Qualification – 5

“It’s not enough yet?” I continued to let out the loud screech of my Madness Noise as I counted the number of monsters approaching, expanding out my detection range. My skill had grown by the day as I ate the monsters here on the Rookie’s Battlefield, and now it was at the end of the advanced level.

[Ahhhhhhhhhhh!]

“This terrible screaming…!” I was losing control of the mana the elf woman sent to attack me, twisting my body to try and avoid it and grinding my teeth. I had to keep this skill up; Madness Noise was the only advantage I had over her that she couldn’t stop. I was surprised that she had fallen already, given the difficult nature of training one’s resistance to abnormal statuses. Since I had reached the highest level of resistance, I had no issue in letting out this horrible sound. The real issue was Mireina, who had passed out on the spot behind me. I knew that the blow from the noise would be too much for her to withstand.

“You… aren’t you two supposed to be allies…?”

“There is nothing more precious to me than my own life.” Even though I had said it, the idea of Mireina dying here left an unpleasant taste in my mouth. I went ahead and used some of my mana to place traps below Mireina. The ground fell out from underneath her, but she landed softly on a mat I placed with the trap instead of deadly spears. I fortified the entrance with Lunatic Trickster, ensuring that she would be safe during this battle. Its ability to manipulate and instantly create traps was useful for things like this. The loss of material wasn’t great, but it would be enough to keep her safe, at least. Meanwhile, the woman before me once again attempted to use her communication magic, finding it still blocked off by me.

“You’re not a Rookie, somethings not quite right.”

“By the way, it seems that none of your colleagues are coming. Did you have a backup plan?”

“Urgh…! I don’t need reinforcements against you!” She shouted back at me, her expression hardening. I kept my attention on her mana, monitoring when she might try to use her communication magic again.

There had been two reasons why I had summoned the monsters here, and that had been one of them. In case reinforcements from the Knights of Elakatra came, it would be nice to have them here to slow them down. I didn’t have to worry too much about that now, blocking her line of communication as I was, but it was better to be on the safe side of things. This woman was able to identify where we were from a long distance away and had shown up suddenly; I could only assume the other knights had equally impressive abilities. Even if the monsters weren’t all that effective against them, I could use them to fuel myself if it came down to it, since they posed no issue to my Predation skill. The second was to kill as many monsters as possible before I left the Rookie’s Battlefield. They were great sacrifices to grow my own skill.

I still had no way of figuring out what the Knights of Elakatra wanted, however, or what resources they had. All I knew was that by killing large swathes of monsters, I had somehow disrupted their plans in the first place.

[Ohhhhhhh!]

If that were the case, I would kill everything I could before I left.

“Are you insane? Now you can’t even run away!”

“I don’t intend to run.” I have never been the type to run away from a battle; why would I start now? Especially since I realized that this heart had completely become a part of myself; that experience had made me realize my own obsession with fighting and growing stronger. I had no intention of trying to change that. I let my Demon’s Claws flow from both of my shoulders like huge wings; now, the skill was at an advanced level.

“I won’t let you run either.”

“Do you think I fear you?” She talked big, but I could tell her words didn’t match her actions or thoughts. I couldn’t believe a single thing she said. If she thought she could keep a handle on the situation, she wouldn’t have tried to call for reinforcements. I had to expect that she would try to find a chance to escape now that it failed. I could interfere with her magic, though, so I wouldn’t let her.

The monsters launched their attacks at us, having completed several fusions by the time they reached us. Many of them were already level 160 or higher, powerful creatures drawn to us by the sound of my Madness Noise.

[Oaaaaahhhh!]“Let’s get started.”

“These monsters…!” She attempted to use her communication magic again, but I had been waiting for it. I once more used my power of Predation, combined with the energy of Jinma, to reach out and stop it. If I could keep her reinforcements from arriving, then all I had to do was stop her. Her expression became grim as if she had been reading my thoughts.

“Something this inferior!” I blocked her sword attack that had shot out like lightning but was almost hit by her follow-up kick. A monster with twisted wings fell on us from above, preventing her from hitting me. I moved behind her with Ubiquitous, swinging my sword at her back. She was more focused on the monster than me at that moment.

“Where…!” The monster was deflected off of her shield, but she was unable to stop my sword from tearing into her shoulder, although the wound wasn’t as deep as I would have liked. Even though her body was so light, all of her stats were astonishingly high. It felt a bit outrageous.

[Oh-oh-ohhhh!]

Tendrils from the various monsters around us reached out to entangle us. The woman desperately defended herself, focusing on the tendrils rather than my own attacks. I spread my Demon’s Claws out wide, piercing through the bodies of the monsters around me and devouring them.

[You have gained 1,537,950 experience.]

[You have received 9 gold…]

These monsters’ very existence was a double-edged sword. Their soul-based attacks were undoubtedly fatal, but if they were attacked in the same way, they couldn’t withstand it. In order for them to defeat me, they had to hit me with a strong attack that I couldn’t stop.

[Oh-ohhhhh!]

[Kiiii!]

{No, not enough!]

The monsters seemed to have reached that same conclusion, focusing their attacks on the knight instead of me. The monsters further away from us continued to merge together, growing stronger. I still stopped to let off more Madness Noise when I could, calling more and more monsters to gather here. Some of the ones arriving looked like they might have fused more than five times, even.

“Crazy! You’re too crazy to be a Rookie!”

“Well, kind of.” I partially agreed with her, once again blocking her attempts to communicate. She jumped over the monsters towards me, soaring through the air.

“Shit!” I sensed the attack, instinctively raising my sword up to block it. My flames and black lighting spewed out, slamming against her ice magic. Her ice was somehow stronger than my flame magic that had reached the highest level, blowing past it. I quickly readjusted the trajectory of my blade, blocking the ice.

“Freeze!”

Had I been a second later, no doubt my sword arm would have been frozen completed through. But I wasn’t safe yet; blocking the ice caused me to lose my center and gravity. I jumped with Ubiquitous before I collided with the ground, landing safely in the midst of the monsters. The monsters around me soared into the air, and I couldn’t help but think of how fun this was turning out to be.

[Kiii!][That elf is strong!]

[That woman… I remember them!]

The monsters around me continued to focus on her, eager to devour this strong elf’s soul and take over their flesh. It was a spectacular sight to behold.

“Huh…!” She activated her defensive magic against the monsters, a huge tornado of freezing air forming from the mana that now overflowed from her body. Most of the monsters around her were caught up in it, fusing in mid-air as her mana attacked them. The monsters won out, however, changing and evolving before they could be ripped apart. This had been exactly what I wanted to see; the evolution brought about as the Wind of Eutinus compelled these monsters to fuse endlessly. I could kill them. I wanted to devour them.

The elf attempted her magic again, exhibiting astonishing control of her mana as she combined her communication magic with her attack and defense magic. It had been hard enough for me to block just the communication magic that she had been skillfully triggering in-between attacks, but this was absurd. Yet, this impressive display would prove to be fatal. She was distracted by her intense focus on managing so many magics at once, unable to stop me as I rushed forward.

“This is the power of those who are named Rookie! Allow me to show you!”

“Try it!” I used Ubiquitous to close the distance between us, surrounding my body in a shield of Jinma’s mana to block her sword thrust. The giant monster that had just finished fusion above us began to fall to the ground.

“I am a proud Elakatra knight! I will never kneel to the likes of you!”

[Ahhhhh!]

The monster landed behind her, reaching over and biting through her neck with its massive jaws as I distracted her. The mana flowing from her immediately shut off.

[Kohohohoho!]

The monster raised its head and let out a triumphant roar, the other monsters in the battlefield flocking toward it as if they were cheering. The body of the elf who had lost her head collapsed to the ground, gently consumed by my black smoke.

Only

[Only one elf is left!]

[Wonderful!]

[Devour him too!]

[There’s strange energy coming from him.]

[Can I eat it?]

I double-checked the time I had left until I would leave the Rookie’s Battlefield, satisfied with what I found.

“I will enjoy this meal.”