The Javelin Challenge Begins

'It's not like I have any other choice... I just have to make sure I don't pass out again,' Dennis said internally as the suit began covering up his entire body.

...

Minutes later, lots of Modified combatants could be spotted standing at the entry point to a forest area that extended as far as the eyes could see.

They stood in place for a bit, waiting for the go-ahead to start the test.

Every single one of them was clad in a prototype UVS suit, causing them to look like a menacing mech army.

Their helms emitted different glows, which casted an indescribable pressure upon the vicinity.

A speaker attached to a tree up ahead made a low cackling sound for a bit, and what came next was the voice of General Gustav.

"Ready?"

"Ready!" The modified combatants roared in unison.

"Go!"

The moment General Gustav gave the go-ahead, they charged forward with incredible vigour.

Twwhooossshhh~

The branches of the trees in the vicinity vibrated intensely due to the wind generated from the speed of the modified combatants.

Leaves fell from trees in high numbers, giving the environment a beautiful view despite the contrasting pressure that encapsulated the area due to the ongoing completion.

Since they were up to two hundred and fifty in number, the ground quaked like giants had just been released into the forest.

Not a single Modified Combatant was moving below the speed of ten feet per second. Some were running so fast that in a single movement, they crossed up to twenty feet.

[Subject Is On A Collision Course With Tree]

[In 4.2 Seconds...]

The AI integrated with their upgraded prototype would occasionally warn them if they were close to colliding with any object.

The digitalised imagery feedback of the environment view within the suit looked so sophisticated and would occasionally outline objects and terrains in the distance to identify if they would cause any issue for the user.

The Modified Combatants were nothing close to this movement speed without the suits, but with their high reflexes, they were able to navigate their way across the forest properly and avoid collision.

To them, it felt like this was a normal speed, especially with how powerful the suit made them feel.

[72° Sloppy Terrain Coming Up In 7.2 Seconds]

"Haha, this is going to be so easy," one of the modified combatants yelled with an excited tone as he leapt forward the moment he arrived before the sloppy terrain.

Fwwwhiii~

An electric streak suddenly shot forth from the bark of a tree seven feet away.

"Eh?" The modified combatant exclaimed as the AI instantly warned of the incoming projectile.

The Combatant swiftly reached out as a lazer like sword protruded out of his arm.

Swwiihhh~

He cleaved it into two halves and landed on the sloppy ground up ahead.

However, the moment he landed, the ground gave way, and he instantly fell through it.

"Ahhh!"

"Dumbass," Malik voiced as he jumped over the massive hole on the ground alongside Dennis.

Others around also witnessed this and continued forward carefully.

"Since the traps are set by veterans, it is foolhardy to believe that having the UVS equipped is enough to scale through all of them," Cory said to Darrin who moved side by side with him.

"Who are you telling?" Darrin said with a low tone as he leapt upwards.

Twwhoosshhh~

Cory eyes widened as a spear suddenly appeared in his line of sight from the left. He had only noticed it when it was two feet away from making contact.

"Shit," He cursed as he suddenly arched backwards at the last second.

The spear shot past him before slamming into another modified combatant by the side.

Bang!

His entire figure blasted across the air as the spear sent electric charges through him and exploded. The prototype suit instantly shut down, solidifying his disqualification.

"A little warning next time?" Cory said to Darrin, who was a couple feet ahead.

"Since the traps are set by veterans, it is foolhardy to believe that having the UVS suit equipped is enough to scale through all of them," Darrin repeated the same words Cory spat out earlier.

"When did you become this petty?" Cory rolled his eyes within the suit as he increased his speed to catch up with Darrin.

Modified Combatants from the first unit were mostly ahead of everyone else. This was to be expected since their bodies assimilated with the UVS better than anyone else.

Now, it was a question of whether the others would let unit one take all the glory today again or push their bodies further.

One thing about the UVS that everyone understood at this point was its ability to do more, but the UVS would only give a certain amount of strength based on what the user could handle.

If they wanted more strength, power, or speed, they could push suit to give it to them, but in the process, they risked damaging their bodies.

Unfortunately, some of them didn't care about this today since they wanted to make sure they got at least one javelin stick and make it to the next round. Everyone wanted to get the reward and opportunity to be trained by these veterans.

"Damn you unit one!" A modified combatant yelled as he sped past a bunch Malik and Darrin.

'They sure are hated,' Dennis said internally as they stared at the ones up ahead.

[Suggesting The Activation Of Speed Drive]

The AI within Dennis sound voiced.

"Ye... No, no, don't activate," Dennis immediately voiced out.

"Hmm?" Malik muttered with a look of confusion while Dennis let out a sigh of relief.

He couldn't risk activating a feature that was exclusive to only an original UVS suit.

[Incoming Trees Projectile 10.3 Seconds...]

"Incoming..." Dennis warned Malik before the projectile warning resounded in his suit.

Dennis eyes squinted, and he proceeded to dive forward, causing his body to ascend more than six feet in the air.

Swwhiiii~ Swwhiii~

Two trees appeared in view at this point, one swinging forward while being held ten feet above the ground while the other swung backwards while being only two feet above the ground.

With the appearances of these massive trees, anyone would get swooped down from the air if they were to leap above the one below since the one above would get them.

However, Dennis had dived forward in such a way that he managed to slip in between the two trees.

Malik, who hadn't expected this development, only leapt upwards normally. The tree above was on a collision course towards his belly region.

Dennis landed on the ground ahead and swiftly turned around with a laser beam forming on his fist area.

Thrrriiivvvv~

He slashed at the tree above, causing it to get cleaved in half. The side close to colliding with Malik lost momentum and fell to the ground while Malik managed to escape getting hit.

"Thanks, partner," Malik voiced his appreciation with a tone of bewilderment after landing unscathed.

"Don't mention," Dennis responded with a normal tone as they resumed charging forward.

'I hope he doesn't find out that I used a feature that isn't available in the upgraded prototype version,' Dennis prayed internally.

"Let's speed up... Will you be able to keep up?" Malik suggested after noticing that they were lagging behind.

"Sure, let's do it," Dennis responded and proceeded to increase his speed.

It was almost like he had been waiting for this moment as his explosiveness almost doubled the moment he released a bit more of the speed he had been holding back all this time.

Fwwooossshhhh~

A tree trembled intensely as his figure bolted past it.

"What the...? Am I the one lagging behind now?" Malik nearly puked out blood in embarrassment as Dennis left him to eat dust the moment they increased their speed.

He initially thought he was doing Dennis a favour by reducing his speed, but it was at this moment he realised that it was the other way around.

'So this is what it is like to have high compatibility rate? He just might surpass every one of us if he doesn't die,' Malik said internally.

He suddenly got fired up and pushed himself further.

Twwwoosshhh~

His speed increased as well as he struggled to catch up with Dennis, who was ahead.

"Yoo, wait for me, man," Malik yelled as he managed to surpass two pairs but still wasn't catching up.

Dennis , who had gotten carried away, realised his partner was lagging behind and began to slow his steps.

"Oh my bad," He voiced as Malik slowly caught up.

Bang! Bam! Bam! Bam!

The sounds of battle up ahead suddenly drew their attention the moment Malik caught up with him.

"Hmm?" Dennis and Malik gave exchanged brief glances before turning slightly towards the left to head in the direction of the disturbance.

Twwhiihhhh~

They brushed past a few shrubs of bushes in their path and densely packed leaves that cast a shadow across the vicinity before arriving at a slightly spacious area.

Their eyes widened in surprise as they spotted three duos in a heated battle.

In their midst, one could see a blueish four feet long stick embedded into the ground.