Limitless Summoner: Rise of the Soul God-Chapter 163: Last man sitting

The last station also proved to be quite simple, especially for someone like Ethan, who had taken the time to balance his stats across all his core attributes. Strength, agility, stamina—nothing too high to raise eyebrows, but nothing low enough to fail. It gave him a solid foundation, and that was exactly what he needed for tests like these.

He handled the dumbbells smoothly, held them long enough to register a pass, and walked away without even breaking a sweat. A few of the nearby nobles, especially the ones who had been whispering earlier, looked visibly annoyed.

They had expected him to crack, to stumble, to give them something to laugh at. Instead, he'd finished the entire first round without drawing attention—except, ironically, by not drawing any.

Much to their dismay, Ethan had proven himself adequately average.

He then walked out of the testing area to the teleportation portals and took the portal for the next test. Considering the first test, he expected something similar and simple here, but this test was just a bit too simple.

All the students were sitting cross-legged on a platform and had their eyes closed. Just as he was wondering what the hell they were up to, one of the students opened his eyes and walked out of the platform with disappointment and frustration written all over his face.

Wait, was this a test to see who could keep their eyes closed for the longest? Ethan suddenly realized. Focus. Maybe this was a test of focus.

He walked over to the platform, and one of the instructors spoke up. "Sit down. You have to remain focussed for 5 hours. You can think about anything. I suggest you focus on a skill."

Five hours? That was a lot longer than Ethan expected. Most tests so far had been short bursts—quick evaluations of stats or reflexes. This was different. It wasn't testing what you could do but whether you could stay in control of your own thoughts for an extended period. Boring, maybe—but deceptively hard.

He stepped onto the platform and sat down cross-legged, settling in without a word. Across from him, a student already looked like he was about to snap, twitching with every creak of the floor. A few others had beads of sweat on their foreheads, some biting their lips. Clearly, this wasn't just about keeping your eyes shut. There had to be something more.

Ethan closed his eyes and did what the instructor said—he focused on a skill. Naturally, his thoughts drifted to Water Bullet. It was the spell he'd been working on all week, refining it with help from the slime. He visualized it over and over, breaking it down to its essence—mana condensation, velocity shaping, release timing. Again and again. Each time making it slightly faster, slightly more efficient.

Time blurred.

His breathing stayed even. His mind occasionally drifted, but he always pulled it back. Back to the water bullet. Back to the way the slime had fired it so effortlessly. There had been a rhythm to it—a strange, natural flow he couldn't replicate yet. He focused on that rhythm now, trying to feel it instead of understand it.

Somewhere in the distance, someone groaned and got up, muttering curses under their breath. Ethan didn't move. Didn't open his eyes. He was still searching for that missing link. But suddenly, he began to feel a lot of pressure.

For no reason, he felt as if he was in danger, and his heart rate spiked. His instincts flared. The peaceful mental state he had been holding onto cracked like glass. He tried to breathe through it, but his body tensed involuntarily, as though something unseen was watching him—pressing in on him from all sides.

This isn't just mental focus, he realized. It's resistance. They're testing how deep you can hold your mind together when something's actively trying to break it apart.

He gritted his teeth. The pressure wasn't physical, but it felt real. His memories flickered, and flashes of his old life in his old world were resurfacing. The lines between then and now blurred. Something whispered at the edge of his mind, unintelligible but wrong. And growing louder.

Ethan focused harder. Water Bullet. Not the image, but the feel. The tension of mana in his fingers. The breath before release. The way water coiled like a spring and burst forward. He latched onto that feeling and held on for dear life.

The pressure pulsed again, then... faded. Not completely, but enough to breathe again. Sweat dripped down his neck. Around him, several students had already broken, clutching their heads or gasping for air. A few had been silently removed by instructors. Ethan didn't move.

He did not know how long he had to hold on to pass the test avergaely. The full five hours seemed to be overkill. Somewhere around 3 would probably do the trick? One breath at a time, he returned to stillness. Eyes shut. Back straight. Focus unwavering.

He was trying very hard to keep track of the time and associate it somehow with the water bullet skill running in his mind. He thought he had it in his grasp, but when he finally decided to let go and opened his eyes, the platform around him was completely deserted.

Ethan had a bad feeling. Everyone had already left? How could that be possible? There were so many students taking the test, and it was impossible for everyone to have finished this test. There had to be at least someone walking in and out?

The instructor in front of him looked a little surprised when he finally stood up and walked out. "Did you somehow cheat the platform and fall asleep, brat?"

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Ethan looked confused, but inwardly he noted the attitude of the teacher. Instead of praising him for doing well on the test, the guy was clearly mocking him. It looked like the academy instructors were also going to be biased, which made his work here harder but not impossible.

"Ah ha ha. I don't know how I did it." He awkwardly replied, putting on an act.