Back to the present,
When Jonathan Ainsworth, Midoriyama Satoshi, and Yun Zhe got to the place, they were surprised to see that there were a lot of people with them. As it turned out, there were plenty of Managers and more Disciples. They didn't even bother counting how many Disciples were present.
Their age range was wide as well, with some Disciples aged as young as ten years old and some as old as
seventies.
However, that wasn't the first thing that surprised the three of them. The fashion sense of everyone in the group shocked them even more since they varied greatly. It was a culture shock for every Disciple present. After all, they came from different dimensions.
"Whoa~ look at that. She's wearing bikini armor!" Jonathan whispered to Yun Zhe.
In response, Yun Zhe flashed a thumbs up towards him while one side of his lips curved upward. "I see, you're a man of culture as well."
As for Satoshi, he was mesmerized by the group of Disciples who were wearing full-body mech suits. They were pretty awesome.
In return, they also noticed that Satoshi was looking at him. Their eyes went wide with shock upon seeing Satoshi's poor clothing. He wasn't wearing a single piece of armor, just a T-shirt and shorts. One of them teared up upon seeing how defenseless Satoshi had been. Compared to the other Disciples, he was the most vulnerable of all.
"LISTEN UP! I will repeat what you're about to do as your last test for the day." Dumble Dore cleared his throat as he explained the quest once again.
While he was explaining, the scent of barbecue lingered in the air, making the majority of the Disciple's stomachs growl while the scent intensified.
"Also, the first one to return here with a flag gets to eat first. As a reminder, you can't use any of your superpowers or tamed beasts. This will allow us Managers to know the limits of your physical strength." Dumble Dore continued.
Without further ado, he raised his staff and a hologram of an hourglass appeared. "You only have one and a half hours to get here. If you don't get here within the time limit, you'd have to do the same course all over again."
Eh?!
Exclamations and groans could be heard from the Disciple's side. Some of them were well aware that they won't be able to pass the test tonight. This meant that they won't be having dinner, and they'd have to repeat the exercise a second time.
This was enough motivation for everyone to finish the test. After all, if they didn't, then there was no way they'd be able to survive the night without dinner.
Before this exercise, they also had another difficult exercise during the day. That's why they were on the verge of exhaustion and it put them at a disadvantage against Bucky Barnes's Disciples.
"Isn't this unfair? How could we go head to head against these three when they arrived late?" Nanako, the girl wearing bikini armor spoke up. "We should all be given a headstart or something."
"Whoa~ she spoke! How could she speak fluent Japanese?" Jonathan whispered at Yun Zhe who gave him a good whack on the head.ραпdαs `n?ν?| сom
"You fool, didn't you know that Japanese is a universal novel? That's why those Japanese people who get isekai-ed follow the same trope." Yun Zhe explained.
"Ooh~ I see. So that's how it works." Jonathan muttered to himself.
While they were discussing the universality of the Japanese language, Nanako felt like they were ridiculing her since they didn't care about her opinion at all. This made her a bit frustrated, and she clenched her fists.
Seeing her reaction, Satoshi didn't want to get caught in her fury so he nudged both Jonathan and Yun Zhe so they would stop talking.
At the same time, Dumble Dore cleared his throat. His contemplation led him to believe that Nanako pointed out a very valid point, and it was only fair for Bucky Barnes's Disciples to be given a disadvantage since they arrived late.
Moreover, he wanted to make Bucky Barnes suffer for everything he put them through. It wasn't him who received an earful from the higher-ups. They did.
"All right. What Hermione's Disciple said was true. They should be given a disadvantage. All right! Everyone gets a headstart!"
Cheers from the Disciples erupted as they celebrated the advantage they were given. Then again, it wasn't really an advantage since the time limit remained the same. They were just tricked into thinking that they had it better compared to Bucky Barnes's Disciples.
"Thirty minutes. All of you will get a thirty-minute headstart. HOWEVER! The time limit will remain the same." Dumble Dore continued.
Everyone continued celebrating as if they just received the best reward in the world. Meanwhile, Nanako felt bad for Satoshi and the other two since they received a half-hour disadvantage. Although she brought it up, she didn't expect Dumble Dore to give them such a big disadvantage. Initially, she expected them to receive a ten-minute disadvantage at most.
Pursing her lips, Nanako remained quiet.
"Well, that works for us. We should be able to clear the forest in less than an hour, right, Satoshi?" Jonathan pointed out with utmost confidence even though he knew that the forest was filled with dangerous beasts.
"Yeah, also... we don't have to clear the entirety of the forest, right? We just need to get a flag and return, right?" Yun Zhe licked his lips as he eyed every Disciple in the crowd— his potential victims for when he'd steal one of their flags before they get back.
"Come on, you guys, let's do it by the book. " Satoshi scratched his head, wondering why the two of them were riling up the other Disciples for no reason.
Because of them, the majority of the Disciples started glaring at them. It was a challenge that lit a fire in Jonathan and Yun Zhe who couldn't wait to show off their physical prowess.
Then there was Satoshi, who just wanted to lie low but deep inside, he was as competitive as the two of them.
BAM!
"Everyone at the ready, start!" Dumble Dore screamed out of nowhere, causing everyone to scamper forward while they tried to get ahead of everyone else.
The source of this c𝐨ntent is fre𝒆w(e)bn(o)vel