" ...Why can't I move..."
A slew of voices slowly murmured, barely able to mutter a word. They lay flat on their faces, unable to even lift a finger.
" I see..."
Zeke said to himself, creeping towards the stairs, having an idea of what hindered these foolhardy candidates.
" You managed to figure out this mess already?"
" I believe so, just follow my lead for now."
He replied to Liz as she and Kenshin followed their younger brother, greeted by a wide staircase littered with struggling candidates. Unable to find a clear gap, Zeke casually tossed aside one of the crumpled bodies impeding his path by their collar.
"You bastard, who do you think you're putting ...? I mean, thanks for the assistance, my good sir...."
The young man who had been thrown out like the morning garbage began to complain, but quickly changed his tune when Zeke gave him a malicious glance. He set his sights back on the looming stairs, taking his first few steps upward.
Immediately, Zeke's body was overwhelmed with a sensation that felt like the entire world was placed upon his shoulders. Experiencing this firsthand proved his previous inclination correct, with the gravity ensnaring these stairs at least ten times greater than normal.
Not perturbed by this fact in the slightest, he effortlessly ascended to everyone's surprise and wonder.
" He did it..."
" How is he able to easily overcome something that toppled over people twice his size?"
"If that boy can do it, there shouldn't be any reason why I can't achieve the same results or better."
Stoking the flames of their pride, those who initially watched began to trudge forward, willing to test their strength and resolve.
Zeke took a moment to ponder, gazing at the unfolding scene, stopping his progress on the twelfth step.
Thinking clearly despite enduring the domineering force, he suspected that Haruto activated a formation array called the GravityField. This abnormal array increased the planet's gravitational pull within its designated space.
For anyone to withstand or counteract this pressure, a martial cultivator must meticulously reinforce their inner and outer diaphragm with a constant flow of Qi. A problem that was a simple enough matter for Zeke.
However, compared to the rest, this solution was considered easier said than done.
A reality check that Kenshin and Liz soon found out, collapsing onto the stairs. Looking lost and helpless, Zeke sent them a voice transmission, gradually guiding them on how to handle this situation.
During this lesson taught on the fly, every martial cultivator eventually tried their luck, with only around 100 being able to proceed at various speeds beyond the growing barricade of weighted bodies piling up. Zeke caught a glimpse of some familiar faces taking the lead, passing by without acknowledging him.
'Taki's group...'
Zeke thought, referring to the other three fledglings from the Hidden Cave of Untold Shadows that Reaper Taki selected. The strongest among this trio was a short, pale boy with rosy cheeks who resembled a porcelain doll, followed by an orange-eyed brother and sister pair that looked like twins.
Keeping to themselves thus far, unlike Rosemarie and her companions. He only knew their alias, oblivious to anything else about them. Zeke made sure to keep them in mind going forward, aware that Taki held a grudge against him.
Soon, with 10 minutes of the hour allotted passing, Kenshin and Liz finally got their legs back under them with Zeke's guidance. No expert by any stretch of the imagination, however, they were at least proficient enough in channeling their Qi to put up a proper fight now.
"Ready to move out?"
" Yup..."
They both haggardly muttered, fully concentrating on barely standing upright. Zeke nodded as they then proceeded up the steps.
Meanwhile, Julep and Amber still viewed this spectacle from a distance below, along with an abundant number of inner disciples having separate discussions,
" I figured the previous 3 evaluations were far too lenient, and here I was beginning to worry that our Martial Alliance was growing soft."
"A needless concern on your part, especially with Sensei Haruto seeing over them."
" You've got that right! I've still got the scars to prove how much of a hard ass he can be. Barely a third of my class made it out in one piece under that old crow's watch."
"Quite... It's best to tread lightly. You never know who's listening."
Various conversations, taking place, similarly remarked on how strict Haruto Tang could be. Overhearing her fellow disciples, Julep couldn't help but frown in disagreement,
"Hmph, ignore their slanderous words, Amber. Sensei Haruto's teaching can sometimes be misconstrued as cruel and unusual to those who are entitled and inherently lazy."
Julep turned to Amber, only to discover that her complaint fell on deaf ears as she stared straight ahead in a trance.
'There's no denying it, anymore! That's him! I knew he had to be younger than me, factoring in his shorter height and light voice, but I didn't expect him to be barely out of the womb at that. How embarrassing of me, and to think I even had a crush on that snotnose brat!'
Amber thought to herself, covering her flushed face in a mixture of hidden rage and embarrassment as she had been observing Zeke from afar.
Intentionally not putting much effort into his makeshift disguise for a moment like this. Amber quickly identified him after battling through her initial denial and doubts.
Stunned, the young lady was at a loss for words as her closest friend frantically tried to pry into why she appeared so distraught. Julep tugged away at her sleeve, demanding an explanation to no avail as Amber let out a long screech in her head.
Feeling catfished, Amber promised herself to take any past naive affection she once had for the Masked Panther to her grave.
Noticing Amber's presence before she even discovered him.Moving at a steady pace, Zeke couldn't help but smirk, privy to Amber's reaction from afar thanks to the technique Mind's Eye. Having some notion of what she might be thinking when realizing he was the Masked Panther.
Even though they were never friends, Zeke knew a thing or two about Amber's background, dealing with the Zeal family in his past life encounters. Having a tsundere personality by nature, Zeke had an idea to crack that perceived hard-boiled shell of hers, possibly using her connections and lineage to his advantage.
Leaving their connection towards one another on the back burner.
Half an hour remained. Leaping several steps at a time by figures of candidates who had drastically slowed. This occurrence became the new norm for Zeke, Kenshin, and Liz. Accompanied by Rosemarie, Sakura, and Sayuri, who decided to tag along once Zeke caught up to them.
Peering over his shoulder, he saw that all five of these would-be assassins were running on pure fumes at this point.
' At this rate, the likelihood of all six of us failing is becoming high.'
He sighed to himself, beginning to perceive his allies as nothing but dead weight. Tempted to go off solo, surmising it would take less than 15 minutes to reach the summit.
Yet, Zeke swiftly rid his mind of these encumbering thoughts, deeming himself more than capable of overcoming this stark challenge.
"It's about time we sped this thing up."
He boldly announced, seeing that his group could only convey exhausted looks, which clearly expressed that this was the fastest they could go. He ignored their concern as his blue aura gradually engulfed them.
This resulted in the five immediately feeling considerably lighter than before.
Astonished, Kenshin and the others had no time to ask for an explanation as Zeke instantly called out to follow him, increasing their pace tenfold. He took on the combined stress by blanketing his comrades from the gravitational force thrust upon them.
However, doing so left Zeke with a heavy burden that even became cumbersome for an expert like him. His bones creaked in pain as the gravity now felt 60 times greater than before.
Zeke Qi rapidly drained as he exerted himself beyond the limit of a typical Stage 3 Disciple.
...
" Less than ten minutes remain."
Sensei Haruto uttered softly as he gazed down the mountain like steps, awaiting atop. There were around 30 candidates kneeling nearby, winded, trying to catch their breath while he stood calmly, clasping his hands together, maintaining the array.
Among those who succeeded, an off-putting group stood elsewhere, seemingly no worse for wear as they conversed.
" It doesn't appear that he'll be able to make it up in time."
" Oh, how I looked forward to crushing him ourselves. What a shame."
A slim male and female with matching black bobbed haircuts looked upon one another with their orange eyes.
In turn, the small boy just quietly listened to them expressionlessly as this brother and sister duo chuckled in a morbid sense of disappointment that their target life would be extinguished by someone other than themselves.
Suddenly, an uproar occurred, caused by a large current of flames that fiercely climbed from below up the steep incline, swirling directly at Haruto. Choosing not to budge a muscle, he basked in the blaze as if it were a warm summer breeze.
Trying to ascertain who brought on this random spell, a whirling axe kick from above broke through the haze of fire. Haruto countered by unclasping his hands into a crescent block while grabbing the attacker's ankle.
In one swift motion, he attempted to slam the aggressor into the concrete ground. However, the person used the momentum to kick away from his grasp before impact.
The bronze boy then performed a series of consecutive back flips, gaining some space near the lone admission building, thereafter.
A mix of candidates and outer disciples looked on in awe at this commotion, unsure of how to react. Everybody was in shock and on edge as a slight gust disrupted the moments of pure silence.
" What has gotten into you? Do you, by chance, have a death wish?"
Haruto scoffed, vaguely recognizing the boy staring him down in a turquoise Gi as one of many participating candidates. Zeke reviewed the pony-tailed men's stats with his scouter before responding,
[Scout]
Allias: (Haruto Namgung) -- Mana (N/A) -- Qi (33,144/33,200) —Sword Force (N/A) — Power Level (91,438)—Health (64,300/64,337)
Title: (Stage 4 Disciple)
[Status Window]
Mana (4,000/4,675) -- Qi (6,300/15,650) —Sword Force (N/A) — Power Level (72,586)— Health (32,000/36,333)
Title: (Blood Physique) (Venomous Physique) (1st Circle Mage) (Stage 3 Disciple)
" Not at all. So, pardon my rough introduction, but I just thought becoming an outer disciple wouldn't be worth a damn if I didn't at least experience a real test of my might."
Zeke brazenly bluffed with a grin, comparing the two. Afterwards, several patrolling guards zeroed in on him, responding to the ensuing disturbance.
Haruto quickly waved them off, signaling to the guards that he had the situation perfectly under control.
"Interesting. Here's hoping that you don't soon come to regret that inflated ego of yours."
Haruto lowered his hips into a horse stance, extending the left arm, beckoning Zeke to come forth.
"With pleasure!"
Zeke shouted as he disappeared in a flash of lightning. Within the same instance, he reappeared in front of Haruto with an electrifying blur of a strike. Unsuccessful, the older man easily brushed his fist to the side.
Leaving an afterimage, Zeke's next punch instantly rained down from his opponent's blind side.
Yet he couldn't even touch the fabric on his back, as Haruto's amplified aura automatically repelled him.
Far from discouraged, Zeke launched a chain of bolt-like flurries aimed at the nape, temple, eyes, chin, jugular, kidney, and knees.
Expertly defended, his efforts proved futile, being forced back to square one. Zeke emerged at a distance away from Haruto. In less than a few breaths, the gap between them was already made painfully clear. Despite facing this harsh reality, Zeke couldn't help but feel a rush of excitement.
" Is that it? Don't tell me after all that grandstanding, your talent only amounts to this much?"
Haruto snarled as Zeke glared,
"I wouldn't count all your ducks in a row quite yet, when I'm just getting started!"