Chapter 102 The First Batch
The students—or rather, Otherworlders—understood what was expected of them.
As they all stood in the gladiator ring, different thoughts were going on in the respective minds of each one.
What kinds of monsters would they fight? Would they be strong? Would it be dangerous?
Naturally, some were scared. However, most of them were pretty excited about what they were about to experience.
They were confident that none of their instructors would let anything bad happen to them.
Their lives weren't at risk at all.
Among the excited ones was Rey. He was excited for two major reasons.
One… he naturally wanted to see how his Class would give him extra Stats after Leveling Up.
'I'm very close, so I should be able to reach Level 20 today…'
Then, there was the second reason.
'I want to see how everyone does in this practical exercise…'
They had never fought monsters during training, so this would be a new experience for most of the people gathered in the massive inner field.
'How will they fare? How will they use their abilities? I want to see…'
To be honest, Rey was only very curious about a select group of people.
The first was undoubtedly Adonis, but Alicia was a close second.
There was also Billy, and the rising star of the Alpha Class—Belle.
Rey was also curious about Trisha's abilities, and he wanted to see if she had improved since he last saw her fight.
'I'm also curious about how she uses that sword…' He smiled as he saw the thing hanging properly on her waist.
'This should be fun.'
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"GUUURRRR…"
Rey's excitement slowly began to drop when he first saw the caliber of monsters that were being summoned by the eleven Summoners and Lucielle.
Magic Circles of varying colors and sizes had appeared on the ground, a considerable distance from the students, as they waited for the promised time.
This wasn't the first time they would be engaging in joint training, but it was never anything like this.
The massive ring was enough for the students to spread out and do their own thing, but what happened was that a lot of students found themselves in groups.
Clusters of students littered the stage as a result.
'Even I have…' Rey had thought as he glanced at both his left and right.
"Are you scared, Rey?"
"Let's try our best, Rey!"
Tricia and Alicia—two of the prettiest and strongest girls around—were beside him.
'This isn't what I wanted! You people are disturbing me!'
Of course, Rey could not say what was on his mind, so he instead decided to just smile with absolute determination.
"Yeah… I'm a bit scared but… let's do our best!"
Like Magic, his facial reaction conformed to the meaning of the words he uttered, allowing him to make the most genuine expression anyone could make.
Anxiety… mixed with resolve.
Of course, this didn't last very long. Once the Magic Circles began to spit out the first batch of monsters, tension was high in the room.
Even Rey felt it!
However, once the summoning was done, and Rey found himself staring at DemiWolves, weaker versions of NightWolves, he nearly lost interest.
Demi-Wolves were much smaller and skinnier than NightWolves.
They had similar black fur, but they didn't have any special ability going for them. Their strongest—or practically only weapons—were their sharp claws and fangs.
These were E-Tier Monsters. On the same Level as mob monsters like Goblins and the likes.
'At least they're stronger than Slimes, right?' Rey smiled wryly.
It would have made his heart sink if they were made to fight slimes after all the training and preparations they had gone through for such a day.
"These are DemiWolves. They're wild monsters that are usually found in desert regions, where there is scarce food and water."
If their extremely lean stature didn't give this away, then their hungry eyes definitely sold the story to the listening students.
They paid attention as Lucielle explained further.
"Their claws and fangs are especially useful for tearing apart flesh and crushing bones. As you can see, they're very desperate creatures.
As if waiting for their cue, the DemiWolves began to snarl and bark.
Their growls frightened a lot of students, but most of them still maintained a facade of excitement.
For the first time since they came here, they would be allowed to kill something!
Some students wanted that stimulation.
"Once the light of the Magic Circle stops glowing, the barrier holding the monsters back will be broken, and they will rush towards you…"
Lucielle's smile widened as soon as she said this.
"Show no mercy."
~VWUUSH!~
Following her words, the Magic Circles faded away, soon vanishing as if they were never there to begin with.
The result?
"ROOOOAARRR!"
"GURRRAAAAHHHH!"
"KURRRRRRR…!!"
The wild beasts instantly left their positions and began to rush towards the students.
Many students had already started activating their Skills or utilizing whatever Magic Spells they learned. Others took Martial Arts, rooting their bodies in place as they waited for the DemiWolves to come.
A few seemed to find themselves paralyzed, unable to do anything but watch in horror as wild beasts rushed towards them.
However, before any of the wolves could reach any of these groups of people…
~WHOOOOOSHH!~
… A flash of light suddenly shot through the ring, causing a strong wind to blow all across the area.
The brightness of it was blinding, as golden fragments radiated from the direction of the unparalleled illumination that manifested before them.
And then—
~SWOOOSH!~
A single slash was heard by everyone who dared to listen. Their squinted eyes saw only one person slashing as he stood right in front of the horde of DemiWolves.
His single swing caused a rumble to engulf the area—almost as if a thunderstorm had begun to brew.
As the air unfurled around him, and space itself seemed to undulate… his golden power washed through the enemies.
Resulting only in the inevitable.
~BOOOOOOOOMMMMM!!!~
The shock that radiated from Adonis' strike sent debris and chunks of Monster meat skittering across the entire ring.
Blood and gore danced around him, though not a single one dared reach his perfect form.
And so, as everyone watched on in downright shock—seeing as Adonis single-handedly killed all the summoned monsters—he looked back at them and smiled calmly.
"Don't worry too much. These are weak monsters…"
The students trembled, all in sheer awe.
Their Hero had taken the lead and showed them how it was done.
No fancy Martial Arts or complicated Magic Spells.
… Just pure, unparalleled strength.
Smoke began to rise around Adonis, revealing the carcasses of the DemiWolves around him, as well as the gleaming stones that were already being displayed from within and without their torn bodies—Monster Cores.
"Next round, please." Adonis told the shocked summoners, who began to work on the next Summon.
As they did so, Adonis turned and smiled at his peers.
It was a kind and heroic one, devoid of any malice.
"There's no need to hesitate. Just use all you've learned and kill them."
It felt strange hearing those words being uttered from the lips of their dear Hero, but everyone listened attentively.
Inspiration had come.
"We can win."
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[A/N]
Thanks for reading!
How strong do you think Adonis really is?
Do you think Rey stands a chance?