It had been said briefly, but White had still been able to pick it up, the words of Galaxy Altharion to Ultimate Commander Err.

______

"He will have to take the test like the rest. If he passes, he will be a member of the EGES."

_____

Now the man had suddenly disappeared, leaving just him in a realm that looked unending.

Wasn’t it obvious that the test had begun, though, as for what this test was really about, he wasn’t exactly sure yet.

____________

Unknown to White, in a different area where, instead of clouds, there were wandering golden motes of light in a darker, void-like place, a total of three beings could be seen standing before a massive holographic panel that revealed none other than White floating amidst the clouds.

Amongst these beings was none other than Galaxy Altharion, along with two other people, one male and one female.

The male sat leisurely on a seat, a blue-colored coat over his face that hid his features, while the lady, whose eyes released a strange, continuous, circular pulse of pink light, looked at the projection in unexplained excitement.

"We’re getting a new EGES recruit!"

She said, her tone barely hiding her excitement.

"If he passes the test."

Galaxy Altharion replied, but then,

"He would..."

A voice replied as both turned to the one whose face was hidden beneath his coat.

"...Not just in the way you’d want."

He completed.

"The test is simple, and a depiction of a regular occurrence in Galaxial Travel. You lose sight of the ship, getting left behind. You wander the void, but find nothing, and ultimately you’d be required to return to your original spot and wait."

"That’s all there is to it... waiting."

"Except, the trial taker would have to wait for at least seven days, and how well they’re able to hold the isolation will reveal their success in the test."

The woman explained.

"What do you mean he’d succeed, but not in the way I want, Llumino?"

Galaxy Altharion asked, and in return, a finger pointed out from beneath the coat right at White.

"His aura... something about it reminds me of Regartorn."

"That impatient alien?"

The feminine voice asked.

"Yes. He won’t be able to hold it in for a week."

"Then he won’t pass the test, would he?"

She asked.

"Naahhh, he’ll pass."

____________

If this were a test, then obviously there was a goal to it.

White’s initial thought was that he needed to find Galaxy Altharion.

He remembered the last place the Galaxy Ranked Expert had gone before disappearing was up, and seeing as something was restricting his senses from going beyond a thousand meters into the sky, it was obvious that his answers were just above his head.

With that, he rose into the sky, and the higher he rose, the clearer the dome-like surface above became.

He paused when he reached it, resting his hands against it.

It was like glass, but exerting strength to try to push it up,

CREAK!

The clear sound of bones creaking rang out, and he shot back, reappearing ten meters away with both hands grabbing at his shoulders.

"What the... so heavy!"

The glassy dome had been so heavy that it was like placing a mountain upon the hands of a mortal.

The instantaneous strain on his shoulders gave the illusion that they could break if it came down even an inch.

That was exactly how it felt.

But still, White gave it a second chance, exerting more strength, but the result didn’t change, and it wasn’t long before he felt a burning sensation in his shoulders.

"This doesn’t make any sense. I’ve got 1,500 points in strength..."

White mused beneath his breath.

[Can you lift Earth?]

The system panel suddenly flashed as he paused before replying.

"Of course not."

[Exactly. This is a realm. Even if it’s nowhere near the scale of Earth, you’re still trying to lift a world, especially one with two unique runic laws.]

It said, and White quickly noticed.

"Two unique runic laws? And what are those?"

[First. This realm has no end downwards. It’s a loop. No matter how much you travel down, you’ll never reach the bottom.]

[That’s the effect of the first runic law.]

’No wonder my perception couldn’t reach the bottom. So, there was no bottom at all.’

White thought.

"And what’s the second runic law?"

[That glass above you is the uppermost part of this realm.]

[Right now, as it is, it looks like glass and seemingly holds no weight, but the second you touch it, it will suddenly exert the weight of every single thing in this realm back onto your hands.]

[Instead of it being you trying to push up a mountain, it’s like a mountain was being dropped onto your hands, and you instantaneously bear all of its weight.]

"So if the weight is already this heavy, then it doesn’t make any sense to be able to break through it, right?"

He asked.

[Yes. Even a Galaxy Rank would struggle to bear this weight for an hour, talk less of completely breaking through it.]

"So if the top is sealed and the bottom is an endless loop, then how did Galaxy Altharion leave?"

White asked.

[A door that could only be accessed by the original realm owner and given to him.]

[Don’t bother trying to find it. Unless the realm owner wants to show you, you won’t find it.]

"So essentially I’m trapped here, and escape is an impossibility. So that’s what the test is about? Escape the impossible?"

[Or maybe just wait it out.]

It said, and White froze.

"Huh?"

[I think it’s a test of patience.]

[It should be impossible for even a Galaxy Rank to escape, and I’m pretty sure if escaping this was a requirement, then there shouldn’t be more than two or three people in the entire EGES.]

[The test isn’t to escape. It’s a test of patience. How long can you patiently wait for?]

The system panel flashed as White’s brow quivered.

"Wait? The test is to wait?"

[Yes.]

"And uh... hmmm, how long will the waiting last exactly? Like an hour?"

White asked hopefully.

[An hour of waiting isn’t a good test of patience. A day of waiting might be a good test for an ordinary human, but EGES is for Awakeners.]

[So I’m thinking a minimum of a week. That’s a good, sweet spot. A month is also within the test spot, but... having recruits wait for one month is a waste of time.]

[Even Cosmic Ranks still need food and water.]

It deduced, but all White did was stare blankly at the dome before him before his brows creased.

[White? What are you thinking?]

"I can’t sit down and do nothing for a week. That’s... that’s impossible."

Sit down for a week!

Heck!

The last time he tried this nonsense was with the Prison Warden, and he’d almost lost his mind on the third day.

How was he supposed to remain here for a week with absolutely nobody to talk to?

And a week was the minimum, by the way. It was very well possible that he could just as well be stuck here for a month.

A month of doing nothing but looking at clouds?

Hell nah!

[Well, it’s not like you’ve got any other choice.]

The system panel flashed, and a grin appeared as he looked at the glass barrier.

"Actually... I’ve got an idea."

[Wait, don’t tell me...]

The system panel flashed, but then White was already soaring downwards with so much speed that space itself started sparking around him from the insane friction.

[You’ll try to break the dome?]

The system asked as White finally stopped after about thirty thousand meters down.

His senses spread upward, locking onto the glass dome, and then,

CRAAACK!

CRAAACCCKK!

The sound of bones cracking echoed out as White began to roll his shoulders and neck bones.

"You know, I’ve always wanted to see just how much destructive power I possess in the new body of mine. Never really got a chance to try it out or anything."

His back twitched, and in the next moment,

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!

The heavy droning sound cut through the realm as a pair of ten-meter-long, massive pitch-black wings ripped out from White’s back.

BAADUUMP!

BAADUUMP!

BAADUUMP!

The sound of a heart pounding insanely followed, along with an incredibly powerful ripple of pure brute energy that wiped out the clouds in a ten-mile radius around White.

He remained standing, yet veins slowly began to appear across his entire body as he flexed every single muscle within him.

The resulting destructive power was so immense that a pitch-black vortex began to appear around White...the mere aura of him standing there with every muscle flexed was enough to crack space around him into a black hole!

[White, if you slam into the barrier like this and it exerts all its strength. There’s a good chance that you’ll be the one reduced to paste first.]

The system panel flashed as White’s gaze locked onto the dome, and he slowly lowered himself down as runes appeared on his wings, glowing with power.

"Then, let’s see which breaks first. Me... or the world."