MTLNOVEL Chapter 30: One Second
[System Notification]
Bonus Trial Found
Trial Name: Crimson Blade Execution
Location: The Crimson Crucible
Rank: 2
Monsters: None
Trial Parameters:
Duration: 15 seconds
Objective: Defeat Shigen within the time limit.
Failure Conditions: Death / Inability to defeat Shigen within 15 seconds.
Penalty: Release of monsters into the Main World.
Reward: Meta Essence..
As Oliver charged forward, Shigen's cold eyes narrowed, his hand resting lightly on the hilt of his katana.
"Arrogant fool," he muttered under his breath.
A faint metallic hum echoed through the arena as Shigen unsheathed his blade in a single fluid motion.
His A-rank class skill—Thousand Phantom Slashes—was infamous throughout the Eldorian underworld.
It allowed him to unleash a thousand precision cuts in the span of a single second, turning his opponent into ribbons of flesh before they even realized they were dead.
Every opponent he had ever faced had fallen the moment he activated this skill.
Without hesitation, Shigen activated his skill.
The air around him distorted, shimmering under the sheer speed of his sword as it blurred through the air like liquid silver.
He expected to feel the familiar spray of blood—to see Oliver's body collapsing, torn apart.
But the impossible happened.
Clang!
A single millisecond passed.
Oliver's dagger deflected the first slash with perfect precision.
Clang! Clang!
Two milliseconds.
Oliver swayed, dodging the next flurry of attacks like a leaf drifting through a storm.
Three milliseconds.
Shigen's mind began to race as his katana blurred faster, slashing at every angle—neck, heart, legs—aiming to carve Oliver apart.
Yet with each flicker of steel, Oliver was either deflecting, blocking, or slipping away by the smallest margins.
Five milliseconds.
Ten milliseconds.
Oliver's crimson eyes locked onto Shigen's, burning with cold focus—not once breaking contact.
Twenty milliseconds.
The crowd had fallen completely silent. They couldn't even see what was happening. All of them frozen in that instant.
Shigen's heart pounded in his chest.
What... is he?
Fifty milliseconds.
His breathing grew heavier as panic began to seep into his mind.
This was the first time someone had ever survived past a handful of milliseconds under his skill.
A hundred milliseconds.
No... This isn't possible.
With each strike, Oliver's movements remained as calm as ever, as if he had all the time in the world.
Two hundred milliseconds.
Shigen's arms began to ache, sweat dripping down his brow.
Three hundred milliseconds.
A terrifying realization settled into his mind.
He's not even using a skill...
Oliver was keeping up with him through pure speed, instinct, and battle experience alone.
Eight hundred milliseconds.
Shigen's fear sharpened, his mind screaming at him.
What a monster...
Clang!
One thousand milliseconds.
The final slash rang out—and then... silence.
Shigen's body froze mid-strike, his skill deactivated—its long cooldown leaving him utterly exposed.
His chest heaved as his wide, disbelieving eyes stared into Oliver's calm, unbothered expression.
"You're too slow," Oliver said softly.
In that instant, Oliver moved.
A single step forward—a flicker of crimson steel—and Shigen's head separated cleanly from his body.
His final thought hung in the air as his head tumbled to the sand.
What... a monster...
The crowd erupted in delayed shock, only now catching up to what had happened.
[System Notification] +50 Meta Essence
[Bonus Trial Completed]
Outstanding Performance!
Reward: +100 Meta Essence
Total Time Taken: 1 Second
The arena was dead silent.
No cheers. No gasps. Not even a whisper.
The first thing anyone saw was Oliver vanishing—a blur, a flicker, a distortion in reality itself.
Then came the clashing of blades, each metallic ring echoing in rapid succession, the sound lagging behind the action itself.
And then—before their eyes could even catch up—Shigen's head was rolling across the sand.
It was over.
In one second.
Their brains couldn't comprehend it.
The announcer—who was usually quick to react—stood frozen, his mouth slightly open as if still processing what just happened.
Oliver's own teammates were equally baffled.
Tariq rubbed his eyes, thinking he had missed something.
Aiko simply blinked in stunned silence, while Dante, for the first time in his life, had nothing cocky to say.
Then, from somewhere in the crowd, a voice finally broke the silence.
"What… a monster."
As if on cue, the floodgates opened.
"One second! Only a second! And the match is over?! How is that even possible?!"
"This must've been rigged! You can't tell me Shigen lost that easily! It's impossible!"
"I… I bet my entire savings on Shigen… I even took a loan… My life is over…"
Some people's minds seemed to overheat, their eyes darting around in confusion as they mumbled:
"Who am I? Where am I? What is reality?"
But Oliver paid them no mind.
As he exited the arena, his thoughts were already elsewhere.
The bonus trial rewards were good, but what caught his attention was the extra 50 Meta Essence he received.
That meant one thing.
He didn't just gain Meta Essence from killing monsters.
Humans gave rewards too.
That was… good to know.
At least now, when he ended the lives of his enemies, there would always be a reward waiting for him.
A faint, knowing smile tugged at his lips as he continued toward the waiting room.
As Oliver stepped into the waiting room, he immediately felt the weight of his teammates' stares pressing down on him.
Their eyes followed his every movement, a mix of confusion, awe, and perhaps even suspicion lingering in the air.
He stopped and raised an eyebrow. "What?"
No one answered at first. Instead, they all subtly turned to Lina, silently pushing her to ask the question on everyone's mind.
With a sigh, Lina stepped forward. "Oliver… have you already reached Level 3 – Veteran?"
Oliver's expression didn't change. "No."
Lina narrowed her eyes slightly. "Then how did you defeat Shigen so fast? And without using a skill?"
A casual question, but everyone in the room was listening carefully.
Oliver, of course, wasn't going to spill his secrets.
"I did well in my Pre-Entry Trial and First Trial," he said smoothly. "So I've got a lot more Meta Essence than an average person."
It was a simple answer—one that explained enough to make sense, but not enough to expose just how much Meta Essence he had accumulated.
Lina held his gaze for a moment, then nodded. "Fair enough."
But as she processed his words, something clicked in her mind.
If Ollie did so well in his Pre-Entry Trial… that means the class he awakened must be really high.
Could it be S? Or SS?
Her thoughts raced.
Or even… the legendary SSS?
She immediately shook off the thought. No way.
The world was massive—millions of awakened individuals existed.
What were the chances that her long-lost friend would be the only one with an SSS-rank class?
That type of thing only happened in web novels.
Lina let the idea go—for now.
Instead, she turned her attention back to the team. They still had Round Two of the tournament to prepare for.
The Team battle was next.