Monster in the Back Mountain  

Clark smiled indifferently. He had the Spirit Defense of the Resentful Skull and completely overwhelmed Ira's mental power. Even if the psychic slash doubled or tripled, it wouldn't cause any harm to him.

Without any surprises, Ira's Will attribute should be around 17 points (Dual Awakening +3, base 10 + talent 4). Compared to ordinary players, this attribute was already frighteningly high. However, with the Resentful Skull and multiple layers of buffs, Clark's current mental resistance could basically immunize him against Wills below 20 points. In other words, even if Ira exhausted himself to death, he wouldn't be able to cause the slightest damage.

"Break your own legs, and I can spare your life."

"Be my dog."

Clark walked slowly to Ira, his expression calm. Killing a psychic Awakener like this seemed a bit of a waste, but a "dog" that had bitten someone needed to be punished. If Ira were smart enough, he should break his own legs now and give up resistance. In that case, Clark wouldn't mind taking him as a subordinate after obtaining the slavery scroll in the future. After all, psychic Awakeners didn't need physical combat, whether they had limbs or not.

If Ira's constitution wasn't so poor, Clark wouldn't mind leaving only his head as a "tool" for future use. Just like the Phosphorescent Beast, a head alone could survive.

Unwilling and desperate, Ira's eyes turned red. Even before becoming an Awakener, he came from a distinguished family with a noble status. After becoming an Awakener, he considered himself the chosen son of destiny. Even Norm, the strongest among the students, had to respect him!

To be humiliated like this... too much! It was only instinctive that he forgot he had been the first to attack Arnold.

Many players knew that Ira was a psychic Awakener, and realizing that he had already launched an attack against Clark, their initial fear intensified. Even Ira, in front of him, had no resistance at all? Regretful emotions filled his heart.

What kind of monster did the academy provoke! If they had known Clark's strength was so insane, they wouldn't have dared to lay a hand on Arnold no matter what!

As usual, Clark calmly spoke.

"Don't force me!"

Ira gasped for breath, his body trembling, right hand tightly clenched. As the countdown started, the realization that his legs would be broken in the next second overwhelmed him, and Ira couldn't suppress the resentment in his heart any longer. His expression turned wild.

"You forced me to do this!" He quickly crushed a gem in his hand and attempted to smash it on the ground. Several students nearby were shocked when they saw the emerald green gem. The vice principal, who had been thinking about how to please Clark on the platform, also had an instant change in expression.

"Don't!"

"Ira, stop it!"

"We'll all die together!"

Ignoring the fearful attempts to stop him, Ira shouted defiantly as he smashed the gem on the ground. The expected interference from Clark did not occur.

"Crack."

The emerald green gem suddenly shattered, and the points of light inside, resembling a small magic array, went out with a sound.

"Hahaha!"

Seeing the magic array extinguish, Ira laughed manically, pointing at Clark and cursing angrily.

"Idiot! You think I'll be your dog?"

"Do you really think you're invincible?"

"I'll show you what true fear is!"

"Die, let's all die together!"

Despair pervaded the meeting room. The vice principal, seeing the array extinguish, couldn't help but slump in his chair. Some timid girls, as if witnessing a terrifying scene, burst into fearful sobs.

"It's over, we're really finished now..."

The crowd was in a state of despair, a few pale-faced Awakeners hastily kneeling on the ground, trying to piece together the gem, but their efforts were in vain.

Clark looked at the people in front of him with some confusion. Clearly, only one gem had been shattered, yet the Awakeners before him seemed to have lost all hope for life.

"I'm curious, what are you all so afraid of?"

Among the first Awakeners who stood up, a boy in a white shirt gave a bitter laugh, pointing at the shattered gem on the ground.

"Back mountain!"

After destroying the gem, Ira seemed to have depleted all his strength and collapsed to the ground. His gaze toward Clark was like that of someone witnessing impending death. Clark frowned slightly but didn't pay him any attention, instead curiously asking the boy who spoke up.

"The back mountain?"

"Is there something in the back mountain?"

"The back mountain."

The boy raised his head, his lips trembling. After a moment of silence, he spoke slowly.

"There's a monster, or maybe a beast, in the back mountain. Its strength is terrifying, far surpassing The Licker's level!"

"We originally intended to explore the back mountain seven days ago since there were many prey and dry wood to use."

"However, none of the first group of four Awakeners and the accompanying fourteen people came out alive."

"We later sent reinforcements, including Chairman Norm and Ira..."

"In that battle, nearly a third of the Awakeners in the academy died, barely escaping. But that monster chased us relentlessly, massacring the survivors. The number of survivors in the academy decreased from over 9000 to 3000. Otherwise, the number of Awakeners and survivors in the academy wouldn't be this low."

Clark nodded slightly. It made sense. In the previous LJ City academy, not only were there stable psychic energy nodes, but there were also many unstable ones. Calculating with the assumption that 70% of the population turned into zombies, in a school of over 30,000 people, there should be around 10,000 normal survivors. Adding the fact that the students were mostly young people, it was the optimal time for awakening.

Calculating with a 1% awakening probability, there should be over a hundred Awakeners in the academy.

"How did you later deal with it?"

"What's the point of talking about it now?"

"Run, let's run!"

The atmosphere was tense as the survivors urged each other to escape.

The crowd was in panic, with many attempting to flee the meeting room. However, some who remembered something sat dejectedly on the ground, hesitant to escape.

Dirk was puzzled. Regardless of whether the monster would invade the academy, fleeing would be enough if they couldn't resist. It seemed the monster was not simple, and there might be hidden details that made these people too afraid to even attempt an escape.

"Later..."

"Ira, hiding in the laboratory, luckily obtained an item."

"The one he just smashed."

"The gem contains a sealing array, requiring the injection of psychic energy every day to seal the monster."

Upon hearing this, Ira, who was lying on the ground, looked insane. He propped himself up and pointed at Clark, cursing loudly.

"Aren't you supposed to be strong?"

"I'd like to see how you deal with that monster!"

"If I'm not mistaken, you are also a psychic Awakener, right?"

"I'm telling you straight up, that monster can resist psychic attacks."

"If it weren't for Norm delaying a few seconds, everyone here, one by one, would have died!"

"Psychic Awakeners are useless against that monster!"

"Without that stupid black bear and without Norm, let's see how you stop the monster!"

Most Awakeners in the academy were elemental Awakeners, with only a few melee Awakeners following the fusion route. This was related to their physical qualities and talents. Therefore, most Awakeners in the academy were considered "squishy."

Ira wore a sinister grin, as if he could already see Clark's impending doom. In his eyes, Clark, as a psychic Awakener, wouldn't have a much stronger physique. Even if his psychic power was higher, what use would it be? In the face of that monster, psychic Awakeners were useless!