Chapter 7: Strength Test (First Update)

"Sit here and don't walk around," Andy said to Baili Yuan.

"Where is this?" Baili Yuan looked around curiously.

"You'll know in a moment," Andy said, then turned and walked away to converse with a staff member in the distance.

Baili Yuan looked around with curiosity. Although Andy had said he was taking him to handle enrollment procedures, this place clearly didn't look like a place for paperwork.

In the center was a massive open space. Directly above it were eight screens facing the eight cardinal directions, and the surrounding area was filled with tiered seating.

No matter how you looked at it, this was an arena!

While Baili Yuan waited in boredom, the elders walked over and sat down beside him.

"Little Yuan, don't be nervous. Just perform as you normally would," an old woman said, patting Baili Yuan on the shoulder.

"???"

Baili Yuan suddenly had a bad premonition.

At this moment, Andy, who was in the distance, beckoned to Baili Yuan.

"Go on," the old woman said to Baili Yuan.

Baili Yuan shrank his neck, stood up, and walked over with his short legs.

"Is something the matter?" Baili Yuan tilted his head, looking at Andy in confusion.

"Get on the field. Prepare to fight," Andy said.

"Fight???" Baili Yuan was shocked. This wasn't what they had agreed upon!

"That's right. Since you have already awakened your crest, we need to test your strength before you join the Crest Academy. We need to analyze your power dimensions to create your ID card and assign you a rank," Andy explained.

"Assign a rank? What's that for?" Baili Yuan asked curiously.

"Depending on the rank, the resources the academy allocates to students differ. Higher-ranked students receive better treatment. At the same time, your dimension values allow us to formulate a training and study plan better suited to you," Andy explained.

"But... I only awakened my crest today..."

"That's perfect. Right after awakening a crest, your body undergoes an enhancement. This is the best time to test your true talent," Andy said with a smile.

Enhancement?

Baili Yuan was stunned. He didn't feel any enhancement at all.

Baili Yuan moved his hands, feeling no different than usual.

In truth, although it was called an enhancement, the magnitude was not significant. For an ordinary person, it would be obvious, but for Baili Yuan, he felt nothing.

After all, Baili Yuan had his racial advantage. He was a human host in his natural form; although his strength was greatly reduced compared to his transformed state, he still retained much of it. With such high base stats, the faint power gained from awakening a crest was naturally imperceptible to him. This was also why Baili Yuan hadn't even noticed when his crest had awakened.

Furthermore, unlike other types of human hosts, he could even use some skills that were usually only available after transforming!

However, the awkward part was that Baili Yuan was still a child by Ultraman standards. Aside from exercising his body and learning combat techniques, he hadn't learned any actual skills—he couldn't even fire a beam.

However, due to his racial talent, he could simply project the light within his body outward, but compared to the power of a true beam skill, it wasn't strong—it was pitifully weak. Even young Ultramen didn't use it in fights; not only could it not cause damage, but it might even restore the opponent's strength.

After all, they all grew up basking in the light of the Spark Tower. Without specialized training, the power within them was of the same origin. Simply shooting the light out of one's body was no different from feeding the opponent for other Ultramen.

"Alright, don't waste time. Get on the field. Don't worry, it's not difficult," Andy said, pointing to the arena.

"Really?"

"Really!" Andy nodded with conviction.

Baili Yuan gave Andy a suspicious look before walking into the arena.

For some reason, Baili Yuan always felt that Andy wasn't the type to tell the truth.

On both sides of the arena were a red and a blue spot, which were likely the starting positions. Baili Yuan stood on the blue spot on his side, while a staff member stood on a high platform to the left of the arena's center.

As Baili Yuan stood in the arena, a film of energy slowly rose, eventually enclosing the entire space.

Baili Yuan looked at the rising barrier with curiosity. This type of barrier used pure, attribute-less energy. He remembered that the training grounds in the Land of Light also had such barriers. They were bidirectional, not only preventing combatants from accidentally injuring spectators but also isolating sound to prevent the audience from influencing the fighters.

Moreover, the energy barrier served to limit the combat area, and the attribute-less power would not affect the environment for either side.

Baili Yuan estimated that this energy barrier functioned similarly to the ones in the Land of Light, but its technological level and energy-bearing capacity were definitely inferior to those in the Land of Light.

"This is an energy barrier. Don't worry, it won't affect your combat. You can fight with all your might later. If you encounter danger, the staff will rescue you in time," Andy's voice came through the broadcast.

Baili Yuan had black lines on his forehead. Danger? Why did that sound so unsettling?

"You should have received a contract beast when you awakened your crest," Andy asked.

A contract beast brought by the crest?

Did awakening a crest come with a free contract beast?

Baili Yuan guessed that the reason he awakened his crest was likely related to the existence of his handheld console, and perhaps the starter Pokémon was what they called a "gifted" contract beast.

So, Baili Yuan nodded.

"Your crest profession is Summoner. Remember to use your contract beast during the fight. Command it and trust your contract beast. Don't go charging in bare-handed like you did before," Andy reminded him.

Many children who had just awakened the Summoner crest often had this problem. They couldn't react in time and, out of habit from their previous training, would just grab a weapon and charge in on their own. The sight of a contract beast standing in the back just watching while the Summoner went in to brawl was truly bizarre.

Andy felt it was necessary to remind Baili Yuan. After all, Baili Yuan likely hadn't received basic education and might not understand the Summoner profession. Moreover, this was a test for Baili Yuan; since he was a Summoner, the assessment of his strength was primarily focused on the strength and aptitude of his summoned beast. One couldn't put the cart before the horse.

Let the contract beast go in?

Baili Yuan looked at the crest on his hand. The levels of Bulbasaur, Poliwag, and Oddish within the crest weren't high; in a fight, they really weren't as effective as him grabbing his smash hammer and going in himself.

However, Baili Yuan still nodded.

"Combat preparation!"

Seeing Baili Yuan nod to indicate he was ready, Andy announced the start of the match.

"Release your magical beast! The battle begins!"