Chapter 56: The beginning of the race!

As soon as the sound of gunshot resounded throughout the field, the temporary students standing behind the starting line began rushing forward, some giving it their all to at least cover one-third of the distance between the starting and finishing line, some aiming to do even better, while some aimed to reach the finish line.

As for the best among the temporary examinees, Nevis and Vincent, they amplified their speeds by infusing units of battle energy into their legs. Several seconds later, they were at the forefront of the crowd, as a few meters behind them, Felix, Varth, and Geom could be seen, as well as Leila, Peter, and a few other temporary students that were proficient at controlling battle energy.

"Let's see if there's someone that can surprise us by reaching the other end of the room."

The instructors and the faculty members proceeded to spectate the race while standing near the edges of the raised platform. Their vision was stronger than an eagle and they could clearly see what was going on in the race.

"I can't wait to see who will be the first one to satisfy the conditions that will activate the hidden mechanisms of the race. Once it activates, a lot of students will be disqualified!" instructor Alex said as he rubbed his palms in anticipation.

"Senior, why did you say that they will be disqualified from the entrance examination if they failed this test?" Instructor Kayle Walken asked as she looked at the handsome elves man wearing a pair of eyeglasses.

"Eh? Did I ever say that?" Theodore's head turned to the sides to glance at the faculty member standing behind him. "Did anyone hear me say that?"

As soon as he said those words, everyone shook their heads indicating that they didn't hear him say that.

"You see, I never said that they will be disqualified from the entrance examination if they fail this test, but I did say that they will be disqualified from this test, and that's pretty much all it would do." Theodore's cheeks stretched back to expose his pearly white teeth and a meaningful smile.

It's just as he said, the students have proved themselves to be worthy of becoming the students of the academy. They will be accepted as permanent students whether or not they fail or pass the test of agility, but Theodore never clarified this matter in detail. Thus, the students still believe that they will fail the entrance examination if they failed this test.

"Oh, I get it," instructor Alex exclaimed as he clapped his hands. "You didn't clarify the details so that they'll give it their all, right?"

As soon as he said those words, the eyes of instructor Kayle brightened as she came to a certain realization while Theodore nodded signifying that the purpose behind being somewhat discreet was so that the students will not relax their tense nerves, and perform to the best of their abilities.

"Only that way will we truly know what their level is!" Theodore said in a loud voice as he focused on the race that was about to get interesting.

'Pretty much everything is going as mentioned, but where are the obstacles that instructor Theodore's mentioned?' Vincent internally thought as he looked around the track with a scrutinizing gaze while running at an incredible speed.

Immediately after, three projectiles made out of compressed air shot towards him simultaneously, and Vincent's eyes squinted as he maneuvered his body skillfully and his feet exceptionally, dodging all three of them while progressing forward in a short zig-zag dash.

'Hmm, if this is the most dangerous part of this test, then I am going to be the first one to conquer it!' Vincent thought as he then performed a set of hand signs causing creepy blue eyes to manifest around him, and these eyes then launched forward to gather details about the incoming projectiles. He internally exclaimed, 'It's not good to be overconfident. It's for my own good if I remain vigilant!

A few seconds later, Vincent managed to discern the trajectory of the projectiles thanks to the information gathered by the creepy blue eyes. 'Now I can see the trajectory of the projectiles before they enter my visions. It'll be easy to dodge the projectiles by just changing my position and stepping out of their range.'

"Damn! The projectile hurts like hell! What ten hits? If I get hit another three times, I will drop dead!" Nevis complained as blood profusely leaked out of the hole in one of his arms.

The participants trembled in nervousness as they saw that the projectiles packed enough power to damage even the body of the strongest contestants.

After getting caught off and hit by one of the three attacks, Nevis copied Vincent's tactics flawlessly, and although his zig-zag dashes were bigger and his movements awkward when compared to Vincent's, he dodged all of the sudden attacks and managed to keep up with him.

Meanwhile, Felix, Leila, and the rest of the awakened had activated their abilities, utilizing them in distinct but appropriate ways to deal with the situation at hand.

The eyes of the instructors showed praise as small yet thick blocks of ice manifested in front of Leila in different spots where the projectile crashed and she pressed on towards the finish line without slowing down even once. Similarly, each time the projectiles entered his vision, Felix instantly created small fireballs and hurled them at the compressed air balls causing them to explode before even reaching him.

Looking at the incoming projectiles, Geom had brought out his stainless sword from one of his spatial bracelets and held it tightly in his calloused and thick hands.

"Indifferent sword slash!"

His sword glistened under the bright lights of the room as he brandished his sword repeatedly and pressed on, and before the projectile could even get close to him, a vertical black light flashed expanding from their centers and reaching each end of their spherical bodies.

*Plop* *Plop* *Plop*

The projectiles burst open one after another, as waves of wind fluttered Geom's clothes and brushed past the participants nearby.

Varth's eyebrows lowered. 'This test seems easy but it's extremely mentally taxing and consumes a lot of my stamina, as it isn't simple to come up with ways to evade projectiles repeatedly while running at full speed. Uh, if only I knew that this test is going to be like that, I would have brought a hoverboard with me and used it in this test to lessen my burdens.'

Although he was complaining with a belly full of regrets, Varth was the most carefree among all the participants as he took cover behind the others, letting them act as a shield against the projectiles.

"A minute has already passed!" Alex's eyes squinted as he snapped his fingers. "Devil's word: Increase projectile increase by 10% every three minutes!"

In the first three minutes, the projectiles were easy to dodge. A few minutes later, as the speed of the projectiles suddenly increased, it became harder for the ones at the forefront to dodge them, and their speed decreased slightly.

"I knew it wouldn't be simple! Who knows what else is going to come at us!"

As Vincent's speed decreased somewhat, the distance between him and the other participants decreased.

Suddenly, Nevis and Vincent felt the temperature behind their backs rising very fast, and they both glanced back at the same time, only to see balls of fire heading their way.

"What the hell!" Their eyes widened in shock as their movements stiffened slightly.

Although they were shocked at the sudden insidious attack, they still managed to dodge it by rolling to the opposite sides.