Bruce gaze went across the field, impressed. He went down on one of his knees and touched the icy floor, feeling its chilling air.
Cold, and hot. It wasn't anything as dangerous or as powerful as Maximilian's ice, but it was sturdy and slippery.
He could feel his fingers slide across the icy field, a white sheen appearing on its surface. It had no offensive prowess whatsoever, but that didn't matter at the slightest.
The ice had dramatically shifted the terrain, enough to render most people unable to move freely. His toes felt a chill as he slipped slightly.
Bruce frowned.
Reinforcing his feet with aura, he shattered the ice under him with no difficulty. It was sturdy for normal people—but he didn't fit under such criteria.
'Hm?'
However, to his surprise... the nearby ice rapidly expanded and immediately filled the missing place. It was like he never even broke it.
Bruce's brows furrowed, troubled. He raised his gaze at Declan and his teammates, smiling at them slightly.
"I wasn't wrong about you. It seems your strategy worked?"
The others were taken aback. Gabriel tilted his head at their leader, questioning him: "Do you know this fella, Declan?"
Declan furrowed his brows, surprised. He sized up Bruce before giving a short, impressed nod to him.
"I could say the same thing to you. If you know my strategy, then you should understand more than anyone else... that your team stands no chance."
Bruce chuckled, smacking his lips. "I heard that twice now, in different phrases. What makes you no different from them?"
Truthfully, he was a bit excited. If it was as Declan said, then he could try his abilities without restraint for once.
Their previous opponents didn't warrant such effort but Declan and his teammates were different.
Although he hardly knew Declan, he had a good guess about the man's strategy. And if it was indeed so, then their team was incredibly stfong.
Gabriel's tongue was stuck on his mouth, left at a loss for words. He was just getting ignored by them like he was air.
"...My intuition is rarely wrong," Declan raised his hand, revealing a floating blue crystal eye. "This test has already been won by me when I got all the pieces I needed."
The crystal blue eye shone of frosty light. Its gaze pierced through space, shrouding everything with ice. It was the Eye of Frost, a special Utility-type artifact.
On his hand, a silver ring forged with flamesteel and fierystone could also be seen. It was the Ring of Hellfire, a special Attack-type artifact.
Bruce gazed at both artifacts, faintly impressed. He might've slept for most of the exam, but he still paid close attention to the artifact details.
Without a doubt, the Eye of Frost was responsible for the shift of terrain, while the flames around them was from the Ring of Hellfire.
Both of which were "magic artifacts" that can be activated through consuming a substantial amount of mental energy.
Seeing how Declan was wearing both artifacts, the person responsible for everything was certainly him... but that begs the question.
How could Declan Gray do so much—and yet look fresh and unchanged?
'Mental energy refers to the spiritual stamina... if he uses those artifacts at the same time, it should have exhausted him mentally.'
'But his appearance begs to differ.'
Bruce knew the answer.
It was related to the second artifact Team 8 had chosen—the Necklace of Vitality—which granted nigh infinite stamina.
The Eye of the Frost, the Ring of Hellfire... artifacts that consumed mental energy, in which case, the spiritual stamina...
And then, the Necklace of Vitality, an artifact that supplied the user neverending stamina and made sure they can never be tired.
It was clever and simple, yet brilliant.
Declan had seen a combination that few people could even fathom. Even Bruce couldn't help but give his applause.
'I need to be careful.'
Bruce looked at the flames surrounding the battlefield. Considering it was an Attack-type artifact, it was surely potent.
The ice surrounding the flames had even melted, although quickly regenerating from Declan's non stop use of the Eye of Frost.
Hearing their back and forths, Natasha and the others were at a loss for words, looking at Bruce in confusion.
"What? What do you mean, strategy? Do you..."
Mmph!
"Be quiet," Bruce put his finger on her lips. He smiled at her and shook his head. "I'm not in the mood to explain. You'll understand soon enough. I can't guarantee we can win this fight without losing a member or two, so let's just do our best."
'This guy! Who's the one in charge here?!'
Natasha was stunned by his actions, feeling his fingers on her lips. She had half the mind to bite his fingers to teach him a lesson.
Who told him to touch her willy nilly?!
Taking a deep breath, she composed herself. Now was not the time. She raised her gaze and looked at him stubbornly.
"... No, I won't let that happen."
Hearing that, Penguin and Noah were slightly touched but nonetheless struggled to move due to the ice.
Natasha swung her Black Scythe with the grace of a raven, pointing directly at Declan. It was not like they didn't have a strategy on their own!
The Gem of Blessing!
Bruce shrugged casually. He looked at Declan, showing the man a playful grin. "Well, it seems our leader isn't content to simply back down."
Even he was a bit fired up.
Seeing this, Declan sighed. He spread his hands widely, calmly speaking to them without a hint of pride nor arrogance.
"Struggling is futile. But without it, this exam would be very boring... Come then."
His teammates, Gabriel had stood in front of the team, while the two girls, Cassandra and Nicole were in the backrow.
Bruce observed each of Declan's teammates, not finding them particularly impressive or strong.
Gabriel wielded a sword and shield, resembling a western knight. His stature and demeanor made him appear physically confident as well.
'Perhaps he's weak to mental attacks?'
Bruce mentally noted. Cassandra and Nicole were on the backrows, acting either as support or secondary damage dealers.
'I can't see very well... But I'll assume that they're supports for their leader. They don't look physically strong.'
'But it's best to be cautious. This world is strange, unpredictable and bizarre. Everything is possible. I shan't make light of everyone.'
Taking a deep breath, Bruce put his right hand forward and nodded. He should bring out a trump card of his own then.
While they were walking, he remembered one of his dreams as a child—a major transformation in the midst of a battle.
Unlike the real world, this place had infinite possibilities...
"Hehe."
He couldn't help but feel slightly giddy.
Thump!
Closing his eyes, he clenched his hand. Then the aura on his body went haywire, rapidly expanding in both quantity and quality.
In a few seconds, aura had completely covered him from head to toe. It could've been an awespiring sight if the energy wasn't invisible.
Then, once the aura spread, he clenched his hand again, converging them. It gathered and formed a visible orb.
Under everyone's eyes, Bruce grabbed the orb and threw it on his mouth. His body suddenly jerked. His heart had stopped for moment.
Boom!