My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 184

While everybody was literally surrounded by the beasts and fighting desperately for their lives, Ray refused to move from his position.

After he had killed the first vine beast, the forest had quickly ignited into a scene of total chaos.

A brief glance at the other Aspirants later, he darted toward Van, genuine worry crossing his face as he stood protectively before his friend.

"A-are you okay?"

Van, whose heart was still pounding loudly against his ribs, tried his best to calm his breathing while staring up at his friend’s face.

"Uh... I guess I’m fine."

Ray breathed a heavy sigh of relief as he scanned Van from head to toe for any sort of injury.

Although he had arrived on time to intervene, he still needed to be absolutely certain that his companion was free from any harm.

When he finally ascertained that his friend was okay, he turned around to stare at the carnage ensuing within the forest.

The specific patch of dirt they stood upon didn’t have a single vine snake near it, as all the beasts’ attention was focused on the other Aspirants who stood crowded around the trees.

Standing beside Van firmly, Ray refused to budge an inch even as one of the students nearby just had their neck bitten off, with hot blood oozing out in rhythmic waves.

He remained entirely indifferent.

That was not the first death he had witnessed today; he observed many more as the seconds ticked by.

Though the casualties weren’t occurring on a large scale yet, a minority still died while the majority were getting injured repeatedly by the lunging predators.

One "rending" attack from him would have been able to take down the beasts and assist his fellow Aspirants, but he just shrugged the thought off while watching Kai and Trisha dominate their own respective fights.

Finally regaining some measure of control over his heartbeat, Van cast a horrified expression at Ray.

"Ray, are-aren’t you going to help? Pe-People are getting seriously injured."

Ray didn’t budge an inch, nor did he act like he even heard Van as he remained motionless.

Frustrated by the lack of response, Van banged his hand into Ray’s arm while glaring at him with watery eyes.

"Help them, damn it!"

Finally, the Tribrid turned toward his friend with a blank, hollow expression on his face.

"I’m sorry, I can’t."

Van blinked in shock for a second.

"What do you mean by you can’t? You are strong, I know it. You can definitely help these people. Look around you, they are our comrades!"

Ray turned his head a bit to cast a quick, clinical glance at the Aspirants being mauled.

He didn’t even look touched in the slightest by the grim sight.

"Okay? I have looked at them and ascertained that they are our fellow Aspirants. What now?"

Van froze.

He blinked a few more times in pure disbelief.

When had Ray turned this way? When had he become this heartless—nevermind, he already knew the answer.

Ever since his mother and sister died and they arrived at the Corps, Ray had always been this cold and indifferent toward the world.

But to turn a blind eye to the literal death and injury of the others?

What had come over him?

What Van didn’t know—or what Ray simply refused to explain—was that the Tribrid was in a predicament of his own making.

Though he wanted to help... not necessarily to save the others’ lives, but to hunt these beasts and rack up some needed Exp, he physically couldn’t.

That was because of a single looming notification in his vision.

[Exp: 820/900]

After killing the vine snake that had tried attacking Van, his experience bar had already increased, and now he was just eighty points away from the next level.

Usually, this would have been no cause for concern, but the issue was that the next level entailed his next evolution.

Recalling how he had been in tremendous, bone-breaking pain for minutes during his first evolution, he didn’t want to go through the same ordeal again.

He definitely didn’t want it to happen at this time, nor here, and certainly not in the presence of others who might view him as a monster.

’... Who knows what will occur after my evolution? I was lucky enough that my appearance didn’t change from the first evolution, but what if something happens in this one? I can’t be so sure.

I would rather level up and evolve somewhere safe and away from prying eyes. I’m sorry Van, but I honestly can’t do anything at this point.’

With a tired inward sigh, he tucked his hands into his pockets while gazing ahead with an almost nonchalant look on his face.

Van stared at his friend for a few seconds in deep thought, then scoffed.

"Fine then. If you won’t do anything, I will."

"No, you won’t." Ray shut the boy down and quickly grabbed the back of his collar, freezing him in his tracks.

"Hey! Let me go, Ray!" Van shouted as he tried pushing forward, but Ray’s grip was tight and immense.

The boy was unable to move a single inch and just remained stuck in place, flailing and screaming at his friend.

"Not a chance. I can’t let you go into harm’s way."

’... Because if you do, I will be forced to save you and, at the same time, what I fear will come true.’

Van was still trying his hardest to free himself from the firm hold, but to no avail.

One thing about the boy was his stubborn will; no matter how many attempts it took him, he always strove to make sure he got what he wanted.

Seeing as neither emotional blackmail nor physical strength would work, he was about to resort to something else when Sony’s shout reached their ears.

They turned around just in time to see the instructor crash face-first into the ground.

Behind him, five beasts were slowly approaching.

Van cast a sharp look at Ray, wondering what he would do next, but surprisingly... or unsurprisingly, his friend didn’t move an inch as he watched the scene unfold calmly.

They watched as the instructor begged for his life before smashing one of the vine snakes away from him.

That was when Ray saw it—the predatory twitch from the remaining four beasts.

’They are going for the attack. What do I—?’

Tracing his gaze towards Van, who was still stuck in his grip, a plan formulated in his mind almost instantly.

"Van, I need your help to save Sony."

Van lifted an eyebrow.

"Oh. Now you are ready to save him, eh? Anyway, I’m listening."

Quickly stating what he wanted, which didn’t take more than a second, Ray activated his skills.

Two strikes of lightning burst out from his hands, speeding towards the beasts at full throttle.

Instantly, he followed up by sending out half a dozen lines of obsidian energies at the monsters.

They smashed into the vine snakes, striking them in non-lethal spots but still carrying enough strength to knock them out of the air long enough for Van to do what he wanted.

Ray didn’t know exactly what his friend had up his sleeve, but he recalled in time that Van had held his ground against Bryce’s guards for a while—long enough for him to arrive.

It couldn’t have been mere luck; he surely had a hidden trick.

Smiling, Van turned to stare at his second wrist, which housed another bracelet.

This one was dark blue in color, contrary to the silver one the Corps had given them.

’I’m glad you feel like I can help, Ray. I won’t disappoint.’

Tap. Tap.

He quickly tapped the device, and almost immediately, a slot opened up at the top.

Dozens upon dozens of mechanical spiders surged out at an astonishing velocity, surrounding his hands and forming a thick layer with stunning speed.

Van’s eyes flashed a brief blue as the arachnids moved, encasing his whole arm in a specialized gauntlet.