"Twenty seconds."
The pressure doubled, and the ground beneath Xenos's feet cracked.
Still, he didn't move, his body unshaken despite his trembling cloak.
The crowd roared.
"Impossible!"
"He's still strong!"
"No one's ever lasted past fifteen seconds without bending!"
The entire Colosseum echoed with disbelief.
Was history about to be made before them?
Were they about to witness something never seen before?
Such a thought was still in the realm of fantasy.
The maximum was a minute, and no Seeker had ever gotten close.
Yet it seemed this unknown young man before them planned to do just that.
'You're going to break…'
Even Eris was worried, despite knowing just how strong his Will was.
"Thirty seconds"
Another cheer tore through the stands.
"Damn! Not even Lady Ariadne stood this long!"
"Yeah, and she's a damned Gryphon!"
"Or Lord Arcadia! The Lyacon's Prince!"
They talked amongst themselves, most now on their feet.
"Only his guard—ah, what was his name?"
"Aspen!"
"Yes, Aspen! And Lady Gaia!"
And though they talked of others, their attention was only on Xenos.
"That bastard kid?!"
"Yeah! Who knew she'd be this talented?"
"Lord Theodore must be losing his mind right now—!"
"FORTY SECONDS!"
The last man's words were sliced apart by the Shepherd.
His voice was much louder now and a little panicked.
If one focused their eyes, they could see his arm trembling.
'How… how is he still standing?'
The pressure began to suffocate many of those who were weak in the crowd.
They went quiet, cheering no more, unable to imagine the young man's pain.
There was only fear now... fear that pushed them through the pressure:
"Will he drop?"
"He's killing himself!"
"Somebody stop him!"
"Don't die, boy!"
"Drop already!
"You've proven enough!"
"Stop trying to show off!"
Those who'd survived the Academy were the loudest.
They knew the pain full well, and they knew how crazy this boy—man before them was.
After all, how could a mere Seeker last against such a Will for this long?
Blood ran from Xenos's lip, veins standing out along his neck.
He didn't hear the crowd and didn't care.
His world had narrowed to one thing...
The Shepherd's hand.
'Break it.'
But of course, Eris was still there.
He could feel Her voice more than hear Her.
It was too faint, trembling from fear and worry.
'Xenos, stop… please.'
Her 'manners' no longer remained.
She was that distraught.
Yet he didn't stop.
"F-F-Fifty seconds!"
The Shepherd's voice cracked, as did the ground beneath Xenos.
Cracks like cobwebs making their way through the entire arena.
"DROP!"
"YOU'LL DIE!"
"TAKE HIM AWAY!"
"SOMEBODY STOP HIM!"
"WE CAN'T LOSE SUCH TALENT!"
The pressure roared in Xenos's skull like a mountain.
His inner organs began to rupture, bones fracturing.
Every breath felt like breathing stone.
Still, still, still... he didn't fall.
His eyes, shadowed under the hood, kept glaring at the Shepherd's raised hand.
He would not lose here; he NEEDED to be stronger.
Otherwise... how would he break the world?
No matter what, he would—
"ONE MINUTE! TEST IS OVER!"
The 'world' fell before he could...
'Ah.'
Its pressure had vanished.
Xenos staggered forward a step, exhaling blood and air in the same breath.
The sudden silence after the roar felt deafening.
But then the cheers hit like an explosion:
"NO WAY!"
"HE DID IT!"
"ONE WHOLE MINUTE!"
"BY PLUTO'S BONES, HE'S STILL ALIVE!"
"HE'S—HE'S LAUGHING!"
And indeed, Xenos was.
An excited laugh between coughs.
He spat blood to the side, wiped his mouth, and casually walked past the frozen Shepherd.
Two healers rushed towards him, but Xenos didn't even look at them, eyes turning upwards.
Above him, light gathered as a Rune descended slowly from the sky, gleaming in pale white.
It landed directly before him, a Rune supposedly tailored for him.
The Rune's symbol was a black and white jester's hat.
Floating letters shimmered around it:
'ᚸ ᛂ ᚱ ᚬ ᚪ ᛜ ᛜ ᛑ'
The crowd fell into hushed awe.
Xenos raised his hand, knowing what it was at first glance.
His Beholding Eyes had told him of it, and it wasn't anything overpowered, not even close, but it fit his Rune Path perfectly, making a great base for his future...
At least after an edit or two.
He touched the Rune, and the world blinked to black.
Ding!
—
╔════════════════╗
║NEW RUNE BESTOWED!║
╚════════════════╝
[Second Rune: Wise Fool (Rank 1)]
[Description: He who knows that he knows nothing. Allows the bearer to bypass his Runes and channel Divinity directly into his weapons and armor, enhancing them a fair amount.]
—
'Hmm, not too bad.'
Xenos liked this Rune indeed.
But his Soul Glyph—Dealer—was already glowing.
He tapped the Rune mentally, shifting its structure slightly.
It became more deeply ingrained in his being.
A tweak here, a restriction there, because, of course, he couldn't make it better without a cost; no Soul Glyph worked that way, only Gods created only positives.
That was the rule, and he loved rules that he could bend.
—
[Second Rune: Wise Fool (Rank 5)]
[Description: He who knows that he knows nothing. The bearer may channel Divinity directly through his weapons and armor, bypassing all Runes. Effectiveness is determined entirely by Luck. It may yield nothing… or an effect belonging to an item of much higher class.]
—
It had turned gold.
A grin tugged wide at his mouth.
He'd just invented critical hits in real life!
'Good.'
Eris sighed softly in his head.
'It suits you perfectly… but please, don't do something like that again.'
He chuckled under his breath.
"Fine, fine."
The world flickered back into color, and the cheers finally reached him, the roar of thousands of people chanting, screaming, and crying out his new moniker:
"Sixty-Second Fool!"
"Sixty-Second Fool!"
"Sixty-Second Fool!"
"Sixty-Second Fool!"
"Sixty-Second Fool!"
Xenos looked around at them all.
Only when he did a full three sixty did he take off his hood...
And said four words that trembled the Colosseum with chaos:
"It's me, you FOOLS!"
And that was it.
He'd done it.
Now that the Rune marked him, Pluto Academy couldn't reject him even if House Kharon pushed them to; he was stuck with them, whether they liked it or not!