The Extra's Reincarnation-Chapter 66: The Royal 8 Challenge (4)

All participants within the hall where ranged from 5 to 10-year-old children. Each individual were capable enough to fend for themselves whether they were alone in the forest or stuck in a low-class dungeon.

It was a known fact among scientific mages, that a child who can manage their mana from a young age, could utilize elemental spell arts and effectively sense mana to an extent.

These requirements were not only needed to pass the first test of an evaluation, but these were invaluable skills that were a must have at an early age.

"Now that formalities are out of the way, I’d like to explain the first challenge now,"

Meredith paced back and forth, eyeing the potential candidates for the position. She already had a few in mind.

-I can see at least six kids with a unique aura that sets them apart. Those are the ones who will make it through to the final challenge and most of them looked qualified to serve the Princess.

"Being the Blade for the Royal family is not only a great honor, but it also requires you to have a keen eye for detecting any unusual situations. For this challenge, you must search for a mana orb in your designated world. However, be warned that there will be fake orbs mixed in with the real ones. Your task is to identify and hold on to the genuine one until the timer runs out."

The hall fell silent as Meredith’s words sank in.

"Each of you will be transported as a group into a simulated world,"

Meredith continued, her voice carrying effortlessly through the hall.

"These worlds will test not just your ability to sense mana, but your adaptability, your quick thinking, and your resolve. Be warned. These challenges you face may not be what you expect. Now before we begin, I will transfer each and everyone equipment to ensure safety as I am the one taking care of you all,"

SNAP!

With a snap of her fingers, every kid in the hall suddenly had clothing with hp trackers and an hourglass in their pockets. She explained that these items were crucial in determining their fate within the game. If their hit points reached zero, they would be eliminated. The hourglass could also be used as a safety measure, but only when absolutely necessary. It was a way out of a potentially deadly situation.

Julian felt his heart racing with every second that passed.

He glanced down at his new clothing, feeling the weight of the hourglass in his pocket.

-What’s this energy inside of the hourglass?

From his perspective, he saw a small golden sphere of energy inside an hourglass engraved with unfamiliar rune language. This was the code used to transport from one place to another, like a teleportation station.

"Just remember, I never said no fighting was allowed,"

CLICK!

Lady Meredith clicked her fingers, and the children vanished through a portal on the ground.

Once the room had emptied, she turned to the nobles in their private sections above. They were all curious about how they would be able to watch the challenge, but Meredith already had a solution in mind.

"Now, to everyone watching, do not fret,"

SNAP…

She assured them as she snapped her fingers. In an instant, multiple blue screens materialized in the air, each one dedicated to a specific member of the seating section.

"These screens have channels for each world, so you can watch the challenges unfold,"

Meredith announced proudly.

The hall erupted into applause, impressed by Lady Meredith’s powerful abilities as the number one ranked front caster. She was far superior to anyone else in the room and is one of the many geniuses among the scientific mages of her generation.

_____

In the Royal family seating section, Francine and her family were handed tablets with various functions. You could move world to world and even change the point of view to a specific player.

But what she had in mind, as she scrolled through channels, was to find one of the six potential candidates.

FLICK!

[Channel World: 14# Merua’s Canyon]

As she clicked through the channels, she suddenly landed on a familiar face. It was the tall boy from earlier, with his long black hair and strong physique standing out among the crowd.

Tiberius Ashworth

A Marquis noble who would soon attend Aethel academy at the same time as her. However, Francine also remembered in her previous regressions how he used to bully other races for being different.

Currently, Tiberius was in a fierce battle against multiple opponents, all vying for a blue orb. He stood at the center of the action.

"Hand over the orb!" One of the opponents, A small-framed boy demanded, surrounded by four other opponents in a simulated sky filled with fake stars.

Tiberus was aware that these boys were ganging up on him because of his appearance, but he found it amusing that they were nothing but weaklings in his eyes.

"Take it from me then,"

Then, a boy with fiery hair lashed out first, fingertips blazing as a spiral of flames roared toward Tiberus’s chest.

The spell shattered against his body like glass against stone.

"Seriously?" Tiberus snorted, rolling his broad shoulders as charred embers skittered down his reinforced tunic.

"Fire? In this wind?" He jerked his chin toward the gales whipping through the ravine—an environmental trick meant to destabilize ranged attackers—and lunged before the fire-caster could adjust.

BOOM!

His fist connected with the boy’s jaw with raw force without using an inch of magic. The crack of the boys bone echoed crisply as the kid crumpled.

BEEP…BEEP…BEEP…

Immediately his HP bar dropped from green to red before vanishing entirely.

Then what came afterward was a slaughter from Tiberus who destroyed all remanding challengers within the 12th World.

[Tiberus Ashworth has completed the first challenge.]

[Challengers: 1]

[Players Eliminated: 99]

A system message echoed throughout all the worlds.

Meredith, standing at the center of the hall, watched the screens with a keen eye. Her gaze darted from one world to another analyzing every detail.

-Well, it looks like one has already made it through, I wouldn’t have thought he was going after everyone but I guess it’s easier to cut out the weak links.

[10 minutes remaining.]

____

[World #14 - Greatlan Forest]

Julian moved through the tangled undergrowth of Greatlan Forest like a shadow, he carefully avoided all kinds of combat in the area solely focused at achieving the goal at hand.

BOOM…BOOM…

Above him, bioluminescent moths scattered from their perches as explosions rattled branches in neighboring sectors of the arena-world. None of it mattered.

-How will I find this? I don’t have a slight clue on what to actually sense, so I’m kind of just wondering around right now. There’s a lot of people to avoid since I think combat is pointless here.

Julian stopped beneath a canopy of glowing vines. His fingers brushed the hourglass in his pocket—its surface warm now, pulsing faintly like a second heartbeat.

AH…

A scream tore through the trees ahead. He froze as two contestants crashed through a bracken nearby, hurling spells that scorched bark and split stone. Julian pressed himself against a tree trunk striped with iridescent moss, holding his breath until their clash faded deeper into the woods.

As the area fell quiet, he glanced down at his feet to see a golden trail on the moss floor, leaking from at his feet.

-Hmm… What’s this?

As he followed along the trail, he moved through countless destroyed areas and what he saw up ahead was a massive trunk that split open like a wound. When he got closer to the broken trunk, three figures came into sight, circling it. A girl with twin daggers crackling with electricity, a lanky boy levitating shards of rock, and another shrouded in mist.

Julian crouched behind a boulder slick with algae.

-They haven’t noticed it yet.

From within the trunk he could see a blue orb sparkling faintly, nearly invisible against the tree’s bioluminescent sap

"This sector’s empty," snapped the levitator. "Let’s move."

SNAP…

The mist-cloaked figure lingered, and upon hearing the sound, his head cocked back.

"There’s someone here,"

DASH!

He lunged toward Julian’s hiding place with a whip of vine-like whips.

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"…!"

SLASH!

He rolled sideways just as stone shattered where he’d stood. Without wasting a second, the trio pivoted in unison; electricity arced towards Julian and he stepped backwards into thick undergrowth—but not fast enough.

A jagged rock smashed against his forearm while the vine like whip snagged his ankle, dragging him into open ground.

"Another rat, eliminate him quick."

The mist cloaked figure spoke with malice.

The girl with twin daggers jumped towards the air and came slashing downwards against a tied up Julian.

[Divine Eyes Of Convergence Has Activated…]

Julian watched as the girl’s blades sliced through the air, their trajectory as clear to him as if they were moving through water.

He could see the path of her attack, the angle of her blades, and the precise moment they would make contact with where he used to be laying at. If he decided not to move out of their way, which he didn’t decide too... yet... He wanted more information on how much damage would these blades really do?

He was aware of how sturdy his body was compared to most people his age, and it was a question that stayed on his mind since the fight with the Bristleback.

He turned his head slightly before her attack met, watching as another set of rocks floated up into that same air as those blades while that vine was tightening around his ankle even harder than before.

This group had coordination, but what they didn’t have is the skill to execute.