An Encounter With Death

"Aren't Unranked Skills the most important?" Haesha interjected, looking confused. She glanced at Ashten and Esina, finding them sport the same confusion as her.

"Unranked Skills are the most important; that is an irrefutable fact," Jyorta nodded, "But, there are other methods to get them, apart from here. Sure, it would be many times difficult but, it's not impossible."

"Take the Unranked Skill Regen, for example," Jyorta pulled the keyboard towards him, typing a set of words on it. Immediately, the TV screen displayed the relevant information; as Jyorta scrolled through it, he found related data.

"There are two ways to get it: either through the military academy or by becoming a nurse/doctor. You would need to study for 5 years in a medical institute; and, the tuition fees is expensive, not to mention the difficulty of getting an admission. As for the Unranked Skill Flight…" Jyorta entered the keywords, pulling up another page.

"Other than through the military academy, you can get it from joining the Imperial Corps." Jyorta faced the three, pointing the data on the screen for them to see.

"So, even though Unranked Skills are the top priority, we still have a chance to obtain them in the future considering we work hard enough." Esina concluded, looking at Jyorta, "Then, what do you think we should focus on first?"

"What I am telling you next should stay with us," Seeing the others nod their heads in all seriousness, Jyorta continued, "Based on my sister's experience, we have to consider Traits as our first priority. Apart from here, it is almost impossible for us to get a hold of them. Though, we will first prioritise two of them."

"What are they?" Ashten Coorg inquired, his jovial nature from the morning disappeared, replaced with all seriousness.

"Trait of Temperance and Trait of Efficiency; they should be given the highest priority. Traits are equivalent to passive Skills; just that they are at most Tier 2 in effect. Even then, the help they provide would be significant even at higher Tiers. After all, every advantage helps at such levels." Jyorta said, pulling up the information for the two traits.

The effects of the Trait of Temperance are focused on a breakthrough. It suppresses and conceals the amount of information that the Wisdom Parasite can access from the host—passively operating 24x7. This invariably hinders its development which will give the host more time to prepare. During the 'Mental Battle', it strengthens the host, increasing the chances of success.

The Trait of Efficiency, on the other hand, increases the body's metabolism and accelerates the Wisdom parasite's 'Nurturing Effect'. It also hastens the formation of the Heart/Brain Crystal.

"Using the two Traits in conjunction, your chances of survival and future growth are enhanced," Jyorta said.

"Temperance and Efficiency," Esina looked at the pamphlet, making a mental calculation, "Added together, they total to 27,000 Credits, which is a lot. You need to be in the top 80 at the very least to exchange for them."

"It will be difficult," Ashten muttered, feeling his emotions cool down. "There are also the Frenzy Fruits we require to raise our Sync Rate. The higher our Sync Rate, the stronger we are."

"Indeed," Jyorta nodded, "At this point, if we want to become stronger, we must enter the top 10 in the rankings. That way, we will get enough leeway to strive for the Trait Fruits."

"I still don't know the method to earn Credits." Haesha pulled the keyboard, typing into it. Immediately, the screen flashed as the detailed instructions to amass credits appeared. Reading through it, Haesha's eyes lit up, feeling some hope.

There were 15 subjects in total, from mathematics to martial arts. Each subject was further subdivided into chapters. For example, the subdivision of the mathematics subject will include the chapters of Algebra, Trigonometry, Calculus, etc.

Depending on the subject of choice, the mode of testing would be different. For a purely academic subject, one would be required to appear for a written exam. Exams will be conducted per chapter, the marks awarded out of 100.

Scoring 50 or above will be certified as passed and the score will be directly converted into credits. For example, a student appeared for an exam on Algebra and scored 82 out of a hundred. He would then be awarded 82 Credits.

"Depending on the number of chapters one can clear, the Credits one can amass will vary." Haesha read aloud, commenting, "This is a simple and straightforward approach. So, they seek to quantify our academic knowledge and reward us accordingly."

"Yes, but there is a catch," Jyorta scrolled below, pulling up a statement in bold on the screen, reading it aloud, "The chapters under the Martial Arts Subject are more rewarding."

Ashten spoke, his gaze transfixed on the screen, "The time of exam for an academic subject paper is generally 3 hours. This gives the student at most 2 chances to appear for an exam per day. That is if we exclude a shortage in sleeping time and the daily activities that will strain both the body and the mind. Even then, suppose he scores a centum in every test, the most he could amass will amount to 70,000 Credits."

"But, the tests for many chapters under the Martial Arts subject are short, with some requiring just a minute or two to finish," Esina muttered, raising her volume, feeling a throbbing headache.

"There are also activities like today's survival enactment where they will award extra Credits," Haesha recalled the incident, feeling her heart beat faster, making goosebumps appear on her skin.

"Let us all work hard to claim as many items from the list as we can." Jyorta raised his fist, bringing it forward. Seeing his drive, Esina chuckled, colliding her fist onto his. Ashten and Haesha too followed suit, raising a cheer to rouse their fighting spirit.

"Yeah!"

…

Wild Zone 12, Heima and her team hid behind a rock, making her eyes turn green. She first inspected the ground below them, heaving a sigh of relief, proceeding to scan the surrounding area. She wore a set of loose garments, made from cotton. Beneath them was skin-tight armour, made from the leather of a Tier 4 Frenzy Beast, lacking zero indentations or protrusions.

It covered her entire body from head to toe, looking as if made from jelly. A visor covered the area before her eyes while there existed numerous pores on the area of her nose and ears—their opening and closing under her control. It also came with psychic shielding capabilities, its expense greater than any Tier 4 Artifact.

A quill was embedded in the area of her chest, enclosed underneath a transparent filament. It had 3 segments on the feather part, showcasing its state of a Tier 4 Relic. It was the deterrent against external psychic energy from invading her body. Heima's armour was a fusion between a Tier 4 Artifact and a Tier 4 Relic.

"Number 2 and number 3, scout for its appearance," Heima murmured, using the quill embedded in her armour to transmit her voice, making them reach the ears of her teammates, preventing the sound from leaking into their surroundings.

Even though she couldn't utilise the quill to enact the qualities of an Esper, she could still mimic the basic functions. Two people nodded and disappeared from the spot, reappearing after a couple of minutes, shaking their head sideways.

"Then, we'll proceed further into the Wild." Heima led the group, making them follow along a narrow path, their steps cautious, never venturing out in the open. She had her eyes turned green, constantly vigilant of her surroundings.

"Stop, Ring Worm ahead." She transmitted the message, pointing in a certain direction, "It is situated 100 metres below ground, approaching our location from 50 metres away. It has most probably sensed our location; a battle is imminent."

"Number 3, what is its strength?"

A man paused for a second, hurriedly motioning by raising 4 fingers. He then showcased his right arm and trailed using his left, traversing from the elbow to a spot above halfway. Heima noted, "Tier 4 Ring Worm, with a possible Sync Rate of 63 percent."

She then gazed at the faces of her team members, noticing them nod at her, "We can't outrun it. So, our only option is to kill it and be quick about doing so. The moment it nears the surface, we will spread out, formation 3."

Heima pulled out a sword, 80 centimetres in length and 5 centimetres in width, lacking a lustre, its aura retracted, looking no different from a piece of metal. She saw a long, green figure approach their location, the concentration of green varying across its body.

She made a mental note of its vital points, giving a signal to her team a moment before it drilled out of the ground. As the Ring Worm emerged out, 20 figures scattered from its front, creating a distance, spreading its attention.

Tier 1 Skill—Life Aura Sense!

Tier 2 Skill—Speed!

Tier 3 Skill—Sensory Invisibility!

Heima readily activated all her Skills, masking her from the senses of everyone present and raising her speed. Just in time, one of her teammates hollered, emitting a dense fluctuation of aura, making the Ring Worm focus its attention towards him. He then stomped on the ground, forming a dust cloud that masked its vision and sending tremors course through the ground.

Using the tremors to mask her action, Heima exerted force into her legs, facing the back of the Ring Worm. With a stomp, she flickered atop the head of the Ring Worm, her blade facing downwards.

She mustered all the strength in her, plunging the sword into its head. Just before the sword pierced through its head, it revealed the aura of a Tier 5 Artifact, its edge shining with sharpness, easily piercing through its tough exterior. Using her Tier 1 Skill, she aimed at the place where the densest of the Ring Worm's life aura congregated.

The skin of the Ring Worm turned grey, spreading towards its muscles, slowing down the motion of the sword, completely stopping it when it was only halfway in. Her teammates focused their attacks all across its body, aiming at the other vital spots signalled by Heima.

Just when she was about to launch another attack, the shriek of her teammate resounded through the air. A serpentine Frenzy Beast appeared, having a long nose. Underneath the long nose was a parted region, revealing a set of teeth, blunt in shape which it used to bite the head of her teammate.

The strength of its bite shattered the man's head, spilling out copious amounts of blood and grey matter which were sucked into the long nose of the Frenzy Beast. Its tail looked ethereal, morphing between phantom and reality.

Seeing the death of her teammate, a black aura appeared around Heima as she teleported, appearing above the Frenzy Beast's body, slashing with her sword.

"What?" Shock filled her face as her sword passed through its body, slicing the ground. The Frenzy Beast escaped without a single scratch.