"What are you laughing for?" Nathan growled.
Alex smiled, his face full of sneer. "I’m laughing at your ignorance," he said, his tone mocking. "What makes you think he hasn’t mastered an aura? He’s been pacing halfway up the monolith at such a fast pace; obviously, he had some advantage, and that advantage is the benefit of already comprehending aura."
Everyone from the other regions was shocked. Princess Aveline, Evlin, Mikale, Nathan, and Tom all wore expressions of shock. They hadn’t imagined this at all, but now that they thought about it, it made sense that Max was surpassing them in the monolith since he had already comprehended an aura.
But to comprehend an aura so early in their lives, at level 4 of Apprentice Rank, was unheard of. That was why they had never expected Max to have already comprehended an aura. It was simply impossible for someone to comprehend an aura at the Apprentice Rank—or at least, they had never heard of anyone who had done so.
Even the geniuses at the very top usually comprehend their aura early in their lives, but at the early levels of the Adept Rank.
"Is that truly the reason he was faster than us and surpassed us?" Princess Aveline muttered to herself.
Evlin’s face was incredibly dark at the moment. She couldn’t believe such a genius had appeared in the East Region. Her eyes turned sharp as she glanced at Nathan, her thoughts unknown.
"Hahaha, what happened? Where did all the arrogance go? Where did the confidence of being the top geniuses of your regions disappear?" one of the masked men laughed uproariously. He was called Dean.
His brother, Sam, glanced at the shocked faces of Nathan and the other geniuses and sneered. "I’ve already said you’re nothing in front of Max. Calling geniuses from the East Region trash while being left behind by a genius from that region. What an irony."
Nathan glared at Sam and Dean, his expression turning cruel. "So what if he’s mastered a level 1 aura? It doesn’t mean anything here. With his level 4 Apprentice Rank strength, he’s as good as dead when facing me."
He added sinisterly, "Therefore, keep that in mind. When he comes down, I’ll kill him, along with everyone from the East Region."
"Dreaming in broad daylight is insane," Sam mocked Nathan. They knew about Max’s strength beforehand; they had seen him battle against Veylin. They understood his true strength.
Moreover, they had been ’carefully’ asked to be ’good friends’ with Max, so whatever the case, they had to take his side, whether they liked it or not.
Dean glanced at Sam. "Don’t badmouth a fool, brother," he said, smiling, as he pointed toward the monolith. "He crossed the 550-meter mark."
Everyone turned their heads again, only to see Max at the 551-meter mark. They were once again surprised that he was still going strong.
"Look, he slowed down after reaching the 550-meter mark," Nathan said, grinning. "I was wrong again, but that doesn’t matter. He won’t go any higher."
Sam and Dean exchanged glances, wondering if this was Max’s limit.
"I think that’s as far as he should go," Tom said. Of the two brothers, he was the one who rarely conversed with others, but he was also the strong one.
Evlin’s eyes focused on Max, her face solemn. "Then why isn’t he coming down?" she asked.
Princess Aveline frowned. "Does he think he can ascend to the 600-meter mark?" she wondered aloud.
"No!" Nathan directly refused. "I refuse to believe that he can ascend to the 600-meter mark."
"Hahaha," Sam laughed. "Your words don’t have weight, I guess, because everything you’ve mentioned has happened the opposite of what you said."
Tom’s eyes narrowed at Sam and Dean. "You’re provoking the wrong person. Once he gets mad, even I can’t stop him."
"Pfff!" Sam broke into laughter, turning to Dean. "Brother, are we provoking Nathan?"
Dean shrugged. "Brother, what are you talking about? You’re just stating a truth."
He added, glancing at Tom and Nathan, "And even if you are provoking them, does it matter?"
"Hahaha, true," Sam sneered. "It doesn’t matter at all."
Nathan gripped his fists tightly, about to lose control.
---
As this was happening, Max was undergoing a strange transformation. Stay updated through freewebnovel
After reaching the 500-meter mark, he experienced a different side of the monolith. At this stage, the pressure acting upon him turned up, but that didn’t mean he was free to ascend to the top.
No, it was worse. Instead of pressure, the second stage of the monolith was made up of auras. Many different types of auras, different elemental auras, merged together into one, acting upon him like an amalgamation of all the auras.
The pressure from these auras was on another level compared to the normal pressure he had been facing since the 500-meter mark.
This new pressure was the purest form of all the auras mixed together, and therefore more powerful and more deadly than anything he had faced in the monolith so far. And he was only halfway up the monolith.
Despite that, Max saw this pressure as an opportunity.
The pressure at 550 meters was the most he could handle without using any auras, relying only on his understanding of what he had learned so far in the monolith.
Because of that, he believed that this was the best stage to slowly increase his Fusion State of Sword and Flame. Only under overwhelming pressure could he break past his limits and reach a new horizon.
And that was what he had been doing since he paused ascending the monolith.
Others might not have noticed, but if someone were to observe Max from above—like the blob of slime floating silently, its curious gaze fixed on him—they would see an extraordinary phenomenon.
Max’s hand radiated a vivid red and blue hue, the two colors intertwined yet battling for dominance. Deadly intent emanated from his hand, suffusing the air around him with an aura that felt both sharp and searing.
’I’m close,’ Max thought, his breathing shallow but steady. His mind was laser-focused, consumed entirely by the intricate dance of the Sword and Flame Auras in his hand.
Everything else—the towering monolith, the chaotic storm of auras pressing down on him, the mocking voices of those below—faded into insignificance.
The only thing that remained was the sensation. The overwhelming cluster of auras bearing down on his body served as his guide. Every nerve in his body screamed under the pressure, yet he stood firm, unmoving, as if rooted to the very essence of the monolith itself.
His focus sharpened further, honing in on the delicate interplay of energies coursing through his hand. The memory of the crushing pressure he endured earlier surfaced in his mind, and he sought to replicate it—not just its weight but its essence.
The way the auras merged and collided, creating something greater and more complex than the sum of their parts.
As he did that, the red and blue glow began to pulsate wildly, but he forced himself to continue, slowly but steadily.
[Fusion State is increased to 4%]
[Fusion State is increased to 6%]
[Fusion State is increased to 7%]
...
Max ignored the notifications ringing in his head as he focused his attention on his hand.
It wasn’t until a full minute passed that he came to a stop.
[Fusion State is increased to 15%]