NOVEL NEXT Chapter 98: The Goddess Belongs to Bruce!
Meanwhile, Lucen and Bale had reached a point where shock had turned into numbness. Every new thing Bruce did hit harder than the last, until they simply couldn't be surprised anymore.
Inside the pod room, where Lucen and the other eliminated recruits were gathered, the atmosphere was thick, heavy with awe, disbelief, and a faint trace of fear.
No one spoke. No one dared to.
The silence was broken only by the faint hum of the pods and the flickering light of the massive screens before them, each one displaying the live VR feeds of the remaining participants.
All eyes were on one man.
Bruce Ackerman!
They had seen it all, the moment he turned the Golden Mane Lion into a living bomb, the way he tore through beasts and humans alike, every single self-created skill more devastating than the last. It wasn't just power anymore; it was creativity twisted into something terrifying.
Every move he made, every new ability he manifested, it was as if the system itself bent around his will.
None of them had any idea how to even defend against such things. A single strike from any of his skills could bypass armor, barriers, and flesh alike.
Even Ozai, who had once burned with hatred for losing to Bruce, now sat motionless. His usual fiery temper had burned out, smothered by reluctant respect.
'It's understandable I lost to him,' Ozai thought bitterly, his gaze still fixed on the screen. 'This guy… he's anything but normal. "Monster" doesn't even cut it anymore.'
He clenched his jaw but didn't speak. There was nothing left to say.
Even the quieter recruits, Average Joe and the others, shared the same haunted look. None of them could deny it anymore. Bruce wasn't just playing the game. He was rewriting its rules.
At that moment, a hiss broke the still air. Steam hissed from two pods sitting side by side, their lids sliding open. Two silhouettes emerged, their figures outlined in the faint blue light and warm steam from the pod.
One was tall, broad-shouldered, and muscular, the sheer size of him making the floor panels creak slightly underfoot. The other was shorter, slimmer, long-haired, with a face far too delicate for the blood-soaked world she'd just come from.
As the lids shut behind them, both figures exhaled sharply, the exhaustion clear in their eyes.
Donn Chitt. And Aria.
The room stirred as they approached. Eyes darted toward them, then back to the glowing screens showing the still-ongoing trial. Instinctively, they searched for one name.
And there he was,
Bruce.
Already cutting down more recruits, his points climbing higher with each flash of motion.
"That bastard…" Donn growled, his voice deep and rough, veins bulging as his fists clenched tight. The hatred in his eyes burned brighter than ever, but beneath that fury, there was something else. Fear.
Aria, standing beside him, said nothing. Her eyes were locked on the screen, jaw tight. Watching him again stirred a storm inside her, rage, humiliation, confusion. But more than anything, disbelief.
Lucen's gaze flicked toward her, the image of her last moments replaying in his mind. The way Bruce had ended her life in an instant. It hadn't been cruelty, it had been efficiency. Precision.
He swallowed hard.
'This Bruce…' he thought grimly. 'The Adventurer Guild would be fools to underestimate him. His unique skill, whatever it truly is, seems to let him evolve through pain, through damage. Every injury he takes just makes him stronger. If that's the case… he could be the only Awakened capable of surpassing the limits of this world entirely.'
Lucen's expression darkened.
'He might be the first in history to reach the Legendary Ex Rank, the rank of World Invaders and World Destroyers. If the higher-ups don't take him seriously soon, someone's going to regret it for the rest of their life.'
He exhaled slowly, forcing the thought aside before it dragged him deeper into unease.
Still, one detail lingered in his mind, Bruce's newest ability. The one that had killed Aria so suddenly.
Lucen didn't know what it was called. Bruce hadn't even announced its name when he used it. But the effect was unmistakable.
'That skill… it directly targets the heart and nervous system,' Lucen mused, brows furrowed. 'It heals while it kills. A clean, painless end… terrifying in both design and execution.'
He let out another long breath, leaning back slightly as he stared at the screen.
'This guy isn't just strong. He's deliberate. Either he's an insanely experienced fighter, or he's a kind of prodigy this world has never seen before.'
Lucen's lips tightened. 'Or worse… he's both.'
At that moment, a voice broke the thick silence, drawing everyone's attention away from Bruce's screen.
"What's she doing?"
It was Aria who spoke, her tone sharp yet puzzled. She was pointing at another feed, one that most of them had been ignoring until now.
The screen displayed Sophie Reign.
She was sitting alone inside a dim cave, her figure illuminated only by faint shafts of light filtering through cracks in the ceiling. Her legs were crossed, hands resting gently on her knees, eyes closed in perfect concentration. Her breathing was calm, rhythmic, like the steady rise and fall of waves.
The entire scene looked serene… almost divine.
Her black hair shimmered faintly under the dim glow, every strand glinting like moonlight. The stillness of her posture, the faint aura surrounding her, it made her look less like a recruit and more like something celestial that had descended into the mortal world.
For a moment, no one said anything. They just… watched.
Lucen exhaled slowly, unable to help himself. "So beautiful…" he muttered under his breath. Even he, as disciplined as he was, had to admit it, Sophie wasn't just beautiful. She was unreal.
The male recruits watching the feed couldn't hide their reactions either. Some gulped audibly, their faces reddening slightly. That serene, goddess-like figure meditating in perfect silence, it stirred something in them that was both reverent and painful.
And yet, the next thought that followed made their hearts tighten with frustration.
Because everyone in that room knew one thing.
That divine, perfect figure belonged to Bruce Ackerman!