Ocean Master

414  The Speed Test!

In the end, the cage didn't open originally because Sebastian did not read the ceremony rules. Once he read the ceremony rules, the door to the cage opened to him in a way that left him feeling ashamed.

His reaction on waking up was like a beast, like the Mana Lords expected. Instead of calming down and trying to understand his circumstances, the first thought that came to him was ramming his way out of this cage.

He felt embarrassed just imagining the scenario in his head.

"I feel worse for those who cannot read".

At this moment, he was back in his Megalodon form. He didn't know how the Mana Lords did it, but he guessed that they simply killed the Mana Lord doppelganger that he formed on the spot, revealing his real body.

As for the doppelganger transformation ability that he used on both Strong and Tungsten, it was instinctive, Sebastian used the ability after being pressured by the threat of death associated with being exposed.

He still didn't understand the finer details of how he did it yet, he couldn't think too much about it either since he was probably still in danger.

Sebastian didn't understand his circumstance yet, but from the moment that his cover was blown and he discovered that his 2 opponents were Red tier predators, he confirmed that the situation already entered code Red.

Right now, he already lost all initiative.

He didn't understand Mana Lords, he didn't know their culture, and he didn't know a dime of information about this so-called Mana Lord induction ceremony but he was wise enough to play along.

Legends say that even if you are an alien, in Rome, do as the Romans do.

He didn't know where exactly he appeared with his 2 companions when they came into this world, but the fact that they met 2 Red tier predators so casually told him that this world was perhaps more complicated than he imagined.

Seeing 2 Red tier predators so randomly meant that there was a high chance of a Black tier predator being in this world, the mere thought of it horrified him.

The metal cage reinforced the plan that he came up with even more. If with his current strength, he couldn't brute force his way out of a mere cage, his chances of surviving against the Mana Lords were literally zero.

Sebastian was clever, he knew to improvise when the situation called for it and he knew that at this moment, what was needed from him was to comply with the ceremony rules, save his life first and ask questions later.

If they asked for top 500 performance, he would give them a top 500 performance.

If he could save his life, that was when he would have the luxury of trying to know the current situation of his 2 companions and this world in general.

At this moment, his plan of capturing a Mana Lord was already shelved for the moment. He would wait for further developments, weigh his options before deciding either to continue with his plans or abandon them entirely.

Getting his plans done was good, even perfect in his opinion, but if he had to die to get this done, then it was not worth it in his opinion.

He wasn't entirely hopeless though, at the last moment when he discovered that the 2 Mana Lords were Red tier predators, he activated a last gasp alternative plan that he always kept at the back of his mind for emergencies.

By activating his Doppelganger and Invisibility unique skill, he was able to release his Atlantian living doppelganger from his head, hiding it a few kilometers from his location to evade the detection of the 2 Mana Lords.

At this moment, the Atlantian living doppelganger was safely hidden.

With this alternative to lean on, Sebastian became bolder and more proactive. Even if this main body of his died which was a scenario that he loathed facing, he wouldn't die completely.

"For now, let's take this so-called speed test and see how it goes".

[You have activated skill: Mega Dash!]

Whoosh!

Sebastian rushed out of the metal cage with speed.

At this moment, hundreds of Mana Lords were already at the front, including a sizeable number of predators from other species like him as they all gave their all to outperform each other and take first place.

The atmosphere here was already extremely rowdy but was exciting too.

As soon as Sebastian rushed out of the metal cage and he pushed for maximum acceleration at the shortest time possible, his mega electroreceptors were able to detect a signpost that hung from one of the floating boulders.

On it was important information about the speed test.

{Test Range: Swim-sprinting 1 lap around all of Manapedia.}

{Starting Line: The Floating Gravity Domain!}

{Ending Line: Temple of Primordial Mana!}

{1st Place prize: The exclusive Mana Lord subordinating skill!}

{2nd Place prize: 10 mana comprehension crystals!}

{3rd Place prize: 3 mana comprehension crystals!}

{Failure penalty for Mana Lords: Dropping out of the ceremony.}

{Failure penalty for visitors: DEATH!}

Sebastian shuddered on reading the last sentence, the ominous red ink that was used to write it in bold did not help matters either as it sent a chill down his spine, he could feel from the writing that the Mana Lords were serious.

If he couldn't make it into the top 500, he was screwed.

About the other writeups, Sebastian had a lot of thoughts going on in his head after reading them. "Is this isolated world called Manapedia?"

As for the Floating Gravity Domain, he guessed that it was where he started his sprint from. Perhaps, it was due to some form of gravity magic that was keeping the massive boulders afloat in the water.

As for the Temple of Primordial Mana, just seeing the name alone gave him legendary vibes, for some reason, he couldn't wait to see it.

As for the prizes, Sebastian had no idea what an exclusive Mana Lord subordinating skill was, nor what mana comprehension crystals represented.

He didn't understand them didn't leave him entirely clueless though.

The fact alone that they were written proudly there for everyone to see, and the fact that Red tier predators also came to watch revealed how important this induction ceremony was to the Mana Lord community.

This indirectly meant that the rewards were probably priceless, Sebastian's eyes glowed like stars as he contemplated the reality of getting his hands on these rewards then he remembered that he was nowhere as a captive.

But who said a captive couldn't clinch first place?

Sebastian was someone who when something caught his attention already, it would be very hard for him to suddenly ignore it.

Since the prospects of clinching first place already sounded appealing to him, he felt reluctant to hold back.

Besides, his fate here was unknown, the reaction that the Mana Lords had to his performance could allow him to understand a lot of things. Without proactively prodding them, a lot of things would remain alien to him.

Once Sebastian made up his mind, he contemplated it no further.

[You have activated skill: Supersonic Speed!]

Boom!

Like a cheetah on earth, he quickly disappeared into the distance.

Thanks for reading, 3rd chapter will come in a maximum of 2 hours for now, enjoy reading.