Spiritual Test (3) - End Of Test

Unaware that anyone was talking about him, Rin was 100% focused on the rune in front of him. The doubled mental load wasn't much to him; he could handle it easily.

"I think if it doubles every time, it might be harder than expected..."

The second rune disappeared to make way for the third, this time a triangle and the mental load tripled.

"...Damn life, why every time I say something it always goes the wrong way!"

Enduring the mental load required all his energy, but what required the most effort was not to look away, to stay fixed on the rune.

After the rune disappeared, for several seconds, nothing appeared. Then, soon, a huge sheet of paper appeared in front of him, with a brush levitating beside it, and Mr. Astros' voice rang out: "Bravo! If you've made it this far, you're at least ranked B among the 47. For the rest of the test, please draw the single-line rune you saw earlier, with at least 80% similarity. Please note that the brush uses your mental energy to work. If you can do this, it's an A grade."

Immediately, the single-line rune reappeared on the right, and Rin understood the difficulty. Looking at the rune for inspiration and increased image fidelity cost a mental load, while drawing required mental energy, limited for the unawakened. He had to juggle both. But...

"Hahahaha, what a blessing!" For Rin, currently, he could see the rune in great detail without looking at it, thanks to his semi-stigmata. Thus, he could reproduce the rune in detail in record time, saving both mental energy and mental load.

He laughed maniacally as he thought of Along, who must be having a nightmare.

***

Alliong couldn't take it anymore and forcibly left the World of Dreams, but remained conscious, holding his skull. He gritted his teeth: "As expected, spiritual tests, what a chore."

Under the soldiers' orders, he moved to the side where he saw the other 46 participants still in progress, this time with the first rune on their foreheads, but extinguished. According to the soldiers, it would light up if they succeeded.

As he pondered, the rune on Rin's head began to glow.

After 5 minutes, only 12 individuals remained with the rune lit, and all the others were eliminated. At that point, the rune changed to "L", and in less than 2 minutes, only 5 people remained: 4 with the rune off and the person who had aced everything from the start, whom no one was trying to figure out anymore.

***

In the realm of dreams, Rin eagerly awaited the appearance of the third Rune, knowing it was a pivotal moment. Suddenly, a voice rang out: "For the few still in the running, the final Rune is about to manifest. Achieving it is no small feat and will earn the prestigious SS score. Be courageous, as it could impact your standing for the Awakening Stone."

An electric tension filled the air as a triangular Rune materialized in the same spot. Rin immediately got back to work, guided this time by his unique "vision". But as he neared completion, his semi-stigmata arbitrarily deactivated.

"Damn life!!!" he exclaimed, already feeling the intense mental strain and his energy reserves hitting rock bottom. Nevertheless, he decided to rely on his memory to finish the triangle, despite the risk of failure.

After the final stroke, Rin felt himself teleported out of the Dream World, seeing before him the familiar gymnasium filled with an atmosphere charged with excitement and anticipation.

***

After regaining consciousness, a tremendous mental fatigue hit Rin, but he held his ground and noticed that all eyes were on him. Despite this fatigue, he smiled at the assembly, a gleam of pride shining in his eyes.

A palpable tension reigned in the room, with everyone feeling a strange urge to hit someone, although no one dared move.

Astros, shocked to have been the only one to observe Rin's method of working, suppressed his fears and spoke again in a calm voice: "Young people, as in the previous round, I'm going to announce the top 10. For the others, you know the procedure."

He then announced the names of the top 10:

Number 896 - Rin - Spiritual Potential - SS

Number 601 - Shanna Matri - Spiritual Potential - S

Number 356 - Shen Yi - Spiritual Potential - S

Number 589 - Shin Genryu - Spiritual Potential - S

Number 124 - Yuuki Shenzhen - Spiritual Potential - S

Number 801 - Hayashi Yoson - Spiritual Potential - A

Number 002 - Nikito - Spiritual Potential - A

Number 202 - Milion - Spiritual Potential - A

Number 314 - Ebina Hona - Spiritual Potential - A

Number 453 - Koga - Spiritual Potential - A

The lieutenant then spoke in a solemn voice: "Young people, the overall ranking will now be revealed. Allow me to explain how the overall score is calculated for each event. You will be given a grade from E to SS, with points allocated as follows:"

E - 1 pts

D - 2 pts

C - 4 pts

B - 8 pts

A - 16 pts

S - 32 pts

SS - 64 pts

Some faces paled as they realized that even if they added up their scores on all 6 tests, they wouldn't even reach the score of a single test from one of the 6 prodigies. It was terrifying.

"So here's the final ranking," the lieutenant continued, displaying a gold panel with 10 places for names, two silver panels, and numerous bronze panels behind him. "On these panels, your names will be displayed, but first let me explain what they mean. Gold represents the elements that the bastion must favor and who, if the awakening is successful, will participate in the training of the elites. Silver denotes those with high potential, while bronze represents those at risk of dying or being permanently disabled during the ceremony. Let's move on to the top 10, from the bottom!"