Dale couldn’t have been more wrong even if he wanted to. Because of the previous test, he had assumed that the next would be something that required wits.

The only wits the test actually seemed to require were a good battle IQ.

They were standing in the middle of what was unmistakably an earthen arena with seated stands surrounding them.

’1, 2... The arena is at least 500 meters across and 4 meters above the ground. Just how large is this underground city?’ Needless to say, there was more than enough space for them.

The seats around the arena were largely unoccupied, save for the single seat filled by General Malcolm.

The war veteran raised his arm, "Thus begins the next part of your assessment. The last person to be knocked out of the ring wins."

He dropped his hand, signalling the beginning of the test.

The recruits had yet to move; they were still a little hesitant about how to begin. Their hesitation would not last though.

Dale’s eyes flashed across the entire arena. 124 recruits were the number of people he’d have to dig through if he wanted to be the last man standing.

Austin, and his other friends stood close to him. Naturally, teams — though disbanded — would try their best to ensure that the ex-teammates made it to the top five before they turned on themselves.

Humans were like that. Bonds weren’t so easy to break and perhaps that was the point of this facet of the assessment.

Dale nodded at Austin, Gary, and Trevor, "This should be easy for you guys. Just empty out the ring."

Gary chuckled and surrounded the five of them in a forcefield. Austin groaned as he threw out his arms, unleashing a concentrated, continuous force on the people just outside the forcefield.

The recruits affected by Austin’s ability skill shoved and pushed others to balance themselves, thus triggering the dominoes.

As a recruit unknowingly shoved his teammate, the teammate retaliated by pushing him back. The matter escalated until both of them unleashed their ability skill.

Their scuffle affected other people who in turn accidentally hit others who promptly reacted. The matter exploded until almost everyone was trying to get rid of those close to them.

Dale and his friends watched silently from behind Gary’s forcefield. Maybe they wouldn’t have to do anything.

A body slammed into the wall of the forcefield. The recruit weakly pushed herself to her feet and her eyes widened as she noticed them.

Her mouth opened as she spat out a clear fluid that started to sizzle upon contact with the forcefield.

’Shit! So much for not getting involved and what’s with that ability skill?’ Dale cursed mentally as he watched the acid saliva corrode the forcefield.

Trevor walked closer to her and opened his mouth, unleashing a command: ’Walk’.

She paused and her eyes trembled but her body simply refused to cooperate with her. It turned away from them and started to walk to the edge of the arena. She jumped off, effectively eliminating herself.

And just like that, the first person was gone.

There was a moment of silence as everyone stared at her. She stood up and wiped the traces of acid from her mouth.

She gave Trevor the finger then joined General Malcolm in the stands.

While everyone was distracted, a recruit shoved another out of the arena, effectively eliminating him.

And just like that, the battle royale resumed. As expected — though Dale thought it took longer than estimated — all Dormant had been eliminated except for himself and that was strictly because he was safe in Gary’s forcefield.

More and more recruits dropped like flies until they were barely in the twenties and that was counting Dale and his friends.

The 500-meter distance between the edges of the arena gave everyone within and outside a clear view of themselves.

This was particularly unfavorable for Dale as all eyes were on them and the manifested forcefield protecting them from being eliminated.

Gary dropped the forcefield. Keeping it would only weaken him further, more so after they shattered it because they certainly would.

As the pentagons faded, Austin and Sarah were already on the move. The former projected a massive force to the left while the latter summoned strong gales that covered the right.

A handful of people were thrown off their feet and out of the arena, leaving a fair 20 still participating.

General Malcolm cleared his throat. "And so, it’s down to 20 recruits. Let’s increase the difficulty, shall we?" As soon as he uttered those words, the arena started to tremble.

The edges actively shrunk and it slowly started to rotate about its center.

At first it was barely noticable but as Dale took a step forward, it felt like he was about to be thrown off. ’How troublesome.’

The arena stopped shrinking when it was barely 100 meters across and as for the rotating, it only sped up.

Austin lifted his feet a few centimeters off the ground, sparing himself from the impending nausea and confusion.

It was now more than ever that Dale regretted not getting an ability that gave him wings. ’If only.’

Dale let out a sigh and started walking in the direction opposite to where it was spinning. This not only spared him from nausea but also allowed him to reach his opponents more quickly.

The first recruit in front of him was an Awakened he had seen a few times but had never actually interacted with.

She flicked her hair and it turned into a spiky mess. "Begone Dormant!" The spikes aimed themselves at him, launching from her scalp.

Dale lazily raised an eyebrow and brushed the handles of his sabers, activating their ability skill.

Orange lightning coated his body, turning him into a blur and allowing him to cover the remaining distance between them in an instant.

He easily weaved through the spikes. Compared to what he had faced at the hands — or rather legs — of the centipede, this was nothing.

Dale slammed his hand into her face, the conserved momentum of his charge launching her out of the arena.

He looked at her stunned eyes as she fell, "Begone Awakened."