Transcendent Gene
Chapter 184: Entrance Ceremony [4]

Chapter 184: Entrance Ceremony [4]

Two more days passed similarly to the first.

Gio spent most of his time running around the forest. He did see a couple more Adversaries, but he avoided them to focus on activities first. The rock formation only gave him a single point, but others gave him five or six when he completed them properly.

It was a good way to steadily build up points without wasting too much stamina.

The leaderboard continued to change. Gio was pushed off when people started to accumulate points more rapidly, but he didn’t fret about it.

He only had to keep a mental note of his own points so he was always aware of his goal.

He couldn’t catch up with those people as he was, after all. They accumulated points in the nighttime by invading other students’ camps and ambushing them.

Gio had been victim to two attacks already, both of which ended in the other party’s failure. There were only two enemies, both of whom were too weak to land a hit on him, but he gained a hundred points from both of them combined.

It was obvious how many people they’d defeated using these silent ambushes.

’I can’t really knock the strategy, but it’s not something that should be employed against allies. Especially when they’re so young, it’ll breed subconscious behaviors within them.’

Dirty tricks were great against the enemy. There just had to be a clear line between who was friend and who was foe, and that line had to be in the proper place.

Nevertheless, Gio had no interest in ambushing other students and getting easy points from them. He spent the days fighting beasts and solving puzzles instead.

In the process, he found three more similar rock formation puzzles that he completed as well.

He couldn’t tell why.

There was something about the energy that entered his body before leaving as if it was afraid of him. It called out to him, forcing him to indulge in his curiosity even if the puzzles were worth only a single point each.

Four keys were made in different parts of the forest, but nothing came out of it even then. Gio finally decided to give up when he realized that another formation didn’t exist.

The current leaderboard was a combination of the last few.

Neriah Moonwood was still in second, and she was surrounded by names Gio had already seen before.

’Fifth place has 226 Points. I have 200 right now, so it’s not too bad.’

The sun had already set on the third day. It was only a matter of getting rest and waiting for the fourth to begin.

’I haven’t gotten much sleep in recent days.’

He had no choice but to rest lightly in case of ambushes. His mind would start getting tired soon enough.

’When it gets towards the last few days, people will realize that they either have to band together to attack the strongest of us or they have to turn on each other and ignore the strongest ones.’

If he just won a few more fights, he would be able to secure his safety for the last day or two. That would be enough time to sleep for more than a few hours.

’Good.’

It was surprisingly fun. Though they were in a controlled environment, Gio couldn’t help but feel an adventurous spirit rising inside his heart.

’There are a lot of unexplored Wild Zones. Namely, the biggest ones. They’ve been mapped from above, sure, but nobody’s ever thoroughly explored a lot of the area they cover.’

It wasn’t worth the risk or the investment for the government. Many lone Sequencers and groups adventured into those zones, but they only came back alive when they stayed close to the perimeter.

’The mountains and the seas. In those two places, humanity isn’t so absolute.’

An itch welled up inside of him, an itch to find what others could not see.

’But I guess that’ll have to wait.’

With a sigh, he stood up and stretched his body, walking out of his makeshift tent.

"While I do appreciate the warning, I can’t say I feel the same about your intrusion," he said, cracking his knuckles.

"My apologies. You are Giovani Atmos?"

The girl in front of him had milky skin and long, dark hair. Her eyes shone in a hazy purple color in the moonlight. She released her energy outside his tent to announce her arrival, which also let him sense a bit of her strength.

She wasn’t someone to underestimate.

"Who would you be?" He returned with a frown, not answering her question.

She nodded and pointed at the leaderboard.

"That one."

He turned his head to look at the only feminine name on the board at the moment.

Neriah Moonwood. She looked different from what he expected.

"You were there too, but you fell. I watched for a bit. You should have near two hundred points?"

She spoke as if it was a question, but there was a level of certainty in her words.

"I need two hundred, so I’m targeting you."

"Target the guy in fifth instead."

"I found you first."

Gio rolled his eyes. He knew he couldn’t avoid a fight here, but it was worth an attempt.

Neriah put her arms out to the side. The air ripped apart into two black holes, through which she pulled out a pair of massive swords.

"As instructed, I have shown my courtesy. Now, I will attack."

That was it. In the next second, Gio’s beautifully manufactured stick tent was turned into dust.

Neriah was as fast as a speeding bullet. Gio barely caught her movements before she was in front of him with her swords crossed over each other.

Swish!

She slashed out powerfully, sending arcs of energy flying at him from close range.

Boom!

Gio rapidly summoned a wall of blue energy as he armed himself. He was protected from her first attack, but a wall wasn’t enough to stop her.

The moon was blotted out by her silhouette.

Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu! Xiu!

She must’ve swung ten times in the short period that she was airborne. A dozen arcs of light crashed into the ground around Gio, forcing him to spend his time dodging before she arrived back in front of him.

Bang!

She swung and he swung too. Their swords collided, two real and one illusory.

Gio pushed back. His muscles bulged, but he made ground. Purely in terms of physical strength, he outclassed her.

Neriah seemed to notice it too. She furrowed her brows before rapidly pulling away from the confrontation and lowering her body to stab at his stomach.

He swung his body sideways, avoiding the blade and cutting back at her. If she was a ranged fighter, it would’ve been enough of a move to create distance, but it was not.

Just as he dodged her, she dodged him. Just as he brought his sword up to counterattack, she raised both of hers and countered his counter.

’She’s skilled.’

She wasn’t just powerful in terms of energy or Sequence. Her technique was what put her equal to Gio in their first exchange.

Swords clashed against swords as the duo tested the waters and probed each other’s strength, but such a situation would end as soon as it began.

The longer they fought, the more prying eyes they’d attract to their location.

Whether it was Neriah or Gio, neither of them would stall for long.

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