Reaching The 30th Rank
"Congratulations you have passed the F rank with a perfect score and gained a F rank reward" The voice sounded in his mind.
"Do you wish to claim the reward?" The voice asked in his mind.
"Yes" Felix answered as his sight became filled with a golden light.
"Congratulations, you have received a F+ rank quiver" The voice announced in Felix's head as the golden light coagulated into a silver coloured quiver which had runes on its body.
"That's it?, a quiver is all you are giving me?, unbelievable but still it still a F+ rank item, advance to the next level" Felix asked in shock as he stared at the quiver in his hand then sighed softly and placed the quiver in his dimension ring before speaking.
"Ding"
[Through continuous practice, you have levelled up the Archery skill to rank D]
"Wow so this can increase my skill, this is great, I can hone myself while levelling up my skills, I guess all this wasn't for nothing, if I can break the high score I wonder what rank my archery skill will reach" Felix said to himself happily but if others heard what he just said they would probably vomit blood in anger, just who was the Scarlet Panther, he was the fastest SSS rank Esper to ever exist on the continent, a 1 in 1,000,000 genius and he was actually thinking of beating his high score.
After speaking, his surroundings changed, this time he appeared in a mountainous area with fierce wind blowing from time to time.
"Rank E: Level 1, hit the bullseye for 1000 points and any other part of the target hit will reduce by 200, score above 1000 points to pass the challange" Felix heard a voice sound in his ear as 5 targets appeared.
"Hmm, this is going to be tricky, I first need to observe the wind patterns otherwise I won't be able to hit the bullseye" Felix said with furrowed brows as he observed the wind patterns for 30 seconds then he nocked 5 arrows and aimed for 5 seconds before firing each arrow onto the bullseye.
"You have passed the first level and gained 5000 points, remaining time converted into 170 points, do you wish to advance to the next level or rest for some time?" The voice asked again in his mind.
"Yes, advance to the next level" Felix answered before going into deep thought.
'Hmm, it seems like this rank requires me to be able to hit the target in unfavorable conditions but to do that, I have to observe the wind patterns carefully before I am able to accurately judge the best time to fire, a cunning way to waste a normal challengers time but to someone like me this is useless' Felix thought as a smile spread across his face.
At the same time outside the array, people had gathered around the ranking board with looks of shock and jealousy.
"Who is this Shadow Walker?, doesn't he even need to rest?, he hasn't even rested for one second before going to the next level and now he is challenging the E rank" An Esper said with shock and unconcealed jealousy.
"Or she" A female Esper chipped in behind him.
"What do you mean 'or she?', huh" Another male Esper asked with a weird look on his face.
"She means that that it could a female esper" Another female Esper said from the side angrily.
"Hahaha" Immediately the male Espers heard this, they burst into laughter causing the female Espers to have ugly expressions on their faces.
"Hahaha, how could you possibly think that it's a female Esper, there is no way that's possible" A male Esper suddenly said which caused all the female Espers to stare at him with daggers in their eyes.
"Oh really then how is it possible that I am a E rank Esper and you are just a mere F+ rank Esper" A female Esper asked with a menacing grin that caused all the remaining Espers to burst into laughter which shut the male Esper up and made him wish he could burrow into the ground to escape from the gazes of the others.
"Wow, look he made it to the third level" The male Esper who was ridiculed said with fake shock to throw the others off his back and it worked because everyone turned their faces to the ranking board.
"Hey what's the ruckus about?" A calm voice sounded as a handsome white clothed youth walked into the training facility with a azure haired male and a beautiful female wearing a veil behind him.
"Wait isn't that "sharpshooter", his name is also on the rankings board and he was also the 15th rank in the previous White Jade Tournament Seal" An esper muttered with respect as he stared at the white clothed youth walking towards them.
"Who are those behind him?, I don't recognize them" Another esper asked curiously.
"It doesn't matter, what matters is that he is the number 89 on the ranking board, really worthy of being called the sharpshooter" Another esper said after staring at the ranking board.
"Yes but do you know why he is called the sharpshooter?" Another esper asked with a smug expression.
"No why?" The Esper asked with curiosity.
"He is called sharpshooter because he has been practicing archery since he was a child and now he has reached a high proficiency in it so it is said that he almost never misses his target" The Esper answered with a proud expression after gaining everyone's attention.p
"Well apparently he missed the target in the accuracy challenge so yeah, he isn't as good as you say he is" An esper said with jealousy.
"Oh I am sorry expert so what rank are you anyway?" The proud Esper asked with a menacing grin as he mocked the man.
"What... this.. I... it doesn't matter" The Esper stammered as he tried to formulate a lie but when he couldn't he turned away.
"Oh it does and I think I remember, you actually tried the challenge but failed on the second level so you couldn't even get your name on the ranking board or am I wrong but I am still human so I am bound to make mistakes, i may have made a mistake if you give me 15 F rank beast cores" The proud Esper said with persistence as he released blow after blow onto the pride of the man but gave a way to get out as he said the last words quietly so only both of them could hear it but he underestimated the ears of the curious ones who almost spat out blood from shock.
'What the?, how can a humans skin be this thick, I am afraid that even Vane's wind blade can't cut it' The Esper thought in shock as he almost fainted in anger, aren't you even embarrassed with what you are saying but at that moment he heard a voice which saved him.
"Holy shit, he is at the 4th level already, is he still human?, is the challenge this easy to pass?" A voice sounded from the large crowd that had gathered around the ranking board and at this moment Sharpshooter had also arrived in time to hear the man's last words and when he asked around, he gained a good understanding of the situation and couldn't help but think.
'These little fries think it's easy to pass the challenge, hmmp what fools, if it were that easy then I wouldn't be at the 89th position even when I only failed the fifth level at the E rank, with every rank that increases, the difficulty also increases, the F rank was just for kids and from the E rank upwards, it requires high perception, fast reflexes, a calm mind and a very high willpower if not then the Scarlet Panther himself wouldn't have only reached the B rank' Sharpshooter thought with disdain as he thought of his experience in the challenge.
"What rank do you think he will reach senior brother Feng?" Sharpshooter asked the youth beside him respectfully.
"He will reach the 70th rank at most with his current speed" The male youth referred to as senior brother Feng answered.
"I think he may reach the 50th rank at most" The female youth said quietly.
"Why do you say that senior sister Yu Yan" Sharpshooter asked with shock because he had thought that senior brother Feng had already given a high evaluation.
"From what I have seen and heard, it seems like this Shadow Walker is very smart and has a high level of perception and his skill in archery is very good, he advances at a fast pace because whenever he advances to a level, he first takes his time to study the wind patterns before he fires and due to his terrifying perception, he is able to take such a little amount of time to understand the patterns, I would really like to meet this Shadow Walker" Senior sister Yu Yan replied with a stunning smile while was slightly visible through the veil and even then it made anyone who saw it feel mesmerized, perfectly complimenting her name.
"Did Sharpshooter just say senior brother Feng and senior sister Yu Yan" An Esper asked his friend quietly.
"Yes, Feng Shui and Yu Yan, they are both in the top 10" The Esper's friend replied with respect.
"Wow, two of the top 10's are here together, it's very rare to see this" Another esper chipped in.
"I heard that those in the top 10 are all geniuses and are all in the D rank while the top 3 are very close to the D+ ra...." Another esper said but was interrupted by a loud exclamation.
"He has advanced to the fifth level and now has the 50th rank" Someone shouted in the crowd causing every gaze to fall on the ranking board.
Meanwhile in the array, Felix had advanced to the next level and he was already observing the wind patterns but after 20 seconds he still hadn't understood it.
"Hmm, it seems like the patterns are more complicated than the previous ones, this one is more like patterns within patterns, this is going to be tricky" Felix said but instead of being panicked, he was rather exited, this was a chance to train his perception.
He breathed in and then out before closing his eyes, 10 seconds passed but he just stood still with his eyes closed, another 10 seconds passed with his eyes still closed before his hand moved to the bow with lightening speed and 5 arrows appeared which he nocked and released without opening his eyes, all this happened in the blink of an eye.
20 seconds ago, all eyes where turned towards the ranking board, many had anticipation in their eyes, others had jealousy, some were also praying in their hearts that he should fail to pass this level.
"Wait I just realized something, this Shadow Walker is on the second level as Sharpshooter but he is already in the top 50, how is that possible?" An Esper asked after studying the ranking board and it was only when he said this that the others also noticed even Sharpshooter.
'Hmm that's true, we were so preoccupied with viewing his rank that we didn't even pay attention to his score but if I have calculated it right, it would only be like this if he gained a perfect sco..' Sharpshooter thought and after he reached the end, his head shot up like a whip and when his eyes reached his the score, he suddenly felt like he had been hit by a lightening bolt.
"Are you okay?" Senior brother Feng asked after seeing his strange behavior.
"I don't know..." Sharpshooter answered with a strange expression, his mind was in turmoil because he had also participated in the challenge before and he knew just how hard each challenge was, he had barely been able to pass each level on the E rank and that was why he had been eliminated at the last level but now this Shadow Walker had actually achieved a perfect score for each level and they had previously thought that he would only reach the 50th rank at most which only the top three in the White Jade Seal Tournament had a slight chance of reaching, it had to be known that the Scarlet Panther was at the D+ rank when he first participated in the challenge and he was also the only one who had ever reached the B rank in the challenge.
Even the 2nd rank on the ranking board had only reached the D rank which was even rare but this Shadow Walker was at the E rank level 5 and yet he was already the 50th rank, what would happen if he reached the D rank, will he be in the top 30, those who had ever reached the top 30 were super geniuses that had all reached the SSS rank, this talent was almost comparable to the Scarlet Panther's.
At this moment he was even thinking that Shadow Walker was an old monster who had reached the C rank but he got rid of that thought because there was a age and rank limit to enter the challenge.
"This might be a future SSS rank powerhouse, I have to befriend him if I can" Sharpshooter said to himself.
"It's been 40 seconds but he still hasn't passed this level" An esper said with confusion because with shadow Walker's speed, he should have passed this level by now.
"These fools don't know how hard the last level is, the increase in difficulty from the 4th to the 5th level isn't small, to even hit the target is already hard enough not to talk of passing the level" Sharpshooter said to himself as he heard the Esper's words.
"Another 8 seconds has passed and he still hasn't passed this level" Another esper said with slight joy after another 8 seconds passed and at this moment, many people were already mocking Shadow Walker, saying that he rushed through all the previous levels with lightening speed and now he was stuck, they had forgotten that they hadn't even been able to do even a quarter of which he did.
"Hmm seems like I was wrong, you were right senior sister Yu Yan, he.... " Sharpshooter said with disappointment, he now realized his foolishness, he had actually compared this shadow Walker to the Scarlet Panther but as he was talking, he suddenly froze and all the remaining words remained in his throat as he stared at the ranking board with terror, the name Shadow Walker disappeared from the 50th rank and moved upward and as it did, everyone's eyes followed it without blinking for fear of missing anything, the place was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.
The name continued moving upward before settling on the 30th rank and being shrouded in gold, at this moment everyone felt their mind go blank especially Sharpshooter who had just one thought in his mind 'another perfect score'.
At the same moment on the third floor, a figure appeared in a room filled with various rare plants and in the center of the room, there was a plump man who sat behind a desk with a Scarlet Haired Zed Eagle by his side and his eyes closed.
"What is it Frank?, what is so important that you had to disturb my meditation" The plump man asked with his eyes still closed.
"I am sorry for disturbing your meditation Master Ora but I have news that will interest you" The figure said respectfully to the plump man.
"Oh and what news is that" Master Ora said with a smile.
"Someone has reached the 30th rank on the archery challenge" The figure said excitedly.
"What?, hahaha it is just as he said, who is it?" The plump man opened his eyes wide in shock then laughed as he asked the figure.
"I don't know yet but I will find out soon, what are your orders?" The figure replied with a grin.
"Capture him and bring him to me, he must have received a part of the map to the Legendary Thunder Mountain" The plump man said to the figure with a menacing grin on his face which made him look even more wicked.
Meanwhile, Felix the instigator of all these confusion had completed the last level with a perfect score again and he wasn't even aware of what awaited him outside.
"Congratulations you have passed the E rank with a perfect score and gained a E rank reward" The voice sounded in his mind.
"Do you wish to claim the reward?" The voice asked in his mind.
"Yes" Felix answered as his sight became filled with a golden light.
"You have received 1000 E+ rank Lightening Snake King arrows" The voice announced in Felix's head as the golden light coagulated into a lightening symbol which landed on his palm.
"Ding"
[Through continous practice, you have levelled up the archery skill to the C rank and gained the skill "Mana Infusion"]
"Congratulations, you have entered the top 30 and gained a chance to pick a reward" The voice sounded again shocking Felix who was shocked at all the rewards he just gained.