Chapter 3996: Challenge of Intelligence
"You got to be kidding, me!" said the Mustached man as he stepped through the door at the fifth hour.
He stared at me with his shocked eyes, while I smiled.
He did good, but not good as me. I had returned here, in the starting hall in the first hour with bonus points while he took four hours more.
"When did you arrive?" he asked, and the smile on my face widened.
He glared at me and turned to the woman.
"Tell me you are the first?" he asked the woman, sitting a little further away from me.
"He was here before I arrived," she said, shaking her head.
She came seven minutes earlier than him. The woman feels dangerous; I will need to be careful of her if it ever comes to the battle.
She might be stronger than me.
The first two challenges may be of body and soul, but they are in reality testing the will. Any person from the Sky Sovereign stage, could have those energies, all they needed to will.
So, I couldn"t say that I finished those challenges first, means I am stronger.
"When did you arrive?" he asked, but the woman remained quiet to that question.
He turned to me, and I didn"t say anything either. He cursed under his breath and sat down.
I could have told him, but it is not telling him. Let him scratch his brain, thinking about it. I closed my eyes a few seconds later.
I opened them a few minutes later when I sensed a person and was immediately surprised.
I thought it would be one of five, but no it is someone different. I had seen the man; he was a holder of the key and finished all the challenges.
Though his rank is quite further, it"s clear, that he is a master of profession.
I regret being the first to enter these doors. I should have stayed and looked at what others had chosen. I was too much in a hurry to avoid gazes and ended up losing a crucial bit of intelligence.
I would remember this mistake and not make it in the future.
After him, was Fox Beastman. He looked surprised seeing him, before looking at all of us and sitting down.
A few seconds after that, it was a woman. She too liked the man earlier, but unlike him or all of us.
She was not a key holder.
She looked at all of us, before sitting down.
I didn"t close my eyes anymore and lay against the pillar and watched people coming in one after another.
A few minutes later, I walked to the Fox Beastman. Who opened his eyes and arched his brow, seeing me sitting by him.
"You seemed like a person, who had stayed till the end, before stepping in. Mind telling me what everyone had chosen?" I asked him.
I had made a mistake, but I could ratify that.
"What would I get in return?" he asked and it was my turn to my smile.
"A bottle of mead," I replied smoothly. "I accept," he said and turned.
"That girl chose music, that man from...."
He begins to inform me of the people and the paths they chose. Some had surprised; I didn"t think, they would choose those, but I didn"t comment.
He might lie, but I don"t think he would. It doesn"t benefit him.
Soon he informed us about all present in the hall and slept. When he woke up a few hours later, he informed me about more people and the ones that came.
Finally, twelve hours pa.s.sed, and the gate became active again.
The symbols on them had vanished. This means they would take everyone to the same place.
I looked at the people; there were only four hundred and six, including me from eight hundred before the last challenge.
It seemed likely; the Challenge of Knowledge had eliminated a lot of people.
Which didn"t surprise me much.
The Challenge of Knowledge was hard; they might be Sky Sovereigns, but that doesn"t mean they are good. Even in the combat.
The challenges here are tough. It is already a surprise that so many people have reached this stage, given the difficulty.
This proves their abilities.
Once the challenge is finished. It would be hard to get away from these people.
I pushed those thoughts away; I do not have to think about that now.
People walked through doors, and I too appeared in front of the bronze door before stepping into the one.
Gasp Gasp!
As I stepped out, I heard the gasps and when I saw the scenery, I wanted to see the gasp in shock as well.
I am on the floating platform, and in front of me is a black tower, piercing the clouds. Which made it hard to see how tall the tower was.
Around the tower are white marble floating squares. They are currently still in their spot.
There seemed to be more floating platforms around the tower, with each holding twenty people, as mine does.
I looked at all before looking at the challenge.
Challenge of Intelligence.
"Challenge of intelligence? It should be a challenge of climb or a challenge of a tower," said the woman in front of me.
It is confusing, especially when I read the details of the challenge. Which is as one would expect, seeing the scenery in front of us.
We need to reach the top of the tower and we need to use those marble platforms for it.
This is a new challenge. It didn"t come before.
"Has this challenge come before?" I asked the only person from the golden prime in my group, but the man remained quiet with an unchanged expression.
It turned the glare from some people.
I didn"t say anything and looked ahead at the clock. We have ten minutes before the mission
starts.
I wish I could contact my clones. This feels like a challenge, where I would need their help the most, but unfortunately, the core is sealed including the communication.
If I want to pa.s.s this challenge. I will need to do that with my own abilities.