"Yes, ma'am, I'll see to it that it's done," the announcement lady said, hanging up the call. She glanced around the room, noticing the strange looks on everyone's faces.
"Increase the rate at which the monsters pour in for his trial," she ordered, pointing at Klaus's screen. He stood there, calm, eyes closed, hands clasped behind his back. The scene was too shocking for anyone to comprehend.
"By how much, ma'am?" one of the operators asked, eyes wide as she looked at the display.
"Ten times," a voice interrupted before the announcement lady could respond. It was the War Goddess herself, her tone firm and unyielding.
Everyone's jaws dropped in unison.
"But War Goddess, that's... that's too much!" the announcement lady stammered. She had been told to raise the difficulty by three times, maybe five at most—but ten? That's an overkill.
The room was immediately filled with murmurs of disbelief. They all knew Klaus was a monster, but this was pushing it beyond reason.
"Are you sure?" the operator hesitated, her fingers hovering over the controls, unsure whether to follow the command.
The War Goddess fixed her with a steely glare. "Do it," she said, her voice final, leaving no room for argument.
The room fell silent, and the tension was thick. Everyone exchanged nervous glances, but no one dared to question the War Goddess any further. They knew what kind of power she wielded—questioning her would be foolish.
With a shaky hand, the operator entered the command. "Increase monster flow... tenfold," she whispered under her breath, her heart pounding as she hit 'Enter.'
On the screen, Klaus remained motionless, unaware of the chaos being set into motion for his trial. He stood there, calm, as if meditating, oblivious to the storm that was about to hit him.
"Good luck," the announcement lady muttered under her breath, her eyes glued to the screen. Everyone braced for what was about to happen next. For some reason, they felt pity for Klaus.
Back inside Oracle, Klaus stood firm, controlling the Void Piercing Needle with devastating precision. Suddenly, tens of thousands of monsters began pouring toward him, an endless wave of death.
At this point, luck seemed to play a big role. All you had to do was hold on and hope the unlucky ones would be eliminated. Anna and the rest of Klaus's friends were still in the fight, but only Anna seemed to be handling the pressure well.
Five minutes later, only 1,200 remained, the red screens flashing in the observation room said it all. Although these youngsters were strong, they couldn't hold on much longer.
Suddenly, the number dropped to 1,000. Now, the next kills would decide who made it into the Top 50. Klaus's name sat at the very top, his points towering above the rest. Nobody in the room was surprised. Even though his trial difficulty had been increased, he didn't seem bothered at all.
In the second place, of course, was Anna. She was pushing herself hard, and it was paying off. Miguel is in third place and from the look of how he is fighting, he seems to be trying to catch up to Anna
Surprisingly, Hanna, who had ranked 195 out of 200 in the city selection, was now sitting at number 4. She has been training very hard for this trial and it seems to be paying off quite well.
Kilian held the fifth spot, with his sister Lily right behind him at number 6. Mark, the spearman from Klaus's group, was at number 8, and Daniel and Danny followed at 9 and 10.
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Kay, on the other hand, was hanging in there at number 15. He is skilled with the bow, but his killing speed isn't the best. Still, it was enough to keep him out of harm's way while steadily taking down his targets.
Soon, the top 1,000 competitors began to dwindle. Before ten minutes had passed, only five remained inside the Oracle. Klaus sat calmly, continuing to kill with his two Void Piercing Needles, while Anna, surrounded by ice, was doing her best to hold on.
Miguel, still at third, fought on. Despite his hatred for Klaus, he proved himself to be a formidable warrior, showing everyone he wasn't a pushover. Hanna, clinging to fourth place, fought desperately, refusing to back down.
The fifth spot now belonged to Danny, who had risen from ninth. He fought fiercely, and if he managed to hold on a bit longer, he might even surpass Hanna.
But in the next minute, the final five were overwhelmed by monsters. They had no choice but to bow out of the trial. Anna finished second, followed by Miguel, Klaus's friend-nemesis, in third. Hanna secured fourth, Danny took fifth, Kilian came in sixth, and Lily, who had battled fiercely, ended up in seventh.
Mark finished eighth, Daniel took ninth, and Kay managed to finish the trial in twelfth place.
As the saying goes, friends of a lion aren't poppies. They have proven they are indeed worthy to be called friends of Klaus who the higher-ups are considering whether or not to let him continue the trial.