“72496!” the judge announced, his face saying that he still wasn’t sure he had sensed that right.

Eik stared at the man, not sure if his ears had gotten the number correct either. His optimistic hope for the score had been something around double Heath’s 6748, but 72496? The potency of Profound Toxin was honestly frightening.

With the strength it now displayed, he could never allow it to ever touch any of his allies again. It felt like his hands had been transformed into loaded guns.

Head pivoting on his shoulders, he took in the reactions of the audience standing stunned around the arena. People had climbed down from the spectator seats further up along the sloping amphitheater to get a better view of the spectacle.

The faces displayed a mix of disbelief, suspicion, and admiration. As the thirst for blood and carnage that had consumed him began to wane, Eik suddenly felt terribly exposed there on the middle of the platform, a smoking monster acting as the backdrop for his absurd performance.

Mikla too looked like he'd seen a ghost as he stared up at Eik. His jaw was hanging around shoulder height.

Profound Toxin's aggression had really messed with him back there. Even before the fight, he had been aching to run wild, not realizing what he did now — that the ability had influenced his mind.

There was no telling how many times it had happened in the past, but this time he was actively feeling the influence fade. Felt it slacken its hold on his mind. Although he had no real evidence, he felt sure. He'd always had trouble keeping his mouth shut but...

The clack clack of the judge’s footsteps echoed hollowly across the deathly silent amphitheater as he went to double check the ogre. He put a hand on its hip and closed his eyes for a couple of seconds.

“This one’s barely alive at this point,” he concluded. “I’ll need to get a skilled healer here before I can let anybody else try their hand at this test.”

This, however, elicited several vocal responses from the teenagers waiting for their turns. “What do you mean we can’t go? Are you kidding me? I reserved two whole days to come here!” one shouted from the side line.

“It’s all because that damn rank faker got to go first! He’s obviously not a real E-ranker! He was just pretending! Disqualify his score or at least let us see his status!”

Eik eyed Atla nervously. This wasn’t good. While his plaque certainly wouldn't show a rank above E-rank in the letter sequence, it would show something much more revealing — Acolyte of Toxin.

Atla didn’t know that he had pioneered an evolutionary path related to Profound Toxin, but the fact that Profound Toxin was listed as a Unique skill right there on his ability sheet seemed to be enough to cause her to worry.

She met his gaze and he could see the thoughts swirling around her head.

“There’s no need for that,” she said, hand raised into the air for attention. “I can personally vouch for his identity, the correctness and legitimacy of this test, as well as his E-rank. I’ve seen it with my own eyes,” she lied. She had only seen his F-rank status and then been told that he’d evolved.

“And who the hell are you then?” the angry teenager yelled, an adult who appeared to be one of his relatives riling him up further.

Atla pulled out a card, the details of which Eik couldn’t discern at that distance, and flashed it to the complainer.

The young man wasn’t the least bit impressed by the identification document and kept running his mouth loudly, but his relative was not quite as ignorant, the courage leaving him in the blink of an eye.

He gripped the teen by the shoulder and began to haul him away, bowing to Atla again and again as he backed away. The annoyed teen tried to elbow away the hands holding him. “Let go of me, dad! She can’t just pull a piece of paper out of her ass like it’s going to prove anything. Why aren’t you showing yours? You’re a member of the council of the Gaha’akty clan, for crying out loud!”

“Shut up!” the frightened father hissed into his son’s ear, shaking the boy roughly. “She’s an official of the Nidafjeld Administration of First Contact!”

The teen frowned but then his eyes widened as realization struck like a bolt of lightning. His mouth bobbed like a fish thrown haphazardly onto the deck of an oil tanker. “I-I’m sorry!” he stammered and almost tripped over his own feet trying to put distance between them. “Please forgive me!”

“We’ll leave!” the father said frantically. “We meant no disrespect!”

They made for the stairs but Atla caught the father by the wrist. “No need to leave. And no offense taken. I’m well aware of how my friend’s little performance might have looked but I can promise you that he’s genuine.” She winked.

The teenager side-eyed Eik and then his three teammates. Despite his initial fear, curiosity now got the better of him. “Ms., could it be that these people are from a fresh world?” he asked, earning himself a slap on the shoulder by his father.

Atla didn't answer.

“How did you do that?” a girl asked him as he stepped down from the platform. “It was insane! What did you do to become so strong?”

Eik’s gaze flicked to Atla. “I… My abilities are specialized for this kind of burst damage. Much worse for prolonged combat. Plus, I'm not even F-rank anymore.” He laughed nervously. He was crashing mentally after that blood rage. His head was spinning. “What’s next, Atla?”

With the apparent extreme rarity of Worldbreaker abilities, people probably wouldn't assume that to be the case here just because some rookie broke the record. At least he hoped they wouldn't.

And he needed to show the Nidafjeld Alliance that he was worth their time. That Earth was worth their time. If he had to put a toe in the spotlight to prove that then... it had to be worth it. If they were interested in his future as an ally then that would be one more card his people could play.

This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there.

The influence of Profound Toxin on his mind was terrifying however. It was like having an evil twin or something. The thought that it could rob him of his inhibitions was not a comforting one.

Atla studied him closely for a second. “I think that’s enough for today. We can continue to the main event tomorrow.”

She led them through the gathering crowd, the mass parting readily in front of her now that her identity was known.

Mikla began speaking frantically as soon as they put some distance between them and the arena. "What the hell was that? That's not how it's supposed to go! You got... You scored 72496! You're E-rank for crying out loud! E-ranks don't take out B-rank monsters in a minute! How the hell...?"

Eik tried to think of a way to explain it but he came up blank. "I just got a really good evolution for my Toxin recently, that's all. It's called Accelerant."

"Never heard of that. But that doesn't make any—"

"I'd really rather not discuss it right now, okay? I promise I'll tell you some other time," Eik interrupted. "Is that okay?" Maybe he'd tell him about Profound Toxin once he was strong enough.

Mikla stared at him for a moment as he contemplated an answer. "I—... Y-Yes, of course. That was rude of me."

"Thanks, man."

“Where the hell have you been hiding that?” Heath asked him in a whisper as soon as Mikla left him alone. “That was… not normal.”

“Well, remember how Accelerant seemed kind of disappointing when we tested it at the cafe back then?”

“Yeah, was that—”

“Aye,” Eik said with a look over his shoulder. Some of the kids from the arena had followed them up the stairs to watch them leave. “that was what it looks like to use it in practice.”

“Can you tell what it does, specifically?” Sonja asked.

He examined a bead of Profound Toxin on his finger. It roiled slightly as he triggered Accelerant, but nothing more. There was not explosion and no shock wave like there had been. “As far as I can tell, it purges all poison from the victim and delivers some kind of concentrated attack based on the toxic buildup in the system.”

“So all the toxin is lost when you use it?” Michael asked.

“I mean, that’s what it felt like, yeah.”

“And then you have to reapply, so to speak?”

Eik pulled a face.

“But it seems like you’d never need to inject any more after a round like that,” Heath pointed out.

He shook his head. “That was almost a whole minute of uninterrupted toxin through two huge gashes at maximum output. It can’t be compared to a real battle where I’ll probably get much less than that in per attack.”

“Good point. Maybe not the weapon of extreme destruction that it looked like then.”

“I think it had some serious potential,” Michael said. “To shorten longer fights if nothing else.”

They stepped back through the fracture, the still, indoor air hitting them like stale bread. “Can I have one of those orange pear juices?” Eik asked, gazing thirstily at the cafe where a small line had formed. “My cocoa was expired.”

“That was your own fault,” Mikla huffed. “Precise explanation is of utmost importance.”

“I’ll buy you one,” Atla said, tapping Michael on the arm as she passed. “And you?”

“Yes, please,” he said sheepishly.

They claimed a table under one of the display screens, the buzz of people all around them strangely calming. Eik gasped as he sat down. His butt still ached like crazy from getting launched into the air.

“Dude, look!” Heath elbowed him and pointed up at the screens. On the far left of the display something was different from earlier when they had come through.

Crucible — F-rank — Test: raw damage output — Scoreboard (E-rank participants)

NEW 1st place: Eik Magnasen - 72496 points

2nd place: Masakir Hahakan – 47221 points

3rd place: Jug Juk’Jukk – 44592 points

The list was longer, but all Eik really did was read his own listing fifteen times over, unable to trust the numbers of the screens. He was supposed to be a weak, unawakened apothecary selling minor nostrums and antiserums, not sitting at the top of the scoreboard of some multiversal super organization full of indomitable warriors.

“But that’s… my name?” he drawled as Atla placed his drink in front of him, his eyes never even registering it.

“And you’re more than twenty thousand points ahead of the old number one!” Michael breathed. “What you did was actually insane!”

As if planted by the crew of some kind of wild hidden camera reality show, a girl a couple of tables behind Eik exclaimed loudly to her friends.

“Look! Look at that new record in E-rank! Is that even real?” They hyped it up like mad, pulling other people into it as they raved.

“Who is it?” someone yelled.

“What family are they from? Is it a child from one of the major clans?” shouted another.

By now the news were out properly and people were going absolutely nuts. A high score like that which blew the previous front runner out of the water so utterly and completely was going to turn into a juicy rumor. This was definitely going to be wound up and spun out of proportions.

A group came back from the testing site, heads on swivels as they scanned the crowd.

“Did anybody see who it was?” a voice in the mass shouted.

“Yeah, we saw him!” one of the newcomers answered, a boy no older than seventeen, judging by human standards. “He was huge and strong, like a legendary warrior. He was so freaking cool!”

“And he was handsome too!” one of the boy’s friends added.

Heath regarded Eik whose face had become a painting of discomfort. “Don’t worry about it, bro,” he said, patting Eik reassuringly on the shoulder. “If it’s someone strong, cool, and handsome, then they definitely aren’t talking about you.”

Eik couldn’t help but laugh and knuckle punched his friend in the thigh as he stood from his seat, keeping his head as low as he possibly could while still remaining inconspicuous.

“I really think it’s about time to get out of here now.”

The other nodded.

Once they made it back to the rooms, Mikla opened a fracture to town where they got something to eat and discussed the events of the day.

Heath was disappointed that he hadn’t managed to check whether or not he had made it into the top one hundred in the physical endurance test, but agreed that it had been the right decision to leave.

After a feast of dirt duck, thick with savory sauces, and an impressive array of native greens and root vegetables, of which Eik and Heath devoured two orders each, they headed back to their rooms.

Tomorrow they would undertake the main test of the Crucible. It was referred to as the “practical”. Apparently, rather than several individual challenges, the practical mimicked real life.

Atla and Mikla would explain more before sending them off tomorrow, but they promised that the practical was not as harmless as what they had done today.

They parted outside Eik’s large, luxurious suite, the other rooms situated just down the hall. Although the practical would likely span multiple days, Eik went to bed early, mostly because he didn’t have anything better to do. With the hasty departure he’d forgotten something to read.

***

Loud, quick footsteps in the hallway outside jolted Eik awake. In a second his heart was in his throat, dread fueled by the traumatic experience of almost being murdered by a grief-stricken woman in this very room. The room was pitch black and he couldn’t remember where the light was.

The door burst open, revealing the outline of a woman backlit brightly by the lights in the hallway. She entered without hesitation and Eik would have screamed in fear if he hadn’t noticed the unmistakable tint of pink in her illuminated hair.

“Atla?” he said breathlessly.

“Get up, quickly,” she ordered and tore the covers off him, causing him to scramble to cover his fruits and vegetables.

“Hey!” he complained in outrage. “What the hell is going on with you? Are you crazy?”

She threw his underwear in his face. “Get up, now! We have to get you away! I’ll go and wake the others!”

“What’s happening? Tell me!” he shouted as she went for the door again.

She turned in the door way, face grave. “Do you remember Menka Tokanami?”

“The mad woman who tried to kill me? What do you think? I’ve been trying to forget…”

“She knows you’re here and she’s coming after you.”