It didn't take long for Mark to realize that the assailants weren't armed with the usual disruptors which shot neutralizing darts.
These were sonic disruptors.
He quickly recalled his lectures with Natalya.
One blast of a sonic disruptor was enough to negate any powerborn abilities.
Two blasts could knock one unconscious.
Three could cause long-term paralysis.
Four...
Well.
Mark was no ordinary powerborn, and the fact that he was still on his feet after being hit by a sonic disruptor was a shock to all present.
All remaining assailants switched to the offensive, firing their disruptors consistently.
As he prepared his counterattack, Mark was hit with another sonic blast, and then another, tossing him around in multiple directions.
Mark failed to get a hold of his bearings. Subsequently, he became overwhelmed and collapsed helplessly on the floor.
The audience fell quiet. A nervous apprehension hung in the air as everyone thought Mark had fallen unconscious and failed the test.
Everyone except Natalya.
"Get up, Thornwell. You're stronger than this."
But it wasn't that easy.
Whenever Mark tried to get on his feet, he was blasted by a sonic wave from an unknown direction.
He knew he had to regain control of the situation, but he barely had time to think.
How can I take out multiple enemies I can't see?
One option came to mind, but he couldn't risk destroying the entire arena.
He had to think of something else. Fast.
After a few more seconds of being tossed around, Mark finally figured it out.
"Aries, I need an upgrade."
[Confirmed]
[NOTICE: You have three manual upgrades available]
[What ability would you like to upgrade?]
"Lightning," He winced
[Confirmed]
As the sonic blasts kept on coming, Mark realized he was less likely to be tossed like a bag if he stayed closer to the ground.
Rather than try to get up on his feet, he remained on his knees with his head tucked between his elbows.
When he gained some form of stability, he activated his aura.
Captain Savanna eagerly watched from the observation ring, trying to figure out what he wanted to accomplish.
Mark placed both his palms close to his chest as he began to generate electricity from his fingertips. Instead of shooting them outwards, he faced his palms to each other and began to compress the electrical energy at one point.
Slowly, it grew, until a bright blue orb of lightning appeared between his palms.
Simultaneously, the lights in the entire arena began to flicker.
Mark's aura grew more radiant as the ball of lightning grew to the size of a bowling ball.
All the while, the assailants approached Mark, constantly bombarding him with sonic blasts.
However, Mark stayed put, building up his energy, waiting for his attackers to approach him a little more.
Finally, Mark yelled out loud, releasing all his compressed energy.
The lightning ball exploded into a massive wave of pure electricity, which burst out in all directions, electrocuting every assailant in the arena.
[NOTICE: Lightning Summoning, Level 2 has been successfully upgraded to Level 3, Lightning Wave]
The force of the wave was so powerful that it fried every electrical circuit within a three-hundred-meter radius. shattered the glass wall that protected the observation ring.
The entire arena went completely dark.
The only thing visible was Mark's blue aura, dimly radiating as he got back to his feet.
"What just happened?" One of the superiors asked.
Natalya tried to come up with a suitable explanation.
"By focusing his electrical energy into a single point, he magnified its intensity, creating some kind of lighting bomb. In other words..."
"He became a living EMP," Captain Savanna added, the admiration in her voice undeniable.
Nicely done, Marcus.
"Someone, please repair the damn lights!"
After a while, the backup generators finally kicked in, restoring light to the arena.
Mark was standing in the middle of the arena, surrounded by the unconscious bodies of all his assailants.
He had passed the first test.
The crowd let out a joyful uproar, cheering at the powerful feat Mark unleashed.
"He knocked them all out at once."
"Did you see that wave…?"
"I felt his electricity coursing through my veins."
Soon the audience began to clap, and the superiors joined in. Even Natalya couldn't resist. She felt proud of her student, though she was afraid of the power he unleashed.
Amidst the cheers, an electric buzzer rang in the arena. The examination was far from over.
A few officers ran into the arena, lifting the bodies of the assailants and placing them on stretchers. They were immediately transported to the healing department for recovery.
When the arena was cleared, the large doors closed again.
It was time for the second test.
The crowd buzzed with excitement, wondering who Mark's next opponent was.
Some speculated that it was one of the superiors, but many disagreed, stating that any superior powerborn would take out Mark easily.
Mark had sustained internal injuries caused by the sound disruptors, but his latest feat inflated his ego.
He became certain he could take on anyone, and with that thought, his impatience grew.
"Is that the best you could do?" He yelled out loud, exciting the audience even more.
Natalya smacked her forehead.
However, Captain Savannah smiled, tapping a button on her digital wristband three times. Then she spoke into it.
"It's your turn."
At that moment, a red portal appeared in the arena.
The audience immediately quieted down, eager to see who Mark's opponent was.
They didn't have to wait long because a few moments later, a male figure walked out of the portal, fully dressed in the Resistance uniform.
[WARNING: C-Tier Spaceborn Detected]
All of the superiors, as well as the audience, were shocked to see who it was.
The most astonished was Mark, but he managed to keep his expression neutral. As his opponent walked closer, his eyes furrowed into a cold gaze.
"I should have known it would be you."
The opponent let out a weird low-pitch laughter.
"Knowing wouldn't make a difference, Mark. Your fate is sealed."