Sometime later, the director gathered everyone outside and, using a basic wind spell, lifted everyone into the air. Everyone there had flown before, but it was still incredible to feel the air hitting your face and the ground passing quickly beneath your feet.
Several teams were also in the air, heading towards the center of the event. A few seconds later, Kayden finally looked at what would be the center of attention for the next hour: a huge marble circle had been assembled, levitating a few feet above the ground.
It was simply gigantic and easily reached the margin of two kilometers in diameter. The circle was divided into several squares, demarcated by floating red flags.
The director took them to one of the squares without the slightest hesitation. Within seconds, the place was packed with people. Everywhere Kayden looked, there was a team.
"Welcome little ones," an old man who was floating in the air called everyone's attention. The height of his voice made it seem like he was facing Kayden, even though he was dozens of meters away. "This year, we had an increase in the number of participants, so we are going to do an elimination test. It consists of..."
A shiver ran down the spines of all the participants.
"I'll use my mana pressure. We'll decrease the number of participants by four times, so good luck." As soon as he said that, a small weight on every teenager's shoulder was felt.
"What the fuck is mana pressure?" Kayden was the first to break the silence in his group.
"When you reach higher levels, you can exude your mana into the environment, similar to spiritual sense. The difference is that this time, the layer is not thin, but heavy and made to oppress," Astolfo was the one who responded.
For the next few minutes, neither of them felt anything much. Kayden wasn't even feeling the weight on his shoulder.
The sound of a body falling was heard to his right. When he turned around, he saw Klaus collapsing to the ground. But he wasn't the only one. Several other participants began to fall, one after the other, until a point of equilibrium.
It took five minutes and the balance was broken again, with some bodies falling to the ground. Meanwhile, Kayden was sitting in the lotus position, studying this invisible pressure.
Since there was nothing to do, it was better to try to learn something from this, right? Furthermore, the pressure was barely felt by him. Only after 15 minutes did his body start to feel heavy. At that moment, the twins were also disqualified.
It was a strange sensation, as it was not a physical pressure, but something spiritual. His movements were heavy, but it didn't seem like he had any difficulty performing his basic actions. But even so, there was still physical pressure. It was inexplicable.
By the time he reached twenty minutes, he was finally feeling some real pressure. It looked like he was carrying a bookshelf on the shore. Astolfo was red-faced and dripping with sweat.
Kayden thought they would let us know when the participants reached the right number for the next phase, but it was taking a while. Over the next five minutes, Kayden finally understood something.
The pressure was against his will. It was practically as if he was facing himself. His own body was telling him to pass out and every minute seemed longer.
Now he understood why so many people had fallen, including Astolfo, in these last minutes. How will you defend yourself against your conscience?
It finally reached 40 minutes and there were few people in the arena now. Most had already been removed. At this point, Kayden felt like a car was being placed on his back.
But the problem was... it didn't even come close to making him tremble. His will was iron, unbreakable. A few dozen more participants fainted. The time passed to the 50-minute mark.
This time, there were a tiny number of people standing. Most of them were already known from previous tournaments. Few new faces like Kayden were on stage. When one hour arrived, the number of participants was less than 100.
Kayden felt like a mountain was on his shoulders. It felt like he was carrying the weight of an entire world. All his body wanted was to close his eyes and rest. For every minute that passed, it felt like another mountain was placed on his shoulders.
When another 3 minutes had passed, only 30 people were standing. Kayden watched as each of them was placed center stage. He didn't even feel his body being pulled in that direction.
Even with all this pressure, Kayden didn't even show any reaction. He doubted anyone could break his will. His life experiences made him different from others.
He was focused and determined to an unhealthy level. He put his goals above all else, no matter the price he had to pay. His mindset could be summed up in one sentence:
Everything can be achieved as long as you are willing to pay the necessary price.
Five more minutes and they had Kayden and four other people. This entire time, he had been sitting in the lotus position, studying this pressure. Little by little, he understood its working principle.
Five more minutes and they had Kayden and two other boys standing. Neither of them seemed to be making any effort. One of the boys had dark red hair tied into a bun with two strands falling to his shoulders. His fine clothing identified him as a nobleman.
The other boy was short in height and had short black hair. His skin was tanned, as if he spent all day in the sun. A calm smile balanced his appearance as a friendly and likable person.
"I didn't expect to find the king of kings here," a low laugh accompanied the boy's sentence. For a few moments, it took Kayden to realize that it was him the boy was talking to.
"Sorry, sorry, it was my mistake. Why be so serious?", the boy said, looking up at the sky. Kayden began to think he was crazy. Turning his attention to the other boy, he noticed that the boy appeared to be frozen.
Surprised, he began to look around. Nothing seemed alive, it was as if time had stopped. Before he could open his mouth and say anything, the other boy was faster.
"Remember that you owe me a favor in the future for helping you with Merlin", the boy's sentence left Kayden even more confused with everything that was happening. And before he could ask anything, the boy's body fell to the ground.