High-Level Match

Ron frowned deeply, his heart churning with stormy waves.

Mysticism Influence... Why was it Mysticism Influence?!

Magic did exist in Ideal City, but it was a type of superpower rooted in Personal Reality—

Such an ability absolutely should not have caused Ron to suffer the unavoidable environmental version erosion of the Potion Era when he loaded [Superpowered]!

Could it be... that the world simulated by the city government itself had reproduced the Mysticism Influence found in the Potion Era?

Why?

Even a simulation had to have a source, didn't it?

Could it be...

Ron instinctively shifted his gaze into the distance, toward the dark crimson sky—

A gigantic, pitch-black Void that exhaled and inhaled translucent mist hung there.

Its edges burned like flowing fire, the flames streaming together before dripping from the bottom of its ring-shaped form...

Then falling onto the endless horizon tangled with ruins—

Where they ignited a blazing Flame Wall of stillness.

As Ron looked toward the giant Void on the horizon, the translucent mist it breathed out suddenly rippled.

Like heat haze warped by scorching temperatures...

Within that translucent mist, Ron vaguely caught sight of some strange things—

Twisted, shambling corpses;

Knights with wings on their backs, clad in bizarre armor;

Withered, diminutive mages wearing pointed wizard hats...

Those chaotic images flashed past in an instant. Ron could not even be certain they had truly appeared in his field of vision.

Were they real, or merely an illusion?

He did not know. He only knew that, in that dazed moment, he heard the Dimensional Update Manual's notification again—

["Class: Superpowered" was being eroded by a trace amount of "Mysticism Influence".]

[Trait damage: 3%]

Sure enough, that Mysticism Influence came from the giant Void on the horizon!

Ron immediately looked away, countless thoughts flashing through his mind.

No wonder the mad supervisor in the underground laboratory had been able to obtain a Corpse Shell's finger bone from the Void. There really was a certain degree of "mysticism" within it.

But... were those truly monsters from the Potion Era?

The "Void"... When Ron had read the mad supervisor's notes before, he had assumed monsters from the Potion Era really did flow out of it.

But after actually seeing the images of those monsters within the Void, Ron began to doubt whether his earlier understanding had been correct.

Those monsters were clearly illusory. Like the finger bone he had found in the notes, they gave off an unreal feeling, as if they should not exist.

Everything in the Potion Era had truly existed... At least, Ron did not think a Corpse Shell would display that appearance of being caught between existence and nonexistence.

Perhaps it could also be called version rejection, turning them into that state, but...

Ron switched to [Ashes of the Age of Gods], activated Magic Vision, and glanced once more at the burning giant Void on the horizon—

The illusion-like monster images had not diminished. If anything, even more strange creatures had appeared, their bodies twisted and each ugly in its own distinctive way.

Yet these ever-changing monsters shared one common trait—

Under Magic Vision, they were dull and lifeless.

There was no "magic power" within them at all!

They absolutely could not be beings from the Potion Era.

If Simulated Reality technology could not reproduce "magic power," that would have been one thing. But this Simulated Reality had clearly reproduced a certain amount of Mysticism Influence...

Then did that Mysticism Influence come from the Potion Era's magic power, or from something else within the Void that Ron did not know about?

And this ability test had been arranged in a place like this. Not only was combat the main scoring focus, but the Void that could affect superpowers had also been simulated...

Could it be that they wanted to select Superpowered individuals who could retain their combat ability even in an environment that wore down superpowers?

For what purpose?

Were they training specialists capable of entering the Outer City and venturing into genuine Historical Hollows—not mere data simulations—to fight in such harsh environments?

Ron frowned and pondered for a long time, but he could not make sense of it no matter what.

He switched back to [Superpowered] and took a step, intending to explore the ruins. But he suddenly discovered that the air before him had solidified, as though it had become an iron wall...

A voice came from behind him.

"Attention, examinee. The Preparation Hall cannot directly enter the Hollow Battlefield."

The sight of Mysticism Influence in Ideal City had been so shocking that Ron had paid little attention to his surroundings.

He looked toward the voice and saw a partially obscured yet relatively tidy hall amid the ruins behind him.

Several examinees with admission cards hanging from their bodies stood scattered inside, along with an invigilator in uniform. He had been the one to speak just now.

I knew it. There was no way the College Entrance Exam would just toss people into a simulated scenario without even explaining the rules...

Ron entered the hall, and the invigilator immediately explained the rules of this ability test.

"For this test, examinees must undergo combat testing in the simulated Hollow Battlefield, which erodes superpowers."

"Each deployment will contain one hundred examinees. Kill an examinee, and you will receive points based on that examinee's ranking and point tier.

"Matchmaking pools will be divided according to point rankings. The higher your points, the higher your rank. Test matchmaking will close in three days, and College Entrance Exam rankings will be determined by points."

"Exam matchmaking will remain open at all times throughout the College Entrance Exam, with no limit on the number of matches an examinee may enter.

"All Hollow Battlefields will be livestreamed throughout the process, allowing public oversight and monitoring for any potential cheating within the examination grounds."

One hundred examinees per deployment? Earn points by killing examinees?

Even if it was Simulated Reality, that was a little too bloody.

But on second thought, it did fit the Ideal City government's expectations for this College Entrance Exam reform.

Selecting combat talents... Then, in a massive battlefield where all high school students were matched against one another in a fight to the death—

The one who stood at the end and killed every competitor would naturally be the strongest high school student of the era!

Still, an event that looked only at pure combat power was a little too fair...

So fair that a trace of doubt rose in Ron's heart—

Where the hell have I been sent?

Is this still our Ideal City?

As he wondered, the invigilator continued.

"Ten minutes after the test deployment begins, [Evacuation Points] will open at the edges of the test area.

"You may only transmit your data and return to the Preparation Hall through an [Evacuation Point] after handing in ten examinee admission cards... Here, this is your admission card in the simulation."

An admission card?

Ron accepted the card handed over by the invigilator and looked at the examinees lingering in the Preparation Hall. Understanding dawned on him.

No wonder they all wore their admission cards on their chests. The rules required it...

Following their example, he hung his admission card on his chest. Then he suddenly heard a wail of anguish from nearby—

"Guys, tap the little heart! If you've got votes, send votes! If you've got money, donate! Once your streamer buys this Resurrection Coin, I'll definitely crush the next round!"

Ron turned and saw an examinee livestreaming, with waves of comments scrolling across the simulated screen before him.

Looking closely, Ron could vaguely make out the streams of abuse—

"Stray dog stray dog stray dog stray dog stray dog..."

"You still want donations? What use would donating to you be? A noob like you will just get treated like some roadside mutt and kicked to death..."

"Tap report to support the streamer! Tap report to support the streamer! Tap report to support the streamer!"

The examinee stared anxiously at his livestream screen.

"What do you mean, noob? I'm not bad, brothers. That big guy was just too strong!

"And if you don't donate, where am I supposed to get Resurrection Coins?

"If nothing else, brothers, help me tap some GG and help boost the GG ad viewing ti—"

Before he could finish, his body scattered into a string of Data Bubbles and he was kicked out of Simulated Reality.

Ron stared in astonishment at the slowly dissipating Data Bubbles, then turned to the invigilator and pointed at them.

"Sir... what happened?"

"Oh, it's simple. He failed to evacuate and died in the Hollow Battlefield."

The invigilator explained.

"Every examinee who dies in the Hollow Battlefield will be sent back to the Preparation Hall, and they only get ten minutes of stay time.

"During that time, you can either spend money to buy the [Revival Permission] issued by the Moen City Gaokao Testing Association and choose to enter the Hollow Battlefield again...

"Or you can only leave the simulated examination grounds in disgrace like him and return to reality."

But what was the problem with returning to reality? Couldn't he just turn on his simulation device and come back in?

That question had just arisen in Ron's mind when the words he had heard earlier flashed through his head—

Wait, did that guy just say GG?

That bald invigilator had also said that after leaving, one had to wait a while before being allowed back into Simulated Reality...

Thinking of those examinees who had failed to beat the GG Robot and therefore had not skipped the GG Authority, Ron immediately understood what would happen after an examinee left the simulation.

"After returning to reality... what do they need to accomplish before they can return to Simulated Reality?"

The invigilator shrugged.

"No matter why you leave Simulated Reality, the invigilators outside will reclaim your examination equipment once you leave.

"And the Moen City Gaokao Testing Association will assign you a [Revival Permission] collection task—in simple terms, watching GG.

"Until you complete the collection task, you are not qualified to re-enter Simulated Reality and continue participating in the ability test."

Watch GG to get Resurrection Coins? Interesting.

For a moment, Ron did not know what to mock. He even felt slightly relieved.

He knew it could not possibly be that fair. Sure enough, there were little tricks like this waiting for ordinary examinees without money, like him.

This was the Ideal City he knew...

A place reeking of greedy money at every turn.

Still... even so, this kind of exam was far, far fairer than a cultural subjects exam.

After all, Simulated Reality did not allow any auxiliary items that enhanced abilities. If you could not win, then you could not win. No amount of Resurrection Coins would change that.

At most, the wealthy could only afford more room for error.

When they truly faced the powerful combat talents Ideal City needed...

Those rich people relying on Credit Points to buy Resurrection Coins posed no threat at all to genuinely strong people.

And... exam matchmaking was open at all times during the College Entrance Exam, with no limit on the number of matches?

No wonder the invigilator in the examination hall had said that if one wanted higher scores, one absolutely could not die during the exam.

This examination format was obviously winner-takes-all...

The more an examinee could crush others in battle with overwhelming force, the faster they could accumulate points and win everything!

But... wasn't that exactly what Ron excelled at?

He had never doubted that his [Vector Manipulation] could effortlessly kill most examinees in a single strike!

Filled with intense confidence in himself, Ron took a step and followed the invigilator's directions to a collapsed wall beside the hall—

There, a card reader was flashing.

"Swipe your admission card there to join matchmaking. I'm guessing you're pretty capable. Good luck in battle!"

Hearing the praise, Ron gave the invigilator a thumbs-up. Without saying anything, he swiped his admission card...

As if he had fallen into the deep sea, Ron's vision suddenly went completely dark.

The next moment, light returned to him once more...

When he opened his eyes, he saw the enormous Void blanketing the heavens. Blazing streams of fire had formed a Flame Wall, forcibly enclosing a circle no larger than a small city.

Ron opened his eyes atop a ruined high-rise at the center of that circle. Looking around, he could easily spot many fleeting figures among the city ruins.

All of them quickly hid within the ruins, clearly avoiding detection and choosing to lie low for the moment.

Those were all examinees? Then the circle enclosed by the Flame Wall must be the battlefield range for this test?

It felt rather small. It seemed the city government did not want examinees wasting time in the exam and wanted them to determine the victor quickly...

This was going to turn into a meat grinder.

Ron sighed and did not intend to make a move immediately.

He had just decided to hide in the shadows like the other examinees and wait for an opportunity to strike when he faintly heard a crackling electric sound by his ear.

Electricity?

Ron's expression hardened, and he instinctively dodged—

A piercing whistle brushed past him. A steel bar clearly snapped from the ruins flashed with electricity as it streaked by like an arrow, embedding itself firmly into a concrete wall not far from Ron.

Someone had targeted him...

But why did it feel like, even if he had not dodged, that steel bar would have happened to miss him anyway?

Ron turned his head in confusion, only to see a girl in a tracksuit grinning at him from a high-rise not far away.

Above her head floated a translucent point display—

[An Hui, 1,200,000 points, Rank 1314.]

So, he had been matched with Huihui.

Ron looked with interest at the points that stood in stark contrast to his own—

So they had put him into a high-level match with one of Ideal City's top two thousand?