Chapter 22 Reckless Demeanor
It had to be said that the simulation was very life-like. When Adam charged at the pack of hyenas, these animals first displayed a shocked expression followed by primal ferocity.
Adam was stunned momentarily before grinning from ear to ear. "Good! This is how it should be!"
He jumped and raised his long sword. Before he had even landed on the ground, he swung the sword down viciously and cut a hyena in two. And as soon as he landed amidst the pack, he began his wanton slaughter.
Although his swordplay was very amateurish and full of faults, that didn't stop Adam from cutting down the beasts. His body moved by instinct as he swiftly dodged the beasts' attacks, and when the time was right he would go for the kill.
One by one, the beasts kept dying and then dissipating into phantoms. In their place, more beasts materialized and began attacking him.
Thanks to his strengthened perception, Adam was completely in the zone as he kept dodging and attacking repeatedly. All the while, the grin on his face never faded. The boy was slowly beginning to realize just how much he loved fighting.
…
Outside the simulation, the Magi present on the stage all had mixed reactions.
"This child… so barbaric!"
"I agree. He fights like those mercenaries in the secular world. No class at all."
"Heh, so what? The kid's an unpolished gem. With proper guidance, he will become a splendid Magus."
"From what I can see, the kid is simply fighting on instinct. Imagine his fighting abilities when he learns a magic combat technique."
Time continued to tick and the four-minute timer was soon up. Inside the simulation, Adam was already bathed in blood. But despite that, he continued to hack down his sword and kill the beasts that were popping up one by one.
For the first three minutes, he was unscathed. But after he was grievously injured by a hyena, the blood loss affected his performance. And after that, the wounds kept on accumulating.
For every beast Adam killed, he'd receive numerous wounds in return. Although the pain was unbearable, he knew he wouldn't die. So he simply gritted his teeth and continued to slaughter away.
And soon… the four-minute and thirty-second timer was up. Adam was now officially second place in the ranking!
Seeing the time on the clock, the burly youth who was previously in second position—and now third—could only shake his head with a wry smile.
Lisa, the girl in the first place, was intently looking at Adam who was sitting on the mat with his eyes closed. Adam's eyebrows were furrowed and he was sweating profusely, yet he wasn't ejected from the illusion.
As time continued to tick away and Adam got closer to the five-minute mark, Lisa's eyes narrowed and she couldn't help but wonder, This guy… is he going to break my record?
Involuntarily, her palms had clenched tightly into fists.
…
"Arrgghh!!" Inside the illusion, a hyena ferociously bit on Adam's shoulder causing him to scream in agony. He raised his arm and hit the hyena's head with the sword pommel. Following that, he stabbed the sword into the beast's neck.
He didn't have a moment of respite as two more hyenas launched their attacks, sandwiching him in the middle. Adam hurriedly retreated while vertically swinging his sword at one of the beasts.
Although he had managed to kill this hyena, the other hyena took advantage of this and pounced on him. At the last moment, Adam turned his body just enough for the hyena to bite his arm instead of his neck.
He then grabbed the hyena by the head and viciously pummeled it to the ground. Then, he raised his foot and stepped on the beast's torso. Before the beast could retaliate, Adam had already stabbed the sword through its skull.
At this point, he had nearly lost all energy. He was only managing to stand on his feet with the support of his sword. Panting heavily, he looked around and saw that he was now surrounded by dozens of hyenas.
Adam took a deep breath and then laughed boisterously. "Hahaha! Let's see where my limit lies!"
He roared at the top of his lungs, picked a random direction, and charged at the beasts.
"KILL!!"
…
"Heavens, look at the clock! 5 minutes are up!"
"No way! Who's this guy? He really beat the record. Now he's rank 1!"
"What's his name? He's so fierce!"
"Is he really fifteen years old!?"
All the children looked at Adam who was sitting on the mat with his eyes tightly shut. His clothes were drenched in sweat, and his body convulsed from time to time. At the moment, he was the only student sitting on the mat, everyone else had already been ejected.
Jeffrey and his small group, who were the victims of Adam's extortion, all had ugly faces right now.
This lowly peasant! Jeffrey gnashed his teeth in rage. He had an A-grade aptitude. Despite that, he was still outshined by Adam.
Edward was pleasantly surprised as he stared at Adam who was continuing to persist. "This guy's so good at fighting! Hehe, nice!"
Lisa, on the other hand, was extremely angry and disappointed. Angry that her fighting skills were inferior to Adam, and disappointed that she wouldn't get the first place reward.
"Holy crap! 6 minutes are up!"
"This guy is simply a monster!"
"And he still hasn't been ejected."
The students exclaimed loudly, they were in an uproar. All of them had been inside the simulation and knew exactly how the difficulty level would rise over time. That is why they were so shocked.
On the stage, the professors were all more or less impressed by Adam's performance. But if there was one thing that they frowned up, that would be Adam's reckless demeanor. Such foolhardy behavior was truly unbecoming of a Magus.
Of course, one could still argue that Adam knew this was an illusion and that he wouldn't die, and that's why he chose to display such an attitude. But still, a few Magi didn't approve of this.
"It's time," Professor Godfrey muttered with a smile.
Finally, just when the seven-minute timer was up, Adam's eyes snapped open!
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