Max turned towards the monolith, his expression curious. After hearing the blob praise the tower-like structure so much, he became intrigued.
He had already comprehended two auras, simply because he could—or perhaps because he had all the time in the world to himself. But what about the other auras in the world? Could he comprehend all of them if given enough time, or had the sword and flame auras he attuned to just happened to align with his body?
’This will be interesting to find out,’ Max mused as he walked with the others towards the monolith.
Standing before the monolith, Max observed it closely. He could see ten lines of marks at different heights, each greater than the last—like a 100-meter mark, a 200-meter mark, and so on, all the way up to the 1000-meter mark at the very top.
’Hm?’ Max narrowed his eyes when he saw something written at the very top of the monolith.
He activated his Three Dimensional Body skill, and everything became clearer to him. The texts written at the very top, above the 1000-meter mark, were names—names carved with blades, fingers, and various other tools. Yet, each of these names emitted an aura on the level of his fusion auras.
’Interesting,’ Max rubbed his chin, his eyes darting towards the flying blob of slime in the air.
"Tell me… Blob," Max said, catching its attention. "Are there any rewards for reaching the very top of the monolith?"
The blob smiled proudly, its face radiating a grin. "Of course, there’s a reward," it said, pointing at the monolith. "A random reward awaits anyone who crosses the 1000-meter mark. The rewards could be anything—an artifact, a rare skill, or precious techniques."
It added with a grin, "But only five individuals in the history of the temple have ever crossed the 1000-meter mark. Most failed to even reach the halfway point. So, as the kind overseer I am, I must warn you all—don’t aim too high, lest you be showered with disappointment." It glanced at Max as it said the last part.
Max grinned at the blob’s words. While he wanted to reach the top and cross the 1000-meter mark, he understood that failure was part of life. However, he also knew that if he didn’t try for his goals and gave up just because others couldn’t achieve them, that would be even more pathetic than failing at something he had genuinely attempted.
"Now, start climbing, everyone," the blob called loudly, seeing that the others were waiting for someone to take the first step.
Max walked to the base of the monolith. However, as soon as he reached it, he felt a wave of pressure acting down on him.
"It shouldn’t be easy, given that only five people managed to cross the 1000-meter mark," Max muttered as he placed both hands on the monolith.
"This…" Strangely, he found it oddly gripping, as if his fingers had latched onto the surface of the monolith, despite it being smooth.
"This is interesting," Max muttered, noticing how his hand had gripped the wall. To him, it felt like he was holding tightly to the edges of something.
After becoming familiar with the surface, Max began climbing slowly. However, just as he latched onto the monolith, he felt the pressure double. It was as if, along with the force pushing down from above, another force pulled him backward, making it incredibly difficult to move forward.
The pressure near the base of the monolith wasn’t overwhelming, so many of the others easily passed the 20- to 30-meter mark.
Max and the others slowly climbed higher, reaching the 50-meter height. The pressure at that level grew even more overwhelming.
"Damn, it’s only the 50-meter mark, and the pressure is this high!" one of them complained.
"True, we haven’t even reached the 100-meter mark yet, and our bodies are giving up," another added.
"We just have to grit our teeth and keep moving up."
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"I believe that if we can reach the 200-meter mark, it’ll be a good score for us."
The geniuses from different regions talked among themselves as they steadily climbed. Some were slower, while others were much faster.
The slow climbers hoped to reach the 100-meter mark, while the fast ones were already closing in on the 200-meter mark.
Among them were Alex, Vance, Raman—the quiet one—and Stacy, the hot-headed girl from the Phoenix Order guild. Three masked individuals from the Black Lotus guild. Four from the Knights of Valor and Lionheart Guild, and finally, three from the Emerald Legion.
There were many others besides them who were also nearing the 200-meter mark, but Max was only familiar with these individuals. The others came from different regions.
Despite this, Max climbed at a slower pace than the rest. He was around the 150-meter mark, while the others were nearing the 200-meter mark.
It wasn’t that Max couldn’t accelerate—he could if he wanted to. But when he first crossed the 100-meter mark, he realized the importance of the monolith.
"The pressure emanating beyond the 100-meter mark is layered with all kinds of auras," Max muttered, his voice low as he focused on the overwhelming sensation pressing down on him.
He could distinctly feel traces of fire, lightning, water, wind, sword intent, and countless other forces mingling within the invisible yet oppressive energy weighing on his body.
The most important aspect was that these forces were all merged together, giving Max a feeling that was strikingly familiar to his fusion state aura of sword and flame.
While he was still in the process of merging the sword and flame aura himself, the pressure from the monolith seemed to include all the auras seamlessly merged together, acting upon them as one.
It was precisely because of this complexity that Max had decided to train in this region. His goal was simple yet arduous: to become so accustomed to the mixed auras saturating the air that they would feel no different from ordinary pressure.
He also wanted to see if becoming familiar with this pressure would help him enhance his Fusion State of Sword and Flame.
"To achieve that," he thought, "I have to let the pressure envelop me repeatedly, allowing my body and mind to adapt over time by deciphering its composition."
With slow, deliberate steps, Max advanced to the 160-meter mark, the weight of the pressure intensifying with every stride. He could feel his pace slowing as the invisible force pushed against him, yet he welcomed it. He stood still for a moment, letting the auras batter him as he worked to comprehend their intricate layers.
The task was far from easy. The only way to adapt was to distinguish each individual aura embedded in the pressure. Fire interwoven with water, lightning crackling alongside wind, sword intent clashing with other elemental forces—it was a chaotic symphony that required immense focus to untangle.
Sweat beaded on his forehead as he stood firm, immersing himself in the maelstrom. "The only path forward is through comprehension," Max whispered, closing his eyes. "One aura at a time, until they all feel like a part of me."
He wasn’t aiming to fully comprehend all these auras—such an endeavor was far beyond his current capabilities. What Max sought was something more pragmatic: to become familiar with the auras, to the extent that their oppressive effects would feel no different from simple gravitational force.
His goal was modest yet critical: to gain just enough understanding to neutralize the effects of the auras present in the pressure to not impact his body.
With this focus, he allowed the mixed pressure to flow over him, not trying to delve too deeply into its complexities but rather letting his senses adjust gradually.
His approach was methodical—distinguish the subtle threads of fire, lightning, water, and other forces just enough to dull their edge, while treating the combined force as nothing more than weight pressing down on him.
If he could accomplish that, the oppressive mix of auras would cease to hinder him, becoming nothing more than an environmental factor to endure.