Rise of the Crusader
Chapter 148

148 Tower III

The whole area was completely silent, with everyone’s eyes glued to the screen.

“He is going to do it,” Aiden exclaimed.

While it was merely one step that Bane took forward, the pressure that he encountered was simply overwhelming.

His face became pale instantly, and he couldn’t help but bite his lower lips hard.

“Thrash!” Marcel sneered.

He then advanced toward the seventh level

However, the moment, he placed both of his legs on the seventh floor, his body shook violently. It was almost as though he were experiencing a seizure.

The sound of bones cracking sound rang out inside of Marcel’s body, and a second after, he vomited, a mouthful amount of blood.

Before Marcel could then get a grip on himself, he was expelled from the tower quickly.

.....

“Oh, my!”

As Marcel appeared out of the tower, he sat abruptly on the ground.

He was drenched in sweat and even though he was already out of the tower, he was still shivering with fear evident in his eyes.

The people in the surrounding only took a glance at him without a bit of care on their faces and after a brief moment, they moved their gaze away from him.

Unlike Marcel, Bane didn’t rush into the seventh level immediately.

He took his time, and it was only after he was accustomed to the pressure of the seventh level that he placed his other leg on the floor.

The eight behind him paused, staring at him.

They had all watched how Marcel was expelled from the tower, and now they were hoping the same would happen to Bane.

However, a few minutes passed, and there was still no change from Bane. Instead, as the minutes went by, he seemed to be even more comfortable with it.

“Hahaha!”

As Bane got used to the overwhelming pressure on the seventh floor, his laughter echoed through the surrounding.

Meanwhile, Ana clenched her hand into a tight fist, she heaved a deep breath afterward, and then took a step forward.

“You want help, lady?” Bane asked in a cheerful tone.

He was, however, replied with a scornful look from Ana.

Ana was on the sixth floor, and even though her body was shivering and beads of sweat were all over her forehead, her eyes were on the eighth level.

“Watch this!” Bane blurted, with determination on his face, he placed both of his legs on the eighth level.

The first level to the seventh level dealt with the physical body, while the eighth level focused on the core area of one’s body.

It tested willpower, and strong was a determination to move forward.

Would you submit to the pressure, or would you conquer it?

Bane shut his eyes closed, and his fears and worries flashed within his eyes. He clenched his hand into a tight fist as his body seemed to be breaking apart.

As Bane fought the pressure on the eighth level, Ana had just stepped onto the seventh level.

Seeing the grim look on Bane’s face, she thought deeply if whether or not she should take the step to the eight levels.

“I quit!” Ana stated a few seconds after.

Ana was aware of her own limit, the seventh level was what she was capable of handling. Any other move from there would result in serious damage to her body.

And after those words escaped her mouth, she was transported out of the tower immediately.

Among the twenty people who stepped into the tower, only three of them could pass the test of the tower.

Marcel was able to get to that sixth level without breaking down, Ana’s limit was the seventh level, and Bane was still stuck on the eighth floor.

As the pressure just kept increasing for Bane, the more difficult it was for him to withstand it. The beads of sweat on his forehead were replaced with blood, and that wasn’t the only part that has blood on it.

He was bleeding from every part of his body.

Despite the harsh state he was in, as Bane opened his eyes, there was still unwillingness in his eyes. He felt he could do more.

“Ahhhhh!!!!”

Bane suddenly let out a powerful roar, as he took a step to the ninth level.

He had however only just placed his leg on the ninth level when he was expelled from the tower.

“Damn it!” Bane yelled a second after, with rage and disappointment evident in his voice.

“That’s enough, Bane, you’ve done a good job,” Leilani exclaimed.

Even if Leilani didn’t say the word, Bane himself knew he did very well. A smile was on his face as he walked away from the tower.

And once the student eligible for the next round were set aside, the next participants were called in.

Raphael had been hoping his name was going to be called out, but it wasn’t. Instead, Aiden, Elisa, Naomi, and Dwayne were the ones called.

From the elite division, five students among the twelve who qualified were called. The murderer division had two students out, the norms had four students, while the bandit and research and support had five and four respectively.

“This will be interesting!”

Those words escaped one of the student’s mouths.

However, it wasn’t just the students, and instructors who had that same thought, but the director as well.

Among the twenty students, three of them were on the top twenty most valuable student list, and the youth who was in second place was called forward.

At the moment, it was all eyes on Jeremy.

“I want to pass this message to you all before we begin.”

Suddenly, Wyatt spoke.

He had already stood from the obsidian throne, staring at the twenty participants and then the others.

“This tournament might not mean much to some of you, but I want you to give it your all. There’s a lot to gain in the academy, and its tournament, once you put in your one hundred percent.”

“You already have the right platform to do that, you simply need to put in more effort and most importantly, make hay while the sun shines.”

A smile appeared on Wyatt’s face after he spoke.

He was about to ask for the tournament to continue when Nicholas stood from his seat.

However, there was no smile on Nicholas’s face, his expression was stern.

“The director of the norms division is right, make hay while the sunshine, or else, you will miss out on several opportunities.”

“As metahumans even though our life span is a bit more than the humans, our development rate isn’t the same,” Nicholas said.

“A human can be idle for years and when he or she decides to become somebody, it is within the realm of possibility.

“Age or the foundation laid down doesn’t necessarily determine where they would get in life. A human can become successful at the age of twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, even seventy, it’s very possible.”

“But, while that’s possible for them, it isn’t for we metahuman. The foundation we lay down during our early stage is what will aid us for the rest of our lives.”

Apart from Nicholas’s voice, no other voice could be heard in the domain.

Not even a whisper as all the students listened attentively to what he was saying to them.

“As metahumans, the age to prepare the best foundation is between one to twenty.”

“Anything beyond that is all for nuts.” Nicholas paused, “I will tell you this, your development rate once you get to twenty-one would decline rapidly, it would never remain the same.”

“But if the foundation you have prepared for yourself is solid, you wouldn’t encounter many problems. It’s why we keep urging you, putting you through the test, to turn that rough gem into a fine one.”

“Because we know, once you move past twenty, it will be difficult. So, put in more effort.”

“Good luck! You may continue with the tournament.”

The majority of the students were informed about the development phase and how important it was to prepare a solid foundation ahead.

It was one of the details that were passed on to them the moment they joined the academy.

Nicholas and Wyatt were simply reminding them of it.

They had to make good use of the opportunity to improve while they had it.

“You may begin.”

Without delay, and the twenty students besides the tower walked into it.

The focus of attention in the tower was the three most valuable students.

Jeremy, Elisa, and Dwayne.

.....

And once they entered the tower, they moved immediately.

The three of them stepped onto the first level and then the second level within seconds. They kept moving forward without the intention to stop, and within seconds, they arrived at the seventh level.

“What the hell!” Aiden blurted in shock.

At first, he had been able to keep up with the place of those three, but once he stepped on the fifth level, he had to slow down a little.

Aiden slowly took his eyes off them and stepped onto the sixth level.

However, as he raised his head, staring at the three, his eyes twitched, and his mouth opened so wide that an egg would fit inside.

While he ascended to the sixth level, those three were now on the ninth level.

....

An- Support book for mass release

Magic Castle will go for 6 bonus chapters

Spacecraft – 10 bonus chapters

Gachapon – 15 bonus chapters... Thanks in advance.