Zach held the orb to his mouth and licked it.
The ball instantly dissolved into his mouth, filling his body with power.
Zach could feel it; his muscles grew and shifted slightly; his physique got slightly better; the world became clearer; his senses sharpened.
It was an addictive feeling.
[Mp + 1]
Zach saw a message. "Huh...?" He summoned the system screen with a thought.
[Name: Zachariah Oliver Keal]
[Age: 17]
[Class: Shifter class]
[Sequence level: Earth]
[Existence pool 0/100]
[Soul essence 6/101]
[Skill: Shadow Morph
User can transform into any animal imaginable. Beware, the stronger the animal, the more soul essence it'll drain]
-
Zach raised a brow; his soul essence capacity went up by one. meaning if he continued killing monsters endlessly, his power could potentially become insane.
Beatrice watched from the sidelines. Her blue eye reflected the ocean, deep in thought, and her black hair floated in the wind.
Zach hopped off the monster, sheathing his hook blade in the open-back sheath behind him. A leather hoop snapped over the rim handle of the blade, locking it in place.
Beatrice walked forward, not saying a word. She placed her foot on the giant monster and, with a powerful thrust, sent the massive corpse into the ocean waters.
The corpse screeched next to the water; the waves rammed against its carapace. Zach glanced at her, confused.
"It'll serve as bait..." she said.
bait?
As if on cue, the water rippled immediately, and a huge black worm the size of a car jumped out, grabbing the corpse like a starving beast.
Beatrice unsheathed her katana, striking at the monster's side. The blood dripped into the ocean as the beast tried to run away.
Beatrice dashed in, stabbing the worm's circular jaw with the tip of her blade, then she dragged the blade, elongating the gash to the monster's tail.
The worm wiggled violently, and a second later, stopped moving. The worm blood painted the oven shores red.
Beatrice stuck her hand into the gash, pulling out its Bloodstone. Zach stared.
She would have already absorbed so many stones. But that didn't discourage Zach; in fact, it motivated him.
"Wait for it..." The ground rippled, and more monsters erupted from the deep.
"So this is it." Crabs, lizards, and all sorts of creatures emerged. Zach couldn't believe Beatrice's methods were this effective.
She stepped back, allowing the monsters to fully emerge from the waters. Zach's eyes caught quite a few monsters; this was his chance to farm Bloodstones.
Beatrice brandished her blade, dashing into the horde of abominations. Zach stood watching her cut down a few monsters with graceful precision.
She weaved in between attacks and countered with fluid movement. A monster dashed at Zach, resembling a lindworm wrapped in blue glistening scales.
Zach ducked its jaws, jamming the blade into its neck, and with a ruthless swing, carved a deep gash through its throat.
The monster fell limp in front of him, blood gushing out. This was considerably easier than fighting that damned crab.
Mainly because this monster's edge was the fact that it resided underwater—and it was no longer in its natural habitat.
Secondly, the crab had armored plates littered all over it that prevented penetration.
Another monster dashed in—a serpent. Zach raised the hook blade, slashing it at the monster's jaws.
He twisted, swinging both blades with all his might, and the monster's head flew off its neck with a violent spin before splashing into the blood-stained surf.
His chest rose and fell as a smirk tugged at his lips.
"Each one I kill, I get stronger..." He rushed in once again, bodying two grotesque nightmares in one go.
*****
Back at the academy, the group of instructors gathered around a huge table filled with dossiers and parchment.
"Next, Zachariah Oliver Keal—sequence level, Earth." One of the instructors handed over the paper to Rudolf.
Immediately, some heads turned. "Isn't it that kid from the bronze rank?" An instructor with long hair leaned back, arms crossed.
"Yeah, surprisingly he's been assigned for Gold rank..." Rudolf mentioned.
"What? That can't be right..."
"If you had attended the evaluation like I told you to, you would have seen it," Rudolf clicked his tongue.
"That's the only gold-ranked student this month."
"There numbers are reducing each month," Rudolf pondered.
Considering one would have to duel a gold rank to attain the position, to climb the ranking became harder and harder each year.
Well, it was good as it produced high-quality students, but the number had dropped drastically in the past year.
"Previously, it would be normal to see a total of twenty students ascend the gold rank; now, you get lucky if you see one." Gale, on the other side, relaxed.
"So, who do you think is the best instructor for him?"
Vale yawned. "Well, considering he's of the Shifter class, I would've said Gerald, but that would be a different case when it comes to combat, 'cause Gerald wields a gauntlet."
He pondered. "I think the best instructor is one that uses a hook blade, such as yourself."
"But I'm already assigned to a student," Rudolf looked at the profile.
"But there is one instructor that also wields hook blades." Rudolf glanced at Ray, who was going through his own set of papers.
Ray met Rudolf's stare and sighed. "You mean Instructor Iris?" He raised a brow, signalling he was hearing they're banter.
"Exactly." Rudolf confirmed.
"Well, I can get her here, but actually making her take the boy is another matter; she is a busy one, after all."
"It's settled then," he sighed as he slammed the paper on the desk.
"All done."
*****
Zach stood over a sandy shore littered with monster corpses; blood dripped from his blade as he looked around.
He held a Bloodstone and, with a lick, absorbed it.
[Name: Zachariah Oliver Keal]
[Age: 17]
[Class: Shifter class]
[Sequence level: Earth]
[Existence pool 0/100]
[Soul essence 31/133]
[Skill: Shadow Morph
User can transform into any animal imaginable. Beware, the stronger the animal, the more soul essence it'll drain]
-
He only killed 33 monsters in the span of time. Zach was hyped at the beginning, but it was beginning to feel a bit slow.
Beatrice stood in the distance, waving her katana blade drenched in monster blood; her black hair waved in the wind; blood smeared on her face; and her blue eyes.
"Help!!!" Zach spotted a guard in the distance, running towards them.
The guard got closer, collapsing with a look of terror plastered on his face.
"What is it...? Speak," Beatrice spoke calmly as she sheathed her blade, walking towards the guard on the floor.
"They're here!... they're here," he shouted, choking on his spit.
"Who's here...?"