...…
The entire class could not completely focus on their respective battles as their attention was attracted to the commotion that Shin and the mechanical puppet were making.
The intensity of that side was currently blowing the mind of everyone. They knew that this current ranked one student was strong, but to think that it already reached this height was still dumbfounding.
Moreover, this was not the end, but just the beginning instead. They could see that Shin was still gradually getting stronger as the battle progressed.
For the students in the lower ranking, this was a sight to see. It was to see how strong this current ranked one truly was.
But for the students in the higher rankings, it was an opportunity. An opportunity to see the real strength of this toughest rival that they had.
They purposely slowed down the pace of their battles to closely observe Shin. They were gathering all information they could get from this particular battle.
And at the same time, they were also looking for the perfect opportunity to strike. They were planning to snatch this opportunity from Shin and seized it for themselves.
They were not planning to let Shin get the 'MVP' for this particular assessment that easily. They even had a tacit agreement to focus on kicking Shin out of the competition instead of interfering with each other.
They were planning to set aside their grudges just to eliminate their toughest competitor.
Naturally, the others on Shin's side were able to read the air. They were able to see through the plan of the rest of the class just by seeing the slow tempo that the others were taking.
Opposing the rest of the class, the group was planning to do their best to protect Shin and their 'lead'.
Even though Arthur was grumbling about Shin taking all the spotlight once again, he knew what he had to do as well as their main objective.
At the very least, he was fighting to his heart's content while facing Dylan, one of his toughest rivals inside the game.
The group continued what they were doing while keeping an eye on everyone. If they noticed that someone was acting suspiciously and plotting something, they would immediately act without hesitation.
…
In the distance, Old Man Lin was currently observing everything leisurely. He was acting like a complete spectator. It was as if he was not the reason why these kids were suffering.
He squirted his eyes a little as he focused his gaze on Shin and the special mechanical puppet. He could not help but click his tongue as he watched the intense battle.
"Tsk! It will be boring if it continued to be like this. The script will be too predictable and too obvious."
There was a clear dissatisfaction in his eye as he moved, he gaze at everyone. It was as if all of them were moving according to a certain direction, heading toward the already-decided outcome.
Most of the students were right. He designed this obstacle course as a form of test to further measure their strength, potential, and teamwork.
It was also to let them discover more about themselves, especially in the field of manifesting their innate attributes and passive natures.
There was also the fabricated crisis that he had prepared.
He was planning to use the pressure that was coming from the clay golems and mechanical puppets – as well as the natural competition that was created by this course – to hasten the progress of everyone.
Unfortunately, despite everything going according to plan, there were still some circumstances that were bound to happen.
The ones that were used to working together reminded united while the ones who were acting like lone wolves continued to work alone.
Even though some of the solo students were temporarily working together to fight against the toughest group, which had both the best quality of teammates and the greatest number of members within the class.
But at the same time, these guys were still plotting against each other as they would remain rivals in the end.
This was what was currently happening within the class, which was quite interesting in the old man's eyes.
He liked the idea of 'standing united to face the common enemy' before quickly backstabbing each other when they achieved their initial goal.
He liked the chaos that was currently happening within the class.
But he did not like the current development, where the same protagonist was currently taking the stage.
This was the problem with the group that was already familiar with each other – a group where everyone could trust their backs to the others. They already knew their respective roles within the group, so there was no point in changing anything since everything was going well.
This was the reason why he purposely let their group face the earlier composition of clay and mechanical puppet. He wanted to keep Arthur and Leonard occupied while assessing the teamwork of the group without Shin.
He wanted to see how the group would perform without the pillars that they usually had.
He wanted to see if those three were too bright for the rest to shine or if the others were not actually good as the evaluation that was given to them.
Everyone worked pretty well at the beginning, but everything quickly changed when Shin decided to head straight to the evolution puppet.
Old Man Lin originally wanted to leave Shin on his own and make him an observer. He wanted Shin the gain the eyes that would be perfect for his Mentalism Path.
Unfortunately, Shin's hunger for battle was very strong that he had overlooked the real purpose of why the old man had left him alone.
Well, Old Man Lin was also to be blamed for this one since he chose to test Shin this way, where he could just directly tell the young man his real intention.
He also did not expect that Shin wanted to test out the sword techniques that he recently gained and apply them in real battle.
He had underestimated how crazy a Battle Genius was for battle.
…
It was the same for the rest of the class. He had prepared a couple of assessment tests for everyone, targeting a series of specific areas. Whether it was teamwork or individuality, he wanted the entire class to understand them better.
Especially for the line wolves of the class such as Dylan White and Ezio Williams.
The same for the ones who always had the same group since they arrived at this place such as the tip of Jean Camus and his friends, the master-servant duo of Diel Hendrickson and Falcon Hawkins, the twin Mavin and Marie, and the rest of the class.
He wanted them to break free from their respective comfort zones to grow further.
If they did not realize his true intentions for this particular test, then Old Man Lin was expecting to have a hard time polishing these rough gems.
"Tsk! These kids were very stubborn. Don't they realize that they would not be able to reach the peak if they continued on this path?"
"They would not be able to break through if they don't understand the true meaning of individuality, duality, and unity."
He paused for a moment before muttering in a low voice. "Is it because they haven't taken that class yet? But most of them should already be aware of it given their respective backgrounds."
It was at that moment that the old man realized that it was indeed the case. "Tsk! Perhaps, I am too hasty?"
He then nodded his head silently as he accepted that it might really be the case.
"Should I modify my initial plans and teach them step by step?" he muttered, seriously considering the idea.
But not long after, he quickly shook his head and rejected the idea. "No, this can't do. I will stick on pressuring them to solidify their foundation with it and let them take the final step themselves."
"I have to force them to break free from the current setup to make everything work," he added as he started adjusting a couple of his plans inside his head.
After that, he turned his attention back to the class and muttered. "But before everything else, I have to let these kids suffer more pain."
This time, instead of letting the clay golems and the mechanical puppets do what they were tasked to do, Old Man Lin was planning to get involved a little more.
He wanted to increase the difficulty a little bit so he would be lifting up the restrictions cast on the clay golems and the mechanical puppets.
At the same time, he would be personally giving out instructions instead of letting those creations move on their own.
The only problem that he would have would be Shin, who was currently immersed in his battle against the evolution puppet.
"The more I look on this kid, the more of a monster he became," he commented with a twitching mouth before adding. "I don't know which segment of the Mentalism Path he is taking. But I am sure that it was not as simple as the common one that most were taking."
"I wonder which one of the three was it," the old man continued to mumble to himself as watched Shin fought.
...
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