Chapter 814
Chapter 814 - 800 Selection
1,500 words
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8 min read
Life, forever unknowing of what the next taste will be.
Lu Ping’an was rather happy, experiencing new flavors every day... but for those "unfortunates" suffering under his persecution, hardly so.
The Silver Armored Knight stood in the middle of the square, casually waving a large log, flames enveloping his surroundings, simulating the inferno’s heat.
The casually thrown blaze, like a howitzer with its own incendiary effect, burst into a great expanse upon detonation.
The sturdy floor tiles, in front of the blaze and explosion, were as fragile as tofu, with a war machine taking on a battle of one against twenty all by himself.
Was that return gunfire someone shot at him? The silver giant tilted his head, pointing to his head, gesturing to aim there.
But before the warriors could muster the courage to challenge the Magic King, another wave of heat surged, accompanied by the eerie announcements of "Firewall, firewall" from the square’s speakers, constricting dodging angles.
Another simple and direct explosion hit the target square on.
This time, several more "unfortunates" were swept away by the blast.
The ground was already a "mountain of corpses and sea of blood," with powerless young people crawling and walking, trying to avoid detection, but the Silver Armored Knight just silently approached, raising his finger...
A sun-like golden blaze rose in mid-air, bringing not only heat but... death.
"...that’s enough!"
"Already almost, already almost!"
Finally, the spectators couldn’t watch any longer and actively called a halt to this one-sided bullying.
"...you..."
But the knight seemingly had no intention to stop; he turned his head, and from the depths of his armored visor spilled nothing but flames.
"...Too indulgent, aren’t you."
The next moment, the metal armor naturally disintegrated, dissipating with copious steam and smoke, as a youthful figure slid out from it.
Sitting on the shoulder of the giant armor, his face showed nothing but helplessness and unconcealed disappointment...
"...This is the extent of your strength. If it had been the previous world, you would all have perished in your first battle..."
Lu Ping’an sighed and leapt down.
The other students felt both relieved and fearful... they thought this junior was amiable and easy to get along with, assuming that the "Lu Ping’an" rumors were more exaggerated, but now that he had taken action, they realized the rumors were still toned down...
"...He is a devil..."
The charred unfortunates, reeking of scorch, while not greatly harmed physically, were probably shattered on the inside.
Just moments ago, one had been scorched by a fireball on his buttocks, rolling on the ground in agony.
And in that moment, Lu Ping’an abruptly turned his head, his lifeless eyes seemingly unfocused, yet casting a weird psychological pressure.
"...Did he hear that?"
"Of course I heard... You probably have no concept of the fundamental abilities of a Decree-level or higher battle-profession. A devil? Heh, before long, you’ll meet real devils and demons who literally devour flesh."
Lu Ping’an was quite indifferent to the students’ opinions; strength was the ultimate barrier, and with your level heading into the trial, if you encounter even a slightly higher-level Abyss Magic Monster, not even the examiner could rescue you in time.
He had tried his best to simulate a fourth-tier Magic Monster from the Abyss and the extremely hostile environment, yet clearly most students failed to produce a passing grade.
At this moment, he somewhat agreed with the crazed mindset of the exam organizers; these folks were unable in basic abilities, loose in occupational traits, from strengths to weaknesses not one was up to standard, and with this level, they still wanted to compete in the same arena as real Explorers?
"...If I were the leading Explorer, encountering such a temporary assistant, I would not hesitate to choose to return the product... uh, as you know, I’m a Contractor, and I don’t lie."
Sometimes, plain truths hurt more than angry denunciations filled with prejudice.
Before Lu Ping’an’s gaze, some people hesitated, some recoiled, and some clenched their fists in frustration only to helplessly lower them again.
Following the normal script, this would be the moment for Lu Ping’an to try a "reversal".
To say something like "But now there’s still time, let’s do some hellish training or something" to boost morale and tap into the young people’s potential...
"...I suggest most of you give up. You don’t even meet the basic criteria to participate in the test; forcing your way in would only harm yourselves and others. Right, you, you, and a few of you—if you don’t drop out yourselves, I will file a report to cancel your test qualifications."
Lu Ping’an delivered the fatal blow under the terrified eyes of the mentors.
He unmercifully pointed out a few individuals, declaring an end to their "test".
Ignoring the faces filled with despair or resignation, he carelessly took out a drink to hydrate himself and then left... As he stepped out, he could hear the sobbing from behind him.
Having felt the breeze on the balcony, Lu Ping’an awaited the arrival of the person he was expecting.
The teachers, who had just been consoling the students with resigned expressions, came over, fuming with anger.
"Yo, all done?"
Lu Ping’an smiled easily, as if he were a newcomer student who had just started university.
"...Ah, you... never mind."
The words of accusation were swallowed mid-sentence.
The average level of the teachers was that of third-tier professionals, but fundamentally different from the students inside—they had already seen blood.
"...Is it you who’s anxious? Or the school? Or perhaps, the students themselves?"
Lu Ping’an continued to smile, his words seemingly casual yet piercing to the core.
He didn’t think there was anything wrong with the students. They were just "rookies" who had been in university for two or three years, with incomplete training systems and little chance to experience real bloodshed.
To practice a profession in the city, the presence of old stagers from the Special Service Team is necessary to oversee things. Going to the Exotic Realm? Delivering fresh cuisine to real Magic Monsters?
"...Perhaps everyone is anxious."
Sighing, Teacher Li lit a cigarette.
He had an inkling that things would turn out this way, but had not anticipated Lu Ping’an to display the brutal reality without any mercy in front of the students.
"The school wanted to temper the level of the outstanding students by exposing them to real combat as soon as possible. If this were just a normal one-on-one practice assessment, failure wouldn’t matter much. We also hope they quickly come to fruition. As for the students themselves..."
He fell silent, a wry smile on his lips.
"...what do the students know? They’re just aware of an opportunity and want to seize it. Especially the highly coveted Explorer License that’s been all the rage lately—they naturally want to give it a try."
Hearing this, Lu Ping’an smiled and did not press any further.
Reality is not like a shonen anime where shouting a catchphrase or releasing Qi or going through hellish training can make you jump several levels instantly.
These students were fledgling birds, rookies. Setting their strength aside for the moment, their mindset and abilities made them fundamentally unsuitable for the front line... Pushing such half-baked products to the front line meant sending them to their deaths as cannon fodder!
They needed to be tempered in low-intensity battlefields for a year or so, with a process of elimination and selection, followed by another year or two of refining and fine-tuning before they could just barely match the strength of a Professional Warrior... and that still wasn’t on par with the intensity of the blood-stained battlefields of Explorers.
Having said so much, it was already almost enough; since this matter had been handed to Lu Ping’an, he couldn’t allow the "death" of warriors to be rendered meaningless.
"...Alright, let’s find some topics to chat about. By the time we get back, the rest should almost have made their decisions."
Lu Ping’an thoughtfully left space for the students who had taken a hard hit, hoping they could make a rational "choice" as soon as possible.
After chatting outside for a while about the experiences in the Exotic Realm and when the mentors returned to the training room, some students had already made their decisions.
"Only seventeen left, huh... Okay, that’s more than expected. You there, and you, give it up right now."
He culled two more individuals, leaving fifteen left, which was already quite good.
After clearing the room of the others, Lu Ping’an smiled.
"I have a ’hell training procedure’ that can greatly increase your survival and success rates, but the condition is you sign a nondisclosure agreement. After all, we’re heading to a highly secretive area..."
— End of Chapter 814 —