Chapter 27: The Mold (5)
Chapter 27 – The Mold (5)
Luke had been doing his best to come out significantly on top of the scoreboard and clutch the number one spot after the challenge ended.
It was a straightforward goal without any complexities whatsoever.
He has accounted for everything and considered how possible it would be for him to easily do it since no other recruit was yet strong enough to match him.
Well, except for the brats from the privileged Hunter Families.
However, he didn't know that Otis Vernon had joined in the challenge and was about to give him a run for his money.
Funny enough, Otis was doing so without even breaking a sweat yet.
The young Vernon has yet to use his unique Skill since he arrived inside the world of the Mold and has only been relying on his blade to make progress.
That was indeed splendid. Little wonder why Eric Marvice had been so impressed with his performance that he personally rated Otis over Luke, who was currently topping the scoreboard.
Eric watched his screen as it replayed the fights between Otis and the batch of undead beings that had attacked his section of the Dummy Dungeon.
"That's a beautiful Sword Technique," he acknowledged, "and with a great potential as well."
His assessment was spot on and German acknowledged the accuracy of it with a nod.
"That is right," German added. "It is indeed a beautiful technique. It is the Guild Master Mortice's technique and I'm not surprised with its potential. However, that doesn't answer my question."
He and Eric held each other's gaze for a minute before Eric turned back to the screen in front of them.
The Deputy Head Instructor crossed his arms over his chest and watched closely as Otis' battle played in a slightly slower motion.
"Hmm. While it's not so strong, it is in fact a speed-dependent style of fighting."
Snap~!
German snapped his fingers loudly. "Correct. The Vernon Sword Style relies on speed and with just enough strength to match one's opponent, there is a reasonable chance of victory. However, what do you think happens when that beautiful Sword Style meets a Berserker-type Monster whose skin you cannot cut?"
German leaned back on his chair and folded his arms.
"It becomes useless," he said. "Without a doubt, the Vernon Sword Style is an impressive Sword Technique but it is flawed and the Vernon Family paid dearly for it."
Eric squinted his eyes.
As he watched the scenes continuously play, he also analysed and considered his senior's input on the Sword Technique.
While Otis had impressed him at first, Eric started to see the point in German's words.
He understood that Otis did not need to use his Skill yet since he was dealing with small fries.
The useless batch of undead beings didn't make him break a sweat.
A single slash across their neck or a stab into their chest and poof… they are dealt with.
Eric nodded a few times as his thoughts brightened up to the possibilities that would test the Sword Technique.
What happens when the Vernon kid meets a stronger set of undead creatures?
What happens when he is forced to continuously fight with no end to the number of his enemies?
How long would the Vernon Sword Style hold out then?
"You are catching the drift now, aren't you, Eric?"
Eric bobbed his head in acknowledgement.
German smiled. "However, don't make the mistake of thinking that the Vernon Sword Style is weak because of that flaw. It was that technique that made Mortice one of the top Hunters in the world."
—––
Ka-baam~!!
"Fuck!"
I felt an intense yet painful vibration echo through the bones of my left arm as I took the brunt of an attack.
These blood-eyed creatures were getting more and more numerous as I travelled further.
The next thing I knew, I found myself being hurtled into an abandoned building from the assault.
Rising to my feet immediately, I glanced around and moved away from where I had landed.
There was no time to lie down lazily in such a situation, given that these undead beings were already rushing toward the building.
I massaged my left arm and spat out blood from my mouth.
"Shit!" I cursed. "Switching between Skills is still as slow as the first time. I'd forgotten about that."
Even though it had left me vulnerable, there was an upside to it.
Now, I was hidden away from the cameras that transmitted ongoing events to the Instructors.
This meant that as long as I remained inside this building, I could switch between my Skills liberally without any concerns about external monitoring.
Soon, they began to rush into the building in their numbers.
At first, it seemed like thirty of them wanted to pass through a normal house door at the same time.
A quick check and I saw the few that tried to use the windows.
Such disorganised creatures.
The few of them who managed to push themselves into the building were left with barely three seconds to reorganise themselves before attacking me.
Pfft! Three seconds was more than enough.
With my beastly Skill now turned off and [Light of the Morning] active now, it was easy to utilise this short time effectively.
Bam~ Bam~ Bam~ Bam~
Only the numbers of these creatures changed and increased.
Their level of strength remained the same and they were still very much easy to deal with.
The question is: How long can one last?
But that was not for me since I had a few Skills in my arsenal that I could use freely now.
Bright's [Light of the Morning] was a speed Skill with negligible strength boost. For a smaller number of foes or escape, it was perfect but for a stamina-based test, it could only do so much.
The good thing about my current situation was that the Mold System designed the lackeys of this Undead Race in such a way that a normal Unawakened human could handle them.
That was why they were Level Zero.
Nonetheless, the stamina required to finish the test was on the level of an Awakened.
A normal human would never be able to complete this challenge.
Halting in my tracks, I gasped.
'Seems I can't run at such incredible speed as fast as I want,' I thought as I stopped moving.
Each Skill came with its own repercussions and it seems Bright's took a toll on my body systems… because why the fuck is my heart almost bursting out of my chest!
Gifts
-- Gift
received Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone