My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 164

Immediately after Sony departed, the entire classroom ignited with a loud buzz as the Aspirants began gliding across the room, desperately trying to form a team with those they perceived and knew were physically strong.

The strategy was simple: they merely had to check the rank displayed on a person’s watch to decide whether to approach them.

Even without checking the digital readouts, many already possessed an instinctual knowledge of who was powerful and who was not.

Kai remained seated between Ray and Van.

Without much stress, he lifted his muscular hands and wrapped them around his two friends, drawing them closer with a wide, confident grin on his face.

"No stress at all. Three men nailed down, we just need two more to complete the set. After all, brothers gotta stick with one another."

Ray stared at the boy with a blank look before firmly pushing the hand wrapped around his neck away and scooting a few inches further on the bench.

"Yeah, whatever. Now, how exactly do we go about looking for the remaining two members?"

"Easy. Let me be the fourth."

The boys all turned in unison to see Chloe approaching them, a confident look radiating from her face.

Ray noticed something subtle that would have likely escaped most people’s observation.

Chloe was now undeniably different than she had been before.

The first time he encountered the girl, it was during the rigorous test they had to undergo before officially joining the Corps.

Back then, she had looked... timid. Shy.

Scared and almost painfully nervous.

She had been much like Van was at the time—and probably still is to some extent.

He didn’t truly know anymore.

He saw that same fragility again when they ventured into the Tier 1 Gate where they encountered the Aberrant.

How did an Aberrant even manifest on a beast planet like that, though?

Ray never did bother looking into the specific details of the breach...

’Ugh... concentrate. Where was I again?’

Oh yeah. He was reflecting on Chloe.

Yes... after the entire Gate incident, she felt remarkably different.

She seemed more determined and far more self-assured than she had ever been.

She wasn’t significantly stronger physically, but she still carried herself with a newfound grace.

She was no longer a scared, shifty girl, but someone who had stared death right in the eyes and emerged on the other side.

Truly, one’s mentality was bound to shift after surviving such a horrible incident.

After all, Ray was a living victim of this transformation.

The way he had suddenly become so... mature?

The change was shocking even to him.

He was just a fifteen-year-old boy with a normal dream who would likely still be doing childish things if circumstances hadn’t forced him to mentally grow up.

And now, he found himself casually thinking of extreme measures if any harm befell his friends.

Flashing back to his words that day, Ray couldn’t help but shudder.

’Scary...’

Chloe stood before the boys with a wide smile that revealed her pristine white teeth, her eyes bright with expectation.

"There’s no need to spend time searching the whole room for a fourth member.

We have been together for several weeks now, survived a life-and-death situation already, and we already know each other’s names.

We also successfully completed a risky mission together, so I’m the perfect choice for the fourth member. Don’t you all agree?"

The boys merely stared at the girl with a blank look on their faces, the silence stretching between them as they processed her pitch.

Eyes blinking rapidly, the boys continued to stare at her until, finally, Kai broke the awkward silence with a resounding facepalm.

"Uh.... There was no need for a resume, Choe. We were already about to approach you anyway."

Chloe’s brows twitched as she glared at him.

"It’s Chloe, dumbass! How can you mess up such a simple, easy name like that?!"

"Right," Van added with a weary groan. "He keeps messing my name up too."

Kai just shrugged tiredly, seemingly unbothered by their irritation.

"Unfortunately, I have far too many details in my head to keep unmemorable names noted down. As long as you aren’t memorable enough, I simply can’t keep your names stored. Sorry."

Chloe and Van stared at him for a few seconds, their expressions completely bewildered.

Did he actually just call them unmemorable to their faces?

Clicking their tongues in unison, they turned to look at Ray, who was currently gazing out the window, seemingly ignoring their banter entirely.

He was deep in thought, wondering what the expedition would truly entail and if he would be able to grow stronger from the experience.

’I might possibly evolve during this expedition... Who knows? Actually, I do know. There’s no way I wouldn’t be able to rack up enough EXP to level up and eventually evolve. Good, good, lovely. As long as it isn’t life-threatening, I’m good.’

He paused for a second, his eyes twinkling as a grim image flashed through his mind.

’Hopefully, we don’t meet an Aberrant there like we did before. Don’t get me wrong; I’m not afraid of them and would even be willing to tear their flesh apart with my bare hands. But,’ he mused while turning to watch Van bickering with Kai.

’... if it was only me, I wouldn’t mind encountering one. But I can’t let anything happen to them. That day, Van was terribly close to getting impaled.’

His reverie was cut short as Chloe began scanning the room.

"So, who’s going to be our fifth member?"

Tak. Tak. Tak.

The question had barely hung in the air when the sound of steady footsteps echoed, heading directly their way.

Glancing up to see who was approaching, the group was met with a striking beauty.

She had long, light blue hair that fell past her shoulders and icy cold, piercing blue eyes that seemed to catch every bit of light.

Her smooth skin looked entirely untouched by any imperfection.

She possessed generous assets that were already turning necks across the classroom as she moved.

A cold, indifferent expression rested on her sharp features as she made her way toward the group.

A katana hung from her waist in its scabbard, swaying rhythmically with every one of her movements.

The Aspirant’s uniform further accentuated her curves as she finally came to a halt before them.

It was Trisha... Trisha Hunt!

Ignoring every other person in the circle, she fixated her gaze solely on Kai, glaring at him for a long moment before opening her mouth to speak.

"I want you to join my squad. I want to partner with you."