Chapter 90 - Rank Assessment Tests

After recording the power of Loki's punch, they continued on with his other tests. Next was the endurance test, in this test Loki's body excluding his head was being put inside a weird-looking machine. The machine would put pressure onto his entire body, making a sensation as if something was squeezing him. 

The pressure was getting harder and harder, Loki was told that if he felt that he could no longer endure the pain he should tell Bernard to stop the test, it would also be stopped if he were to faint. The same as the other machine this too had a monitor that told him how heavy the pressure was being pressed on him. 

At the moment Loki was being pressured by two hundred pounds of weight, and from there on it gradually increased. As time went by the pressure grew and was now at eight hundred pounds. This was the normal endurance level that a rank-one martial artist could withstand. 

When it got to one thousand six hundred pounds, the Grandmasters were surprised. This pressure was something at minimum an above-average rank three martial artists could endure. Even though Loki had an inner energy level that could be compared to a rank four martial artist, it takes time for it to fully stabilize into one's body after awakening. So at most the Grandmasters thought that the maximum pressure Loki could handle would be around one thousand four hundred pounds. 

Loki could already feel the pressure around the time it was at one thousand five hundred, and now it was at one thousand eight hundred pounds. Loki was already nearing his limit but he continued onward. The pain he felt was immense and if it was any other person they would've already fainted from the pain or at least screamed. Yet Loki's mental strength was anything but normal as he has been trained to not speak even in face of the cruelest of tortures. 

Once the machine reached two thousand pounds of pressure, the Grandmasters finally showed worried faces. 

"Child, are you alright?" 

Loki who was focusing heard Bernard's voice and looked at the old man with an almost indifferent expression. That was when he remembered that he wasn't being tortured and this was just a test, he almost forgot that he was not in his old world. Loki's facial expression changed and he smiled as he answered. 

"I can still keep going." 

"Are you sure, child?" Bernard was reluctant to have Loki continue. This boy has a lot of potential and he didn't want to lose such an outstanding seedling before he could fully bloom. 

"I'm sure, do not worry I know my own limitations." 

Bernard really wanted to stop the test but he saw the determination in Loki's eyes. Seeing those determined eyes Bernard knew nothing he said would dissuade Loki. He himself didn't want to dissuade such youthful passion.

After a thought, Bernard sighed and allowed Loki to continue the test. When Loki reached the pressure of two thousand four hundred pounds he finally spoke and said he could no longer take it, the moment he said that Bernard quickly stopped the machine. 

He took Loki out of the machine and placed him on the nearby chair. As this was just a test and the machine in question couldn't really kill Loki or even injure him, usually they would continue to the next test without rest but for this instance, they gave Loki a little bit of special treatment. 

They were really shocked at Loki's mental fortitude in the face of such pain. The level of pressure he endured was not something even rank four martial artists could withstand. In fact, that level of endurance was something that not even normal rank five martial artists could handle. Loki who only has the inner energy of a rank four should at most have the physique of that rank. Even if he could somehow endure the pain there was also a limit to that. 

"Do you wish to continue to the next test?" 

"Of course, what should I do next?" 

"... The next test is a test of speed and stamina. That over there isn't a normal treadmill, the more you run on that the faster it would go it would only stop if you stop. The moment you stop running would be the end of the test. So all you need to do is run and continue running until you can run no more." 

Loki simply nodded his head as he headed to the treadmill, he did not say anything more as he started running. The test ended quite fast compared to the last one and Loki's top speed was recorded at forty miles per hour. It would seem that Loki's speed and stamina were normal compared to his other scores. 

"Child the final test will be held tomorrow, so you can rest for now." 

"Is that so, well thank you for your assistance today Grandmaster Bernard. Thank you as well, Grandmaster Niko for your presence today." 

After bowing his head Loki was about to leave the room when Niko suddenly stopped him. 

"Wait." Loki turned around and looked at Niko. 

"Before you go I have something to gift you."Niko rummaged through his suit looking for something. He then pulled out a scroll with a smile on his face. 

"It's a good thing I always bring this with me, in case I find someone I like. Here kid you can have this." Niko tossed the scroll at Loki. When Loki caught the scroll he looked at it a little bit confused. 

"That's a gift, it's a movement technique of my sect called phoenix's charge. If you're able to master that movement technique then you should be able to surprise anyone at the same level as you." 

"I cannot accept something like this, it's too much." Loki tried to give the scroll back even though he really wanted it. Niko shook his head and responded. 

"Nah, that's nothing special, I give that to any of the kids I find interesting. You should take it since I won't take it back."

"... Alright, thank you for the gift then." 

"Since Niko is giving you such a gift, I guess I can give you one as well. You can pick any one book for free from the second floor of the hall of skills. Here, you just need to show this to the person in charge over there. Just return the emblem to me tomorrow when you come back for the continuation of the test." 

Loki got a badge from Bernard and thanked him as well. Once he left the room, the two Grandmasters looked at each other. 

"Are you sure it's alright giving one of your sects secret techniques?" 

"The raging spear sect isn't just some random sect that giving away one secret technique will affect our foundation." 

"You know that's not what I meant." 

"I know... Truth is, I just felt like giving him that technique. Even I haven't been able to master that technique nor have any of my own disciples. If he's able to do something with it, then at least that technique won't just gather dust in our archives.." Niko shrugged his shoulders as he answered Bernard.