I saw Elyndria nod softly before taking a small, almost delicate step back, her hand brushing across Fang's cold, misty fur as she whispered an order for him to intervene if anything dangerous happened.The wolf sprite responded with a low rumble, icy mist drifting from his maw—loyal, alert, and clearly ready to pounce at a moment's notice.
Good. That meant I could go all out.
Since this entire exam was broadcast across the continent and kill-count mattered… I had no intention of holding back. If there was one thing I needed here, it was dominance—clean, overwhelming dominance.
So, without any hesitation or even the pretense of a guard stance, I dashed straight toward the scorpions.
The moment they sensed my approach, all thirteen of them reacted at once. Their segmented bodies tensed, tails arching high as sharp, venom-infused stingers fired toward me like a hail of needles.
To anyone watching, this would look terrifying—deadly poison, lightning speed, thirteen simultaneous attacks. Many students would have died on the spot.
But to me?
It was nothing.
I didn't slow. I didn't dodge. I didn't even blink.
Every single stinger that touched the space around my body simply… vanished.Not deflected. Not weakened.
Erased.Nullified out of existence by the passive effect of my physique.
The scorpions recoiled visibly, their movements stuttering in instinctive fear. Even beasts could sense something was wrong—something fundamentally unnatural about the way their attacks had disappeared. It wasn't resistance. It wasn't a shield.
It was the absence of reality itself.
I triggered Spatial Shift, the world bending in a single flicker—
And suddenly I stood in the exact middle of the swarm.
They didn't even have time to turn.
One thought echoed through my mind.
'NULL Ring: Life Force.'
The ground trembled softly as condensed red-purple NULL energy formed a perfect ring around me—silent, cold, oppressive enough to make the very air heavy.
A tidal wave of nullification spread outward.
Not even half a second passed before—
Thud. Thud. Thud.Thirteen times.
Every creature around me collapsed in utter stillness, their life force severed as cleanly as if it had never existed at all. Their bodies didn't even twitch.
I exhaled lightly and canceled the technique.
'Tch. I thought it would take at least four seconds before their life force washed out entirely… guess they were just that weak.'
I had tested NULL Ring enough to know its rules: it nullified energy by percentage of total strength. Usually around 10% per second, but with enough NULL energy or a big enough gap in power, the process accelerated drastically.
Against opponents this weak?
Instant death.
I could nullify mana instantly too, but that came at the cost of draining my entire NULL energy reserve. Normally it took ten minutes to recover—but inside the NULL Dimension, it refilled in the blink of an eye. Another cheat stacked on top of a cheat.
Then—
Ding!
A crisp sound chimed from my armband.
+17 points.
Not bad. If we continued at this pace, we could sweep this artificial Rift clean in under three hours. Maybe even two, depending on monster density.
When I turned toward Elyndria, I nearly laughed.
Her eyes were wide, her lips parted slightly, her expression frozen somewhere between awe and mild disbelief. Seeing the unshakeable elven princess stunned so thoroughly was… honestly entertaining.
I approached at a relaxed pace, hands behind my back, not remotely concerned about the fact that the entire continent had just seen what I did. Let them watch. Let them wonder. There was nothing they could do.
Elyndria finally spoke, her voice unusually soft.
"You… didn't you say your talent was related to Time and Space?"
I shrugged with a grin.
"Yeah, that's true. But that thing I used was from my physique."
Her brows twitched—she clearly wanted to ask—but she was too well-trained and too smart to pry into someone else's secrets. Especially when that person just erased thirteen monsters as if they were dust on his shoe.
She simply nodded slowly, regaining her composure.
"Let's find more monsters," she said, turning toward Fang with a gentle yet commanding look.
Within twenty seconds, Fang's ears perked up.Three Mid-Novice rank desert snakes—one kilometer west.
I grabbed her hand and activated Spatial Shift.
In the next instant, the world twisted and we stood a kilometer away—sand shifting under our feet as three massive serpents lifted their heads, tongues flickering.
Elyndria stepped ahead.
"I'll handle them this time," she said, cheeks slightly puffed with determination.
I moved back and gestured for her to go ahead.
She lifted her hand.
"Fang. Freeze them."
The sprite shot forward, a blur of white and blue energy.He released a chilling howl—
HOOOOOWL—
A gust of freezing wind exploded outward.
All three snakes froze instantly, their bodies turning into crystalline ice sculptures.
+6 points.
Both of our bands buzzed.
I glanced at her, saying simply:
"Strong."
Her eyes gleamed with satisfaction as she smiled softly—a subtle, elegant smile that felt like the blooming of a rare flower.
"We should continue like this," she said excitedly. "If we do, we can clear this Rift in less than three hours."
And, judging by her cheerful tone…
She was very, very happy that she wouldn't have to walk much.
I nodded lightly.
"Then let's keep going."