God From The Abyss

Chapter 57: Chapter 057: The Alternate Dimension (3)

"Mikael!" Miriselle called out in a serious voice. "Finish him off. We don’t know what else might pop out next! Not to mention we don’t have time!"

"Yeah, sure."

Mikael leapt into the sky above the Troll. As he fell, he spun rapidly, slamming the Troll’s head almost fully into its body, causing it to die quickly.

He dusted his hands as he walked over to the group.

"So, what exactly do we need time for?"

"We still have to get more crystals to pass with flying colors; we are running a bit short. We could hunt other teams. Although, finding the location of others in a ruin so big, with little time left and our near-exhausted mana and stamina, will prove to be quite the arduous task. And the roar from a while ago should be coming from an S-ranked Ravager. I’m pretty sure no one wants to be ’saved’, right?"

"No," Leon chuckled.

Alexis scoffed, while Isabella twiddled with her clothes.

"Do you have any kind of long-range search spells?" Mikael questioned, his tone clearly showing his apathetical attitude.

"No."

"Not yet."

The others shook their heads.

He slapped his forehead in disappointment.

"Aren’t you supposed to be the cream of the crop among your generation?" He sighed. "Mighty disappointed in you all."

’Open Gate.’

Saying so, he let out faint ripples of energy from his body that spread rapidly throughout the entirety of the ruins.

Once the ripple passed through anyone or anything, their location would be fed back and noted by Mikael.

A little while later, he coughed out a mouthful of blood — the backlash from using celestial energy.

"Up north, about a mile or so from here, there’s about seven teams, around forty in our general east, while the rest are currently at the center of the ruins, though they seem to be spreading out."

"Probably because of the roars from here."

"We should attack those near the center!" Isabella said, hand on her jaw. "Since they are focused on leaving that vicinity immediately, their guards will most likely be down. Thought process focused more on escape from the beast rather than people."

"Good thinking," Leon said. "Then we’ve got to get a move on. Something doesn’t feel right. The heavily dense air of mana has somehow decreased by quite a lot. Oxygen might be next, for you never know with these tests."

"That so?"

It was Mikael’s turn to stroke his chin.

"Didn’t notice it at all."

"Let’s move out!" Alexis ordered, already running toward the center of the ruins.

The others followed suit.

Center of the Ruins

The vegetation was more lush, completely covering the stone walls and statues in green.

"Come on, pretty face. Move those legs. Is the Salem family now bothering weaklings?" A boy jeered at his teammate as they ran.

Most Master Ranks hadn’t learned to temper their bodies, so her speed was pretty average. Their mana was much more spent on spells.

Naturally, only those who loved melee combat tempered their bodies with mana; the knights, for instance. Pure mages usually did not have any need, as they had spells that could do what tempering did, sometimes even better.

The team of four ran for a bit longer before deciding to take a break.

"Tch. This is all because of this damned lass, Michelle. She can’t even run for thirty minutes without collapsing," the boy from earlier chided and grunted.

"Look who’s breathing wildly," a girl replied, seemingly coming to Michelle’s rescue.

"Enough. Remember, we still have to look for more crystals or even take some from others; otherwise, our chance of getting admitted will be greatly reduced," the leader of the group scolded, bringing a temporary peace.

"Rest up. Take more in five minutes."

"Five...!"

A glare from the leader shut him up.

"Yes, ma’am."

A few meters away from the other group stood Mikael and his team. He wanted to continue straight, but Alexis stopped him.

"They set up a few traps, so..."

"Who cares."

Mikael’s form shook just like earlier before vanishing.

Alexis was slowly getting used to his antics, and so she ordered, "Fan out, then close in. Be careful, there are still traps around."

When Mikael appeared next, he was in the midst of the team.

The startled team drew their swords but posed no threat at all. The boy from earlier charged first, though the way he swung his sword clearly showed his inexperience.

The second guy from the group was much more trained, as he quickly took his stance and, as soon as Mikael weaved an attack from the first guy, he charged, not even allowing Mikael to properly settle.

There was one fault with him, just one.

He was slow, very slow compared to his opponent.

Mikael caught his actions from the side of his eye, and instead of letting the first attacker fall to the ground, he held the poor lad by the hand and spun him. Using him as a pivot, Mikael shifted himself away from the oncoming attack, and his pivot took his place.

The entire sequence ended with both guys headbutting each other and wincing in pain.

Meanwhile, Leon and Isabella moved faster than the two spellcasters and neutralized them.

The leader was eventually knocked out by Alexis, and she claimed their spoils and led the group away.

She tossed the crystals at Mikael.

"You are the most energetic of us all. I think you’d be better protecting them."

However...

"My apologies. But I can’t help but feel that those roars from earlier must be something interesting."

"You surely do not mean..."

"Yes, I’ll have to trouble you to look after Isabella once more."

He blitzed away.

Some seconds later, no one spoke. In their minds, they all asked one question:

How is he so fast? Anyone fighting against him surely will have no time to cast a single spell!

"Question though, Isabella. Is he your lover? Or your betrothed? How come we are to always look after you?" Alexis asked with a surprisingly serious tone.

Isabella’s face flushed red.

"Goddess, no, Alexis. He’s just strangely obsessed with camaraderie and loyalty, that’s all."

Instructors’ Stand

Through the projections, they saw Mikael walking calmly towards the ’storm’.

Unfaltering. Steady.

"What do you think?" the instructor asked the old man.

Headmaster Malcius took a sip of his tea.

"Since the teleportation array is up and ready for immediate activation, allow him to have his fun. If things somehow go south, we’ll have to end the test early and exit everyone. Professor Damien, I will have to trouble you to subdue it after then."

"Yes, Headmaster."

"Good."

He took another sip, put the teacup down, and said, "We are going to watch and wait. Who knows? It just might be interesting."

---

A smile slowly curled up Mikael’s lips as he came up to the source of the roars.

A tremor split the underground a few hundred meters ahead, and dust rose and hung heavily in the air.

The roar shook the ruins, much more deep and guttural up close. Trees bent and fell.

Mikael’s eyes turned crimson red as the beast finally drew closer.

"Let us see you, big guy. I’ll use your core to temper this body for a bit."

A towering creature of raw muscle and layered scales, up to fifteen feet tall. It resembled a lion in silhouette, but one raised from a volcanic world.

Its mane was as if it were made up of strands of ember-like tendrils of flames that crackled with molten energy, glowing brighter as it drew in mana from its surroundings.

Every breath it took brought a wave of heat that melted nearby stones into magma.

The scales along its torso were basalt black, flecked with gold veins that pulsed with each heartbeat!

A true mass of flesh and flames.

Over at the instructors’ stand, only the Headmaster was incredibly calm.

The others had looks of concern as they looked at the now-manifested S-class Ravager, Leo! One of the tops of the food chain in Ravager world.

"Headmaster..."

The Headmaster groaned.

"Fine, end the test, collect the kids. But leave that candidate. I want to see his next actions. Who knows, he just might take down the beast himself. I’ll personally retrieve him, if need be."

The rest of the instructors heaved a sigh of relief. It certainly would do the same, good if any of the nobles’ children or even others died or got seriously injured. They would have a hell of a time.

"Yes, Headmaster. Activating the teleportation array now!"

The girl closed her book as the intense waves of heat hit her, then stepped back a bit to escape the heat.

"I really do want to find out what is going on here," she asked.

Suddenly, the ground trembled beneath them, covered with mini spell circles encompassed into large ones.

"The test ended? We still have quite a lot of time left," she said.

"Must be because of those roars and tremors."

The huge circle also appeared in the sky above the ruins.

Beams of light rose to the sky, and the students all disappeared.

All but one.

Leo’s crimson eyes burned with pure hunger and anger.

But before it, Mikael stood.

Unimpressed.

Unarmed.

Unshaken.

Wind tossed his hair back while his loose uniform was now burned in some places because of the flames from the approaching opponent in the form of a lion of flames.

"Someone packs quite the heat. Be sure to entertain me well, animal."

---

The courtyard was familiar as the students now appeared back in the Academy grounds.

The Second test had ended!

A large projection appeared before them suddenly, showing Mikael and the S-class Ravager staring each other down, deciding who would launch the first attack!

"Impossible!!"

"How?!"

"That guy again!!"

Alexis did not know whether she wanted to laugh at Mikael’s bravery or curse his foolishness.

Miriselle clasped her hands in a quick prayer, while Leon rubbed his temples in worry.

"Mikael, you..."

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