Chapter 553: Chapter 553
Chapter 553
"Welcome back, students." Albed’s calm yet commanding voice echoed as bright lights began shining throughout the large training hall. Slowly, one after another, students began appearing—some alone, others in small groups.
Within a minute or so, the massive room was already half-filled with all the students who had gone for the assessment, and Albed’s sharp eyes carefully scanned their conditions.
The direct descendants didn’t even look worn out in the slightest. Some had light scratches here and there, but nothing too serious. Meanwhile, the remaining red bands—descendants of smaller clans looked completely drained, their bodies riddled with more injuries compared to Rivock and his group.
Among the yellow band students, the contrast was clear. A few looked oddly fresh, as though they hadn’t lifted a finger during the test, which was actually true since they had chosen to hide rather than step into the darker parts of the world. The rest looked utterly exhausted and bloodied, collapsing to the ground the moment they appeared—especially Liam.
"Muah, Muah, Muah!" he cried, repeatedly kissing the ground with tears of joy streaming down his dirty face. "Oh my freaking goodness, I never thought I’d miss this concrete ground. Muah!" He kissed it again, only for a sharp whack from Finral to bring him back to his senses.
"It was just for an hour. Stop acting like a baby."
Ray, on the other hand, knelt motionless on the floor. His body was drenched in blood, his head bowed low, and his fists clenched tightly on his thighs as he stared blankly at the ground. The quietness around him said more than words ever could.
Albed didn’t speak right away. Her piercing gaze moved from group to group, analyzing every single student. The blue bands were in the worst shape of all. Every one of them had collapsed—not from unconsciousness, but from sheer exhaustion and the trauma of the near-death experience they had just survived.
Then came Jared’s group. They appeared next, their bodies battered and riddled with cuts from head to toe. Yet, clutched tightly in their trembling hands were ten beast cores each, and weak but triumphant smiles beamed across their faces. They had somehow survived and succeeded.
Finally, the last to appear was Grey. Though injured, he still stood strong. His body wasn’t as heavily battered thanks to his Ki, which had healed him slightly.
In his hands, he clutched fifteen beast cores—displayed almost casually, like a quiet flex directed at the direct descendants while the rest were safely stored in his storage pendant.
In total, he carried eighteen beast cores, though neither Albed nor the others had noticed yet since he stood silently at the far back of the hall.
’I can sense Ray and Finral’s aura. Thankfully, they’re alright,’ Grey sighed inwardly, relief washing through him.
"I’m glad to see that all of you are safe and sound," Albed began, her voice echoing clearly across the wide hall. "None of you died, and that alone makes me proud."
Her gaze swept through the crowd once more. "Most of you will not be participating in the upcoming tournament. Only a few will. But for those who won’t be competing, I sincerely wish you the best in growing stronger and surpassing your peers someday."
Half of the blue and yellow bands who hadn’t hunted looked absolutely crushed, while those who had barely managed to meet the cutoff exhaled deeply, relief visible in their eyes. They were battered, but alive.
Normally, blue bands weren’t even strong enough to take down two sky-ranked beasts on their own. But through luck, teamwork, and partnering with stronger yellow or red bands, they somehow managed to meet the minimum requirement—and that alone was an achievement worth noting.
"Anyway, without further ado, please present your cores one after the other, starting from the red bands," Albed instructed, her voice echoing through the hall. Immediately, the direct descendants stepped forward, carrying themselves with that same air of pride and confidence they were known for.
Standing in front of the instructor, Rivock grinned widely before placing twenty beast cores neatly into the container beside her.
"Twenty, huh? I shouldn’t be shocked," Albed said, a faint smirk curling her lips. The students around them gasped in disbelief and admiration. Most of them had barely managed to meet the cutoff, yet this direct descendant was standing there casually showing off twenty cores like it was nothing.
Of course, Rivock had hunted far more than that, but he couldn’t reveal all his spoils here. With that in mind, he chose to submit twenty and quietly kept the rest for himself.
Mada was next. Without a word, he stepped up and dropped fifteen cores into the container. Albed announced it loud and clear, earning a few murmurs from the crowd.
Noelle followed right after, her face calm as ever, as she placed fifteen cores into the container before gracefully stepping aside to allow the remaining red bands their turn.
Each of the other four red bands submitted twelve cores, and Albed nodded in approval. "Excellent. Very impressive," she said, her tone carrying a hint of genuine praise.
"Next up, yellow bands," she announced.
Slowly, the yellow bands began moving forward one by one, dropping their cores into the container. Some had five, others ten, a few only three or eleven. The variety said everything about how tough the test had been.
Ray, Liam, and Finral stepped forward together, each dropping ten cores into the container. Albed’s eyes lingered on Ray for a moment.
His body was drenched in blood, and his stance screamed exhaustion, but there was also something... different about him. She glanced down at the sheet in her hand, and a small smile crossed her lips.
"Looks like someone actually evolved to the next stage during this assessment. Good to know," she said quietly, her tone almost approving. But Ray didn’t even acknowledge her. Without a single glance, he turned and walked away silently, his expression unreadable.
Next was Jared and his group. They, too, were yellow bands, and as they stepped forward, they proudly dropped ten cores each into the container. Albed’s sharp gaze immediately narrowed on them. She glanced from their battered appearances to the report sheet in her hands, suspicion flashing across her eyes.
"Did you all really hunt these?" she asked, her voice calm but her expression clearly doubtful.
"Yes, we did," Jared replied confidently, not a hint of hesitation in his tone. His posture was straight, his eyes steady.
Albed’s frown deepened slightly as she scanned the sheet again. "According to this, you’re a Stage Two warrior, correct? So how exactly did you manage this?"
"We worked together as a team," Jared answered smoothly. "We took them down one beast at a time."
"I see." Albed nodded slowly, though her eyes said she didn’t believe a single word. Still, she waved them off and let them go. It wasn’t worth pressing further—not yet.
’Not my business when you get humiliated in the tournament,’ she thought with a quiet scoff as she looked back up.
"Next."
All eyes turned as Grey stepped forward. Calm, composed, and with a faint smile tugging at the corner of his lips, he walked toward the container and began dropping the cores one by one—loud enough for everyone to count.
"One... two... three..." the whispers rose among the students as each core clinked inside the container.
"Fi... fifteen?!" Liam shouted, his eyes bulging in disbelief, his jaw practically on the floor.
"Impossible..." Albed muttered under her breath as she stared from the sheet in her hands back to Grey’s calm, unreadable face.