With a little perseverance and the help of his S-rank willpower, Fein managed to whizz past the sixth and seventh marks. At the sixth mark, it didn't add a new effect but doubled the effects of the previous marks.
At the seventy mark, it multiplied the effects of the first mark, second mark, third mark, fourth mark, and fifth mark to ten!
Fein could barely move his body at this time. And his mind was also at its limit because of the effects that overlapped, not to mention the boost it receives from the multiplication effect. Now, his five senses were overwhelmed with intense pain. New useless information kept appearing in his mind at a speed that his S-rank brain could barely process.
'This is probably my limit, right?' Fein took a deep breath.
Degu energy started to flow in his whole body, as his eyes reflected a cold glint... Then he gathered the last strength he could muster in his legs. With a wide stride, Fein vanished in his place, skipped the eight red mark directly, and appeared on the ninth red mark in the blink of an eye!
Fein felt intense dizziness as he reached the ninth red mark. The ninth red mark amplified the effects of the rest of the red marks by a hundred times! His sense, his mind, and his body could take the burden any longer. Fein only lasted eight seconds on the ninth mark before he fainted and fell to the ground.
'This is my limit? Did I fail the test or something? Does this mean that I can't fight Niki? yet?' This is the last thought in his mind.
Fein didn't know that he had already passed the test with flying colors. The ninth red mark... Theoretically, no one should have willpower that strong. But Fein did it...
Zero was dumbfounded at this time and he just stared blankly at the Fein's passed-out figure in a daze. 'H-he passed the ninth step!? This should be impossible...'
Yet the result was in front of him. Zero knew that he wasn't hallucinating or something. Fein really persevered and stepped foot on the ninth red mark with his willpower alone!
Zero couldn't even think about it. He literally just put the ninth mark as a comical test, without any expectations that someone would pass it. Not to mention, just the seventh mark was already unbelievable.
Just like that, the whole surrounding shattered like glass. The ground collapsed and everything returned to normal.
Soon, darkness and fog returned... Zero went beside Fein, who was quietly lying on the ground. He looked at Fein with a complicated expression. At this time, he realized doesn't need to fight against Niki anymore for revenge, which was quite hopeless. Rather, he just had to wait for Fein to grow up and surpass Niki!
'You've proven yourself this time. I hope you can use this ring to its full potential...' Zero looked at the black ring on his middle finger, removed it slowly, and put it towards Fein's index finger.
The black ring had a human skeleton design on top of it. Its whole body exudes a faint gray light. The name of the ring was Zargon... It could help the wearer resist and become less susceptible to curses.
The ring was made of Febulium metal. A metal that was used in ancient times to kill supernatural creatures. The metal was slightly sensitive to curses.
Zero spent a huge sum to let his blacksmith friend craft Zargon, as he had to prepare for years, and even establish an organization just to fight against the Laughing Phantom. Zargon is just one of the items that he had prepared against the witches under Niki's command.
Now that he didn't need to move. He decided to entrust the black ring to Fein and be put to good use. As long as Fein was given a hundred years... Zero had the confidence that Fein could fight Niki! Because Fein wasn't only talented. But also a strong-willed person, and not ordinary, at that!
'Let's see if that damned Niki could still destroy the will of a person who could pass the red ninth mark.' Zero had a triumphant smile behind his mask.
Zero slowly lifted Fein's body. Suddenly, the fog and the darkness receded in the blink of an eye. Then the place turned into a clean office with two open windows. Zero gently put Fein on a soft brown couch.
"I didn't expect that a person like you would exist in this world. I'm already two thousand years old plus and I could say that I almost saw enough scenes in my life. But from all the people, I didn't expect that I would encounter someone like. A person so similar to Niki. Intelligent, talented, and strong-willed. It seems the gods had cast their gaze to this world and just for the purpose that someone could fight Niki..." Zero muttered quietly, then he looked at Fein for a few seconds before leaving.
After Zero left, the office became quiet... Yet, Fein, who was supposed to have fainted, suddenly opened his eyes this time.
"I'm similar to Niki? How many times have I heard this?? But I should be more handsome, right?" Just now, Fein heard Zero's self-talking.
With his strong regeneration speed, he had already recovered after he felt someone carry him. And was just about to wake up when he heard Zero's self-talk. Of course, it would be impolite to interrupt, so just decided to play unconscious. He didn't expect that Zero would actually say that he was similar to the world's most dangerous criminal!
"Well, it's time to leave. I'll go pick up Sofia and Voli so we can finally scram out of this country and bring down the whole witch organization!" Fein stood up on the sofa. Then he saw an unfamiliar black ring on his hand. 'Eh?? When have I worn a ring??'
With a simple probe, Fein immediately knew the source of the ring on his finger. A happy smile appeared on his face. 'This Zero isn't that bad...'
Then he suddenly remembered something. 'Crap! I still need to tell Lucius that I will be taking his daughter to the East.'