Aftermath of The Test

The robot then pulled out a gun-like device from its back and aimed at the wolf misfit.

Bang! Bang! Bang!

Crudele's face darkened when he heard the gunshots.

He deactivated his X-10 speed and stopped, his heart pounding as he anxiously scanned the area to see the outcome of the gunshots.

Then he turned to see what happened. He sees—

He saw that a significant chunk of the robot's remaining body had vanished, leaving exposed circuitry and sparks flying.

But that's not what Crudele was focused on. His eyes quickly scanned the area, desperately searching for his beloved pet. Relief washed over him when he saw the wolf misfit unharmed, standing a few feet away, panting but alert.

Crudele let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, grateful that his companion was safe.

It seems that normal bullets don't pose any threat to a Level 5 misfit.

"Buddy, don't kill it. We have to keep it alive to win," Crudele said. Hearing him, the misfit joined him, awaiting his next command.

The robot didn't move at first, but after a few seconds, it headed toward the section of the wall from which it had emerged.

Crudele didn't feel good about letting it escape, so he and the wolf misfit gave chase, but it was too late—the robot had already reached the wall.

"Aww shit, I should have used the X-10 speed to catch it," Crudele muttered to himself, frustrated by the missed opportunity.

After a few seconds, the wall opened once more, and the same robot emerged again, undeterred by its previous defeat.

Crudele, seeing the robot return, couldn't help but taunt it. "So you go running back to your mommy because we bullied you, huh?" he called out, his voice laced with both frustration and a hint of mockery. The robot, with its glowing red eyes, seemed to regard him silently, its mechanical limbs poised for another round. Crudele braced himself, readying for whatever the robot had in store.

~ 40 Minutes Later ~

The battle between the robot and Crudele continued, turning more into a high-stakes game of cat and mouse than a straightforward fight. As the robot darted around, Crudele pursued it relentlessly, aiming to keep it occupied. Every dodge and feint was carefully calculated to stretch out the encounter, allowing him to maximize his time in the challenge. The strategy was clear: by drawing out the robot's movements, Crudele sought to gain every precious millisecond he could, ensuring he made the most of this test.

At this point, Crudele was exhausted, having depleted every ounce of his RBC energy despite the aid of his amulets. His stamina was running on empty. The wolf misfit, too, was showing signs of fatigue from the relentless pursuit, its energy waning from the continuous running and fighting. Both were pushing their limits, but the strain was evident.

Sizzle... Sizzle…

The lava began to sizzle once more on the platform they were about to land on, but neither Crudele nor the wolf kin noticed due to their exhaustion. The lava started to spout again, catching them off guard. In a desperate move, they barely managed to dodge it by sliding sideways onto the platform. Their reflexes were slow, but their instincts kicked in just in time to avoid the molten threat.

But just as they regained their footing, the robot made its final move. With a sudden burst of speed, it struck Crudele from behind, sending him tumbling towards the lava. The impact was enough to cause Crudele to fall into the molten pool, resulting in his elimination from the test. The robot, having completed its objective, hovered back to its designated area as Crudele was pulled from the lava by the safety mechanisms in place.

As Crudele was escorted back to the hall and finally seated, he slumped in his chair, his exhaustion evident. He groaned in frustration, "Awwwww noooooo, that idiotic robot wasn't even on the same level as regular Level 10 misfits. The only reason I lost was because the timing became unstable. If only I had a bit more time or energy, I could have handled it better. But no, the robot just had to come at the exact moment I was at my weakest."

Crudele glanced up at the scoreboard, anxious to see how his performance stacked up against the other students. He scanned the list of names and scores, looking for his own. His eyes widened as he finally found his name

Diego Ramirez - Rank 11 - Ongoing

Crudele Valerius - Rank 12 - 48 minutes and 54 seconds

Maxine Crowley - Rank 13 - 45 minutes and 31 seconds

He let out a sigh of relief. Despite the exhaustion and the unexpected challenges, he had managed to secure a respectable position. It wasn't the top spot, but it was enough to keep him in the game.

"To think that 48 minutes weren't even enough to crack the top 10 is kinda baffling," Crudele muttered to himself. "Are the other participants really that good, or do they have abilities related to survival and stuff? Who knows?"

He glanced around the room, noting that everyone present had scored lower than him. Despite his own frustration, a sense of relief washed over him. At least he wasn't at the bottom of the ranking.

To his surprise, the boy who had scored over 1100 on the machine test also ranked lower than him. Crudele didn't know the boy's name or his exact ranking, but he decided not to bother him.

"Looks like he's all brawl and no brains," Crudele thought, shaking his head slightly. He couldn't help but feel a bit smug about his own performance, despite the exhaustion and pain from the test.

"It seems like it might take some time to finish the test. I should go to the infirmary to heal my hand," Crudele said, glancing at his injured hand. Although it didn't hurt much anymore, he couldn't ignore the possibility that it might be broken.

Signaling to his wolf misfit, who was lying on the floor, he said, "Come on, buddy." The wolf kin perked up and trotted over to him, ready to follow.

Crudele exited the building, quickly realizing he didn't know a thing about the layout of the school. He saw a man in the same uniform as Professor Sycamore talking to some students.

Approaching the group, Crudele mustered up his courage and asked, "Excuse me, sir, do you know where the infirmary is? I need to get my hand checked."

The man looked at him with a curious expression. "I take it you're new here or are you taking the entrance exam?"

"Yes, I'm here for the entrance exam, sir," Crudele replied, trying to sound confident despite his discomfort.

The man smiled kindly. "You should pay more attention to your surroundings. The infirmary is on the left side of the hall, just past the main entrance."

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Crudele nodded. "Thank you, sir. I appreciate your help."

As he turned to leave, his wolf misfit followed closely, its tail wagging gently. Crudele glanced back at the man and the students, then made his way toward the hall, trying to recall any details he might have missed.

"What an interesting kid that was, sir," one of the students remarked, watching Crudele walk away.

The professor nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, indeed. Let's hope he survives what's about to come," he replied, a hint of concern in his voice.

Crudele arrived at the infirmary, where a doctor began examining his arm. After a brief check-up, the doctor handed him a pill.

Confused, Crudele asked, "Why a pill? My arm is the one that's injured."

The doctor smiled and explained, "This is a highly advanced recovery pill developed by the school. It's designed to help students recover quickly from injuries. Even though it's a low dose, it's effective in promoting rapid healing, especially for injuries like yours."

Crudele accepted the pill, appreciating the thoughtfulness of the school's provisions, and hoped it would help him heal faster.

"You just have to lay down for about 10 minutes for a full recovery," the doctor said.

Crudele lay down on one of the beds provided. To kill his boredom, he decided to inspect his sword through the system.

[Inspect]

A sword made with high-carbon steel

- +5 Strength

- Additional +5 if used for thrusting

"Huh, decent in my opinion, but what could I expect from a 3-point worth of sword," Crudele thought.

He then looked over at his misfit, who was contentedly eating its dog food.

"Are you really a wolf? Do wolves even eat dog food?" Crudele said, watching his companion with a curious expression. "Let me inspect you as well."

[Inspect]

Wolf Misfit: Level 5

Species: Wolf Kin

Attributes: Enhanced Strength, Speed, and Senses

Special Abilities: Loyalty Boost (+10 to all attributes when protecting its master)

"Damn bud, you are strong as hell for a Level 5 misfit," Crudele said, grinning. "As a token of my gratitude, let me give you a name."

He paused for a moment, considering various options. "How about... Fenrir? It suits you, don't you think?" Crudele said, petting the wolf misfit gently.

Fenrir barked happily in response, seeming to approve of the name.

"Let's see how I'm doing," Crudele murmured to himself, opening his status window.

[Status Window]

Name: Crudele Valerius

Level: 6

Exp: 1927/3600

RBC Rank: F - Stage 6

Health: 100/100

RBC Energy: 42/66

Fatigue: 5

[Attributes]

- Strength: 12

- Speed: 11

- Intelligence: 15

- Vitality: 12

- Endurance: 15

- Sense: 13

- Durability: 9

- Agility: 11

- Charisma: 13

- Wisdom: 17

"Hmm, not too shabby," Crudele thought, assessing his attributes. "Still a long way to go, though. I need to work on my durability for sure."

"Plus, I got a little boost in experience as well," Crudele noted with a smile, feeling a bit more confident. "We're getting there, slowly but surely."

With his health restored and his arm feeling much better, Crudele decided it was time to leave the infirmary. He glanced at the clock and realized he had been resting for quite a while.

"I should get going," he thought, "It's been quite a while."

He carefully gathered his belongings, made sure Fenrir was ready, and left the infirmary, heading back toward the main hall to see how the other participants were faring.

Crudele's eyes widened in surprise as he looked at the leaderboard:

Victor Hargrave - Ongoing

Elena Draven - Ongoing

Jasper Quinn - Ongoing

Lyra Moore - Ongoing

Nidomir Falsen - Rank 5 - 1 hour, 31 minutes, 58 seconds

It appeared that there were still four participants left in the competition, with their statuses marked as "Ongoing."

Crudele spotted the guy who had tried to pick a fight with him earlier—the same bulky guy with a buzz cut—sitting on one of the seats. He glanced around, looking for the girl who played with her water chibi-like summons and the guy with half of his body covered in metallic parts, but he couldn't find either of them. This meant they were likely among the four contestants still taking the test.

"Shit," he muttered to himself. "If only my arm had been in perfect condition to deflect that attack, I could potentially still be in there too."

Whatever cussing Crudele did now would have no effect on his score, so he couldn't do anything other than watch the timer move forward for the remaining contestants while sitting on one of the seats.

As time seemed to drag on for them, some students began testing their strength on the newly installed machine brought in after Crudele broke the previous one using his ability. Most students still believed that Crudele hadn't activated his ability because there were no visible changes when he used it. However, a few students who could sense RBC energy, even a little, knew that Crudele had used a significant amount of energy to achieve that feat. They didn't care enough to tell anyone about it.

Because of this, Crudele was considered one of the strongest, if not the strongest, participants in this exam.