Helix stepped inside the machine as the camera activated, and a sound echoed from within. "Candidate 73320179, codename Helix. Are you prepared for the second trial?" and Helix spoke, "Begin."
The entire room shook as the walls fell apart and multiple guns erupted from within, their nozzles spinning at high speed as the voice spoke, "Testing begins in 3..." Helix took a stance as the voice continued, "2..." and Helix prepared himself before the voice finally spoke, "1... Begin."
As soon as the voice spoke, the nozzles fired from all sides as the balls shot through the room at inhuman speeds. The lenses changed rapidly as they recorded everything, yet Helix didn't move and simply closed his eyes.
The man outside thought, Is he trying to sense them? Inside the room, Helix seemed to stand still as he focused on his surroundings and suddenly the panel activated.
[Due to unknown reasons, the skill "Predator's Eye" has activated and is now enlisted as a skill for the master.]
As the panel disappeared, the entire world seemed to slow down while a large red eye opened behind Helix. He looked around and noticed that the trajectory of every ball had slowed tremendously. Helix grinned and thought inwardly, I was right, the main body of mine is still connected to this one. That also means I can finally upgrade it without relying on Blade and the others.
As he thought, he dodged a ball that had come too close to him and inwardly spoke again, That was close. I can't have myself graded poorly in this.
Outside, everything still moved at normal speed as the man looked at the large screen alongside the shadow. Helix moved past the balls at inhuman speeds, turning, twisting, and bending at impossible angles, causing even the man to speak, "Is he even human anymore? My god, the way he is turning is insane. No matter what race he belongs to, he should still have bones, right?!"
The shadow smiled as he thought inwardly, How do I explain to them that his body is made up of corpses and broken bones? He isn't even human from any angle. But he didn't show much of a reaction as the man spoke again, "Was he always this perverted?"
The shadow scoffed and replied, "Perverted is an insult to how insane he is."
The man nodded as he couldn't help but agree to the statement. What he was watching was nothing that could be categorized as normal in any world whatsoever.
After a few moments, Helix stopped as he noticed the nozzles were only rotating and nothing else was coming out. The man outside opened the gate and spoke, "You are too insane. The room is connected to a massive tank the size of a basketball court and you actually emptied it all. If the floor didn't have vacuums, you would've already died from suffocation."
Helix simply nodded.
"Normally, we would have a separate endurance test after this, but not for you," the man spoke, causing Helix to ask, "Why?"
The man calmly explained, "Endurance is primarily the ability to withstand pressure, or in other words, the limit of your body. The reason this test exists is because most people, unlike you, are not fast enough to dodge every ball, so endurance helps us understand their limits. But when it comes to limits, dodging balls constantly for this long without physically breaking down is also a form of endurance. Because of that, we decided not to test you further in that category. Your official ID will be generated by the afternoon and you will receive it alongside the equipment you need while staying here."
Helix nodded as he spoke, "Then, goodbye."
The man nodded as he waved at the departing figures of the shadow and Helix.
In the garden,
"You really are insane. You actually move faster than the balls. How did you even do it? You never even left the cave," the shadow spoke.
Helix laughed and replied, "So what? Blade and the others aren't really separate beings, you know? They are made from my flesh too, so whatever power they gain, I also receive, including their attributes. Blade has been fighting for months now, and his experiences feed me. If he gets hurt, so do I. When he feels joy from victory, so do I. We are basically the same person."
The shadow nodded as he spoke, "I never really thought about it that way. You really are amazing because that guy is always fighting on the brink of death. It's impressive that you endured all of that pain. No wonder your endurance is so high."