Chapter Eighteen: The Master of Grade Manipulation
Chapter 18: The Master of Score Control
Ten minutes later, the next round of individual testing began. This time, it was endurance—still running, but a long-distance run.
“Strange, my body feels much heavier, and my breathing is labored…” Summer felt the anomaly almost immediately. He glanced at those around him; most seemed as puzzled as he was. Only Lister and his two companions appeared accustomed, as if they’d expected this. Clearly, something unusual was at play.
The requirement was simple: six laps to pass, eight for excellence, and ten for a perfect score. Everyone had assumed ten laps would be easy—they could run a hundred if necessary. But after the first lap, the heaviness in their bodies intensified, and nearly everyone slowed down.
“There’s something off—feels like the air around us got heavier,” Summer’s mental senses picked up on subtle changes in the air’s quality. He speculated that the training ground had activated some kind of restriction mode, akin to weighted training.
After the third lap, some participants couldn’t run anymore and could only walk. Lister’s trio, however, still seemed relaxed. Summer gritted his teeth and kept up with them. Of the remaining three, two were panting and had reduced to jogging, while the last was so exhausted he could barely walk.
On the fourth lap, with a thud, the walker collapsed, drenched in sweat. After an official inspection, he was deemed unfit to continue and eliminated.
Among those left, Lister was still in the best shape, as if trained specifically for this. Andrew and Caroline were holding on, but performing better than typical ability users.
By the fifth lap, the two behind Summer could only stroll, struggling with every step. Summer himself was struggling, but luckily, he hadn’t neglected physical training and his physique met the standard for a D-level ability user, so he could still push through.
Andrew and Caroline could no longer run, relying on Lister to pull them along. Their speed dropped drastically.
On the sixth lap, the two behind Summer were gasping like broken bellows, walking became agonizing. Ahead, Andrew finally lagged, unable to continue; every breath seemed a battle.
Summer bit his lip and overtook Andrew, then passed Lister and Caroline as well.
“Lister, run on your own, don’t worry about us,” Caroline decided as Summer overtook her boyfriend.
Lister hesitated. “Then promise me you’ll finish the sixth lap.”
“Alright… I will…” Caroline replied, struggling, as she helped Andrew. They supported each other onward.
Lister nodded, glanced at the now distant Summer, then suddenly pushed himself and caught up in a burst of speed.
By the seventh lap, only Summer and Lister were still running. Their competition was fierce—sometimes Summer led by half a body, sometimes Lister did.
On the eighth lap, those to be eliminated had already left, and those who had passed were done. Caroline, supporting Andrew, managed to finish the sixth lap and pass. The other two collapsed halfway through.
By the ninth lap, Lister was forced to walk, while Summer continued jogging and gradually left him behind. Lister could only accept second place, frustrated.
However, Summer stopped after the ninth lap, not intending to finish the tenth. Lister was ecstatic, trying to walk the tenth lap, but collapsed halfway.
After three rounds of elimination, only Summer remained unscathed. It was clear that becoming a true ability user was no easy feat—even for an E-level ability user.
The final individual test was strength, beginning after another ten-minute rest.
Summer intended to use the rest wisely to restore his state as much as possible. Lister, who pushed himself to the limit on every test, wasn’t necessarily wrong, but Summer judged his strategy flawed. The first stage contributed the least to the overall score, yet he wasted the most energy there.
Thus, Summer never truly competed with him, always acting like a hunter—calmly conserving his strength.
After the break, the strength test commenced. The method was simple: without using any abilities, exert force in any way to strike the test sandbag. The highest of three attempts would be recorded.
Passing required 300kg, excellence was 500kg, and anything above that was perfect—even a single kilogram over. Each participant had three attempts; the highest counted.
Of the seven, three were dejected—having been eliminated in two events, their overall score for the first stage would be poor. Caroline and Andrew were in better shape, but strength wasn’t their forte.
Summer had restored himself to normal, with minimal stamina loss and good recovery—about seventy to eighty percent of his energy.
The most confident was the reinforcement-type member, who specialized in muscle strength.
Bang!
Three consecutive strikes: 451kg, 488kg, 500kg.
“Yes!” He shouted in excitement—after two frustrating tests, he’d finally found his strong suit.
The next two scored lower: one finished with 450kg, the other barely passed with 301kg.
Then came Andrew and Caroline. Despite his size, Andrew wasn’t strong, scoring only 295kg and was eliminated. Caroline managed 350kg.
Now only Summer and Lister remained. Lister glanced at Summer, “You first or me?”
Summer motioned for him to go ahead. Lister didn’t hesitate, stepped up, and kicked the sandbag.
Bang!
480kg!
“Go for it, darling!” Caroline cheered.
“Lister, show him what you’ve got!” Andrew urged Lister, pointing at Summer.
Summer shrugged, indifferent. Lister nodded, spun, and delivered a roundhouse kick.
Bang!
490kg!
Another 10kg improvement—he was chasing that perfect mark.
However, Summer sensed through his mental powers that Lister had exhausted himself. His breathing was heavy, stamina depleted from the previous endurance test. His pursuit of perfection had cost him dearly, and even ten minutes’ rest couldn’t compensate.
Sweat poured from Lister as he tried to steady his breath, but muscle fatigue and pain told him his strength was diminished.
Still, he gritted his teeth and made one last kick, using every ounce of energy.
Bang!
499kg!
He failed to reach 500kg, still just a passing mark, not excellent. Lister suddenly seemed lost, even pushing away Caroline’s attempts to comfort him. Andrew was too scared to say anything.
Finally, it was Summer’s turn. Lister’s eyes widened, watching intently.
Summer adopted a simple boxing stance, just as he had with Cedric in their first sparring. With everyone watching, he casually threw a straightforward punch.
Bang!
501kg!
Perfect score!
Summer, satisfied, didn’t strike again and simply stepped down.
Of the four physical attribute tests, Summer scored 100 in speed, 60 in agility, 95 in endurance, and 100 in strength—totaling 355 points.
Lister had 100 in speed, 100 in agility, 70 in endurance (minus 20 for collapsing), and 84 in strength, totaling 354 points.
Summer narrowly overtook Lister by one point to claim first place in their group. Lister nearly spat blood when he saw the final scores.
“You’re probably curious why I wanted to be first in this group,” Lister said, approaching Summer.
Summer looked at him, puzzled, and nodded.
“This is your first assessment, so it’s understandable you don’t know. The second stage challenge is basically not difficult—just defeat three guards in succession. It’s the easiest test. If you perform well in the first stage, your ranking is essentially set. But in the third stage, which is a direct battle, only the top two from each group advance. The rule is the first-ranked from each group faces the second-ranked from another group. So being first is crucial. Now that you’re first, you’ve got one foot through the door to become an E-level ability user,” Lister explained.
Summer finally understood. The group’s first place was precious. If you had to choose between facing another group’s first or second, most would choose the latter.
“Sorry, but don’t lose heart—second place doesn’t mean elimination,” Summer offered kindly. Lister waved him off, clearly lacking confidence. His stamina was heavily depleted, and the pressure of being second weighed on him, his brow furrowed.
Summer finished the first stage, qualifying alongside second-place Lister.
Back in the waiting hall, the seven had different expressions. Some apprentice ability users were even sobbing. Summer said nothing. His master Shen Hua had told him that the Federation turned a blind eye to rogue ability users or hunters because only through such brutal, survival-of-the-fittest rules could they forge warriors of true value. The competition within the military was likely even fiercer. Summer clenched his fists, quietly encouraging himself.
The Professional League’s daily assessments ran from nine in the morning to nine at night, with new apprentice ability users constantly joining.
Once you made it through the first stage, you didn’t have to stay; you could move directly to the next testing site. Summer packed up, following some who’d already finished their assessments.
He planned to rest and fully recover before taking on the second stage’s challenge. The League didn’t have strict time limits; the three-stage assessment could be taken at different times, but each stage’s score was valid for only three days. So you had to complete the next stage within three days, or your previous results would be void and you’d have to start over.
Summer went to a nearby park with fresh air to adjust his state. He emptied his mind, letting his mental power expand like a spider web, receiving feedback from all directions—a relaxation technique taught by Shen Hua, suitable only for those who practiced mental arts.
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