It abandoned the shadow gripping its foot.
Both hands shot toward Elric, attempting to crush him between its palms.
Elric simply smiled.
He withdrew both daggers.
The shadows coating them suddenly elongated.
Each dagger transformed into a longsword.
He calmly pointed one blade left.
The other right.
The giant's palms slammed together.
Both swords wedged themselves between them.
The immense force stopped inches from Elric's body.
The Great Ape snarled.
Then ignored the resistance.
Its arms continued pushing together.
He's stronger than I expected.
Elric admitted.
Unfortunately...
The ape had forgotten something.
A shadow clone.
It emerged beneath the monster's enormous body.
Twin shadow daggers formed in its hands.
Without hesitation...
It began sprinting up the Great Ape's back.
Each step drove the daggers deeper.
The clone climbed by repeatedly stabbing into the creature's flesh.
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
SHLICK!
Deep gashes opened from its lower back all the way toward its shoulders.
The Great Ape screamed again.
The wounds weren't individually devastating...
But the constant pain shattered its concentration.
At the same moment...
The enormous shadow gripping its ankle tightened.
CRACK!
Bone bent.
The foot twisted unnaturally.
"MAWWWWWW!"
The clone finally reached the creature's shoulder.
One leap carried it onto the side of its head.
Its daggers repeatedly plunged into the Great Ape's ear.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Brutally tearing apart everything inside.
Elric frowned.
The massive shadow hand around the creature's foot gradually weakened.
He sighed.
"Shadow Forge..."
He shook his head.
"My constructs really can only last ten seconds."
Still...
He smiled.
"One broken foot."
"Both eyes gone."
"Severe blood loss."
"Destroyed inner ear."
"Back heavily wounded."
"It should be reaching its limit."
He couldn't help feeling slightly proud.
He wasn't built for battles like this.
He was an assassin.
His opponents were supposed to be humanoids.
Targets his own size.
Stealth.
Precision.
Ambush.
Not wrestling gigantic monsters head-on.
Then again...
Lady Lexa would kill me if I started complaining.
The Great Ape had completely abandoned trying to crush Elric.
There were simply too many threats attacking it simultaneously.
Elric used one of its own hands as a foothold.
He leapt.
Landing directly before its ruined face.
With almost casual precision...
He repeatedly drove both shadow blades into its remaining eye socket.
Again.
Again.
Again.
Every strike deeper than the last.
The Great Ape wildly slapped at him.
Its own enormous hands repeatedly smashed against its own face.
Meanwhile...
The shadow clone continued carving through its ear canal, shredding everything it could reach.
Even thirty percent of Elric's strength was devastating when applied internally.
After all...
The body's greatest defenses existed on the outside.
Very few creatures possessed organs as durable as their skin.
The Great Ape's struggles gradually slowed.
Its breathing became ragged.
Its enormous knees buckled.
Finally...
With one last exhausted cry...
The giant collapsed face-first into the earth.
The ground trembled beneath its weight.
Silence followed.
A soft chime echoed from Elric's academy bracelet.
Ding.
He calmly lowered his daggers before glancing toward the holographic screen.
"Let's see what Midvest considers this worth..."
The holographic screen shimmered before Elric's eyes.
Candidate: Elric
Tier: Legendary Tier
Time Remaining: 20 Days, 7 Hours, 30 Minutes
Core Objectives
Exploration
Required Points: 0 / 500
Extra Points: +0 Meet Students
Required Points: 70 / 1,200
Extra Points: +38 Defeat Monsters
Required Points: 100 / 1,500
Extra Points: +0 Take Points
Required Points: 0 / 1,000
Extra Points: +0 Survive
Required Points: 0 / 800
Extra Points: +0
Required Points Acquired:170 / 5,000
Additional Points Acquired:+38
Total Academy Points:208
Core Objectives Completed:0 / 5
Phase Status:In Progress
Elric quietly exhaled.
"So..."
"Meeting a non-designated Legendary student only grants three extra points."
He nodded to himself.
Reasonable.
Otherwise people could simply spend three weeks searching for students instead of accomplishing the actual objectives.
The Academy clearly wants exploration first...
...competition second.
His gaze lingered on the display.
Top ten...
He had no intention of merely passing.
The World Essence was awarded only to the top ten.
Missing it wasn't an option.
"I wonder what the Mythical Tier students receive."
He looked toward the distant sky.
"If our reward is a World Essence..."
"...then theirs must be something equally absurd."
With that thought...
He casually allowed himself to fall backward.
His body vanished into his own shadow.
...
Luke's sword flashed.
It sliced through the exact location where Elric had stood.
Nothing.
Only empty air.
A heartbeat later...
Elric stepped out from the shadow cast by the dead Great Ape.
Luke chuckled.
"Yeah..."
"I thought so."
Elric merely shrugged.
"Yeah."
Silence settled between them.
Luke slowly rested his sword on his shoulder.
"No hard feelings, right?"
"It's not like we can share those points."
Elric nodded once.
"True."
He turned around.
Hands slipped casually into his pockets.
He took a single step.
Then finished speaking.
"Unfortunately..."
"...points can be stolen."
The shadow beneath Luke's feet violently twisted.
Before he could react—
SHLICK!
A massive black spear erupted upward.
It pierced through his lower abdomen...
Burst through his chest...
Then exploded from his mouth.
Luke's eyes widened.
Blood poured from his lips.
His sword slipped from numb fingers.
His body slowly collapsed.
Dead.
Elric never looked back.
To him...
The fight had already ended the moment Luke admitted they couldn't share points.
Increasing the speed of my shadow...
Then slowing it down...
Alternating the rhythm...
He nodded thoughtfully.
Lady Lexa was right.
Predictability kills assassins.
Changing the tempo alone creates countless openings.
He continued walking.
Almost absentmindedly.
As though killing Luke had been no different from stepping over a fallen branch.
...
Several minutes later...
The Academy Watch Tower came into view.
Elric stepped inside.
Immediately...
The atmosphere changed.
Outside...
The examination was chaotic.
Inside...
Everything was strangely peaceful.
Three young individuals wearing Midvest Academy robes occupied the spacious interior.
One lazily lounged across a sofa.
The other two watched dozens of floating holographic screens displaying various candidates throughout the examination.
Hundreds of images.
Hundreds of students.
Yet neither examiner appeared remotely overwhelmed.
Their eyes calmly shifted from one projection to another.
The examiners...
Elric thought.
So this is how they'll intervene whenever someone breaks a rule...
Or when a student's life is genuinely in danger.
His gaze drifted across the projections.
He noticed something interesting.
The academy wasn't constantly observing every student.
Instead...
The displays frequently changed.
Different candidates appeared every few seconds.
Selective monitoring...
The bracelets probably determine who requires attention.
Rule violations.
Life-threatening situations.
Or unusual activity.
His eyes suddenly stopped.
One projection showed a familiar figure.
Dante.
Hands inside his pockets.
Calmly chatting with three students.
The three looked absolutely petrified.
Elric sighed.
Master...
Please don't do anything ridiculous.
Knowing Dante...
That hope probably wasn't realistic.
His thoughts were interrupted by a pleasant voice.
Behind the reception desk sat a beautiful fairy.
She smiled politely.
"You may simply place your bracelet against the interface."
Elric nodded.
He raised his wrist.
Beep.
The display updated.
Exploration
Required Points:100 / 500
Extra Points:+0
Required Points Acquired:270 / 5,000
Additional Points Acquired:+38
Total Academy Points:308
Core Objectives Completed:0 / 5
Phase Status:In Progress
A faint smile appeared on Elric's face.
One hundred points...
For simply reaching the Watch Tower.
Not bad.
His thoughts naturally returned to the Great Ape.
I wonder...
Will another monster replace it?
Or...
Had he unintentionally made life easier for everyone arriving afterward?
He quickly dismissed the thought.
Knowing Midvest Academy...
Probably not.
If one obstacle disappeared...
Another would simply appear elsewhere.
The Academy wasn't interested in making the examination easier.
It wanted every candidate tested.
Whether at this tower...
Or somewhere else.
Eventually...
Everyone would face something capable of pushing them to their limits.
With nothing else to accomplish inside the Watch Tower...
Elric quietly left.
The moment he stepped outside...
His shadow stretched beneath his feet once more.
Without hesitation...
He disappeared into it.
His next destination awaited.