Abyssal Awakening

Chapter 234: Alice's Entrance To The Combat Exams

Within the cover of the shadows, it was hard to make out exactly what was happening aside from the rapid movements of the wyverns. Their ghastly white body made it easy to see just how fast and deadly they were.

For Alice, she had the bonus of seeing the tags above their heads and thus could estimate the chaos within.

Each swipe of their wing would 'cut' the examinees in half while the flames would burn another group. These wyverns aimed for the easy targets first, those who ran away, lost their composure and panicked while those who stayed in a group and kept their guard up were ignored for now.

As the stragglers continued to decrease, their screams haunted the survivors as they were blind to what was happening.

All that surrounded them was darkness.

Man's greatest fear is the fear of the unknown. In this hunting ground of the wyvern's creation, they were all prey.

Watching all of this happen, Alice had a frown on her face as the round was soon over and only 20 people were left in the arena. Even though they survived, their eyes expressed a level of fear they had not anticipated. Some of them even wondered if they should surrender now.

If this was what it was like deeper in the Abyss, could they truly survive?

'I suppose the goal of this test is not only to see their proficiencies in different weapons but also how well they fare against unknown enemies. How they react to a situation out of their control with the threat of death around the corner.' Alice mused.

Beside her, there were a few in her group who were boasting about their potential success. Now that they know they won't truly die in the arena, it'll be easier to react.

Giving them a side glance, Alice only scoffed inwardly in disdain.

There is knowing that something is about to happen and then there is experiencing that said thing.

Just because someone said they'll punch you in the face doesn't mean you won't flinch when they do. That was the same with the threat of death.

When you are truly under threat, even though you know you won't die, your mind will play games on you. The threat of the unknown, of you being the exception to this rule and the fear of the pain and coldness that comes with death.

'They'll probably 'die' first.' Alice thought to herself as the next group entered the arena.

Since their group number was rather high, it'll take a while before it gets to their turn. It was a great chance to analyse the test and see what could work and what wouldn't.

There were a few examinees who voiced their complaints about how those who are coming later than them will have it easier. They only lost because they didn't know what was happening while the ones coming later do.

Countless excuses and complaints were shouted but the principal, Department Heads and Special class students all ignored it.

After all, with each passing round, the beasts become more ferocious and hold back less. It was actually far worse if you start the test later!

Little by little, people started to notice this and those who were boasting beside her had become pale.

Seeing this, a smile crept up on Alice's before turning her gaze back to the arena.

During the time that the other groups had taken the exam, she had already analysed most of what she's seen. The wyverns were far more dangerous than she originally expected.

They had roughly five powers in total that she'd seen them demonstrate.

First was the black flames on their body. Judging by the flow of energy and the amplification shown while they were in the shadows, this flame grants them heightened physical attributes in darkness and consumes light to increase this further.

Second, they are able to amplify their speed to the extreme in one swift burst. The trade of being the flames dull and their movement slows down for a while.

Third, they can use these flames as ranged attacks but they've rarely demonstrated this.

Fourth, they can change switch between flame form and physical form when needed. Parts of their body will transform to avoid attacks but there were certain restrictions around this.

Thus far, Alice noticed that as long as the flames don't bisect their body in half, they can 'absorb' the attack with the fire. Meaning, if she were to do a horizontal cut with enough speed, she could hit them.

The issue with this is that it'll require both speed and power, both of which she lacked dearly if she wished to harm a five star beast.

The last power she observed them use was the one Sigil resonance. In this state, spikes protrude from their body and they enter a berserk state, lunging at the closest target. No more than 3 of the wyverns will enter this state while the other two would protect them.

However, they've only used this state briefly and the movement was so fast that even Alice lost track of them for a moment.

'If I want to survive that attack, I'll need to set up some defences around me. Traps that'll let me know of their location… If I do it well enough, it should give me just about enough time to react.' She sighed inwardly.

Even though she loves a challenge, this was becoming far more difficult than she expected.

'Knowing how the previous tests have been, there will probably be an increase in difficulty for me and Ria. We might become their main targets rather than fulfilling certain conditions.'

Those that ran were attacked first. Those who stood their ground were tested and if they were found lacking, eliminated.

That was the basic conditions for the wyvern's attack pattern.

As the current group of examinees finished their test, Alice could feel a wave of energy envelop their group's spectator stands.

Understanding that this was their time to shine, she took a deep breath and mentally prepared herself.

Shadows enveloped her body as she was transported into the arena.

Immediately, Alice felt a chill down her spine as several eyes locked onto her body.

Without wasting any time, she made a cut on her arm and mapped the arena with her blood.

She needed to get a general idea of where she was right now while also taking into account of who was where.

'The wyverns are circling around the edges right now. I'm not far from the centre. There are two parties near me who have already grouped up. One is panicking already, and the other is barely composed. Seems to be a stash of weapons in the middle.' Alice thought to herself as she turned around and dashed towards the centre.

In a situation like this, information was her greatest asset. Without information, she wont be able to react to the movement of the beasts.

Her senses were warning her of the impending danger. If she did not act fast and prepare her own hunting ground, she'd be eliminated in a heartbeat!

Arriving at the centre of the arena, Alice noticed that two others had the same idea as her. They both had their own methods of mapping around the arena in search of information.

One is a girl who was using a multi coloured band of light that wrapped around her arms, the other is a guy who was using ice.

Countless snowflakes were falling from the sky as Alice guessed that his method was mapping the arena based on what his snowflakes touched.

"I'm taking the spears. I don't need anything else. You two can have the rest." Alice spoke first.

She didn't want to use her bloodflame blade as she wasn't sure how well it could handle itself against five star beasts that were blood lusted right now. To avoid an accident where her sword snapped in half, she was going to use the spears as disposable weapons.

Her goal was not to kill the beasts but to survive.

Naturally, she could make weapons using her third Sigil but the amount of metal she could conjure up was limited. If she were to make too many weapons, she won't be able to make footholds for herself. The beasts will easily break through her defences if they're just made from blood, hence she was going to mix it with the metal. It's not a huge improvement but far better than just blood alone.

"Shall we group up? The beasts are more likely to attack those that are solo." The girl asked but Alice shook her head.

"I'll pass. You two should get a group as far away from me as possible if you want to survive."

She had two options, sabotage other groups so she could get to the end as fast as possible.

Or alternatively, she could face the challenge head on and get out with her own skills and experiences.

As Allura's student, she wasn't going to back down from something like this.

Picking up three spears, Alice turned around and left without wasting another moment.

She had already picked out a prime location in mind, a spot between four pillars that was empty right now. It was the perfect spot for her to prepare her hunting ground.

###

As the round started, both Lothian and Fae focused up as they were curious about how Alice would perform.

"She's already mapped out the arena and found a suitable spot. What were her Sigils again?" Fae asked as Lothian opened his mouth.

"Physical reinforcement, flame control, blood and metal control. Please read the documents carefully next time if you're curious."

"I know~ But you remind me all the time so it's easier this way. How well do you think she'll handle the wyverns that are going to go after her with no restraints?" Fae chuckled.

As Special class students, they knew that Alice was behind the matter of the Hall of Champions which only increased their curiosity.

"Who knows. But she might have some trouble since the beasts are genuine five star beasts. They won't hold back unlike the Hall of Champions." He replied while keeping his eyes on Alice.

He wanted to see just how someone who cleared the Hall would fight and study her thought process behind her techniques.