Lightning Is the Only Way

Forneus sat on his chair. One youngster after another appeared in the hall. Even though their speeds in clearing the test varied greatly, people who took multiple days longer actually appeared just minutes later than the faster ones. The reason for that was that the practical test was performed in a lower world. The lower the world, the easier it was for the laws of the world to operate.

When one day passes in the highest world, ten days pass in a high-rank world, 100 days pass in a medium-rank world, and 1000 days pass in a low-rank world. By that calculation, a week in a low-rank world would only equate to about 10 minutes in their world. For Forneus, not even 30 minutes had passed between the times of when the youngsters left and came back.

The youngsters all came back in different conditions. While some looked healthy, others were nearly dead. Forneus just had to activate the formation, and all the injured people returned to peak condition in no time.

"Oh, another one's coming," Forneus commented casually as purple light flashed. The purple light revealed a youngster wholly drenched in blood. Forneus couldn't even see the color of the boy's outfit through all the blood. His left shoulder was broken, and a massive cut went through his abdomen. The youngster looked at Forneus and the others beside him. His fighting spirit was still shining through his eyes, but when he looked at the other youngsters, their own fighting spirit didn't lose to his.

That youngster was, of course, Gravis. He continued watching the others, but the atmosphere was broken by a loud slurp coming from Forneus smoothie. "Man, you look like you had a ton of fun." Forneus snapped his fingers, and the formation activated. All the blood on Gravis vanished, and his injuries healed nearly instantaneously.

Gravis took a deep breath and felt refreshed. It felt like taking a shower after a hard workout, just many times better. Forneus waved. "Come over and stand with the others!"

Gravis released a long sigh to calm down. He had fought for his life for over two weeks, so it was hard readjusting to normal life. He walked over and stood beside the others, who watched him with interest. Gravis didn't speak and just waited. A couple more youngsters appeared and returned to their classmates.

"Alright, everyone's here." Forneus stood up and stretched.

Gravis looked around and counted 25 people, including himself. Suddenly, he noticed something. "Forneus, where is Ballor?" Gravis asked.

"Dead," Forneus said while stretching to the side.

Gravis paled. "What?" Dead? He died, just like that?

"Yeah, he hadn't thought of staying underwater in the water rapids stage and was completely powered out by the end of it. His next opponent was the Rampaging Rhino, which completely decimated his left arm. His next opponent, the Cunning Shadow, gave him the rest." Forneus commented casually.

Gravis gulped and stayed silent. He went out with Ballor nearly every day for the last two months. They had grown pretty close, and Gravis considered him a true friend, but just like that, he died. Gravis couldn't even say goodbye. He also couldn't remember the last words he said to him.

Forneus clapped loudly in his hands. "Alright, people die. It happens. Get over it." Forneus looked at the others, while Gravis gritted his teeth. "Okay, there are 25 remaining, and seven died. That's a death rate of a little over 20%. That's average. Although..." Forneus looked at Gravis. "I'm surprised you survived."

Gravis was confused. What did he mean? Forneus continued. "Everyone goes through the same opponents but shuffled around. So, even though you all fought the same beasts and environmental

challenges, the order differed." Forneus pointed at Gravis. "You, especially, had shitty luck with the order. Your first opponent was the newbie crusher."

The others were not sure which opponent Forneus meant when he said "newbie crusher". They thought back to the beasts they fought but weren't sure. Gravis, on the other hand, thought of the tortoise. "Do you mean the tortoise?"

A light of recognition shone in the other's eyes. As they continued to think about it, they nodded. The tortoise was no problem for them because of the experience they gained from killing other monsters before. Fighting that slow, but explosive tortoise first would be very dangerous. They looked at Gravis with pity. What shitty luck.

Forneus nodded. "Yeah. About 70% of people die when they fight the tortoise first. They charge in without a plan and get decimated by its snap. If you have the experience, it's difficulty is about average. The reason why it's so deadly in the beginning is that one mistake would prove fatal, while other beasts are more forgiving. Making mistakes on other beasts may give you some scratches, but making a mistake on the tortoise is deadly."

Gravis sighed. What shitty luck. Though, he understood what Forneus meant. Gravis didn't receive an injury from the tortoise, but he had nearly died. If he had continued charging back then, he wouldn't be here right now.

"Okay, let's start reviewing. You all survived the test and killed your opponents. So, congratulations to that." Forneus said as most of the youngsters smiled in relief. "BUT!" Forneus shouted, and the others stopped smiling. "That was a challenge with only one opponent coming at you at a time. The challenges will increase in difficulty the next time. Even though the average death rate of the first test is the highest, at about 20%, the second test still has a death rate of about 10%. So, don't slack off."

Most of the youngsters grimaced. Life wouldn't become easier.

"The next test will take place one month from now. At that time, you will always have to fight two opponents at the same time." Forneus grinned. "You can imagine how fun that'll be."

Fighting one opponent was completely different than fighting two. They knew that, so they didn't look forward to the next test. They laughed at their past selves that were excited about getting to fight. None of them wanted to repeat this experience.

"You can go back home. The next three days will be rest days. After that, we resume our theoretical lessons." And with that, Forneus walked out of the hall, not caring about anyone else. When he was halfway out the door, Forneus seemed to remember something and turned around. "Gravis, come with me," he commanded.

Gravis was confused but walked to Forneus, who continued walking down the hallways. Gravis didn't know what Forneus wanted but followed him anyway. They took a right and walked up several flights of stairs until they were at the building's highest floor. They continued walking until they arrived at the door at the end of the central hallway. A strikingly beautiful young woman was sitting at a desk beside the door.

"He's here. Can I go now?" Forneus asked with an annoyed tone.

The woman smiled. "Thank you. That's all," she said sweetly.

Forneus hmphed and left, leaving Gravis behind. The woman stood up and knocked at the door. "Sir, he's here."

"Send him in," an imposing voice came through the door. The woman opened one of the doors slightly and beckoned Gravis to enter. He hesitated but walked in. The person wanting to see him was probably someone important, judging by the position of his office. What would someone like that want from him?

He entered, and the door closed behind him. Gravis was inside a 10 meter long and wide office, filled with ornaments and art. In the middle of the office sat a muscular, tall man with black hair and black eyes. He wore a suit and appeared very clean. Though, one thing surprised Gravis. The man wore an identical ring to his own.

The man lifted his head from his desk and looked at Gravis with a smile. Nôvel/Dr(a)ma.Org - Content owner.

"Hey, little brother!"