My Werewolf System

Chapter 1599: The Agility of Finesse

Fenix, who had sprinted ahead and gotten a number of people out, was trying to process what had just happened. He struggled to climb to his feet, dusting off the dirt and the expensive beast gear on his boots. He could only come up with one desperate idea.

“What the heck?” Fenix spat, pointing accusingly at Kai, who was now jogging smoothly again. “You reached back and dragged me by the collar! You can’t do that; you would have already been out!”

Fenix was far ahead, running in front of everyone using the beast gear, and not a single person had caught up to him. He knew that as he looked behind him once in a while, so this is the only answer he could come up with.

Fenix looked to his teammates for help in his complaints and even looked to the Assessor, but none of them offered support. Oppo and the rest of the Rock Guild were silent, their faces a mixture of confusion and intense frustration.

“This part of the assessment is over,” the Assessor claimed, his voice final. He stepped closer to the track. “I’ve seen enough. And as for your claim,” he said, looking pointedly at Fenix, “he did everything fairly. Everyone get up and get ready for the next part of the assessment.”

What was surprising to them all was that even though some had been called "Out" by the Assessor, none of them were told to head home. This confirmed that this was just one component of the assessment, and eventually, how they performed overall would be the final result of the whole process. The fifty applicants quickly understood that every subsequent test would be equally important.

As they were taking a short break to catch their breath, Fenix stormed over to his other guild members, including Oppo, still fuming and complaining about what had happened.

“I don’t understand! Is the Assessor favoring them? That can’t be the case, right? No one could have caught me that fast without beast gear,” Fenix demanded, his pride wounded worse than his shins.

“It wasn’t that,” Oppo answered, though his voice was tight with suppressed rage. “The Assessor had no choice but to accept the outcome. It was like he said: that blonde-haired guy was incredibly fast. We were blocking the way, not letting anyone pass, and then he suddenly sprinted and ran right past us. His speed was not a burst, Fenix; it was sustained and completely unnatural. After that, he continued to run at a fast pace around the track until he had caught up to you.”

Now Fenix was starting to understand the sheer gap in ability the Assessor had noticed. He turned his head to look at the trio, which was now four since Siz decided to hang out with the group, thanking Kai profusely for what he had done. Fenix’s gaze focused on Kai’s feet, and he noticed there were only regular, plain leather shoes there, lacking any beast gear or artifacts. The power came from the man himself.

“Don’t worry about it,” Oppo growled, pulling Fenix back. He kept his voice low, his eyes narrowed into slits as he watched the four companions. “We did well enough, and we already decided that we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure they fail. That stunt just proved they rely on tricks we don’t understand. So it just means we need to work a little bit harder and be a little more... direct.”

The next set of tests had begun, and they were a mixture of things designed to test control under pressure. The first was dubbed an agility test. Several objects would be thrown at them from a line of veteran knights stationed across the arena.

The objects were solid iron balls, thrown with a mixture of Qi, making them incredibly fast and heavy. The balls were color-coded: black and red. The idea was that they were to avoid being hit by a black ball, which would result in immediate penalties and severe pain, and they were to catch the red balls, which counted as points toward their final score. When hit with the black balls, they would cause major damage and leaving them momentarily stunned, allowing them to be hit even more easily.

The test began, and the air immediately filled with the sound of iron whistling. Most participants ducked, stumbled, and struggled to track the projectiles. Within seconds, the first wave of black balls found their marks, slamming into shoulders and chests. The impacted participants cried out, clutching themselves and struggling to stand.

Gary and the rest of his group avoided every single black ball that came their way. For Kai, it was simple awareness and speed, utilizing his superior reflexes to predict the thrower’s angle. For Lupus, it was pure animal instinct, his movements economical and fluid, weaving through the projectiles. And for Gary, his heightened senses made the balls seem slower, allowing him to not only dodge but also focus on the red ones. He and Kai quickly captured quite a few red balls, their movements precise and graceful as they absorbed the impact with ease.

During the assessment, the Rock Guild was, predictably, up to their tricks again. They tried to pretend to dodge while subtly shifting their bodies, knocking into the group, or stepping on the heels of the others. For Kai and Gary, who were constantly aware of their surroundings, they were able to avoid all of the Rock Guild’s foul play tactics without losing focus on the iron balls.

Gary had even pulled Siz out of the way once, grabbing his collar just as Oppo’s massive forearm swept past, narrowly missing the young man’s head. Gary knew they appeared to be targeting Siz as well, viewing him as expendable collateral.

When one of the Rock Guild members tried to fall into Lupus, hoping to trip him and make him vulnerable to a black ball, that member found himself immediately on the ground. Lupus stood like a wall, his stance unyielding and his body mass unmovable. He hadn’t even flinched, let alone moved, but the assailant had bounced off him as if hitting solid stone. Lupus was forced to restrain himself, but the frustration was visible; he nearly grabbed one of the members and was ready to use them as a shield against a volley of black balls, but the assessment had ended right there.

Regardless of Gary helping Siz out once or twice due to the Rock Guild, Siz himself was impressive. He had caught several red balls with his own skill and avoided all of the black balls as well, displaying genuine natural talent that far surpassed his nervousness.

The same pattern was happening as they went through a strength test, a challenge that required them to quickly lift and move immense, irregularly-shaped stone blocks, but at each step, the Rock Guild were failing. They relied on their expensive gear, which helped, but their technique was clumsy and their stamina was now shot. The trio, however, excelled effortlessly. Lupus, with his enormous natural strength, lifted blocks that should have required three men. Gary and Kai used controlled strength for perfect technique and speed.

They were now coming to the end of the assessments.

“You have all done well,” the Assessor said, many of whom were bruised, sweating, and exhausted. “There are two final assessments, which are quite important to your overall performance, so this is the last chance for all of you to shine.”

Right next to the knight, a robed figure came over, and a lot of them were whispering about it as they saw them. The figure was cloaked in dark blue and silver robes, their face hidden by a deep hood.

“A mage, from Roland Academy,” Siz whispered, recognizing the elaborate, high-quality uniform.

“Damn, so we’re really going to see magic!” Gary said with sparkling eyes.

The mage then placed both of their hands on the ground, and the ground started to shift and grow. Dust turned to earth, which compacted and hardened until a large, towering wall appeared in front of them. The wall, made from earth, was jagged and was quite high, around thirty meters in height, cutting off the back half of the arena.

They imagined those from the city would be able to see it easily, a massive earth spire rising above the arena walls, a clear sign of immense power. However, Gary was more amazed that a human being could actually do such things, shaping the very earth with their will.

‘Is this like what Innu can do with his powers, or is it something else?’ Gary wondered.

“Your next part of the test,” the Assessor announced, gesturing to the monolithic structure, “is to scale over this wall. It’s a physical test that takes all other aspects into account: strength, agility, resolve, and planning. I wish you all good luck.”

Everyone looked at the wall, worried, wondering how they were going to scale such a thing with no ropes or equipment, especially after the grueling prior tests. Their muscles were burning, their minds reeling from the black balls and the forced sprints. Meanwhile, Gary, Lupus, and Kai, completely untouched and barely winded, shared a subtle, knowing glance. They thought that this might just be the easiest part of the assessment yet.

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