"This is…" Even Manager Desmond, who had seen his fair share of geniuses, was stunned. "To get level 2 in all the assessments, how is he not a level 2 evolver already?"
Usually, a genius is someone who can skip a level on one assessment test; for example, Alissa excelled in her mind and physical tests, but she was lacking in terms of endurance.
"I believe it is because Participant Grey evolved just a week ago; he most likely hasn't begun practicing martial arts," Secretary Selene interjected and spoke. "Meaning, this is his base strength after undergoing metamorphosis."
"A week ago." Their minds buzzed.
"This…" No one in the room knew what to say anymore.
"I should inform the City Lord immediately!" Manager Desmond couldn't help but say.
"Father is in seclusion right now, Grandpa Desmond," Lia suddenly interjected and spoke. "He will be out after a month."
"Oh, is that so?" Manager Desmond paused and then nodded.
"The combat assessment is beginning," Manager Victor said as he pointed to the TV.
Everyone immediately shifted their focus back to the TV.
Back in the simulated world, the world around Grey changed drastically. Soon an open battlefield appeared in front of him, with red miasma and a black sky.
This was without a doubt a simulation of the corruption field!
"Are my enemies corrupted beings?" Grey mused, and soon he found the answer to his question.
A surge of corrupted beings abruptly materialized before him, each at the level of 1st level, 1st rank.
Seeing this, Grey smirked.
Eliminating corrupted beings was his specialty!
"Roar!" Without wasting time, the horde of corrupted beings surged forward; he believed there were at least ten thousand of them coming toward him.
"Isn't that a bit too much?" Manager Victor said rather speechlessly. "All of them are 1st level of 1st rank too!"
Usually, during combat assessment, the Eterna system would configure corrupted beings according to one's level, and there would only be 10–20.
But this?
This looks like a huge army!!!
"…" Lia was completely numb at this point. She had already come to terms with the fact that this guy was a different breed, and she no longer felt any shock.
She just watched with a calm expression; she could already predict what was going to happen next.
Sword energy surged out of Grey's body like a tidal wave, distorting the red miasma within the battlefield, which took on the shade of purple.
Then, Grey rushed forward, sword in hand.
The burst of his speed left a sonic boom in his wake, propelling him toward the horde of corrupted beings like a cannonball.
Seeing him advance, the corrupted beings roared in unison, their aggression flaring as they charged, desperate to stop him.
Buzz!
Nexus energy crackled like lightning as Grey unleashed the Zenith Sword Art. In an instant, tens of corrupted beings before him were shredded into fine pieces, the air vibrating with the raw power of the technique.
It didn't stop there. Dodging a claw swipe, Grey flowed seamlessly into the next sequence of the Zenith Sword Art, his blade burning like fire as hundreds of corrupted beings fell under its force. Sparks of energy danced around him, illuminating the chaos.
With a straight punch, the blackhole-like head of a corrupted being burst open, and Grey didn't pause. He surged forward, each step, each strike, each swing of the sword a continuation of the Zenith Sword Art, leaving wave after wave of corrupted beings falling in his wake.
The more he pushed forward, the more relentless the massacre became. Grey moved like a storm of steel and fire, unstoppable in his assault.
The rule of the combat assessment was: battle as long as you can until you die under an attack of beasts, but even tens of thousands of corrupted beings couldn't stop Grey!
He kept going as more and more corrupted beings came at him.
This was the true power of an evolver at 2nd level of 1st rank taken to the next level!
Before metamorphosis, he could take on two or three peak level-1, 1st-rank beings at best at the same time, but after metamorphosis, he could take on thousands as long as he didn't run out of energy.
Outside the simulated room, the viewers could only stare at this scene with their mouths wide open.
"He… how are the corrupted beings falling so quickly under his blade?" Manager Victor's breath hitched.
Corrupted beings were the hardest thing to kill in Blue Star and most evolvers struggled with them, but they were falling under Grey's blade like common trees in a forest.
"…" Lia continued staring calmly at the screen.
Eventually, inside the simulated battlefield, the corrupted beings stopped coming. By that time, Grey's energy reserves were also almost emptied out.
He believed if a higher-level monster came, he would definitely die.
However, to his surprise, as soon as he thought that, a bigger monster appeared with denser energy and a bigger build.
And the worst part was there were five of them.
From the Eterna System, he immediately identified them as level 3 initiate-level monsters.
"…" Grey's expression immediately darkened.
Why did it go from 1st level to straight 3rd level?
He felt like he was being bullied right now. There was no way he was winning this.
"But I should try my best." Grey's eyes flashed with a cold intent; he charged forward with full momentum.
He couldn't stretch out the fight for long, since that was the case, he had to give it his all! He utilized the stance and sword movement of Zenith Sword Energy, he made micro-adjustments within his posture and charged forward. He was going to display Zenith Sword Art at its full capabilities.
Boom! Grey targeted the monster in front. The sword and the corrupted monster's claws collided together, distorting the fabric of air itself, sending waves of wind across the battlefield. Then, immediately, the monster overpowered him; his body was forcefully pushed back by the beast.
Then, with the same speed, the monster descended with its sharp claws, threatening to tear him apart, but Grey's reflexes flared up and he dodged narrowly. However, it still managed to land a scratch on his shoulder.
"Tch." Grey clicked his tongue and formed some distance between him and the monsters.
It was impossible. He wouldn't be able to defeat this monster unless he utilized his Nexus Overlock — and there were three of them, so even that wouldn't help.
Still, Grey tried his best to at least land a hit on one of the corrupted beings. He rushed forward several times, but each attempt was futile. Eventually, his vision flashed and he was back in the real world, with the side of the TV showing his combat capabilities.
[Combat Rank – level 2, 1st Rank]