"For the next test, all of you will be taking at the sa ti." Orion stated that their environnt changed again.
Every participant suddenly realized that were standing on top of the platform. The spaces between each of them were even too.
"This test is called the Test of Instinct." Orion declared, "Just like strength and speed, your ability to perceive danger within your surroundings is an important skill to have for every Superhuman out there."
"All of us experience Hell Dives each month. I, for one, refuse to believe that you self-proclaid geniuses haven't developed even the slightest skill of sensing danger around you. If you were that person, obediently go down the platform now, lest you embarrass yourself even further."
Orion's callous words resounded in every participant's ears, but none of them dared to go down.
"In this test, your movent will be limited within the area that your platform covers. Stepping beyond your space will result in automatic failure." Orion continued after nobody dared to go down.
"Once the test starts, you will be stuck in a bubble which will shoot out all sorts of projectiles towards where you are. Said projectiles will have varying speed, size, and lethality. Don't worry, we will be watching all of you to prevent any accidents from happening, but know that once we were forced to rescue you, that counts as the end of your journey. Your task is simple, dodge them. That's all."
"You are prohibited from performing any kind of retaliation. You can only dodge the attacks coming your way. Once you're hit or grazed by any of the attacks, you're out."
"We will do this by rounds. Every round lasts for a minute with a 10-second delay after each round. Of course, the difficulty increases with each round you pass."
"To pass, you must, at the very least, reach the 5th round. Anything below that counts as failure. I will give you three minutes to prepare yourself. The tir starts now."
Once Orion declared that, the participants started busying themselves. They prepared themselves for the upcoming challenge in their own ways; so started praying, others took this ti to consu so food to regain so energy, others did so rituals and sorts, while the rest just sat down to calm their mind.
That three minutes did not last at all. Everybody knew that the ti was up when they saw a bubble encapsulating them. Imdiately, every participant's face hardened and they heard Orion yelling:
"The Test of Instinct starts now!"
Pshew!
"What!!?"
Several outraged cries echoed across the testing grounds. All of which ca from all of the participants who got eliminated just now.
None of them were expecting the be eliminated so soon, the first round hasn't even properly started yet! The majority of them didn't even know how they got eliminated in the first place.
Those who knew however, could only bitterly endure this humiliation. None of them expected that the very first projectile would attack them from behind. So managed to catch it but they were too slow to react so they were hit and was transferred out imdiately.
This...was such a disgrace to their reputation. The fact that they were dubbed as geniuses makes it even worse. They only lasted for a few seconds after the test began, how could they even dare to call themselves geniuses?
They could curse the staff for implenting such a cowardly sneak attack. They could whine, beg, and all, but none of it changes a thing. The test was cruel and they failed. With how bad their results were, it'd be a miracle if they managed to make it to the list.
The audience felt pity towards them, the staff however, were heartless. They didn't even spare them a glance and just kept their eyes on those who were still taking their tests.
Sounds of projectiles flying could still be heard everywhere. Those who were still at it were too focused on what they had going on instead of pitying those who failed.
So participants had it easy, others were still trying to get used to it, while the rest were struggling already.
The difference was visible for the audience to see. Surprisingly though, so participants were really struggling in the first round despite passing the first two tests earlier.
One minute passed by rather quickly, and the participants learned of it the mont they noticed that no projectiles were being shot at them anymore. This ans that they have 10 seconds to catch their breath before the 2nd round starts.
This was the beginning of hell for the remaining participants.
During the first round, the bubble only shot a maximum of five projectiles towards them. Each one was the size of a baseball and relatively slow. That said, even though this sounds easy, the first round still eliminated a handful of participants.
For the 2nd round though? The number of projectiles doubled and they're a bit faster compared to the first round.
Everyone who was already struggling in the 1st round was directly eliminated the mont the 2nd round began, much to their dismay of course. They didn't even reach halfway the passing mark, how could they call themselves geniuses?
This trend started a cycle for the participants. Those who were struggling during the last round will all be eliminated once the next round begins without fail.
In the 2nd round, there were 10 baseball-sized projectiles. For the 3rd round, it increased to 20. The 4th round had 50, and the 5th round had 100 projectiles.
This test was far more crueler compared to the earlier ones. Many were eliminated right away because of their lack of skill. So far, by the ti they reached the 5th round, only 50 among the hundreds of participants were left.
At the 6th round, the projectile number remains the sa, however their speed now varies. So balls will start to slow down, then they will accelerate all of a sudden. So did the opposite; starting fast and then slowing down.
In short, the test beca trickier since the projectiles were now starting to throw the participants' rhythm off.
When they reached the 7th round, only 10 people were left. Of course, the current top 3 so far: Isabella, Garrick, and Cedric, were all still there.
Isabella and Garrick were putting in real effort now because at the 7th round, not only did the projectile count increase to 120 with varying speeds, but they could also alter their trajectories as well.
The fact that they're limited to just dodging made this even more challenging for them. All they could ever do was either put sufficient distance between themselves and the projectiles or twist their bodies in an unnatural way to accurately evade them.
But compared to the other participants who were doing their absolute best to last until the next round, Cedric was the odd one.
Not only did he look completely relaxed, there were even traces of boredom beneath that blank gaze of his.
Those who had eyes on him since the start already realized how monstrous Cedric's perception was. There were nurous tis when they saw him dodging the projectiles even without looking.
Additionally, his style of evasion was nearly effortless. He angles his body in the most optimal position to evade the attacks coming his way. None of the feints got him at all. It's like he could perceive them all and predict what they will do the mont they show up.
It was quite a scene actually, because the difference between his situation and the rest was just too striking.
Then, the 8th round began. In this round, there were now a total of 150 projectiles blitzing around each participant at varying speeds and curvatures. In addition to all of that, every projectile now has varying shapes...
So will take on the shape of a throwing star, others turn into swords, spears, icicles, explosives, etc. Again, every single one of these projectiles might alter their speed or trajectories to throw them off. It was honestly chaotic.
Those who were eliminated and watching on the sidelines paled at the sight of the challenge. To them, this was an impossible challenge. Yet at the sa ti, seeing at least 5 remaining participants still taking on this round bravely, allowed them to see just how much gap there was between them.
It was disheartening yet also inspiring.
10 seconds into the 9th round, two of those 5 remaining were eliminated. Only Isabella, Garrick, and Cedric remained on the platform and all eyes were on them now.
Both Isabella and Garrick were feeling the fatigue that built up so far. Of course, that ca with the foreboding sense that they will not last for long. They were sweating and exhausted, yet they were still clinging on.
Then, as soon as the 10th round began, both of them got eliminated much to their dismay. Maybe it was because of the fatigue or sothing else entirely but none of them saw how they eliminated.
Instead of resting, however, their gazes landed on the sole figure left on the platform who was still braving the storm of projectiles coming his way.
And to their absolute shock, Cedric seems to be having fun instead of feeling threatened.
'How is he doing this!?'
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