118 Late Level 4 Strength

Cain felt the gazes of all those people, and he did not find it odd. The last time he came to this place, he made quite a ruckus, and things would not be different this time.

Suddenly Cain’s eyes narrowed, and he noticed someone. Coldness appeared on his face as he stared at the young blonde soldier that once attempted to incarcerate him.

The blonde soldier was surprised when he saw how Cain looked at him. It was full of confidence and coldness.

“Hmph.” The Vice-Captain only sneered but did not do anything else. He was smart enough to understand that it was not an accident that a captain like Oliver would have appeared out of nowhere to protect Cain.

The people around them noticed the way the duo looked at each other, and they began to speak among themselves. It was clear there was bad blood between the two.

Cain did not bother too much with the young man and walked toward the Pillar of Strength. He did notice Lumir and Zamir with the soldier but did not even glance at them. The duo was not a threat before he reached the Mind Over Body, much less now.

Lumir and Zarmir noticed Cain’s indifference, and their faces twisted with rage. The only thing worse than being disdained by an enemy was that person not even recognizing your existence.

The thoughts of the duo meant nothing to Cain. When he reached the Pillar of Strength, he put a hand over it and vanished.

Cain found himself in a white square room two meters wide. He looked up and noticed a metallic black ceiling.

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“Cadet, prepare yourself. The Trial of Strength will begin in two minutes. The ceiling will fall, and every certain amount of time, more weight will be added. You must maintain it above the mark.”

That message reached Cain through the [A.I. Chip Module], and then he saw a red line covering the walls, roughly one and a half meters above the ground.

Cain adopted a battle stance as he raised his arms, waiting for that massive piece of black metal that made the ceiling.

As the voice said to him, the ceiling fell once the two minutes passed.

Cain was able to hold it in place without his knees giving away. It should weigh hundreds of kilograms, but he could resist it without a problem. His strength was more than thirty-five times that of an average person, so it was not odd for him to achieve something like this.

A minute passed, and Cain’s eyes narrowed as he felt something heavy fall on top of the large black square he was holding. The sudden clash made his knees and shoulders tremble, but he endured.

Another minute passed, and more weight fell on top of the black metallic square.

Cain’s arms and legs began to tremble, but he was able to carry on without the need for his Astral Wave. However, once the weight increased for the third time, his knees bent, and the black metallic square almost reached the red line.

Cain immediately summoned his Wave Cloak, allowing his strength to rise exponentially. He was able to straighten his back and raise his body.

Time passed, but unlike before, it was not one minute but two that Cain had to endure before the next weight was added. As soon as he felt it, he made his Wave Burst to 200%.

‘I can endure for two minutes without a problem, but the next weight would be more than I could handle. Or at least that would be if I were a normal Level 3 Astral Wave Warrior.’

Cain smiled, and his eyes glowed with red light as the two minutes were about to pass. Before the new weight could fall, he made his Wave Burst rise to 500%!

The new weight would have been almost impossible to endure with a 200% Wave Burst, but for someone like Cain, who could use Ego Wave to achieve granular control over his Astral Wave, it was not a problem.

Two minutes more passed, and the new weight that fell made Cain’s eyes widen.

“Ahhh!” He roared as his Wave Burst rose to 1000%!

Cain’s arms and legs trembled as he kept the black square above the red line.

‘The black ceiling must weigh several tons already!’

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Cain clenched his teeth as he kept the ceiling up and waited for the next rise in weight. He had to resist for three minutes before it happened.

“Boom!” Whatever fell on top of the black ceiling was so heavy that it unleashed a blast that echoed through the entire room.

Cain pushed his Wave Burst to the limit, reaching 2000%. That allowed him to endure the weight, but he knew it would not be enough for the next level.

An idea appeared in Cain’s mind as he noticed how he distributed his Astral Wave through his Wave Cloak. It was compact and evenly spread, perfect for battle.

‘I am not in a battle.’ Cain’s eyes burst with an even stronger Ego Wave as he deployed Wave Focus, concentrating all his Astral Wave in his arms, legs, and back.

The next second, Cain began to smile as he felt the weight he held onto diminished by a lot. Of course, what truly happened was that by concentrating all his Astral Wave on his extremities and spine, the amount of physical strength he could deploy increased exponentially.

Once the three minutes went by, new weight was added to the ceiling, and the fall of this one unleashed an even mightier burst.

“?BOOOM!”

“AHHHH!” Cain roared, doing all he could to unleash every single iota of strength left in his body so he could endure this horrific weight.

Unfortunately, with every second that passed, he grew a little more tired, and the ceiling fell a little closer to the ground.

Almost two minutes passed since the last increase in weight before Cain could not hold it anymore, and the ceiling reached the red mark.

As soon as the black metallic square touched that red line, it stopped falling before rising back to its original position.

On the other hand, Cain fell to the ground and was having difficulty breathing. Although he did not move nor use a single spell or skill, his Astral Wave had drained until the last iota.

At 200% Wave Burst, Cain could fight for hours, but when risen to 2000%, he could not go for more than twenty minutes.

After resting for a few minutes and feeling that his body was in a better condition, Cain sent the command, and the Pillar of Strength teleported it out of the white room.

The moment he stepped out of the Pillar of Strength, Cain saw how he had become the center of attention again, and everybody was looking at him with awe. It was similar to the reactions people gave him when he left the Pillar of Mind, but this time he remained calm.

The next second, he turned to the pillar and saw his name on the Cadet Ranking, putting a large smile on his face.

N°1 Earth Fiend – Early Level 5

N°2 Saint of Killers – Late Level 4

N°3 Gigantomaquia – Late Level 4

Cain had not taken the first place, and while he had the same mark as the number three, he must have endured longer, which is why he was number 2.

Although it would have been nice to take first place, Cain knew his physical strength was not that impressive. Thanks to Blood Refinement Art, it rose to the level of a standard genius.

If it wasn’t for Wave Burst and Wave Focus, Cain suspected his strength could have barely reached the mark of Late Level 3 Astral Wave Warrior.

Cain did not have a problem with being number 2. He did not leave the pillars but calmly walked toward the Pillar of Resilience before adopting a meditative position next to this one.

Everybody understood Cain’s goal. He wanted to recover his strength before taking on another of the pillars. There was nothing odd about that, but cadets and soldiers were shocked when they saw this one taking a wave crystal from his space ring!

The wave crystal was of the lowest quality but still worth more than ten thousand military credits. While it would indeed help Cain recover exponentially faster, using it like this was too opulent.

Some high-level soldiers could make tens of thousands of military credits each week, but that did not mean they could waste their entire savings on wave crystals that could only last a few hours.

Lumir and Zamir were utterly astounded by that sight. Cain was able to show a strength none of them could equal and was using wave crystals without worries. Not even they, scions from powerful Noble Families, could match that level of strength and wealth.

As they remember the animosity they had built with the young man, fear and apprehension emerge on their faces.