The fourth round of testing officially began.
A third Skeleton Warrior appeared before Morintis.
The three skeletons charged towards the level 13 monsters, killing them with single strikes.
Instant kills, without any suspense.
A flicker of fire passed over Morintis's palm, and a flame landed on the head of the mage monster at the rear.
Also an instant kill.
From the start of the test, less than three seconds had passed.
It was over in almost a single breath.
Nine Wolfkin Warriors and one Wolfkin Mage were already dead.
"This..."
"Why does this kid have a third summon?"
"This little rascal, why didn't he bring it out earlier?
Only now?"
"Brat, why do you like hiding your strength so much?"
"Exactly!
The stronger you are, the happier we are!"
Alistair wore an expression that said 'just as I expected'.
Morintis involuntarily curled his lip.
So this was the so-called National Exam?
It was utterly unchallenging.
It wasn't as thrilling as his first time entering the Xihai Mine Dungeon.
Not a single surprise.
It was even making him feel sleepy.
Unconsciously, he took out another sweet potato and began eating it slowly.
"Not watching him anymore.
Watching this kid is pointless."
"Right, might as well watch the others."
On Morintis's side, monsters were dealt with in three seconds max from the moment they appeared.
It really was boring.
Watching the others was far more interesting.
Sophia continuously retreated, leaving a trail of fire in her wake.
The Wolfkin pursuing her stepped on the flames, constantly taking damage.
Path of Flames!
This was a skill Mages could only master at level 10.
Once used, it created a path of fire damage wherever the caster walked.
It was very effective here.
Area attacks were a Mage's forte.
Although her level wasn't very high yet, Sophia already possessed two area-attack skills.
The other was Ice Rain, which had a slowing effect.
Combining the two, Sophia quickly cleared the Wolfkin Warriors.
In contrast, Zoe had a much harder time.
Stalkers had strong burst damage, rich combat techniques, and many control skills.
They were excellent classes for assassination or one-on-one combat.
The drawback was their lack of proficiency in group fights, as they had no area-attack skills.
Thus, Zoe seemed somewhat disadvantaged here, forced to clear monsters one by one.
Julian maintained his wide-open, forceful combat style.
His giant two-handed sword whistled through the air as he swung it.
Whoever you looked at, their fights were engaging to watch.
Only Morintis's side was extremely dull.
Not a single examiner wanted to watch him.
He spent far more time dazing than actually fighting.
"No need to watch.
He'll take first place in the fourth round, too."
"It just depends on whether he dares to participate in the fifth round."
"Although his points are far ahead now, if he doesn't participate in the fifth round, others could still catch up."
In the fourth round, monsters appeared in waves of 10, with a 1-minute interval between waves.
Those who were slower were already starting to face an increasing number of monsters.
By the time 3 minutes had passed, some had already given up on this test.
Too many monsters had surrounded them.
They were teleported out of the Trials Tower one by one.
Being eliminated in the fourth round wasn't shameful; it was even somewhat honorable.
They were all considered geniuses, and entry into an academy ranked within the Empire's top 100 was assured.
Those eliminated looked relieved; the monsters were too numerous, too terrifying.
"So scary!
I thought I was going to be eaten!"
"So many monsters, how could anyone kill them fast enough?"
"I wonder how many people can pass this round."
"I thought I was strong enough, but there's always someone stronger."
"Speaking of which, that Morintis is just too powerful.
I doubt this round troubles him either."
Leo reached his limit when the fifth wave of monsters appeared and had no choice but to give up.
The moment he exited, he heard people talking about Morintis.
Having held back for so long, he finally couldn't resist saying, "Morintis is my boss.
Of course he's amazing."
"May I ask your name, brother?"
"Sure thing.
Leo, from Xihai First High," Leo said loudly.
"So it's Brother Leo.
Please, tell us how amazing Morintis is."
Leo laughed.
"Sure, sure, I'll tell you all about it."
...
He began talking nonstop.
When he mentioned Morintis taking him through a Nightmare-difficulty dungeon in just ten minutes, the listeners showed expressions of disbelief.
How was that possible?
No one believed him, thinking Leo was boasting.
Leo didn't care whether they believed him or not; he just kept talking.
He just wanted to get it off his chest; he had been frustrated holding it in for so long.
As more and more people were eliminated, the number of screens in the control room at the top of the Trials Tower dwindled.
In the end, only five remained.
Morintis, Sophia, Zoe, Julian, and one more: Felix.
[Felix, Level 15, Holy Swordsman]
The examiners were now watching Felix.
Felix brandished his longsword, weaving skillfully through the encircling monsters.
His movements were as agile as Zoe's.
Although each attack didn't look particularly powerful, they added up, and the Wolfkin fell one by one almost unnoticed.
"This Felix is finally showing his strength now."
"I knew it!
The Holy Swordsman is clearly a Rare class.
No wonder his results were unremarkable at first; he was saving it for here."
"He's probably from the Feng family, the sword cultivation clan.
So he knows the rules of the National Exam, knows the final two rounds are the key to boosting points."
"That's why he's only starting to exert himself now."
"The Feng family participated in setting the exam rules before, so they're naturally familiar with them."
"Look, Julian finally decided to use his Rage."
"He's not stupid.
He's calculating the timing.
Activating Rage now is most appropriate."
The seventh wave of monsters appeared.
Julian roared and activated his Rage skill.
[Rage: Duration 5 minutes.Strength increased by 500%.Constitution increased by 500%.Agility decreased by 200%.After the Rage effect ends, enter a Weakened state for 30 minutes.]
After activating Rage, Julian's attack power increased severalfold.
However, it only lasted 5 minutes, so he waited until the seventh wave appeared to activate it.
Five minutes was enough.
There were still over 30 monsters on the field.
Combined with the seventh wave, the number exceeded 40.
In Rage mode, Julian began frantically clearing the monsters.
Each sweep of his sword took out two or three monsters.
He began clearing the field rapidly.