since this tournament started." He was referring to the information the boy had provided and the explanations given. Lars also swept aside any memory of being scammed - that was an emotional scar, a trauma that should never be mentioned to anyone!
But at his words, Natalie"s legs grew weak. She couldn"t help but tremble in fear and... Excitement?! At the thought of just what lascivious things the two boys had already been doing since the tournament started, and what exotic things the three of them could do together! And they even had the audacity to do it in the Gorun Stadium, in such a public place? She was both equally horrified and intrigued!
"It"s just like those, what do you call them, BL picture books Aunt Lina gave to me...!" Her eyes flashed with desire and she didn"t even realise it herself as she licked her lips and her eyes sparkled when she asked breathlessly in a pa.s.sionate voice, "H-how about that trap from earlier...?"
She would SO want to see Lars and that precious, jade-like beauty getting on together! She let out hot breaths that misted up the illusion array around her and her chest heaved seductively as she locked gazes shyly with Lars.
Puzzled, Lars was blank for a while - before he suddenly put two and two together.
Services...
Obvious...
Together...
Trap...
This time it was his turn to hear the sound of breaking gla.s.s, his world suddenly crumble before him.
He felt his mind reeling from shock, embarra.s.sment and shame!
His legs grew weak at the realisation of what he had just said and implied with his words - then he looked up in desperation and saw a horrifying sight...
The screen above was already broadcasting every single thing he said and did!
"AHHHHHH!!!!!" A voiceless scream left his throat as he fell to his knees and cried out wordlessly.
Why did this keep happening to him??!
"I know... It"s all that b.l.o.o.d.y traps fault! Everything started from him... Or her... Or whatever he/ she is! Just wait till I get my hands on that trap!" His eyes turned a b.l.o.o.d.y red, even more red than when he had ma.s.sacred the 100 bandits in the desert...
But the watching Natalie only felt even more excited as she saw the intense gaze and sharp red eyes of the boy in front of her.
"C-Cute... He"s so cute... I want to see him, Charley and the trap, d-doing it, doing it together..."
Her BL fantasies were running wild.