23. Beast Transformation

Bzzt–!

'Status.'

—–– 

[Profile]

Name: Luxane Enstar 

Skill: Jack of all Trades

Stage: Ore Stage 

Step: Initial

Essence: 56/200

—––

[Statistics]

Strength: 16

Agility: 16

Focus: 24

—––

'Skill details.'

—–– 

Skill: Jack of all Trades

Skills Acquired: 6/10 

—–– 

Abandoning what was happening in the present, I drifted away in thought as I gazed upon my status window. 

In the course of ten days, I had learned some tangible things about the Cube ID which I had missed.

It had slipped past my radar but now, I noticed that it didn't account for lost Essence. 

Instead, it only displays my profile when my body is at full health. 

Simply put, the Cube ID functioned as more of a Progress Monitor than a sentient companion.

Its operations were nothing compared to the Hunter Exo Suits which were more sentient, almost like a partner to a hunter.

I had also managed to acquire six skills from different persons while those had been fairly easy because no one knew what kind of Skill I possessed, it was a painful process still.

One that required that I use eyedrops like I had already done a few seconds ago after making a copy of Theo's [Iron Body].

Additionally, from my calculations and speculations, I should be ahead in Essence points, making me the closest to the Intermediate Step of the Ore Stage among the already awakened trainees. 

I used the advantages at my disposal to make my way to the top, becoming the strongest among the First Year Trainees currently.

Don't get me wrong though.  

I am not neglecting the possibility that some recruits may have figured out how to gather Essence on their own, especially those birthed into strong Hunter Families like the Kenton, Emberton and so on.

 Most certainly, I expect people like these to have made some reasonable progress.

*********

A few more people went for their appraisal and it continued until it was mine and Cassandra's turn.

"Sarafina Crow."

"Cassandra Enstar."

"Luxane Enstar."

…

I suddenly felt a nudge on my shoulder which snapped me back to reality.

"Huh? What?" 

Bright kissed his teeth and looked at me worryingly.

Apparently I had missed my name and a few seconds had passed since I was called.

"They've called you, man. Hurry up!

Realising, immediately, what had happened, I hurried towards the stage. 

Luckily for me, Sarafina and Cassandra were yet to reach the platform, leaving me a few steps to catch up.

Sarafina, being the first of the three of us, walked forward and registered her skill. 

As a member of the Crow Family, her skill had not been a surprise.

A transformation type skill that allows her to disperse her body into crows.

The number of crows and the extent of control was dependent on what she wanted as the user of the skill.

It was impressive and somewhat suited for espionage as her senses were linked to the black birds in the case of a partial transformation.

It was a versatile skill.

Cassandra, on the other hand, had a beautiful skill that allows her to manipulate ice.

Cold… and yet, captivating to the eyes that beheld it.

When she performed her demonstration of her skill called [Dead of Winter], everybody was left in awe at the beauty of the shapes she had formed from ice.

There was this natural shine to her technique that stole away all the attention.

Even the unruly Eric Marvice and the few stern-faced instructors couldn't help but break character and smile.

"Hihihi," Cassandra laughed sheepishly, her face turning rosy as she hurried back to where we stood in the line.

I heaved a sigh since it was my turn after her. 

It was like calling an average jester to come after a star had performed and had the crowd wild.

Left to me, I didn't want to do this but I had no choice.

I stepped forward and placed my hand on the Tablet and it gave a positive reaction.

"What is your ekill?" the instructor asked.

Wasting no second, I gave him an answer that had come from several analyses of my acquired skills which led to choosing one skill that would benefit me for the longest time since I have to openly stick with whatever skill I mentioned.

"Super strength and beastly transformation" I answered and looked at Cassandra and Sarafina as she hopped away. 

"...Nothing as fancy as theirs."

"A double skill? Hmm," the Instructor breathed as he scratched his chin and looked at German and Eric.

Imitating him, I looked at the Head Instructor and his Deputy as well to gauge their narration. 

They understood the message which the instructor had passed and from the reaction on their faces, only Eric Marvice seemed impressed with my fake double skill.

'Tch!' I snorted in my heart.

Commending Cassandra's exhibition, I alternated my gaze between her and the instructor's.

"Can we get a demonstration?" he asked, not even sparing a look my way as his eyes were briefly immersed into his tablet.

Click–! Click–! Click–!

I bobbed my head and then took about five steps away from the Instructor.

Taking in two deep breaths as I shut my eyes, I spread out my fingers as they slowly extended beyond the tips, turning into what could be likened to small claws.

The tone of my muscles increased as they tensed and hardened more than they usually were.  

…My beastly transformation was starting.

Revealing my full beast form could have been intimidating but I didn't complete it. 

I could only do a partial transformation.  

Even with that, I still couldn't keep it up for quite long.

The moment my eyes turned from blue to golden, I felt my heart pound harshly against my ribcage like it wanted to burst out.

Thu-Thump–! Thu-Thump–!

With that hard pounding, I was forced out of the incomplete transformation as I lowered my body, clutching my belly and gasping for air.

"I see," the instructor commented and opened his device and inputted some details.

All the while, I had my eyes on Terrence as he stood in front. 

I wanted to know if I was someone worth his while this time around and yet…

Yet I couldn't get any reaction from him.

I couldn't say if he was disappointed or impressed.

His face was simply listless.