'What should I do?' Reign pondered, considering the amount of force necessary to ace the test. Initially, he hadn't been overly concerned about his test score, as long as he passed.
However, the taunts from Kyson and Frank ignited his vengeful side, forcing him to reassess his approach.
He wasn't great at controlling his humanoid body yet, so he couldn't measure the force of his punches accurately.
Instead, he guessed using percentages, like 50 or 70%. But he wasn't sure if that would be enough to reach 4000 kg.
Punching wasn't his usual fighting style, because he had been relying on slashing technique before.
And even when his body became more humanoid, Reign stuck to practicing his claw bullet and claw technique out of habit.
It wasn't his fault; why would he bother with punches when he had claws?
It was like asking a knight with a long sword to fight barehanded.
Fortunately, Reign was a quick learner, thanks to his intelligence.
During Kyson's turn, he observed the punches closely—the position, angle, and shift in balance.
None of these details escaped Reign's notice.
Though he couldn't perfectly imitate it on the first try, he already grasped the basics.
He clenched his fist, then with a strong swing of his arms, he mimicked Kyson's punch, and then...
BOOOOOOM!
As his fist struck the Punching Machine, a deafening bang exploded, akin to a grenade detonating.
The machine tilted dangerously, nearly toppling over if not for the wall supporting it from behind.
The counter began to rise rapidly, accelerating with each passing moment.
0001
0100
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
8000
9000
9999
Error!
Error!
Error!
The punch was so powerful that it surpassed the machine's limit entirely.
'Fuck, I messed up,' Reign cursed inwardly, realizing he had made a blunder.
He was not aware that mimicking Kyson's professionally trained punching style had actually made his attack much stronger than normal.
The ironic part was, he had really tried to restrained himself by not exerting any energy in his punch. If he had, even the wall would have crumbled.
However, it was already too late.
All eyes were now on him; he had made himself the center of attention.
"Hey, did you see that punch? Can Divergent pack that much power?" "
"Are you positive he's a Divergent? Seems more like a demon to me!"
"Man just destroyed the Punching Machine."
Murmurs began to ripple through the crowd as everyone discussed what happened.
'What should I do? Should I just carry on like nothing happened?' Reign mulled over his options, attempting to determine his next move.
But before he could come to a decision, a loud voice suddenly reverberated, startling everyone.
"We've got a strong Divergent here. You've brought us a promising prospect, Melissa,"
As they turned towards the source of the voice, they saw a man in a black suit. His hair was styled in a brush-up, his body was bulky, and he wore an eyepatch on his left eye.
"Guild Master!" Mellisa exclaimed.
The man who had just spoken was the Branch Head of the Vield Night in Summit City, Byron, someone who rarely made public appearances. His presence here came as a surprise to everyone.
"Don't be too shocked. While this result might be surprising in a Tier 4 city, in Tier 2 and 3 cities, Divergent punches can reach up to 30,000 kg," he explained, noticing that some were still eyeing Reign.
After hearing his words, they began to ponder more carefully and eventually accepted his explanation.
None of them were familiar with the workings of higher-tier cities, so they simply took his word for it without question.
Besides, it was common knowledge in the underground world that higher-tier cities has stronger hunters and demons, so it was only logical to assume that Divergents from those cities would be stronger as well.
Seeing that everyone had now calmed down, he approached Reign slowly and extended his hand for a shake.
Reign glanced at Mellisa first, and only when she nodded did he finally accept the gesture.
As their palms touched, Reign felt a sudden pressure in his hand. Byron was actually gripping his hand to test him.
Reacting instinctively, Reign matched the pressure, but to his surprise, Byron's raw power exceeded his own.
Reign could have exerted more energy to strengthen his grip, but he choose not to, aware that Byron would likely detect any unnatural increase in force at such close quarters.
As the handshake concluded, Byron's face lit up with a satisfied smile.
He was impressed by Reign's strength and durability.
Despite applying a force equivalent to 15,000 kg, he found that it wasn't enough to crush Reign's hand in the slightest.
"I'll be expecting great things from you. If you break all the old records here, you'll receive a special reward," Byron said, patting Reign's shoulder to motivate him.
"Why are you telling me this?" Reign asked, still suspicious of the offer.
In this world, there was no such thing as a free lunch.
"Let's just say that we Guild Masters receive bonuses when we have a genius like you in our branch. Don't worry, if you do me a favor, I'll owe you one. Remember, kid, in this line of work, connections are important," he explained.
"Alright," Reign agreed.
There was no need to argue with someone of Byron's status.
Besides, having the favor of a Guild Master would be a huge advantage.
If Reign played his cards right, he could gain access to missions that involved taking out a large number of humans.
"That's my boy. Now, I have to go before everyone thinks I'm showing favoritism," he chuckled loudly, making no effort to conceal his favoritism towards Reign.
Everyone's expressions of amazement and doubt quickly shifted to envy and jealousy after hearing Byron's word.
As for Kyson, he felt a chill run down his spine as he observed Reign's impressive display of strength.
What he witnessed was a painful slap to his ego : with Reign's power, one punch was enough to kill.
Reign noticed Kyson's anxious expression and turned towards him.
Though Reign did not utter a word, an ominous aura seemed to emanate from him, causing Kyson to feel as though death itself loomed over him.
[The agility test is about to begin,]
The sudden announcement from the speaker caught everyone's attention, but for Kyson, it brought a sense of relief. He felt as though he had been saved by the bell, escaping the tension that had been building between them.
"Frank, I want to quit," Kyson pleaded desperately.
"Are you crazy?" Frank berated him,
Frank was also shocked by Reign's unexpected power. If he had known about it from the start, he would never have dared to messed with him in the first place.
"But he'll kill me!" Kyson protested, fear evident in his voice.
"Idiot, if you quit now, you won't be able to join . That means no one will protect you. But if you get a good score, we can ask the Guild Master to mediate between you two," Frank explained firmly.
"Are you sure about this?" Kyson asked, his expression filled with doubt.
"I'm sure," Frank affirmed. "He might be powerful, but he's just one person. He'd back down if the Guild Masters ordered it."
After hearing Frank's words of assurance, Kyson began to calm down.
Frank was right; quitting now would only put him in more danger.