There was silence throughout the whole forest which was eery, there was still lingering frost and spatial distortion from the battle that lingered in the air.

Adam had already reverted back to his fully human form and the assassin's corpses were nowhere to be seen due to the devastating attacks he just performed.

He just sighed and muttered under his breath. "I should enjoy this peace while I lasts, my instincts are telling something will come soon."

He then turned his head, feeling the mana signatures of his team moving rapidly in the distance.

Class S and Class A are nearby, and they were all meeting up at the same central point.

Adam just sheathed back his sword and started to sprint towards them.

He arrived at the area, finding both of the teams near a temple that was half collapsed.

They had set up barriers for protection, those who were wounded were busy being treated.

Selena was seen kneeling next to Grace, who had cuts along her arm but she was conscious.

"Are you two alright?" Adam asked them, his voice was steady but also calm.

"Yeah just a few scratches here and there, but seems like your doing better." Grace exhaled, she was forcing a grin.

Adam just shrugged it off, and started brushing off the dust from his shoulder. "Well anyways, the assassins have been taken care off."

Then Sarah Corven walked towards him, she held her staff which was glowing with a faint blue light. "What was that? We sensed intense mana bursts at the area you were fighting."

"Assassins," Adam simply said. "They were five of them, All Peak C rank but their dead now."

At the very moment those words left his mouth, there was silence that filled the clearing. Even Drake's usual stoic face vanished.

"So they were waiting for you?" Eve asked him, she narrowed her eyes. "It seems like someone sent them after beforehand."

Adam looked at her and nodded firmly. "Yeah, someone who knew I'd be coming here. Someone who authority."

Charles stepped forward, his had on his katana's hilt. "That ain't normal. Being able to get in through a barrier during an academy exam? It was also corrupted meaning no one could get in. Seems like those responsible for this are also connected."

Someone who is inside the academy?" Selena's expression darkened as she said that.

Adam didn't answer that, but his silence confirmed her suspicions.

Suddenly the ground started to tremble violently.

Everyone instantly came alert as cracks have started to spread beneath their feet, there was an ominous black glow that started pulsing from the temples ruins.

There corruption spread even faster now, almost alive.

Sarah's face turned pale. "The core? Is it mutating again!?"

The from within the ruins themselves, there were tendrils of void energy that were starting to rise. And those tendrils morphed into humanoid shapes.

There was dozens of them and their eyes were glowing with a crimson hue.

But there was something different about these monsters this time.

"Wait..." Simon whispered, he was gripping his staff tightly. "I think these are cult avatars!"

"I knew they'd show up again." Adam said with a cold glint.

Then a figure stepped forward first, his voice was overlapping with other distorted voices.

"The harbinger is walking among you... the blood of he void will awaken..."

"What the hell is a Harbinger?" Adam said, as his eyes narrowed.

The figured would then tilt their heads in unison, they were studying him.

"You carry the scent... you have it."

But before Adam could asked anything more, the figures acted. Raising their weapons that were made from pure darkness.

"In formation, everyone!" Selena shouted.

Eve, Grace and Duke acted see swiftly, they layered barriers while Adam was moving on ahead.

He was commanding the frontline with Charles and Drake.

"I'm not gonna hold back," Adam said. "I'm tired as it is."

Charles nodded, and unsheathed his katana. "I'll be taking the right side then."

"Then I'll be in the left," Adam replied back.

And in that very moment, the whole temple was in chaos.

Lightning was flashing as Charles charged through two of the cultists, his katana cut through their shadow like it was silk.

Drake launched sharp gusts that were tearing through their ranks while wind was swirling violently around him.

Unleashing torrents of frost and water was Eve and Sarah, they were slowing down the horde that was advancing.

Grace and Kain acted together as they both conjured roaring flames that would burn the monsters into ash.

Adam seized the chance they provided and charged straight through the center.

His sword was blazing with condensed ice.

He swung it only once and the sudden impact split the ground.

The shockwave hit three cult avatars as they vanished in a flash of frost, their figures dispersing into smoke.

But the cultists didn't waver. In fact the corruption spread even faster, and from the heart of the temple, a new figure began to rise.

It was a tall humanoid creature, it had a body that was covered in crimson sigils, with six arms, and each of the arms was holding a black blade filled with corruption.

It had a head that was featureless besides the vertical slot that would slowly open, to reveal a glowing red eye.

"A Gate Warden... the boss mutated, it's not supposed to exist below A-rank gates..." Sarah said, her voice trembling.

Eve's eyes would widen in realization. "Then the gates rank—"

"Is now at A-rank." Adam finished the sentence, and gripped his sword tightly.

The Gate Warden subtly moved, it then roared its sound would shatter the stone and air.

The ground was cracking as its power was rippling outward.

Adam turned to the others with a surge of urgency. "Everyone fall back! I'll block it!"

Selena shouted to him, "You can't beat it alone!"

But Adam didn't listen, and just gave her a sharp grin. "Then prepare to launch your strongest spells while I buy time and wound it."

With that said he launched himself forward and decided to use one of the new powers granted to him by his classes second ability.

[Void Fracture]

Adam condensed his mana making it into hyper dense shards mad shot them towards the Gate Warden.

The Gate Warden acted first and swung his swords to destroy the shards, but it didn't work.

These weren't normal shards, they phased through its attack and hit all its arm, a spatial distorted as all its six arms got sucked into space.

The Warden screamed as all of it's arms got cleanly fractured and sucked into endless space.

And from were the limbs should be ice started to form closing down the wound, this was to avoid it regenerating or it would slow down the slow down the whole process even if just a little.

The Adam moved forward once more without a second thought, he raised his sword and his mana started to surge to it's peak.

The Warden saw this as its single big eye widen it burned through it's reserves to speed up the regeneration process, the ice broke as new limbs formed holding the same swords

It lunged as both their weapons collided with each other.

BOOM!

Their impact created a shockwave that level half the temple.

And when the dust cleared, Adam was seen standing firm, his sword was dripping with black blood but he wasn't staggering.

But the Warden was in a critical state, have half its body frozen as it was cut through with spatial tears.

"Now!" Adam yelled.

That's when their preparation came to an end, all their combined spells struck it at once.

All the different elements would converge into a blinding beam that engulfed the Warden whole.

Its roar of aging would echo across the entire gate, it was shaking the air itself.

Then there was silence.

The Gate Warden was no more, it got disintegrated, its whole body burning way into ash.

Everyone was standing still, they were panting heavily. The barrier that sealed the gate began to flicker, showing signs that the source of the corruption was gone and also the boss was defeated.

In the end they've managed to complete their test.

"It's... finally over," Eve said, while taking deep breaths.

But Adam didn't relax at all. His just gazed at the sky, his resolve hardening as he said with a serious expression:

"Yeah..." he muttered. "For that that is."

Far behind the academy's walls, it was in a secluded chamber that was lit with only a din glow of crimson crystals.

Cedric was sitting infront of a glowing expression, his expression was unreadable.

He saw the image of the gate that shimmered with a blue light, showing an end to the corruption and also it's clearance.

He saw as Adam and the rest were walking out the gate, Adam himself was unscathed while the rest of the students were breathing heavily and they had wounds all over their bodies.

Cedric's lips would twist into a cold smirk, anger and jealousy flashing just for a second in his eyes. "So, he survived again... this is going to be a problem."

Footsteps were echoing softly from the darkness, a robed figure emerged into the chamber.

This was the very same cult priest, who is responsible for triggering the gate corruption.

"Well the experiment was a success," he said. "The corruption served it's purpose, some of our forces have already infiltrated the academy. While the academy investigates the gate corruption, we'll be able to move freely."

Cedric snorted while crossing his arms. "And what about Adam?"

The cult priest just inclined his head. "I admit, he didn't think he would be able to fight your assassins and my members and still have that much energy. As expected from the spawn of !#?!*, but he won't be a problem soon."

Cedric just exhaled sharply and leaned back on his chair. "Well as long our plans are still in motion, with this I'll be able to seize the throne while eliminating an annoying variable."

"We shall finish preparations for the final phase. The others have already begun and are stationed all over the capital." The cultist said with an evil grin.

Cedric smiled, and the said. "But Adam is a problem, I don't want him living before the tournament. He'll gain too much attention."

"As you wish."

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