The moment had finally arrived!
Hundreds of thousands of eyes filled with what could only be a borderline frenzy gazed at the four hundred surviving participants downing the gamma potion.
As if the time taken for the participants to down the potions was too long, a few audiences burst into discussions filled with anticipation and anxiety.
"Will they advance right away?"
"Shh. It'll take time!"
"Hahaha! I'm watching this with my own eyes!"
"My daughter won't be bullied anymore!"
"Hahaha!"
"Heaven bless you all lucky bastards."
{Completed}
The host of the expo announced.
The audience could now see all the participants standing straight. Their faces were flushed as if they were drunk, and some of them were even waving in random directions with goofy grins, and uttering nonsense.
"…."
Varian also followed them.
He used his water path, condensed water inside him, and increased the blood flow to his cheeks. As a result, he looked drunker than anyone else present.
Then, he 'drunkenly' flipped a middle finger at the sky—where the so-called guests of honor were seated.
Since every participant was behaving incomprehensibly, the audience was rather frightened about their condition and didn't take their actions too seriously.
So, Varian was also spared from the charges under 'Contempt of Sovereign'.
Of course, no one knew that once he downed the potion, Varian isolated the liquid using his water powers.
Then, temporarily unlocking the paths, he sealed the potion inside a layer of solid space and telekinetic power.
'It should last for a while.' As he sighed in relief, he noticed that there was an eerie silence.
'Oops, was I found?' As he prepared to instruct Boo, he noticed that the audience's gaze was filled not with suspicion but…worry.
'Did the potions not work?'
He understood their feelings and glanced at his peers.
"Haa!"
"What happened?"
"Oh…Oh heavens!"
One by one, the participants turned 'sober'.
Seeing this, the audience also breathed a sigh of relief.
The host announced right then.
{The participants will now be attached to a testing sensor.}
Following his words, four hundred silver orbs shot onto the arenas and reached the participants.
Varian raised his hand in reflex and the silver orb turned into a band around his left wrist.
It glowed for a second and showed {Water Path Level 4 Peak}
"Hah?!"
A man in the audience exclaimed at the huge floating hologram that suddenly appeared in the stadium.
It had four hundred readings displayed in real-time.
"The participants will be at rest for a day and you'll see the results by then. Their progress at any moment is displayed out for everyone to see." The host announced with a confident tone.
The audience gasped in surprise.
Only one day and results?
Far above in the sky, the main guests of the expo started raining compliments on Julius.
"Only you can make such bold decisions, Sovereign Julius." Earth Branch's Trade Union Chief said with an admiring gaze.
"Indeed. Results in 1 day? I think only you have the confidence and the abilities." A vassal family head praised eagerly.
Julius simply noted. "It's all thanks to Xadners' R&D team."
Saying so, he glanced at Dr. Thomas. The mad scientist himself smiled at Julius with fear.
"Don't be too serious, Dr. Thomas. If you join our Xander family, your resources will only be higher than your current position. Not lower." Julius said with a confident expression.
"I—" As Dr. Thomas was about to answer, a sudden sound cut him off and drew all attention.
"Kreh!"
The sudden muffled sound from the level 1 arena drew gazes. A boy who was standing till then collapsed onto his butt and closed his eyes.
A few minutes passed by in silence as everyone watched in anticipation.
And then it came.
Pop!
With a small pop, the boy advanced to level 2. His aura was still incredibly chaotic and needed a significant amount of time to consolidate, but it already created a storm in the audience.
"Wow!"
"Level 1 to Level 2 so fast? I took two months!"
"I took four months! Fucking half year!"
"I took a year!"
"I took ten years."
"…I am still a level 1."
"…"
As the old man in their row coughed, the men and women arguing also stopped. Casting a sympathetic glance at the old man, they turned back to the arenas.
Varian also glanced at the boy with interest—imitating the other participants.
'Level 1 to level 2 needs a potion? Pfft, He held back from laughing but it was really funny how 'easy' it had been.
"Now then, the testers are very tired. Let them have a day's rest." The host announced in a generous tone and waved his hand.
The telekinetics in the staff got their signal and snapped their fingers.
Like missiles taking off, the participants shot out from the arenas to their quarters.
The host glanced at them and continued. " Congratulations to all of you. Since you survived this test, all of your reasonable demands shall be fulfilled and of course, they would be shown to the public. You can live the next 24 hours without any stress. Then, you'll have another and final test."
Varian didn't resist the mental force holding him up. Soon, he was back in his resting quarters.
Inspecting the progress tracker closely, he asked in his mind. 'Boo, what's this?'
Boo's cute voice sounded. "Progress Tracker. Your location trackers. And…a self-denotation bomb in case you betray."
"…" Somehow, Varian wasn't surprised by the truth. He only found it rather unnerving and pitiful.
'Boo, can you do anything about this thing?' Varian asked, pulling at the wristband.
"It's directly connected to a central server now. It's fully encrypted. Boo can't do much without breaking everything apart." Boo lamented.
"…fine." Varian sighed.
He did have plans to train under Sarah for the remainder of the day.
Reaching level 5 from peak level 4 was no small feat. With her help, it'd be way easier.
Of course, there was also a small wish to spend more time with her.
"Master, you need to reach level 5! You only have 24 hours! Come on!" Boo urged in a loud voice.
"Wait, won't they hear?" Varian signaled to the wristband and whispered.
Boo patted its chest and said. "They're not monitoring you. Boo knows that much because Boo is monitoring the quarters."
Varian jumped straight into the bed and sprawled like a tired horse.
Then he asked the System to temporarily unlock two paths and brought out the 'Gamma Potion' from his body.
It was spotless and uncontaminated, just like it was before he took it.
Varian poured it into a vial and stored it away. "Boo, remember, we might need this thing in the future."
"Leave it to me," Boo said and then muttered in confusion. "What thing again?"
"…Advancement." As his eyelids turned heavy, Varian muttered.
"Oh yes, advancement thing! Master, don't sleep! Practice! You need to reach level 5 asap." Boo urged Varian.
"Fuck." Varian tossed around in bed and declared. "If I stay up for one more hour, I'll go crazy."
With a drowsy face, he commanded the room's AI. "Wake me up after 8 hours."
And just like that, he fell asleep, having to reach level 5 in 24 hours.