Endless Horde: Through the Eyes of a Godking

Similarly, she worked hard to not waste the heavenly gifts she received, much like everyone else who was here right now. She has her reasons for bitterly training to pursue power, and she's confident that, at some level, she's above the majority because of her latent potential and hard work combined.

But that blonde guy, Cedric as she has learned, isn't he a little ridiculous? Where did he come from?

First, there was the matter of his Sword Intent, something that learned almost every swordsman pursued throughout their lifetimes with the majority failing to gain it even after pouring decades worth of effort.

Cedric looked like he wasn't even in his 30s yet, but he has it. Not only that, but his Sword Intent was also potent. It was clear that he had plenty of time to nurture and validate its existence.

Again, many swordsmen desperately clamored to gain even some semblance, a wisp, of Sword Intent to grace their presence, yet this man has it in spades.

The absurd part is that nobody would've known if he hadn't come here or shown it.

Isabella herself didn't follow the path of the Sword. She's more used to Elemental Manipulation and her gift leans more towards control over the Ice Element. But still, she knows just how difficult it is to condense even a sliver of Sword Intent.

'How in the world did he do it?'

Is what she asks herself, fully knowing that she might never get an answer for that. She isn't the social type after all.

And although Cedric's results at the first part of the Practical Exams were just above her but lower than Garrick's, she could confidently say that Garrick would definitely lose against Cedric if they were to fight.

And that's because of Cedric's display of speed just now.

From what he displayed, it would be wrong to say that his speed was unparalleled amongst Tier 3. Hell, he might even be able to compete with Tier 4 experts in sheer speed alone.

So what if Garrick's raw power was greater than Cedric's? That would be useless if Cedric could kill him before he even knows what happened.

And judging from the clouded expression on Garrick's face, he knows this too.

Isabella and Garrick were acquaintances. They're not close, they just knew each other because their respective guarantors introduced them to each other a couple of months ago.

No, they didn't spar or anything. They just exchanged a few polite words and that's that, nothing more.

Still, that's more than enough for them to size each other up. And Isabella could tell that in a straight-up match, there's no way she'll ever beat Garrick. If she were given enough time however, she might be able to beat him, but that's situational and couldn't be relied upon.

That was fine with her though. After all, she doesn't see Garrick as an enemy. A competitor for resources, sure. But certainly not an enemy.

Isabella also met other so-called geniuses due to the insistence of the City Lordess. However, in her eyes, none of them were worth the hype. Some even tried to make a move on her which greatly displeased her.

Back then, she thought that her only real competitor so far was Garrick, and it was a tough competition already.

Who would've thought that Cedric would suddenly appear to completely shatter that fragile belief?

The difference between their abilities felt stifling, but Isabella knows that the battle hasn't ended yet.

There's still the 3rd part and the Bonus Test at the end. Who knows? Maybe Cedric has a weakness after all?

Right now though, time will only tell.

****

Around the same time when Isabella was in deep thought about what she had seen, Garrick too couldn't help but evaluate the competition.

Much like Isabella, Garrick was also confident that with gifts and hard work, he too was above the masses. He held strong confidence that he would do extremely well in the exams so he marched towards the place with his head high up.

Cedric's performance though, was a strong blow towards his confidence. He knew that this place would attract all sorts of crouching tigers and hidden dragons but facing a real one was still different in reality.

'How could he be so fast? Is he also someone who was born with a Divine Physique which specializes in speed?'

The so-called Divine Physique was one of the few ways of how someone's Innate Aptitude ratings could change. It is a heavenly blessing, one that only appears in one out of a million people, therefore it is extremely rare and couldn't be relied upon by the race to elevate their overall strength.

Divine Physiques need to be awakened, and some requirements need to be done first before that happens. It doesn't help that Acala wouldn't give out this information for free, too. So, it could be said that Garrick was one of the lucky ones to have awakened his latent Divine Physique.

His Divine Physique is called: the 'Invincible Divine Vajra Body'. This Divine Physique pushes his body's raw power, endurance, toughness, and adaptability to absurd levels upon being awakened. It's also the reason why his Innate Physique Aptitude changed from C-rank to S-rank.

After years of diligent training and consumption of miraculous elixirs, he managed to push that rating up to SS-rank, which automatically boosted his confidence to do extremely well in these exams.

Garrick would say that he had been extremely lucky for gaining this, but he would also say that he had earned the right to keep this gift because not even once did he slack off in his training. His goals were high...some who heard it even told him that he was aiming way too high, even. But Garrick wasn't disheartened. If anything, he thrived in that seemingly impossible goal.

Nobody could truly blame him for being confident. After all, aside from Isabella, who might be able to give him some trouble under the right circumstances if they were to fight, he has never met someone at his level he couldn't fight.

And he would admit that this has disillusioned him into thinking that he was invincible amongst those within his Tier.

But then...there was Cedric...

When he released that Sword Intent, Garrick felt something he hadn't felt in a while...the prickling sensation of fear.

Cedric's Sword Intent made him feel an unprecedented level of threat, something that he only felt towards his foster father whenever he was serious.

That Sword Intent was so sharp that he felt like it could easily slice him effortlessly. One had to know that ever since awakening his Divine Physique, Garrick had become impervious to mortal injuries.

He could allow someone to freely hack away at his body with an ordinary sword all day long and he wouldn't feel a thing. That's how absurd his physique has gotten.

But in front of Cedric's Sword Intent, his body might as well be a piece of paper. In fact, he gets the impression that even with a shabby sword, Cedric could still cut him in half with that Sword Intent.

And that's not even including his speed in the equation...

It would've been fine if Cedric was only faster than him by a mere second or two. He didn't even fear that Eleonore Weiss who scored 55 seconds on the test because he knew that she couldn't do any noticeable damage to him.

But Cedric was different. The dude was faster than him by 29 seconds! In a real battle where even a single second could change the outcome, a whole 29 seconds was no longer just dangerous, it was certain death!

Would Cedric be able to do serious damage to him with that difference in speed? Absolutely! Especially with that Sword Intent of his.

What's more, is that Garrick could tell that Cedric didn't need time to gradually increase his speed to that level. He could burst at that same speed right from the get-go.

There's no way he could've done that! Not unless he too possesses a Divine Physique that specializes in speed.

Unfortunately, it would be too rude to confront the guy about that now. Besides, even if he doesn't care about his reputation, Cedric is entitled to his secrets and Garrick couldn't force him to admit to anything.

And much like Isabella, he too felt stifled knowing that someone like him was in the same batch as them.

He couldn't help but wonder: 'Is this what others felt towards me?'

A wry grin appeared on his face. Though the feeling was stifling, it was also refreshing. His confidence might've suffered a blow but it also felt nice to be indirectly humbled.

Despite being pushed down like this, Garrick felt even more excited. After all, he thrives in competition.

'Hurry up with the 3rd part, please! I want to know just how wide the gap is between me and him!'