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C1403 Efficiency

The shock was palpable. The Forest Goblin floor was exceptionally difficult not only because of the strength of the enemies, but more importantly due to their stealth. Just finding the targets took time, let alone dealing with their assault once they were done.

No one was sure how Aina did it. She seemed to just stumble onto her targets one after another, and even when most would have thought that the floor was cleared, she continued to attack and took out several more before finally putting down her ax.

In the end, she was only three seconds away from surpassing the previously long held record, and that was set by a person from a family so in tune with nature and greenery that the plants practically spoke to her. The idea that Aina would come even close to such a feat was baffling to the point of being difficult to accept.

However, it felt like today would be a day the world lost its logic.

Stone Maze – First Attempt – All Time

<1. Berouge Gemin 00:07:21>

…

<67. Amery Suaird 00:07:52>

Three youths, three new records, all set back to back to back. It was more than just a little difficult to accept, it bordered on ridiculous.

When they had said that there was something special about this generation, the truth was that only the older generations had taken it seriously. The youths, however, snorted at the prospect. They had been on the frontlines, slaving for the Void Palace everyday, why would they suddenly move to the side obediently so that these youths could take their spot?

In truth, most of them had just directly ignored the rumors. They felt that once their juniors stepped foot in this place, they would quickly learn their place and realize whatever genius they had on the outside wasn't worth much here.

However, now, they fell into silence. There were no longer any jeers, no longer any talks of beauty leaderboards, there was only a quiet brewing.

It seems that they would have to put some more effort into showing these juniors exactly where their place was in the hierarchy. What was a military without strict rules? What was a military without strict hierarchy? The sooner these juniors learned exactly how well they placed, the better.

Of course, while there were many with these thoughts, there were also a few Faction Leaders who licked at their lips, already communicating with their networks to see how many resources they could move around to pull these geniuses into their fold.

However, in that time…

<Second Floor Cleared – New Record – Leonel Morales 00:02:19>

<Third Floor Cleared – New Record – Leonel Morales 00:02:11>

When people were shocked awake by their thoughts, they were suddenly stunned to find that Leonel was actually getting faster rather than slowing down. They had been shocked by the appearance of Aina and then subsequently Amery, they hadn't even noticed that in the time it had taken them to clear the first floor, Leonel had already long since moved on and stepped onto the fourth.

Each floor should have been getting more difficult. No one could wrap their heads around why Leonel was only getting faster. Was it because he hadn't been trying earlier? Was he not aware that there were records on the line?

These leaderboards weren't just for show. Those that could enter the top three would gain equivalent resources for as long as they maintained it. These rewards were even more plentiful when it was the all-time leaderboard. For Leonel to be taking it easy wasn't 'cool', it was foolish.

What these people didn't know, though, was that Leonel really was unaware of the leaderboard. But, even so, he wasn't taking it 'easy'.

'He's… becoming more efficient.' Cornelius thought to himself.

This thought was the very same thought every individual in the crowd who had a calculative ability or mind concluded. And, the more they observed, the more lost they seemed to become in Leonel's art.

Leonel never used more effort than the last time. Yet his needles became faster, the arcs of his daggers became sharper, and when he finally brought out a javelin…

…

Leonel's chest expanded, his gaze lighting with a fiery light. His hips locked into place, his thighs bulging and his torso tightening to the point his body became a wall of steel.

His left arm cocked back, his wrist stabilized, his forearm flexing and his shoulder coming to a grinding halt as he reach back as far as his flexibility would allow.

He locked eyes on a towering red-scaled python slithering up 20 meters into the sky not even counting its coiled and stabilizing base.

And then the world seemed to split.

FUUUUUUUUUUUUU!

BANG!

The javelin shot out from Leonel's grip like an iron ball out of a cannon. The air imploded and violent concentric circles of wind quickly formed, only to be left behind in an instantaneous blink.

BANG!

The scales of the python split before the javelin even landed. And, by the time it did, a hole with a three-meter diameter was blasted through its skull.

<Fourth Floor Clear – New Record – Leonel Morales 00:01:59>

Leonel broke the two minute mark, and yet he was completely oblivious. He had already moved up from 58th to 1st on two all time leaderboards, but his eyes seemed to still be calculating, spinning at speed most couldn't understand.

He wanted more efficiency, greater efficiency, and it wasn't without reason. These beasts had only ever been at the Fifth Dimension and Leonel simply didn't believe that things would continue like this. The Void Palace was far too sadistic to allow anyone to reach the Galaxy Rank while just displaying Fifth Dimensional strength. If he couldn't become efficient, he would quickly find himself ruined.

Just as advertised, the moment the horde of the Fifth Floor appeared, Leonel's gaze narrowed, his vision coming into very sharp focus.

It was another group of reptilian serpents, but they all had back like wings and spewed acid from their mouths.

However, this wasn't too much to accept. What was difficult, though, was that they were all outrageously fast and each and every one had entered the Sixth Dimension.

To be continued