UNLIMITED SPEED

"This is insane," Noah muttered trying to keep his joy under control. No one apart from the other four experts and the ones that quit had to know that he had won some of the rewards. After all the real plan was to travel to the 10th depth stage, an incredibly long distance, the others that had left had such thoughts, even though the fact that five individuals were teleported back at the same time was weird.

'I'm as rich as a small noble family,' Noah thought grinning inwardly. From the items he received, Noah figured that his efforts had been worth it.

Glancing at himself again, Noah wondered what to do about his ragged state. It didn't bother him, since most experts there had similar looks, but he desired to do something about it anyway.

Muillix's black and metallic material surfaced on the space below his legs, keeping his groins safe.

Noah sat in his position for a bit over an hour but no other expert showed up during that time. And Noah knew the second test of the day had ended when Lady Edna returned to the small pulpit at the center of the room.

Everyone arose at her arrival, and she didn't hesitate to sweep her gaze on the youngsters.

"I'm sure it's been a long seven hours for you all," she started, allowing a smile to appear on her face. Unfortunately, the aspirants were too tired mentally to be fazed by her charming smile. Most just wanted it all to end, and the fact that they still had three days to go saddened them beyond reason.

However, those who had participated in the battle for the rewards understood that things could change. Whether it would be for good or bad they didn't know.

Understanding their mental state, Lady Edna moved to drop comforting words. "The last test of the day would be the shortest and most likely the easiest," she started, and for some reason, they trusted her words.

"It's one of the tests we had during my time, so it won't be too tasking. The planners figured that anyone that managed to succeed in the first two tests had proved their ability to survive under harsh situations. Another difficult test would simply be overkill," she explained, putting sighs of relief in the mouths of many.

'For the last test of the day based on the body stage, you'll be required to lift objects for the required time to succeed in the stage," she announced. "It's more of a physical strength test, but that aspect is also part of the body,' she shrugged waving her hand to conjure a magical circle.

Many shrunk in fear when the magical circle appeared to fall on their figures, but their soul cores felt no pain during the teleportation.

A wide room appeared in their sights an instant later, and the first detail that caught their eyes was the tens of masked individuals, in tight-fitting clothing. The second was the metallic nature of the room.

A series of large metallic objects filled the room's space, and everyone could notice the inscriptions that shone on the large objects.

The room was actually in the shape of a dome, but the sky couldn't be seen, a feature Noah found slightly amusing.

"Thanks to your small numbers this phase can easily be finished, but I'll need your participation," lady Edna started walking towards one of the over fifty large metallic balls.

"All you have to do is lift it until the required weight has been reached. It doesn't matter that you used both your hands or one, as long as your strength isn't aided by mana then you pass," she explained grabbing one of the large balls, around 5m in height and probably double that in width.

In the blink of an eye, she lifted the ball of seemingly pure metal, and immediately, the masked individuals around her started working on illusory screens.

A series of inscriptions; sky-blue in color, lit up at that action, and very soon a mechanical whirring sound could be heard.

"You are required to lift this until you reach the fourth weight grade, which is only a bit heavier than what the average middle-staged cultivator can lift," she explained as the whirling sound continued to intensify. A few seconds passed and the inscriptions suddenly turned green. After which she placed it on the ground, with a heavy thud of course.

'That's simple' Noah thought at that demonstration. 'But what about lower-stage cultivators like me,' he thought, wondering if there would be a twist in the rules again.

"You'll take turns of sixty individuals per batch. There are exactly 864 of you left and the test is supposed to last five minutes, that is if you last throughout the duration required to pass," she explained while the masked men sorted out the first sixty batches.

"Don't forget to yell stop, when the weight gets unbearable. Your life is in your hands, you can always join another guild as long you survive," she advised with genuine care.

In less than a minute the first batch started their tests, with the others watching with disturbing attention. The first minute passed and no one yelled the required words to end it.

The third minute eventually came, by this time the spectators were already relaxed. However, when the time hit the fourth minute, meaning the fourth weight grade had begun, someone yelled stop, and that simple action placed everyone on edge.

Before the now tense audience could remove their gazes from the downcast man who had begun to be escorted to an empty area in the room, the sound of a yelp, and the sickening sound of a muffled bursting, spread in the room.

Blood flew everywhere and those who had been lined for the next batch got stained.

In mere seconds that test had become akin to a death sentence.

Most hoped that there would only be one death, but two loud bangs followed by the sound of bursting spread in the room before the fourth minute could be complete.

A series of yells occurred at that point, this time, real and bone-chilling fear set in the minds of many watching, because by the time the five minutes were complete, 10 in total had been brutally crushed by the metallic balls, while 25 had quit. Less than half of the first batch had succeeded! What hope did they have?