Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 233: Combat Exams

The goal of this test was to see how fast these young Hunters could adapt to this pressure and resume their usual activities.

Just because they crumbled under the pressure initially doesn't mean they were eliminated. Instead, it was a chance for them to experience this pain without the dangers of a beast lurking around the corner.

While the rest of the crowd got the standard test, Garret continuously raised the pressure for both Alice and Ria.

Watching them stand perfectly still, the only visible reaction was the two of them clenching their fist and keeping their eyes focused. Beads of sweat would drip from their heads, but they maintained their defiance against this pressure.

'These two are monsters…' Garret thought to himself in shock. At this point, he had already raised it to the point where five star Hunters would have difficulty against them! If he was to go any higher, it may pose a big danger yet the principal hasn't told him to stop here.

'She wants to test out their limits. Urg… Don't blame me if something bad happens.' He complained in his mind as he cranked up the pressure to a level worthy of six stars.

But despite this, the two of them stood their ground despite their body trembling from the pain. Neither of them wanted to back down which caused a few strange stares from their peers around them.

Neither Alice nor Ria dared to utter a sound in fear of breaking their concentration.

But the secret to their defiance against this pressure was simple. They faced this pressure in the past! And during that period, they were even tasked to fight back against the beast releasing this pressure.

It was at times like this where Alice and Ria felt extremely grateful towards Allura's methods. Had it not been for her choices, the two of them wouldn't be struggling on the ground by now. Even a slight increase back then resulted in them crawling on the ground.

Unable to increase the pressure further without impacting the people around them, Garret glanced towards the principal who gave him a silent nod, causing him to sigh in relief as it signified that she was happy with what she saw.

Raising his hand, he snapped his finger once and the pressure was lifted immediately.

Upon the release of this weight off their backs, all of the examinees stumbled over in fatigue. If just the initial test was this hard, they didn't want to imagine what the other tests were like!

Ignoring the groans of those around them, Alice sat down next to Ria as they rested with their backs facing one another.

"Just like Champion of Flames?" Ria asked with a forced smile. Even now, she barely had the strength to lift her arms.

"Just like the Champion of Flames." Alice nodded with a sigh.

"Seems like they're hell bent on testing us if we're the only ones who felt the six star pressure. Doesn't seem like the others felt it otherwise over half of them would've passed out by now." Ria chuckled while surveying the conditions of those around them.

"Xinbei did say they changed the tests for us. But this is probably just the welcoming show. A hint of what's to come since I doubt they'll let us off with just this much."

Nodding her head in agreement, Ria couldn't help but wonder what life would be like if they weren't trained by Allura.

She even contemplated the idea of maybe asking her to increase their training next time they reunite but the simple thought of doing so caused her body to tremble in fear.

'I want to get stronger but I'm not a masochist.' Ria shivered.

"Are you cold?" Alice raised an eyebrow in confusion.

"Oh don't worry, I was just thinking about training with Allura. She's monitoring us right? Well… Kind of by using the amulet." Ria asked as Alice nodded her head.

"Do you think she'll increase the difficulty of our training?"

". . ." Contenplating for a moment, Alice nodded her head with a serious smile.

"Knowing Allura, she might actually task us with trying to kill something that's almost a Lord if we get more Sigils."

"Urg… Please don't jinx it."

But the fact remained that if it was Allura, this was very much a possibility.

'Alice managed to kill a five Star Hunter because of her copying ability. If we were to fight against something on the boundary of becoming a Lord, could Alice simply drink its blood? Or would it be too much for her body to handle?' Ria thought to herself. Alice had mentioned a few times that her body was both her strong point and weak point.

Strong because it could adapt to the different blood she drinks and gain its power without side effects. Including human blood.

But the weak point came from the fact that her body was much weaker than those with three Sigils. After all, those with three Sigils has had their bodies enhanced and reinforced by Abyss Blood. A benefit she does not have.

Thinking about this, Ria understood that even if Alice was to get Sigils in the future, she would always be behind others when it came to physical reinforcement.

If a Hunter who solely focused on offensive potential was called a glass cannon then in Alice's case, she could be called a paper cannon.

The rest between rounds was short as Garret announced the next part of the exams. Stage one was resilience. Stage two was going to be a demonstration of skill.

"In the Abyss, there will often come a time where your weapons may break or a beast disarms you. Therefore, you must have the ability to think on the fly. Use anything and everything around you to your advantage. Think about the best path of survival whether that be to stall or to fight. The key is that you survive.

"For the second half of the test, you will be put into large groups and your only job is to survive as long as you can. Doesn't matter if you use your Sigils or not. Even if you are eliminated early, do not worry as we'll be reviewing your overall performance as well. So depending on your actions and demonstration, you have a chance to pass even if you don't 'survive'."

Each of them was assigned a random number for a group to join with Alice and Ria being placed into separate groups. Thankfully, they weren't fighting one another hence they don't need to worry about the elimination.

Once the groups were arranged, it was time to begin the second part of the test. The test of survival.

Their surroundings began to shift as Alice found herself sitting in the spectator stands with the rest of her group.

All of the different groups had their own spectator stand that floated within this void while a single arena could be seen in the centre.

Its overall layout was basic yet reminded Alice of the coliseums where she had to fight for her survival.

The numerous pillars that rose from the ground, countless weapons scattered through the arena along with various obstacles aimed to help the Hunters hide and juke their opponents.

And in the middle of this arena, a group of examinees stood.

"You will have one minute to grab whatever weapon you want from this arena. Once the time is up, it will become a free for all. This will continue until there are only 20 of you left in this arena." Garret grinned.

Clapping his hands, cages started to descend from above.

A wyvern could be seen locked within the confines of these cages. Its ghostly white body shimmering with a ghastly glow that seemed to defy the darkness surrounding it. With each movement that it made, black flames flickered from where its lower jaw should be.

Large flaming horns crown its head, down its spine and to the along its tail.

It possessed two sets of arms. The smaller pair nestled close to its body along with its legs. The second pair, gargantuan in size acted as the wings with the membrane being replaced by the same dark flames that adorned its jaw, head, spine and tail.

Within this dark inferno, tendrils of a pink flame could be seen within, twisting and writhing. These tendrils pulsed with malevolent energy with the same light being seen between each scale. It was as though these where the roots of the flames, latching onto this wyvern's body like a parasite.

[Ghost Flame Wyvern - ?????]

There were five cages in total and each one held one of these Wyverns. Giving one another a glance and a growl, they communicated with one other before laying their eyes upon the examinees.

Even though the examinees couldn't see the tag above their heads like Alice could, they felt a primal fear envelop their hearts and scrambled to find a weapon for protection. Even going as far as to fight each other.

Seeing them scramble with each other, Garret couldn't help but sigh at this display but avoided voicing his disappointment.

After waiting a minute, the cages swung open and all five wyverns jumped out without hesitation. The flames on their backs expended as darkness descended upon the area with each examinee being unable to see ahead of them.

Amidst this darkness, their ghastly white bodies could be seen circling the examinees.

Those with poor mental panicked and started to run around like headless chickens while those composed covered each other's backs and kept their eyes on the beasts.

"ARGG!!!"

Screams could be heard as those who panicked were swiped up by the beasts.

Hearing these screams, the examinees couldn't help but wonder if someone had died. It was an absurd thought but not impossible when beasts are involved!

But to the spectators, they could see the ones 'killed' by the beasts were teleported out of the arena to safety.

Seeing the panic and fear in their eyes, Alice couldn't help but wonder if they were teleported at the last possible moment in order to recreate the feeling of death.

'What a sadistic test.' She sighed, wondering if it was Garret's idea or if it was the principal's.