Final Trial (3)

--- Chapter 8 ---

Romanov?

Was that supposed to be an elite family or something?

I tilted my head in confusion because Simon's reaction was too much. 

At the same time, Alice Romanov glanced at me and smiled like I was an amusing specimen. Her golden eyes seemingly pierced my soul, but that's a feeling.

Or is it?

"H-Hello, my name is Simon Hunt!" Simon acts nervously. 

Aih, your body doesn't match your face.

I sighed, "Adam Gates, nice to meet you." 

"Nice to meet you two, Adam."

"And Simon." 

Alice Romanov clapped her hand, "Everyone, get into your position." 

"Adam and Simon, follow me to the resting area." 

After that, Alice Romanov walked away with a casual bearing. 

Simon and I followed her.

I nudged Simon and whispered, "Why were you so shocked earlier?"

"Dude, didn't you know about the Romanov Family?" Simon gave me a weird look again. 

"Nah, I don't know. What's so special about the Romanov Family?" 

Simon rubbed his temple like I was a fool. He sighed and explained, "You know that humanity has twelve pillars protecting it, right? One of them came from the Romanov Family." 

"Hmm, is there a pillar with Romanov's name? I don't remember." 

"Dude, I'm sure you're living under a rock now." 

"To maintain neutrality, pillars must forgo their family's name."

"The Herald of Black Steel, Dmitri, is one of them."

"Even with such a policy, the Romanov Family is the strongest in Ground Zero. Some rumors said the Herald of Black Steel sent them high-quality gifts every month." 

My eyes widened in disbelief because the Herald of Black Steel is the one pillar I felt most mysterious. I couldn't find any history record of him on the internet besides his name and power to control metal.

In fact, the Herald of Black Steel ranked 3rd in the twelve pillars.

That shows just how powerful he is.

I gazed at Alice Romanov's back and frowned slightly. To have such a background, this girl is not simple. 

Alica Romanov giggled, "If you still have energy to gossip about my great-grandfather, then you should have enough energy to help us monitor the mutated beast's movement." 

"No, no, we didn't talk about anything!" Simon quickly denied it.

I facepalmed, "This fool..." 

"I'm joking." The golden-eyed girl smirked at us. 

"Go rest in that area and wait for my next command." 

We entered a resting area with heaters and sat on the blanket-covered ground to calm our nerves. 

Alice Romanov placed two water bottles and crackers, "Here, we don't have much." 

"Thank you," I said to her.

"Thank you, Alice," Simon added with a goofy smile.

I can't believe this guy. 

Why act so goofy?

Alice Romanov nodded and turned around, "Oh, yeah... My family is strong not because of my great-grandfather. We never rely on him and always prove it with our strength and talented members." 

"There is no weak Romanov. That's why we are strong." 

After saying that, Alice Romanov walked away and disappeared into the cave's shadow.

"D-Did you think she hates me?" Simon fumbled with his finger. This giant sure is something else. 

I rolled my eyes, "Who knows? You're saying nonsense with your big mouth." 

"But I don't think she hates you." 

"Really?"

"She is just annoyed by your guts." 

"Damn it!" 

I laughed at Simon and checked if there was an injury on me. After such an intense chase, it would be a miracle if I had none.

And yes, I found some injuries on my left thigh and right arm. 

Although the combat suit is sturdy, the intense movement and jungle terrain scored some of the reinforced fabric. I cleaned my injuries and applied healing balm on them.

Thank god, I always carried my medicine bag separately from my backpack.

"Hey, Adam. Is it me, or does your blood look weird?" Simon commented while looking at the dirty tissue.

"What do you mean?" 

"Look, your blood is a bit purple." 

I glanced at the tissue and saw some purple spots. "I don't know..." 

"You don't have a mutation, right?" 

"Bruh, I wouldn't be here if I was mutated." 

"That's true." 

However, at the back of my head, I knew this had something to do with my grandma's medicinal bath. After all, I don't dunk myself in anything purple except her medicinal bath.

After wrapping bandages on my thigh and arm, I moved them around to see whether they affected my movement. Fortunately, they aren't. 

"Okay, shut your mouth for a moment, Simon," I said while closing my eyes. "I want to have a nap first." 

Simon looked at me in horror because he probably didn't expect me to enter microsleep this quickly. 

"Shit, you can fall asleep on command?"

I was somewhat amused by his comment. 

In my previous life, I have always been able to microsleep and recover my stamina faster than other people. Doctors checked me several times, but they couldn't find anything wrong with me.

After bathing in the medicinal bath for over two months and learning my dad's breathing technique, this young body recovered even faster!

Sometimes later, Simon also fell asleep. 

...

Meanwhile, Alice Romanov met with her core team members.

"Alice, I heard you rescued two interesting contestants." Said a tall boy with a buzz cut. 

Alice Romanov sat on a random rock, "Yes. They are an interesting duo." 

"Are they strong?" Asked a muscular girl with twin tails.

"About that, Olivia. Simon is muscular and giant-like for our age. But his mind isn't keen enough." Alice answered patiently. 

"He didn't wear a combat suit when I saw him running from the 1st Ascension Mutated Beast, which is an interesting point, but..."

"I overheard them throw their clothes to distract the beast's senses." 

"Adam, on the other hand..." 

"I can't see through him." 

"What, someone can conceal himself from the infamous Alice Romanov'?" A short boy with a machete suddenly blurted. "Maybe this Adam guy is just a fool." 

The other teammates also nodded in agreement. 

To them, Alice Romanov is the most talented contestant in Ground Zero and possesses remarkable wisdom. She could see through human hearts and determine their dangers.

The fact she is only ten years old pushed her feat even more.

Alice Romanov shook her head gently, "You guys don't understand." 

"Adam has this dangerous aura around him. His physique was also much stronger than me at first glance, which makes me think he was from another prestigious family in Ground Zero." 

"Weirdly, I have never heard or known any elite families with Gates's name." 

"I also never saw Adam Gates's name on Numerical Ground's Young Genius Ranking." 

"Adam just appeared out of thin air." She smiled slightly. "Or just like Simon said as if he had been living under a rock all this time." 

"You look excited, Alice." The tall boy with a buzz cut commented.

Alice Romanov giggled, "You have no idea, Andrew." 

"Finding a guy like Adam is like finding a diamond in a pile of worthless rock." 

"I want to make him mine!" 

"There she goes again." The short boy with a machete grumbled.

"You should fix your habit of using improper words, Alice." 

"You're the Romanov Family's Heiress." 

"Just say you want to make this Adam guy your teammate and don't make others misunderstand." 

Alica Romanov stuck her tongue out, "Hehe, my bad, Zwei." 

"But I really want to make Adam mine." 

"Yet he didn't find me interesting for some reason." 

"WHAT??" The three kids looked at Alice Romanov in confusion.

"A-Are you sure he doesn't find you attractive? I mean, look at you. You're a literal princess from a fairytale!"

"Well, obviously not under all those muds, but still..."

"Yes, your golden eyes are beautiful!" 

"The other boys literally had a crush on you! Heck! Andrew and Zwei have a crush on you!" 

"OLIVIA!!" The boys couldn't believe this muscular girl to betray them.

Alice Romanov covered her mouth and giggled, "I know that already, but something about Adam piqued my interest."

"I'm curious just what kind of medicinal bath and training he had been through to have a physique like that." 

"There is a big chance he doesn't know his true strength, though." 

"Do you mean that he was clueless?" The three teammates were dumbfounded.

Alice Romanov nodded attentively, "I saw Adam's combat suit and believed it was a very old model created sixteen years ago by the Hummingbird Brotherhood."

"Not only is this model's physical enhancement lower than ours, but its defensive capability is also laughable. Yes, Adam is no different than naked at this point by wearing it." 

"And he's running from the 1st Ascension Mutated Beast with it on!"

Alice Romanov's teammates couldn't help but swallow their saliva in disbelief. 

Alice Romanov stared at the dark ceiling and hummed, "I think we are going to witness the birth of a great individual~!"