Chapter 972: Aptitude Test
"Did you receive the same message?" Carmen asked in a baffled tone. What caught her attention was the so-called additional points being granted to them.
When did the trial start counting points? How were they accounted for?
There were so many questions popping out of her mind.
"Let's just keep it to ourselves." Xu Feng placed a finger on his mouth and said. His eyes then shifted to the other players who were just standing around.
What caught him by surprise was that the Malefic Order Guild players and a few more players from the super guild made it out of the third round this quickly.
While Xu Feng noticed them, those in the Malefic Order Guild also paused their conversation and shifted their attention to him. After all, the two didn't have a friendly relationship whatsoever. No, it was more correct to say that they were just separated by the plane from duking things out.
"Can't believe he made it out alive." CarnageBound snickered coldly.
"There's only a little bit over 3 minutes till the round ends. I calculated. Aside from us, there are 13 players who passed." He continued.
Xu Feng and Carmen were included in the calculation, so there remained 11 players. 4 came from Floral Witch's side, 1 from the Darkness Branch of the Cyclone Guild, 2 from the Mistwalkers Guild, 2 from the Twilight Guild, and 2 from the Midnight Guild.
The numbers were staggering. This goes to show how deadly the third round was.
To survive, many Super Guild's representatives sacrificed their subordinates to escape.
However, one thing became very apparent. Out of everyone present in this section, only Xu Feng and Carmen belonged to the external force player's side.
Despite being recruited by Floral Witch, it didn't negate the fact that they really didn't belong to any of the Super Guilds.
Thus, hostility was clear as day, and even Floral Witch found it difficult to support them.
She was about to step forward and vouch for them, but CarnageBound took the lead.
"Vanguard Guild Leader Lin Feng, right?" CarnageBound smiled brightly. "Your Honorary Elder, Cool Wind, is an old friend of our Malefic Order Guild. I wonder where he is up to so that we can catch up on our previous discussion."
"Oh, he's unavailable at the moment. He's busy with something else and doesn't have the time to entertain people he deemed below average." Xu Feng chuckled and responded.
"Well, ain't that perfect. We're definitely not below average when we have over 7 people on our side. I'm more worried about your side with so few numbers. Will your Honorary Elder cry about it again and come to us to seek compensation once the Vanguard Guild failed?"
"There's no need for you to worry about it. Incompetence needs more people to support themselves. Otherwise, they would just be in shambles. Just two people are enough to win."
The two of them continued to converse with friendly smiles on their faces, but each of the sentences was more poisonous than the previous.
Thankfully, there was no escalation of battle because of the System's rule.
Soon, 5 minutes went by, and there were no surprises. The third round effectively ended with a total of 20 players passing.
30 players had fallen in the cruel third round.
CarnageBound's side took over the majority number count and could be considered a major threat.
Maybe the only bright side was that Driftcore had been eliminated completely. Without their representative, Shaun taking the lead and commanding their people, it was only right that they would fail.
System Notification: Congratulations to the remaining 20 players! The last round will test one's aptitude. An elder from the Hall of Resonance will conduct the test.
Shortly after the system's prompt, all 20 of them found themselves forcefully teleported to another environment.
What greeted them was an elderly man clad in a glorious outfit. They emitted a majestic and powerful aura.
"Greetings, trial contenders. I'm Nicholas, and an elder from the Hall of Resonance." The elderly man introduced himself and held a warm smile. It was as if he was welcoming them with open arms.
Despite such reception, Xu Feng's eyes narrowed deeply. He would be damned if he believed Nicholas was someone amiable and easygoing.
"Elder Nicholas, may I know what the aptitude test is about?" CarnageBound cupped his fist and asked. Such action was usually deemed reckless, but he appeared to be confident and eager to chat with the elder.
Meanwhile, Nicholas turned his attention to CarnageBound. With just a single glance, his smile widened a bit more.
"Ah, you have the Resonance Token. Not bad, not bad." Nicholas praised warmly.
'Resonance Token?' Alarmed, Xu Feng didn't expect CarnageBound to actually hold such an item.
No wonder he was able to pass the third round so swiftly.
The Resonance Token could be considered the cheat code as it helped players navigate to find the door to the Hall of Resonance.
But then it begged the question.
Where and how did CarnageBound receive such an item?
While Xu Feng was confused, his doubt was soon cleared when CarnageBound revealed the answer himself.
"Yes, Elder Nicholas. I happened to encounter an elder in the past who goes by the name Irvin. I assisted him in some quest, and he gave me the Resonance Token, stating that I have a good aptitude." CarnageBound said.
Based on his words alone, everyone else realized why he was so eager to converse with the unknown elder.
"Damn, so he already got an advantage in the aptitude test."
"This CarnageBound really concealed well."
The crowd started whispering among themselves. They were clearly stunned and irritated by the shrewdness of CarnageBound.
They were supposed to participate as one group, but CarnageBound was secretly harboring such a secret from himself.
How could they not be mad?
Most of them shared valuable information to ensure their passing rate, but CarnageBound withheld such information and even got most of his members to pass.
"Haha, so it was Irvin. Very well, you have received 50 points in advance." Nicholas stroked his white beard.