Evolving My Undead Legion In A Game-Like World - Chapter 534: Challenge End [2]
Chapter 534: Challenge End [2]
Michael welcomed it.
His spear blurred, deflecting the thrust of the spear-knight even as the shield crashed toward his ribs. He twisted with the blow, letting it slide off, then slammed his own shoulder forward. The impact rattled both of them, and in that split-second of imbalance, Michael stepped through the gap.
The spear in his hands shifted into a reverse grip. He stabbed backward, under his arm, catching the shield-knight just beneath the ribs before his form unraveled into light.
[Hunter Eliminated — +1 Attribute to All Stats]
The last knight faltered.
Michael pivoted, his spear sweeping in a wide, brutal arc. The blow caught the knight’s weapon hand, disarming him with a crack of splintered knuckles.
Before the youth could even cry out, Michael thrust upward. The spear punched through his throat, silencing him in a shimmer of gold.
[Hunter Eliminated — +1 Attribute to All Stats]
Only the archer remained.
He stood frozen now. His bowstring trembled, arrow half-drawn.
The longer one last the stronger they were but who was this monster?
Michael didn’t rush him.
The archer panicked. He fired, three arrows loosed in frantic succession.
Michael’s body moved like flowing mist. The first arrow was swatted aside, the second deflected with a turn of his spear, the third avoided with a single sidestep.
Then Ghostwind Steps flared. Michael body blurred, vanishing from the archer’s sight. The youth spun wildly, desperate to find him—
Too late.
Michael reappeared at his back, the bone spear already thrusting.
Schhhk!
The blade punched through the archer’s spine, emerging from his chest. His bow fell from limp fingers as his body dissolved into golden light.
[Hunter Eliminated — +1 Attribute to All Stats]
Just like the first challenge, the trial didn’t drag on endlessly..
This time, it was when the number of participants dropped to a certain number.
The moment only fifty participants remained, the entire fog-drenched battlefield froze and every survivor was yanked upward in a pull of white brilliance.
Back in the real world, every broadcast had already long cut away from the examination feed.
No channel was still streaming the trial.
They were only permitted an hour, sometimes an hour and a few minutes at most. There was no way they could dedicate hours of live airtime to a single, sealed exam event.
Still, the buzz hadn’t died down. Clips of Brian’s brilliance, of Michael’s shocking “teleportation”, and other spectacular moments from other participants —each replay spread like wildfire across feeds and discussion forums.
Back in the white space, Michael knew none of this.
The world of mist collapsed, and once again, he was standing in that endless, sterile-white void. His spear and other items were gone.
A panel shimmered open before him.
[Congratulations. You have passed the second round of the College Entrance Examination.]
[Tomorrow’s event will be detailed by your examination officers at your assigned center.]
Michael let out a slow breath.
He didn’t take the first congratulatory panel seriously.
To him, this entire second half of the second round had been nothing but a mess—a forced charity run disguised as an exam.
The kind of challenge that felt more like the organizers needed warm bodies for “entertainment value” rather than a true measure of skill.
The second panel, though, sparked a flicker of curiosity.
That one he would think about later, once he was back outside.
With nothing more to do in the sterile white void, Michael let the light take him. His presence in the virtual space unraveled, and soon his original body lying in the pod stirred.
His eyelids lifted. The harsh blue glow of the pod lights met him as he slowly sat up, joints stiff from the hours of stillness.
Blinking, he realized immediately how empty the room was. Rows of pods stretched out in silence, their lids shut tight—most already vacated. Only two remained occupied. His own, and one other.
By the exit door stood a staff member in a neat blue jacket, arms folded, eyes half-bored but attentive. As for the other figure…
Michael’s gaze lingered. Recognition came slowly.
It was a not too familiar figure—but not a stranger either.
It was one of the boys who had approached him before the round started.
Both of them had stood out as high-level Awakeners even among their peers. And now, it seemed this one—the slightly stronger of the pair in terms of levels—had made it to the very end of the second round alongside Michael.
That in itself was no small feat. Out of thousands of Awakeners sitting for the supernatural college exams in Aurora, only fifty had survived the culling.
Top fifty.
This should have carried more weight than but Michael knew the truth.
The virtual space had crippled a lot of participants.
Many had been eliminated because of the strict limitations of the trial which meant there might very well be Awakeners who were far stronger than some of the last fifty survivors, but who had fallen early for reasons known to them.
Michael’s eyes flicked toward the other youth, who shifted as if he meant to approach. Their gazes met for the briefest moment.
But before the boy could move, the staff member by the exit straightened and stepped forward.
“Congratulations to the both of you. You’ve successfully completed the second round of the examination.” He offered a nod before continuing, “Please follow me. The others are already gathered.”
Michael rose without a word, the stiffness of his limbs rolling off with each step. The other youth fell in behind him, silent, and together the three of them walked through the quiet corridor until they emerged into a familiar chamber—the waiting room where they had stayed before entering the virtual space
The atmosphere inside was heavier now.
Dozens of chairs lined the space, and in them their fellow awakeners.
Michael’s eyes swept the room quickly. He spotted faces he recognized almost immediately—the other boy from that initial pair, now seated and straight-backed, his eyes flickering with relief when he saw his friend return.
Further off, the trio from Bright Academy were gathered together but something else caught Michael’s attention.
The high-level martial artist among them—the arrogant one who had looked down on everyone before the trial began—was avoiding his gaze. The boy’s chin was dipped, his eyes skittering anywhere but toward Michael as though the briefest glance might ignite confrontation.
Michael’s lips twitched in faint amusement. For a second, he held the boy’s gaze when it flickered up, but when the other quickly looked away, Michael dismissed him entirely.
Silently, he chose a seat for himself off to the side.
Now, there was nothing left but to wait. The room hushed as another staff trickled in, and every candidate present knew that the next words spoken would decide how tomorrow would be.
The last day of the college exams.
