The Mold (2)

Chapter 24 – The Mold (2)

The inside of the Mold was just as magnificent as the outside, if not even more.

Entering into the facility, I underwent a quick registration process just like the others and we were ushered together into a spacious hall. The sheer size of this place was mind-blowing.

It was partitioned into several compartments of the same sizes, each one enough to contain a single individual.

I stepped back and watched as the first set of trainees prepared to participate in the challenge presented by the Mold.

Once it started, their eyes were automatically covered with thick, black glass and their consciousness departed from their bodies for the few minutes that they would be there.

Bzzt~!!

A loud buzz echoed, prompting everyone not participating to look in the direction from which the sound came.

A large screen appeared in an instant and on it was a table with three columns and multiple rows. The multiple rows contained the names of the trainees currently in the challenge and the columns were for the names, scores and remarks of the Mold System on their performance.

Seeing the screen appear from where I rested against the wall, I crossed my arms over my chest and chuckled. There was nothing to expect from this set of trainees currently there.

In a couple of minutes, all of them would walk out of their respective pods with faces that expressed different emotions—disappointment, sadness, anger, shock et cetera.

That was not at all surprising. Not to me anyway.

Many, if not all of them, had little to no control over Essence, which was the key to passing the first challenge of the Mold and this was tagged as the Level 0.

Only by passing the challenge of a certain level can one climb to the next. With each level one entered, there would different tasks that addressed different skills that a Hunter is supposed to be proficient with.

Simply put, the Mold was a system designed to help Hunters hone and test out their abilities as well as also undergo training that would help them grow stronger.

Soon after they had come out of the pods, they began to lament about how the task was too hard for them considering that it was supposed to be a beginner-level challenge. Nonetheless, no amount of complaints changed the outcome of their situation… nor the remarks that the Mold System gave for their performances.

All of the trainees in the first set had gotten 'Poor' as a remark and that was quite appalling. The embarrassing thing about it was that one's score was there for any who cared to see. Even though every one of them had poor scores, it didn't stop those who wanted to make fun of the poorer ones from doing so.

Exhale~

I breathed out and slid my hands into the pockets of my trousers.

'I guess it's my time now,' I thought as I joined the fourth and possibly the final batch of trainees going to the Mold Pods.

I walked towards the compartments and entered one of the pods. Looking around, there were different colours of light emitted inside this small space as the door of the pod shut me in.

I exhaled again, calming myself and sharpening my focus for the task ahead. I already knew what it was going to be.

A task that would test our stamina and will only end when there's one person left standing as the winner.

[Level 0 Challenge Commencing…]

"Let's do this," I whispered to myself after another exhalation, clenching my fist and squinting my eyes.

The details of the challenge appeared before him and I quickly read through. Having already known what was to happen, it was easier to understand it this time around.

"I just have to keep killing Monsters until I'm the only one left," I pondered.

The conditions of the challenge worked well with me. Firstly, every player is isolated and burdened with their own number of Monsters. Because of this condition, I didn't have to bother with the possibility of anybody seeing me or a surprise attack from another recruit who was crazy about winning.

Secondly, and perhaps most importantly, I had the chance to test out the abilities in my arsenal without any external eyes watching me, so my secret was still safe.

In a couple of minutes, I appeared inside a virtual world, and without prior knowledge of its existence, I would be unable to tell the difference between this world and the real one.

The setting of the place looked too real and was designed to look like a deserted post-apocalyptic world.

Abandoned and damaged cars strewn the streets, along with buildings covered with moss and nearly half of their parts destroyed. The air was foul with a pungent smell and up ahead, smoke elevated into the black and red sky.

I walked through these deserted streets for a couple of minutes, not meeting even the slightest sign of life. It was eerie and creepy to be lonely here. However, I had the conscious awareness that nothing here was real and so I moved on.

I continued to walk until I came upon footprints that seemed to belong to a human being. I crouched and felt the mashed mud that formed the print.

"Hmm," I muttered and looked ahead. I was close; close to my first encounter with the undead creatures that would test my stamina.

In an instant, my eyes went from blue to a golden colour, my finger extending into sharp claws and my ears slightly lengthening. The hairs on my body became much more than they usually were as I took on a beastly appearance.

That was my go-to Skill because it came with heightened senses and strength and since I was going to be using it more often, compared to the others, I had to have a good mastery of it.

My nostrils tingled as I picked up the smell of rotten flesh some metres ahead of me.

Shing~!

My claws glistened under the moonlight and my eyes narrowed as I walked on, prepared for the encounter that awaited.