Simply Say Start [C78]

Reaching the stadium, Shu Himo was greeted with a completely different view from expected.

'How is this a stadium?!?'

The stadium compared to the day before appear to have changed completely, in the middle of it there is presently a flying island with on top many spherical metallic rooms floating mid-air, giving a somewhat eerie feeling. The Island appears nothing like a normal one, it's instead an island with dead, scorched land reminiscent of the black charcoal

Finally, around the island there is an enormous wall of lava flowing in a crater below the island, giving a sense of foreboding to the students that being in the middle of it would feel like being in an enormous pot that would cook them alive.

The temperature on the island is over 150 degrees Celsius, making it a hostile environment for anyone.

All of a sudden—the moment all the 130 A class students were finally here—a powerful voice resounded everywhere, "Welcome to the place where you will be tested to know if you are worthy of entering the S Class! Unlike the test from the B class to the A class, there will not be a limitation of spots, but if not even a single one of you pass the test, it would not surprise me!"

The person who is talking now revealed itself to the students: it's the headmaster!

While it may seem at first that it's the usual headmaster, after a better look there are distinct traits that make the students wonder if that's even the same person; the air around him feels completely different, giving the feeling to be staring at a monster ready to let loose. On his face, there is a smile that gives cold sweat to the students, while on his hand there is an enormous mace!

The mace possesses a short handle, barely half a meter, while its head is disproportionally big, being longer than two meters and thicker than 20 centimeters, full of acuminate spikes at every part. It appears that its color is black at first view, but it has some traits of gray as if it was consumed after hundreds of battles.

Seeing the mace, everyone felt that it's something impossible to use properly due to its weight even with two hands, yet the headmaster is now lifting it nonchalantly with just a single hand as if he did not even notice its weight.

While generating an immense pressure on the students by using his cultivation realm, the headmaster explained the rules, "The test will comprehend two phases; in the first phase, each of you will enter inside one of those rooms, and you will challenge many tests until you fail one. For how many tests you need to complete to pass, it will stay as a secret for now. Once you come out, there will be the second phase which will be a last special test to reach the S class."

Smiling, he shot a glance toward the students, wondering how many will succeed, "Very well, now go inside a room and get ready." Vanishing abruptly, the headmaster left the stadium, now watching it from an apposite room.

Feeling the pressure from the headmaster's realm vanishing, the students felt again to be able to move freely and jumped toward the flying island.

*Tud*

The moment they stepped on it, they suddenly felt an increase of heat that threatened to burn them alive.

Gritting their teeth and enduring it, the students made a step at a time, getting closer to the rooms, until when they were directly below them.

All the rooms are at around thirty meters from the ground, and, the high altitude coupled with the intense heat only made it harder to reach, but not giving up, all the students jumped and reached the rooms, entering it.

Shu Himo and Aura Azusa also they felt the change in temperature, but it did not bother them at all, and actually, they just went into the rooms like if they did not feel a glimpse of the heat.

*Wuah*

With the sound of traversing a small barrier used to separate the inside of the room to the external world, Shu Himo found himself inside a completely different area.

The inside of the room displayed a completely different feeling from the outside, having the walls, the floor, and the ceiling colored in metallic gray, giving the feeling to be locked inside an impenetrable prison, possessing the hardness capable of resisting any hit.

Seeing the place, Shu Himo immediately fell into thought, 'What am I supposed to do here?'

Looking around, trying to find anything that gave him an explanation, Shu Himo begun searching everywhere, but did not manage to find anything.

Even while getting annoyed, he continued to search, until he noticed an extremely small line of black in the wall.

"What is this?" Getting closer to it, he finally noticed what it was: a sentence.

As the sentence is written extremely small, he kept getting closer to it, until his eye almost seemed to touch the wall. He then finally read it, "To begin the test, simply say Start." Blacking out for a moment, the realization only came later, "Fuck you!"

[Is the User seriously cursing over not being able to start the test?]

"Shut up system, now I'm not in the mood of hearing you." Almost imagining the system laughing, Shu Himo decided to calm down and focus on the test.

Abruptly, the room modified and Shu Himo felt to be in a small arena, but there aren't any enemies, and instead, he only saw a red ball, floating in the air. The red ball seemed a normal rubber ball, big around ten centimeters in diameter, with the only difference being that it's flying.

While being puzzled by it, Shu Himo suddenly heard a mechanical voice, "To pass the test, dodge every attack from the ball."