Everyone's Class: One Effort, 10,000x Bonus Reward! - Chapter 318: The Baptism Begins, and Alexius’s Regret
Chapter 318: Chapter 318: The Baptism Begins, and Alexius’s Regret
Maximus heard Alexius’s voice and frowned immediately. He turned around to look at him.
“What is it?”
Alexius took a deep breath, stepped to the front of the group, and spoke slowly.
“I’ve already asked my Master. He agreed for me to lead them through the Golden Great Wall’s Baptism.”
Maximus’s brow furrowed deep in doubt.
“I haven’t received any orders about a Baptism. You…”
Alexius suddenly cut him off. He reached out his hand, his face completely expressionless.
“I’ll say it again: I’ve already asked my Master. If you have questions, go ask him yourself.”
Without glancing at Maximus again, Alexius locked his gaze directly onto Aiden in the crowd.
“The Golden Great Wall’s Baptism is a unique trial. Only those who succeed will be recognized by the Golden Great Wall, and their names will be written on its walls.”
“You will soon see who is weak and who is a waste of time.”
“Let’s go,” Alexius said, walking right to the front of the line.
Seeing this, Maximus took a deep breath and said slowly, “This is so annoying. If it weren’t for The Flame God Lord being your Master, people would have beaten you into a pulp long ago.”
Alexius paused for just a moment, then continued walking normally.
Under his lead, the group arrived near another towering city gate. This must be the exit to the world outside the Golden Great Wall; the gate he passed yesterday was the entrance.
Fully armed soldiers, weapons in hand, were patrolling the area near the gate.
Alexius led the contestants right out of the gate and up to the city wall.
He slowly lifted his head to look at the tall golden wall. The contestants followed his gaze.
Floating on the wall’s surface were countless names glowing with a dazzling golden light, packed tightly together.
“Are those the names of people who passed the Golden Great Wall’s Baptism?” a contestant asked in a low voice.
Maximus glanced at Alexius and replied, “That’s right. The Baptism is essentially gaining the Golden Great Wall’s recognition. You must face your own heart and go through the most real illusions…”
He spoke for a while, then extended his finger, pointing straight at the golden words on the wall.
“You can see, the largest and most glowing name is Lord Bella. Next is Lord Selene, then Kenneth…”
Alexius’s name was ranked tenth. When Maximus got to the name in the ninth spot, he suddenly stopped speaking.
“Alright, now you just need to place your hands on the wall one by one to begin the Baptism,” Maximus said.
Alexius glanced at Maximus coldly but said nothing else. His only real focus right now was watching Aiden.
If Aiden’s rank was lower than his, then his previous thoughts would be absolutely correct!
Aiden must have lied to Bella and to their Master!
Aiden noticed Alexius’s gaze but didn’t care much. What mattered most to him right now was that in six days, Alexius would hand over the final shard of the mysterious treasure map.
That was what truly counted.
As for the Golden Great Wall’s Baptism, Aiden was curious, but he didn’t step forward immediately.
Just then, Victor walked away from Aiden and headed straight for the Golden Great Wall.
He took a deep breath, placed his hand on the wall, and suddenly his body shook violently. He closed his eyes tightly.
The wall where his hand touched began to melt rapidly, completely swallowing him inside.
This sight made all the talented contestants around them stare with wide eyes.
A few seconds later, the surface of the Golden Great Wall rippled like a lake.
Victor’s face turned pale, his eyes were empty, and he looked as if he had just suffered an incredibly painful ordeal. He dropped to his knees, hands supporting him on the ground, gasping for air.
“What happened? What’s going on?”
“Hey buddy, what does the Baptism even feel like?”
“Why do you look so miserable? Is it because of the Baptism?”
“Victor, talk! Tell us something useful so we can be ready,” many talented contestants asked impatiently.
Victor shook his head and took a few deep breaths before speaking slowly.
“I don’t know how to explain it. It’s just endless illusions appearing one after another. Some involve fighting Abyss creatures; others force you to face betrayal by your own allies… Basically, in those illusions, you forget this is even the Baptism.”
He paused for a moment, his voice dropping.
“And in extreme cases… sometimes…” Victor’s fingers dug deep into the ground. He gritted his teeth. “…you might have to choose to abandon someone, or eat your comrade’s corpse just to keep fighting.”
After speaking, Victor slowly stood up. A stiff, forced smile appeared on his face.
“You’ll find out soon enough.”
The crowd fell silent. Subconsciously, everyone imagined the horrific scenarios Victor had just described.
“Next!” Alexius called out, his tone sharp.
“If you’re scared or hesitating, quit now and get lost!”
Maximus added, “That’s right. The Golden Great Wall’s Baptism is different for everyone.”
“It’s all about your ability to endure and your unshakable heart.”
He looked up at the golden wall, studying it closely until he spotted Victor’s name carved in the lower section.
“Congratulations, Victor. You’ve passed the Baptism. Your name will remain on the Golden Great Wall forever.”
“You’ve earned the chance to stay within the Golden Great Wall, though you’ll need to reach a much higher level before you can live here long-term,” Maximus said with a smile.
To pass the Baptism essentially makes you a comrade ready to fight side-by-side.
Of course, that bond might take a long time to truly form, especially since these contestants are still too low-level.
Despite the congratulations, Victor didn’t show much excitement or joy. He just kept his head down, lost in his own thoughts.
Maximus seemed to have anticipated this all along. He didn’t bother reacting further and simply turned his attention to the other contestants.
Soon, Jade, Jenna, Nellie, and the others began their Baptism in turn.
Jenna took the longest. She stayed inside the Golden Great Wall for five or six minutes straight.
Her name eventually appeared on the wall, and it was twice as large as Victor’s—about the size of a normal wooden door.
Instantly, both Alexius and Maximus fixed their eyes on Jenna.
“Ksitigarbha’s Emissary? Truly lives up to the name. The last Ksitigarbha’s Emissary…” Alexius trailed off, letting out a soft sigh as he recalled something.
He looked at Jenna with a hint of sadness in his eyes.
“Good job! You ranked 22nd!” Maximus shouted loudly.
Nellie did well too, taking the 30th spot.
As for Jade, Jordan, and Cici, they had passed the Baptism, but their ranks were very low. In fact, all three of them were ranked below Victor.
Still, everyone shared the same state of mind: no excitement or joy, just deep, heavy thoughts.
“Aiden, how much longer are you going to wait? Afraid that you’ll be weaker than your own teammates and become the first one to fail?” Alexius said slowly.
Instantly, everyone’s gaze shifted to Alexius and Aiden.
“Afraid? Actually, you should be the one afraid,” Aiden said, glancing at Alexius calmly.
This guy was indeed powerful, but he lacked the steadiness of Robert.
To Aiden, he felt like a high school student holding a rifle—reckless and untrained.
“Not all powerful people are calm, smart, and alert,” Aiden thought to himself.
The training for a divine powerhouse wasn’t as good as he had previously imagined.
Otherwise, Alexius wouldn’t be acting this way.
Or to be more precise, The Flame God Ignis simply isn’t a very good teacher.
Both Cassian and Alexius had their flaws, just in different ways.
“Me? Scared? That’s ridiculous,” Alexius laughed, spreading his arms wide.
“Don’t be silly,” Aiden replied, stretching his neck as he walked toward the Golden Great Wall. “You’re afraid that my performance will erase the last bit of your regret. You’re terrified that someone like me—someone who isn’t a genius from a hidden family or a student of the divine powerhouses—might surpass you.”
Aiden paused, glancing at Alexius. “Honestly, my advice is this: stop worrying so much about whether I’m the next big prodigy, and focus on building your own strength instead.”
He really didn’t want to deal with this guy anymore.
Alexius’s expression stiffened. He took a deep breath and said, “You’re right. I am afraid. If you can pass the Baptism and rank in the top twenty, I’ll admit I was wrong about you.”
“And since you want to collect all the treasure map fragments, I’ll tell you what the High Miko’s treasure contains.”
Aiden’s steps slowed for a split second. True, Alexius was annoying, but he did have a knack for offering surprises.
Taking a deep breath, Aiden extended his arm toward the Golden Great Wall.
The next thing he knew, the wall swallowed him whole.
His vision went dark. When his eyes opened again, the first thing he saw was a little girl with unusually bright eyes.
