"Congratulations you have passed the F rank with a perfect score and gained a F rank reward" The voice sounded in his mind.
"Do you wish to claim the reward?" The voice asked once again.
"Yes" Felix replied, his sight blurred followed by the appearance with of a golden light.
"Congratulations, you have received an F+ rank quiver" The voice announced in Felix's head as the golden light coagulated into a silver-coloured quiver that had runes on its body.
"That's it? A quiver is all you are giving me? Unbelievable....well, it still is an F+ rank item, advance to the next level" Felix shook his head in shock, he had been expecting something better, but thinking it through, he later understood that the result was to expected, the challenges he had faced couldn't even make him break a sweat, so he couldn't really be expecting something huge from it, he placed the quiver in his dimension ring before speaking, he knew that as he progressed further, the rewards would also be better.
"Ding"
[Through continuous practice, you have leveled up the Archery skill to rank D]
"Wow so this can increase my skill level, this is great, I can hone myself while leveling up my skills, I guess all this wasn't for nothing, if I can break the current high score I wonder what rank my archery skill will reach" Felix said calmly, but if others had heard what he just said, they would probably vomit blood in anger, just who was the Scarlet Panther, he was the fastest SSS rank Esper to ever exist on the continent, a 1 in 1,000,000 genius and he was thinking of beating his high score, even though the high score now was still from when he was a youth, it still wasn't something to be underestimated.
After speaking, his surroundings changed, this time he appeared in a mountainous area with a little wind which blew from time to time.
"Rank E: Level 1, hit the bullseye for 1000 points and any other part of the target away from the bullseye hit will reduce by 200, score above 1000 points to pass the challenge" Felix heard a voice sound in his ear as 5 targets appeared.
"Hmm, this is going to be tricky, I first need to observe the wind patterns otherwise I won't be able to hit the bullseye" Felix furrowed his brows as he observed the wind patterns for 30 seconds then he nocked 5 arrows and aimed for 5 seconds before firing each arrow onto the bullseye.
"You have passed the first level and gained 5000 points, remaining time converted into 170 points, do you wish to advance to the next level or rest for some time?" The voice asked again in his mind.
"Advance to the next level" Felix answered before going into deep thought.
'Hmm, it seems like this rank requires me to be able to hit the target in unfavorable conditions, but to do that, I have to observe the wind patterns, before I can accurately judge the best time to fire, a cunning way to waste a normal Challenger's time but to someone like me this is useless' Felix thought as a smile spread across his face.
**************************************************
At the same time outside the array, people had gathered around the ranking board with looks of shock and jealousy.
"Who is this Shadow Walker? Doesn't he even need to rest? He hasn't even rested for one second before going to the next level, he bursted through the F rank in just one minute and is now challenging the E rank" An Esper said with shock and unconcealed jealousy.
"Or she" A female Esper chipped in behind him.
"What do you mean 'or she?' Huh" Another male Esper asked with a weird look on his face.
"She means that that it could be a female Esper, why do you immediately assume that it's a He" Another female Esper replied from the side angrily.
"Hahaha" Immediately the male Espers heard this, they burst into laughter causing the female Espers to have ugly expressions on their faces.
"Hahaha, how could you possibly think that it's a female Esper, there is no way that's possible" A Male Esper suddenly said, causing the female Espers to glare at him angrily.
"Oh really then how is it possible that I am an E rank Esper and you are just a mere F+ rank Esper" A female Esper asked with a menacing grin that caused all the remaining Espers to burst into laughter, her response shut the male Esper up and made him wish he could burrow into the ground to escape from the gazes of the others.
"Wow look, he made it to the third level, its not even up to a minute since he started the E rank" The male Esper who was ridiculed said with fake shock to throw the others off his back, and it worked because everyone turned their eyes to the ranking board.
"Hey, what's the ruckus about?" A calm voice sounded as a handsome white-clothed youth walked into the training facility with a well built azure-haired male and a beautiful female wearing a veil behind him.
"Wait isn't that 'sharpshooter', his name is also on the rankings board and he was also the 15th rank in the previous White Jade Tournament Seal" An Esper muttered, the within his words could be felt as he stared at the white clothed youth walking towards them.
"Who are those behind him? I don't recognize them" Another esper asked curiously.
"It doesn't matter, what matters is that he is number 89 on the ranking board, really worthy of being called the sharpshooter" Another esper said after staring at the ranking board, anyone capable of getting into the top 100 was a genius.
"Yes but do you know why he is called the Sharpshooter?" Another esper asked with a smug expression.
"No why?" The Esper asked curiously.
"He is called Sharpshooter because he has been practicing archery since he was a child, and now he has reached a high proficiency in it, so it is said that he seldom misses his target" The Esper answered with a proud expression after gaining everyone's attention.
"Well apparently he missed the target in the accuracy challenge, so I don't think he is as good as you say he is" An esper said with jealousy and envy.
"Oh, I am sorry expert, so what rank are you anyway?" The proud Esper asked with a menacing grin as he mocked the man.
"What... this.. I... it doesn't matter" The Esper stammered trying to formulate a lie, but when he couldn't, he turned away.
"Oh it does, and I think I remember, you tried the challenge, but failed on the second level, so you couldn't even get your name on the ranking board, or am I wrong, I mean I'm still human so I'm bound to make mistakes, I may have made a mistake if you give me 15 F rank beast cores" The proud Esper persistently released blow after blow onto the pride of the man, his last words were said quietly so only both of them could hear it, but he underestimated the ears of the curious ones who almost spat out blood from shock.
'What the? How can a human's skin be this thick, I'm afraid that even Vane's wind blade can't cut it' The Esper thought in shock as he almost fainted in anger.
'Aren't you even embarrassed with what you are saying' While thinking of how to get himself out of the situation he had landed himself in, a voice sounded from behind which saved him.
"Holy shit, he is at the 4th level already, is he still human? Is the challenge so easy to pass?" A voice sounded, which brought the attention of the large crowd to the board where the name 'Shadow Walker' moved easily across the rankings non-stop.
Sharpshooter who had been brought to speed on the situation frowned while thinking.
'These little fries think it's easy to pass the challenge, hmmp what fools, if it were that easy then I wouldn't be at the 89th position, with every increase in rank, the difficulty also increases, the F rank was just a warm-up for what came after it, from the E rank upwards, it requires high perception, fast reflexes, a calm mind and a very high willpower if not then the Scarlet Panther himself wouldn't have only reached the B rank' Sharpshooter thought while observing the glowing name of 'Shadow Walker' which kept moving across the rankings.
"What rank do you think he could get? Senior brother Feng?" Sharpshooter asked the youth beside him respectfully.
"At his current speed, he will most probably get to the 70th rank at most" The male youth referred to as senior brother Feng answered.
"I think he may get to the 50th rank" The female youth said quietly which caused the two next to her to glance toward her in shock.
"Why do you say that? senior sister Yu Yan?" Sharpshooter asked curiously, because he thought that Senior Brother Feng had already given a high evaluation.
"From what I have seen and heard, it seems like this Shadow Walker is very smart, and has high perception, his skill in archery is also quite good, he advances at a fast pace because whenever he advances to a certain level, he first takes his time to study the pattern before he fires, and due to his terrifying perception, he needs only a little amount of time to understand the patterns, I would very much like to meet this Shadow Walker" Senior sister Yu Yan replied with a stunning smile while was slightly visible through the veil, and even then it made anyone who saw it feel mesmerized, perfectly complimenting her name.
"Did Sharpshooter just say senior brother Feng and senior sister Yu Yan?" An Esper asked his friend quietly.
"Yes, Feng Shui and Yu Yan, they are both in the top 10 right?" The Esper's friend asked as if remembering something.
"Yeah, they're both in the top 10's, wow, it's great to be able to see two of the top 10's here together, it's very rare to see this" Another esper chipped in.
"I heard that those in the top 10 are all geniuses and are all in the D rank while the top 3 are very close to the D+ ra...." Another esper said but was interrupted by a loud exclamation.
"He has advanced to the fifth level and has now reached the 50th rank" Someone shouted in the crowd causing every gaze to fall back onto the ranking board. Feng Shui and Sharpshooter both glanced toward a shocked Yu Yan, even though she had said he could get to the 50th rank, she hadn't expected him to get there so soon.
**************************************************
Meanwhile, in the array, Felix had advanced to the next level and was already observing the wind patterns, but as compared to the previous levels, after 20 seconds he still hadn't understood it, this finally made a smile to form on his face.
"Hmm, it seems like the patterns are more complicated than the previous ones, it's like patterns within patterns, this is going to be tricky" Felix said but instead of being panicked, he was rather excited, this was a chance to train his perception.
He breathed in and then out before closing his eyes, 10 seconds passed but he just stood still with his eyes closed, another 10 seconds passed with his eyes still closed, after 10 more seconds, his hand moved to the quiver with lightning speed, quickly grabbing 5 arrows which he nocked and released without opening his eyes, all this happened in the blink of an eye.
**************************************************
20 seconds ago, all eyes were turned towards the ranking board, many had anticipation in their eyes, others had jealousy, and some were also praying in their hearts that he should fail to pass this level.
"Wait, I just realized something, this Shadow Walker just completed the level which had failed Sharpshooter, but he is already in the top 50, how is that possible?" An Esper asked after studying the ranking board, only when these words were said, did the others also get to this realization.
'Hmm that's true, we were so preoccupied with viewing his rank that we didn't even pay attention to his score, but if I have calculated it right, it would only be possible if he gained a perfect sco..' Sharpshooter thought and before he completed this thought, his head shot up like a whip, his eyes focusing on the board like a metal nail attracted to a magnet, when his eyes landed on the score, his eyes opened wide like he had been struck by a lightning bolt.
"Are you okay?" Senior brother Feng asked after seeing his strange behavior.
"I don't know..." Sharpshooter answered with a strange expression, his mind was in turmoil, he couldn't believe his eyes.
He had also participated in the challenge and knew just how hard each challenge was, he had barely been able to pass each level on the E rank, in the end he had been eliminated at the last level but now, this Shadow Walker had actually achieved a perfect score for each level.
He had only now realized that their previous thinking was foolish, only about two minutes ago, they were saying that he would only get to the 70th rank, but now he had surpassed their expectations and reached the 50th rank, this was a rank that only the top 5 on the White Jade Seal Tournament had a slight chance of reaching, it had to be known that the Scarlet Panther was at the D+ rank when he first participated in the challenge and he was also the only one who had ever reached the B rank in the challenge.
Even the 2nd rank on the ranking board had only gotten to the D rank, which was even rare, but this Shadow Walker was at the E rank level 5 and yet he was already the 50th rank, what would happen if he reached the D rank, will he be in the top 30, those who had ever reached the top 10 were super geniuses that had all reached the SSS rank, this talent was almost comparable to the Scarlet Panther's.
At this moment he was even thinking that Shadow Walker was an old monster who had reached the C rank, but he got rid of that thought because there was an age and rank limit to enter the challenge.
"This might be a future SSS rank powerhouse, I have to befriend him if I can" Sharpshooter said to himself, making plans to build good relations with whoever this 'Shadow Walker' may be.
"Hmm, it's been 40 seconds, but he still hasn't gotten past this level" An esper commented in confusion, his comment made Sharpshooter at the back sneer in his mind, mocking his foolishness.
"These fools don't know how hard the last level is, the increase in difficulty from the 4th to the 5th level is something significant, to even hit the target is already hard enough not to talk of passing the level" Sharpshooter muttered to himself as he heard the Esper's words, he had personally undergone the challenge so he knee firsthand how hard it was.
After another 8 seconds passed, some of the Espers started rejoicing in their mind, they had already decided that Felix had lost the challenge.
Many people were already mocking Shadow Walker, saying that he rushed through all the previous levels with lightening speed and now he was stuck, they had forgotten that none of them had been able to accomplish half of what he had just accomplished
"Hmm seems like I was wrong, you were right senior sister, Yu Yan, he.... " Sharpshooter said with disappointment, he now realized his foolishness, he had compared this shadow Walker to the Scarlet Panther, Scarlet Panther was a once in a blue moon type of genius, if there was someone like him around, he would have definitely heard about him.
Right before he could complete that thought, he suddenly froze, all the remaining words stayed stuck in his throat. He stared at the ranking board with shock, the name Shadow Walker disappeared from the 50th rank and moved upward at a shocking speed, everyone's eyes followed it without blinking for fear of missing anything, the place was so silent that you could hear a pin drop.
The name continued moving upward before settling on the 30th rank where it became shrouded in gold, at this moment everyone felt their mind go blank especially Sharpshooter who had just one thought in his mind 'another perfect score'.
At the same moment on the third floor, a black figure appeared in a room filled with various rare plants, in the center of the room, sat a plump man behind a desk, by his side lay a Scarlet-Haired Zed Eagle, he stroked its feathers while his eyes stayed shut.
"What is it Frank? What is so important that you had to disturb my meditation?" The plump man asked with his eyes still closed.
"I am sorry for disturbing your meditation Master Ora, but I have news that will interest you" The figure replied respectfully to the plump man.
"Oh, and what news may that be?" Master Ora asked once again with a smile.
"Someone has reached the 30th rank of the archery challenge" The figure replied excitedly, immediately his words left his mouth, the eyes of Master Ora opened wide in shock.
"What? Hahaha, who is it?" Master Ora burst into laughter as he asked the figure.
"I don't know yet but I will find out soon, what are your orders?" The figure grinned and asked as if expecting this reaction.
"Capture him and bring him to me, he must have received a part of the map" Master Ora replied with a menacing look, his eyes glowed in excitement, the corner of his lips lifted to reveal a smile.
**************************************************
Meanwhile, Felix, the instigator of all this confusion had completed the last level with a perfect score again and he wasn't even aware of what awaited him outside.
"Congratulations you have passed the E rank with a perfect score and gained an E rank reward" The voice sounded in his mind.
"Do you wish to claim the reward?" The voice asked in his mind.
"Yes" Felix answered as his sight became filled with a golden light.
"You have received 1000 E+ rank Lightening Snake King arrows" The voice announced in Felix's head as the golden light coagulated into a lightening symbol which landed on his palm.
"Ding"
[Through continuous practice, you have leveled up the archery skill to the C rank and gained the skill "Mana Infusion"]
"Congratulations, you have entered the top 30 and gained a chance to pick a reward" The voice sounded once again shocking Felix who smirked at all the rewards he was getting.
Previous Chapter