“It seems they weren’t just friends with him; they are also quite impressive,” the Announcement Lady said, watching Mark move across the battlefield with his upgraded spear, unleashing devastation in his wake.
He also began using skills Klaus had given him from the moment he appeared in the third stage of the trial.
Now in the first level of the fourth stage, level 57, Mark and the others started to see where their limits could take them.
Mark managed to get his name on the genius list too.
“It would just be laughable if his friends weren’t also impressive,” a lady said, watching another screen that showed Kay, whose every fire arrow unleashed from his bow turned into a flaming lion head with a rather long, pointy flaming horn. He managed to earn his name on the genius list.
Wherever the arrows landed, devastation was bound to happen. The monsters he was facing at the 57th level were Tier 7 Spike Tail Wolves. There were only five of them, but no Tier 3 human should have any business facing them; however, these kids were doing it.
That is especially true for some of them who managed to clear Level 57 and head to Level 58. Although they are weaker than the monsters, the advantage they have lies in the skills and techniques they possess.
However, not all of them were able to brave the danger. The reason almost all of them, except Klaus, were able to face the monsters was that they knew this wasn’t the real world. Death here wasn’t permanent.
At their current level, dominating a hundred Tier 4 monsters should be possible. Maybe defeating a dozen Tier 5 monsters would be plausible; however, anything higher than that was just too much for them.
Still, they took solace in knowing that by stepping into the fourth stage of the trial, their chances of being in the Top 2000 were high.
And it was a bullseye. The moment the 2,212 participants entered the fourth stage, the number began to fall at a rapid pace. It took just a few seconds for the number to drop to 2,010. Then, before long, the number finally hit the 2,000 they were aiming for.
However, that doesn’t mean the trial was over. The remaining part was what they all called the battle of the geniuses.
Klaus was at the very top, obviously.
He wasn’t moving at their pace at all; his speed was several times faster. He cleared the 57th and 58th levels with just his needles, but when he reached level 59, he took out his sword.
Thirty Tier 7 Spiked Wolves surrounded him, each one comparable to some of the Tier 7 monsters he had killed. However, he couldn’t afford to slack off.
Klaus moved with the Void Piercing Needle, choosing to multitask instead of just going for one-way slaughter. The Needle was his killing tool, while his sword was the damage dealer.
Although the monsters were faster and stronger than him, they didn’t seem to have any chance of attacking. Some came close, but Klaus was always a step ahead.
His combat strength had improved.
Obviously, his past memories weren’t for show. Fruity started out as an Ice mage, but thanks to Yuying intervening in time, he learned to use a variety of weapons.
The sword was one of them.
The time he spent at the Witch Temple helped him train even more. Although he wasn’t the most skilled with the sword—Yuying was even better—he still managed to elevate his Sword Aura to quite a level and even developed his own swordplay called Tormented Sword Sage.
Basically, Klaus, who was now using it, had only one objective: torture. Yes, while the Tormented Sword Sage allowed him to fight evenly with the most powerful sword masters, whenever he gained the advantage in combat, based on his swordplay, the damage dealt wouldn’t immediately kill.
Instead, it would inflict pain so agonizing that one might ask for death instead.
Klaus hasn’t really mastered it yet, but he was using it, and the results were instant. The wolves were not having it easy. However, he didn’t prolong the fight; instead, he always went for the kill.
Not that he needed the time for anything—he had hours of resting time, but he never used any. Klaus wasn’t tired at all. In fact, as the levels became more harrowing, his energy seemed to rise.
But his friends weren’t having it easy, especially true for Danny and Daniel, the brute fighters. Although they had the strongest bodies, their mental strength wasn’t as robust, so they began to feel sluggish.
Still, they were pushing through—more like bulldozing ahead. They were using the skills Klaus had given them. Danny, whose light element only provided some minor healing effects, was using it alongside the Axe skill.
Daniel, on the other hand, held a large, heavy-looking hammer bathed in flames. He was using his element too, but the difference in strength was just too vast.
But they were moving on, barely.
Only 400 managed to make it to level 59.
Miguel was one of those 400. So were the Zhou twins, Lin and Zing, who, despite their class being that of defense, somehow managed to pass through the many disadvantageous levels and are now among the top 400.
By level 60, it became the top 200. By level 61, it was in the top 100. Then, it was in the top 50 by the end of level 62. However, when they all entered level 63, it dropped drastically to the top 20.
Klaus was at the top, already at level 65, while the others were at level 63, facing fifty Tier 7 Spiked Wolves that had somehow become even stronger than when they appeared at level 57.
However, contrary to what anyone would expect to be leading right after Klaus, nobody anticipated a no-name who had only gained some fame recently.
Yes, Hanna was sitting in the second position, telling everyone she was indeed Klaus’s sister. Truth be told, she deserved that position more than anyone. She had been training harder than everyone, so being there was well-earned.
But her position was very shaky because Anna was right below her, and from the look of their performance on the battlefield, she was closing in on the kill. They were both fighting at level 63.
Hanna had already taken down 30 monsters, while Anna had done 28. They were both exhausted, but they weren’t giving up just yet.
Miguel and Lily were switching between the 4th and 5th positions, but the 6th place was still undetermined, though Ethan Duncan held that spot. Kilian was in 7th, Mark in 8th, Ella Duncan in 9th, Kay in 10th, and Daniel in the 11th position. Surprisingly, Danny was sitting in 12th place, with Max Duncan following closely in 13th.
Omari was in 14th place, while Lin and Zing occupied the 15th and 16th positions, respectively. Alavaro, one of Ella’s lieutenants, was seated in 17th, and another contender named Rolin was in 18th.
Surprisingly, Scarlet was in 19th, with the 20th position taken by Lucian, the other archer who remained in Klaus’s team during the trial at Sinji Valley.
In short, Klaus’s friends proved they weren’t following him for nothing. Well, what would anyone expect? They all wanted to avoid looking dull. While everyone aimed for the top 2000, they were after the top 20, top 10, and even top 5. They all had their ambitions.
In the end, they weren’t able to get past level 63. Well, Hanna and Anna got close, but alas, Anna ended with 46 kills out of 50 monsters, while Hanna ended with 48 out of 50.
Ultimately, Miguel took 4th place, giving Lily the 5th position—something nobody had expected. Everyone expected the three legacies to dominate the top 5, but it seemed that anyone Klaus was close to if they weren’t spoiled brats, seemed to improve significantly.
Klaus on the other hand has finally cleared Level 65 and managed to climb to the 66th stage where a dear friend was waiting for him.