I Became the Genius of the Gigant Academy - Chapter 8:

“Huuugh.”

He breathed out hot puffs of air through his mouth. His heart pulsated as if it was about to burst, and at the same time, through his whole body, he felt an unprecedented amount of strength explode.

Very quietly, the suffocation felt by his body disappeared, and he felt one with the Tito. The synchronization rate exploded to an extremely high level.

Bang-!

He took a single step forward and felt an intoxicating sense of thrill. The feeling was similar to riding a wild horse jumping around as if it was crazy.

Thud!

But when he took the next step, he had complete control over that wild, ferocious energy. The synchronization rate that exploded instantly showed him the world in a different light.

Whirring-!

He then saw Luke’s Tito coming at him with his fist forward. Usually, he’d completely turn his body to dodge that attack, but he didn’t need to do that anymore.

Abel simply lowered and spread his body. He then positioned his shoulder according to Luke’s fist.

Screech-!

The firm fist missed the mark of his shoulder barely a centimeter from its surface.

Luke’s Tito lost its balance and had a huge stumble at this unbelievable occurrence.

Abel could clearly see that Luke was shocked. At the same time, he realized that there was no longer a dangerous opponent in front of him; instead, he was a defenseless prey. At the exact moment of realization, Abel bounced up and hit his fist in an upward motion.

Bang!

And he first struck his opponent’s chin. Gigants weren’t living beings with flesh and blood, but there was one similarity. The head was the weak point. Luke hadn’t even returned to his senses, yet Abel drove him more vigorously into a corner.

Bang!Bang! Bang!

The robust Tito’s body got severely distorted every time he landed a strike. The gigant Abel was riding also suffered damages on its fists, but that wasn’t important. Right at that moment, the only thing that was important to Abel was to show everyone there clearly that—A monster had entered the place.

Whack!

Luke could no longer keep the Tito steady, and Abel approached him. With one hand, he clenched his throat tightly, and with the other, he held the space between his legs, and before Luke could even respond, he was lifted in the air.

Instantly, all eyes were on Abel. It was understandable, though, considering he’d just held up a Tito like a barbell. He shoved Luke’s Tito into the ground as if he was responding to the gazes focused on him.

Thud!

He explosively performed a Military Press Slam. The roar of Tito slamming into the ground, mainly because it was heavier than a Midget, was extremely heavy sounding. Of course, it didn’t end there.

Bang!

Abel didn’t stop there and jumped up high. An enormous Gigant body jumped to an unbelievable height. Abel felt an electric sense of freedom and bent one of the Gigant’s knees. The Tito on the floor was struggling to get up. Abel’s Tito dived straight down in the direction of the fallen Tito’s head.

Crash!

A fierce knee drop!

In one blow, the strong Tito’s head was shattered into pieces. Abel’s Tito suffered huge injuries too, but he stood up casually as if it wasn’t a big deal.

“Lunatic…”

Words were mumbled by someone who said them without even realizing it, and it was a clear representation of what everyone around him was thinking about Abel. An untimely silence spread in the building. Abel slowed his painting, and through his Gigant, he said in a calm voice,

“Next.”

Anyone could see that Abel’s Gigant was in a seriously bad condition. On top of that, his stamina was probably about to give out after such an extremely fierce fight.

“No one?”

However, no one came forward.

‘I guess I have no choice then.’

After finishing what he had to say with a disappointed tone, Abel again moved because if no one was going to come at him, he’d just have to do it himself. Those around him stepped back nervously, but even then, Abel ran to the nearest Tito and landed a punch.

Bang!

A deafening sound reverberated, and along with the test takers, the professors began whispering to each other.

“He’s ‘him,’ right? By Count Klein.”

“Seems like it… From where did Count Klein bring an identical monster like herself? No, like the opponent was an idiot.”

“He’s not simply better at riding the Gigant. Rather, he’s got better fighting instincts. Don’t you think so?”

In that quick fight, he did show an extremely high level of sharp-mindedness.

“Isn’t the rumor going around these days about him?”

“About that statue? Come on, that’s just nonsense.”

“It’s not nonsense. Professor Geppel was right there when it happened, and he said the statue did move and radiate a bright light.”

Old rumors had calmed down after creating quite an uproar at the academy. But with this event, the rumors were coming back to life. Also, the one on the podium, a great personality of the kingdom, also had his attention on Abel.

“Hm.” Magnus stroked his beard.

He knew well that the legend connected with the statue wasn’t just a myth. It was more like a ‘test.’ But he had never imagined that the person to pass that test would appear in his time because even he didn’t satisfy its condition. ‘A genius beyond the standard.’

The present times were different than the past. Unlike in the past, an overwhelmingly strong genius could easily replace hundreds of thousands of soldiers. That was the reason for fostering Gigant riders at the Academy. It’s an effective strategy, not only to fight against foreign nations but also ‘Titans’.

Magnus stared at Abel for quite a while and then redirected his gaze. Abel’s talent certainly shined brightly, but he wasn’t the only one who could be considered a gemstone. He could see it. Usually, one candidate in one batch was considered exceptional, but Abel wasn’t the only one this time.

“It’s going to be fun.”

Infamous Scans

“Huh?”

In response to the question asked by the professor standing beside him, Magnus simply smiled. He had excitement in his eyes, anticipating the performance of the next rider.

Slowly, the second test came to an end.

»————- ★ ————-«

The wrecked pieces of the smashed Titos were scattered inside the building. Probably because there wasn’t a dead body, the sight was similar to that of a usual battlefield.

Abel was interested in asking exactly how they would clean that up, but when the wizards came in, the clean-up was done in an instant.

“He’s the one, right?”

“Looks like it.”

Just then, he happened to hear a conversation taking place near him. They had a short break after the second test, but Abel couldn’t relax enough to rest.

‘It’s a lot more pressure than I thought.’

Several people were paying attention to him before the test, but after the second test, the attention on him was at another level. However, in the first place, he was the one who went wild to catch the attention of others.

Not to mention, the test takers whose Titos he smashed into pieces were shooting burning, laser eyes at him. The most fierce among them was Luke.

‘God.’

He was originally an evil character with a scumbag attitude and a highly competitive spirit. Also, it would be a different thing if he was just beaten up, but that devastating knock-down, a conflict was kind of expected.

‘He’ll definitely talk shit about me later.’

Luke was defeated by Abel but he still passed the test because he still passed the test’s conditions.

‘Anyone standing at the end, regardless of their Gigant’s condition, would pass.’

Luke’s Gigant was half destroyed, and he stayed lying down, pretending to be unable to move. At the last moment, he stood up. It was shocking. That was certainly a viable method of clearing the test, but the fact that someone like Luke, with an extreme sense of pride, used that method, was shocking.

‘Is that why his gaze feels hotter than others?’

It was apparent what he was thinking- ‘How dare you insult me like that!’ Still, Abel didn’t need to worry about any troubles in the future because of it.

‘When I get the chance next time, I should try a different skill.’

Since his opponent was a punk with a trash personality, he could be less restricted with his attacks, so it was all for the better. Abel ignored the fierce gazes and focussed on taking a proper break.

“Okay then! You must be well rested now!”

Around 15 minutes later, the cleaning up inside the building was done perfectly, and Magnus announced the end of the break with his booming voice.

“The fun games ended along with the test just now. The real full-scale test will start from now onwards, so you might want to prepare yourself.”

The remaining candidates trembled at Magnus’ words. And Abel, who already knew the contents of this test, released a sigh on the inside.

The following tests were going to be completely different from the previous ones. Academy’s tests mainly focused on testing synchronization rate, the ability to manage mana flow, and overall physical strength. Until then, the main factor tested was the synchronization factor, so after that came…

“Now let’s see how gutsy you guys are!”

The run of physical ability.

“Okay now! Everyone get outside!”

“Run! Come on!”

The professors on the podium got down and started shouting. Abel was already warming up and, without hesitation, ran outside the building. The contents of the physical test were simple.

Running until the person collapsed.

It could be considered an extremely unsophisticated test, but it had enough reasoning behind it.

‘Of course, a candidate’s physical ability is important, but what’s even more significant is the mental strength shown by a person in the process.’

To ride a Gigant, one’s mental strength is just as crucial as the synchronization rate. A high synchronization rate couldn’t make up for a lack of mental strength. It would be the same as giving a fine sword to a little kid.

The test takers moved to the training grounds at the back of the building. The professors stood to one side, and while observing the test takers, they recorded certain details. The third test lasted for hours.

“Gasp, gasp!”

“Cough.”

Sounds of heavy, rough breathing came from everywhere. And Abel wasn’t fine either. Unlike the synchronization rate, his physical ability level wasn’t that impressive.

“Whew!”

On the other hand, there were many who caught others’ attention during the physical ability test, especially a boy with black hair. He managed to run for hours while being unaffected by it.

It was to the extent that it made others wonder if he was human or a monster disguising himself as one. Looking at him, Abel felt motivated and ran with even more effort. He reached his limit a few times but didn’t collapse at any cost.

“Stop!”

Finally, at the end of the exam, less than 50 people were standing on those grounds, including Abel. Those who stopped earlier looked at them with fed-up expressions while the professors’ eyes were sparkling.

When the test ended, Abel tried to recover his strength by catching his breath instead of flopping onto the ground.

“Okay! Next is the fourth exam! Get up quick!”

Only 10 minutes of break, and then the fourth exam immediately started, in which they had to get on a Tito and run. Everyone rushed onto the Titos after knowing that.

They weren’t going to be running themselves, but it still wasn’t an easy task. The reason was simple—everyone wasn’t just physically but also mentally tired. It was even more of an obvious test of their mental strength than the third test.

It would reveal if the person could in fact ride a Gigant even in extremely stressful circumstances.

This one lasted for over half an hour. While the test this time was severe too, for Abel, it was definitely a bit better.

Abel managed to keep his speed just fine under control even after the other Gigants started showing signs of fatigue, and this time, even the professor looked fed-up.

Following this test, about 20 candidates remained, and the tests continued. Every time they heard Magnus shout out, “Okay, next!”, everyone there had a dark expression on their faces. As time went on, the exhaustion they felt was clearly visible on their face.

Still, Abel acted like he was unaffected and not tired. He managed to show an overwhelming performance in the majority of the tests.

At best, about 3 or 4 candidates showed similar performances. These were the people Magnus said it was amazing to find even one of them in one batch. And even they were in the lead in several tests. As the tests kept going on, the one who consistently got the most attention was Abel.

“Hm.”

In the center of all that attention, one person was looking at him with an exceptionally fiery gaze. That was Magnus. With a sparkle in his eyes, Magnus mumbled in a lower voice.

“I see the top spot is already taken.”

[To be continued.]