Outside the Trial Rooms, the number of people gathered had begun to increase at a rapid rate.
From the moment Sylthia had arrived in the Trial grounds, more and more people had started paying attention to her movements. What is Sylthia Eryndor doing in this area? Usually, she is only seen accompanying the princess. But today, she had a boy in strange clothes walking side by side with her.
When they noticed Axel and Sylthia walking towards the Squid Detection Pods, and then to the trial rooms, they realized that Axel was actually taking the enrollment test.
What kind of person was he to have Sylthia Eryndor personally take his test? Everyone was curious, So, they all began making their way towards the Trial rooms, curious to spectate. When those who still had no idea what was going on saw everyone gathering at one place, they also followed to find out.
And that is how, Axel now had a big audience watching his match. Not only that, many of the students had begun recording and streaming him through their wrist devices.
"Who is this new fish?"
"I don't know either, but he's with Sylthia, so there must be something, right?"
"Look at his clothes. What kind of fashion is that?"
"He's so handsome! Someone tell me his Oceagram!"
All kinds of discussions regarding Axel were going on. But the most prevalent one was:
"Look at those loose clothes. 100 Atan says he won't be able to even pass the Physical stage.
"I bet he'll go down on the first obstacle!"
"300 on 3rd obstacle!"
Yep, they were betting on how much he'd last.
[3]
[2]
[1]
[Begin Running!]
In the screen, the Trial had already started, but they could see that Axel still had not started moving. Instead, he was stretching his muscles lazily, warming up.
"""?????""""
The confusion of the crowd was palpable. Did this guy not know what he was supposed to do?
"Run," said Sylthia through the microphone, in case he hadn't yet realized. But Axel still took five seconds to complete his stretching routine. Then, he began jogging on the path.
"Is this a joke?"
"What the hell is he doing?"
"Is he mad or what?"
The crowd felt like they had wasted their time coming here. A lot of booing and jeering sounds were heard. But, some perceptive people didn't take their eyes off of Axel. Somehow, the way he behaved, and his each and every movement gave them an inexplicable feeling.
Sure enough, Axel's speed was increasing at a constant rate. He was still steady and relaxed, but his hands and feet were moving faster and faster. Not only that, the steps were gradually getting larger, making him cover more distance in the same amount of time.
The crowd was no longer so rowdy now. Axel was now running at a speed that seemed… as fast as any of them? Even though they had been going through enhancements here.
"So, he can run," muttered someone unimpressed. Running wasn't really that important. The 1st stage was a test of stamina, endurance, reaction speed, maneuverability, balance, coordination, etc. Agility was just one factor.
But very soon, people noticed something abnormal. "Is… Is he still getting faster?!"
Everyone else also realized it. Axel's hands and feet were still moving faster and faster.
People couldn't understand how that was possible. What kind of training and enhancement did he receive to be able to become so fast at such a young age? Is he from one of those Aristocratic families?
"Look, he isn't slowing down!" Someone pointed out in urgency.
The beginning was a straight run to warm you up and tire you out somewhat, but the first stage truly begins when the obstacles start coming.
Axel was now entering into the true beginning of the first stage.
"He's going to die!" that was the conclusion people reached when they saw him still somehow increasing his speed.
"Someone tell him!" Another person yelled. If Axel kept going like that, he would get seriously injured, or might even die. Even though it won't be real, but it's still a really unpleasant experience.
But, even after the urging of the person, Sylthia didn't warn Axel. She just stood there, gazing at Axel in surprise.
Sure enough, the first obstacle came without warning. A block manifested out of thin air right in front of Axel. And since he was running so fast, he hardly had the time to even detect it, let alone stop or avoid it.
[Arcane Footwork]
In the next moment, Axel appeared on the other side of the block, as if he had passed right through it. His speed… hadn't decreased at all. In fact, it was still increasing! His hands and feet were almost a blur by now.
???!!!!???!!!????!!!
Jaws were dropped, pupils were dilated, and eyes were stretched wide open when they saw this.
"What the hell? Is he a ninja?"
"Even they don't move like THAT."
They didn't know, it was just the beginning. As more and more blocks materialized in the path, Axel didn't slow down at all, passing by the manifested blocks as if he was going right through them!
The only silver lining was, he seemed to have at least stopped accelerating further.
"E-Excuse me."
? Sylthia came out of her trance-like state when someone addressed her. Looking back, everyone was looking at her inquiringly.
"Can… Can you please enlighten us about his identity?"
The students couldn't hold back their curiosity any longer.
'Who is he?' Sylthia realized that she had no idea. She had thought that he was just a nobody who was bewitched by the prestige of Atlantis and wanted to climb high without having any abilities, but it seems that it was no longer the case, was it?
It seems that Axel can at least run very well. But...
'So, he's a bit good at running.' thought Sylthia with a huff. She didn't believe it would be anything more. Since he had chosen all the paths, the trial will be designed in order to test everything. Just good running is not going to help very much.
Meanwhile, in the Trial, the next obstacle came, the laser field!
"He'll slow down now, right?" Said a student.
Everyone HAS to slow down here. You simply can not pass through that field without taking the utmost caution. The lasers are densely aligned, and you have to slowly move your body through the field without touching the lasers.
It's not even about how fast you can go anymore. It tests your balance, flexibility, and core strength. Trying to run through it is madness.
But it seems that Axel was going to attempt this madness, because he still hadn't slowed down despite the laser field getting closer and closer.
"Slow down. Touching the lasers can be fatal," said Sylthia in the microphone. This time, she decided to warn him. It could be considered an apology for underestimating him. He wasn't a complete weakling at least.
Too bad, her kindness was ignored by Axel, since he didn't slow down at all, making her wonder why he even bothered.
"Die then," she muttered to herself.
But, Axel didn't even do that. As soon as the laser field came, Axel's eyes sharped.
The world seemed to slow down for him as the details he could capture increased. A path quickly formed in his mind, as his brain did calculations to find the quickest and safest route out.
Just when the laser field came, he jumped right in, causing the spectators outside to grimace. They thought they'd see Axel getting cut into multiple pieces.
But what they saw was parts of Axel's body continuously bending into different angles, until he emerged on the other side, completely unharmed.
"....."
There was pin drop silence outside. Everyone was still comprehending what they saw. Only after Axel glanced right at them with a disdainful look did the exclamations begin.
"What… what did he do just now?!"
"It can also be done like this?!"
"Can he become intangible?"
"Does he have a relic or something?"
What Axel was doing right now was just too absurd, even by Atlantian standards.
"Wohoo! This guy's awesome!" Someone exclaimed.
"He's speedrunning through the Trial like it's nothing!" Another guy exclaimed with excitement. Several exclamations of agreement were heard from all around. The students were now hooked, routing and cheering for Axel.
Speedrunning was something the high level Soldiers sometimes do when they come to this trial ground. Since 2 Star difficulty is nothing serious for them, they'd show off by going through the obstacles like a piece of cake while taking as little time as possible. The videos they have seen are extremely exhilarating and satisfying to watch, but they never thought that they would get the chance to see it live!
Axel, despite this being his first attempt and his age being too low, was attempting to speedrun the trial! The students were no doubt excited.
But, not everyone was excited. In the crowd, there was also a three star officer, who was spectating the Trial. Listening to the students chattering in awe, he shook his head. "Shut up, you idiots. He's not going to last long," he said, shaking his head. This man was one of the instructors here. Of course, his words carried wait.
"Running continuously at that speed, he won't be able to clear the next obstacle," he explained.
When he said that, realisation dawned on the students.
"He's chosen all four paths, so..."
"The next obstacle... is the Gravitational Field, right?"
"Oh, right. His boat will sink."
"He didn't conserve energy,"
The students belatedly realized what was wrong.
The more paths you choose, the more difficult the trial will be.
The Gravitational Field. It only comes in the Trial if you have chosen 3 or more paths, including the warrior path. It'll increase the Gravity in the area, causing every step to cause more exertion. When the effect stacks for multiple steps, a person can't really hold on for long.
A challenger can't have infinite stamina. If you have to go through the Gravitational Field, it's important to conserve your energy from the beginning in order to pass through it. Since Axel has been going at full speed for a while, it seems like he'll end up tiring out now.
Understanding this, the students enthusiasm dampened somewhat.
Meanwhile, Inside the Trial room, Axel had a slightly annoyed look on his face. 'How long will this go on?'
He's tired of running..... at such mediocre speed.
It's too difficult.... trying to control his legs to not move too fast. That's why he had to increase the pace slowly, in order to keep it under control. Show power, and they'll respect you. Show too much, and they'll fear you. Axel doesn't intend to go all at once.
60% is just the upper limit. For now, Axel is showing off far less. He's first going to gauge the reaction of the Atlantians to this much power.
In the past two years, due to the System recommended training exercises, expensive magic ingredients diet, and the recommended potion recipes, his physical capabilities have already far surpassed human limits.
Arcane Thief is a class that especially promotes Physical Attributes, to begin with. So the Trial made for noobs here is just too damn boring for him.
"Hm?"
As Axel ran, he suddenly felt that his steps were a little heavy. Unconsciously, he increased the power of his muscles to keep up with the same speed, not at all faltering. But then he realized. 'Is this an obstacle too?'
Axel slowed down his speed somewhat, but still kept going without any sign of fatigue. When he came out of the field, his speed increased again.
By this point, he was almost bored. 'System's exercise is so much more difficult that this,' he thought.
The amount of stamina he has used from the beginning of the trial till now... it's used up within 2 minutes when doing System's exercise.
Meanwhile, looking at Axel still running at the same speed, the people outside, the students had question marks all over their faces.
"Who is this guy?!"
"He… how did he do it?"
"With that stamina… he can even go on for the whole night," someone joked.
"500 Atlans says he'll also pass the next obstacle!" A bet was announced. But this time, no one countered it.
People could no longer speculate what Axel could or could not do. The next obstacle was quite difficult, and it could be called one the most difficult of some of them, but they had no idea how Axel will perform.
But, they wanted to find out.
"Go Chris!" Someone yelled, quickly repeated by another, and another.
"Speedrun the next one too!"
"Yeah!"
""Speedrun!""
"""Speedrun!"""
"""""" Speedrun!"""""
More and more students were coming from all around after knowing about the commotion through online.
In the Trial, while Axel was wondering what would happen next, he realized that there was no path ahead. Only a huge chasm. The only way ahead was a narrow pole, enough to accommodate one feet in breadth.
Still waiting for the next trial, Axel began running on the pole while looking around, wondering if the pole would break off or if another obstacle would like those blocks would appear, trying to push him off. But nothing of the sort happened, and Axel came to the end of the pole path. Up ahead, there was not even the pole. Just ropes at regular intervals, hanging by nothing.
"Fuck!"
"He really is speedrunning it!"
"The guy didn't even bother putting on the safety harness!"
The students were left in awe. What confidence! What balance!
"Go Chris!"
"Go Chris!"
"Next one too!"
Sure enough, Axel didn't disappoint. He jumped off and grabbed the rope, swung forward, skipped two ropes, caught the third, swung off, caught the Seventh one. Due to the swinging motion, his speed didn't decrease, but actually increased.
As soon as he landed on the other side, fireworks exploded on the screen! The first stage of the trial was complete, and Two more were left!
!!!!!
Cheers erupted among the students. It was the moment when the new king had begun to get his first supporters.
….
Meanwhile, a girl in ninja attire with a beautiful but expressionless face was packing up her gear, ready to depart on a long journey.
The guy is going to destroy Atlantis, and expects her to sit back and relax? Only when all the Kunai in the world turn into dust.
"Aki! Let's go! Before your Grandfather finds out."
"Coming, Kurai Sensei." Said Akiko, going out. The corners of her mouth lifted, imagining Axel's reaction when he would see her.
....
A.N.: Next: Aerial Combat
Next next: Killing Spree
Next next next: Castle in an Emergency State
Next... Next: Seeing a Familiar Face
Come read ahead
Patreon.com/Snollygoster