Chapter 552: Times Up; Assessment is over!
Chapter 542
"You can look now." Grey casually ordered.
Hearing the command, the students slowly turned around, their hearts pounding heavily in their chests. Through the thick veil of darkness, what they saw was shocking to the core. The sight was so overwhelming that their mouths hung wide open in pure horror.
Standing in front of them, with a bloodied smile stretching across his face and his body completely drenched in gore, was Grey. His sword was casually placed against the back of his neck, balanced with ease as if he had not just finished fighting for his life. Surrounding him on every side were the lifeless bodies of beasts, their corpses sprawled on the ground in chaotic heaps.
All seventy of the savage creatures he had smartly summoned had been annihilated. Not a single one was left standing.
"Did my own best. Now it’s you all turn to extract the cores, take what you need, and give me the rest." Grey’s tone was calm, almost lazy, as he issued the next order and strode off to the side without sparing them another glance.
"Ye... yes." Jared couldn’t help but stutter in pure horror, his hands trembling uncontrollably. Through the darkness, the other students hesitantly made their way toward the slaughtered beasts and began the unpleasant task of extracting the glowing cores from their broken bodies.
’I need to recover my lost energy. As I am, I’m barely able to keep standing.’ Grey thought grimly as he lowered himself to the ground. Sitting cross-legged, he slipped into meditation, drawing mana from the world around him while simultaneously trying to replenish his drained Ki.
But almost immediately, he realized something was different. The very moment he began siphoning mana from the air, he sensed another type of energy lingering off in the distance, faint but distinct. The strange sensation made him snap his eyes open in an instant.
"The fuck?!" Grey exclaimed sharply, his voice echoing faintly as he shot upright, a heavy frown settling on his bloodstained face.
The students were still spread out, carefully prying open carcasses and collecting cores, unaware of the sudden shift in Grey’s demeanor. A large number of beasts remained untouched, their bodies littering the battlefield.
Tracing the foreign energy he had just felt, Grey moved carefully. Each step was calculated as he tiptoed closer, his eyes shutting once again to focus on the trail of that mysterious force. He was so immersed in tracking it that he didn’t notice when his foot brushed against something solid. His eyes immediately snapped open in alarm.
Glancing around, he noticed the other students were too occupied with their task to pay him any attention. Taking the chance, his hand silently crackled with lightning, faint sparks dancing across his palm. With a soft glow, he lit up the space before him to see what he had stumbled upon.
To his complete shock, the source of the energy he had sensed was one of the beasts he had already killed. Its massive body lay limp and broken, yet somehow it still carried a faint signature of life-like energy.
"Huh? What is this? Why is this beast still brimming with energy even after being killed?" Grey muttered under his breath, disbelief written across his face. He closed his eyes again, double-checking to be sure of what he was feeling.
’No... that’s not right. It’s not brimming with energy. Instead, it feels weaker, more like residual energy. But why can I sense it at all?’ His thoughts ran wild as he extended the hand not sparking with lightning and cautiously placed it against the beast’s corpse.
With his eyes shut tight and his hand pressed firmly, the energy within the beast became clearer. For a brief moment, he could almost see it—wisps of invisible power curling faintly, waiting to be grasped.
Then, without warning, the energy reacted violently. Like a living thing, it surged forward, shooting toward his hand with frightening speed.
"Crap!" Grey shouted as he tried to pull away, but it was already too late. The energy poured into him, rushing past his defenses and entering his body.
And the instant it entered, something incredible happened. The beastly energy converted seamlessly, transforming into pure Ki that flowed into his Dantian and merged with his core reserves.
"Huh? What is this?" Grey mumbled in disbelief, his expression hardening. Closing his eyes once more, he confirmed the truth. The energy had indeed been absorbed into his Dantian, strengthening him while leaving the beast completely drained.
To make sure his theory was correct, Grey moved toward another slain beast and repeated the same process. Just like before, the faint trace of residual energy was drawn into him, absorbed and converted into Ki, leaving the beast’s corpse completely empty.
This time, however, his lips curved into a sharp smile.
He repeated the process on all the dead beasts, one after another. Though the energy he drew from each was meagre and almost insignificant, when gathered together, it became something substantial. By the time he was done, his Ki reserves had been refilled to nearly half capacity, and the heaviness in his chest finally began to fade.
’Wait! This doesn’t make any sense. How can I siphon energy from beasts that are already dead? It’s like I stole their Ki or something. Wait... does this mean I can actually steal Ki?’ Grey’s eyes narrowed as he rubbed his temples, the weight of confusion settling in. The thought sent shivers down his spine as he slowly stood, glancing at the students who were almost done with their task.
Closing his eyes again, he pushed his senses outward. The faint hum of Ki signatures instantly washed over him, and among them, Jared’s stood out the most. The boy carried quite a large reserve. Grey’s eyes snapped open, sharp and intense, as he studied the young man over and over again. His gaze was hungry, predatory, almost like a starving man staring at a sealed packet of food just out of reach.
For a brief moment, temptation clawed at him.
"No," Grey muttered harshly, shaking his head and dismissing the dangerous thought trying to take root in his mind. "Until I can find out more on this, I can’t test it on a living person." He paused, his tone softening as a new thought slithered into his mind. "Wait... who says it needs to be human though?" His words were whispered under his breath, but the sly smile tugging at the corner of his lips revealed that an idea was already forming.
Before he could explore the idea further, movement caught his attention. The students had finished their work and were walking toward him, carrying a small collection of shining cores.
"Here. We took the fifty cores we needed and distributed them amongst ourselves. This is the remaining twenty." Jared explained, presenting the glowing stones respectfully to Grey.
"Hm." Grey gave a small nod as he accepted the cores, his expression unreadable, though his eyes lingered briefly on Jared once more.
"Thank you once again for helping us pass this assessment. We really owe you one." Jared said, his voice firm but respectful. The other five students echoed his words in unison and bowed deeply toward Grey, their faces reflecting both gratitude and fear.
"Sure. I look forward to seeing how you plan to fool Instructor Albed." Grey muttered, his tone casual, though his face darkened with a faint frown as he noticed Jared smiling a little too widely.
Almost instantly, the students drew their weapons, the sharp sound of metal unsheathing causing Grey’s brow to rise in confusion. Instinctively, he straightened and stood on guard, ready for betrayal, but what followed made his expression soften with surprise. The weapons weren’t aimed at him.
Instead, the students turned their blades on themselves. One by one, they began slashing shallow cuts across their arms, shoulders, and legs. The sound of blades meeting flesh made Grey tilt his head slightly as he watched in silence.
"Huh? What are you all doing?" Grey finally asked, raising an eyebrow as his gaze followed their strange actions.
Minutes passed, and when they were done, their faces and bodies were smeared with blood, their uniforms torn and stained. They now looked as though they had just survived a brutal life-and-death battle. Cuts and bruises covered every inch of their forms, and yet their eyes held a determined gleam.
"This," Jared said, panting lightly from the self-inflicted wounds, "is our ticket to getting Instructor Albed to believe that we actually hunted these beasts ourselves." His lips curved into a grin as he gestured at his team’s pitiful, battered appearance.
’This boy... I need to get out of the deal I struck with this devil before it’s too late. I hope this w—’
Jared’s anxious thoughts were cut short.
A sudden, blinding light erupted around them, engulfing everyone in its radiant glow. The brightness was so intense that their hearts immediately skipped a beat in alarm. The students panicked, their bodies tense, but Grey remained utterly calm, his expression unshaken as the light wrapped around him.
"Guess time’s up. Assessment is over." He muttered casually, his tone filled with the same composure he always carried.
And with that, in an instant, Grey and the six students were teleported away from where they stood, leaving behind nothing but the bloodied field of corpses.