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C299 - Madman

The recruits in the hangar didn't have Khan's senses. The ape was big, violent, and angry, but it remained a Tainted animal in their minds. They had fought something similar in the entrance test more than half a year ago, and they had also gone through months of training.

The ape's appearance was scary. Its four bionic eyes shone with a threatening red light, and its furless skin revealed its bulging muscles, but the creature remained a Tainted animal at its core, which gave the recruits some confidence.

Khan kept track of the changes in the recruits' expressions. That short inspection gave him an idea of his students' current state. Some showed nothing but hesitation and fear, which stated their lack of confidence. Others gulped but did their best to appear ready for the battle, and a few wore traces of arrogance.

Those reactions were within Khan's expectations. He still recalled his days in Ylaco's training camp and the level of his peers. He was off the charts, but Martha, Luke, and a few others could put up a fight. Other cities even had a few exceptions like George, who had learnt to cast spells during his first semester in the Global Army.

Everything seemed to point toward the possible victory of some excellent recruits, but Khan knew the actual power of the Tainted animal. It was easier to view it as a proper first-level warrior to evaluate its dangerousness. Even he wouldn't have been able to beat it back then.

"None of you can beat this Tainted animal today," Khan continued in an attempt to quell the slight arrogance that had filled some recruits. "It's not about your experience. You simply lack the ability to deal with it, but that's the very reason behind this challenge."

Needless to say, the arrogant recruits took Khan's words as a challenge. Their confidence had different sources, but they still felt stronger than a mere Tainted animal.

"Who is the strongest among you?" Khan asked while leaving the wall to approach the lines of recruits. "I'm talking about the special class. You must have a few names in your minds."

Khan could sense the amount of mana in the recruits, but he couldn't see their prowess. He could gain a vague idea through their reactions, but that was far from enough.

Many glances converged toward two recruits in the frontline. Khan also inspected them after following those gazes. One of them was a tall young man with a good physique and driven eyes. The other was a slender young woman with blonde hair tied in a bun, a pair of short swords at her sides, and an arrogant expression.

"Which one of you wants to go first?" Khan asked while moving his gaze between the two. "Also, don't be so tense around me. Many of you are older than me. Ask as many questions as you want."

"Is it possible to know the Tainted animal's abilities, sir?" The man shouted while performing a military salute.

"No, you'll have to find those by yourself," Khan replied.

"How do we know that we have won, sir?" The woman continued.

"You must push the Tainted ape back in the cage or kill it to win," Khan responded.

"Are we allowed to use mana?" The man questioned in his loud voice.

"Of course," Khan scoffed. "This isn't a training hall or a test to show your prowess. I will let the ape break your bones before saving you, and trust me. You will need saving."

"Permission to go first, sir," The man exclaimed before the woman could say anything.

"Sure, go," Khan said in a plain tone before turning toward the rest of the recruits. "All of you, get out of the hangar. Line up in front of that entrance and leave the floor to your companion."

The recruits followed the orders and positioned themselves right outside the wall that Khan had opened previously. The tall man remained alone in the vast hangar, and Khan slowly walked toward the cage before jumping on it.

The cage was more than four meters tall, but Khan had easily jumped on top of it. His performance surprised the recruits, but Khan spoke before they could lose focus on the test. "Move forward a bit. Line up with the transparent surface. We don't want the ape to jump on your companions by mistake."

The man nodded and took his position. The Tainted ape immediately started slamming on the transparent surface when it saw the recruit, and its aggression seemed to make him falter a bit. Still, he tried his best to remain resolute.

"Come on, get in fighting stance and prepare your mana," Khan ordered from the top of the cage.

The man executed the orders. He half-turned his waist and bent his legs while raising his arms. His hands closed into fists, and mana moved slowly toward his knuckles and ankles.

'Not bad,' Khan commented in his mind when he inspected the flow of the man's mana. It was pretty smooth, which confirmed his status as one of the best recruits in that year.

"I'm going to open the cage," Khan shouted. "Are you ready?"

The man nodded, and Khan tapped his feet on the cage to interact with the menus. A vertical opening soon appeared on the transparent surface before its two halves opened outward.

The Tainted ape voiced a scream before shooting toward the young man. The floor was sturdy, but the creature still managed to make it shake lightly. It didn't exactly run. Its charge consisted of long jumps that ended with its two huge arms slamming on the ground.

The ape reached the young man quickly, but the latter didn't let that huge figure scare him. The creature slammed its arms downward as it descended toward the recruit, but it failed to hit anything.

The young man had flowed to his right when he saw the thick arms aiming at him. His fast dodge created an opening, and he didn't hesitate to exploit it by punching the ape's side.

The recruit smiled when he sensed that his execution had been perfect. He had yet to reach the competent proficiency level, but his dodge and attack had used mana correctly. However, something began to feel strange in his mind.

The man realized the source of that strange feeling only after the ape swung its arms toward him. The recruit didn't have time to dodge from that position. The happiness that had come from his perfect execution had made him blind toward an obvious detail. The Tainted animal didn't budge when the attack had landed on its side.

The thick arms delivered a clean blow to the man's torso. The recruit flew away for a few meters and slid on the metal floor after he landed. Blood had begun to come out of his mouth, and fear had appeared on his face. However, the screams and noises that got close to his position forced him to struggle to stand up.

The recruit went back on his feet only to find the ape descending toward him. The creature's thick arms filled the entirety of his vision, and deep terror spread through his mind. He couldn't dodge that attack. He didn't even know if his arms would be enough to save his life.

The man closed his eyes, lowered his head, and crossed his arms above him, but no attack arrived. Instead, angry screams and painful cries began to reach his ears.

The recruit waited a few seconds before opening his eyes, and the scene that unfolded in his vision left him amazed. The Tainted ape wasn't in front of him anymore. Something was pushing the beast toward the cage, but that figure wasn't clear most of the time.

The young man squinted his eyes and did his best to inspect the battle. Whenever the ape flew back, he managed to see Khan between its arms or at its sides. The recruit struggled to see Khan's attacks, but he noticed the calm, collected, and even slightly bored expression of his Professor.

The Tainted ape was incredibly strong for its level, but Khan had fought Stal that could rival second-level warriors. The beast's size and physical strength were nothing in his eyes, and its attacks were too slow. He could flow between its large arms and kick it back toward the cage without even sweating.

Of course, Khan made sure to push instead of breaking. His kicks could pierce the ape's skin, but he didn't want to inflict injuries. After all, the Tainted animal still had more than fifty recruits to face.

The cage closed as soon as the entirety of the Tainted ape entered its boundaries. The beast slammed on the transparent surface in anger, but Khan didn't even look at it. He turned and reached the young man in an instant, only to find him on his knees.

"What? You thought that you had won after landing a single hit?" Khan asked before heaving a sigh at the sight of the tremors that ran through the recruit. "You are good for a training camp, but that behavior would kill you on the battlefield. Go back to your companions now."

The man gulped and tried to stand up, but a violent cough took control of his body and made him spit blood on Khan's shoes. The event terrified the young man, who immediately tried to apologize, but Khan pulled him up from his uniform and put a shoulder under his armpit to support him.

"We don't have all day, do we?" Khan laughed while helping the recruit walk back to his companions.

Everyone was speechless. The young man and the other recruits had remained in awe in front of Khan's prowess. He was their age, but his fighting ability, confidence, and general lack of fear in front of danger belonged to a completely different realm.

His change of behavior also surprised the recruits. They had imagined Khan as a cold and stern professor, but his laugh sounded honest, and he didn't care about his dirty shoes. He was even adjusting his pace to match the injured man's state.

"Sit here," Khan gently said when he reached the row of recruits with the young man. His eyes rose and stopped when they landed on the young woman from before, and another order left his mouth. "Get in. You are next."

The woman nodded and stepped inside the hangar. The young man sat, but a cough retook control of his body. He spat blood again, and the event gave him the courage to voice a request. "Permission to go to the medical bay, sir."

"Denied," Khan casually replied while walking toward the cage. "You don't have medical bays on the battlefield. Meditate, but try to look at your companions' battles too."

The recruits finally understood the nature of Khan's subject now, and the desire to run away inevitably filled their minds. Many even started to view him as a madman who had earned his current job by pure chance.

"Are you ready?" Khan asked when he reached the top of the cage, and the woman nodded.

The cage opened, and the Tainted ape shot forward. The beast reached the recruit in an instant, but she dodged the descending arms easily. She also swung her short swords during her evasive maneuver, and two long cuts appeared on the creature's side.

The Tainted ape tried to follow the woman with its arms, but she was too fast. She ran around the beast, swinging her blades whenever she found an opening, but she always failed to leave significant injuries.

The recruits' eyes lit up at that scene. Their companion was doing it. She was overwhelming the Tainted ape, but the inevitable eventually happened. She failed to use her mana correctly during one of her dodges, which allowed the beast to slam its arms on her.

The woman flew away, and her swords left her hands. Her left arm bent unnaturally, and she remained still when she crashed on the floor. She turned only when the Tainted ape was about to fall on her, but Khan appeared between the two before the creature could complete its attack.

Everyone witnessed Khan's overwhelming prowess again. He kicked the ape back inside the cage in no time before walking toward the injured woman. Yet, to his surprise, she forced herself to stand up on her own. She even returned to her companions after retrieving her weapons without saying a word.

To be continued