The crowd understood why Skyler was smiling when a barrier appeared around his stage. Some people tried to climb it, but the barrier pushed them away.
Immediately, two 5-star elves jumped to the remaining two empty stages, while the rest could only grit their teeth and watch.
The tall horned man from the beast race who had spoken to Skyler earlier shouted.
"Damn it! Get down, you bastards!"
One of the others replied.
"We can't even leave, since the stages below the other pillars of light will already be occupied by others!"
Suddenly, a dwarf stepped in.
"Everyone, calm down. It's not like they will be up there forever. They will be down in no time, and then we can climb."
His words made sense. The crowd calmed down and settled in the vicinity, prepared to compete against everyone else to climb the stages the moment they got a chance.
All of them were powerful and had killed many monsters in the past few days, as the forest was filled with many weak monsters. So, they were not concerned about their 300 kill count to pass the preliminary test.
They watched as monsters materialized from the light of the pillar in front of the three individuals on the stages.
Those from the academies in the crowd activated the ant-sized drones they had to broadcast this new development in the preliminary test to the outside world.
Skyler took out his dagger. His first opponent was a 2-star wind-element frog. Just as the system mentioned, the beast was a star higher in strength than him.
He grimaced at the sight, and the crowd snickered, certain this 1-star would be the first to crawl off the stage. The cracked weapon in his hand did nothing to improve his chances of winning in their eyes. The fact that this human had survived so long in this place was already a miracle.
The other two elves on the battle stages were also facing massive frogs, but their opponents were 6-star in strength.
Skyler's eyes narrowed when the frog's lengthy tongue shot out toward his head, causing him to sprint in another direction.
As he dashed across the stage in circles, many in the crowd burst into laughter. But what occurred next silenced them.
Skyler reached the frog's side. In a split second, he executed a right flip while still in motion. With a powerful arc, he slashed the dagger precisely at the frog's neck.
The creature let out a cry of pain, and in retaliation, wind blades erupted toward him. But Skyler was quick; he rolled away just in time, narrowly avoiding the attack.
"Not bad. My speed has increased."
He murmured and sprang to his feet to avoid the frog that jumped in his direction, trying to crush him under its weight.
The other two elves were also holding their own. Faint murmurs echoed in the crowd.
"They are not bad. The short 1-star human as well. He is good in combat."
"Yeah, he is running around, but none of his movements are wasted."
"He knows he is weak; that's why he is not attacking directly from the front."
A vein flared on Skyler's forehead when he caught someone calling him short.
His blue eyes darkened, and he vented his anger on the frog in front of him since he couldn't identify which tiny bastard called him short, nor could he battle them.
With a sudden rush, he slashed his dagger directly at the spot where he had injured the frog earlier. With a low thud, the frog's body fell to the ground, and he raised his hand to remove the hood from his head, causing his ash-brown hair to shimmer in the light.
A drop of sweat rolled down his face, making him look nothing less than a model.
Of course, he did it deliberately to show that bastard who called him short that, so what if he was short? He was handsome!
This was the very scene Max and his team saw when they arrived. Not just them; Zack and his team also witnessed it.
Jenny exhaled deeply; the weight on her shoulders, which had felt like it would crush her, lifted. A smile appeared on her face. He was fine... Her brother was really fine.
Zack cursed under his breath.
"Shit! The first person to climb that stage was supposed to be Max when the crowd hesitated! Austin and Jenny were supposed to take the other two stages! What the hell happened? And why is Skyler there?!"
Skyler, unbothered by the eyes on him, watched as the lifeless body of the frog in front of him dissipated into faint particles that entered his body. The hunger, thirst, and tiredness he felt disappeared, and he sensed that he had become stronger. He clenched and unclenched his fists.
"Damn, so this is essence? This stuff is almost addictive!"
A screen flashed in front of him.
("Congratulations, host! You have slain another 2-star beast! With the essence, you have also earned 10 more points, which can be used when the system store opens!
Would you like to continue fighting or admit defeat to leave the stage?")
Skyler ran his fingers through his hair and let out a chuckle as read the text.
"505, I thought that after all the time we have spent together, you would have come to know me better. Of course, continue!"
Another 2-star beast materialized before him from the light pillar. This time, it was a massive ant covered in ice armor with two fiery antennae on its head.
"Oh, a dual elementist beast. The star is same, but the difficulty has increased. Is it because I just got a bit stronger?"
He muttered and dodged when the beast attacked him with its front limbs. Fireballs erupted from its antennae alongside ice cones, shooting out in his direction.
"Fire and ice, what a combination..."
Skyler chuckled. This time, he couldn't run much since the ant's body occupied a lot of space on the stage. So, he had to confront it head-on. He smirked because one thing was certain; he just needed to defeat it, and the essence would eliminate his fatigue.
"It seems I won't be going down this stage anytime soon. Or maybe I won't be going down at all. Hahaha."
He laughed wickedly, causing many in the crowd to grit their teeth and wish they could drag him out. Zack was one of them.