Chapter 33

"Damn." I watched the fight from a faraway place where they could not easily detect me.

Upon seeing every monster my clone lured to get killed by them, I was amazed. Even though my clone is helping them from the sidelines, it's still a wonder how they managed to defeat the vast numbers.

"That's why they are the main cast, and others aren't any lower either." It was impressive. Each of them had grown far stronger than they had at this point in the novel.

They weren't supposed to be this powerful yet. Their growth progression, it felt unnatural. But more than that, I was focused on the one thing that mattered to me most.

Thump!

My heart raced with anticipation. The thought of all the status points I'm about to gain made my blood rush.

Breaking through to E+ rank to D- was finally within my range, or if lucky, I will enter to D rank.

But I was a little unsure if I would get status points if I were far away from them.

"Well, if it doesn't work, I'll have to consider myself unlucky," I sighed, though the thought of losing so many points made my heart ache.

「Activate Absorption Gacha」

My left palm glowed faintly beneath my glove as the skill activated. From the battlefield, I saw a ripple of confusion spread across their faces. The main cast looked around warily, trying to figure out what had just happened.

'Oh shit'

My heart skipped a beat as Lucy's head suddenly turned in my direction. Feeling her gaze penetrating through the wall, goosebumps rose all over my body.

"Did she find out or not?" I asked myself not daring to peek. If she caught my trail, there is a 97 percent chance she will search for me.

"Anyway, I have to get out of here quickly."

The status window appeared in front of me after it calculated every point.

I felt my body grow stronger and sturdier, and my senses became sharp. But an acute, throbbing ache spread from where my core rested.

"Mgmm," I let out a pained groan. "I think a sudden boost in power does hurt a lot." I gritted my teeth, feeling the veins stretching and moving through my body.

I focused on the mana breathing, trying to ease the pain. As the pain slowly started to vanish, I looked at the status screen.

——————————

Strength:1

Stamina: 1

Speed: 2

Speed: 1

Speed: 2

Mana: 2

Strength: 2

Mana: 1

Strength: 1

Agility: 2

Speed: 2…..

——————————

'Damn, that's a lot; I should check my status instead.'

"Status"

===Status===

Name: Jadel Wayner || ?[Jake dane]

Race: Semi-mers ?[???]

Occupation: Assassin Lvl.1 ||

?[Swordsman Lvl.1]

Innate Skill: Emperor Of The Ocean ||

?[Gyrokinesis]

______________

?Rank: D-

?Strength: 197 (+81)

?Speed: 228 (+98)

?Agility: 235 (+96)

?Stamina: 172 (+66)

?Endurance: 192 (+79)

?Mana: 258 (+113)

?Intelligence: 161

?Luck: 197

?Charm: 560

?Talent Limit: A-

===] Skills [====

===] Techniques [===

Soul Bound: Lost Gem

Affinity: Water » Ice || Darkness » Shadow

Spells: Waterball ‹★› || water bullet ‹★★›||

Water barrier ‹★★› || Mist ‹★›||

___________________________

"Ha, haha, damn, I finally increased my rank." I muttered, clenching my fist.

To explain how the breakthrough worked. There are six main statuses connected to a core: strength, speed, agility, stamina, endurance, and mana.

If we increase our rank, the mana core and mana veins connected to the core will undergo a transformation, helping us to gain more power.

The mana core transforms to hold more mana in it, while the mana veins transform to move more mana through the veins. This helps increase strength, speed, stamina, etc.

To break through to the next rank, we need to increase three statuses with a slow transformation.

Slow transformation means if we increase one point in the strength status, the mana veins undergo a slight transformation to hold the increase in status points.

So F- strength can contain 37 points, if strength increases from 37 to 38, the strength breakthroughs to F rank.

And the mana core and mana veins can only contain two status breakthroughs; if another status breakthrough happens, the rank will increase.

So you need to increase any three statuses of yours to break through to the next rank.

'That's all I know, but there are still some unanswered questions in my mind.'

"Well, who cares? What I need to do now is get out here quickly."

Boboom! Bzoooo!

Hearing a loud sound, I looked up and saw the crack was slowly closing. "Finally." I sighed in relief.

It seems the raid team has killed the boss monster successfully. "I should wait until the instructors clear the monster here." Mumbling to myself, I looked for a safe spot to hide until the monsters were all dead.

Clank! Clank!

Scwhee!

As I was trying to find a good place for hiding, I heard loud weapon clashing sounds and monsters screeching. "Should I go help? Or not? Well, why shou–"

"Arghhhhh." As I was having these thoughts, a familiar voice screamed, freezing me in place. "Taren?"

Suddenly, I got an uneasy feeling. Rushing to the place, I saw Taren and other students fighting with monsters. Blood pooled on the ground, and the monster corpse looked brutalized.

But I didn't dwell on it; my focus instantly shifted to the kids. They sustained serious injuries that could threaten their lives if they didn't heal themselves or prolong the battle anymore.

I need to stop them, but they are going frenzy, displaying unexpected capabilities and brutality.

Especially Taren, he... feels like a totally different person. He exuded a vast bloodlust that attracted the monster. His movements were a blur; I can't properly see him.

All I could see was the exploding monsters, filling the air with blood that moved by the wind. Seeing that something connected within me, more precisely the power he was wielding now, I felt a connection towards it.

'This guy! What is he really? Something within me... is reaching out for something from me.'

Shaking all of my thoughts, I instantly rushed them to help. My legs suddenly paused, witnessing a scene I never wanted to.

My heart started to thump frantically as I slowly walked towards that place, and I felt like I lost something important for me—someone precious for me.

Thump!

"Huh!"

Thump!

"Wh-h-"

Thump! Thump!

"M-Marie"

Thump! Thump! Thump! Thump!

'Why did I join the academy?' I asked her, curious about the reason.

Every student that joined here has one ambition they wanted to fulfill, and I'm sure she also has one.

But I didn't expect her to make that face. She smiled as if everything was good, but her eyes, it held sadness within them. 'I want to make my mom proud.'

'Make proud of your mom, huh?' I mumbled to myself, a small smile blooming on my face as I thought about my mom.

'So what is your mom doing?' To my question, she couldn't hide her sadness properly. She showed me a sad smile. 'Hehe, I will tell you next time. Hoo, look at the shop; let's go.' showing a cheerful smile that masked her sadness, she dragged me to the shop.

Thump! Thump!

"M-Marie" I felt a knot in my throat, and the words I wanted to say stuck in there.

Seeing her mangled body lying on the cold ground, half of her flesh eaten away, her eyes blankly staring into the void, my stomach churned violently.

The stench of blood hit me hard, forcing me bile to rise in my throat. Her limbs were hardly recognizable—gnawed to the bone, skin hanging in jagged strips.

I tried to breathe, but her sight of her face, or what was left of it, made my chest tight. I had only known her for a month, but the connection I felt towards it… it was more than a month, as if I had known her for years.

"It hurts." My voice cracked. "It fucking hurts, dammit."

I stood there, frozen, emotions crashing over me. I couldn't think, couldn't move. I wanted to scream, but my body refused to listen.

Suddenly, a monster launched at me with fierce speed, but I couldn't dodge it; my legs didn't move from the place.

Clank! Scwheee!

"Hey." Taren's voice was cold; his eyes held no emotion in them. "If you're intending to die, then go somewhere else." His eyes were bloodshot, filled with tears. The bloodlust he was releasing suffocated me.

Clank!

He protected me again from another monster. The blood spraying to my face, the metallic taste seeping through the lips

"I said, Go, don't die in front of me... I don't want... to lose my friend again." I wanted to move, but I couldn't; my legs stuck there like they were glued to the ground.

____________________________

???Name: [????■■■■]....

???So■■ ■■■■■n: ????1000 → 994

■■■■■ ■■■ ■■■■■g to ta■■ c■ntr■■

[ ■■■■■ ■■ ■■■■■■■g ■■ ■■■ ]

[ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■ ■■■ in ■■■■]

[ ■■■■■ ■■■■■■■ ■■■ ]

….

___________________________

"Sorry … M..ie."

My mind went blank for a second, and I felt emotions I couldn't decipher. I felt sad about her death, then pity. Now I'm enjoying seeing her dead body. And the worst is that I'm feeling pleasure from it.

After a few seconds, I felt numb toward her. Now I'm feeling sad again.

Suddenly, my vision turned hazy, and I felt my consciousness slip as my eyelids suddenly turned heavy.

Thud!

'What is happe….'