Chapter 56: Chapter 56 – Beating the Record [2]

"How long has it been since Breeze started?" Mr. Taka's voice rang as his eyes were still focused on the screen.

His glasses reflected the screen that showed Breeze moving at a fast speed without decreasing his speed, even once since the third test.

"It's been five minutes and 52 seconds... 54 seconds now." Doctor Ardi answered as he looked at the small screen above his smartwatch. It showed a stopwatch that he started when Max started the test.

"And he's already in the eighth test?" Once again, Mr. Taka questioned. His eyes narrowed in disbelief, but his lips betrayed his expression. It was full of happiness. "How are his vitals?"

"Only his heartbeats increased more than normal. However, that's due to his adrenaline and excitement. So I must say that there is nothing wrong with him. All vitals are green."

"Really?" A surprised voice escaped Mr. Taka's lips as he looked at Doctor Ardi. He got a nod from the doctor and heaved a sigh, returning his attention to the screen. "Is he a human? No... How could he be so calm at this kind of test? Newbies usually feel pressure under expectation."

"Maybe he was used to it?" Doctor Ardi added a suggestion, "Flexy's vitals were also normal earlier."

"That guy doesn't count. Among all the streamers I know, he's the most carefree and energetic one. Something like pressure is nonexistent in his dictionary."

"Hahaha, you're so harsh to him."

"I praised him." Mr. Taka said. His hands couldn't help but tremble in excitement as he watched the screen, "Breeze has just finished the ninth test... Only the hardest one remained."

***

Swoosh!

The scenery around Max changed for the tenth time. He began to get exhausted from the test, but his movement was still the same as before. There was nothing different, and he finally reached the end.

'Now I really need to be careful.'

The first to ninth tests were designed to determine a person's capability, starting from their dexterity, agility, reaction speed, balance, and other stuff related to how well one moved in the VR world.

However, the tenth test, the hardest one, was different. It tested everything and mashed all tests into one, creating a test room filled with traps and obstacles that needed to be passed without getting killed.

The tenth test was just a straight 300-meter hallway with tight ropes, strong wind, and a pitfall trap. Added with some flying knives that would appear randomly and a fire that could burn one to ash immediately.

And yes... All traps were randomly placed depending on RNG to make the test fair without any chance for people to remember the most efficient path.

It was no wonder this test was designated as the last one.

One thing that became Max's saving grace was two.

Max didn't need to time it because the trap was only on the ground and the middle of the hallway. When he got close to the spike trap, he jumped and began to run into the wall, avoiding the two traps altogether.

He kicked the wall and moved like a ninja. Gravity seemed to be non-existent, and he continued running on the ground once he passed the 200-meter line.

The hallway shrunk to half its size. It was now only 1 meter wide to the way to the finish. A golden button was waiting to be pressed on top of a red pedestal.

Projectiles were shot toward him, aiming for his whole body. From darts, knives, to even arrows, it didn't stop pouring from the end of the hallway.

Of course, it wasn't impossible to dodge, just really difficult. Max died once more, impaled to the head by an arrow. He respawned once again and tried again.

For the record, Flexy needed 8 tries before crossing the 300-meter line and pressing the finish button. He was an experienced streamer who enjoyed playing VR games and had more than 5000 hours of total playtime. He was used to it.

As for Max...

'A little bit more!'

He was faster with each try, and the finish line was just on the sight.

At that moment, many projectiles were shot at once. Only a small gap could be passed.

But that was enough. Max jumped without hesitation and spun his body midair, dodging the incoming projectiles. His hand was stretched to the front as much as he could.

Then... A loud cheer erupted as he pressed the golden button.

[Ding ding ding!]

[You have finished the Synchronization Test!]

[Final time: 00:13:51.]

[Final Time Worldwide Ranking: 1]

Hearing the notifications that came right after he pressed the button, Max broke into a big smile.

"FUCK YEAAAAHHH!!!" He shouted loudly out of the excitement that he cursed. "I did it!!"

But the notification wasn't over yet. There was something that hadn't appeared yet.

[Ding! Synchronization Rate is calculated... Finished.]

[Synchronization Rate is...]