My SSS-Rank Innate skill: Infinite Adaptation core

In the next instant, hundreds of ferocious four-legged demonic beasts poured out like a flood. Their eyes burned with bloodlust as they howled and roared, slamming their bodies against the sealed barriers of each lane one after another.

Every single demonic beast ranged form level 1000 and 1500.

The demonic beasts continued pouring out from the gate, relentlessly slamming against the sealed entrances of the lanes. Nova calmly observed them.

Although they would be easy for him to kill, the same could not be said for most of the other contestants.

The majority of the beasts were Gorvaths massive, terrifying bear-like creatures — along with Wolfangs and Dreadmanes, fierce lion-like demonic beasts with glowing red eyes.

Every single one of them radiated a dreadful presence. Many contestants couldn’t help but gulp as they stared at the dense swarm of demonic beasts.

By now, most of them had realized exactly what this round would demand. Nervousness spread across many faces, yet a few still looked confident — Asia, Rieka, and surprisingly even Bai Chen among them.

The audience gasped in both surprise and fear. For many ordinary people, this was the first time they had ever seen so many demonic beasts gathered in one place.

”Are you sure it’s safe for us here?”

”Yeah... I was thinking the same thing. I almost feel sorry for those youths.”

”You idiots. This is the Empire’s Grand Youth Tournament. What did you expect? And don’t compare those contestants to yourselves.”

”And we’re completely safe up here.”

Similar murmurs spread across the entire continent of Kaelor as the scene unfolded.

After a few minutes, the large gate finally shut. The remaining demonic beasts swarmed in front of the sealed lane entrances, continuously hammering their heads against the barriers.

Slickmouth’s voice rang out once more.

[As you can all see, we have a total of five hundred demonic beasts here... and they are quite excited to enter the lanes.]

The contestants looked toward him as he continued.

[You have guessed correctly. All contestants will enter the lanes... and so will the demonic beasts. Your task is to kill them, cross the entire lane, and claim a position on one of the twenty floating platforms in the air.]

[And as I mentioned earlier, luck will play a major role in this round as well. The beasts will randomly choose which lanes to enter as they swarm at the end.]

[If you are lucky, you may only face two or three demonic beasts... or perhaps even none.]

[But if your luck is poor, you could face more than ten... or even more than fifty. I cannot say for certain what the beasts will decide.]

[Keep this in mind — whether your lane has one beast or many, you must kill every single one of them before you can claim a place on the twenty platforms.]

[There will also be a time limit of three hours. One thing is certain: the chance of any contestant receiving zero demonic beasts is nearly nonexistent. And mana formation is active, so ofcourse you won’t die.]

[You now have five minutes to choose your lanes. Once the bell rings, the demonic beasts will enter. The lanes will close behind you, and escape will no longer be possible. The only path is forward.]

[This is the second round. Best of luck to all of you. Break your limits.]

Nova noticed something important.

Although Slickmouth kept emphasizing that everything depended on luck, Nova didn’t believe it for a second. There was no way the organizers would allow weak contestants into the top twenty so easily.

There were five hundred demonic beasts ranging from level 1000 to 1500. Contestants above level 1500 could still manage to kill them, but those at lower levels would almost certainly die if they faced even a single high-level beast.

{It’s quite simple,} Liya’s voice echoed in his mind. {They want to test the limits of the true elites among the contestants. Including the weaker ones is just a formality.}

{If you notice that the higher-level contestants start receiving more beasts, then it’s clearly intentional. The weaker ones will simply be eliminated. They only want the strongest in the final twenty.}

”You’re right,” Nova muttered under his breath.

He wasn’t particularly worried about Rieka or Asia — he was confident they would pass. Still, he warned both of them, as well as Bai Chen.

”My luck is seriously bad. Choose lanes far away from me.”

Asia and Rieka immediately understood why he said that. Nova’s misfortune was no joke. Not wanting to take unnecessary risks — especially since they both aimed for the top five — they followed his advice without hesitation.

Staying close to him might cause their lanes to attract more demonic beasts as well.

Nova himself was well aware that even if the beasts were being controlled to some degree, his bad luck was often stronger than any external manipulation. Anything could still happen.

A few minutes later, the contestants had taken their positions.

Nova stood in front of Lane 25. Asia and Rieka chose Lane 75 and Lane 76. Bai Chen and Tank took Lane 97 and Lane 98.

They had taken Nova’s warning very seriously. None of them wanted extra beasts in their lanes — the challenge was already difficult enough, and more than a few of them were quietly nervous.

”This round will decide the final twenty, I believe... then we’ll finally get to see the one-on-one matches,” Lyra said as she watched the contestants prepare to enter their lanes, weapons and armor already ready.

”Yeah... this is going to be interesting,” Vaorak replied with a smile.

Draeven watched intently while sipping wine from his cup.

”Who do you think will be the first to reach a platform?”

”It’s hard to say,” Vaorak answered. ”It could be any of the elites who stood out in the first round. I’d like to bet on that black-haired boy and Liam Everhart... but we still haven’t seen the full potential of some of the others.”

Draeven’s lips curved into a wide smile.

”Then let’s make a bet. What do you say?”

”Oh? Sounds fun. How should we do it?”

”We’ll bet on first and second place. Each of us will name two people.”He then turned toward the two women.

”Lady Lyra, Lady Aurora... are you in?”

”Sounds good. I’m in,” Lyra replied without hesitation. ”Alright... I’ll bet on that Nova boy and Liam Everhart,” Vaorak declared.

”Nova and Liam as well,” Draeven said.

”Liam and Asia,” Lyra added with a light smile.

All three then turned toward Aurora, waiting for her answer. Without even turning her head, she spoke calmly.

”Asia and Rieka.”

The other three exchanged glances.

Asia was certainly powerful, but taking first place would still be difficult for her. As for Rieka... none of them truly believed she could compete with Nova or Liam.

As important guests, they already understood the overall mechanism of the competition. What they didn’t know, however, was that Aurora could see and sense things beyond their perception.

”Alright then,” Vaorak said with a chuckle. ”Let’s see who wins. The winner will have a favor owed by any of the other three.”

With that, all the contestants stood ready in front of their chosen lanes, waiting for the signal. Finally, their wait came to an end as a deep, resonant bell echoed across the arena.

DONG!!

The moment the bell rang, every contestant rushed into their lane. Behind them, the entrances sealed shut with a heavy thud.

Ahead, the far ends of the lanes opened, and demonic beasts flooded in with bloodlust burning in their eyes.

Each lane stretched roughly 400 meters in length, yet the distance felt almost meaningless. The beasts charged forward at terrifying speed and reached the contestants within seconds.

Those lower-level contestants who had hoped for good luck and only a few weaker demonic beasts instead found themselves facing four or five beasts around level 1400.

They fought desperately, trying to hold a defensive position with everything they had... but it was useless.

In mere moments, they were torn apart.

**

Thanks for reading...