章 552: Chapter 552
More applicants come out from their resting rooms, and the doors close, sealing the rooms behind them one by one.
The last door to open and reveal its hunter is the one right next to me labeled [2].
Trax comes walking out with a slow stride.
His right arm and side are fully healed and regrown; however, there's a large white scar on the side of his face.
He glares at me as he walks out, crackling with electricity, trying to show the entire room that the attack wasn't the end of our disagreements.
I stare at his face with an unsettled expression, not because I'm scared of his measly aura, but because I wasn't expecting my attack to leave such a permanent mark.
It appears even this soft heal skill at legendary grade and near the A-Class rating has its limits in healing delicate portions of the body. I'm so used to using mythic-grade self-regeneration and relying on Abby's restoration skill that I didn't realize it wouldn't be able to be mended.
It's clear everyone else in the room knew this beforehand, and their anger from hours before makes much more sense to me now.
Even so, I shrug and turn to the center of the room.
He deserves worse; I was being generous not going for the kill shot when I had the chance.
The scarred lightning user grunts and looks away from me, staring forward at the two A-Class hunters standing behind the light blue stone.
On this note, the ceiling lights up to show the rankings and Rodrigo's image talking to us.
"I hope you all had a peaceful rest and have stocked up on all the items necessary for this final stage of the exams."
Small circles open up in the floor below each applicant, and a silver tablet rises from the floor on thin white tables.
"Here, to compete in the 5th stage, we require each of you to sign a contract ensuring that any artifacts you manage to obtain in our next trial are property of the Apex Region. There are no exceptions; if you do not agree to a full body and item box search before and after this stage is complete, you may leave now and consider your hopes for a B-Class ID terminated."
He smiles and pauses.
"That is, except for our 1st place finisher in the last event. You may leave now if you wish and accept your B-Class ID without partaking in the final event."
Nat's eyebrows raise from across the room, and instantly a link between us opens.
While Rodrigo pauses again and many applicants begin reading the contract on silver tablets in front of them, we discuss whether or not she should take part in this stage. Something tells me leaving her alone, unable to tap into the Flame Emperor's power right now, isn't the safest bet. Both of us agree that entering this next stage of the exams so we can stick together is a better plan.
I look down at the contract after this too, flipping through the digital pages and signing the hunter Ray Anderson's name in each spot where it's necessary. Most of the text is just allowing access to our item boxes and penalties that will occur if we try to smuggle out any materials gained from this stage after this portion of the exams.
If there is this much prep beforehand, I assume the exam site will be heavily surveilled too. I wasn't planning on taking any of their worthless C and B Grade items before, but now they've piqued my interest. If there is any way or good reason for me to breach this contract in the future, I'm doing it without batting an eye. The name I'm signing isn't even mine.
Once everyone finishes up, Rodrigo continues talking.
"As many of you may have suspected, this final stage will be in a large open-air simulation zone. All applicants will be present at once and competing against each other."
Eyes start to dart across the room as people scope out their enemies and potential allies.
"Taking out your fellow applicants won't score you any points. The only way to win this event is to collect the artifacts that you've just signed agreements for."
Rodrigo takes out a blue recording crystal and plays a moving holographic image.
It is a bit odd seeing a video within a video, but he points at the recording as it plays to describe certain images shown of three different colored stones on a table.
"The red stones are worth 1 point, the orange are worth 10, and the yellows are 100. If you manage to find anything else; it will be judged by our A-Class hunters and given unique ratings. Any artifacts not matching those shown in this recording will be awarded 1000 points minimum."
Discussion murmurs throughout the room, questioning what the stones are, and some applicants that were watching the tournament closely enough recognize the resemblance of these stones to the red one that Trax ate in his match against me.
Rodrigo continues as the chatter grows.
"These stones will not produce any energy. They are merely tools used to power our simulation."
At this, as the whispers and tension in the room grow even more, the two A-Class hunters behind the large blue gem place their hands into item boxes by their sides and pull out small red gems of their own.
Trax's eyes widen, and I even see Callum and the battle healer instantly react.
They're in the dark on this matter as much as I am.
Ember's eyes track the gems as they enter both of the guards' mouths, whose levels surpass both of ours.
I get into a ready fighting stance and prepare for the worst.
However, when their eyes light up red, they don't lose control like the lightning user did down in the ring during the last stage.
They both turn toward each other, nod once, then place their hands down on the blue stone.
The red light is siphoned out of their bodies and into the crystal, making their eyes return to their normal state almost instantly after.
Nothing happens for a few seconds, but everyone in the room stops talking so Rodrigo continues while he has our attention.
"As I said, there is nothing to worry about. They are worthless stones that power the simulation machine. Think of this as a vast dungeon to hunt inside. Many monsters will spawn, and the further away from your starting region you venture outward, the stronger these manifestations will be."
He shows a thin smile, but it doesn't look as genuine as the ones he usually shows.
At the same time, the blue gem in the center of the room starts to pulse with a light blue, almost cyan tint.
As the light gets brighter and brighter, the A-Class Guards take a step back, and a wide tear in space begins to form and grow at a slow and steady rate.
No energy at all can be felt, and the only thing I can visually relate it to is the Demonic Rift that brought me to the Demonic Realm for game-like trials or the Void Creeper Rift I stepped through with my body double that teleported me into a very strange fortress filled with an army of Titans being controlled by their King.
An invisible wave that feels like heavy pressure crashes against my Divine Limiter, and I hear bells ringing in my ears while the thin layer that keeps my mana control at bay violently ripples.
I take deep breaths and concentrate much harder to keep it at bay, but the waves of invisible gravity keep crashing into me from within wherever this rift leads to.
Rodrigo's voice continues as the rift grows in size to about 3 meters high.
"The simulation gate will be open for 28 days. You may use any artifacts you wish, any hidden powers, and may even kill your opponents to take their loot to steal their points."
At this last remark, the chatter in the room starts again, but Rodrigo shuts it down quickly.
"Nothing you see inside the gate is real. A respawn item like in the last round isn't necessary. If you die, you will find yourself back in this room. However, the artifacts we're looking for can only be brought back through the gate manually. If you die, they will not teleport back with you."
One of the A-Class guards walks forward toward the rift and motions like he's about to jump through, but his hand hits the bright blue energy barrier as if there is an invisible wall blocking him.
"Our A-Class helper took the same test as you in this same simulation years ago. It is programmed to only let each user enter and leave once. So know, once you manually leave or die inside, your trial is over. Your current rankings are where you all start, but points gathered during this final portion of the exams are weighted far more heavily than any other stage. Given a high enough point gap, the 20th ranked applicant has the potential to reach 1st place."
He walks back to stand next to the other hunter, and an eruption of questions from applicants fills the room.
Many more bounce around in my head too.
His insistence on this being a simulation sounds less and less true the more he talks, and the use of two red divine fragments to trigger the activation of this large blue device doesn't help mask that point.
Whatever Rodrigo is saying, it feels like it's being forced out of him through a script.
He takes a few minutes to answer everyone's questions and concerns, but they're all met with general responses that don't add anything of substance to the matter.
To add to all of my confusion, the look on Ember's face after the rift appeared isn't of concern like any of the other appearances of divine energy so far; his eyes are practically sparkling at the sight of it.
Even worse, this trial is meant to last 28 days, which by now is far beyond the natural decay point that the mana control and soul energy suppression items Ember made for us will last.
The only words I get out of him through our link between him analyzing the blue gem and staring through the rift are, "We should go through. Divine rifts like this one are too rare to pass up. What he's saying is correct, the fact that it was opened in such close proximity to us means we'll never get a chance to jump through it again even if we wanted."
The heavy waves of gravity that pour out of it, threatening to release my mana control's full power, only grow stronger the longer we wait in this room.
Rodrigo's explanations finally stop, and he speaks to all of us again.
"There will be no supervision within the simulation. Your efforts will only be judged on the amount of artifacts you bring back. There is nothing more to be explained any further. Please, line up in front of the rift in your ranking order and present your item boxes to be searched and documented before the trial begins."
At this, everyone in the room starts to shift, and a final reply comes out of Rodrigo.
"Good luck, hunters. I look forward to seeing 12 of you again in 28 days once our B-Class graduation ceremony begins."
Every step I take closer to the rift, the waves of pressure that ripple against my barrier become stronger and stronger.
The conversations in the room fade away as I concentrate fully on aligning myself, keeping my limiter at bay, and handing over my fake item box to the A-Class guards to search.
All they find inside are a few C and B-Grade items and a dozen or so MP potions I brought along as decoy items, and both of the guards don't react at all. They just log down exactly what's inside on silver tablets before giving it back to me.
One of them does a probing scan with a large amount of dense aura and also notes down no abnormalities in my gear being worn, showing that they're all low B-Grade at best thanks to my conceal skill.
Then, the other hands back my item box and motions for me to walk through.
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Author's Note:
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