Chapter 109: Absolutely so
By now, everyone understood why those Familiars and Maguses gave up out of nowhere. There are millions of those things, and they are hungry. Not to mention, you have to spend 40 Clicks on the Asteroid, and you won't be rescued even if you are disqualified or give up midway. It truly looked like a one-way trip to the other side.
Mosie did not care about what the participants were thinking and continued his explanation. "Now then, each of the Star Rays has a magic Energy Token on their back. As long as you touch it, the token will disappear, and points will be scored. There are three different colors of tokens, Yellow, Blue, and Green."
"Yellow tokens are on the back of Level One Star Rays and are worth a single point."
"Blue Tokens are on the back of Level Two Star Rays, and they are worth ten points."
"Finally, the Green Tokens can be found on the back of Level Three Star Rays, and they are worth one hundred points each."
"It goes without saying that you have a lot more Level One Star Rays than Level Three. Not to mention that they are easier to deal with. Level Three Star Rays, especially, always have a bunch of lower Level Star Rays following it. Trying to get its token won't be easy, and you might actually become the prey instead, so be careful."
"Another thing to keep in mind is that once a token is taken, the Star Ray who carried it will have nothing left, so you also need to be fast before the others take the tokens first."
"Well, that's basically it. You don't need to worry about how we will identify who took which token. We have saved all your Magic Energy Signatures, so we will know who took the tokens without the need for any extra devices."
"This exam can be taken in two different ways. You can do it with your Familiars, and in that case, your score will be equally shared between the two of you, or you can take it alone. Regardless of your choice, only the top 1% will make it to the next phase, so make sure you consider which approach to take very well.
Finally, Mosie completed. "Alright, that's all. In ten minutes, all of you will be carried by the gravity rays to the Asteroid. The gravity rays will also protect you when you get there, so don't move until we give the order. Once we give the start signal, all gravity rays will disappear, and then you will be on your own. Good luck!"
Linfel heard all the explanations and found it a very interesting exam. He then glanced to the side and saw a certain someone sneaking out, ready to give up the exam. Too bad Linfel pulled him right back. "Let's go, Alvin, to the hangar! Hahaha!"
"Errr... We can always try the next one, right? There is no need to try it now." Alvin tried to come up with an excuse.
"What are you talking about?" Linfel didn't agree. "You are almost seventeen. There is no second chance for you anymore. Hahaha!"
Alvin bitterly smiled and just let Linfel pull him away.
Milia couldn't help but giggle a little while Nori snorted. Alvin, in the end, was still Alvin. "Let's go, Nori. We will work together on this one, too."
Nori, however, was still concerned. "Milia, are you sure you want to take this test? It is the type of test that those at lower levels will definitely struggle more. The risk is truly high."
"Sure? I'm obviously not sure!" Milia explained. "But Alvin and Linfel are doing it, so can I stay behind?"
Nori glanced at the tearful Alvin in the distance. "It looks more like only one of them truly wants to do it..."
Milia smiled and shook her head. "Don't worry. Alvin might be like that, but when it comes to it, he always pulls his weight. Don't forget who saved us back then."
"Linfel?" Nori asked back.
"Nope," Milia corrected him. "Linfel told me it was Alvin who reacted first, and he just followed."
---
Ten minutes passed fast, and the gravity rays caught all the participants. They were sent through the sea of Star Rays, landing on the asteroid. Because of the protection, the Star Rays couldn't feel the Maguses and Familiars' Magic Energy yet.
More and more participants landed on the asteroid all around its extensions. At some point, the asteroid looked nothing more than a yellow light show.
Yet, there weren't seven hundred thousand participants on the asteroid. No, after hearing the explanation about the Star Rays and the test rules, a huge number of Maguses and Familiars gave up. Only a little less than five hundred thousand landed on the asteroid in the end. The rest stayed behind after giving up the test.
Of course, the top 1% is still around seven thousand participants. After all, the ones who gave up were still part of this test until a few minutes ago.
Finally, the last gravity ray delivered the last participants, and Mosie's voice echoed all over the asteroid. "That's about it! Forty Clicks! The test starts now!"
*Ziu!*
Immediately, all the gravity rays disappeared instantly. The moment it happened, the Star Rays seemed to grow restless, feeling the sudden appearance of so many sources of Magic Energy. Mosie wasn't lying when he said they were quite hungry. It only took a few seconds before the Star Rays formed countless small groups and came after the Maguses and Familiars.
"Ahhhhh!"
Alvin looked to the side, just in time to see a small group of Star Rays pulling a magus away with them out of the asteroid's atmosphere.
Of course, even if it meant being disqualified, the guy wouldn't just let himself die. He immediately circulated his Magic Energy and sent an attack, killing two Star Rays. That disrupted the group work, which the magus used to force himself back to the asteroid's surface.
Unfortunately for him, his display of Magic Energy attracted even more Star Rays. They all joined forces and began to drag him away. The guy continued to attack, but he couldn't do anything against so many of those Star Rays. The more he used his magic Energy the more Star Rays he attracted. At some point, he lost control over his Magic Energy and began to hallucinate.
In the end, he simply let himself be pulled away. Anyone seeing this knew that he would become food very soon.
Similar scenes happened all around, scaring many of the Maguses and Familiars. Those who weren't targeted straight away understood that using their Magic Energy to attack the Star Rays didn't just disqualify you. It also made themselves become beacons of Magic Energy that the Star Rays swarmed with gusto.
Suddenly, Alvin heard someone's voice.
"Oh! So this is the yellow token..." It was Linfel. Right at that moment, there were ten Star Rays around him. However... the Star Rays didn't try to bring Linfel away. No, when they tried to pull Linfel away, Linfel used that connection to take control of their bodies.
Somehow... Linfel got ten new bodyguards...
Linfel touched the tokens on the Star Rays' backs, and his score instantly jumped to ten. "Alvin, what are you waiting for? Go grab a few Star Rays. Otherwise, I will release my new friends here all over you."
"Fuck!" Alvin already knew Linfel's training methods. If he said he would that that, he absolutely would do so!