Conquering The Novel

After explaining the assessment, the manager instructed me to put on safety gear and select the weapons I desired to carry.

Hearing him, I quickly changed into attire similar to what I wore during the gladiator battleground - a white assassin-type attire as it has many safety spells enchanted on it.

And I chose to carry a sword instead of a katana. Furthermore, I already had shurikens in my inventory.

"Are you ready, Sir Marz?" The manager enquired, and I merely nodded.

He then led me to a white door and pressed the small red button on the wall next to it.

—Tic

—Shhhh! The door opened vertically, producing a cloud of white smoke, and I was soon able to glimpse the interior of the room.

"I'll wait outside for you, sir Marz, but I'll be able to keep an eye on you thanks to the cameras. Please keep in mind that your battles will be recorded for the sake of the higher-ups—" The manager continued to explain, but I disregarded him and entered the room.

As I entered the white room, I realized that it was surrounded by numerous translucent crystals, just like the mystical space where our entrance exam was held.

—Tic

The door behind me closed, and the crystals began to glow for a brief time before transporting me into an arena similar to a gladiator's arena.

"So, I'll be facing the monsters here?" I murmured since the arena was not particularly large, roughly the size of a medium football field.

Beep!

When I heard the beep signaling the start of the assessment, I took a deep breath and braced myself for the trials ahead.

The first rank was F, and I knew that defeating low-level enemies like Slimes and Goblins would be easy.

And as a horde of low-level monsters materialized in front of me, I promptly lifted my palm and summoned a barrage of shuriken prototypes sent by Lia, along with the one made of onyx stone.

The shurikens hovered in the air as if waiting for my signal to attack.

—Shriiieng

With a quick gesture, I sent the shurikens hurtling toward the monsters, slicing through them with deadly accuracy.

—Swish

The shurikens moved at breakneck speed, effortlessly slicing through the slimes and goblins' bodies like vegetables.

"Urgg!—"

The monsters had no chance of defending themselves against the onslaught of shurikens, and they died screaming in pain one by one as the shurikens continued to strike.

The first round ended in less than 5 seconds when the last of the goblins collapsed and dissipated into particles.

The shurikens then returned to me, circling around me acting like a shield, as I waited for the following wave of monsters to approach.

Beep!—

[Round 1 Ended: All F-Rank Monsters have been Defeated!]

[Get Ready For The Next Battle!]

A robotic voice could be heard as soon as the F-Rank monsters were killed.

And in the next moment E-Rank monsters, Kobolds, and Orcs materialized.

However, their demise was the same as that of the previous monsters.

I used telekinesis to manipulate the shurikens and immediately launched them in the direction of the Kobolds and Orcs as soon as they appeared, without giving them a chance to retaliate.

Each shuriken delivered a lethal blow to its intended target, effortlessly slicing through the bodies of the creatures.

The Kobolds and Orcs were unable to defend themselves and were swiftly slaughtered by the shurikens circling around, their bodies severed in multiple pieces as if they had entered a grinding machine.

—Swash—Swash

As the last of the E-rank monsters fell, they disintegrated into tiny particles, signaling the end of the second round, and it was over in around 3 seconds this time.

Beep!

[Round 2 Ended: All E-Rank Monsters Have Been Defeated!]

[Get Ready For The Next Battle!]

As I progressed to the next round, Rank D, the difficulty rose as I was now faced with ten mid-level monsters, Trolls.

The trolls in groups were known to be strong opponents, but of course, they were no match for me.

As the D-Rank monsters, Trolls rushed at me, I braced myself for the confrontation ahead and summoned my sword along with shurikens, both of which were controlled by my telekinesis, and launched a simultaneous attack on the Trolls.

The sword glinted in the virtual light as it slashed deep into the trolls' flesh and it sliced through their thick skin.

Simultaneously, the shurikens soared with pinpoint accuracy, striking the trolls' areas of weakness.

Urggg!–

Despite their best efforts, the trolls were unable to land a single attack on me since I was quicker and more skillful than them.

I moved with elegance and quickness, evading their blows, and while doing so striking them down with lethal hits.

The parts of the trolls' bodies were severed with each hit until the last of them collapsed.

And I triumphed once more as the final troll disintegrated into tiny particles, signaling the end of the round.

Beep!

[Round 3 Ended: All D-Rank monsters have been Defeated!]

[Get Ready For The Next Battle!]

I was now faced with a new obstacle in the fourth round, facing up against five high-level enormous spiders.

"Hmm, the enormous spiders are known for their quickness and venomous assaults, but with my agility, I would be able to overpower them," I whispered to myself before charging toward them with my sword.

The spiders spit out poison and webs as they saw me approaching, but I quickly dodged them using my skill Snake Movement and was able to make rapid and precise hits on the spiders' exoskeletons with my sword, weakening their defenses.

—Slice

I then used my telekinesis to hurl shurikens at the spiders, striking them on the wounds I had just caused with my sword, resulting in a fatal impact.

Despite the spiders' tenacity, I was able to defeat them one by one, triumphing once more. The final spider to fall turned into tiny particles before disappearing, signifying the end of the round.

Beep!

[Round 4 Ended: All C-Rank Monsters Have Been Defeated!]

[Get Ready For The Next Battle!]

[Injuries And Mana Have Been Regenerated To Their Original State!]

!?

My mana recovered on its own as soon as I heard that, and it was now restored to its original level.

The fifth round was soon underway, and I found myself up against three formidable B-Rank monsters, Ogres.

The ogres were enormous monsters that roared ferociously while carrying massive clubs trying to intimidate me.

However, Despite its deadly killing intent and frightening aura, I was neither intimidated nor affected.

"...."

My shurikens flew through the air, striking the ogres' knees and causing one of them to stumble. Seeing this as an opportunity, I charged at it, striking the ogre's weak points with rapid and accurate strokes before leaping on top of it and killing it off by sinking my sword into its head.

—Arggggg

The Ogre screamed in agony before dissolving into tiny fragments.

Everything happened at lightning speed, in a matter of seconds.

!?

Surprised to see their kind perish in such a short period of time, the other two ogres used their massive clubs to crush me, but I was able to dodge and weave easily amid their blows since their attacks were too slow for me as if they were in slow motion.

And I wasn't merely dodging their blows; I was also attacking them with my sword and shurikens at every opportunity.

The shurikens were like a bothersome fly to them, which they couldn't easily get rid of because several shurikens surrounded them while slicing their flesh from time to time.

—Ahnnnnnnggg

When they were distracted by the shurikens, I was able to simply finish them off with my sword.

As the last of Ogres fell, it fragmented into particles, indicating the end of the round.

"Ahk" I bit my lower lip to relieve the tremendous headache I was experiencing as a result of constantly manipulating the shurikens and utilizing my sword at the same time, both of which required a significant amount of focus and mental strength.

Beep!

[Round 5 Ended: All B-Rank Monsters Have Been Defeated!]

[Injuries and Mana Have Been Regenerated To Their Original State!]

[Prepare For The Final Battle!]

But as soon as I heard the notification, my headache went away, and I could feel my mana returning to its original state.

Fuuu!" I exhaled a sigh of relief and prepared to face an A-Rank monster.

'I believe it will be my first time going up against an A-Rank monster without any interruption, as I have never defeated one by myself and have always had someone to help me deal with them,' I mused.

"I wonder what kind of A-Rank monster I'll be up against!" I murmured to myself.

According to that manager, I won't be able to know what kind of monster I'll be fighting until I encounter it because it will be determined by my earlier fights.

As I was thinking to myself, abruptly the virtual world morphed and transformed into a dark and gloomy wilderness.

And I could feel something powerful approaching.

Swish!

And suddenly... a massive dragon materialized in front of me, its scales gleaming in the virtual moonlight.

"You...have got to be kidding me!" With a shocked expression, I wondered aloud unknowingly.

***