Note: Big Chapter.
Kevin! I shouted in my mind, he is sitting on the steps ahead of me and not alone, beside him is Archer girl that had beaten me in the challenge in my town a year ago.
They are both sitting on the steps while looking tired, seeing their faces, I can tell they are dead tired and most probably reached their limit.
There is still distance fourteen stairs between us and he is sitting little far left side, it was just a coincidence that I spotted him, so he wouldn't notice me even if I walked by the step he is sitting on.
Kevin least needs to have the power of trainee super-elite, that is the only requirement of physical strength.
The reason I am shocked is seeing his mental strength, on my way I have seen many people who were oozing the aura of Super Elite lay collapsing on steps all due to not having enough mental strength.
I too nearly have given up earlier, to bear the mental pressure till he reached this step, he must have many experiences that made his mental fortitude this stronger.
While climbing, I furiously fed the mana I had converted from the berserk energy to the seal, the seal stopped sucking mana and started to take shape in my temple space.
18th seal formed completely and it started to some cool energy which started to heal small injuries I have received due to pressure.
The formation 18th seal had given me very small relive from the pressure, it had healed my wounds and I also felt a fraction of metal pressure I was feeling had lessened but it is not enough.
I will need to create a few more seals or second amethyst seal which could help me help me bear the pressure till I reached the top.
After 18th seal is created, I started circulating for the 19th seal. The resistance had increased again but I still kept circulating despite that.
No matter how hard it will get, I will not stop until I reached the top.
Soon I reached the step that Kevin had been sitting on, he did not notice me as he was resting with the archer girl.
"Kevin, I'll see you at the top, hope you are able to reach it," I said sarcastically as I climb another step while he kept looking at me with a completely dumbfounded and shocked expression, I have never seen him this shocked ever before.
"Haha haha!"
I laugh loudly seeing such expression on his face, not only me Ashlyn also looked at him arrogantly, probably searching that three-eyed devil monkey of his.
While Kevin still kept looking at me dumbfoundedly, I kept taking one step after another while circulating supreme combat exercise.
"Kevin, he seemed a little familiar, who is he?" asked Rain but she did not get an answer as Kevin still hadn't come out shocked seeing Micheal here and climbing high.
"Kevin!"
Only when rain shouted loudly and shook his shoulder did he came back to himself, "Remember a year ago when we passed by my town, we had little competition there?" Kevin asked.
"Yes I remember." rain replied, "Well, he is a boy who killed most monsters after you," Kevin said with a sigh.
Whenever he thinks that moment and another moment such as those where Michael had beaten him badly, his blood started to boil.
Hearing that unclear image of Micheal came in rains mind, she wasn't able to recognize Micheal because of his bloody face which is not uncommon in after 2000th steps.
"Yes, I remember now. Isn't he the one you said that you want to beat the shit out his smug face and also the one that bullied you a lot in school." said Rain while massaging his shoulder softly.
If Micheal had heard what rain said, he would have reacted quite differently as he would remember those moments quite differently.
"We just saw ellen some time ago, haven't you seen how smug she look when she left us behind and now this Micheal looked left us behind with his sarcastic remark," Kevin said with gritted teeth.
"Let's go, I refused to believe I am inferior. I will climb this or die trying," said Kevin as he stood up while holding Rain's hand and started to climb the mountain with her.
20th, 21st, 22nd, 23rd, 24th circulation, finally I had reached 24th circulation of supreme combat exercise and I started to build up momentum to break the wall to create the 19th seal.
My injuries which had been healed by the eighteenth seal has flared up again, this time I am even more injured.
Blood could be coming from the many parts of my body as my skin started to tear up due to pressure, not only that cracks also started to form on my bones, I even felt that there is a small crack is forming on my body.
I have to keep creating seals if this pressure increased too much them my body could directly snap under pressure and I could die.
'Bang!'
The wall is broken and seal started to suck my mana as I started to provide it as much as it needs, I even ate another small piece of Corporal stage monsters core, so, I could provide it with more mana.
The 19th seal is completely formed and it started to release healing energy but this time my injuries are too great that It wants able to heal it fully.
Shaking my head, I took out a potion bottle and drank it all in a single gulp.
I have been drinking potions every minute to heal my injuries otherwise my body would have succumbed to injuries and I would have collapsed on the step.
I am on the 2438th step and there are still about 300 steps late and danger is immense, if the potions were not able to injure my body quickly in this pressure then I may very well collapse, so, It is imperative for me to create 20th seal which in turn will create 2nd amethyst seal.
I am confident that after 2nd amethyst seal is created, my body would be capable enough to bear the physical pressure until I reached the top.
As for mental pressure, I think this 2nd amethyst seal would surely bring change in my mental energy, I only have a feeling of that but I am not sure. I will see it when the time comes.
I kept taking a step while drinking potions and circulating supreme combat exercise from which I am feeling even more resistance.
The crowd thinned out very much, an hour ago I used to see thousands and thousands of people around me climbing but now there is not even a hundred.
Not everyone can bear this amount of pressure, even if they have secret methods provided by their organizations.
As my circulation as advance, so is pressure, now even drinking potion every second cant stop new injuries forming while earlier heal.
I wanted to stop but I can't, I know once I stop, I will lose the willpower to climb again and I don't want that to happen.
No matter what price I have to pay, I will climb the mountain.
"Crack…...!""Crack!..."
I can literally hear my bones cracking and if I didn't do anything in a few seconds, every bone in my will break I will collapse and once the danger approached near death, I will be transported to the base of the mountain losing my chance completely.
Without thinking, I took out a bottle of daffodil honey from my storage and dropped the drop on my tongue.
The next moment, I felt honey of daffodil started to travel inside me healing my injuries, even if the pressure broke my bones and tear my skin, It will heal it right away.
According to my calculations, this drop will give me a few minutes of rest before I had to drink the second drop, I hope I will be able to create 2nd amethyst seal before otherwise, It will all be for naught.
"Chew chew!"
Ashlyn who was on my shoulder chirp seeing the daffodil honey but to my utter surprise, she didn't demand to drink, her chirp just now was an encouragement for me.
I lovingly petted her fur which is wet with sweat but that is all, her monster physic she is holding quite well against pressure as I saw no visible injury on her.
The more steps I climb, the more pressure I felt, I am at the brink of losing consciousness, the mental pressure pressing me so great that any moment it could snap my mind, the only reason I have not fallen unconscious due to my willpower.
I am keeping myself awake with my sheer will power.
The small bottle of glass bottle in my hand is emptying at visible pace, If it had to need normal times I would have survived by potion but this is not the normal times.
My heart burns, whenever I drank the bottle of daffodil honey as It is very precious and very difficult to acquire.
There is no market for this honey in back home, whenever it appears in the market, It was quickly brought by organizations and alchemist.
24th circulation, I reached the 24th circulation when there was just a single drop of daffodil honey left in the bottle but I had finally reached the 24th circulation.
I started building the momentum right after reaching 24th circulation to quickly create the seal as I wanted to save this last drop for the emergency.
I kept building the momentum, I wanted to be raging like a flooded river which can crush whatever obstacle that came in its way.
'Bang'
The wall finally is broken and the 20th seal started to form, I started to provide it the mana at my highest speed.
I started converting mana at my highest speed as it kept sucking whatever mana I had converted before it could reach the central storage.
20th seal completed within a minute, that is a record for me, I always need more than two minutes to create the seal.
As it transferred its cooling energy to heal my body but my body is already healed as there still energy daffodil honey in my body, every moment my body is getting injured by pressure and next moment it got healed by the energy of daffodils bees, honey.
Soon the seal stopped healing energy to my body and then I was waiting for finally arrived.
The ten seals in temple space started to spin and sucking mana that I converting, seeing the pierce of the core in my body would not be enough, I take out the complete core of Corporal level monster.
The only complete core of the Corporal stage monster would be enough to provide me with enough mana to create an amethyst seal.
While I am providing the mana to the Amethyst seal, I am also climbing the mountain, I did not look around nor I looked far ahead, I only looked at the step that is in front of me and nothing else.
The tens seals are spinning faster and faster also getting closer to merge while their appetite for mana also grew big that I am barely able to provide it.
This grew on for minutes before the merging is finished and when I looked inside my stomach, there is barely enough of the corporal stage core left, if sucking had been gone any longer I would have had to eat the new core.
The energy of the daffodil bees honey is nearly gone and I can feel the injuries are forming in my body but I am not worried as Amethyst seal is formed, it should release its healing energy at any moment.
Just as I thought that the Amethyst seal released its healing energy, I felt cool all over my body as my injuries healed in a minuit not only that I can feel that every part of my body getting stronger and stronger.
Most importantly, the mental pressure which was a moment away from making me conscious had started to lighten a little.
This kept going on for a few minutes and when amethyst seal turned normal, I felt I had gained considerable strength.
"Gasp!"
A loud gasp came out of my body, not because the feeling the change in my body and mind but looking ahead as I found myself seeing Majestic palace.
It is the most beautiful and elegant architecture I've ever seen in my life, even those from movies couldn't come to it as It was so majestic.
The Palance is so majestic that it releases an oppressive aura of its own that makes one want to kneel front it and most important thing that I am just ten some steps away from passing the test.
I thought there would be hundred-some steps would be left for me to climb but there are just ten some steps, so, without waiting, I started to run toward it, bearing the immense pressure with the power of Amethyst seal I had created.
"Thud!"
I fell flat on my face, mot because the pressure was too great but there is no pressure, one minute I was feeling immense pressure on both my body and mind and the next moment it was gone.
"Hahahahaha… I passed, I finally passed!" I said and started laughing like crazy.