Zol and Mason watched intently not missing a moment of what Alex was doing right now. They wished to see how exactly the new mana application could be used and while the VR was a poor environment to it too needed data to work on, it was their only option right now.
It was up to the VR system to play it by ear and adjust its parameters accordingly. A proper demo would be needed once the event was over.
........
Alex didn't care about anything but killing the entity. He could feel his physical energies surge like a rising tide. Even he couldn't tell how strong he had gotten.
The moment he moved, it was as if he teleported right before the entity, mid-air and with his pear held in his right hand.
He plunged the spear forward, aiming for the entity's head. However, it wasn't going to be that easy.
The entity was equally surprised by the change in Alex and wondered how that was possible. The power-up was enough to push him back several meters, after all.
Suddenly, Alex appeared before it and lunged for his head. He scoffed in its head and swiftly sidestepped out of the range of the spear.
Yet, Alex was just beginning as the moment he landed, he bolted towards the entity and delivered a series of rapid spear thrusts at different points on the entity.
The entity blocked the attacks it could and dodged the ones it couldn't. One way or another, it was being pushed back by Alex and it didn't like it.
It was his job to test the final participants for the sigil and only wanted those who showed strong will to succeed despite the low odds. The trial was meant to test their mental fortitude in moments that looked bleak.
Would the participants break down and fall into despair or would they continue fighting just for a sliver of a chance that never existed?
It was the reason it went after those who remained motionless for too long. Yet, one of them suddenly awakens a stronger power that rivalled its physical strength and speed.
Absurd!
It wanted to go out more but couldn't as its strength was limited to a certain level; a level that meant little to the current Alex as his continued to grow stronger and faster.
Their exchange was fast-paced and too overwhelming as the other participants had to back away from the area Alex and the entity exchanged blows.
Ross clenched his fist as a fierce light burned within him, increasing the already ferocious determination he felt.
'I swear I won't be left behind, Alex.'
The fight was fiery as they appeared like moving blurs and explosions rang out every time they clashed. Like a clash of titans, Alex continued to press his advantage and gave no breathing room to the being.
What was more, Alex was quickly adapting to the fighting style of the entity. It meant more hits were being landed than blocked and while the entity attacked Alex from time to time, all of its attacks were blocked, deflected and riposted with ease.
Suddenly, Alex made a bold move that broke the entity's defence and then switched hands with his spear, leaving his right hand empty and clenched into a fist. He appeared right before the being's face after he exposed its torso.
With eyes locked onto the red glowing eyes of the entity, Alex threw the punch with nothing held back. The fist whizzed through the air, breaking past the air resistance and landed on the entity's face.
*BOOOM!*
The blow carried the force of multiple mountains and when it landed, it deformed the helm of the entity along with its face. Its bones broke under the weight of the blow as it was swung back, breaking through several pillars in its path.
But Alex wasn't done, he wasn't about to give the entity any chance to recover.
With an indifferent expression, he reappeared before the entity could come to a halt and delivered a kick to its back, adding to the momentum that carried it and the being's spine shattered under the force of the kick.
Forget about the height difference or the overbearing aura the entity carried; Alex treated it like his plaything after he adapted to its battle style.
He was like a pissed-off deity out for vengeance and continued to beat the entity black and blue, shredding its armour and leaving it with nothing but the rags of its torn gear and a deformed head.
Finally, Alex twirled his spear around after giving the entity a final blow that whizzed it upwards. Then he leapt after it and appeared high above it, his spear locked on the being.
Then he threw his spear with all his might.
He dared hold nothing back.
'Who is to say the being wouldn't recover if given a bit of time or if it wasn't completely destroyed? I'm taking no chances…
'Goodbye…'
The spear waltzed through the being as it exploded on impact, turning it into nothing but blood mist and pieces of flesh and armour.
*BOOOOOOOOOM!*
The remainder of the spear's momentum touched down and like several tonnes of nuke going off, it destroyed everything in sight, the resulting shockwaves blowing pillars into smithereens and dirt out at astonishing speeds.
The others had to rush out of the explosion's area of effect to be safe. Even then, the air currents generated were too powerful as they swept some of them off their feet.
......
Everyone, from students to instructors looked at their screens in disbelief, watching as Alex pulled out another miracle.
With pure physical strength and speed, he killed a being that was designed to be unkillable. The only way out of that trial was to see the most courageous ones fight even when the odds were stacked against them.
Only after a few minutes of exchange would the being determine who was worthy of taking the Celestial Sigil.
It was a trial to test their resolve in the face of overwhelming power. What would they do in such situations? Would they accept their fate and die or do everything they could to resist?
Yes, the entity killed some beings and that was because remaining still in an active battlefield was asking to be killed.
They had to know that.
Yet…