Every step I take closer to the light blue tear in space before me sends more high-pressure waves of gravity against my concealment barrier.
It makes me focus more and more of my physical and mental capacity on keeping the limiter stable, drowning everything out in the room.
The chatt...
2024-07-03 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
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 heal...
2024-07-02 23:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
Pulses of water and healing magic flash behind me as I take Nat’s buffs down from their max to zero while giving her self-regeneration to instantly heal her fatigue.
Rodrigo’s voice yells out to the arena as the flame residue dissipates.
“That’s it! The winner of the entire 4t...
2024-07-01 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The tension in the air is impossible not to notice.
Both inside the viewing room above the stadium, and down below in the Regional Director’s viewing area too.
No one speaks a word, but their silence and wide eyed stares into the arena from everyone waiting to see what happens next ...
2024-06-30 23:00:09 +0000 UTC View Post
The other applicants in the smaller viewing area become restless as the match begins.
They whisper to each other about both of the hunters in the ring as the two-minute timer starts to count down.
Their comments are either guesses about whether the Flame Emperor's power is real or jus...
2024-06-29 23:00:08 +0000 UTC View Post
The instant the red gem is swallowed by my opponent, his eyes begin to glow the same crimson shade.
Next, the static yellow energy that surrounds his body shifts to the same shade of red.
It looks extremely disturbing, and even intimidating, but the odd thing is that I can’t sense a...
2024-06-28 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
My yellow blades clash against his glowing sword of static energy, arcs of electricity filling the blue dome and shifting the color to an eerie light green visible to the audience.
Instead of being surprised like the last time he saw me move at this speed, his expression shifts to a wide sm...
2024-06-27 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
The fight between Ember and Callum starts off very standard.
Both of them taunt each other at the start, activating their fire and water magic and circling the ring a few times.
Both opponents have seen the other fight in this tournament multiple times already and know the strength le...
2024-06-26 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The match starts, and I point my lightning daggers forward and wait for any sign of the applicant from the Phantom Region to activate their skill.
Every time this man disappeared in the previous matches, it was right after his opponent attacked.
I can feel his mana control, and it's n...
2024-06-25 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
All of the matches in the first round finish before the hour is up.
The rankings get closer to even as the matches go on, so many of the final battles are evenly matched and take up the entirety of the 2-minute timer.
Once the 33 vs. 34 match comes to an end with 33 winning in the las...
2024-06-24 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Nat’s eyes widen once she hears a foreign voice in her head, but she takes in a gasp of air and I continue talking to her before too much time passes.
“I can grant you the power to win, but you’re going to have to put your full trust in me. Focus. To win this battle, you must visualiz...
2024-06-23 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Once the timer reaches five minutes remaining, I begin to feel the room around me shift and rotate. The ceiling lights up green with a new message telling all applicants to move to the front half of their rooms and equip all items necessary to fight.
I do as it says, and a wall comes out of...
2024-06-22 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The list of rankings on the ceiling shifts around.
Some of the numbers above the silver doors in the room shift too, matching the hunters' updated rankings for those already inside.
Many applicants move up and down 1 or 2 slots as they’ve managed to squeeze in a few points past thei...
2024-06-21 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
The team of Elites walks over to us like they own the place and completely ignore me, all staring at Natalie.
Trax yells again.
“You’re a disgrace! We should have never picked you up from the Veridian Region!”
He raises a fist, and lightning crackles around it.
His w...
2024-06-20 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
Ember and I look at her cautiously, not answering. So, she elaborates.
“I’ve been to the Bedrock Region plenty of times for private missions. I’ve never seen hunters like you… Your stamina, mentality, even fighting instincts… something is up. That blue crystal that took videos of ...
2024-06-19 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
It takes more than five extra minutes for the Apex Elites team to finish up this trial. According to Natalie, there's a more battle-equipped healer on their main squad. He is their tank with an extreme strength skill, but also has a similar healing ability that must have healed the mechanic in th...
2024-06-18 23:00:03 +0000 UTC View Post
We all walk forward into the jungle environment through the silver door.
Once it clicks behind us, the exit disappears, and it feels like we’re inside a normal dungeon.
However, there are a few major differences.
Floating high in the sky is a visible timer now counting down fr...
2024-06-17 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
As I walk closer to the two of them, I realize there are plenty of other hunters surrounding them.
Ember is the one being approached the most. I overhear many of them trying to get him to join their team.
Upon closer inspection, I find that he has by far the lowest number still in thi...
2024-06-16 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
“Well, if it was solely up to me, I wouldn’t be at these exams at all. I’m doing it for the safety and well-being of my home region.”
I raise an eyebrow at her words, and she continues.
“Every region has to enroll at least one applicant per year to stay in the good faith of ...
2024-06-15 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
We all walk over to the door as the knocking gets louder.
I reach forward and open it to see a low-level waiter holding the golden exit card that’s on the back of the door. He looks us over for a moment before speaking.
“Ray, Emrie, Natalie, right this way. Stage 1 of the exams wi...
2024-06-14 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
Natalie begins to explain everything she knows about the B-Class exams while continuing to pace around the mana-dense air in the room.
She explains that most years, there are 12 people accepted as applicants that pass the exams. It’s very normal for the Apex region to take 4-6 of these sl...
2024-06-13 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
I shake my head and turn to Ember.
“Only 5 tokens for a 2-person suite. So we could have stopped after I won that first spin.”
Then, I turn back to the white-haired woman that continues to follow us through the room.
“Why should we trust you? You could easily sit by that t...
2024-06-12 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post
We walk through the room and I take in the scenes around me.
Many more bars and restaurants catch my eye, serving all kinds of food and drinks.
There are tables where people are sitting down playing cards, each player trying to hit numbers closest to 21 without going over while still ...
2024-06-11 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I look at the menu and all kinds of options are available for purchase.
There are about a dozen food and drink items on the top half of the menu written in green ink.
The middle half of the menu is written in yellow, and there are less than half as many items as the green.
Below...
2024-06-10 23:00:01 +0000 UTC View Post
As the transport magic fades, the white color in my vision stays.
The floor I’m standing on is made of large squares of glossy white humming mana shielding, and it’s far denser than any of the A-Grade shielding I’ve ever felt before in my life.
I turn my head left and right but ...
2024-06-09 23:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
“We’re immediately greeted on the first floor by Bri, both surprised and impressed.
She takes us up to her workshop, and once I put up a hush barrier she finally speaks.
“I didn’t recognize your mana control signatures at all… You’re the only other person with these transp...
2024-06-08 23:00:02 +0000 UTC View Post
We continue sparring following the same routine.
Ember calls out a level of mana control I need to hit, and I instantly change my strength output to match it.
During this whole process, I continuously have my All-Seeing Eye and natural perception released abnormally high.
Even i...
2024-06-07 23:00:05 +0000 UTC View Post
I crush a teleport crystal to bring Ember and myself back to the Crimson City.
It’s good to see the double that was working general surveillance is now farming the labyrinth for more fire containment stones and high B-Grade items now that the Soul Energy barrier is up.
The second do...
2024-06-06 23:00:07 +0000 UTC View Post
I nod, and Leo leads us down the hall past over half a dozen identical doors until he turns into another mana-shielded room just like the one we left.
Instead of being wide open like the last one, this room is split into two halves with the same high B-Grade mana shielding dividing it in th...
2024-06-05 23:00:04 +0000 UTC View Post
I think about her proposal for a few seconds, remembering all of the unique remarks I’ve heard from Lith, the Bedrock director’s warning, and the tone of her words.
Even when doing an enemy detection scan of the surrounding settlements, the special perk of my mythic-grade enemy detectio...
2024-06-04 23:00:06 +0000 UTC View Post