As he got closer to the flying city, the mana currents got more dangerous. Arthur had to construct barriers upon barriers just to keep himself safe. The others weren't any better as they tried to defend themselves in different ways.
The ones with lower agility but higher defense and strength began to gain an edge in the race. The ten that had ascended first began to be eliminated by those behind them once they've shown weakness.
The flying boards flew everywhere as they cast nets to save those who fell.
As he was about to finish the area of the mana currents, Arthur felt a threatening intent from behind him. He looked back and found a man running after him holding a spear.
'I guess even weapons are allowed,' Arthur frowned.
The man had a wild look on his face as if he was a crazed beast. His hair was shoulder length and his eyebrows were bushy. His spear was taller than he was and he held it with ease.
"Flashing Spear, Third Move."
Arthur heard the man roar behind him and felt the surge in mana. The moment before the spear reached him, Arthur turned around and side-stepped. With the spear on his side, Arthur slapped it away before punching the man in the abdomen.
The man spat out blood as he was sent flying together with his spear. However, before he could fall into the ocean, his spear elongated and inserted itself between a gap created by the linked chainrings.
Arthur kept heading forward as he estimated his current strength. If he had to give a rough estimate, he would be as strong as Erin from back at the trial now. That was excluding his Release rune, which would allow him to be a lot stronger.
There were a lot of things he didn't know about the trial, so he wasn't sure if Erin's strength was truly just that. After all, he was a genius berserker. Despite being the same age as him, Erin was someone who was considered to be a genius.
However, Arthur himself wasn't normal. He had multiple methods to get stronger and he was working on exploiting every one of them. Maybe, if he could show his powers, he would be considered a genius.
An inhaled breath made Arthur realize that he was in a different environment. Some of his lost mana was replenished quickly because of the difference in the environment.
He had passed the area of turbulent mana. However, the change in mana made him a bit dizzy. It was like spraying gasoline on a fire, it made the mana inside of him chaotic.
'Wind, Destructive Mana, and finally a different environment. The test isn't only about running but also about strength, defense, stamina, abilities, and adaptations.'
Arthur decided to lower his speed. He had shown a part of his strength right now because he was still in the early stages. If he didn't even do that, he would be disqualified.
While trying to adjust to the mana, Arthur used his detection rune. He sensed the presence of the other participants who were fighting against each other while suffering from the harsh conditions. Luckily, the hot air balloon was still going strong despite looking like a wet ball now.
At the same time, he spread his detection range to the other chains. He saw the fight that was underway and he even spotted Emma, running elegantly on the chains.
He was relieved that she was doing well. Since Emma was planning to become the next queen of the Yalveran Union, she needed the qualifications. She has been studying in the royal academy until now but decided to focus on runes to get a scholarship.
She got the scholarship and that was why she was even ahead of Arthur in the marathon on top of the chains. They started from a different point giving them an advantage over others.
As his footsteps rang on the metal, Arthur kept checking the surrounding for any abnormalities. It was then that he detected the presence of two people fighting.
It wasn't odd to find two people fighting here, but one of them was a person Arthur considered to be a friend.
With her petite body and black hair, Ellen dodged an incoming acidic arrow while huffing rapidly. She was still in the middle of the chains so she was struggling against her opponent and the incoming spears.
Arthur was stunned and angry at the same time. Ellen has never mentioned that she would apply to Jerano, even when she knew that he was applying too. He was angry that she seemed to be struggling but this man refused to let her go, despite being on a different chain.
'Ruki,' Arthur muttered as he heard a voice answer in his mind.
'Yes, My Lord.' It was the name the dark queen has told him after he came back from the archery range. She lived in his shadow now and unless someone had a detection ability, she was hard to be found.
Even if she was found, Arthur could explain that his ability was summoning. After all, summoners weren't that rare, despite being uncommon.
'Help her for me. Discreetly, though.' Arthur had learned a lesson that some achievements are best gained by one's strength. However, if he can help his friends while they were unaware, he would do so.
'Yes, My Lord.' Ruki answered and slipped away from his shadow into the shadow space, consuming his mana. She traveled across the shadows until she appeared until the man's shadow.
Ruki could control shadows to a certain extent. The man's shadows twisted as he was about to launch another attack toward Ellen and wrapped itself around his leg.
He tripped over and lost balance. He would have fallen if he hadn't grabbed into the chain in time. Arthur called Ruki back and watched as Ellen traveled the rest of the second region safely.
'This might be morally questionable, but I did what I felt like it.' Arthur thought to himself as he approached the end of the chains. 'The rest of it would be up to her powers. I hope she makes it.'
Arthur realized that he had forgotten to ask her about what she said in his house. He has been so preoccupied with everything that it slipped his mind.
He felt the presence of several people on his side but none of them tried to attack him. Everyone was making that last sprint toward the end and no one wanted to risk it.
One of them was Oliver and the other was the spear-user that Arthur has attacked. He stared at Arthur with caution as if fearing he would be attacked. Arthur simply waved at him with a smile.
There were almost thirty people in the last region. Arthur was torn between falling back and going ahead. In the end, he decided to not risk it by holding back. After all, other chains might have more people passing than theirs.
From what he had heard, only the first five thousand would be accepted. Arthur stomped hard on the chains and they didn't even sway. He bolted forward as the rest also did their last sprint but they couldn't come close to Arthur.
'I'll hold back in the next rounds since this is merely the beginning. If I struggle here, I doubt they would accept me anyway.' Arthur thought to himself. 'I hope Ellen makes it too.'
Arthur felt that he was negligent of his friend, but he knew he couldn't help it. Since the time he met her, he had to compete against others in runes, fight against the undead, survive an attack by a nation, fake his death, and raise a dragon.
'I'll try to make it up to her once she makes it to Jerano, hopefully.' Arthur thought as he saw the hard soil in front of him. The blue sky approached fast enough and he jumped from the chain. The moment that he stepped on the soil of Jerano, a light-headed his way before wrapping itself around his biceps.
A circular ring appeared on his arm with a number on it. Arthur guessed it was the number that he ranked on the test and saw that it was two-digits.
69.
'Well, that's inappropriate.' Arthur laughed to himself. 'I don't know if I held back too much or if I hadn't held back enough. Sixty-eight people finished before me? Monstrous.'
Arthur raised his head and looked at the infinite number of buildings in front of him. Chimneys stood proudly on top of every one of them as smoke rose high in the air. The aroma of herbs and metal drifted to his nose as Arthur stood there, fascinated.
"Please come over here since other participants would arrive soon!" A giant guy called over to him and Arthur did as he was told. "Oh, that's a nice number you've got there." The guy winked at him and Arthur was speechless.
"Well, go ahead and wait by the gate." The guy pushed him and Arthur realized that the edge of the city consisted of farmlands.