The Test of Strength

The school is truly massive, with numerous buildings. It has everything a student might need, including a gaming zone to help relieve stress and a dormitory for students who travel long distances.

From the outside, the school doesn't look very modern but rather traditional. It definitely isn't old, but instead has an aesthetic charm that gives it a timeless feel.

"So, this is my new life," Crudele said, taking in the grand scale of the school and its facilities.

They entered the school through the main entrance, surrounded by a bunch of other students.

Upon entering, Alessia and Ellie saw a familiar face.

"Professor Sycamore!" Ellie called out, spotting a person in a white uniform standing a bit away, watching the students come into the school.

Professor Sycamore's face resembled that of an American Chinese person, with a small beard only on his chin.

As they approached, he was sitting under a tree but stood up when they got close.

"Hey, it's been a while since I've seen both of you. How was your vacation?" he asked Alessia and Ellie with a smile.

"We had a great time! How about you, Professor? Still working on that project?" Ellie asked with a grin.

"Yeah, but hey, there's a new face here. Who are you, young boy?" he said, looking at Crudele.

"I am Crudele Valerius. Nice to meet you, sir," he said, offering a handshake.

"Valerius, huh? So, you must be Alessia's younger brother or at least a cousin or something," Professor Sycamore said jokingly. "I'm sorry, she doesn't talk much about her personal life."

"Yeah, he's my brother. Can you take him to the entrance exam building, Professor?" Alessia said, cutting the conversation short.

"Okay, judging by your uniform, you probably already filled out the hero program application," Professor Sycamore said, glancing at Crudele's uniform. "So I'll take you to the entrance exam registration room."

"See you, girls, at today's lecture," Professor Sycamore said as he walked away with Crudele.

"So, which division do you want to join, Crudele?" he asked while walking.

"My ability is best suited for combat, so I guess that's probably the division I'll choose," Crudele said.

"Hmm, do you want some friendly advice?" Professor Sycamore asked.

"What, sir?" Crudele asked, his voice filled with curiosity.

"Try to avoid making enemies. I've heard this year's participants are especially tough," he said with a serious expression.

"But of course, if you are strong and smart enough, it won't matter who you are up against," he added, pointing at a building. "Here is the examination building for new students."

"Best of luck in your test. I hope to see you again," Professor Sycamore said while leaving the place.

"He's a little weird, but nothing too crazy. I think he'll be fun to be around," Crudele thought as he entered the building.

The hall of the building was quite large, with rows of seats in the middle and a stage at the front. Crudele looked around for a bit, taking in the grandeur of the place, before finding an empty seat and sitting down.

The hall wasn't completely full, but it wasn't empty either. Groups of people were scattered around, chatting with each other.

Crudele started to get a little bored, so he tried to listen in on the conversations around him from afar.

"Hey, what do you think the first part of the test will be?"

"I don't know. I heard they change the course every year, so it's a little tough to say."

"But hey, look at the students this year. Don't they look a little intimidating?"

"Oh god, this test is going to be tough. I wonder if they'll raise the difficulty because the students are so good,"

"A bunch of weaklings. This won't be too hard to beat," Crudele thought to himself. However, he couldn't ignore the fact that the other students looked quite tough.

One of the boys sitting against the wall had half of his body covered in metallic parts. He had a big hole in the joint of his shoulder and an intimidating look, with silver-colored hair that added to his formidable appearance.

On the other side, a girl with yellow hair that had bluish tips was playing with a chibi-like cute creature made of water. Many students gathered around her, engaging in conversation. What impressed Crudele the most was the level of control she had over her creation.

To distract himself from the stress, Crudele decided to check his system. The familiar interface popped up.

[Status window]

Name: Crudele valerius

Level: 6

Exp: 1685/3600

RBC Rank: F - Stage 6

Health: 100/100

RBC Energy: 66/66

Fatigue: 0

[Attributes]

Strength: 12

Speed: 11

Intelligence: 14

Vitality: 12

Endurance: 15

Sense: 13

Durability: 9

Agility: 11

Charisma: 13

Wisdom: 16

[Skills and abilities]

Prime surge - Level 1

(Each attribute can be enhanced by the user, with a minimum boost of 10 times the original level. However, the actual increase in power is determined by how much RBC energy the user puts into it. The more RBC energy invested, the greater the enhancement)

Crudele sighed as he saw the name of his skill, feeling a bit embarrassed. "Why does my skill have such a cringey name? And why does it even need a name in the first place?" he thought to himself.

"I never named my RBC ability anything because it's so cringey," Crudele muttered under his breath. "I don't know how some people actually like giving their abilities names." He shook his head, closing the system menu, and tried to focus on the upcoming test instead.

Curious about the earlier quest, Crudele opened the quest log in his system to check.

[ System Notification ]

New Quest: "Passing the Test"

Objective: Pass the entrance exam in Kamado University

Details: Pass the combatant test with high score to get in Kamado University

Reward: The reward will be calculated based on your performance in the test

Progress: 13%

"Ooh, it even includes a progress bar," he said, noticing the additional detail.

"If I had my system back then, the misfit incident would have been a piece of cake," he claimed jokingly, trying to lighten his own mood.

"But what actually happened in that fight?" Crudele wondered. "I watched the footage, but I don't remember doing all that stuff," he thought, trying to piece together the fragments of his memory.

"I can only have that much power and speed if I use my ability up to X-80 or something," he thought, "but that would take a serious toll on my body."

"My 1 point of RBC energy can activate up to 10 seconds if I use X-10, so by my calculation, it would take 4 RBC energy to activate for 5 seconds. At that time, it was impossible because I had less than 40 RBC energy," he claimed.

"But how could I do it then? It would really help if I knew what that power was," he pondered, frustration creeping into his thoughts.

[ Congratulations ]

You gained 1 intelligence

14<15

"Yo, I just have to focus hard to increase my intelligence now. That's great," Crudele thought, a smirk forming on his face.

Bang!!!

A loud bang echoed through the hall, drawing everyone's attention. The noise came from the right side of the hall, where another section could be seen.

Crudele, curious about the commotion, got up from his seat and made his way toward that section. He maneuvered through the crowd, eager to see what was happening.

Crudele saw a screen displaying scores, and his eyes widened. "Oh damn, he scored that much higher," he muttered to himself, impressed by the results.

"Is that the highest score this year?" someone asked, glancing at the screen with surprise.

"1124? That's insane! I only managed 274," someone else said.

"Did you hear that loud bang? If that's not the highest score, then what was it?" another person asked, puzzled.

"2423? You're kidding me! I heard the highest score ever recorded was just over 2500. Someone actually came close to that? This year's participants are insane!"

Crudele maneuvered through the crowd and saw an 8-foot-tall machine with a red rubber front. A participant stood in front of it, their hands covered up to their torso with a frost-like substance.

Crudele, excited to give it a try, began to move closer to the machine but suddenly—

"Hey kid, I'm next. You're second after me!" A tall kid, nearly 7 feet tall and bulky, pushed him aside roughly.

Before Crudele could lose his balance and embarrass himself, he quickly grabbed the guy's hand to steady himself. "You know, there's something called politeness. You shouldn't push people out of the way."

The tall kid sneered, "Like I care about being polite in front of you weakling."

The kid who scored 1124 walked past Crudele and the tall kid without a second glance, as if they weren't even there. As he exited the room, everyone standing by the door moved aside to let him through, clearing a path. Some of the students who had been watching his impressive score quickly followed him, eager to befriend him and learn more about his abilities.

After the tall kid freed his hand from Crudele's grasp, he confidently approached the machine. "Watch and learn," he said before beginning his attempt. His hand darkened and became shinier, clearly indicating an increase in his strength. He then charged at the machine.

Thud!

His punch connected with the machine, making a loud noise that reverberated through the hall. The display showed the score climbing steadily:

544

729

891

986

Finally, the score settled at 986, placing him in fifth place.

"I put everything into that punch, and it didn't even exceed 1000? Just how strong was that previous guy?" he thought, looking visibly disappointed and in disbelief.

But his expression turned serious quickly as he faced Crudele and said, "Do this, you little piece of shit."

Hearing the tall kid's words, Crudele's blood began to boil. The tall kid left the room with a smirk on his face, confident in his superiority.

"Calm down, calm down," Crudele muttered to himself. "You know you're strong. You've put in a lot of hard work over this past month."

"He thinks he can get on my nerves, huh?" Crudele thought. "After all that buildup, he doesn't even exceed 1000? He calls himself strong?" Crudele couldn't help but shout out loud, "Is that all you've got?"

"I didn't even need to use my RBC ability to beat your score. Now watch and learn," Crudele said with a smirk on his face.

Everyone started to whisper and look around. They had just seen impressive performances from the kid with the icy hand and the giant goliath. Now, someone was saying they were weak. Everyone was curious about what other amazing talents might appear next.

Crudele stepped up to the machine and declared, "Let me show you what true strength is."

The tall guy was clearly annoyed by Crudele's remark, but he stopped to see if what Crudele said was true.

The crowd buzzed with excitement, eager to see Crudele's true strength.

Crudele thought to himself, If my calculations are correct, I can use X-100 for power and X-100 for agility at the same time, which would cost only 2 RBC energy if I turn it off immediately after the punch. But I've never used more than X-40 power before. There's no turning back once my hands are on the lion's mouth.

Crudele took a deep breath and whispered, "X-100 power and X-100 agility," before charging at the machine.

His punch was so powerful that it created a sonic boom from the sheer speed and force before even touching the machine.

BAAANG!!!

The sound was so loud it echoed outside the building, making it seem like the machine might break down.

Several teachers rushed in, concerned there was a fight, but even they were stunned by the scene.

789

1069

1298

1584

1874

2283

2283,The score displayed was 2283.