Hand Of God

Chapter 30 It's Not That Easy

Clark stared at Diana's profile, intrigued for a long time, clicking his tongue in amazement.

He originally thought that Diana's defense of Adam was just a responsible attitude towards the students she had selected for assessment-free admission, not wanting a genius to be obscured.

But now it seems that the relationship between the two is really not that simple! Are they even willing to take on such a bet?

Then let's bet!

"Alright, let all these people be witnesses. We don't lack material resources either, we can't really gamble to the point of bankruptcy. How about this, let's bet on one thing, or rather, a favor."

"Whoever loses must agree to do one thing for the other that doesn't violate their principles."

Diana's response was very brief, in line with her usual persona.

"Deal!"

The bet between the two attracted the attention of many judges of the trial, all of whom looked on with smiles, being people of stature, none of them made a fuss.

But it was clear to the discerning that Diana's defense and high regard for Adam had clearly exceeded the normal level.

Thomas chuckled, lifting a finger to enlarge another person's performance on the screen in front of everyone.

Changing the subject, he said:

"Alright everyone, let's be composed. We're here to judge talent, not to gamble."

"The rest of the young ones, take a look too. I think this kid is pretty good, he has a leader's aura."

After a few words, he redirected everyone's attention to Realm's scene.

The Virtual Realm was very peculiar, with no exploration methods, and the students didn't know what they were looking for.

So thirty-six hours seemed a lot, but there was no time to waste.

Everyone was running, desperately sensing their surroundings, thinking about the possible "prey" that could appear.

Finally, the first person to grasp the target, or rather, the first group, appeared.

It was a group of three, who had temporarily teamed up, and in front of them was a giant starfish three meters tall.

The starfish had a dazzling blue light, almost blinding, radiating an ancient and sacred glow.

They exchanged glances and saw excitement in each other's eyes.

"The thing we're supposed to hunt should be something like this, right?"

"Lucky, we encountered one so quickly."

"Hurry up! Let's deal with the distribution of benefits later, to prevent others from coming to steal the credit later!"

After exchanging opinions, their superpowers were all released in an instant.

The leader, a burly man, had his combat uniform on his right arm instantly burst, his arm enlarging dozens of times, looking as if it could support a mountain.

"Go now! I can't maintain this state for long!" he shouted, his enlarged right arm directly grabbing the starfish and squeezing it tightly in his palm.

The two companions did not hesitate at all, the three of them were superhumans from the same place and had some coordination.

One person conjured a spear in his hand, and the other a large knife, both jumping up and attacking the starfish from the left and right.

The starfish seemed to be bound by the huge palm and was completely immobilized, looking as if it was at their mercy.

Without any hindrance, the spear and the large knife were thrust into the starfish's body.

"Hehe," Thomas, outside of Realm, let out a soft hum, shaking his head slightly, "It's not that easy."

In the next moment, the starfish, which was as easily penetrated as sponge by the two people, emitted a huge light.

The light was like an explosion, and the two were directly shaken off, not even holding onto their conjured weapons.

The long knife and spear were slowly absorbed, even becoming part of the starfish's energy.

Their summoned weapons were absorbed, and the two who were shaken to the ground coughed up a mouthful of blood.

They were not the worst off; the student with the enlarged arm let out a scream, his right hand was mangled by the energy impact, even showing white bones!

The harmless appearance of the starfish deceived them, and Thomas's kind and harmless words confused them.

"Hunting Competition," the name of this trial made them think it was just a safe hunt, just a competition with others to see who got more.

But in fact, each target they had to "hunt" could very well be a being far stronger than them!

These were all "Deities" artificially simulated by Thomas and his team!

"So quickly they found a target, it's hard to say whether they're lucky or not," Norman said.

"It doesn't look good," another judge also shook his head slightly.

Clark turned back and looked at Thomas, saying:

"To be honest, every time I see such a scene in the trial, sometimes I think you're a p*****t, taking pleasure in torturing students."

"Hehehe," Thomas still chuckled, but at this time, that kind and harmless face, in the eyes of those familiar like Clark, was exceptionally dark and dangerous.

"I don't mean to torture them, I just want them to know as soon as possible what reality is."

"What is reality? Going through numerous tests, enjoying the attention of the stars, standing out from the crowd, obtaining the qualification to enter the best Superhuman Universities assessment-free, listening to countless praises, and yet still weak! That's reality!"

"They are weak, we are also weak, everyone is weak!"

"What superhumans have to face is something much stronger than them!"

Thomas's voice was serious, devoid of the usual light-hearted and harmonious tone, causing a silence to fall over the room as his words hung in the air.

All the judges' expressions were grave, as if recalling something unpleasant.

After a few seconds of silence, Clark spoke again:

"They are, after all, still kids, not yet formally trained, nor have they learned how to enhance their combat abilities, let alone any combat skills, and their psychological construction is also..."

"You're right on all counts, Clark," Thomas replied slowly, turning to face Clark.

"But you also know that the Deities we simulate are not real, and their strength has been weakened to less than one percent of what it truly is!"

"I've warned them to take this seriously, and if they get hurt due to carelessness, it's just a lesson learned!"

"Lessons are always to be learned, and it's better to learn them now than on the battlefield!"

At this point, Thomas had lost his previous amiable demeanor, instead becoming unusually stern, his eyes cold as he looked at the distress of the three students on the video, showing no trace of pity.

Then, he turned to Clark again and said:

"As for what you said earlier, that they are still just kids? How old are you this year?"

"Ah?" Clark was taken aback, not expecting Thomas to ask such a question, and for a moment, he didn't understand his intention.

"Thirty-seven? Or thirty-eight? In any case, not yet forty, right?"

"Having lived for just a few decades, you start to think of others as kids and yourself as grown-up?"

"Compared to the beings that have floated in the cosmos for thousands of years, we are all kids, no difference."

Thomas finished admonishing Clark, turned away, and left the group with his back to them.

"Here, they can't die, and if they get hurt, I can heal them once they come out."

"But if it's later on, it's up to their own fortune."

The atmosphere at the Judges' Bench fell into silence, with no one speaking further, the scene becoming somewhat melancholic.

Diana, being young, was sitting here for the first time as a judge and had never witnessed such a scene.

But she also sighed, knowing in her heart that Thomas was right.

She had seen the immense power after a successful summoning ceremony and experienced the sense of helplessness, so being strict with the students now was actually a good thing.