100th Step

 Elara's job was humble; she worked as a receptionist in her stepdad's business. However, one shouldn't judge a book by its cover. Those wealthy people with fancy jobs and high education levels might not be half as strong-willed as she was. In this contest, she indeed had a chance of success. It's not to say that all rich people or those with high education are weak-willed; in general, there are two types of successful people; those who are self-made, and those who inherited their success; the wealthy who are self-made are usually very talented and strong-willed; those who inherit their success, however, usually didn't suffer any real hardship, and are indeed more feeble-minded that the general population. ... 

Taking the second step, the pain increased, but Elara gritted her teeth and kept moving forward. Excessive pain can be dangerous; it can overwhelm the brain, causing one to lose consciousness, or worse, in very rare cases, a stroke could result from it, even leading to death.

However, the supernatural masters overseeing the contest ensured protection against fatal consequences. No one would faint, nor was there any risk of a stroke. In the illusion, there was no need to worry about dying or being physically harmed.

Ignoring the escalating pain, Elara continued step after step.

...

Meanwhile, Mike began to doubt whether Lana was truly only rank 11; even her subordinates were strong enough to effortlessly suppress his quasi-rank 10 level with just one glance, without even needing to lift a hand.

He had arrived with the others, but as soon as he entered, one of the supernatural masters glanced at him, and in an instant, he lost all of his magical power. Not even rank 10s should be able to completely seal his power with just one glance. After all, Mike was at the peak of quasi-rank 10, only half a step away from actual rank 10 power. Of course, when fighting a true rank 10, he stood no chance, but he should have been able to cast at least one spell.

In front of the supernatural master in this arena, however, he felt as powerless as a speck of dust—like candlelight before the sun; not even trillions of him would be enough to challenge the man in this arena.

"Is he rank 11? Is he one of Lana's subordinates? Impossible! How can she have a rank 11 as a subordinate? He must be her partner," Mike thought, nodding. A being with rank 11 subordinates is too terrifying; he couldn't be unlucky enough to encounter such a powerful entity.

Of course, that was his thought; if he knew Lana was actually rank 13, he might have collapsed completely; in front of a rank 13, he would never stand a chance of running away or hiding, let alone fighting back or taking revenge.

With his power sealed, Mike entered the illusion like everyone else, without any advantages. Fortunately, even without cheats, he was millions of years older than the other contestants. For him, pain was meaningless. He took step after step, completely disregarding it.

In a previous world, transforming into his wolf form from the Lone Wolf bloodline had been excruciating. He had lived that world over a hundred times, dying, exploding, and being reborn repeatedly. Though he forgot each life after the timeline reset, he remembered those lost memories once he took control of the big demon's body. Even relying on those memories alone, his pain tolerance reached unimaginable levels.

But even he began to slow down after the hundredth step; the pain at this point far exceeded even that of his wolf transformation.

"This should be enough," he thought after taking the 100th step. He could still go further, but there was no reason to. He didn't expect anyone to reach the 100th step or even the 50th. The pain at these levels was beyond human tolerance. Mike didn't want to torture himself any longer.

So, he called out in his mind, "Quit."

Immediately, the scene changed, and he successfully exited the illusion world.

...

Elara, soaked in sweat, took the 40th step. She had long since lost the ability to think clearly; her only focus was to step forward. Her brain was so overwhelmed by the pain that there was no room for any other thoughts.

"End of the contest," someone whispered in her mind. Instantly, the scene changed. Her mind was exhausted, and she was about to pass out, but suddenly, a cool, refreshing energy entered her head, clearing away all the tiredness and chaotic thoughts.

"40 steps. I should be able to take first place in the ranking!" she thought excitedly. The pain at the 40th step was so terrifying that she couldn't imagine anyone reaching as far as she had.

The whisper came again, "The ranking has been made available on your screen."

Elara summoned her screen and looked up her name.

"How is this possible? My rank… 933,220? This many people reached the 40th step?" She was astonished. It was simply unimaginable that so many people could get that far.

"Let's check the ranking," she thought.

"100 steps? That's a joke! How can a human reach 100 steps?" She simply couldn't believe it. She had heard of some remote non-human species; maybe one of them had been allowed to participate?

The names and identities in the rankings were secret, so she didn't know who the first rank belonged to.

"The second rank is only 48 steps, less than half of the first rank," she thought. "The third is also 48 steps, but he reached it a second later, so he was ranked lower."

"The 1 millionth rank with 39 steps… if I had taken one step slower, I would have failed," she thought. She had taken the 40th step at the last moment; had she not taken it, she would have failed due to her slower pace in reaching the 39th step.

"I don't care about my rank; I passed the test, and that's all that matters," she reassured herself.

...

Mike looked at his screen and nodded. "As expected," he thought. He knew he would win this contest; his pain tolerance was beyond what ordinary people could imagine.

"Come to think of it, the trial of will isn't fair," Mike realized, now understanding how the system worked.

Usually, only those between the ages of 20 and 40 can participate in contests, but this rule doesn't apply to cardholders. As long as one wins a card, even a blue card, they can participate in every competition regardless of age. Some red cardholders are hundreds of years old and have much higher pain tolerance simply from living longer.

Still, the total number of cardholder contestants isn't huge, and most of them participate in the competitions only to keep their cards. After all, losing in a competition carries great penalties, and they don't want to take the risk.

Gold cardholders usually participate only once every thousand years. As for blue and red cardholders, if they lose once, they lose their rank and won't be allowed to participate ever again, so they only participate to keep their cards.

...

Elara listened carefully to the whispering voice in her mind.

"This test is about your intelligence. You won't have access to your memory in this test. Enter the illusion space when you are called."

After waiting for only a few minutes, she heard her name. She stepped forward confidently and entered. This part should be pretty easy for her; she trusted herself.

...

"Where am I?" Elara wondered, confused.

The last thing she remembered… She couldn't remember anything!

"Who am I?" After a few seconds, she couldn't even remember her own name.

Then, pieces of memory started to emerge.

"I am a farmer!" she nodded. It was strange that she had forgotten for a moment.

The tax collector would arrive in three months. If she failed to produce enough wheat, he would arrest her and kill her! She shuddered at the thought. The taxman was extremely cruel; he would kill her without hesitation.

"I have to think of a way!" She began thinking deeply.

...

The intelligence test of this round was deceptively simple. The contestants were given the roles of farmers who had to pay taxes in three months. There were a few options to solve the issue. First, one could try to produce enough wheat, but three months wasn't enough time to grow enough.

Then, there were alternatives, such as killing the taxman, marrying a wealthy neighboring farmer, or running away. If contestants could survive for one year, they would pass the test.

The good thing about the illusion world was that although one year there lasted less than a day outside, the entire intelligence test would be over in one day.

This round's intelligence test was very challenging; the contestants were given weak bodies with no background. Surviving was not as easy as it seemed.

...

"Wasn't I a man?" Mike thought, puzzled, but quickly laughed it off, thinking, "What a strange thought! I was always a woman."

The illusion was powerful, so even Mike couldn't resist its effects.