Normally, the test would finish by evening, but today there were so many test takers that it dragged on until late at night before it was Nawa's turn, the last one.
After the four Heavenly Kings finished their tests, the media dispersed as there was nothing interesting left to report.
Only the association officials and the Asashi Academy students who had passed the test remained, waiting for training on using the player equipment.
At this point, everyone wanted to finish the test quickly and go to training so they could go home and celebrate becoming players.
No one paid any attention to Nawa's test. He wasn't even a student of the Asashi Academy, and his previous scores were very low, barely passing Rank E. But when it was Nawa's turn, he did something unexpected, causing everyone in the room to turn and stare at him.
"Excuse me, I have one more question," Nawa raised his hand and walked over to ask the test supervisor. Although it was his right to do so, in a situation like this, it was natural for some people to be displeased.
"Don't be so difficult..."
"It's just walking up to a target and punching, what's so hard to understand?" one student said.
"Yeah, this kind of trash is so troublesome. Who does he think he is to waste our time?"
"Do you have any questions?" the female officer asked.
"I wanted to know if all skills are allowed in this test, because I haven't seen anyone use long-range attack skills."
Nawa asked this because he noticed that the students of the Asashi Academy, who should have basic psychic abilities to control elements, weren't using any powerful attack skills.
They only created heat or cold in their palms, which was very strange to Nawa.
Because it's well known that psychic skills controlling elements excel in destructive power and attack range, yet no one was using any high-damage skills.
"It's getting dark! Is this the time to be asking stupid questions like this? The officer clearly stated that artifacts are not allowed in this test. So who would be able to use long-range attack skills?"
"Yeah, without artifacts, even a Rank C mage can't use long-range attack skills. Who does he think he is?"
"What kind of jokes are you making now? It's not funny at all. What time is it?"
"He's asking as if he can use long-range attack skills. Does he think he's a high-ranked player or something?"
As one person started speaking, many others followed, creating a cacophony of boos. But Nawa didn't care. He didn't show any displeasure.
For Nawa, the feelings of those he loved were more important. The feelings of others he didn't know and who hadn't done him any favors were insignificant.
The students from Asashi Academy began to criticize loudly. Some even went so far as to look down on him, because they saw Nawa as not being an Asashi Academy student, and being in his twenties but only just taking the player test.
He was probably just an ordinary person hoping to get into The Oneness to work as a laborer, carrying goods, and doing various odd jobs. Therefore, he shouldn't have asked so many questions, wasting their time.
"Everyone be quiet. Maintain some manners." When the exam proctor warned, everyone fell silent. Then she turned to Nawa and said,
"As I've said before, this test allows the use of all skills. Of course, even the long-range attack skills of the mage class can be used. The only condition is that you must not use any artifacts to assist you. Otherwise, it will be considered a violation of the rules and you will be disqualified from being a player.
Regarding your question about why no test taker has used long-range attack skills or high-damage skills like those of the mage class, the reason is simple: they simply cannot use them."
The basic psychic power used by mages is the control of elements, such as pyrokinesis (controlling fire) and cryokinesis (controlling water). Without artifacts, they can only ignite fires or summon wind and rain.
But to amplify their power to create immense destructive force, they need to rely on artifacts containing magical crystals to gather and compress those elements to increase their intensity before releasing them.
This process is called spellcasting, which makes using mages' skills take significantly longer than other classes.
However, if they successfully use their skills, the resulting destructive power will be significantly greater than other classes. And it's not just the power; their attack range and radius are also superior.
For these reasons, the mage class is highly sought after by parties and guilds. A single spell cast can potentially turn the tide for an entire party. However, cultivating a skilled mage is not easy; it requires considerable resources and support.
Firstly, the mage class's weapons and artifacts are significantly more expensive than other classes because they require magic crystals as a crucial component in their creation. Without them, this class is practically incapable of dealing damage to monsters.
Secondly, mages cannot hunt monsters alone. Although their skills are powerful, casting each skill takes a long time, and they are virtually defenseless while casting. A party is essential for protection; without it, it's practically suicidal.
Importantly, the skills of the mage class consume a large amount of mana, and currently, the only way to regenerate mana is by absorbing it from energy crystals.
Besides being expensive, absorbing these crystals takes a very long time, making each hunt extremely costly in both money and time.
Hunting low-level monsters is not worthwhile, and conversely, hunting high-level monsters carries a correspondingly high risk.
This is a major reason why people don't choose to train as mages. Most mages come from truly wealthy families or are exceptionally talented individuals who receive support from large guilds.
After listening to the female officer's explanation, Nawa nodded in agreement, his eyes showing determination. He walked to a distance of 20 feet from the testing target, extended one hand forward, and closed his eyes.
"Isn't that guy still crazy? He's just punching a target, what's the big deal?"
"Yeah, it's getting very late. We should go home."
Whispers began to rise again, but a few seconds later, all sounds ceased. When a ball of fire the size of a ping-pong ball appeared before Nawa,
"Whoosh…" The sound of air being burned echoed loudly.
"I-Impossible! Don't tell me he's using a fireball skill!" Exclamations echoed throughout the hall.
Not only the students from Asashi Academy, but even the exam proctors widened their eyes in disbelief at what they were seeing.
"Impossible! How could trash like him use a C-rank magic skill? And without any artifacts at that!"
In truth, what Nawa was doing wasn't magic at all. Frankly, Nawa had barely learned any skills since his time in the Himmapan Forest. Almost all of Nawa's combat abilities stemmed from his application of telekinesis.
Telekinesis, in common understanding, is the psychic power to control objects without touching them. However, the opposite is true. Telekinesis doesn't control objects; what it actually controls is the space-time field.
As everyone knows, gravity is caused by the curvature of the space-time field. Normally generated by massive objects like stars or black holes, if we could bend or distort the spacetime field, we could create a force similar to gravity.
With that, telekinesis is like controlling objects to move.
But that alone wouldn't allow Nava to create attacks similar to a mage's skills. Nava discovered the answer that scientists worldwide have been searching for for centuries—the explanation for the contradictions between Einstein's theory and quantum theory.
Modern scientists only know that matter and energy are the same thing, capable of transformation. But Nava's knowledge goes a step further. He found that not only can matter transform into energy, but time and space can also be transformed into energy.
Nawa conducted numerous experiments to prove his findings, bringing him closer to a theory of everything than any humankind has ever reached. With this knowledge, Nava's telekinesis is no longer just the ability to move objects.
Nawa then bent the spacetime field before him, creating an immense gravitational pull. He drew in the surrounding air, concentrating it into a dense ball of air currents. He then accelerated the flow of time in certain areas within the air ball.
According to the laws of entropy, as time passes, disorder increases. Accelerated time means increased particle disorder, causing atoms of various elements to become unstable and release energy—which humans call heat.
This is what Nawa used to create the fireball, similar to the mage's fireball skill.
The more he compressed the air currents, the more intense the heat became. The fireball was now several times larger than a ping-pong ball, but still very small compared to the one Nava created in the Himmapan forest.
But for now, this fireball represented all of Nawa's power.
Unable to contain its power, Nava opened a small opening in the fireball, causing it to shoot out like a missile. The fireball flew from Nava's hand towards the target. With the speed of an arrow shot from a crossbow,
"Zoom!" "Boom!"
A deafening explosion echoed as the fireball hit the test target, creating a blaze over 10 feet high. A wave of heat spread across the testing area, instantly activating the automatic fire extinguishing equipment.
Once the massive fire subsided, the test machine revealed a score of 1898, far exceeding the Skill Blade score demonstrated by the female officer and more than double Natee's previous record.
This left everyone present speechless.
Many questions arose among those who witnessed the event. Some speculated that Nava had secretly used some kind of artifact or item.
Others wondered if Nava might be a student from another institution, deliberately suppressing his power to obtain a title during the player training test. Regardless of the theory, none of these possibilities seemed plausible.
If he used an item or artifact, it wouldn't escape the notice of the association, as the testing room was equipped with artifact detection devices.
As for the possibility of Nava being a student from another country's player training academy... They deliberately lowered their own power levels and then showcased their true abilities in the final test to earn the title.
It's completely illogical. Even if the title (Rookie Genius) were very useful, the time spent isn't worth it. The amount of monster meat available in the human world is limited, and consuming the same type of meat reduces its effectiveness.
If players want to become stronger, they need to hunt monsters themselves.
Furthermore, time in the human world is three times slower than in The Oneness. Considering the benefits, wasting 2-3 years in the human world just to get one title is unreasonable.