Chapter 188: Trust Not
Chapter 186
Sony stared with a stunned look on his face as he looked behind him to see who had saved his life.
What he saw confused him to no end.
The two supposedly weakest Aspirants in his class were standing just a few inches away from him.
One of them had residual lightning fizzling down his arm, which coincided perfectly with the electrical attack that had sent the beasts crashing into the ground.
The beasts were not dead.
He could tell as he saw them squirming and twitching in agony on the forest floor.
They were currently immobilized from the stun of the lightning strike, unable to mount a counterattack.
Dark blood pooled beneath their serpentine bodies from the jagged injuries they had received during the interception.
’... Wait! Did I just see a lightning attack? How is that possible? I don’t think the kid had an ability before, did I?’ Sony wondered inwardly as his gaze remained fixed on Ray, who didn’t even bat an eyelid at the instructor.
’But a lightning ability? I have never heard of an attribute like that, nor have I ever seen a meta-human with that specific power type before. Who is this kid?’
Finally, the mechanical spiders had fully encased Van’s right arm, forming a specialized gauntlet that reached just an inch below his shoulder.
It looked like a sleek, black sleeve worn on a single hand, shimmering with a faint metallic luster.
Pointing the limb toward the vine snakes, Van’s eyes flashed a bright, piercing blue for a second.
Then, a concentrated light began appearing around his pointed palm.
Booom—!
A beam tore forward from his palm, smashing into the head of one of the snakes and turning it into a bloody pulp instantly.
A second beam hit the next beast under Sony’s stunned gaze.
’What...?’
Even Ray was impressed at what he was seeing from the sidelines.
He didn’t know the proper term to tag what Van had done with these mechanical spiders of his, but he knew that it looked awesome.
’Come to think of it... why does it remind me of an old movie from the ancient civilization that had a man doing something like this too?’
Turning his hand toward the fourth beast, another beam tore a gaping hole through its skull.
Around this time, beads of sweat began gathering around Van’s forehead as his eyes gleamed blue one more time.
One final beam was unleashed, and the fifth snake was taken care of, with a pool of ichor flowing beneath their unmoving bodies.
Sony’s mouth was hanging open in total shock at what he had just witnessed.
’Impossible.’
Van, on the other hand, was now feeling extremely lightheaded, causing him to stagger backward for a moment.
Ray rushed over just in time to catch him before he hit the hard ground.
’Damn. I really need to think of something which can power this instead of using my meta-force to fuel it constantly. I also need a bigger machine so I wouldn’t need Ray’s help to incapacitate the beasts long enough for me to attack.’
While standing supported by his friend, Van’s brain was spinning continuously, thinking of what materials he could use for future upgrades.
Ideas flooded his mind, but the sudden quietness of the forest distracted him for a moment.
The battle was over!
Sony could be seen standing up with a flustered look on his face, clearly embarrassed by the fact that quite a number of Aspirants had seen him sitting on the bare ground with a widened mouth.
’... I wonder, though. Judging from the rarity of his lightning ability, he could actually be termed a legacy too, right? And him too. I wonder what his own ability is truly all about.’
The instructor mused as his gaze glided from Ray to Van interchangeably.
With an inward sigh, he shook his head to clear his thoughts.
’No need thinking about it now. I don’t know why they didn’t help the others on time, but if they want to keep this a secret, I will help them do so. That’s the least I can do for them in exchange for saving my life.’
By this time, the other Aspirants had already gathered around, heaving heavily from exhaustion and nursing their various wounds.
The clearing was silent, save for the heavy breathing of the survivors.
Out of one hundred and fifty Aspirants, they only lost about five comrades who were caught unaware by the vine snakes, not allowing them to react in time, which led to their unfortunate demise.
Those close to the deceased Aspirants carried the bodies as they all stared at the instructor, who gazed back at them with an equal, solemn look on his face.
"Let’s just head back to the shelter for now. We will discuss with the Captain on what to do next." Sony paused for a moment as he stared at the frightened look on the faces of the others.
"... This doesn’t mean that the expedition will stop, though. Death happens constantly, and it will keep on happening regardless of whatever path you choose in this life.
Those that died are dead. We, the living, will just keep striving to become better than before so we don’t end up like them... dead."
The Aspirants listened in calmly without interrupting the man.
Trish, on the other hand, heaved a sigh of relief the moment she heard that the expedition would not be cancelled and would be allowed to continue as normal.
Ray remained uncaring and unfazed regardless of whatever decision the instructor made.
’Too bad I can’t go out of the shelter alone. I would have loved to hunt at least one beast. That would be enough to get me to level ten so I can evolve away from prying eyes,’ he mused inwardly as his mind began replaying an image of the forest map.
’... I know all the spots where some of the slightly stronger beasts are, but I can’t head there right now. Even a single awakened beast from the green zone is enough to grant me that evolution I want.’
Grabbing his own backpack, Sony gazed at the Aspirants once more.
"Let’s return for now. The expedition will continue from where we stopped tomorrow!"
The Aspirants all nodded, and with Sony leading the way, they began exiting the forest—a place that had taught them all a significantly valuable lesson.
...Don’t trust anything that looks ordinary.
Even the ordinary can turn deadly and kill you.