Pushing the Limits

*Splat!*

The two Earth Speartips broke through the Monkey's claws, passing through its arm and piercing its chest. Blood flew everywhere, and Alvin was covered in it. Nonetheless, the Red-Clawed Monkey died. It was Alvin's victory.

*shshsh...*

However, right at that moment, another Red-Clawed Moneky appeared on his back. Its claws went straight to his lungs, giving Alvin no time to think. And yet, Alvin was in a state of awakening. He could feel his surroundings clearly. It wasn't at Linfel's level, but it was definitely there. 

The body of the dead Red-Clawed Monkey was still in Alvin's arms, pierced by the Earth Fists. Alvin instinctively rotated his body, pulling the dead body down and in between him and the other monkey. The claws of the monkey pierced its dead companion instead.

Alvin kicked the dead body forward while it was still pierced by the other monkey. The two fell backward, giving Alvin a chance to pounce. The Monkey immediately tried to push its dead companion's body away, but just as he was about to do it, two Earth Spear Tips passed through the dead body, hitting the Monkey behind it. Even more blood flowed as the second Monkey screamed. 

Because of the dead body, most of the attack power of Alvin's last attack was absorbed by it. That said, the other Monkey behind the dead body was seriously injured but not dead yet. It struggled with all its might while Alvin used all his strength to push his arms down.

"Felia, give me everything!" Alvin shouted.

"Yes, Master!" Felia immediately let go of all her Magic Energy, the little bit that she still had.

That was the last push necessary that finally pierced the second Monkey's body completely. Now, both were dead. 

Alvin noticed the struggle ended and tried to get up. Unfortunately, he truly completely exerted himself just now. He was very injured, and his Magic Energy was pretty much depleted. He couldn't even pull his arm out of the dead bodies of the Monkeys anymore.

*Criiiii!*

And yet, nature was cruel. Another Monkey came screaming from the sides. Alvin only had the time to see that, but he truly couldn't move anymore. But he didn't give up. To the very last moment, he tried to move and at least dodge the attack. 

The Monkey's claws came straight from Alvin's head and were right in front of his eyes.

*Swish!*

And yet, the piercing pain Alvin was expecting didn't happen. He only had the time to see the Monkey's claws suddenly detaching from its body and even more blood raining on his face. 

*Swish, swish, swish...*

The Monkey's body was then slashed in several parts and fell to the ground. It couldn't be any more dead. 

"Not bad, not bad at all!" Said a voice coming from the side.

*Tud!*

Following that, another Red-Clawed Monkey body fell nearby as a certain Familiar appeared near Alvin. Well, it wasn't really a Familiar, but a Wisp instead. Naturally, it was Linfel. "For a moment, I thought I would need to intervene to save you from the second Monkey. But lo and behold, you didn't give up and even managed to kill it."

Alvin relaxed as his connection with Felia ended. He couldn't help but bitter smile. "Were you planning to help me from the start?"

"For the second Monkey? Yes. For the first? No," Linfel answered. "If you couldn't deal even with a single Monkey, then what's the point of being a Magus? I would let you go. Looking at you reminds me of myself. Horan truly didn't hold back when he trained me back then. Those were truly some hellish years..."

"I could have died, you know?" Alvin sighed while he held Felia's Core. She had truly used all her Magic Energy and would need some time to recover her ethereal form, let alone float on her own.

"Perhaps," Linfel nodded and then pointed to the surroundings. "And so could them."

The attack just now was truly quite brutal. There were many Maguses, even more injured than Alvin himself. Quite a few Familiars were on the ground in a similar state to Felia, just the core and no Magic Energy fluctuations. 

Several rays of Yellow Light came from the sky and began to take away those maguses and Familiars. Surprisingly, though, there were no dead in their group. In the end, the Red-Clawed Monkeys were indeed quite physically weak. If not for the huge lack of Magic Energy in everyone's bodies, the attack wouldn't have reached such a conclusion.

A few seconds later, the five guides shouted to everyone. "The patrol will continue. Follow us." And sure enough, they immediately resumed their running. 

Let alone Alvin, the other Maguses and Familars that were in the area felt helpless. By now, they all understood. Those guides were purposely guiding them into the Magic Beast Territories. This Endurance Test has truly been pushed to the extreme.

"I guess I will use my MCOM and retire from this exam," Alvin sighed, finally managing to get away from the dead Monkeys' bodies.

*Shua!*

*Arrrghhh!*

Yet, he was suddenly hit by a huge ball of water, which made the injuries on his back and arms even more painful. It was Linfel, who used his Magic Energy to summon the surrounding water elements and throw it at Alvin. "What are you talking about? You can get healed later. Get up, and let's continue. Oh, don't forget to send in the report and keep your Magic Energy Receptor full."

Alvin wanted to cry. "Impossible! I am in no state to keep running. I'm completely out of Magic Energy as well. It would be much better to finish the exam here and compute the points I have."

"Tch..." Connor suddenly appeared and grabbed Alvin, putting him on his back. "Am I not the best brother ever?"

Alvin was surprised. "You... Brother, you came for me?!"

"Hahaha! But of course!" Connor laughed in response.

"And I made a deal with Connor to keep him safe if things turned for worse," Linfel added.

Alvin's mouth twitched as he looked at Connor. "What was this thing about being a brother?"

"What is in your heart is what matters," Connor spoke with a deep tone and serious expression.

"Your ass!" Alvin wanted to kick the guy but had no strength to do so. Connor totally would have left if not for the deal with Linfel.

Linfel began to float ahead. "Don't worry, I still made him fight one of the Monkeys. It's just that I warned him about it before hand. That should suffice as training for him. Alright, stop wasting your energy. Use the next minute to recover a little of Magic Energy. After that, start to fill the Magic Energy Receptor again. The Magic Energy Receptor doesn't get dry straight away, so if you start to fill it in the next few minutes, the negative points won't start to count."

And so, Alvin, Connor, Felia, Tratil, and Linfel continued their journey. Of course, they did not forget to report the happenings again.