Chapter 120 : End of the 8th trial

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Kara placed her hands on Sora and Emily, enveloping the group in the effects of [Time Acceleration].

This time, however, she controlled the skill’s intensity, accelerating their movements only a dozen times faster rather than a hundredfold, as she had in the previous battle.

Leaving Kara near the storm to recover, the two human players launched their attack on the approaching group simultaneously. Knowing she wasn’t back to her top form yet, Emily left two clones behind to defend her.

Netsu and two other familiars appeared as well, engaging the opposing familiars.

Using [Blink], Sora appeared directly in front of a demon from the Fox group, eager to test his [Elemental Nexus].

Holding the orb-like energy in his hand, he watched as it obliterated every inch of flesh it touched. The demon barely had time to react before half of his stomach vanished, and Sora's hand drove through his chest as if slicing through air.

The lack of resistance was almost unsettling, and Sora felt a strange awkwardness as his hand fully traversed the demon's body, forcing him to retract it the same way it had entered.

As he pulled back, he observed in fascination as the wound didn’t merely stop at the gaping hole in his opponent’s chest. Instead, the damage spread outward, freezing parts of his body, burning others, and even creating an intense electric current that ravaged the demon’s torso. The destructive forces of the [Elemental Nexus] continued to spread, making the demon's lifeless body dissolve.

[You have eliminated a Fox: +1,000 points (Eliminated)]

Staring at the [Elemental Nexus] that remained intact despite the destruction it had caused, Sora was shocked to see that it could still be used.

Moving on to the next target, focusing on the Fox players, he managed to kill four more opponents before finally exhausting the [Elemental Nexus]’s energy on the fifth.

'This has incredible potential,' he thought, realizing that if he could master its form and integrate it into his fighting style, it would elevate his power to new heights.

Preparing to engage the remaining demons, he was surprised to see the last three Viper players attempting to retreat. Emily, who didn't like fighting Vipers as a Fox player, didn’t seem to mind letting them escape, and since Sora was forbidden from attacking members of his own group, he ignored them as well.

Kara removed their [Time Acceleration] effect, letting them return to normal speed, and they watched as the sluggish movements of the demons changed to a high-speed escape.

Emily remarked, “The event should be over soon; we should be qualified in a few minutes.”

Sora frowned at her words, rebuking her, “Don’t jinx it! Please.”

Kara and Emily exchanged amused smiles at his caution, brushing it off. “Don’t worry,” Emily teased, “as long as a group of Fox players doesn’t surround you, you should be fine.” Her words sent a chill down his spine.

'What if it really happens and I die? And then get spawn killed…' Sora couldn’t help but let the unsettling thought creep in.

“Just so you know,” Emily added, breaking his train of thought, “while we were waiting for you to ‘train’ in the storm, we both received a notification warning us not to stay idle… A yellow flare went up from our position, and those demons arrived a few seconds later. We should keep moving.” She turned and began heading in one direction.

Sora, following her lead, looked puzzled. “Why didn’t I get the notification?”

Kara glanced over at him. “Maybe because you were inside the storm?”

After a minute of running, Emily frowned, as if something had happened.

“There’s a group of humans ahead. And my clone was just killed behind us—a group of players reached our previous position, but I managed to injure a few of them,” Emily reported, using her clones to scout as they traveled.

“Let’s join up with the humans ahead, then,” Sora suggested. The girls nodded, and they quickly made their way to a group of 25 human players.

As they approached, Sora was momentarily taken aback by what he saw. Twelve of the players wore coordinated uniforms, instantly recognizable. 'Chinese region players...'

Sora, who had seen this group of players before entering the Ascension Tower, was surprised to see that twelve players from the same region had made it this far in the event.

Earlier, when they had formed a group of 35 players, none were from the Chinese region—something that had surprised him, given the reputation of their players as some of the strongest talents worldwide. It seemed they had created another coalition but had not encountered them.

The other players in this group included players from the African Regions, other Asian regions and even players from various places they had already met earlier in the trial.

Pushing aside his thoughts, Sora followed Emily as she approached the group, which included players from all teams, Chicken, Foxes and Vipers alike. With a confident smile and a casual wave, Emily greeted them.

“it is nice to meet everyone ! Looks like the Ascension’s trials haven’t slowed you down one bit,” she said, her tone friendly yet direct. “We would love to have allies as skilled as you for what’s ahead. How about joining forces? We’re aiming to clear as many floors as possible, and combining our strengths in PVP floors could get us further.”

One of the Chinese players, eyeing her carefully, nodded in understanding. “Our objective is the same. Even if this trial will soon end, facing what lies ahead with more strength makes sense. Welcome to our group” he replied, as if representing the whole group.

Emily extended her hand, sealing the alliance with the figure in front of her with a firm nod. “Perfect. I'm Emily, Korean Region. Kara and Ralph, behind me are from West Europe and are in my guild.”

Sora and Kara gave a nod to the group of players, and the person who shook hands with Emily nodded back, and introduced his own group. "My name is Liang and I lead the Chinese group of this coalition."

He then turned, gesturing to other groups standing alongside his own. “We’re joined by allies from several regions,” he continued. “Here is Adebayo and his team from the Nigerian region. They're the most reliable allies we've had in this event.” Adebayo grinned and shook hands with Sora, and gave the girls a polite nod.

"It seems we have met already... You have grown, kid." Adebayo said while shaking Sora's hand who recognized this man. He was the person he had met in Nara, just before entering the tower. This man's bloodlust had sent chills down his spine.

Liang, who didn't like the weird atmosphere, moved his hand towards a group to his right and introduced the next group. “We also have players from Southeast Asia, led by Rahim from Indonesia. and Salim's team from North Africa. You can stay with us for this trial, and we can help each other if we meet on the 12th floor."

Salim, who had just been introduced, glanced up, his eyes narrowing as he focused on something behind Sora’s group. “A group of players is approaching from their direction,” he said calmly. “Thirteen players, mixed races and teams. They’ll be here in about seven seconds.”

Sora was surprised by the level of detail in Salim's report, quickly realizing that they must have sensed the group’s arrival from a distance. Remembering that Pedro had a similar ability, Sora was aware of how crucial such a scouting skill was for survival in a trial like this one and regretted blindly travelling.

Sora observed as the players around him took their positions silently, each moving with practiced precision, setting up an ambush without a single word exchanged, amny of them disappearing from sight.

As the enemy players approached, Sora, Emily, and Kara instinctively readied themselves for the fight, but Salim held up a hand to stop them.

“Just watch,” he said quietly. “We don’t know your fighting style yet, but there should be no need for you to intervene.”

Understanding the request, Sora nodded, stepping back with the others, ready to observe just how skilled this coalition truly was.

As the enemy players appeared a few seconds later and tried to run away at the sight of their group, Sora watched as members of the coalition emerged from the shadows to ambush the opponents from behind. Liang seemed to have cloaked his allies, hiding them in the darkness.

He also noticed the player behind him casting a field spell that blocked the opponents' ability to use skills. The spell was impressively selective, excluding members of the Viper Team from its effect.

Meanwhile, another coalition member summoned moving walls of earth that skillfully separated the enemy players by their teams, isolating them into three distinct groups and pushing them farther apart, disrupting their cohesion.

His mouth opened wide as the group of humans unleashed a barrage of skills that gave no chance to the enemy.

One member cast thick vines that erupted from the ground, binding the legs and arms of a group of enemy Chicken players, holding them in place. Another followed up immediately with a series of metallic chains that bound targets.

In another area, a player activated a gravity field, pressing down on the enemies from the Fox team with crushing force, making it nearly impossible for them to move. In each compartment, skills flowed perfectly into the next, trapping the opponents in layers of restraints.

As the enemy players struggled, humans who were not using binding skills were busy bombarding them with damaging spells and rapidly draining the enemy players health.

The entire ambush was a masterclass in control,power and timing, with each ability perfectly timed and amplified by the previous one, resulting in a chain of devastation that crushed the enemy. Sora could only watch in awe as the coalition brutally crushed their enemies.

As a player fell, a notification flashed in front of everyone, announcing the event’s end. Shields materialized instantly around each player, forming protective barriers that prevented any further attacks.

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