Within the cover of darkness, screams of panic rang out.


    Cries of terror that echoed one after another.


    "Sh*t! It''s the crazy b*tch! Run!"


    "Don''t let her drop the beasts on you!"


    "Get the f*ck away from me!"


    Wherever Alice ran, screams would follow.


    The entire arena was notified on her existence while those watching from above couldn''t help but pale at the sight of Alice.


    Even those from other groups feared her.


    As for Ria, she simplyughed.


    Meanwhile, despite her enjoyment of dragging others into the death trap, the smile on her face faltered after seeing the beasts shrug off attack after attack.


    Their regeneration and resilience were simply on another level and she could feel her fatigue catching up on her.


    Sensing danger behind her, she rolled to the side just in time to see a ming w miss her head.


    Twisting her body, she gritted her teeth and shed up with the blood me de.


    *CLANG!!!


    Widening her eyes, she was shocked to see the beast tank her hit head on without transforming her both.


    ''Sh*t.''


    Adjusting her grip on the de to enter a parrying stance, Alice braced herself for impact as the beast''s tail mmed into her body.


    *BANG!!!


    Her body was flung away as she rolled violently on the ground. Pushing herself back on her feet, Alice frowned. Her left side was stinging from the hit and her arm was injured. Even with her blood control being able to stop the bleeding, it didn''t heal the damage done to her body.


    Flipping backwards, Alice dodged another attack by the beast when another appeared behind her.


    Widening her eyes, she turned around and fired a Void Flux.


    But it was a bait!


    Alice''s attack missed as the beast dodged her counter and opened its mouth.


    A torrent of mes exploded out and engulfed Alice.


    Crashing to the ground, mes continued to burn as some of the spectators frowned.


    The mes should''ve killed her and thus teleported out yet she was still in the arena unmoving!


    Whispers of doubt and worry started to spread through the crowd. A few looked towards the principal and Special ss Students but they weren''t saying anything.


    Back in the arena, the beasts started to circle Alice with two aiming for other students.


    Three of the beasts slowly approached her in a mix of confusion and wariness.


    But just as they took a step towards her, Alice snapped into action!


    Lunging forward, she readied her de.


    An insane smile appeared on Alice''s face as her eyes focused on the beast before her. Sigils red across her body as a single image appeared in her mind.


    The sight of Gin''s sh. A demonstration of a Lord''s power.


    If it was him, he''d be able to cut through these beasts even with their strange physical properties.


    Using the knowledge she gained from mastering Void Flux and the movement of energy, Alice coated her de with ayer of blood before detonating it with her mes.


    Void Flux is a skill that copses the space surrounding the me she creates. If she was to use the skill she stole from the swordswoman she met while hunting her third Sigil then it could work!


    Through thebination of these two skills, she''ll be able to replicate Gin''s sh.


    Her breathing calmed, her mind focused and then, she struck!


    Putting her theory into action, the mes began to twist and turn across her de.


    As the me sliced through the air, the air around the de started to distort. The purple and red mes red out before transforming into countless white sparks, warping the space around her sh.


    Cleaving into the beast, it was as though a vacuum was opened up. A torrent of mes and sparks rushed into the beast before detonating!


    *BANG!!!


    Shredding through the beast, the sh tore apart the shadows that permeated this arena, revealing the devastation of her attack.


    In the silence of the spectators, a single de cleaved a five star beast in half. Its eyes widened with fear, shock and disbelief as the two halves copsed on the floor.


    Panting heavily, Alice looked at her de with a bitter smile.


    A single crack formed across the body before the de shattered into countless shards. It was unable to contain the power behind it and thus broke as a result.


    ''Sorry, I got too eager.'' Alice apologised in her mind.


    Sighing deeply, she threw aside her jacket. When the wyverns had set her on fire, she had created ayer of protective violet mes to feed on the attack.


    It allowed her to take them by surprise.


    But just as she turned around, she saw the principal standing in front of the two wyverns who were ring at Alice with unrelenting blood lust and hate.


    "Calm yourselves. I''ll bring him back, it was just an ident. She didn''t know." The principal tried to calm the beasts down while Alice felt a chill down her spine.


    She could tell that these beasts wanted her dead and this time they didn''t care if the principal was protecting her!


    "I think you''ve done enough today. Go rx yourself." The principal nced back before snapping her finger.


    Blood mist enveloped Alice''s body as she was teleported back to the spectator stands.


    As for the beast that Alice killed, the principal simply teleported it away along with the other wyverns in the arena.


    Meanwhile, those who were familiar with the recent rumours were frozen in shock.


    After Alice threw her jacket away, they could see her defining details and understood she was the one who cleared the Hall of Champions.


    First came anger towards her making the test harder but then came helplessness. She had just killed a five star beast! What could they do against her?


    "The test will continue but we will be adjusting the rules." The principal called out after teleporting the wyverns away.


    Enveloping the beasts and herself in ayer of blood, she teleported away while Garret took over.


    ###


    In an undisclosed location, the principal bit down on her wrist and poured out blood for the dead wyvern.


    Little by little, the blood started to reconstruct its body as light returned to its eyes.


    "Sorry, it was my choices that led to this." She apologized once more as the beasts rubbed their heads against her.


    Patting them on the head, there was a serious expression on her face.


    The techniques she demonstrated definitely, without question, originated from Abyss Lords. Which then begs the question of how she even learned them.


    ''The techniques of an Abyss Lord aren''t something that can be passed on easily. It''s a culmination of their understanding and control over their powers. And knowing Allura, she wouldn''t teach someone her Nova Core skill until they''re ready. The burden is simply too much on the body.


    ''Then there''s her sh… It''s not perfect but it shows signs of understanding that only an Abyss Lord would know…'' Her frown deepened.


    She simply didn''t know how Alice was able to replicate these attacks.


    Even for her, she found it difficult to achieve. Not only that, she was also like a nk canvas.


    She didn''t know if Alice knew it or not but herst trick of covering her body with mes to protect herself was the same method of these Wyverns only modified to suit herself.


    ''Is she simply a genius? Or does it have something to do with her Sigils? Her records state that she has physical boost, poison blood, blood and metal control and finally, me control… There''s nothing there that will suggest that she can copy skills.'' Massaging her eyes, she sighed.


    At first, she found this interesting but now it was tiring. If she could help it, she would avoid getting involved if possible.


    But now that Alice was enrolling, it was unavoidable.


    "Where''s Allura when you need her." She sighed.


    ###


    Back at the arena, the people in Alice''s group looked at her with a mix of fear and anger as she was the cause of their elimination. But the power she demonstrated sent chills down their spine.


    Meanwhile, Alice simply sat alone and crossed her legs, not caring that they were staring at her.


    She looked down at the de once more and sighed.


    ''Until I can control that sh, I don''t think I can buy a sword that can withstand that attack.'' Alice thought with a frown.


    It was essentially a different form of Void Flux but made to mimic Gin''s attack.


    Sheathing her broken de in its sheath and tying it with some thread to prevent it from falling out, Alice nced at her obsidian bracelet.


    Perhaps only this de would be able to withstand that attack, but she didn''t want to risk it until she''s gained more understanding.


    For now, she decided to give the attack a name.


    Void Flux – Cleave.


    With a new skill in her arsenal of attacks, Alice turned her focus back on the arena.


    It was now Ria''s turn and with the incident of thest exam, the details were changed. Instead of survival against a beast, Garret had changed it into a survival of the fittest. It was a free for all until only 20 examinees remain. Those that ''die'' will be teleported out of the arena as per usual.


    With this rule in ce, everyone began to look at one another with hostility while Ria simple nced around her with a rxed smile.


    After seeing Alice replicate her grandfather''s attack, her blood was now pumping. She wanted to show off skills of her own and she had a perfect candidate for this.


    During her training with Kaden, he had exined to her some theories behind a few ranged attacks she could do with lightning. But at the time, she wasn''t able to achieve any sess with them.


    This time, she''ll take this moment to practice.


    Massaging her neck, lightning started to crackle across her body as excitement rushed through her veins.