Chapter 145: Chapter145-The Edge of Brilliance
If he maintained this pace of leveling up, John estimated that he would soon break through to lv30.
At that time, his strength would receive a significant boost.
The only regret was that no equipment dropped in the assessment secret realm.
Therefore, after leaving, John would need to update all his gear and purchase some advanced skills to enhance his strength in all aspects.
With this thought, John accelerated the pace at which he cast his skills.
The dissatisfaction of not making money was tossed to the back of his mind, far beyond reach.
[You have killed a lv38 "Flamebird (Normal)" and gained 123000 Exp!]
[You have killed a lv34 "Man-eater Flower (Normal)" and gained 81000 Exp!]
[You have killed a lv40 "Swamp Crocodile (Elite)" and gained 340000 Exp!]
...
As John unleashed the Roar of Thunder, taking down a lv40 elite monster, a white glow of leveling up enveloped him.
[You have leveled up to lv29, gaining 20 free attribute points!]
John allocated all the free attribute points to his spirit attribute without hesitation and continued grinding to level up, aiming to reach lv30 as soon as possible.
Partly, his curiosity about the new skills he would acquire drove him, and partly, his current injuries made prolonged combat inadvisable.
In just a short time, John felt a tearing pain in his muscles and a slight haziness in his spirit, adding a paler shade to his already pale complexion, while cold sweat beaded on his forehead.
Initially, John had intended to secure a spot casually, but the abundance of talent in this assessment was beyond his expectations, which imposed a hint of pressure on him.
Moreover, through Hannah's insights, John learned that students who perform well in the Stellar Test not only have the opportunity to join the special classes at Star Cluster Academy but also receive rewards.
The top scorer, in addition to winning a prize of two hundred million, would find that Star Cluster Academy annually prepares exclusive items, unavailable outside, as rewards for students with exemplary assessment results.
With such benefits at stake, John felt compelled to vie for a top position.
Behind John, Hudu was utterly astounded.
Although aware of John's strength, she had not anticipated him being this powerful.
The monsters, deemed formidable by Hannah, could not withstand even a single skill from John.
The terrifying damage inflicted left Hannah in awe and fear.
The opponent, merely her age, now possessed such formidable power, while she still fretted over securing a spot at the Stars.
This realization filled Hannah with melancholy.
The disparity between individuals seemed vaster than that between humans and the most inconsequential of insects.
Although Hannah felt a sense of defeat, her overwhelming emotion was admiration—a respectful acknowledgement of a peer's superiority.
This admiration spurred her on.
Deciding to part ways with John, Hannah resolved not to follow him any longer.
Instead, she aimed to diligently accumulate points, aspiring to secure her admission into Star Cluster Academy.
Additionally, while John's indiscriminate bombardment was exhilarating, it also made quite the commotion.
The core area of the Enchanted Forest was virtually enveloped by the deafening roars, drawing the attention of many.
Curious assessment participants ventured towards the source of the tumult, wondering what kind of monster could cause such an uproar.
Upon nearing the site and witnessing John obliterate a monster over a dozen meters tall with a mere wave of his hand, leaving it in pieces, they were astounded.
Someone swallowed hard and said, "You've got to be joking. Is this guy really one of us, taking the same assessment? Are we sure he's not a senior who wandered into the wrong testing area?"
Another voiced their disbelief, "Wait, isn't that John? There were rumors he only got through the preliminary test by exploiting loopholes. Guess you can't trust rumors after all."
And yet another exclaimed in shock, "Holy shit, guys, check the leaderboard!"
Hearing this, several of them hastily retrieved their assessment cards, only to have their eyes widen in disbelief.
There, at the top of the leaderboard, was unmistakably John.
His points had reached the astonishing figure of 17000.
They exchanged looks, seeing the amazement reflected in each other's eyes, fully aware of how challenging it was to earn points.
To put it into perspective, a lv30 normal monster was worth only 50 points, and even boss-level monsters capped at 800 points.
How many monsters had he slaughtered to amass such a staggering number of points?
The mere thought sent shivers down their spines.
Not far from them, a handsome young man with golden hair and dressed in fine clothes was also watching John in amazement.
He exclaimed, "It's truly befitting of Star Cluster Academy to encounter such a formidable individual during an assessment. The Imperial Capital is brimming with geniuses, indeed far beyond what we can muster in Southeast Fortress."
Shortly after, the youth's face lit up with confidence, and he proudly proclaimed, "However, compared to me, he still falls short. After all, I am the Federal's number one genius. Even the person who tops the rookie rankings can't hold a candle to me. Ah, the loneliness of being a genius."
As he said this, the golden-haired young man adjusted his bangs, his face radiating the loneliness of being invincible.
This comment caused several nearby assessment participants, who had come to spectate, to make faces as if they had swallowed something foul.
They were itching to give the guy a couple of slaps.
Such arrogance was unbearable!
They had never encountered such an oddity in their lives.
Fortunately, a companion promptly stopped them.
As they cast puzzled glances at him, he said helplessly, "That guy is Matthew, one of the three talents who achieved S-level qualifications in the preliminary tests. It's better if you don't provoke him."
Another person added, "I'm also from Southeast Fortress, and he's quite famous there. Matthew may have an eccentric personality, but he is a genuine platinum-tier awakener. A few months ago, he awakened an S-level talent and a hidden class, making him incredibly strong."
Hearing this, the group showed expressions of shock.
No wonder this individual could speak so boldly after seeing John's strength; he truly had the capital to back it up.
Hearing the people around him discussing fervently, Matthew's face beamed with even greater pride.
He even took it upon himself to approach the crowd, whipping out a pen and paper to offer autographs to everyone.
This left the group somewhat speechless.
Matthew might be powerful, but his antics suggested a few screws loose.
Who in the world would want his autograph?
As the crowd around them swelled, it became common for one or two unlucky assessment participants to get caught in John's skills.
Often, they hadn't even comprehended what had happened before they were engulfed by his terrifying abilities and ejected from the test dungeon, landing bewildered in the stadium.
A gold-tier participant looked around in utter confusion, muttering, "What...what just happened?"
He had just slain a monster and hadn't even checked the change in his points when he saw a massive fire serpent, resembling a missile, explode not far from him.
The ferocious and scorching wave of fire consumed him in the blink of an eye, leading to his elimination.
Around this participant, several others shared his fate.
Hearing his question, they cast sympathetic glances his way.
After explaining the sequence of events, the participant watched the live feed on the silver screen, where John, like a war deity, hurled skills around with abandon.
His mouth twitched, at a loss for words.
"Is he really a fellow participant of our batch?"
Even the third-year seniors at the academy might not be capable of such feats.
This level of strength was absurdly off the charts!
The external audience, witnessing John's frenetic pace of accumulating points, were completely flabbergasted.
One person, eyes wide and mouth agape, exclaimed, "My God, this casting frequency, this power of his skills... has he maxed out all his abilities? This is terrifying!"
Another voiced their shock, "He's too strong. I thought all that news was just hot air, but now it seems this Federal's number one genius really does have the chops!"
Someone else realized, "I initially thought his top spot on the rookie rankings was due to some error in Celestial Secret's intelligence. Now, it looks like Celestial Secret had probably known about John's terrifying strength all along. No wonder he topped the rookie rankings on his first entry to the Celestial List. With this kind of power, no one in his realm stands a chance against him."
A bystander shook their head, "Forget about being on the same level, I reckon even those a level higher would struggle against him. His casting rate is like a machine gun; fighting him is just asking to be bombarded without any chance to retaliate."
Another lamented, "This year's Stellar Test is filled with monsters! I thought this year would be as boring as the last."
The rest couldn't help but nod in agreement.
Star Cluster Academy hadn't seen any noteworthy achievements in recent years.
Initially, there weren't high expectations placed on this year's Stellar Test.
However, the students participating this year have surprised everyone with their performance.