"Let's start the test since you are ready. Dunn should've already told you about the contents of the test..."
Fushigiro said with a steady, but magnetic, voice.
Caleb nodded.
They are now close to the river. It was an open space. There are no trees in the surrounding distance of twelve meters.
Caleb took the fresh breeze of air to his lungs, appreciating the clean air once again. After all, he came from the modern world blessed by industrial buildings but also cursed by various pollutions. Dirty water, polluted air. Such a change of scenery was just a gift to a traverser like Caleb.
The rays of the sun hit Caleb's face. He looked at the members of the hunting party and said:
"I'm ready."
Just like that, the members watched as Caleb's shoulder pressed a boulder that overshadowed his size.
"It seems Dunn wasn't saying nonsense. This guy is strong for his age. We might have a genius here in terms of physical strength." Athena muttered.
"Damn... When I was his age, I couldn't even lift my body weight."
"I wonder how this kid trains. He has a slender physique, but his muscles can do wonders."
"Look at those lean muscles. That's what they call sleeper build!"
Dunn's smile became bigger as he saw the surprised expressions of other members.
In the next few minutes, Caleb lifted heavy objects, one after another. Even with his current strength, he still felt some soreness in random parts of his body. After those tests, Caleb saw that the way the members looked at him was that of pure astonishment.
With his stature and his age, who would believe that he was hiding such a powerful force?
To climb the cliff, you have to get past the forest behind them. It just looks eerie, but there's no actual danger. No snakes or wild animals could be found. However, it is easy to get lost if you're not familiar with the forest. That's why the bald-caped guy whose name he still didn't know had escorted him.
Caleb glanced below the cliff, only to see the six members of the hunting party. He couldn't really see their face in detail at such a distance but he vaguely perceived that Athena was waving at him.
'Now, the question is to jump or not to jump?'
Of course, it was an easy answer. Caleb had experienced various ways of death. One of them was falling to death from a nine-story building, landing first with his head. He didn't even feel pain due to how instant he died. It's a scary, but not painful way of death.
'If I die, there's no big deal here. At most, I'll just reincarnate again.' Caleb tried to gather courage by convincing himself. With a last look at the boring guy behind him, Caleb jumped. "Hey, dude. I'm off"
Just like that, Caleb felt the rush of air on his face. He subconsciously closed his eyes due to air resistance. There's no fear in his face, but only a hint of excitement. 'How exhilarating!'
...
"Didn't expect this guy to be this brave. He jumped without anyone forcing him. And we didn't even need to wait for him to make up his mind. He has a guts, I like it." Dunn laughed heartily.
Miles sighed.
"Can't you see the smirk on his face in mid-air? He's a damned daredevil!!"
Jin smiled and looked at their captain. He took a wooden fan from the sleeves of his black robe and turned his head at Fushigiro.
"Captain, why did you let Tamasai accompany Johan to the cliff instead of Dunn? Tamasai is a weird guy. We are obviously fighting side by side with each other, experiencing life and death for years now, but he still doesn't talk to us much or take us seriously."
Hearing this, Athena scoffed.
"Let the guy be... Obviously, he doesn't like talking to people. Plus that bald guy, we don't even know his true purpose and the extent of his strength."
"I have my own considerations," Fushigiro responded with his usual sunny smile.