Chapter 902: Pressured Steps
As Izroth, Niflheim, and Menerva spoke, several other players made it past the first line. However, after reaching that point, a few fell to their knees as they struggled to continue moving forward.
"I have to at least make it to the third line...!" One of the players had grown somewhat comfortable with the pressure said to themselves.
This player wore a dark-clothed outfit. He had spiky short light blue hair and a pair of eyes that matched. He went by the name Hollow Crane, and he was one of the players who managed to cross the first line. He was also one of the players who were able to remain standing after Izroth's initial demonstration.
Hollow Crane was a rogue-type class called Night Hunter who specialized in moving when it was dark and ambushing targets before they could see what was coming. And, like most rogue-type classes, he possessed several movement skills.
"I don't know what class he is, but since he's using an AOE skill that can suppress multiple people, he's most likely a warrior-type class. If that's the case, when it comes to speed, I'm confident I won't lose. It's not dark out, so it'll be a bit slower, but I just have to avoid one of his attacks as soon as I use Night Pacing." Hollow Crane thought to himself.
Night Pacing was a movement-type skill with a low cooldown that granted him a short burst of movement speed. This effect was tripled when he used the skill under the cover of darkness; however, the sun had already risen. Nevertheless, he did not believe that he would lose to a warrior-type class when it came to speed.
Without hesitating any further, a cloak of darkness formed around Hollow Crane's body as he shot past the second line in an instant.
The moment he passed the second line, Hollow Crane felt the pressure increase severalfold. He noticed a portion of his speed was cut, but it was still something he could tolerate.
"I can do it!" Hollow Crane said to himself as he sped past Champion and quickly closed in on the third line.
However, just as his foot stepped on the third line, something suddenly caught Hollow Crane's attention.
"Where did he go?" Hollow Crane thought to himself as his heartbeats quickened.
Izroth, who had just been standing next to Niflheim and Menerva, was no longer anywhere to be seen!
Just as that thought crossed Hollow Crane's mind, out of nowhere, the entire world turned upside down.
"Huh? What just-" Hollow Crane's mind went completely blank as he felt the wind get knocked out of him.
It was not that the entire world had flipped but that he himself had turned upside down.
Bang!
Hollow Crane was knocked back several meters to the area in between the first and second lines as his body crashed into the ground. And, standing where he had just been moments ago was none other than Izroth.
"Ambition is not a bad thing. However, it's important not to lose yourself to greed." Izroth stated as he stood directly on the third line in an imposing manner.
Instead of preparing for Izroth's imminent attack after crossing the second line and then waiting the three seconds, Hollow Crane chose to go right for the third line.
If Hollow Crane had not immediately rushed for the third line, he might have been able to evade or defend against Izroth's strike. After all, although Izroth did not explicitly mention it, he restricted the strength of response based on what line a person reached.
Since Hollow Crane sped past the second and third lines at once, naturally, Izroth responded in kind.
After seeing Hollow Crane's fate, the players who were about to follow in his footsteps suddenly got cold feet.
Hollow Crane's speed just now was not slow by any means. And although some were confident in matching or even exceeding that speed, what they were not confident in was taking on an attack of that magnitude. This was even more so considering they would also have to deal with the increase in pressure, which would undoubtedly reduce their response time.
But, more frighteningly, most of those present could not follow Izroth's move against Hollow Crane just now!
Izroth casually made his way back next to Niflheim and Menerva as he turned to face the rest of the players.
So far, out of sixty players, ten were instantly disqualified, three gave up, fifteen had yet to make it past the first line, and the rest already crossed the first line to officially join the 9th Division.
But, of course, there were those among the players present who were not satisfied with just joining the 9th Division and wanted to hold a higher rank for themselves.
Several of them were unable to make it to the second line; however, there were a total of twelve players who managed to do so and stay standing for a minimum of three seconds.
Of those twelve players, half of them could no longer continue after getting halfway to the third line.
Then, as the 45-second mark approached, only four players had made it successfully across the third line—three males and one female, none of which used any skills to progress up to this point.
"It feels like I'm walking in a quicksand with chains wrapped around my legs...!" Champion thought to himself as he grit his teeth and persevered.
Champion was one of four players who made it past the third line. But, he was no longer in the lead as two of the other three players had caught up to him.
As for the last of the four, he could no longer bear the pressure and finally fell to his knees from exhaustion.
10 seconds...
With just ten seconds left to go, another one of the players in the lead collapsed from fatigue, leaving only Champion and the female player remaining.
4 seconds...
Champion and the female player reached the fourth line; however, the instant they did so, an unbearable pressure washed over them, making it difficult for them to take even one more step.
3 seconds...
Champion could feel the strength in his body leaving him, and to him, every second felt like an eternity.
2 seconds...
Bang!
The sound of someone dropping to the ground could be heard.
1 second...
...
As soon as the one minute passed, Izroth deactivated his Soul Pressure.
'It turned out better than I anticipated. Most of them are somewhat rough around the edges, but it's nothing that can't be improved. It seems I chose the right two people as my Lieutenants.'
In truth, Izroth believed that more than half of the players would fail to cross the first line and join the 9th Division. However, out of the sixty players, thirty-nine were able to pass. This was well above his original expectations.
'Their overall strength still leaves much to be desired. Nonetheless, it appears those two selected people with a decent head on their shoulders.'
After witnessing what happened to Hollow Crane, no one else attempted to use skills to blindly rush forward.
Although it was true Izroth was not using his full strength, he purposely displayed a clear gap between himself and those present. If, after seeing that gap for themselves, they still chose to go that route, they were either overconfident or foolish and rash.
Izroth wasted no time opening his system interface and inviting those who passed to the 9th Division.
Since they were already a part of the General Support Unit itself, Izroth did not require anyone's permission or authority to accept them into his division.
...
Once everything settled down, the thirty-nine players who passed all gathered in front of Izroth, Niflheim, and Menerva.
"Welcome to the 9th Division. I only have three rules. Rule number one, never betray me or your comrades. Rule two, if someone messes with one person from our division or the General Support Unit as a whole, then they are picking a fight with all of us. And, rule three—you only report to me and those directly above you in our 9th Division. If you run into anyone who has a problem with that, contact me immediately. I will personally take care of it." Izroth announced.
He then continued, "You will each be assigned to one of my Lieutenants. Their orders are my orders and are to be followed as such. In a moment, Lieutenant Niflheim will distribute your rewards for successfully passing the test I've set. But, before we get to that..."
Izroth glanced over at Niflheim and then at Menerva.
"So? Which one of you will pick first?" Izroth inquired.
"I will." Niflheim and Menerva answered simultaneously.
Right as they answered, Niflheim and Menerva faced one another.
"How about I give you the second and third pick? All you have to do is hand over the first pick to me." Niflheim said calmly.
"Even if you were to hand me the following three picks, that trade is insufficient. Though, I am sure you are well aware of that, Lieutenant Niflheim." Menerva responded indifferently.
"Then, it seems we're at an impasse," Niflheim noted.