Without looking back, Ena took a deep breath and passed through, vanishing only after confirming she had completely entered. From there, the door vanished from the place, and left her completely alone within the test room.
Looking around, she saw that the room differed from the rest. A spacious circular room, filled with nothing except grey stone walls with intricate patterns carved along their surface. The place looked rather ancient compared to the other rooms; the only similar trait it had was being a testing chamber.
Glaring above, the room appeared to have no ceiling; either that or it was too far away for Ena to see.
Ena squinted her eyes, trying to gauge the height of the room. However, she hadn't seemed to go that far with the sky being covered by cloudy mist, which you would see whenever a person viewed the horizon of mountains.
The sky was rather blinding, with an ethereal light shining down from the mist and into the room, giving an angelic-like vibe in the testing area.
In any case, the tower seemed rather endless in terms of height.
Replace pollution with concrete, and this is how the world would smell: a backyard that has concrete for air.
'Well, it's definitely more refreshing than the previous test.'
She thought, ignoring the fact that she had caused the blood-mixed stench in the previous room.
With no warning, the stone interior along the edges cracked into veins, then separated from the walls before floating off into the air with no sign of going higher or lower. Only after a few seconds did the debris stop moving and remain still afloat.
Not wanting to be blinded by that same light, Ena lowered her gaze opposite to where she stood.
There she saw a door that had only appeared after she redirected her gaze, with a golden yellow aura exuding from its edges.
Without a doubt, she felt rather targeted by someone when she redirected her gaze to avoid being blinded, only to be met by another blinding light.
The sound of a knob turning quickly interrupted her thoughts as she dropped a hidden blade from her sleeve into her hands while cautiously glaring at the door. Somewhat expectant of the person behind the door.
Step… Step…
Ringing footsteps echoed through the room as the figure finally stepped out of the door completely.
A slender, pale boy with messy brown hair made his way out of the door and closely looked at his surroundings as the door vanished from his trail. As if only noticing Ena from the room, he tilted his head before saying.
"Yo."
Ena hid her palm behind her back, the same palm that hid a weapon under her sleeve, while she examined the boy.
While his hair was short in the front, she soon would realize that he had a rat-like tail for his hairstyle. Although that hair quite matched his overall aesthetic of informal clothes, like his black tank top and the jacket that draped over his shoulder slightly.
Matching well with his cotton pants and slippers. It was completely informal for someone taking the test.
There was even a red, four-pointed star tattoo on his collar.
'He looks like he just got out of bed…' Ena stared blankly at the yawning man.
'Well, he doesn't look like he would be stronger than me in terms of physical strength, nor does he have any reach advantage.'
By judging his height, she speculated he was only two centimeters taller than she was. For clearer context, Ena was 175 centimeters, while he was 178 centimeters.
'Unless he has an abundance of mana or knows how to use Qi like me, I doubt he could match me.'
Amidst her thoughts, a faint sense of unease washed over her as she continued to glare at the informal man. It wasn't the unease she would feel under the meticulous presence of an enemy, but a distortion you would feel whenever a person couldn't wrap a finger around something.
A sense of confusion, per se.
Scratching her head, she dismissed the feeling as soon as possible before a static sound entered the room.
"Test… Test… Can you two hear me?" A fresh voice other than the annoying one sounded from the speaker, making Ena's mood brighten a bit.
The person on the other end nodded his head steadily, not bothering to speak to the speaker.
"Okay, let's see… Participants for this test… Oh, so it's a duel-type test, I see." The speaker remarked, clumsily muttering to himself as both the boy and Ena awkwardly stayed silent.
"Participants Ena Hyakagure and Ren Silvan, welcome, I guess. Sorry if I'm clumsy in my speech; I'm not the regular advisor for this test. Anyway, the test you'll be doing is really simple."
Ena and Ren perked their ears up as they remained silent to listen carefully.
"For starters, this is a duel-type test, meaning one of you two will become the victor and pass, while the other will imminently fail this test…"
The purpose of the test was to collect the most points by climbing the tower. According to the speaker, the height you climb accumulates points by the exact meter.
For example, if a person were to reach the height of 100 meters, the accumulated points will be that exact number.
Of course, this meant that if one of them were to fall from a height, the points would also decrease. Unfortunately, going down wasn't an option for either of them.
"Try not to go down, because a monster that fills the entire floor will appear one minute after the test begins. This monster will rise to the tower with the participants, and if you were to get caught by it, that will be counted as an automatic loss."
"However, climbing the tower isn't the only way to collect points…"
As they climb the tower, small colored birds will appear. These colored birds can be registered as points if caught, and catching one is worth at least 50 points each. Of course, there is a specific amount for each color.
The only problem was that there was no specific identification of which of the colored birds had the most value. Only when the test had started would they have a clue.
But if they were really greedy or desperate, they could gamble all their points away to take the other players' accumulations.
"Stealing is another way to gain points. You can receive the same amount back by placing your hand on your opponent's back and declaring your sacrifice. But of course, this is a gamble; if you fail, that exact amount will be given as compensation."
Naturally, the keyword 'sacrifice' always symbolizes a gamble. If you can't reap what you sow, then you will sow what you reap.
'That's a shame. If that weren't the case and something more functional existed, then at least I could farm him… I think.'
"One more reminder before we start. If you gamble all your points, remember that the accumulation will not be replaced. A meter is equivalent to a point; once passed a certain height, you can no longer earn it back. Meaning, you will restart from zero."
Having gauged the rules by a fair amount, Ena tucked her hidden knife back into her sleeve.
"That is all. So, by means, both of you go to opposite ends of a wall. The test will start once both participants are ready or when five minutes have passed."
By the speaker's words, the two participants distanced themselves from each other, making their way to opposite ends.
"Ready," Ena muttered as she glared at her loaf opponent.
"Mhmm… Ready."
Faint blue particles followed Ren's arm, materializing a tanto from his hands.
'Mana storage… So he does have access to Qi. It'd be really annoying if he knows how to use it, though.'
[0 meters climbed]
[Current points: 0]
"This test will go on for thirty minutes. With that aside, you two may start."
At kick start, both of the figures vanished from the ground and leapt to one of the floating debris. From there, they began climbing the tower, and soon, their points would slowly rise.
Not even a minute into the test, Ena had already begun her attack by sending two of her hidden daggers at Ren.
"…!"
Clang!
Ren quickly deflected one of her knives; however, he was still inevitably injured by the second. Fortunately for him, he could dodge it slightly, causing only a minor injury to the boy.
Looking down from the debris, he saw the glaring semi-pure rushing above the tower. She had meticulously wasted two of her hidden daggers only to divert his attention from her attack, giving her a better start than him.
Ren scoffed inwardly at the trailing back of the semi-pure before his gaze was locked onto a red bird just a few meters away from him.
Without hesitation, he stretched his hand out to catch it.
[Ren Silvan was the first to capture a bird. 300 additional points will be given as the achievement.]
"WHAT?!" Ena exclaimed as she looked at the screen beside her.
'THE SPEAKER DIDN'T MENTION THAT. YOU'RE TELLING ME HE GETS A REWARD DESPITE BEING BEHIND ME??!'
Ena sneered, calming herself as she saw multiple birds spawning from thin air. Without a moment's hesitation, she reached out to the birds that grazed past her path upward.
[+50 points have been added to your points!]
[+100 points have been added to your points!]
[+80 points have been added to your points!]
Amidst her collecting, Ren immediately took this chance to bypass her. Ena, expecting his arrival, grabbed the sole of his foot and dragged herself to reach his back. Successfully planting her hand, Ena immediately shouted.
"300!"
With her shouting her desired amount, she pulled Ren deeper until she could slam him into the debris she had previously leapt from.
[300 has been bid into the wheel. Probable outcomes will be presented: Ena, Ren, Draw.]
'… Draw? What does that do?'
Ren, grumbling to himself, destroyed the debris they were being supported on and scattered away from the semi-pure.
As the rock crumbled below her, Ena was forced to distance herself from Ren and used another platform to get support from.
The draw took the form of a spinning wheel with three options presented on its surface. Currently, both Ren and Ena had forced themselves to halt, glaring at one another before Ren continued his way.
Ena swiftly followed, and in that same moment, she spun the wheel and hoped for the best. Then the voice rang in her ears.
[-300 had been deducted from your points]
'It's rigged, definitely rigged. My luck hasn't failed since childhood. How come it's acting out now?!'
She couldn't tell who to blame: Ren or her own luck. Not even considering the idea that it might be her own fault.
She blitzes through each debris like a blur, not wanting to fall behind the lazy guy who was in front of her. With the test playing, the thought of being able to use her strength once again without constraint gave a feeling that resembled breathing in fresh air from a balcony.
Yet, despite knowing that fact, the man in front of her could still match her in terms of physicality, even by the slightest, which ruined her mood a bit.
Then, with a decisive jump, she caught up with the brown-headed boy and finally decided to use her main weapon. Two weapons the size of her entire forearm appeared instantly, at a speed that equipped fast mana storage couldn't even compare.
Sensing extreme danger at his back, Ren instinctively turned and rushed to defend himself from Ena's slash.
Clang!
Ren barely managed to control the situation and deflected her blade, but came at the price of his hand recoiling back over his head from the impact. At least, he thought.
Ena, despite having her attack deflected, still had her blades close to her chest. Ena, now in a closed position, swung her blade with utmost clarity.
Claaaaang!
Ren's hand struggled to block her blade, and this time, he wasn't so lucky.
She kicked him right after her attack, launching Ren to the wall while the kick springboarded Ena to the wall opposite him. Their eyes locked on one another before a voice interrupted their fight.
The announcer's voice created a momentary stillness between the two.
"One minute has passed. Don't try to fall."