CHAPTER 58: STAGE-3

If before, Sean admired Anya’s personality and quick thinking... knowing when to advance and when to cut her losses... now, it kind of irritated him.

That saying, he knew she made the right call.

It was quite a terrifying situation to be in, when the person you thought you had been fooling and playing all around, suddenly flips the script on its head, and it turns out it was you being played.

More than that, the person was strong... Stronger than you even.

Sean’s irritation was more from the fact that he didn’t get what he wanted. Although he was already able to deduce who or what she meant by mist demon, he just wanted to ask her to confirm, and let her be on her way.

He did not have any intent on stifling her shine. In the original timeline of the book, she had risen to the top ten at the catastrophic end of the examination, emerging as a true dark horse.

He almost chuckled just how pitiful the overgrown man-boy who thought he got a girlfriend was. After using him and his lackeys to farm points, she had eliminated them afterwards, gaining half all their cumulative points, and skyrocketing into the top ten.

Now, just a minor action from him, had already closed that future, terminating her rise in the academy entrance exam early. As it was, she would be lucky to place top five hundred even.

As for the mist demon, there was never a mention of such an entity in the entire book as far as he read... But there was someone else he knew who could control mist and fit the narrative well.

Unfortunately, he really didn’t have time to check up on Drew, and what had become of him. The fact that he was still alive, regardless of what state he was in, was enough.

He did not believe that Drew was actively hunting other participants to eliminate them... to the extent he even gained a title, as ridiculous as it was.

It seemed his previous assumption concerning Drew’s spot on the leaderboards was correct. Something had changed, it was almost as though it was a different person.

The possibility that he was maybe possessed by an out-worlder, or was perhaps being corrupted, crossed his mind... It seemed to sit well with the demon title. But as quickly as it came, it vanished just the same.

Aside the fact, that there was never a mention of such an out-worlder, being corrupted was very much the same. It was not possible... At least not yet.

Though things could have changed... In fact, just now he had already changed the timeline by foiling Anya’s foolproof plans, this level of change was too large scale.

Also, if the impure and corruptible mana in the Gate was now dense enough to cause corruption, he would have certainly felt it. And if he didn’t, the overseers of the examination would, and exam would have been terminated abruptly... just like they did last time, and would still do again.

If anything, the strongest possibility was...

’Trauma?’ he reasoned as he continuously moved, felling out-worlders he encountered with so much ease it looked like an illusion.

His points which had been stagnant for a while, continuously shot up, steadily catching up after Seraphina’s.

The mistake Seraphina, Emma and others made, was that there would be an announcement for maybe getting to fifty or hundred points first.

It was an understandable mistake, because Thorne had, from being the first to reach 5 points. But that was what the instructors had clearly wanted, that chase for glory... to push them into a fierce competition for points, even without seeing each other.

What the students had failed to stop and think about was: if a person actually got rewarded for reaching fifty points first, how tangible would the reward actually be?

If it was as generous as the others had been, wouldn’t it just widen the chasm between top one and the others? And then there were those who did not get an achievement at all, what would become of them?

It was such an open deception, but one they fell into so clean, especially when the stakes were so high.

He didn’t believe he would have fallen for it, even if he didn’t already have meta knowledge of the examination system, courtesy of being a transmigrator.

But he couldn’t be sure... Especially when even Thorne who he admired for how intelligent and resourceful he was... one of the main reasons why he had been fond of the book in the first place... had fallen for it.

But Thorne was Thorne, and he, was Sean... He was Ellis Jonathan!

The atmosphere slowly began to change as he got closer to his goal, as well as did the pounding of his heart in his chest.

He couldn’t explain it, but he could feel a surge of excitement rushing up, as he jumped headfirst into the focal point of all the mess.

The difference between Thorne and himself, which was also the reason why Thorne, despite winning first place in the examination in the original timeline, had done so by a close shave... was small, yet impossibly large.

It was a difference in mindset.

While Thorne had all he needed, he never had anything to push him to give his all. It was same with him... At least, former him, when he was just an academic genius on Earth.

It was different now.

While Thorne gave his best for things, there was never agency and desperation. He just wanted to give those he cared about a better life as well as protect them.

As for he himself, he had lost those he wanted to protect, and was on the desperate struggle, as delusional and futile as it seemed, to get them back... Even if he had to lose his life for it.

Thorne simply wanted to win... But he, Sean Storme... He wanted to make a statement.

He wanted to do something above winning. Not with his intelligence this time... At least for the most part, but with the true language of the world... Power!

He had been waiting for Seraphina to do what she was supposed to, but that didn’t mean he was entirely idle. He too had been doing something... Resting and recovering.

Now it was time to get back into the action, it was time to dominate.

His footsteps slammed to a stop, as he got to a vastly different area from where the students had been scattered after entering the Gate.

A place with a dense amount of water, just perfect for him.

Up ahead, he could see a figure... A young man with ink black hair, and blood red eyes.

Aside him, another entity. A three meter tall behemoth, that looked like a bear, glaring warily at the red eyed young man.

A Stage-3 out-worlder!