Carn's heart pounded in his chest as he faced his first test. The summoner couldn't bring forth anything below wood-tier, so Mrs. Ironheart proposed starting there. Carn readied his bow, determined to show what he was capable of.
With a flash of light, the enemies appeared. Carn recognized them immediately as slimes with their bodies pulsating different colors. Without hesitation, he fired five regular arrows, each piercing the core of a slime and killing it before it could even attack. His stamina was then restored, and his arrows flew back into his quiver as the copper wave spawned.
This time, five skeletons appeared, swords and shields at the ready. Carn's nerves spiked. The last copper-tier enemy he fought was the large slime and it nearly killed him. Threads of blue light formed into a Magic Arrow that rested in his bow. He took a deep breath and activated Hunter's Accuracy and his green eyes glowed orange. He released the arrow, and it flew straight toward a skeleton's shield, ripping a hole through it and the skeleton behind it.
Encouraged by his success, Carn shot four more Magic Arrows in quick succession, obliterating the remaining skeletons. But despite defeating an enemy a tier above him, only a handful of students seemed impressed. Carn couldn't help but feel a little disappointed. His stamina was once again restored and the iron-tier wave spawned.
The five demon hounds that he saw a multitude of students fight started circling around him. Their six eyes locked onto him and saliva dripped from their mouths. The summoner gave a concerned glance at Mrs. Ironheart as he was worried for the student’s safety. However, he was ignored so instead he readied himself to undo the summoning of the creatures given the need.
Once again, a Magic Arrow formed on Carn’s bow and he waited for the hounds' first move. He knew they could teleport after watching the other students so he waited for his moment to strike. Suddenly all the hounds disappeared at once. Carn sprinted forward as a hound materialized directly in front of him. He crashed into it with his shoulder knocking it off balance before blasting a hole through its eye and its head with a magic arrow. The other four hounds clawed at empty air, their target having moved since their teleportation.
In an instant, the hounds disappeared once more. In that split second they disappeared Carn could almost feel where they were going to appear. In four different locations in front of him, the air felt twisted and wrong. Trusting his judgment, he jumped backward and unleashed another Magic Arrow, piercing one of the hounds' heads as it reappeared.
The other three hounds snarled in rage as saliva dripped from their mouths, but Carn remained focused. Two hounds disappeared, and the remaining one leaped toward him. Carn slid under it, slicing open its stomach with his knife as it flew over his head. The other two hounds materialized just as the disemboweled hound fell on top of them, pinning them to the ground. Carn wasted no time, sending a Magic Arrow through one hound's eye before summoning a blindingly bright arrow that he released into the final hound's head, leaving a perfectly circular hole where its head once was.
The summoner wiped the sweat off his brow as multiple times during the test he was going to unsummon the hounds but right when he was about to, Carn moved out of the way with insane precision dodging the hounds' numerous attack patterns with perfection. Carn waved to the summoner and signaled he was done and the door to Carn’s room opened.
“That strong at only wood rank… You are inspiring friend,” Kwanele said as Carn walked over to him and Michael.
Carn humbly replied, "Thanks, but I only started playing God's Paradise half a month ago. I was worried I'd be too weak compared to everyone else."
Michael's curiosity was piqued. "Half a month ago? But you're so old. Are your parents against the game or something?"
Carn's face fell at the mention of parents and all he could think about was the eyes in the orb. He pushed aside the thought and replied, "I don't know my parents. I grew up on the streets for most of my life. It's just luck that I ended up here."
“Ah I didn’t know, I’m sorry. I am not trying to be a jerk I promise,” Michael replied looking genuinely nervous that he was misunderstood. “I really don’t think you got into Stanford by luck though I mean we all saw you. You are more than fit to be here in my opinion…” Michael said with his voice trailing off.
Mrs. Ironheart's voice boomed through the hall, commanding attention, "Attention students! It's time for the final assessment. Follow me."
The students followed her, winding through a maze of corridors until they arrived at a massive room. The walls were lined with machines and computers, and a thick window separated them from a circular chamber below.
"This assessment is designed to test your fortitude and willpower against an unrelenting force," Mrs. Ironheart explained. "You'll stand in groups of five in that room, and the force of gravity will gradually increase over time. When you pass out, you'll be healed and taken out of the room."
The students peered down into the circular chamber, feeling a mixture of excitement and trepidation. "Inside gates, gravity is often amplified to dangerous levels," Mrs. Ironheart continued. "So this is a good test to determine what gates you might be able to deal with."
She gestured to a machine that towered over them, "We use this to test some of the strongest people in the world. But for you, we'll be activating the restrictions on the bracelet again, as it's more useful to know your base tolerance than your fluctuating tolerance."
Some students looked disappointed, but Mrs. Ironheart continued, "The average gravity multiplier all races can handle is around 15x. So, do your best to hit that. Please activate your bracelets and try not to pass out."
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As if on cue, Professor Sundaram entered the room and took a seat next to Mrs. Ironheart, bowing to the students. "Oh, and Professor Sundaram's favorite test," she added with a hint of amusement.
Grudgingly, the students reactivated their bracelets, but this time it wasn't as bad. The worst anyone experienced was a slight bout of nausea, which Mrs. Ironheart quickly healed.
Stephanie was the first to be teleported into the chamber, along with four other students. On a TV screen outside the chamber, you could see the five of them standing in the circular room, their faces etched with a mixture of fear and determination. In the corner of the screen, a small "1x" was displayed.
Mrs. Ironheart spoke through a microphone, "The assessment will now begin. Brace yourselves."
Suddenly, the number on the screen increased to 2x, distorting the students' faces with visible strain every five seconds. At 10x, the students were either on their knees or lying flat on the floor. At 13x, one of them disappeared and reappeared outside the chamber, lying on the floor. At 19x, only Stephanie remained standing, her face contorted with effort. At 27x, she was finally teleported out.
The next group, which included Michael, was teleported inside the room. However, Michael didn't fare as well, dropping out at 24x. Meanwhile, Stephanie had woken up and watched in horror as her fellow students struggled against the increasing gravity. She shuddered, remembering how painful the experience was.
Finally, the last group was teleported into the room. Both Kwanele and Carn were in the same group. In front of them, a small screen displayed “1x” displaying their progress.
Over some speakers they heard a voice, “The assessment will now begin. Brace yourselves.”
The number on the screen increased to 2x, and Kwanele braced himself as it gradually increased. At 10x, he felt his legs shake and his vision blur, but he forced himself to remain standing. He couldn’t look but he could hear his companions and they weren't faring as well, and one by one they collapsed onto the floor.
But Kwanele gritted his teeth and pushed on. The strain on his body was intense, but he refused to give up.
At 20x, he felt his bones creaking under the weight of the amplified gravity, and he could barely lift his arms. But he focused all his energy and willpower on staying conscious. He knew no one else was still in the room as their screams had been silenced.
At 30x, he could barely breathe, and his vision had gone completely black as he was pressed to the floor. But he kept fighting, using every ounce of strength he had left. The number on the screen continued to climb, and at 36x, Kwanele finally passed out, unable to withstand the crushing weight any longer.
As Kwanele regained consciousness, he gasped for air and clutched his chest, feeling his heart pounding fiercely. But despite the discomfort, he couldn't help feeling an overwhelming sense of satisfaction. He had pushed himself beyond his limits and emerged victorious against the unrelenting force of the gravity chamber.
However, as he looked up at the screen, he realized that something else had caught everyone's attention. Though he couldn't see it clearly, the number in the corner displayed an astonishing 50x, and he saw someone standing at the center of the room, seemingly unaffected.
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As the assessment began, Carn was initially confused by the lack of sensation. As the number on the screen continued to climb, he watched as the other students shook and collapsed under the pressure, including Kwanele. But for Carn, the room seemed to have the opposite effect, almost like a comforting warm shower. At 36x, even Kwanele had been teleported out, yet Carn remained standing, seemingly invincible.
The machine's monitor displayed an unprecedented number: 50x.
As the numbers continued to climb, Carn couldn't believe what was happening. Why was he feeling better instead of worse? His classmates had struggled and collapsed, but he felt invigorated. The feeling was akin to standing under the heat of the sun after being stuck inside for hours. He had no explanation for it - he hadn't trained to resist gravity, nor did he possess any special abilities thanks to the bracelet.
As the gravity amplification reached 70x, Carn decided to investigate. He took a step forward, breaking his rigid stance, and made his way towards where Mrs. Ironheart's voice came from earlier. "Excuse me," he said, "I think your machine is malfunctioning."
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Professor Sundaram observed the final group with great interest. He had his eye on the boy recommended by Mr. Cho and the formidable dragonkin, Kwanele. As the gravity gradually increased, the professor noticed something peculiar. The boy remained rooted to his spot even at 10x, while Kwanele began to shake uncontrollably.
At 20x, Professor Sundaram was thoroughly perplexed. The boy seemed completely unaffected, showing no signs of strain, while Kwanele crumbled to the floor.
As the gravity amplification continued to rise, the boy's calm and unmoving stance unnerved Professor Sundaram. Between what happened in the Magic Aptitude test and the calm unmoving stance he had been in since the gravity test started it felt like, rather than the eyes in the sphere, the boy was more of a monster. The room was deadly silent as the numbers on the screen climbed higher and higher: 40x...50x...60x...
Sundaram couldn't help but feel astonished. When under the same restrictions as the boy, he knew that he wouldn't be able to stay conscious at 60x. Just when he was about to approach Mrs. Ironheart about the situation, he noticed something on the screen that made him stare in disbelief. The boy who had been as still as a statue suddenly moved as if the crushing weight of gravity was nonexistent.
“Excuse me," the boy said through the speaker as the gravity reached a staggering 80x, "I think your machine is malfunctioning."
Sundaram looked to the technicians who were operating the machine, but they shook their heads. The machine was functioning correctly. He couldn't wrap his head around how Carn, in his restricted state, could be unaffected by such an extreme level of amplified gravity. It was truly remarkable, and perhaps even impossible.
The professor snatched the mic from Mrs. Ironheart and demanded, "Do you feel no pressure at all, boy?"
The boy scratched his head before responding with nonchalance, "Nope, not a thing. The machine is broken, right?"
Professor Sundaram rubbed his forehead in frustration. Even the boy didn't seem to understand what was happening. "The machine is not broken. We're going to raise the gravity amplification even higher. Let us know if you feel anything different," he said.
The boy nodded and began pacing around the room as the amplification skyrocketed. 150x... 300x... 500x...
At 900x, the boy in the capsule yawned. Professor Sundaram had witnessed Matt Stiles and Fen Tuolong crumble in this machine at around 700x, with no restrictions on them whatsoever. Yet this boy stood tall and yawned at 900x. As the amplification reached its maximum of 999x, a message displayed on the screen: "Max amplification reached."