Chapter 112: The Atmospheric Vice
Chapter 112: Chapter 112: The Atmospheric Vice
Chapter 112: The Atmospheric Vice
[Global Timer: 00:24]
Draven stepped through the glowing portal and entered the fourth floor.
The Shadows.
It was a pitch-black stone labyrinth. There were no lights. There was no sound. The air was stale and heavy with dust. To a normal Vanguard student, this was a terrifying sensory deprivation trap designed to induce panic.
Somewhere in the dark, six Phantom Assassins were moving toward him. They were entirely invisible, cloaked in high-tier Vanguard stealth magic that erased their heat signatures and muffled their footsteps.
Draven did not bother looking for them. He simply activated his Microscopic Perception.
The darkness faded away, replaced by a hyper-detailed view of the kinetic world. He could not see the assassins, but he could see the oxygen molecules being displaced as they breathed. He saw the microscopic dust particles being crushed under their invisible boots.
He tracked all six coordinates instantly.
Draven raised his right hand and curled his fingers. He attempted to grip their throats with his telekinesis.
His vectors slid right off their skin.
’They have those protective magic layers just like those Bats and Trolls,’ Draven analyzed coldly.
’They are designed specifically to repel direct mana locks and telekinetic binds. Quite annoying, but understandable actually. The Monsters in the Wildlands do not really have these abilities, but I do not really need to go all out for this exam at all. It’s a light breeze for me.’
He dropped his hand. He did not care. If the simulation wanted to protect their bodies, he would simply use the environment against them.
Draven locked his focus onto the raw air molecules floating mere millimeters outside of their protective magical shields. With a single, brutal thought, he commanded every kinetic vector of air pressure in the labyrinth to crash inward on those six specific locations.
WHOOSH!
The air in the room violently rushed toward the assassins.
CRUNCH! SQUELCH!
A localized atmospheric vice clamped down on them. The sheer, immense pressure of the compacted air molecules imploded around the invisible monsters.
Their magical shields held for a fraction of a millisecond before completely shattering. Their bodies were crushed into bloody, broken heaps by the crushing weight of the air itself.
The invisible corpses dropped heavily to the stone floor.
Draven did not even break his walking stride. He stepped over the mangled remains and walked through the exit portal.
[Draven Mordis Cumulative Clear Time: 00:29]
---
Meanwhile, the rest of Strike Team Zero was treating the vaunted Vanguard Midterm like a morning jog.
[Global Timer: 04:35]
Aegon stood in the center of his colosseum. He spun his heavy spear.
FWOOSH!
A concentrated beam of Blood Fire melted completely through an Armored Troll’s thick steel chest plate, turning its mechanical heart to ash in seconds.
---
In a separate instance, Bram did not even bother summoning a weapon. A massive troll swung its gargantuan iron war hammer directly at his head.
CLANG!
Bram caught the heavy iron head of the hammer with one bare hand. The ground beneath his feet cracked from the kinetic impact, but the giant boy did not even flinch. He ripped the weapon out of the monster’s grip and punched the troll so hard its steel helmet caved inward.
---
Estella twirled her stardust staff.
ZING! ZING!
Beams of pure cosmic energy pierced the remaining trolls’ visors with flawless, deadly precision.
To the normal first-year students currently screaming and dying in their simulation pods, these monsters were terrifying nightmares.
But Strike Team Zero had survived a true Beast Wave in the Wildlands. They had fought mutated horrors, Cultist traps, and giant Armored Bears.
This controlled Academy test was a total breeze.
They were not even paying attention to the Capital prodigies anymore. They were solely focused on clearing the floors with blinding speed, desperate to beat each other for Draven’s private vault reward.
High above the roaring crowds in Bastion One, the Vanguard VIP lounge was in a state of complete, suffocating panic.
The Elders stared at the locked global leaderboard.
Rank 1: Draven Mordis
Rank 2: Aegon Logecheville
Rank 3: Bram Stonehelm
Rank 4: Estella Everdawn
Rank 5: Lucien Vaelmont
The entire Top 5 belonged exclusively to Bastion Seven.
Kaelor Astralrend and Azrakar Voidborn were still struggling on the third floor.
Vaelith Starbane was currently bleeding out on the fourth floor, frantically trying to locate the invisible assassins.
---
"Twenty-nine seconds," the scarred Elder whispered, his face completely pale.
"He cleared four floors in twenty-nine seconds. This is a nightmare. There definitely has to be something wrong with the system. The Bastion 7 authorities must have definitely used some illegal methods to hype their scores. We need to ask for an explanation from them. We cannot let them get away with this. This is a humiliation that we will not let go of!"
---
[Global Timer: 00:30]
Draven stepped through the final portal.
He entered the Boss Room. It was a massive, circular metallic dome. The lights flickered on, illuminating a gargantuan shadow resting in the center of the arena.
The Apex Chimera.
It was a terrifying, flawless mechanical beast. It possessed the razor-sharp agility of the Iron-Wolves, the impenetrable steel plating of the Trolls, and the cloaking runes of the Phantom Assassins.
Massive red optical sensors flared to life. The beast slowly stood up, towering thirty feet into the air. It let out a deafening roar that shook the very foundations of the simulation.
ROAR!
Draven stood alone at the entrance. He slowly unbuttoned his dark Vanguard coat and let it drop to the metallic floor. He calmly rolled up the sleeves of his white dress shirt.
He did not want to kill this boss quickly. He had just acquired his SS-Rank Cellular Suture ability. He needed a durable punching bag to test exactly how immortal he truly was.
’Come here, monster,’ Draven smiled darkly, his pitch-black eyes gleaming with dangerous excitement.
’Let us see if you can actually make me bleed.’
The game was over. The experiment was about to begin.