Chapter 280 - Change

Leonel was shocked by the result.

If he was honest with himself, he believed that he had already done about as well as anyone could. However, reality was cruel.

It wasn't just King Arthur that performed better than he did. Following him, whether it was Pope Margrave, Modred, or Peirce, each of them gained a perfect evaluation. What truly embarrassed Leonel was that there were even two demons who hadn't benefited from Minor Openings that managed to gain Perfect evaluations as well.

Before those two demons stepped forward, Leonel had thought it was due to the fact he was at a disadvantage. After all, while other beneficiaries of Minor Openings didn't have to worry about anything other than their weapon, Leonel had to balance his powerful bow with his weak arrows.

However, after observing for a while longer, Leonel realized that things weren't so simple. If two demons with normal weapons could succeed then there had to be a problem with him.

Had he been too conservative? But Leonel really couldn't think of a way for him to have been more aggressive.

As Leonel was realizing that matters wouldn't be as simple as he thought, the shock only continued to grow.

After the two demons passed with Perfect evaluations, Supreme Monet stepped forward and received yet another.

This time, Leonel wasn't the only one who was shocked either.

Monet used a whip. But, it was clear by its quality that she too was just another regular participant of these trials.

However, where she distinguished herself was in the fact that while Leonel had to unlock his Force wielding abilities, Monet didn't!

Raging flames surged out from her body and coated her whip, making her every strike easily worth tens of times that of another. In the end, she shattered the protective shield around the metallic beast in less than ten minutes, setting a new record.

Toward such a display, Leonel couldn't help but frown. It seemed he had begun to take some things for granted. He couldn't afford to lose his focus chasing after dreams when there was very real danger right before him. He still wasn't aware if Monet would be on his side or not.

Leonel frowned when he saw her. Compared to the shy little girl she had been when he last saw her, she seemed somewhat even more reserved and ... scared?

Leonel's initial thought was that she had been scared by the trial. After all, she was only a teenage girl and younger than even the young Leonel by several years, didn't it make sense if she was scared?

However, when she used her bind ability and then easily dispatched the metallic beast to the point of breaking Monet's record, Leonel realized that her fear wasn't toward the beast, but rather toward turning back to approach... Pope Margrave?

Leonel's frown deepened. Could the death of the other Adurna family members be related to the Pope?

But this didn't make any sense. Why would the Pope kill them all but Little Nana? And, if he did do so, why would he allow Little Nana to enter these trial grounds? Shouldn't he be like King Arthur, doing everything in his power to stop her from entering?

The more Leonel thought about it, the more confused he seemed to become.

Just when he wanted to see if it was possible to communicate with the little girl directly, a familiar voice sounded.

<Trial 1 has been completed>

<Milestone Reached: 10 participants have earned Star Points>

<Trial 2 has been postponed, Elimination Round commencing>

<Elimination Goal: 10>

The small grey platforms began to rumble.

<First Elimination Round — Begin!>