Chapter 132: Increasing the Pace
"15%? Damn!" Max was shocked when he finally saw the notifications. He had expected his Fusion State to increase after all his efforts, but not by this much. All he had hoped for was to cross the 5% mark in Fusion State, but the result completely surpassed his expectations.
"Will this be enough to counter a level 3 Aura?" Max wondered, shaking his head. "Probably not."
His gaze hardened as he recalled the overwhelming presence of the Level 3 Auras displayed by both Five and Veylin. The sheer power they exuded wasn't something that could be dismissed, and the memory of their mastery sent a chill through him.
Having experienced their prowess firsthand, he understood the monumental gap between their strength and his current abilities. His own 15% Fusion State of Level 1 Flame and Sword Aura, while impressive for someone at his stage, felt like a candle flickering against a storm.
A Level 3 Aura wasn't just a higher degree of power; it was a culmination of mastery. It represented an aura at its peak, refined to a level just below the profound domain of concepts.
Its strength wasn't merely physical; it carried an overwhelming intent, an unyielding will that bore down on anything within its range.
'But it's a different matter if I have auras at level 2…' Max mused. Knowing there were different floors to this temple, with floors 1, 2, and 3 corresponding to the three levels of auras, he understood there must be a way to reach higher floors.
'After I'm done with this floor, I'll head up to the second floor,' he decided, glancing toward the top of the monolith as he resumed his ascent.
As Max slowly made his way up, he didn't use the sword and flame auras. Instead, he directly used the fusion state of the two auras. He sought to increase their mastery even more while he still could through the monolith.
"He resumed ascending once again," Dean said, glancing at Nathan, his tone full of mockery.
Sam also glanced at Nathan but shook his head in disappointment. "What a fool he is. Being proven wrong three times a day—was it more?—must have been hard."
His expression became sympathetic. "Nathan, you have my deepest condolences."
Nathan glared at Sam and Dean, his eyes spitting fire. He had been constantly provoked by these two brothers for a while now, and at this point, he couldn't take it anymore.
"I'm going to kill you two first before doing anything," he said, shouting as his two golden gauntlets condensed around his hands.
"Battles aren't allowed in this round," the blob of slime warned, noticing the conflict happening below the monolith. "After all the geniuses have finished ascending the monolith, you'll all be given a chance to fight each other, so have patience."
"Damn!" Nathan cursed aloud as he heard the warning.
"So sad," Sam sneered. "After Max is done ascending the monolith, you won't have time for us because you'll either be dead or you won't have the guts to harm anyone from the East Region."
Nathan gritted his teeth, his rage clouding his eyes as he found it difficult to control his anger. 'Damn these two! Damn these two! I really want to kill them! I want to kill them!' His eyes turned red as rage completely consumed his mind.
Smack!
"Get a hold of yourself, brother," Tom slapped Nathan hard on the back of his head, bringing him out of his rage.
Nathan gloomily glanced at Tom and sighed. He took a deep breath and calmed himself for the moment.
"Don't be so rash, brother. There's always a time for revenge," Tom said slyly, his eyes gleaming with killing intent. He was also angry after being provoked by Sam and Dean, but unlike Nathan, he knew how to control his anger very well, and that's what made him the more dangerous of the two brothers.
At that moment, Evlin and Princess Aveline appeared with their geniuses from their region.
"I have to say, you two have a lot of confidence for someone at level 4 of Apprentice Rank," Evlin sneered at Sam and Dean.
Dean smiled and pointed at the monolith. "Just keep your eyes on the monolith," he said, sneering.
At his words, everyone turned their heads toward the monolith, only to see Max ascending toward the 600-meter mark. He was moving at a steady pace, around the 590-meter mark, his goal the 600-meter mark.
"I wouldn't be surprised if he crosses the 600-meter mark as well," Sam said, glancing at Dean.
Dean nodded. "Me too."
Only Nathan and Tom had grim expressions, seeing Max still going strong.
"I wonder how high he will reach if he has truly comprehended aura already?" Aveline muttered, her eyes curious.
Evlin glanced at her, her face sinister.
---
The man in question, Max, was steadily pacing his way toward the 600-meter mark.
'My understanding of lightning has been increasing at a steady pace, but not so much about other elements,' he mused.
After he resumed his ascent from the 550-meter mark, Max noticed the density of the lightning in the auras had increased significantly compared to all other elements.
This reinforced his assumption that whoever was responsible for creating the monolith had clear intentions: to teach the way of lightning.
'I guess the master of this temple must be someone proficient in lightning,' Max thought as he finally reached the 600-meter mark.
However, he didn't stop after reaching that mark and continued his ascent as if nothing had happened, closing in on the 650-meter mark.
"He isn't slowing down at all!"
"Does he plan to continue like this until the very end?"
"Is this his last stand against the pressure acting on him?"
The crowd of geniuses gathered at the base of the monolith was shocked by Max's pace of ascent in the 600-meter range. They had thought he was at his last breath when he paused at the 550-meter mark, but now they understood they were fools for believing something like that.
On the other hand, Nathan and Tom's faces turned grim as Max raced toward the 650-meter mark, as if the pressure acting on him had disappeared completely.
"Is he climbing the same monolith or what?" Princess Aveline exclaimed, seeing Max's pace.
Sam grinned, glancing at the so-called 'top geniuses' of the other regions. "Now that's what only an outstanding genius can do," he commented, feeling a bit overwhelmed himself.
While they had expected Max to have great talents and strength, what they were witnessing surpassed their previous expectations to a large degree.
At this moment, Max climbed past the 650-meter mark at a pace so fast that everyone could only dream of doing that. But again, he didn't stop and headed toward the 700-meter mark.
'By using the Fusion State of flame and sword, my mastery over it will increase eventually after being tempered by the pressure around me… I should only focus my mind on ascending the monolith and comprehending the lightning element,' Max's mind raced as he slowly made his way toward the 700-meter mark.
Not having to worry about anything else, Max increased his pace to the maximum as he climbed the monolith while comprehending the lightning element.
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With such speed, in no time, he crossed the 700-meter mark and continued toward the 750-meter mark, his ascent speed only decreasing slightly.