Chapter 264 - Nine

Wain waited for the ordeal to come to an end. He didn't want to go down and fight anyone, as it was a waste of energy. He had to be ready for the second stage.

As time passed, new challengers appeared. The third, as expected, was the Vampire. He was able to defeat the wolf thanks to his animal instincts and his absorption of the blood of other creatures. Thus the wolf ran out of stamina, while the Vampire was in good order.

Vampires were formidable opponents in a one-on-one battle, but if other, weak, and numerous creatures were involved, the Vampire was virtually invincible. He could drink the blood of monsters during battle and thus fight almost endlessly.

The fourth was Ashen, his battle with the Fire Serpent was long and agonizing, but in the end, he won. They, Wain, and Maria were the only ones who could defeat the Four Kings. Even among the challengers, they had to stand out.

The fifth was Axalt girl. She was able to amass a million minutes pretty quickly as she killed hundreds of monsters at once with her skills.

Sixth was a tall man with blue skin, purple eyes, and white hair. He was an Undead and the best stealth assassin on the island. He never killed a single monster in all the time, a million minutes, he collected hunting persons.

The seventh was the girl Angel, and the eighth was the tall, muscular man Demon.

There was only one spot left, and the second stage would begin. All the applicants looked at each other and were wary. They understood that everyone who could collect a million minutes was not simple and had unique skills.

Wain tried to figure out who would be ninth, but he didn't notice anyone of note on the island. No one else below was comparable to the eight contenders floating on the clouds.

Time passed, and everyone saw the ninth cloud light up after a few hours. A girl of medium height, with short gray hair and emerald eyes, appeared. She was dressed in simple city clothes and had a black, woven bandage on her wrist.

"She is..." Wain muttered in surprise.

The girl looked around, and when she saw the piercing stares of the others, she turned away and wrapped her arms around herself as if she were embarrassed. She was the ninth contender and the third a human.

'Hmm, she's kind of weird. I haven't seen her show any activity on the island, but somehow she's amassed a million minutes. Also, why is she shy? Every one of us is at least a cold-blooded killer, and she looks like a cowardly schoolgirl.' Wain pondered.

The others had about the same opinion. The last challenger seemed odd to them, and that's why they weren't going to underestimate the girl. 

If they didn't notice her, she was superior to them somehow, and that was reason enough to proceed cautiously with her.

Tremble.

Space trembled, and the same message appeared in front of everyone.

[Number of challengers: 9/9]

[The first stage on the Merge Island is over]

[Stage two begins]

The clouds on which the nine challengers stood glowed brightly and suddenly turned into portals. Wain and the others didn't have time to react and immediately found themselves in another space.

Wain didn't know what had happened to the island, but he saw no signs of destruction or human death in the last seconds before the teleportation. That gave him hope that everyone on the island now survived. At least the energy of the island wouldn't harm them.

Whooooooosh.

A portal opened in the air, and Wain fell to the lifeless earth, covered in dust and the bones of long-dead monsters and beasts.

A few feet away was Undead, as well as Axalt girl. They, too, were puzzled and did not understand what this place was. There was no one, and nothing around, only an aura of death and despair was in the air.

The only thing was a huge, blue crystal in the distance. It glowed brightly, and sometimes there were energy discharges on it, as if from lightning.

The other challengers were in other places. They were divided into three groups, each of which only one could pass on.

[Stage two begins.]

[Time is the most valuable currency and is always in short supply, but why? The answer is simple, time cannot be controlled, and it goes forward. What happened even a moment ago cannot be changed and is nothing compared to the significant events that occurred thousands of years ago.]

[However, is this actually true? Some claim that some could influence the flow of time in ancient times. You have to see it and experience it for yourself if you want to go further.]

[Find the secret path to the Eternal River of Blood if you can survive the storm of time.]

'What does it all mean?' Wain, as well as the others, were puzzled.

They had no clues other than the strange description of the ordeal. There was a vast, lifeless land and hundreds of dead beast bones all around.

"I take it none of us know what to do, then I suggest you leave the trial early and stay out of my way." Undead said coldly and pulled a bone blade from its sheath.

"Huh, you think you can kill us with your toothpick? Your dagger won't even scratch my steel skin!" The girl exclaimed and got into a fighting stance.

She was Axalt and had been trained in martial arts since birth. She was one of the worst options for Assassin Undead, who specialized in melee combat. He might have had a chance to win, but he certainly wouldn't be able to do it quickly and unscathed.

Whooooooosh.

The ring on Wain's finger glowed green, but in his hand appeared not a sword but a pack of cigarettes and a lighter. He put the cigarette to his mouth and blew out a white puff of smoke.

The situation was extraordinary, and he needed to think about it and concentrate. His actions caught the attention of Undead and the girl, and they remembered that Wain was here besides them.

He was second and quite possibly superior to them in strength.

"Hmm? I didn't mean to disturb you, so please don't get distracted. If you kill each other, you'll only save me the trouble."

"You're a human, right?" Undead said suddenly.

Wain nodded weakly. He was not surprised since he knew that some of the other races knew of the existence of the humans.

"Does that surprise you? There were quite a few of them on the island. It looks like they've actually been hiding somewhere all this time." The girl said as she continued to stand in a fighting stance.

"No, but most of them were weak. That's different from the stories I've heard. However, it seems the first and second challengers are the strongest on the island."

Crackle.

The girl wanted to say something, but suddenly the crystal in the distance was covered in lightning.. The next moment, dozens of bright flashes began to fly out of the crystal, headed for the dead bones of ancient monsters and beasts.