BXBX NOVEL Chapter 23: 23: The Test
And that's not even the most difficult requirement. It's just the basic one.
How hard is shoulder pressing three hundred pounds? Well, normal people would and even intermediate lifters would injure themselves with such weights. Not to mention, the weight would mean that the stone has to be big.
Then curling sixty kilograms... Hell, just with 16 kilos, he had already struggled in the past. Of course, that might be because he was living a sedentary lifestyle.
As for bodyweight exercises, also known as calisthenics, it tests more the endurance and control of the body than strength. Lucky him, he had his taboo energy to save the day. Such tasks might overwhelm others. However, not Caleb, who has the strength of two adults combined. He can also use his taboo energy to enhance his strength.
The second requirement was a test of courage. He has to jump from a hundred-meter cliff. Well, it was a river, so the risk of dying was low as long as he landed properly. If not, the impact of the fall into the water was enough to mess up his internal organs.
Caleb wasn't sure about the second requirement. He didn't even have confidence in his diving skills. As for the test of courage or something... Isn't it just dying? He already died hundreds of times or so. At worst, he just needs to reincarnate reluctantly again.
Lastly, he needs to fight one of the members of the hunting party. Of course, he could choose any one of them and he didn't need to beat them. He just needs to hit them once.
If it was Andre and the other three who don't seem to have any clue about fighting. That's surely something that they would find hard. But not for Caleb, who has been taught how to fight by a hitman. Plus, he was fighting death itself due to constant reincarnation.
Caleb sighed as he followed Dunn's hunched-back.
'Can't this damned Dunn straighten his back?'
Just like that, Caleb followed Rina and Dunn. They even went past the well, which was the farthest Caleb had gone to in this place. Then Caleb finally understood how dangerous the world was when they encountered two deranged deer who charged at them when they were in an area surrounded by rocky mountains.
Caleb witnessed how Dunn evaded the attack of two furious deers then took a knife and thrust it behind the poor deer's head with pinpoint accuracy.
It was worth mentioning that the antlers of the deer even managed to pierce a slab of rock after it failed to hit Dunn.
Such inhuman flexibility, agility, and calmness showed that the members of the hunting party weren't someone to scoff at. Rina just stood beside him without any emotion on her beautiful face. Dunn took the two deer in just a matter of seconds.
As they continued their pace, Rina, who was beside him, gave him a look.
"Did you see how dangerous it was to be to one of us? Those deer aren't as weak as deer in the past. They've mutated. Although they are still weak compared to Apokalips, they are forces to be reckoned with. Just their antlers are sharp enough to pierce a person to the chest and kill them."
Caleb glanced at Rina in surprise. He didn't expect the cold beauty to talk to him at this time. He also realized that the latter didn't want him to join them, not because she disliked him. She was just kind enough to be worried about his safety. Maybe because she knew that he was just seventeen years old.
'So a cold outside but softie inside type of person?' Caleb smirked inwardly.
"Thank you for the goodwill, but I'm determined to join your group. The only way to survive is to be strong enough."
Rina sighed in response and said.
"So be it."
Just like that, they navigated through the treacherous forest, where they had to be careful of their every step or a snake would bite their foot. He was with safe hands though. Rina and Dunn knew their way around quite well and managed to avoid territories of wild beasts along the way. Sometimes, Dunn would inspect the condition of grass and Rina would study the marks of trees.
Dunn was generous enough to explain what they were doing. As it turns out, when the grass has blisters and it is flat to the ground, it means that a beast has passed recently. When clusters of grass were split in the middle, that means that there was a snake hiding. As for the trees, Rina said that some animals like to leave markings in the trees.
All of this information has gone to Caleb's database of Encyclopedia of Survival. Yes, the time slime also has the function to record information. But still far from becoming an excellent AI. It cannot process or analyze information just yet because he still lacks knowledge about programming or information technology to configure it to function in such a way.
Half an hour passed, and they finally reached their destination. Caleb looked ahead and saw five silhouettes from a distance. They were under the cliff. The protruding rock of the cliff towered above their heads.
Caleb looked at the white grainy sand they were stepping on and at the orange leaves scattered all over the place. Just four meters on the left side of the five people, a river could be seen that made the view refreshing. The sound of the strong current and splash of the water, the tweeting of the birds, and the light coming from the sun gave Caleb a strong feeling of nature.
'That cliff... That's where I will be jumping.' Caleb followed the two in front of him with resolve. He knew that there was no backing down now. Passing the test and joining the hunting party was the only way.