"Fuu…" Breathing out heavily, s.h.i.+ro had a frown on her face as this was getting harder and harder to antic.i.p.ate.

She had come close to being hit multiple times but her body control allowed her to escape the orbs at the last minute.

This wasn't helped by the fact that she couldn't see anything since she had to rely heavily on her ears and skin.

With so many orbs flying around, the moment she misjudged one of the orbs, it would be akin to a domino effect where she'll be hit from multiple directions.

Nimue wanted to suggest some tips but with how things are right now, she didn't want to distract s.h.i.+ro.

Gritting her teeth, s.h.i.+ro continued to struggle against the orbs as she decided to do something drastic to try to help increase her chances of success.

Clicking her tongue, she quickly rolled up her sleeves so that she could feel the wind pressure against her skin better. While this did provide her a little bit of help, it was still quite limited.

"HAA!!!" Stomping down as hard as she could, a shockwave spread out as it managed to slow down the orbs just by a little, giving her some respite from the bombardment to think about a plan.

However, since she couldn't use her skills and any use of mana to reinforce her body would just make things much harder, it was difficult to actually think of anything at this point.

'Should I just give up? Surely I would have reached S rank right?'

The moment this notion appeared in her mind, her movements hesitated a little as she was almost hit by one of the orbs.

Thankfully, she was able to dismiss this thought quickly and regain her footing.

'When the f*ck did the notion 'give up' appear in something I focus my mind to? Am I going to give up on revenge? Am I to give up on cla.s.sing up because the requirements are 'too hard'? s.h.i.+ro ah s.h.i.+ro, when the h.e.l.l did you become someone so weak willed?!' She reprimanded herself since she had already stated that she'll try her best at this test. And giving up halfway through because she's stuck was not trying her best.

In her mind, trying her best is when she continues to struggle despite being hit. Trying her best was when it's either succeed or fail through death. There was no in between and this shouldn't be an exception either.

Pulling her arms back, she tensed her muscles to the point where you could see her muscles despite her soft looking arms.

"p.i.s.s OFF!" She shouted out in anger as she punched the orb dead in the centre.

Focusing her mind on the sensations in her arms, she rushed forwards and punched everything in her way. As long as she was quick and flexible enough, she wouldn't need to worry too much about the orbs behind her. She just needed to keep making a s.p.a.ce for her to be in front of her and everything will be ok.

If that didn't work, then she'll move onto something else.

*BANG BANG BANG BANG!

Continuing at this pace, her arms started to tire out as she had forced her body into a state similar to her berserk skill. Her arms were feeling the effects of muscle fatigue as the debuff would flicker on and off in her system.

'This isn't going to work. My arm's range is simply too short to give me enough room. To begin with, I was never the best at hand to hand combat.' She thought to herself while pivoting on her foot.

In terms of physical combat, her most used body part to attack was definitely her legs. It provided her with great range and power at the expense of speed and balance. But with her body control, the balance was countered.

However, that still left the problem of speed.

'If I follow up with my movement, the gap would be too big to cover up quickly.' She furrowed her brows.

Sure she could try to slow the orbs down with wind pressure but that can only do so much in this situation.

'I need more efficient movements that involve both my hands and feet. Attack then retract at a moment's notice.'

Time seemed to slow down as she kicked out with her leg. She could feel the wind slowly travel pa.s.s her skin as her muscles contracted.

While the momentum that she created right now was superb and was much higher than normal, there was no way that she could retract her leg in time to block the next attack.

'I can't use mana in this situation. The moment I do, the orbs will speed up.' She frowned.

However, subconsciously, she already knew of the answer.

'I need speed. Speed and efficiency is what I need to pa.s.s this test. The current formation can recognise the moment I use mana but it's not instantaneous. I just need to be faster than the test.'

"Fu…" Breathing out heavily, it was as if a cage had just been opened.

Just as her foot came into contact with the orb, she immediately pulsed her mana to create a cus.h.i.+on on the contact point to force her leg back.

*BOOM!

Recoiling from the collision, her foot was able to return to the starting point in time to block the next attack. Unfortunately, it wasn't fast enough as the orbs sped up for the instant that her mana was utilised.

"Faster, more efficient. Ignore the faulty pathways. Find the fastest route to deploy the spell and detonate it as soon as possible.'

*BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM BOOM!

As she continued to try to find the fastest way to utilise her mana, her movement speed was inching towards the next level.

Outside of the chamber, the director was growing more excited with every pa.s.sing second.

"Yes that's it. Beat the test in raw speed. Deploy your mana in the most efficient and deadly way possible. Much like how the big bang was depicted, attack with such speed so that it finishes before they could even recognise what happened. Snap into attack and retract into defence within a single moment." He muttered as his fingers dug into the metal walls.

The more she refined her technique, the closer she was to reaching S cla.s.s. At the same time, her figure seemed to slowly blur as her movements were so fast that it looked like she was barely moving.

Of course, that was the limit to the camera. While there are people who could match this speed, should the opponent not be prepared, it could become a one hit kill that wins you the match with lethal efficiency.

Within a second of meeting your enemy, you have already launched an attack at their weak points.

This was also the main difference between a high level fighter and a high level mage. Sure a high level mage can flatten the city in one spell, but in terms of one to one combat, they are limited in their options.

For a fighter, this was their domain. Once a competent fighter is within punching distance of his opponent, should they be a mage, he'll be able to kill the mage multiple times before they could even react. Of course, the same applies to mages.

As long as they can stop the fighter from getting closer, there should be no way that they could lose.

After a moment of silence, the director looked at the screen with euphoria.

"S rank… she's reached it." He grinned widely.

In the back, Lisandra narrowed her eyes at s.h.i.+ro on the screen. She didn't know what the Spiritual Zone entailed but she knew that s.h.i.+ro would go even further. Once s.h.i.+ro gets a moment of inspiration to acquire more strength, she'll capitalise on that inspiration and become a force of nature that adapts and improves at a monstrous rate.

'Do it mum, show them who's the strongest around.' Lisandra thought with a smile since there was no one stronger than s.h.i.+ro in her eyes. Who could boast that they managed to deny a G.o.d of what they wanted?

This was her respect for s.h.i.+ro. Both as her adoptive parent and her master.

Back in the testing chamber, s.h.i.+ro heard the notification for Spiritual Zone and couldn't help but tilt her head.

However, she then realised what had happened and couldn't help but frown.

'First was the loss of sight. Now it's the loss of hearing. The only thing I can feel right now is touch." s.h.i.+ro thought with a frown.

Focusing her mind, she tried to sense her surroundings but it was no use. It was as if she was the only thing in the room right now.

Little did she know, her enemies had already appeared and are now circling around her.