All Out!

"3998th step!"

*Boom*

Asif had no time to breathe as suddenly a horrifying surge of the strange energy and pressure instantly crashed down on his body the moment he stepped foot on the 3998th step.

Urza felt the might of the energy and it's absurd power. He frowned at the thought of experiencing that horrifying pressure.

"Fuck, that's crazy..." Ray muttered as he saw Asif fighting back against the pressure.

"We actually have to go there?!" Ash was livid.

"And that's only the 3998th step!" Ray said with a severe tone.

Asif had to focus his mind entirely on staying stable on the step. The extreme pressure and energy put a massive strain on his body. The initial wave of the strange energy and pressure almost caused him to falter out of the step.

'This...is...grim!' Asif thought as he slowly covered his body with an aura made of his Light element. A form of golden energy manifested outside his body reducing the horrifying pressure and the strange energy on his body. He looked divine as if he was bathing in light. The audience were awestruck with Asif's new blinding appearance.

"So cool..."

"It's almost as if a God appeared!" An audience member said with his mouth wide open.

"It's only going to get increasingly tougher from here." Alexander said with a slight frown and heavy anticipation.

"I can feel the terrifying might of the pressure and it's extremely commendable that he's doing amazing so far." Zac spoke. Old man Reid just interlocked his fingers and focused on the leaderboard. So far, the current ranking of the top 10 on the leaderboard looked like this.

Rank 1 - Asif Vizier, 3998 steps.

Rank 2 - Urza Kallux, 3997 steps.

Rank 3 - Ash Frudae, 3993 steps.

Rank 4 - Ray Angelo, 3993 steps.

Rank 5 - Bane Thrull, 3993 steps.

Rank 6 - Bryan Pine, 3992 steps.

Rank 7 - Algo Killian, 3991 steps.

Rank 8 - Khai Aeron, 3990 steps.

Rank 9 - Eris Belron, 3990 steps.

Rank 10 - Kaya Aeron, 3990 steps.

*Huff Huff*

"I'm finally here guys!"

Ray, Ash and Bryan turned around to see Algo smiling right behind them.

"What took you so long..." Ash said with a happy tone.

"About time, Algo." Bryan gave him a thumbs up.

"Haha, Kaya gave me some motivation." Algo cheerily smiled.

Thinking of Kaya, Ray shifted his line of sight towards Kaya who was staring back at him. Kaya smiled and gave a nod of encouragement. Ray was stunned for a moment before a wide smile creeped on his face.

"What was that, sis?" Khai asked Kaya who was standing next to him.

"He doesn't have to wait for me..." Kaya softly said.

"How very kind of you!" Khai smiled.

"You'll know once you get one." Kaya simply said. Khai had a dumbstruck expression and Eris patted his shoulder in consolation.

"I don't know how they've done it but it's simple incredible. Here we are struggling to get past through this step." Eris lamented.

"We simply don't give up." Kaya casually said.

"Huh..." Eris was confused.

"My sister is right. No matter the situation, push through with everything you got." Khai came back from his stupor and agreed with his sister.

"Interesting, but I'll wait for my love." Eris thought about Allie.

"Up to you!" Khai shrugged.

Meanwhile, Ray turned his attention towards the black robed man and smirked, "I know it's extremely hard for you to stay here. Catch up to us if you can because I know for sure that you can't."

"Ash, Bryan, Algo! Let's do it. It's about time we give it our all!" Ray said.

"Haha! Motherfucker, how badly do you want to show off to your girlfriend huh?" Ash chuckled.

"Hehe..."

"Here comes my food..." Algo muttered.

The four ignored the the black robed man named Bane and pushed forward. Expending more elemental energy as usual, they fought off the pressure and climbed one step at a time at a steady pace.

On the other hand, Urza felt that his transformation was soon about to wear off and didn't have much time to maintain it.

"Yo!"

Urza slowly turned his head in disbelief and saw four figures smiling at him. He couldn't believe the people he looked down on were on the same step as him and they were smiling.

"I-Impossible..."

"Impossible?" Ash tilted his head.

Urza shook his head and regained his composure, "Good for you but let's how well you do in the final round."

"Already thinking about the final round?" Bryan shook his head.

"Come on guys, let's join Asif." Ray ignored Urza and said. The other three nodded and took a deep breath.

Urza saw them go forward and clenched his fist. Just like with Asif, as soon as they stepped into the 3998th step, they felt the same horrifying pressure and the strange energy assaulting them with immense force.

"F-Fuck..." Ash gritted his teeth in pain.

"You guys are finally here." Asif slowly said.

"Sorry for making you wait." Bryan smiled with difficulty.

"Don't be lax. Focus with everything you got!" Asif severely said. The others nodded.

A thin aura of bluish-brown colour slowly appeared on Algo's body. He utilized his Earth and Wind element to make his body tougher and lighter which made it easier for him to face off against the pressure.

*Ugh*

Ray fell onto one knee from the pressure forcing him down. He fought against the pressure but still struggled against the immense power of the step.

"D-Don't wait for me!" Ray grit his teeth and forced himself to say that. 'Fuck me, I'm struggling like balls.'

The others looked at each other and nodded grimly. Asif prepared himself and he took another step forward. Instantly, his eyes widened before he fell onto his knees and hands. The pressure seemed so great that it could crush him at any moment.

-In the VIP lounge-

"This round was decided to test out their talents." Abzol spoke.

"With the neighbouring star fields getting ready for that, it's good that our star field has given birth to many talented individuals." Inaros nodded with appreciation.

"That huh..." Kazul frowned.

"It's the start of a new era." Kayill muttered while he looked at his daughter with interest.

Meanwhile the audience were watching on with keen anticipation. They never expected five participants to surpass the Godsun, much less one of them stepping onto the 3999th step and the only person who ever reached the top was the Battle King himself.

Kaya never knew someone could make her feel out of the ordinary. All her life, she strived to be strong and not let anyone affect her in any way. But the first time she saw Ray staring at her with no impure thoughts but pure appreciation of her beauty, she felt something. Not denying that he was handsome by himself but most of the men she met either looked at her with impurity or didn't give her the same feeling that Ray did. Now, she's watching him bravely struggling against the might of the 3998th step.

"You can do this, Ray...!" Kaya slowly clenched her fist and muttered with full faith in him. Without delay, Ash, Bryan and Algo followed right after Asif.

*Boom*

*Boom*

*Boom*

The three were instantly brought down to the floor with Algo looking better off on his one knee. They could feel their bones creak with pressure and pain assaulting them at every angle. The difference between the 3998th step and the 3999th step was beyond reckoning.

*UGH*

"J-Just..."

"...one m-more step!" Ash gritted his teeth and tried to stand up.

"W-We have to do this..." Bryan said with his veins popping out.

Algo used every bit of strength he had and finally stood up from the ground. He could barely look at his brothers due to the pressure. He let out a small smile and said, "Earth is counting on us."

*Huff Huff*

"We cannot falter now!" With that, Algo let out a shout and a surge of elemental energy burst out from within his body. His eyes transformed into a natural glow of dark yellow. He stretched his hands and inspected them. He could feel the power coursing through his body from utilizing all of his elemental energy. It was relatively less difficult for him to move now. But he knew that he could not keep this up and there would be side effects to his body later on once the power up ends. Not wanting to waste any time, he took a large step forward.

*URGH*

Algo groaned in pain as he fought through it and let his foot smash down with astonishing power, shaking the structure of the Mystical Stairs with intensity.

*BOOM*

Algo's other foot landed onto the ground, bringing his body completely to a stop. The pressure and the strange energy completely disappeared and all he felt was a relaxing and an exhausting sensation. A bright pillar of light emerged from where he stood, shooting to the sky and completely encasing him.

"H-HE ACTUALLY DID IT!"

"SOMEONE REACHED THE TOP!!"

"Are we witnessing the birth of a legend...?"

**CHEERS**

**CHEERS**

The audience erupted in frenzy and cheered with all their might. This was a sight they'd never forget. It has been over 50 years since the Battle King reached the top and was crowned as the generational genius of his time period.

*Sigh*

"I never expected Algo to be the first one to reach the top!" Old man Reid smiled widely and was incredibly stunned.

"He actually did it..." Zac said with a gaping mouth.

"This is just the start!" Alexander's eyes shone with brilliance.

Meanwhile, the red shelled creature observed everything in amazement. 'To think a bunch of scary geniuses came from Alexander's planet...'

-In the VIP lounge-

There was utter silence permeating the air amongst the five leaders of the Aeron Empire. They did not expect the big one amongst the brothers to reach the top first.

"That was unexpected..." Inaros uttered softly.

"I figured as much!" Abzol smiled.

"HAHAHAHA! What a man!" Goborn acknowledged Algo.

'Come on, Urza! Use everything you got!' Kazul silently said.

"But is he the only one to reach th-" Inaros stopped midway with astonishment filling his eyes. Kayill observed everything with silence.

Bryan, Ash and Asif heard Algo and saw him stand on the last step with pride. Recalling his words, they were fired up and put up an all out effort to push through to the next step.

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

*BOOM*

All three of them released all of their potent elemental energy from within their body gaining subtle transformations. Bryan had a dark murky glow around his eyes and his body seemed almost phantasmal. Asif's eyes were pure golden in colour and streaks of golden hair appeared on his head. Ash's left eye had a fiery red glow while his right eye had a icy bluish glow.

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

*SLAM*

The three of them simultaneously slammed both their feet onto the last step, shaking the structural integrity of the Mystical Stairs. Ripples of elemental energy shout out from their feet, cracking the air around them with shockwaves.

Instantly, a beam of light shot out from below them reaching the never-ending sky. They could feel their exhaustion fading away and their energy being restored slowly.

The audience were dumbstruck with pure awe and silence. They never expected three more to reach the top of the Mystical Stairs.

"THAT WAS FUCKING AWESOME!" Ash yelled out in happiness.

"And fucking exhausting..." Bryan sighed from relief.

"This pillar of light seems to be rejuvenating us." Asif observed.

"Yeah, and I feel awesome." Ash said.

"We do look cool." Algo nodded.

"Now, only Ray is left." Bryan muttered.

Ray was struggling with pain and exhaustion from the pressure. 'Fuck, my cultivation stage is low for this. I need to stabilize myself and try to breakthrough. I know I'm close from all this dogshit pressure and that stupid energy.'

*BOOM*

Ray felt a surge of energy behind him. He looked back and saw Urza emanating a fiery-red aura around his body.

Urza looked dead straight ahead and said with a tenacious tone, "I am going to reach the top!"