The danger level is divided by the anomaly level.
Level 8 danger means the special Boss's strength has reached the level of an anomaly of grade 8.
The highest level humans had explored in the cage-nest to the abyss layer was only grade 7 anomalies. The release of information about this grade 8 anomaly shocked not only the students participating in the assessment but also all the transcendent beings watching the live broadcast, their faces filled with horror.
Ordinary people bombarded the comment section with questions like "How dangerous is grade 8 danger?", "What is Dimera?", "The copy ability sounds incredibly overpowered."
The transcendent beings' QQ groups had already exploded.
[Grade 8 anomaly, where did they find a grade 8 anomaly?]
[Don't forget, Shen Qi is the only one who entered the abyss layer and came back.]
[Damn it, what were they thinking? Bringing a grade 8 anomaly into reality and letting a bunch of students go to their deaths?]
[Are the people at the school crazy?]
[Quickly call the higher-ups and ask what's going on!]
...
Outside, it was chaotic, and the students' faces were all very grim.
"A grade 8 anomaly, how are we supposed to fight it? We have no chance of winning!"
"What do you mean 'regardless of life and death'? This is clearly sending us to our deaths! I want to withdraw."
"I withdraw too."
One after another, students submitted their withdrawal applications half an hour before the official start.
The original nearly 98 students were suddenly halved, leaving only 38 registered participants in the optical computer's records.
Lu Zhi stood in the shadow behind Luo Shiyu, the faint white light of the luminous sphere obscuring the expression on his face.
Lu Zhi was currently wondering, if Dimera was a low-level deity, why was it classified as only a grade 8 anomaly in Shen Qi's grading system? Or was it because Shen Qi had suppressed Dimera's abilities, forcing Dimera to only exhibit strength at the grade 8 anomaly level?
But thinking deeper, the highest grade 7 anomaly discovered by humans so far was only successfully killed by the combined efforts of twelve A+ level and one S-level expert, but it came at the cost of three A+ level experts' lives.
Don't look at grade 8 anomalies as just one level higher than grade 7; it's like the distinction in human psychic power values. For an A+ level expert to advance to S-level is as difficult as a carp leaping over the dragon gate.
Many people remained stuck at A-level their entire lives, and crossing the A-level threshold to enter the ranks of S-level experts was a completely different realm.
Among the remaining 38 students, many had improved their levels through practical combat with anomalies of different grades during this assessment. Several had barely broken through from B+ psychic power to the threshold of A, and a few students who remained at B+ also stayed.
However, against a grade 8 anomaly, all the students combined wouldn't be enough to even be a snack.
"Ah, this is truly beyond my expectations," Yan Shao suddenly spoke, breaking the dead silence. His voice was gentle and composed. "I thought the highest would be grade 7, and we might have a chance to kill it together. But grade 8... I don't think even the school has any documented information, do they?"
"No," said Han Shuangyun, a cold and beautiful girl standing behind Yan Shao, an A-level expert. She looked up at everyone and said slowly, "If Dimera is the name I know, then I can tell you with certainty that we have no chance of winning, because... it's not an anomaly at all, but a deity recorded in foreign divine realms."
Lu Zhi suddenly looked at Han Shuangyun, surprised by her extensive knowledge.
"Wait, you mean this grade 8 anomaly is a... foreign deity?" Jiang Yue's eyes widened in shock.
Han Shuangyun tapped her optical computer and projected the information for everyone to see. "I saw it in some remaining books from home. About a thousand years ago, Dimera once entered our territory and then returned to their country, never appearing again. Very little is known."
He Qun frowned, "Grade 8 anomaly... Dimera... Deity..."
Yan Shao looked thoughtful, crossed his arms, and tapped his arm with his index finger. "Humans have never truly entered the abyss layer, and the highest grade anomaly seen is grade 7. Assuming that the special Boss Dimera that Teacher Shen mentioned is the foreign deity we know, then can there be another conjecture..."
Yan Shao looked up at everyone, then seemed to fix his gaze on the drone's camera in the night sky, speaking to everyone in the live broadcast. "Beyond grade 7 anomalies, grade 8, which only exists in the abyss layer, can no longer be called an anomaly. It has reached the level of a... demigod, which humans cannot currently contend with."
As soon as he said this, whether it was outside the examination grounds, in the live broadcast, or the transcendent beings watching from behind the scenes, their minds and bodies were shaken.
If the grade 8 anomaly's level belonged to a demigod, then it would explain why humans who entered the abyss layer never returned. Deities, even low-level demigods, were not something humans could contend with.
A heavy atmosphere spread through the examination grounds.
The unseen figure within the luminous sphere instilled fear and apprehension in the hearts of the students.
Luo Shiyu remained silent for a long time before speaking, "Dimera, I've heard this name. The God of Lies. In the records of deities in foreign divine realms, it is considered a low-level deity, but its danger level is far beyond grade 8."
Lu Zhi, who knew the reason, felt suffocated, unable to speak.
Dimera's abilities were restricted by Shen Qi; otherwise, why would it be defined as having the strength of a grade 8 anomaly?
However, the fact that these people could find information about Dimera in such a short time based on its name showed that the senior students were already learning about deities.
It also indirectly indicated that Shen Lu and others knew that someday they would have to confront foreign deities.
"Mm, found it," Han Shuangyun suddenly said. "This is a portrait circulated from the foreign divine realms."
Lu Zhi curiously looked at the projection. He knew of Dimera's existence but hadn't seen what it looked like. However, deities shouldn't be ugly, right? Someone like Shen Qi was quite divine...
"Huh?" Lu Zhi blinked. The projection on Han Shuangyun's optical computer was blurry, but he could vaguely see Dimera's sharp and mean, shifty-eyed appearance. It looked particularly vulgar, and he couldn't help but scoff, "This is it?"
Even Han Shuangyun, who had found the portrait, fell silent. After a long pause, she said, "It is a bit ugly..."
Jiang Yue's eyes widened. "Damn it, this has destroyed my idealized image of deities!"
Lu Zhi: "Senior sister, be more refined, more refined."
Even though he thought the same.
Jiang Yue: "Damn it!"
Lu Zhi: ... Never mind, you might as well curse.
Yan Shao tapped his optical computer, blurring Dimera's portrait and only displaying the information. After browsing through it, he looked at the other anxious students, his voice calm and composed, with a reassuring steadiness. "Escape and fear are never the expressions humans should have on the battlefield."
"Whether it's a god or an anomaly, if it's not immortal, it can be killed," Yan Shao smiled gently. "We can die in battle, but we will never surrender."