Of the four Gifted Beasts, three had made it into top five. Gorgon had even taken first place in this competition. His body could be considered extremely tough already and coupled with the fact that he was at the peak 10th Grade of the Docile Rank it was easy to see how he got first. He even managed to beat Palet who was in the Beast Rank. This was only because his tribe specialized in body strength.

Tabet managed to come into third due to his cultivation base being so high and also because he had actually spent a bit of time strengthening his body. In fourth was one of the beasts who was at the Half-step Beast Rank, Gringa, who was from the Earthen Beast Tribe. Finally in fifth was Alabasta who forced himself to keep moving ahead. He could be seen in a sorry state but that didn’t distract him from trying to achieve his best score.

Akata was surprised that he didn’t see his name on the list of top five. At first he thought that it was because he was a mortal but then he remembered the other condition besides making it further inside. ‘I had to be in there for a long time too. I just happened to come up with an idea in the last fifteen minutes and managed to move that far.’ Akata didn’t feel dejected however. He had made huge strides in body cultivation and would never let it slip again.

His body was now comparable to the 6th Grade of the Mortal Rank. He had actually absorbed a lot of the mist and therefore his body was still getting stronger as he stood around. A glow of light illuminated on his body while he was teleported to the second stage.

As soon as he reappeared, Akata spread his nature sense out and investigated his surroundings. Although he could hear the beasts around him saying that there wasn’t anything around, Akata couldn’t believe it. With his nature sense spread out, Akata found that there was some kind of weird waves in the air. He studied them to find out that they caused his mind to stir a bit.

Soon a voice rang out. “Beasts of the Great Aka Tribe, hear me. This is a trial pertaining to mental strength. It will test how much you can endure with your mind and how far you can go. Just as you did in the first stage, go as far as you can toward the center and stay for as long as you can.” Dragon King Wuna said with an air of royalty.

It was then that the many beasts began to step forward. Almost immediately, most of those beasts had their faces scrunched up with pain. They were suffering mental attacks that came from the invisible waves in the air. Some clenched their teeth and forced themselves to take some steps forward, some stood in place trying to accustom to the pain, and others actually took a step back to exit the waves.

Akata had his nature sense spread out and he could see all of this happening. What caught his attention were the Wyrms. They were clearly in the same stage as the rest of the beasts but they flew or walked along as if this were nothing to them. It was as if this type of place was familiar to them.

‘So they are skilled with mental energy then? Well… I may not be a beast whose body is strong but when it comes to mental strength, I can compete in that!’ Akata’s eyes glittered brightly as he took a step forward into the invisible waves.

Instantly, he felt a crashing wave hit his mind and it caused him pain. But his face didn’t contort or look as if it had changed in the slightest. This kind of pain was negligible to him. Not only that but his mental strength could be considered monster like for his age. Akata proceeded along casually as if walking in his own bedroom.

Akata didn’t need any kind of tricks to advance in this stage as his mental strength was already at a level most couldn’t even comprehend. A strong mentality made it so that one could comprehend faster and deeper, think faster, or even resist mental attacks or physical pain. It could be considered extremely important for an individual to have a strong mental energy, and Akata clearly took that to heart.

This trial however, was simply too easy for him. Closer to the center, Pina could be seen struggling to sustain her mental facilities but then Akata came into view beside her. He looked at her and then smiled as he passed by. It was extremely casual in how he passed by as if he weren’t even participating in this trial.

Although this trial was meant to strengthen those who made it far into the invisible waves, Akata’s mental strength was so high that it didn’t make a difference to how far he went in, it didn’t really help him in the slightest. He just proceeded along as casually as possible.

“Just what level is his mental strength at? It’s almost monster like. No… It clearly is at the level of a monster.” Dragon King Wuna stated to the other leaders around him.

They all just nodded their heads and accepted the fact that this mortal was not normal at all. His performance near the end of the first stage could be said to be shocking but on the second stage, it was as if he were a monster in his own field. This couldn’t even be considered a trial for him. The way Akata was walking made it seem as if he were an instructor looking at the various beasts perform.

It was suffice to say that after an hour passed, Akata was sitting calmly in the center of the stage. This was really not a challenge for him at all. He sighed to himself. ‘I wish I could be a monster like this in every field. Only then can I act as casually as I just did. Only true monster's can act as they please.’ Akata sighed once more and then his eyes gleamed with determination. He was going to become someone stronger than an expert, he was going to become a monster!

The results for this stage came out as well and they were as follows

1st Akata - Mortal

2nd Reina - Flying Dragon Snake Tribe

3rd Pina - Flying Dragon Snake Tribe

4th Tabet - Scarlet Rune Tribe

5th Flynna - Flying Dragon Snake Tribe

Akata looked on with an indifferent expression as he waited to go to the third stage. He didn’t even make this trial out to be challenge much less something to be happy about. In fact, it made him question himself.

‘Why is my mental strength so strong? I didn’t even have to struggle to get to the center where the mental attacks are the strongest. I can’t be so simple. I should ask Fourth Elder when I get back to the sect.’ Akata told himself.

A light began to shine upon him as his body was transported to the third stage. There he sensed countless motes of light shining around the arena. With his nature sense he was able to see that the motes of light were ever changing from dim to bright from large to small. However, there was also a certain pattern to these lights.

Akata quickly studied them and then focused his attention on Alabasta. The beast that set up this stage was from the Meteor Wolf Star Tribe so it was sure to be interesting for Akata.

As if with perfect timing, Alabasta turned to look at Akata with cold and savage eyes. He licked his lips and turned away. Then a voice rang out for everyone to hear.

“Young beasts, this stage involves a trial of speed. Your goal is to get the most motes of light on this stage. Each mote of light is worth some points. The bigger the light the more points and the brighter the light the more points. Therefore you should strive to get the best mote of light. This is actually an elimination round so you need at least 100 points to proceed to the next round. I won’t say how much these lights are worth so do your best to collect the most and the best to be sure that you grab a spot. Otherwise… you will be eliminated.”

Star Duke Alpha looked at Akata when he said the last sentence. Akata could feel the cold feeling emanating from his body and could sense the vast killing intent coming from him. ‘Why do they keep targeting me? It’s their whole tribe that hates me so much that they want to kill me. Humph. No matter, I’ll just oppress them in this competition.’ Akata mused to himself.

He sensed all of the motes of light in the area judged where most of the best lights were. He silently rotated his cultivation base and prepared to sprint out toward the spot. This was a contest of speed. The slower you were the less likely you would be able to get enough points to pass. Therefore you had to be fast in this competition. Most likely, Alabasta would come out on top or either Palet, who is in the Beast Rank.Tabet would probably come out in third place.

Since this was an elimination round, beasts would surely try to fight for their position so it was certain that he would suffer some attacks here and there. Akata readied himself for the trial to start when he noticed Alabasta looking in his direction with killing intent locked onto him.

“Start!”

Alabasta immediately sped off at top speed toward Akata. Akata’s eyes went wide as he immediately held his arm up to block the incoming charge.