Looking at the billboard and Ethan's name, everyone was surprised and happy. At least one of their teammates was on the billboard.
"Ah, I am number 11," Freddy chuckled, looking at the class C aspect user, Ethan.
"Don't look at me. I defeated that monster toad, maybe that's what boosted my points," Ethan said calmly.
"Don't worry, everyone is on the rankings, which means we are already considered to have passed this trial. We may very well consider quitting now," Gloria said, happy she was number 15.
"Very well, how do you think we're gonna quit? I don't see any exit door," Ethan said, looking up and down as if searching for something.
"Damn you," Gloria cursed as she marched forward. Lynx and Freddy giggled. Ethan understood she was talking about safety, but he had bad news for her—ever since they entered this trial ground, nothing was safe.
Ethan could still sense the powerful aura lurking around the ruins, but he couldn't lock onto its position. Anytime he tried reaching it, it escaped again and again.
Soon Ethan and the others marched deeper into the trial grounds. This time they encountered more powerful beasts than before. With their teamwork they easily took them down, together with their boss.
They kept seeing the rankings change from time to time. Only the top 10 remained the same, and the points kept increasing. Seeing Alex's name, Ethan couldn't help but think about what the psycho was doing at this point. No doubt the asshole was strong.
************************
Two hours in, Ethan's points had increased by another 10. By this time, the group was walking inside a residential building, checking room after room. To be honest, they kept thinking about how the military and Axion Guild came up with these whole structures.
The rooms were like normal living quarters anyone could see anywhere. At some point they even saw electricity, but of course only for some parts.
The group exited the building as they saw a group of figures walking toward them. By this time the sun was beginning to set, so they couldn't see their faces clearly.
"For whatever reason, don't mention your names. I think there is more to why they showed us the rankings," Ethan said. The others nodded their heads as they continued forward normally.
Slowly, the figures became clearer. The group consisted of about eight men.
Ethan sensed their levels and snorted. They were at low-level awakened. The strongest among them was at middle-stage awakened.
Ethan could see that the figures were wearing luxurious armour and wielding at least rank-two weapons. Gloria saw the snigger on their faces and felt something was off.
Lynx and Freddy looked calm, almost as if they didn't care who was approaching.
The leading figure, seeing Ethan's group consisted of only four members, increased his smug grin.
Then suddenly they blocked Ethan's path as the leading figure stared at Ethan, eyeball to eyeball.
"Ah, I don't have time for low levels like you. Just shift, let me move on," Ethan said calmly.
"Ah, don't be annoyed. We are the new owners of this territory, and I can see intruders," the guy with the thick voice said.
"Wait a minute, isn't it only people between the ages of 15 and 20 allowed in this trial? How did an old man get here?" Gloria mocked.
The man's face twisted, but he held himself back. He had other intentions, which was why he was doing his best to play nice.
"I don't see a sign with a bull for a face saying this is his territory," Ethan said with calm coldness.
"Well, now you know. Which means you've gotta pay some soul cores, which count as points," the thick-voiced guy said.
The others surrounded the group, but they were surprised none of Ethan's team flinched.
"You better listen to the boss. He is the strongest here," another guy said.
Lynx came forward between Ethan and the thick-voiced guy. "Enough. We don't want trouble. Just leave," he said.
Seeing Lynx step forward, Ethan stepped back. He wanted to see how Lynx handled the situation.
"Eh, so you're the big guy now? Pay now and we won't kill you," the man said.
Lynx just stared at him.
Seeing that they weren't budging, he ordered one of his men to attack Lynx.
Before the guy could reach him, Lynx summoned his Great Python Snake. The 6-foot beast towered over the attacker as it lunged at him.
BOOOM!
The beast hit him, sending him flying. A bite mark appeared on his neck.
Slowly his eyes turned red and his veins began to turn deep green. His face immediately paled and within seconds his veins began popping. He screamed with excruciating pain—like someone stabbed with a thousand sharp needles.
BOOOM!
His head exploded, leaving a headless body. Immediately the others stepped back.
The thick-voiced guy knew Lynx was a formidable opponent. The others were horrified by the gruesome death.
Lynx beckoned to his Great Python as it slithered back to him. "How many points do we get for killing you?" he asked calmly.
The thick-voiced guy clenched his face. He became instantly angry. He had been doing this to weaker groups—why was this one different? Not only were they small in number, they weren't scared at all.
Pouring mana into his combat armour and weapon, he lunged at Lynx. The others also lunged at Ethan's group as a full-on battle commenced.
Bang!
Before the thick-voiced guy managed to hit Lynx, his thin sword was met by a spear. Using fine steps, Lynx parried the sword and moved his spear smoothly toward the man's throat.
Bang!
The hit scraped his armour as he jumped back. A large dent appeared on it. Shocked, he immediately activated his aspect. His skin hardened and a faint brown color appeared.
Ethan just stood in the middle, arms crossed, watching the fight. Freddy and Gloria were doing well against the others.
Two minutes passed and the place became quiet. The thick-voiced guy coughed blood; many spear dents were seen on his armour. It was on the brink of shattering.
The others were dead—fire burns filled the area from Gloria's aspect.
"It's over. Give up the sacred soul cores," Lynx said calmly, though he was sweating.
"Fuck you. Wait till the boss knows you killed us—you're going to end up dead," he chuckled through bloodied teeth.
Ethan walked forward and leaned toward the awakened. "Who's your boss?" he asked, activating his [Devil Slaughterer].
But it was too late. The awakened man breathed his final breath and slumped.
Looking at the rankings, 10 points were added to Gloria, Freddy, and Lynx's points.
"Interesting," Ethan said.
"Alright, loot them and let's move to the next target. I can sense a sacred beast and its underlings in the next block," Ethan said.
The others nodded and began looting. They found a storage pouch filled with dozens of sacred cores.
"I wonder if they were given points for killing them or because of the loot they had on them," Ethan thought.