My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 163

Days passed by again in the blink of an eye.

The dust had already begun to settle as the initial frenzy of activity died down; nobody seemed to be actively searching for any hidden threat within the Corps anymore.

It didn’t mean that the search had stopped entirely, however—they were still looking.

But the hunt was no longer as frantic or obvious as it had been before.

Everything was as normal as it could possibly get in this volatile world.

News of the outside world wasn’t reaching the trainees here, so they remained ignorant of external events, simply proceeding to live their lives as normally as the situation allowed.

So far, with the week that had just passed, it had been five months since Ray and Van lost their families in the devastating Aberrant attack.

In that time, Ray had gained his system and they had both officially become Aspirants.

Unfortunately, he found himself unable to grow stronger physically due to the stubborn cap placed on his stats, which required him to evolve before he could progress further.

But this plateau didn’t stop his rigorous training or his quest completion.

He kept honing his body daily, building his physical strength and trying to keep his skills as sharp as ever.

After the day she had helped them, Chloe was now around their group more frequently than before.

Initially, Ray was quite uncomfortable with her constant presence, but watching how the others accepted her so quickly, he simply shrugged it off.

Even Felix had become part of their daily movements.

Though he was technically assigned to the second class, he tried his best to stay close to Ray whenever possible, sticking to the Tribrid’s hip like a shadow.

In short, Ray’s social circle was expanding at a rate he didn’t quite understand.

Well, as long as they didn’t become a physical obstacle in his path of growing stronger, he didn’t give a damn.

For the tech aspect class, a new instructor had finally been brought in to replace Elysa after her mysterious disappearance.

Although the new woman was friendly enough, she wasn’t quite as over-the-top as Elysa had been.

Still, after his previous harrowing experience, Van remained cautious of her.

The boy hardly spent any time in his dorm room now, unless it was almost time for curfew.

Instead, he spent every waking hour in his workshop building something mysterious—a project he claimed would help him in the near future.

Ray even noticed a new glint in his friend’s eyes; he seemed more determined than ever for some reason.

Something was definitely up with him, and it worried Ray immensely, but there was little he could do when Van refused to open up.

Anyway, today was supposed to be a day just like any other, until Sony entered the classroom for the usual homeroom lectures.

Mid-lecture, he mentioned that he had a significant announcement to make once the session concluded.

Now, everyone was paying rapt attention to his words, wondering what could be so important that he felt the need to pause the class just to drop a hint before continuing as usual.

Ray didn’t care much at first, drifting into his usual state of daydreaming.

However, in this case, he wasn’t just idling; he was leisurely conversing with Elyon.

At the very least, this mental dialogue helped him get past the boring lectures.

Minutes passed with Sony yapping and yapping about what Ray considered to be meaningless nonsense.

Finally, the instructor paused to drink some water, refreshing his parched mouth before scanning the classroom once more.

"Now; about the announcement I mentioned earlier..."

Hearing those words, Ray immediately paused his conversation with Elyon to listen in attentively.

From the months he had spent here, Ray knew that Sony genuinely cared for the class for some reason.

He always dropped useful information in an attempt to get them prepared for the future, and more often than not, those tips came in handy.

Hence, Ray wasn’t about to take this lightly; he was now paying rapt attention to the man’s every word.

".... Before I begin, I just want to say this: I had absolutely no say in this decision. It was a direct order from the General before he departed for one of his never-ending expeditions."

Now, the entire class grew somewhat uneasy, and the students stiffened in their seats.

They held their collective breath, waiting for Sony to finally say what he needed to say.

"Every year, aside from the usual occasional missions, the Aspirants are always sent out in the middle of their training year.

You are sent to one of the less dangerous but still challenging beast planets that the Corps currently has under its grip.

Usually, this expedition occurs in the sixth month of the year, but for some reason, the General has decided to push this forward to next week."

— What?!

Sony nodded, a grim expression settling on his face.

"Unfortunately, you all have exactly one week to prepare for an expedition."

A hand went up.

A nod followed, and then a question from a concerned Aspirant.

— What is this expedition going to be about?

Sony stared at the student for a few seconds before shrugging noncommittally.

"I can’t divulge the details for now, mostly so none of you find a way to cheat. All I will say is that you will all be transported to a beast planet which is firmly under the military’s control. What you are expected to do there will be communicated to you on the day of departure."

Sony paused for a few seconds as he glanced at the wall clock in the room.

’Five minutes left before the class officially ends.’

Glancing back at the sea of faces, he continued:

"This is a compulsory expedition. Points will be awarded to each of you, which will contribute significantly to your resume when you are ready to join any faction of your choice.

This means every single one of you, including the second class, will be participating in this.

Don’t fret, though: your homeroom instructors will be with each class, and a Sergeant will even be sent out to ensure our collective safety.

If we encounter any beast stronger than our current capacity, it will be handled by the Sergeant, so let your minds be at rest."

Murmurs broke out across the classroom as anxious whispers from the Aspirants began floating around.

Many wondered how they were going to survive this supposed expedition.

What was the mission truly going to be about?

No one knew, and Sony clearly wasn’t willing to divulge the information yet.

They would all have to wait until the following week.

"By the way," Sony continued, putting an immediate pause on the murmurs.

"Squads will have to be created. Though this class is going to move as one unit, not everybody can fight effectively alongside others without knowing much about them, right?"

He let that sink in before elaborating.

"... Which is why squads of five members are to be formed. Do your best to learn everything about your squad mates—their strengths, weaknesses, abilities, and so on—so you can formulate a proper battle synergy. This will teach you all how to work together under pressure."

Rubbing his temples, he continued his instructions.

"Like I said, points will be awarded. If you perform exceptionally well, your squad could even end up at the top of both classes. Who knows?"

Sony shrugged before adding one final detail.

"When you are done deciding, pick a leader and come submit your squad names to me so I can process the roster. Remember, you have just one week to get everything prepared. Good luck."

With that, the ringing sound signaling the end of the class echoed through the hall.

Sony exited the room, leaving the space buzzing with a mixture of excited and anxious murmurs.

Who would end up as whose squad mate?