CHAPTER 234: Alpha Prime Prospects & Power Index (Tournament Arc - Finale)
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(#Contribution in Subsidiary Fiend Extermination is taken into consideration#)
Jay (Earth) [Power Index: 116]
Regaz (Gharek) [Power Index: 95]
Drogor (Mogret) [Power Index: 92]
Urzo (Guastea) [Power Index: 84]
Phosseh (Ratov) [Power Index: 81]
Yinad (Verunov) [Power Index: 79]
Elqai (Izuid) [Power Index: 78]
Illis (Thulovi) [Power Index: 75]
Kruza (Ponuihine) [Power Index: 71]
Idran (Crypso) [Power Index: 68]
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Dutan's mind raced as he processed the unprecedented information. The magnitude of the power displayed by these Alpha Prime Prospects was astonishing.
Even the weakest one had a Power Index of 68, showcasing their impressive capabilities.
Idran, with a Power Index of 68, had demonstrated the power output of a standard Lv.68 lifeform (Tier-4).
As Dutan continued to study the list, he noted the Power Index of all the Alpha Prime Prospects.
The 5th to 10th ranked individuals, with Power Indices ranging from Level 67 to Level 83, represented the Mid-Phase of a Tier-4 lifeform.
The 2nd, 3rd and 4th ranked ones displayed the power output of a standard Tier-4 High-Phase lifeform.
Their strength was notable, but it was the one at the top that caught his attention even more, whose Power Index had crossed the threshold into Tier-5.
A Power Index of 100 indicated the peak of Tier-4, while 101 meant entering the bounds of Tier-5. Although the difference was just one small number, the qualitative difference was as vast as that between a pebble and a boulder.
Even a Tier-10 being like Dutan found it hard to comprehend how someone could grow so powerful in just ten days.
What was even more shocking to him was that the Leading Alpha Prime Prospect was none other than the Tier-2 Trial Participant who had stood up against a Tier-7 lifeform like Soren.
Throughout his life, he had seen many who could kill a Tier above them, at most two, but barely. However, crossing three whole tiers was simply unheard of.
Recalling the sole Unique Innate Talent user in recorded history, whose emergence broke the stalemate between the Fiend Race and the Sentinel Order, left Dutan with a bitter aftertaste.
Dutan sighed under his breath, a heavy weight settling in his chest as some unpleasant memories resurfaced.
'If this one called Jay isn't a Unique Innate Talent User, he could be the most exceptional seedling the Sentinel Order has ever had,' he mused silently.
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'Too bad his potential is limited. Even if he were to somehow cross the first two Universe Limits, breaking past the third one and reaching Tier-10 is near impossible.'
{A/N: A Universe Limit is a bottleneck that appears every three Tiers. If one has to ascend from Tier-3 to Tier-4, they have to break past the 1st Universe Limit, which is really hard to do, even more so for the Unique Innate Talent Users.}
Duin, ever perceptive, interrupted his master's contemplations. 'Indeed, Master, for a Unique Category user to reach Tier-10 is near impossible, but there is indeed a slim possibility.'
Dutan's thoughts grew heavier. 'Just a single Tier-10 Unique Innate Talent User was able to tip the scales of balance. If a few more were to rise, it would undoubtedly decide the victor.'
He sighed again, a note of desperation in his breath. 'If only a Unique Category user would emerge on our side as well,' he lamented, his eyes clouded with a mix of hope and despair.
Dutan then let go of his thought process and focused on dealing with Soren, who was no longer a Sentinel trainee. He released Soren and Amarissa, the space hands restraining them, dissipating into nothingness.
Dutan then revealed his findings to the thousands of Sentinels gathered, his voice booming across the vast expanse as he used his own Spirit Energy as the medium.
"This is an apt example of the saying, 'You reap what you sow.' He has been expelled from the Sentinel Order for gravely harming a Trial Participant.," Dutan announced, his words echoing through the space.
His declaration caused anxiety to ripple through the other Sentinel trainees, especially those who had committed similar transgressions or used Tier Suppression on the Trial Participants.
Dutan didn't miss the changes in their expressions and addressed them immediately. "You lot might be wondering how a transgression you consider minor could result in expulsion. He would have gone unpunished like many of you if he hadn't targeted the top-ranked Alpha Prime Prospect."
Soren's face, covered in his blue blood, twisted in fury at the mention of the reason for his expulsion. Just moments before his Halo was terminated, he had received an expulsion notice from the System.
The realization that the random Tier-2 individual he had crushed was an Alpha Prime Prospect filled him with disbelief and rage. All he could think about was exacting revenge on the one responsible for his misery.
As he stood there, his mind seethed with anger and a burning desire for retribution. 'I can't believe that worthless Tier-2 was an Alpha Prime Prospect,' he fumed internally.
All that ran through his mind was to kill the one responsible for his downfall. He plotted silently, waiting for the System to assimilate with Earth and its protection period to end. Only then would he make his way to that planet and tear Jay apart to his heart's content.
But then, realization struck him like a bolt of lightning as the space around him began to warp and twist, manifesting into a roller of blades.
Panic surged through him, and his dreams of revenge shattered as the blades shredded him apart, starting with both his arms. Agonizing pain coursed through his body, his screams piercing the surroundings and reaching everyone in the gathering.
Next, the blades took his legs, then his torso, each slice sending waves of excruciating pain through his entire being. His screams grew louder, more desperate, a symphony of suffering that echoed through the assembly. The Sentinels watched in horrified silence, unable to look away from the gruesome spectacle.
Dutan, however, remained unmoved, not even glancing at Soren as he spoke in a cold and distant voice, "Do any of you know what it's like to be cast into an unfamiliar world, where life and death hang by a thread? Have any of you faced the hellish trials where each day could be your last?"
His words cut through the space like a blade, each one laced with bitter truth. "Trial participants must endure all of that and bear the burden of saving their respective planets. But what do they receive in return? They are bullied and humiliated by those who grew up with golden spoons in their mouths, comfortably nestled in well-established Sects and Clans."
Dutan's gaze swept over the gathered Sentinels, his eyes cold and unforgiving. "If it weren't for your privileges, do you think most of you could have made it till here in this cruel Universe?"
His voice reverberated within the empty space, mingling with the blood-curdling cries of Soren. The screams, once loud and pained, began to fade until there was nothing left but silence.
All that remained of Soren was a pool of blood and shreds of flesh, a gruesome testament to his fate.
The conceited Sentinel trainees who had harmed the Trial Participants nearly pissed themselves in fear, their bravado stripped away by the horrifying sight.
"I am going to raise a petition to identify those who have harmed or even troubled Trial Participants, and they will be punished accordingly," Dutan declared, his voice resolute and unwavering.
With that final warning, Dutan turned away, leaving the Tier-9 Sentinel Commander in charge of the army. He ripped the fabric of space, disappearing into it with a swift, seamless motion.
The Sentinels trainees were left in stunned silence, the weight of Dutan's words and the horrific punishment they had witnessed settling heavily upon them.
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