Chapter 63 Paradise Road Now Open For All Contestants

Everyone quickly filed into groups.

Five women walked up to Leon. Each was wearing a kimono with different vibrant colors.

"Hello, sir. We're Filo, Zena, Feris, Like, and Toga. I'm Filo." A woman with a crimson, white-flowered kimono said.

She had straight, pitch-black hair and a single stroke of crimson stripping through it on the right side.

"Five words or less." Leon demanded curtly.

"We're dragons." She replied.

"You get an award for following instructions with a 250% increase in efficiency." He said while throwing her a Hangover Recovery kit.

She looked at it in confusion.

"This will restore all of your stamina and health. There are fifty candidates here with useful non-combat-related skills." Leon said.

"You five will be transporting these people starting immediately. If you make multiple trips and ensure the original volunteers you saw are safe, I'll reward you five handsomely.

Fly as low as you can to avoid needless deaths when dodging. Now go!"

Filo nodded, bowed lightly, and turned back to the five.

Leon watched in amazement as they stripped naked, and their Kimonos disappeared into the glowing earrings they were wearing.

He wasn't certain that they went into the earrings, but he was nearly certain and noted to ask about it later.

Then, in a surreal fantasy demonstration, the five transformed into massive dragons matching their hair colors.

However, they were all black and had jagged scales that shone their corresponding colors when the sunlight hit them.

The crimson in Filo's matte scales occasionally glittered in the sunlight, giving them a majestic look.

She turned her massive head, looked at him with vibrant red eyes, and nodded.

"Let's go! All of you, get onto the back of these dragons if you want to live!" Leon roared to the candidates.

"Mirth, help throw people on top to speed things along. We need these women to help the injured retrival members get to safety!"

Many started shaking, triggering him to give them a mocking smile.

"There are scales you can use as handholds, and they'll fly as low as possible!" He explained with a booming voice.

"If you're afraid of heights or dying from falling, stay here and die.

In thirty seconds, flying beasts come over those walls, and titans start swatting you from the air!

So go! Help each other on and hold on tight!"

Those afraid immediately processed the alternative. There were fifty-five candidates, a perfect number to get everyone to safety.

Mirth came over to help, picking up candidates and unceremoniously throwing them onto the dragons. Leon did the same.

The sooner the support candidates left, the sooner the dragons could return the wounded retrieval team members.

The dragons took off slowly, at a low altitude, effortlessly passing over the rubble.

However, seven people still fell off, smashing into city debris and hurting themselves.

Nevertheless, the altitude was low, so the three that obtained superhuman strength could get up and start navigating through the debris.

The others weren't so lucky. One died when getting impaled on a pipe, and another broke their leg. Only one was unhurt, but they had fallen unconscious.

Leon didn't pay attention to the scene. In his mind, they were lucky. If they couldn't hold on to save their lives, they didn't deserve to live.

Caitlyn and Tricksie returned at that point and flew down next to Leon. He thanked both of them and then checked the time.

—

Time until the group can continue: 00:00:33

—

"We're moving out, now!" Leon yelled, "Dragons, move out! Cynthia, Kira, open up portals! Caitlyn, fly into the sky to see if they're safe!"

Caitlyn flew into the sky, and Cynthia and Kira summoned large portals that opened up in the air. They weren't perfect, so they came with a disclaimer.

"We can teleport people halfway to the Sanctuary!" Caitlyn yelled, "However, there's a fifteen-foot drop, and you might land on debris. So brace yourself for impact!"

The candidates gulped.

"We're talking an equal amount of strong candidates," Cynthia announced.

"Anyone that wants to go can go! Just check with your squad leaders. Only strong people with a level of 25 are recommended to go this route.

If you land well, your survival chances will double. If you do, and you break limbs, we're leaving you for dead. So take your risk now!"

Many candidates nodded to their squad leaders and immediately jumped through the portal.

Caitlyn flew down. "A few survivors died from the fall, but most candidates fell onto them so they're alright. Only a few are seriously injured."

"Okay! You heard the woman. Jump in if you want a higher chance of survival!

Squad leaders send strong candidates to protect the jumpers. The likelihood of survival is low, so we're prioritizing those with higher chances!"

Spurred to action by her words, countless people flew into the teleportation portal. The squad leaders picked up some and dropped them in feet first.

Cynthia and Kira took recovery kits to keep things moving.

Ding!

A notification flashed across everyone's faces.

—

Paradise road is now open to all contestants.

—

"Kyyyahhhhhhhh!"

"Caaawwwwwwww!"

"SsCcRrEeEeEeEeEeCcHh!"

A second later, the airwaves exploded with the sound of flying creatures that flew toward the road.

They were forced into the back for a fair advantage, but they would arrive any second.

Worse—

RUMBLE, RUMBLE, Rumble, Rumble, rumble, rumble, rumble…..

"EARTH WALL!" Shawna yelled.

A massive wall of earth shot from the ground and blocked.

THUD, Thud, thud, BOOM! THUD, boom, boom, THUD! CRASH! Boom, boom, BOOOOM!

The walls in the area started collapsing.

"Let's go!" Leon yelled to Caitlyn.

Tricksie reached out her hand, and Leon became very small again. As before, she placed him on his harem god throne.

Lindy strapped in again, and the four flew above.

"WIND DANCE!" A blue humanoid named Tanya yelled.

The debris immediately in front of the group flew to the side and pushed toward the east.

She was given a recovery kit earlier since her power was already deemed useful.

"REVERSAL!" Cynthia and Kira yelled simultaneously.

Two large portals opened up in the center, sucking in all of the debris in the area and dumping them to the side.

As large sections of the road cleared, hundreds of candidates sprinted down the road at full speed.

"AIR LAUNCHER!" A candidate yelled.

It was a frivolous test of their powers to create a gun that could shoot air.

They fired it once it materialized, and it surprisingly moved debris. Unfortunately, it pushed it forward until it hit an iron support beam, proving it was useless.

Since it packed the debris together, Wind Dance would likely be unable to move the debris.

The demonstration proved what was wrong with magic.

Kazz turned around, sprinted, jumped, and before the person knew what happened, she had already ripped her head off.

"If anyone uses magic that causes a problem again, we'll kill you!" She growled with her booming tiger voice.

"If you're useful, you already know it. If you're not, keep your powers to defense or face the consequences!"

The candidates nodded in fear and continued running.

"Kyyyahhhhhhhh!"

"Caaawwwwwwww!"

"SsCcRrEeEeEeEeEeCcHh!"

"HUMANS! YOU DIE!" The brown titan, Kargon, roared.

The titan on the west side lifted his hand to swat the survivors.

"Tch! I wish that Lindy could use Styx again!" Leon lamented. She had leveled up her skill to use it once daily, but it still had an excessive cooldown period.

It was his fault for not using Phlegethon. Styx was traumatizing, and that's what he wanted. He should've asked her to use the power that wasn't useful later.

Caitlyn and Lindy's trump cards were fire-related, so that was a calamity in waiting. So it was a double problem.

However, hindsight is 20/20. His only option now was to make most of what was available.

"Hit him with the largest Light Pillar you can in his eye. Do it while he's down so he can't fall on people! Don't worry about collateral damage!" Leon yelled.

"Light Pillar!" Caitlyn yelled.

A blinding pillar of light shot down and hit the titan in his eye.

"AGGGGGGHHHHHHHHH!" Kargon cried.

BOOOOOOM!

He thrashed his hand down reflexively to finish his attack.

Iron support columns, cars, and wreckage scraped together as it flattened, and the strike left a shockwave that rocked the earth.

However, something surprising happened. Mirth became twenty feet tall and extraordinarily and blocked it.

She wasn't just larger or a type of dog. No, the woman was a werewolf!

"R… RUN!" She yelled to the candidates as her feet ground into the earth.

The candidates continued forward, weaving in and out of the wreckage.

A human candidate named Tisha teleported between shadows, showcasing an extraordinary talent and foresight.

Another with sloppily dyed purple hair touched everything in her path. When she did, the items floated in the air.

Her name was Danny, and she wielded gravity magic!

It was a mythically overpowered magic class that few people without videogame or light novel hobbies would think of.

Leon was shocked by the incomprehensible powers and couldn't figure out what would lead people to choose them.

He'd be shocked to learn they got the ideas from light novels.

Both were looked down upon for their light novel and web novel addictions, yet the hobby proved overwhelmingly powerful in the apocalypse.

The humans weren't outdoing the other races.

Manka was going on a rampage. She was twenty feet tall and no longer concerned with the safety of her wreckage clearing.

Every time she made it to a blocked area impossible to cross, she lifted it into a stable position or threw it out of the way.

When her snake tail encountered something, she immediately slapped it out of the way. She was a beast, in all definitions of the word.

Manka had single-handedly cleared a path through half of the wreckage! It was an extraordinary feat.

Meanwhile, the other candidates were kept busy.

"KYYYAAAHHHHHH!"

"AHHHHH! Let go! Save me! P-PLEASE, Please save me…."

An orange humanoid was snapped up by a massive hawk-like creature and whisked into the distance.

The sight was playing out across the area.

Most candidates didn't look up in the air due to the sight unfolding above them.

Before the candidates knew what was happening, birds, insects, bats, and dinosaur-like creatures swept half a dozen candidates and survivors off their feet and flew into the distance.

The sight was terrorizing.

"Ughhhh! Let me down! Please! Let me down!" A brunette human screamed at the top of her lungs.

Half of her body was in the jaws of a flying creature that looked like a rounded whale.

Crack!

The creature snapped down its jaws, breaking her bones and silencing her.

Blood poured from its jaws, drenching an abandoned survivor. The scene terrorized her so badly that she immediately climbed under a car and began shaking.

It wasn't a smart move to stop running, as other beasts would make it over the walls soon.

Still, her mental state made doing anything impossible.

The scene was common amongst candidates and survivors alike.

Those who came from other worlds were not having as much difficulty, as they had less empathy for humans.

To many, they were just lower beings that were disposable and were waiting patiently to drop their survivors after finishing their obligation to Leon's orders.

"NO! Please, I'm begging you, no!" A middle-aged woman wearing her light brown hair in a bun pleaded, "You just picked us up!"

"Please! Don't do this!" An elderly woman with grey hair and wrinkles echoed the plea.

Two survivors screamed for mercy as their candidates dropped them.

Contrary to expectation, the candidate swept their survivors in their arms in a princess carry and started sprinting again.

"T-Thank you!" The woman stuttered.

The candidates were identical two dark elves with white hair, dark skin, and neon green eyes.

Their names were Zora and Zena, gorgeous identical twin sisters. However, while they looked beautiful, their expressions were as cold as ice.

"Y-Yes. Thank you for not—"

The dark elf and her sister didn't look at them.

"SKIIIIEEEEE!"

A flying creature that looked strangely similar to a horned lizard with wings flew at the sisters. It was the size of a horse, making it far more capable of navigating through the wreckage.

It dove downward to attack the sister on the left.

The moment it happened, the sister threw the brunette in the air capturing the beast's attention.

Before the survivor could process what happened, the creature chose the easy prey before it.

"SKIIIIEEEEE!"

"W-WA—"

SNAP!

The lizard's jaws snapped onto the woman's neck, immediately silencing her and leaving her body to hang suspended.

After a surreal moment of the woman's neck muscles holding her body up, they snapped, and the body fell to the ground lifelessly.

THUD!

The dark elves didn't even look back as it happened. They continued, dodging, weaving, and jumping over debris.