Chapter 232 232. HEAVY

The next batch for the test was sent forward, as a heavy mood dwelt in the room. Uncertainty had quickly become the order of the day, but those who felt determined didn't let the deadliness of that situation get to them. The life of a cultivator was one filled with many near-death situations, and that test wasn't any different.

With that quick reset in mindset, the second batch placed their hands on the metal ball they were assigned to, and immediately lifted it when the masked men gave the go-ahead.

No grunts or whimpers were made since the base weight of the balls were pretty light for middle-staged tier 3 experts. However, things changed when the sky-blue inscriptions on the ball lit up. A mild sense of added weight pressed itself on the hands of the cultivators, but the first minute was the least bit tough.

Once again things changed when the inscriptions lit up on the ball again, this time signifying the weight change. The artificial weight of the ball was now double what the ball weighed in the first grade, but once again it didn't matter to the bodies of the experts, which stood strong for the second minute of the test.

The third minute arrived with another flash of the blue inscriptions, only in that grade did the experts begin to feel like they had an object on their palms. Soon struggle began to appear on the faces of some, while others casually passed it.

Panic tried to appear in the minds of those struggling with the third grade, but most decided to wait and see what the last stage, which would last two minutes would hold.

During this seemingly long period of them, the remaining about 700 experts continued to watch with pin-drop silence, some had friends they had made during the first two tests participating in that batch, it was normal that they hoped no evil befell them.

Noah found his eyes falling on Veronica's figure, she had survived everything so far, and he wondered if her luck would work for her again. In truth, he held no attachments whatsoever to the woman, but he hoped that she didn't die anyway.

Many of the faces he saw at the start of the test were nowhere to be found, he understood what had happened and wished the same did not happen to her.

The fourth minute arrived and for the first ten seconds, nothing happened. However, even with that steady flow, no one had high hopes since there remained a long while before that test was done. And soon enough someone yelled for the test to be stopped for them.

Another person did the same, and the panic of the remaining individuals shot through the roof, that metal had become heavy, so heavy that hard breaths had begun to exit the mouths of many. The fourth weight grade wasn't slightly above average in terms of how much it weighed, it felt like something someone about to spill into the higher stage should be lifting! Outrageous.

Just according to expectations, the first person was crushed, and it happened to be a man. His arms had snapped, effectively giving way to the ball's weight. The man's figure burst under the weight of the metal ball, and many could still see his bloodied face due to how he fell to the ground.

Shaking his head in a mixture of emotions, Noah felt his gaze land on Lady Edna, who silently floated above them. Her fairy wasn't with her but that wasn't the reason for his action. He felt constantly lied to, but really couldn't do much since hundreds of others were facing the same issue.

Unfortunately for Noah, his gaze lingered for too long, and the extremely powerful woman felt it and glanced at him straight into his eye. Her gaze was emotionless, yet not hostile. She didn't have the condescending gaze Noah remembered elder Malachi to have. But he could tell that she was stronger, not to talk of her fairy.

The two alone would be able to terrorize whole nations on Earth, but the existence of stronger experts wouldn't allow that on Creagar.

Their locked gazes lingered for a second or two, but Noah promptly performed a head bow in respect.

Her gaze softened at that sight and she nodded at him, before returning her attention to the struggling experts.

The fifth minute arrived, but the majority remained. However, seven individuals had died and two more had quit. But from the looks of things, the second batch would come out with a larger number of successors.

The required time eventually ended, and 46 individuals remained. Noah could visibly see that they were shaken and felt pity for them. The third batch was called forward, but he wasn't among. There would be around fourteen to fifteen batches in total, and due to his position in the room, he reckoned he would be in the sixth one, so he simply waited.

The batches quickly started and ended, with more individuals succeeding. it seemed the first-timers were the unlucky ones. Things were different in the fifth batch though, with only 20 individuals exiting it successfully. Twenty-three individuals had died, and the remaining seventeen quit. It had been a massacre.

The sixth batch came but Noah wasn't part, instead, Ariana was. Those chosen for batches were picked at random, the closer you were to the front, the higher your chances of being chosen. Needless to say, aspirants began to stylishly move backward in fear of being chosen.

At some point, Lady Edna had to disapprove of that act.

Noah found himself being chosen for the tenth batch due to the trouble caused by the cowardly aspirants. He looked to be in a good mood since Ariana had succeeded, same with veronica.

Standing in front of his assigned metallic ball, Noah took a deep breath, he felt confident in his strength, but after almost one hundred people had died, it was normal to get nervous.

The two masked individuals on his sides tinkered with an illusory screen each, and soon one of them raised their hands. Lady Edna floated towards the trio at that point, and the individual highlighted the issue.

"He's still in the lower stage," the masked individual now identified as a man spoke.

Feeling the gazes of everyone present land on his figure, Noah kept a cold expression while listening to what the tier 4 expert would say.

"I received information from the higher-ups that we should test him like everyone else," Lady Edna announced, allowing all in the room to hear.

'Giving a lower stage something that those already halfway into the middle stage would struggle at!' many muttered, shocked. Even individuals like Nathaniel who had succeeded and were waiting for his batch to be led to their rooms felt shocked.

Noah had been terrific during the fight with middle-stage experts, but that battle had been mostly based on ranged spells. He simply had an abundant reserve of mana, and enough powerful spells to allow himself to come out mostly unscathed. Things would have been different if they were in close combat.

Noah on the other hand felt his world stop immediately after Lady Edna's words reached his ears. He very well knew his physical limits, and even his instincts spoke only uncertainty, which of course gave rise to more nervousness.