The ones on the leads were marching towards the 300-meter mark, while those below Max had caught up with him, even though he was still slowly crawling toward the 200-meter mark.
"Look at this kid! He’s been stuck at this range for minutes now."
"Hahaha, true. I saw him cross the 100-meter mark with the others, but it’s ironic that while the rest are approaching the 300-meter mark, he’s still struggling to reach the 200-meter mark."
"Look at his strength! He’s only at level 4 of Apprentice Rank, yet he still dared to enter the temple."
"Maybe that’s the reason his speed slowed to a crawl when he reached the 100-meter mark."
The geniuses who had caught up with Max from below mocked him for his snail-like speed. They had seen him reach the 100-meter mark quickly, like the others, but once he got there, his progress became painfully slow, which became the reason for their mockery.
Max paid no attention to their words. He was focused on comprehending the pressure acting upon him as he slowly continued his climb at his own pace.
At the 300-meter range, Alex looked down at Max, his face twisted into a wild sneer. "So what if you’re strong? So what if you’ve already comprehended an aura? If you can’t reach higher on the monolith tower, your talent is nothing but trash here." He laughed wildly, feeling exhilarated.
After his humiliating defeat against Max, he had been brooding over it, growing increasingly depressed. However, seeing Max struggle to reach the easy 200-meter mark restored his confidence and lifted his spirits.
Vance, who was climbing beside him, also glanced down at Max. "That’s strange. A person who has comprehended an aura should be climbing this monolith with ease, yet he’s the slowest of all." He said, frowning.
"Slowest, but still climbing." Raman, who rarely spoke, remarked.
Alex glanced at Max and shook his head, turning his attention to the others he considered real competitors. They were almost at the 300-meter mark, just like him, but the competition was now to see who would reach it first.
"Is that trash from the East Region?" someone from the top sneered. It was a blue-haired man with a long face. "I heard that only trash like that comes from the East Region."
Alex frowned as he recognized the speaker. ’That’s Nathan Drake from the South Region.’
"Brother Nathan, you’re too kind." Another person beside Nathan sneered, his expression sly. "From what I’ve heard, the East Region only produces trash. There have never been any true geniuses from that region, and there never will be."
Nathan smiled, his face filled with disdain. "Brother Tom, you’re absolutely right. I must not associate with people like them, or I might end up as trash myself."
Tom smiled slyly, hearing that.
A young woman with bright golden hair, around 17 years old, glanced down at Max, shaking her head. She found it pitiful to see him climbing at such a pace.
"Princess Aveline, you shouldn’t pay attention to such trash." A young man with black hair, wearing royal clothes, advised the princess.
Aveline turned to him, her expression dark. "Who are you to tell me what to do? Remember your place, Mikale."
The young man lowered his head in shame, gritting his teeth, his expression cruel.
"Why so angry, Princess Aveline?" Just then, a young man appeared beside her. He had messy black hair and a wild face full of scars.
Aveline glanced at him and ignored him as she continued her climb.
The scarred young man licked his lips as he, too, slowly climbed upward.
Time passed as everyone made their way to the top.
The leaders finally crossed the 300-meter mark, but that was when things started to take a turn for the worse. The pressure past the 300-meter mark was almost ten times more intense than what they had faced before.
"Damn, what is this?!" A young man shouted as he fell from the monolith, straight to the ground.
"No! I can’t fall!" Another one fell despite trying his best to hold on.
"Ahh, the pressure here is too much!"
"This is my limit, I think…"
The geniuses at the top began to fall, one after another, as they crossed the 300-meter mark. Some tried desperately to hold on, while others clung tightly, but they all failed to withstand the pressure and were brought down by it.
In the end, only a few remained past the 300-meter mark: Alex and Vance from the Phoenix Order Guild, along with two or three from each of the guilds from the East Region.
As for the other regions, Princess Aveline and the young man she had scolded were still holding on, followed by the duo of brothers Nathan and Tom Drake, and four other figures from the South Region. Behind them were the scarred young man and three others from the North Region.
They were all doing their best to resist the pressure at the 300-meter mark, but it was clear that this was the limit for many.
Max glanced at them and observed their struggles but paid them no mind. He continued his steady climb, slowly but steadily, reaching the 200-meter mark.
The blob of slime watched everyone as the top contenders struggled. It observed Max crawl his way beyond the 200-meter mark with a bored smile on its face.
Turning its attention to the base of the monolith, it saw the geniuses who had fallen attempt to climb again, only to find they couldn’t latch onto the monolith the same way they had the first time.
"Those who have fallen from the monolith cannot begin to climb again." The blob sneered. "301, 302, or was it 303? That was the limit for you lot. It’s not much, but it shows that you at least have some potential to comprehend two or more auras. However, the chances of succeeding are close to zero."
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It added, "Wait while everyone in the monolith falls. I’ll take you to the next stage of the first floor."
’There are more stages… for comprehending auras? Maybe.’ Max mused as he absorbed the pressure around the 250-meter mark.
After fully adjusting to the pressure from the 100 to 200-meter range, Max found it easier to adapt to the 200 to 300-meter area than he had to the previous range.
But there had been no increase in his fusion state.
’Is this the correct way of climbing the monolith?’ Max thought for a moment. Using brute force to climb would be easy, but it had its limitations. Eventually, the pressure at the top would become so intense and overwhelming that brute force would crumble before it.
At that point, only understanding the pressure would save anyone.
Moreover, the true benefits of withstanding the pressure, letting it wash over his body, and comprehending it made Max feel a connection to many other elements. One of which was lightning.
He could sense that if he continued to ascend the monolith while slowly comprehending the mixed auras in the pressure acting on him, he would surely comprehend the aura of lightning.
It was just a vague feeling, but Max felt his connection to the lightning element was increasing as he climbed higher on the monolith.