Chapter 95: Detest

Spurt!

A deep gash appeared on the sidelines of the scorpion’s body.

Noah moved again, aiming to hit the main upper body, but before he could approach the monster, it turned its head downward and—

Disappeared into the ground.

Noah clicked his tongue in disappointment.

The air had become muddy with sand particles flying high up due to the scorpion’s disappearance into the sand.

Noah jumped back to retreat from the cloudy air.

He kept his guard up, sensing for any movements in the surrounding area.

But the monster wasn’t stupid to begin with. It had slowed down its speed in order to negate any vibrations made by its movements in the sand below.

Noah closed his eyes and extended his mana sense across the area.

With Noah’s capabilities, he was able to use mana sense up to a certain distance. The area under his mana sense wasn’t large, but it was enough to let him know of any enemies approaching him seconds prior to their arrival.

But no matter how much Noah focused, he could not detect any unusual movements.

’Did it run away?’ Noah thought to himself.

As Noah kept moving across the sand, trying to figure out the monster’s location, another thought popped into his mind.

Upon the instant realization, Noah’s eyes widened as he dashed towards where his team members were supposed to be.

Noah wanted to hunt more monsters in the silver rank, but given the average student’s strength, the academy had cleared the area of any strong monsters.

So finding those in the silver rank was a tall task.

Noah had to keep actively searching for the monsters.

And during the fight, he had come quite far away from his teammates, who seemed to have moved their location in search of the centipedes.

This desert had limited type of monsters, but each of them was a hassle to deal with.

They were quite resilient to kill, and their ability to hide in the ground below was a huge disadvantage for the students.

It was easier to fight a monster that could be seen than something that could appear at any moment from the ground below in order to devour you.

Leaving aside the combat ability of the monsters, a sudden attack made it difficult to fight at your full capability.

Noah had taken it as the academy’s way to make the students learn to adapt to unfavourable situations.

But on second thought, he believed that the test was brutal for the average bronze cores, who had to do everything in their capability to even damage the monsters before them, let alone dodge surprising attacks.

Noah knew the general direction of his team, so he increased his speed to catch up to them.

Maybe he was overthinking... But the monster had clearly seen the other students with him.

And its instincts would have told it that all of them were weaker than Noah.

After all, they were mere bronze cores, and that too average students and not the top elites in their core rank.

Still, he hoped that they could at least save themselves from being eliminated.

Noah wasn’t worried about their safety, as the bracelet given by the academy had an inbuilt shield in it, but if the students got eliminated, then leaving aside being placed in the first rank, Noah’s group might very well drop down to the lowest numbers.

As every elimination reduced a percentage of the total score.

Still, the situation wasn’t out of hand, as Noah’s group had gathered a good number of points. And even if by chance they were eliminated, Noah himself could simply kill more monsters to make up for the lost score.

But...

Noah glanced at his bracelet again to look at the group ranking.

With seventy points, their group was in first place, but was soon followed by another group at fifty-eight points.

As for Kael’s group, it was still in third place with forty-five points.

But this score didn’t reassure Noah.

Looking at Kael’s name, he could see that there was no increase in points from the first kill.

Why wasn’t he fighting?

Was there something else in the test?

Noah didn’t know since when, but he had actively begun to compare each of his achievements with Kael.

Noah was someone who had always believed in his abilities and talent that, according to him, was the best in the history of the world.

But meeting Kael, his pride had been damaged at every turn.

What had begun as simple comparisons had now grown to become an inferiority complex for Noah.

He didn’t want to be behind anyone, and a noble at that.

Though Noah wouldn’t openly admit it, somewhere deep in his heart he had begun seeing Kael as someone above him.

And it hadn’t even been more than two weeks since the academy began.

Noah didn’t like this feeling of defeat.

No.

It wasn’t defeat, but acceptance that Noah hated.

His acceptance of believing himself to be weaker than Kael.

Maybe that was correct in the present, as Noah felt he was lagging behind Kael.

But he couldn’t simply accept it...

In terms of pure ability, Kael might have been a little ahead of him, but if Noah used his ability— the mana sword — Noah didn’t think Kael could defeat him.

At least that was what his brain was telling him. But his soul was saying something else.

Noah’s instincts were always point on, and it was these instincts that were telling him that even if he fought Kael using the mana sword, he wouldn’t win easily.

Maybe he might not outright lose either... But Noah didn’t want such feelings to fester in his heart.

He wanted to have the absolute confidence that he had always carried since his childhood... At least since the time he had discovered his true capabilities.

"Fuu..."

Noah let out a deep breath, as he could see his teammates some distance away.

But as he looked closely, they didn’t appear to be by themselves. There was another team standing beside them, talking casually as if this were an outing.

"Hm?"

As Noah approached closer, he could clearly see the lifeless body of the dead scorpion which had run away from him.

It’s tail was cut at the tip, giving Noah the required hint.

Seeing his teammates, Noah should have been happy, as none of them were eliminated.

But in return, his expression darkened.

For the very boy that he detested was currently standing above the scorpion’s head, or at least what was left of it.

From the looks of it, Kael had smashed the monster’s head under his foot.

"Noah?"

Diana’s voice brought the group’s attention towards Noah.

Kael raised his head to look at Noah, only to return his attention towards the dead body beneath him.