Ch. 141..150

Chapter 141

Life Scarab

Shang jumped onto the first tree in the northwestern forest as always. Running on the ground was dangerous.

As Shang jumped from tree to tree, he noticed that he felt uncomfortable.

Why?

Because Shang was usually hunting at night, and at night, he could somewhat feel his surroundings thanks to his Darkness Affinity.

However, during the day, Light and Darkness Mana were mixed inside the forest. After all, even during the day, a thick forest was not very bright.

There was not enough Light Mana nor Darkness Mana to scout the surroundings.

Shang hadn't noticed until now how much he had relied on his Darkness Vision.

Nevertheless, Shang didn't intend to cancel his mission. He wanted to get the Fire ore as soon as possible.

In his mind, he had already wasted two weeks by not being able to practice his techniques due to his weak weapon. Every additional day felt like another wasted day.

Since Shang was now alone without any distractions, he saw the bloodied face return again.

It didn't appear in the surroundings like some specter, but the image that had been burned into Shang's mind simply replaced his vision time and time again for a short instant.

Shang pushed the image away again and again, telling himself that he was under control.

Sadly, it always came back.

'I didn't make a mistake.'

'Empathy is weakness in this world.'

'I can't be light on my enemies.'

Absentmindedly, Shang inspected his surroundings.

When he saw a Pest Cat, he killed it, but since it was during the day, he couldn't find many of them. He found most of them by following traces and entering their nests.

After an hour, Shang had already killed 20 Pest Cats. One of their nests had had young in them, which had given him another twelve.

'I should have hunted during the night. It's difficult to find Pest Cats during the day. Why did I decide to hunt in the middle of the day?'

And then, Shang suddenly stopped in shock.

'I'm not here to hunt Pest Cats!' Shang thought.

Shang grabbed the side of his head with his right hand. 'What the hell is wrong with me?! I'm here to break Javelin beaks! Why am I suddenly focusing on Pest Cats?!'

Shang gritted his teeth as he looked at his beast sack. 'That's one hour wasted.'

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Shang became frustrated and angry at himself. What the hell was he doing?! Why was he suddenly hunting Pest Cats?!

'Javelin beaks!' he shouted at himself in his mind.

Shang continued reminding himself that he came for Javelin beaks as he jumped from branch to branch, continually shoving the image of the bloodied face into the back of his mind.

For the next couple of minutes, Shang inspected every beast he could find. Many of them were unknown to Shang, but he also saw some familiar ones. He didn't know their names, but he had seen them before.

CRK!

As Shang was jumping from one tree to the next, he suddenly heard the sound of wood violently creaking. Shang's eyes widened as he looked toward the tree he was jumping to.

Its branches were shooting at Shang aggressively, their tips incredibly sharp. It was like Shang was being attacked by several spears!

Shang was in the middle of the jump, and the branches would impale him shortly.

BANG!

Shang released a Fire Blast towards the top, shooting him downwards.

BANG!

Shang hit the ground hard, but his body was powerful enough to resist such an impact.

Shang could see the branches stab through the spot where he had just been.

And then, Shang's eyes narrowed.

He looked towards the tree in front of him.

It was an abomination of a tree. It was twisted like a rope, and several dead branches were hanging out from the spiral. A couple of other branches have transformed into spears, mouths, claws, teeth, and different things.

This tree was a perfect example of the words chaos and rampant mutation.

BANG!

Shang unleashed an Ice Blast towards his back, shooting him towards the tree.

The tree couldn't even react before Shang arrived directly in front of it.

Shang put his nearly destroyed arm on the tree's trunk and used his Darkness Absorb.

CRK! CRK!

The tree began to shrink rapidly as several branches fell off. It was like the tree had aged by thousands of years in an instant.

Shang's left arm became filled with life energy, but the additional life energy quickly healed his arm, making everything return to normal.

At that point, Shang heard the silent but quick fluttering of insect wings.

BANG!

Shang used his Fire Blast again to charge towards the noise, and in an instant, he caught up, catching the source.

Shang looked at the thing in his right hand.

It was a white bug, its legs violently moving around as its mandibles opened and closed several times.

However, none of its weapons could touch Shang's hand since he had perfectly caught it at its abdomen.

'So, that's a Life Scarab, huh?' Shang thought as he looked at it.

Shang looked around the area and noticed several corpses lying on the ground. A couple of them were stacked around the tree itself, but many others were simply lying around the area.

Shang could see cats, wolves, bears, and even two Pest Cats in the pile.

The tree had obviously killed a lot of living beings.

Shang looked back at the Life Scarab in his hand and took out his sword. After quickly bisecting the Life Scarab's head, he put it into his beast sack.

'200 Contribution Points. Cool,' Shang thought.

Shang's eyes wandered towards the dead tree.

For a while, he only looked at its twisted and bizarre form.

Then, Shang gritted his teeth again.

'How did I not see that?' he asked himself.

'I should have noticed this tree long ago! It looks completely different from any other tree. I should have known that something wasn't right with it!'

For a moment, Shang paused.

'Was teacher Mervin right? Is my concentration waning because I haven't slept in so long? Do I actually have a headache?' he asked himself as he touched his head.

As he moved his head from side to side, he noticed that he felt like his brain was rolling around inside his skull. It was like he felt the inertia of his brain whenever he moved.

'A headache, huh? How long have I had that? When did it start?'

'I genuinely have no idea. If I hadn't specifically searched for it, I wouldn't even have noticed.'

Shang silently thought to himself for several seconds.

'I need to sleep,' he thought. 'As soon as I return, I should go to sleep. I'm obviously not at the peak of my abilities. My concentration is waning, and that can prove deadly in this forest.'

The image of the two pieces of Fire ore shot through Shang's mind.

'But I'm so close. Only this hunt. I only need to complete this one hunt, and I can take a break.'

'Just three Javelin beaks. That's all I need. After that, I can go to the academy and sleep.'

And then, Shang jumped back to the branches as he continued deeper into the forest.

The bloodied face returned again and again, but Shang kept shoving it away.

Yet, its appearance also made him nervous.

It was like it was watching him.

Chapter 142 Spire Mire

Shang was currently on top of a tree as he looked at the bottom of another tree with concentration.

He was waiting.

From time to time, Shang could hear flesh being separated from below the tree.

Some minutes passed.

Eventually, a green rod poked out of the bottom of the tree slowly.

It extended more and more until a bird head could be seen. The beast looked around carefully before slowly walking out from the hole beneath the tree.

It slowly slithered around the tree like a lizard as it began to climb it. Shang could see the green feathers coming out of the beast's legs.

Then, the beast paused.

Shang's eyes widened as he jumped forward.

BANG!

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ A Fire Blast later, Shang arrived in front of the beast, his sword leaving a black gleam behind.

SHING!

Shang's sword cut off the Javelin's beak at the base and the tree along with it.

The Javelin let out a pained screech, which sounded like a panicked bird screaming.

BANG!

Shang released an Ice Blast to shoot back to the Javelin.

PACK!

Shang grabbed the Javelin by the neck as it continued screeching in panic. Its clawed feet were trying to injure Shang, but they couldn't reach him.

Shang took out the stamp and hit the Javelin's head with it.

BANG!

Shang kicked the Javelin away with all of his power.

The Javelin screeched in terror as it hit a tree. Luckily, the Javelin was at the Peak Soldier Stage, and a mere kick from Shang couldn't injure it in any significant way.

As the Javelin hit the ground, its feet quickly dug up the earth as it shot away in fear and panic.

Shang didn't chase.

After the Javelin fled, Shang grabbed the beak and put it into his beast sack. A second beak with an identical color could be seen as Shang put the first beak away.

'That's two,' Shang thought. 'This one was at the Peak Soldier Stage. If I didn't have my two Blasts, I would have had issues in getting close enough to destroy its beak. On top of that, it's faster than me without my abilities.'

Shang looked at his left arm. 'My left arm might not have much destructive power, but it is still an incredible help. It gives me a substantial advantage in terms of speed.'

'Anyway, I need one more. I've already been in here for over four hours, and it's afternoon. I can still hunt at the beginning of the evening, but at late evening, I should start returning to Warrior's Paradise.'

'I have about three more hours.'

Shang jumped back to a branch and continued traveling through the forest. By now, he had gone quite a bit towards the south.

During the last couple of hours, Shang had already seen two General Stage beasts. One of them had noticed him and had wanted to attack him, but after seeing Shang shoot away at incredible speeds, it didn't even start running. It immediately canceled the attack.

Hunting such weak prey was not worth the hassle.

The other beast Shang had seen hadn't even noticed him. It had simply walked past the tree he was on.

Shang had marked these two spots in his mind and avoided them.

However, he still needed to stay careful.

Sadly, it wasn't easy to stay careful. Shang's headache was making it hard for him to focus, and the bloodied face kept reappearing in Shang's mind.

Every time it came back, Shang felt pressure inside his chest. It was like a hole was slowly opening up inside him.

Without noticing it, Shang began to travel on autopilot.

PACK!

Suddenly, Shang's body jerked as his arm got grabbed by something.

"Whoa there, kiddo! Watch where you're goin!" someone said from behind him.

Shang's mind went into battle mode, but he quickly calmed down when he felt no threat coming from anywhere close to him. Additionally, the voice Shang had just heard didn't sound aggressive.

Shang was lightly thrown back, and he landed on the ground without any issues.

"What's going on?" Shang asked the man in front of him.

In front of Shang was a man with a big hat made of leather and black leather armor.

In a way, this person reminded Shang of a cowboy.

"I just saved your life. That's what's going on," the guy said with a bright smile.

"Saved my life?" Shang asked. "What? Saved from what? How did you find me? Who are you?"

"Quite some questions you got there, kiddo," the man said with a chuckle. "Name's Chuck McGuiness, hunter by trade."

'Really? His name's Chuck McGuiness?' Shang thought.

"Some thanks would be appreciated," the man said.

"Thanks? I don't even know what I should thank you for," Shang said.

"For saving your life, kiddo," the man said as he pointed at a small spire between a couple of trees.

Shang looked at the thing Chuck was pointing at. It was only a piece of rock jutting out of the earth. It was barely half-a-meter high.

"What's that?" Shang asked.

Chuck looked surprised. "You don't know what that is? Boy, why are you walkin' around such dangerous places without getting to know the locals?"

Shang's brows furrowed. "That's a beast?" Shang asked.

"Sure is, kiddo," Chuck said with a chuckle. "This here's a Stalker Lion, derivative from ant lion, but we folks call it a Spire Mire."

"A Spire Mire? You folks?" Shang asked.

"Yep, the folks back in the Volcano Wyrm Zone. I'm not from here," Chuck said. "Anyway, you see that stone thing? That's a Spire Mire. Nasty things they are. They burrow into the ground, and if they feel something heavy touch the ground above them, five long mandibles close around you."

"The spire is the Spire Mire's tongue. Imagine it like this. The spire in the middle represents the middle of a flower, and if you touch it, the flower closes immediately."

Shang looked over at the spire.

This was the beast's tongue?

Shang wasn't sure if he would have actually triggered the beast's attack. After all, he was jumping from tree to tree. Sure, the tree was very close to the spire, but he would still be on a tree.

However, one thing was for certain. Shang would have been in danger.

"Anyway, I'm glad you found it," Chuck said as he eyed the spire. "That thing's the reason why I'm even here. Been searching for one of those for a while."

Chuck laughed. "Who woulda guessed that following some painful screech would bring me to my target."

Painful screech?

Shang remembered the screech the Javelin had let out after he had severed its beak.

So that was how Chuck had found him.

"Thanks," Shang said.

"No prob. You repaid me by bringing me to my target," Chuck said. "See that spire? It's filled with all kinds of valuable ore. That's how the Spire Mire attracts its prey."

"And, well, I'm after that ore. I can't hunt one solo, but I sure can harvest its ore on my own."

"Kiddo, I would suggest going someplace else. Spire Mires get real nasty when their ore gets stolen."

Shang nodded. "Chuck, have you seen any Javelins?"

"So that's why you're here," Chuck said with a chuckle. "Sure did. Found one on my way here. It was a bit to the north from where you found the earlier one."

"Thanks, Chuck," Shang said, "and thank you again for warning me about the Spire Mire."

"It's fine. Now go. You don't want an angry Spire Mire on your ass," Chuck said.

Shang nodded and left in the direction Chuck indicated.

Chuck only looked with a smirk at the small spire.

BOOOM!

Some seconds later, Shang heard the distant sound of explosions.

It sounded like a huge beast was rampaging through the forest.

'That was my first time seeing another hunter in the wild.'

 

Chapter 143 Scammed

Shang left the northwestern forest with his three Javelin beaks. Sure enough, Chuck's hint had led Shang to a Javelin with a greenish-blue beak.

In comparison to the first two Javelins, the beak of the third one had taken Shang two hits to break. Obviously, the greenish-blue beaks were way harder than the green beaks.

But that also meant that Shang had essentially created an empowered Javelin. In a couple of weeks, it would join the Wasteland and help keep the Wasteland in check.

As a Soldier Stage warrior, Shang was helping the General Stage hunters. Sure enough, even the weak people could contribute a lot to society.

By now, it was late evening, and night would soon arrive. The sun was already starting to dip below the horizon.

After Shang left the forest, he charged back towards Warrior's Paradise.

At the moment, Shang's headache was forgotten, and the bloodied face had also not appeared as frequently anymore.

Why was that?

Because Shang was excited.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ He was finally done!

He had finally earned enough money to upgrade his sword!

After some time, Shang arrived at the city a couple of minutes before the main gate closed.

Night had already arrived. Luckily, the Hunting Guild was always open.

Shang immediately entered the Hunting Guild and saw an open counter with a young man sitting behind it. In comparison to the receptionist Shang had met during noon, this one seemed to only laze around.

He seemed quite bored.

Shang walked over to the counter and put his beast sack on the counter.

"Emblem first," the receptionist said with a bored tone.

Shang put his emblem on the table, and after a quick burst of light, the man gestured to the beast sack. "There should be three in there."

For an instant, Shang was surprised that the receptionist knew how many beaks he had in the beast sack, but a second later, Shang remembered the stamp he had put on every Javelin.

The receptionist had probably just checked that data.

Shang opened his beast sack and pulled out the three beaks.

The receptionist looked at them for a bit and nodded. "Well cut," he said. "Quality is good enough. Well done."

"Thanks," Shang answered.

The three beaks vanished, and four sacks of gold appeared on the table, one big one, two medium ones, and one small one.

"500 plus 100 plus 100 plus 50 gold. There you go," the receptionist said.

Shang nodded. "Thanks."

However, before Shang left the Hunting Guild, he stopped.

"By the way, I found a Spire Mire hunting in the southern part of the northwestern forest. Not sure if you need to know that," Shang said.

"What?" the receptionist asked with furrowed brows. "Spire Mire? What's that?"

Shang remembered that the official name was different. Chuck McGuiness had said that only his people called them Spire Mires. "Stalker Lion," Shang said.

Surprisingly, the receptionist only continued looking at Shang with bored confusion. "And that's supposed to be what?"

Now Shang was the surprised one. "A General Stage beast. It's rather big and hunts by creating a spire of valuable ore. When a beast approaches the spire, it closes its mouth."

"Yeah, we don't have such a beast," the receptionist said.

Shang was taken aback. "What do you mean you don't? I saw one."

"Did you? What did you see?" the receptionist asked.

"Well, I saw a spire made of ore jutting out of the earth. It was about half a meter high."

"That sounds more like an Ore Toe to me," the receptionist said.

"Ore Toe?" Shang asked.

"Yeah. Beasts give off a lot of Elemental Mana, and over a long period of time, Elemental Mana gathers in the ground and forms valuable ore. If the Mana condenses by too much, the ore explodes out of the ground in the form of a small spire. We call them Ore Toes," the receptionist explained.

"Based on what you said, I estimate that it most likely was Peak Soldier Grade ore and about 20 units of it. That should be about 500 gold for you."

"So, where did this Spire Mire thing come from?"

Shang's face looked like he had just swallowed a fly.

"A hunter named Chuck McGuiness told me that this thing was a Spire Mire," Shang said slowly.

Then, the receptionist began to laugh. "Oh, good old Chuck."

Shang didn't laugh with the receptionist.

He had just lost 500 gold.

Several seconds passed in which Shang only looked at the laughing receptionist.

"Oh, Chuck," the receptionist said after being done with laughing. "Come on, it's funny."

"How is it funny?" Shang asked with annoyance.

"He convinced you that there was a beast called Spire Mire. Like, what even is that name? Who calls a beast that? It sounds like the worst made-up name possible. It's like there's a suspicious branch, and I tell you that it's a dangerous beast called Branch Kranch."

"Also, a General Stage beast hunting in the Wild Forest?" the receptionist said as he began laughing again. "Why would a General Stage beast even hunt there? They only go there to give birth to their young. Why would it go through the trouble to wait for prey in the Wild Forest? Soldier Stage beasts are, at best, a snack for it. They don't even contribute to it becoming more powerful."

"Additionally, have you actually seen Chuck? Does he look like someone that you should believe? He's about the shadiest hunter we have."

As the receptionist began to laugh again, Shang grabbed his sacks of gold and left the Hunting Guild.

Shang slowly walked along the emptying streets with a deep frown on his face.

'A fucking Spire Mire.'

'How the fuck did I fall for that?'

'A General Stage beast hunting in the Wild Forest?'

'500 fucking gold!'

'That asshole scammed me out of 500 gold!'

'I should have known! I sensed no danger, and there have been several red flags.'

'How the fuck did I not notice any of these signs?!'

And just like that, Shang's good mood was gone again.

He had returned to Warrior's Paradise in a great mood, but now, he felt frustrated and embarrassed.

Shang jumped over the closed gate of the academy. Teacher Loran, who was guarding the academy during the night, didn't even say anything to Shang.

Shang walked to the main building and entered his room. No one had stopped him on his way to his room. There had been a couple of students walking around, but they got out of Shang's way.

Shang put his sacks of gold to the side and sat down on his bed.

Silence.

For a long while, Shang only silently sat on his bed without saying anything.

A lot of things were going through his head.

He wanted to upgrade his sword, but the merchants would only be back at noon the next day.

There were also no lessons during the night.

And lastly, Shang thought about the many mistakes he had made today.

He hadn't noticed the Life Scarab, even though he should have seen it coming.

Shang had been mindlessly hunting for Pest Cats for an entire hour.

Shang fell for a scam.

'None of these things should have happened.'

'I'm usually much more observant of my surroundings, but today was horrible.'

Shang's headache worsened.

Then, Shang looked at his bed.

'Should I sleep?'

The more Shang pondered the question, the more nervous he got.

He didn't want to sleep.

 

Chapter 144 The Night

Shang only looked at his bed for several seconds.

By now, Shang could feel tiredness envelop his mind. His eyelids were becoming heavy, and he felt his mind become distracted by random thoughts.

The bloodied face returned again.

But this time, Shang didn't push it away.

It felt too troublesome.

When was the last time he had slept?

Shang had no idea, but he guessed that it had been some time during his journey to Warrior's Paradise.

As someone from Earth, Shang was used to sleeping every single day.

Because of that, the last two or three weeks felt like one single long day to Shang.

During the morning, he had arrived in Warrior's Paradise.

During noon, he had trained in the techniques in the booklet.

During the afternoon, he had met his class, and he had gone hunting.

During the evening, Shang had nearly killed three kids.

And during the night, he had gone out to one more hunt.

And now, he was here.

It was one incredibly long day.

So many things had happened.

Shang had unlocked three new parts of his Affinity.

Shang had earned the money to upgrade his weapon.

Shang had killed his first General Stage beast.

Shang had learned a lot about Mages and the Caterpillar Class.

It was so much, and it had all happened over the span of two or three weeks.

Yet, during this moment, Shang felt like everything had happened today.

It felt weird.

Shang slowly pulled off his dirty uniform. He had received several sets of uniforms, but he had only worn two of them.

As Shang's mind slowly went towards the thought of sleeping, out of habit, he started walking over to the bucket.

Then, he held it above his head and tilted it.

Water quickly came out of the bucket, washing all over his body.

When was the last time Shang had showered?

Some time this week? Last week?

The silent and dark room seemingly reflected Shang's emotions.

It felt empty.

It felt like he had hit a low point in his life.

The bloodied face kept watching him.

Shang didn't bother with it.

If it wanted to watch, it could.

He just didn't care anymore.

It was unimportant.

It was pointless.

After Shang was done showering, he sat down on his bed.

He felt an indent in the spot he had just sat down in.

Shang knew that this indent had appeared when he had remained on that exact same spot for several days after the event.

Shang only looked towards the ground in the dark.

Silence.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking about.

He wasn't sure what he was feeling.

Why was he even here?

What was the point of becoming more powerful if such a minor incident as the run-in with the students caused him such turmoil?

Was he really so weak that he couldn't even get over something like this?

Silence.

After some minutes, Shang slowly slumped over until he lay on his bed for the first time.

It felt alien and strange to him.

As Shang silently lay on his bed, he felt like something was pressing down on him.

It felt very similar to the time he had run from that one General Stage spider.

It was like everything around him could kill him.

Shang knew that there was nothing inside his room, but he still felt like he wasn't safe.

He had remained in the wilderness for so long that it became impossible to completely relax.

In the wilderness, any kind of beast could suddenly assault him. Because of that, he had to remain vigilant.

But here, he was perfectly safe.

Yet, Shang didn't feel safe.

Shang's mind was taut with stress, and it became impossible to just let go.

As Shang continued lying on his bed, one scene after the other repeated.

He remembered how he had arrived.

He remembered his exam.

He remembered his run-in with Stars Gerbon.

He remembered the Caterpillar Class.

He remembered Astor.

He remembered Sarah.

He remembered his first hunt in the Wild Forest.

He remembered meeting the Storm Eagle young.

He remembered killing the General Stage Vanishing Snake.

He remembered how he had survived the sudden attack of another Vanishing Snake just due to sheer luck and his uniform.

He remembered his run-in with the other students.

His run-in with the other students…

The students…

As Shang's mind replayed that scene, he felt like he had fallen into a nightmare.

They were just kids.

Sure, they wanted to steal from him, but they were just kids.

Beating them up would have been enough.

He hadn't needed to go that far.

Shang could still come to terms with the first two students. After all, his interaction with them had ended very quickly.

But that third student.

The image of the bloodied face.

Where the face should be was only a pool of blood.

Chunks of severed flesh were seemingly swimming around inside it.

Bubbles kept popping up as it tried to breathe.

"I'm sorry."

"Help."

"Mommy."

These words echoed throughout Shang's mind.

The student had been in deep terror, and he had even shouted for his mother.

As the scene replayed in full, Shang felt a pit appear in his stomach.

He felt horrible.

He felt guilty.

However, the worst part was that Shang didn't want to feel these emotions.

In this world, cruelty was necessary.

Empathy and kindness were akin to weakness.

If he wanted to survive and become powerful in this world, he would need to kill off his empathy and kindness.

He had to get rid of it.

Yet, his feelings didn't lie.

Shang felt horrible for what he had done.

This was the worst part about all of it.

'I'm weak.'

Silence.

'I'm weak.'

'I will have to do many worse things in the future, but I can't even deal with this one.'

Silence.

'How am I supposed to live in this cruel world if such an event impacts me to such a degree?'

'I have to get used to these kinds of things.'

Silence.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ 'But I can't.'

'I can't get used to these things.'

'Whenever I think back, I feel horrible.'

At that moment, Shang felt something touch him.

Surprisingly, he didn't get startled, and he only looked over.

It was his sword.

Somehow, it had arrived in his bed.

As the sword touched Shang, he only felt one concept coming from it.

"Want close."

Shang had put it to the side earlier and, apparently, it didn't want to be put to the side.

'My sword, huh?'

The sword left small cuts on the bed as it slowly moved towards him.

Shang only looked at it for a while.

Then, he took hold of it and placed it beside him.

The sword stopped sending feelings.

It was like it was a dead sword again.

Shang looked at the Darkness, Light, and Ice ore inside his room.

Then, he looked at the sacks of gold.

For a moment, not everything was horrible.

Tomorrow, he could upgrade his sword.

At that point, his sword should also become smarter.

Maybe it wasn't so bad after all.

But that feeling very quickly vanished as the dark, oppressive feeling returned.

The scene in the academy replayed again and again.

Shang felt himself hit the student's face again and again.

He felt horrible.

And he hated that he felt horrible.

He shouldn't feel horrible.

In his mind, he was weak.

He was weak for feeling empathy.

Chapter 145 A New Day

Shang slowly opened his eyes.

Everything was silent.

However, in comparison to last night, the silence wasn't oppressive.

It was just that, silence.

Shang's head wasn't hurting anymore.

His mind wasn't under pressure anymore.

While he had dreaded the silence during the last night, he enjoyed it now.

It was just calm.

For a while, Shang only lay on his bed, looking at the ceiling. He could see some orange light coming from the two slits in the wall. It was either morning or evening.

Shang didn't stand up immediately.

He only remained lying on his bed, enjoying the calm and silence.

Last night went through his memory again, and he remembered how he had felt.

'Last night was difficult.'

'But everything actually isn't as bad as it seems.'

'I'm making quick progress with my power, and I reached a major milestone just recently. I can upgrade my sword now.'

Shang looked at the sword lying beside him and remembered that the sword had wanted to be close to him.

Shang touched it lightly, but it didn't react.

'It's still difficult to believe that there are such things as living weapons. Guess I'm still too used to Earth.'

Shang looked at the ceiling again.

'I'm still on edge when thinking about that day,' Shang thought with furrowed brows. 'However, things aren't as bad. I don't need to achieve cold-heartedness in an instant. I still have a long way to go.'

'Yes, that event has taken a lot out of me, but I'm sure that I can recover. I'm also sure that I can get used to it.'

'After all, many teachers probably went through something similar, and they still managed to reach the Commander Stage. Sure, in the grand scheme of things, that isn't very powerful, but they also live in a weak world.'

'I know that there are at least eight Realms in this world, and I only know of five, but this area is still a small microcosm of power. In this microcosm, the teachers are already pretty powerful.'

'So, if they managed to get through something like this, I can too.'

'I only need time and effort, and I have a lot of both.'

The same issues that had plagued Shang's mind yesterday now only looked like minor problems.

Why?

Because he had slept.

That was it.

If a situation felt inescapable and oppressive, a good night's sleep could work wonders.

How often has it happened that a couple had a gigantic falling out that felt like the end of the world, but as soon as they had both slept, it just didn't seem to be such a big deal anymore?

People often forgot what sleep could do for someone's mind.

For a while, Shang only lay on the bed.

He enjoyed the silence of his own mind.

Yesterday, his mind had thrown one thing after the other at him. It was like it had been overloaded with everything that had happened.

Now, it was like his mind had processed everything.

Shang continued thinking about his life for about an hour until he felt bored.

He wanted to do something.

Shang stood up from his bed and looked at the light coming from the two slits.

It was yellowish-white.

'Dawn it was,' Shang thought.

'I don't think that I've only slept for like eight hours. My mind was too full. I guess I probably slept for a bit more than an entire day.'

Shang glanced over at his beast sack.

'Which means that the Pest Cat ears and the Life Scarab are still good to trade in.'

Shang touched his chin and felt the growing hair.

'I should shave.'

Shang grabbed the skinning knife he bought when he had just arrived and shaved.

This time, there was no blood.

At the moment, Shang felt great.

He could finally train against other students appropriately.

However, Shang also wasn't blind to his future.

He knew that the longer he stayed, the worse it would get.

In one to two weeks, his mind would probably become taut again, and the situation would feel oppressive again.

He definitely didn't look forward to the next time he went to sleep.

During the day, most people felt like everything was normal and good, but as soon as night hit, their hidden injuries would surface again.

During the day, everything was okay, but during the night, the demons would return.

However, as long as someone worked on their problems, every following night would become easier and easier with only a few exceptions.

Shang definitely wasn't over the hill yet, but for now, he felt great.

After shaving, Shang left his room with his gold and his beast sack.

When he left the main building, he saw many students attending their lessons.

'I have only attended three lessons up to now, and I've been here for over two weeks. I think I'm somewhat of a peculiarity.'

Shang walked to the marketplace in the south of the academy, all the students making space for him.

Shang's actions might have been very extreme, but they had served their purpose. No one was trying to grab the obvious sacks of gold.

After just a couple of minutes of relaxed walking, Shang reached the Exchange Hall.

He put the beast sack onto the counter, and the clerk went through everything.

"460 Contribution Points," he said as he handed Shang's emblem back.

"Thanks," Shang said with a polite smile. Right now, it wasn't hard for him to smile.

'460 Contribution Points is barely anything. Sure enough, without hunting Vanishing Snakes, earning Contribution Points is a pain in the ass.'

"Oh, we got a package for you," the clerk suddenly said.

"A package?" Shang asked in confusion.

The Exchange Hall accepted packages? Also, who would even send him a package?

Shang couldn't imagine anyone that would send him a package.

"Here you go," the clerk said as he put a big sack of gold on the counter. "A note is supposed to be inside."

Shang looked with shock at the sack of gold.

That had to be a couple hundred gold.

Who would send him that much gold?

"Thanks," Shang said with a confused expression. He pulled the sack to the side and opened it.

Sure enough, there was a note inside.

"Here's your share. Don't take the joke to heart. Signed, Chuck McGuiness," Shang read.

For a while, Shang only looked with surprise at the note.

Then, he smiled brightly.

As he thought back to his run-in with Chuck, Shang had the urge to laugh.

Spire Mire.

That really was a stupid name.

Now, Shang actually found it funny that he fell for something like that.

Shang grabbed a couple of his other sacks of gold to compare their weight.

Based on the weight, Shang guessed that there was probably around 350 gold inside the sack of gold Chuck sent him.

'That should be about half of the worth of the ore,' Shang thought. 'I mean, the ore wasn't specifically mine. We both found it at the same time. So, 50% seems appropriate.'

'Seems like Chuck actually isn't such a bad guy, after all.'

Chuck could have kept all the gold without any issues. No one but Shang would have come for him, and Shang definitely wasn't a danger.

Yet, he still gave Shang his share.

Feeling a lot better, Shang grabbed his sacks of gold and left the Exchange Hall.

The first merchants had already arrived, and the one Shang was searching for was also here.

When the merchant saw Shang and his sacks of gold, he smiled widely.

"That was quite fast. So, you still interested in the two pieces of ore?" he asked.

Shang approached the merchant and nodded. "Yep. 900 gold, right?"

The merchant nodded.

Shang put Chuck's sack of gold down and added the sack with 500 gold coins.

"Not sure how much is in the first. Can you check?" Shang asked.

The merchant lifted the first sack of gold and weighed it in his hands.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "Between 320 and 330. Let's just say 330. So, I need 70 more," he said.

Shang dug out 70 pieces of gold from one of the other sacks and handed them over.

"Happy doing business with you," the merchant said with a bright smile as he handed over the two pieces of ore.

"Likewise," Shang said.

The two of them said their goodbyes, and Shang went back to his room.

Shang put his remaining 400 gold to the side and looked at the Fire ore in his hand.

Then, he looked at the other pieces of ore scattered around his room.

"Finally!"

 

Chapter 146 Upgrading The Sword

Shang grabbed the other pieces of ore inside his room and gathered them in the middle.

As all the pieces of ore gathered, Shang felt his sword vibrate with glee.

It wanted to eat these pieces right away.

"Wait just one second. You can start soon," Shang said.

The sword didn't understand Shang and only transmitted hunger to him.

Shang took the two pieces of Darkness ore out of their sacks first and placed them beside each other.

Then, he took out the two pieces of Ice ore and placed them beside the Darkness ore in a line.

If he put the Darkness ore directly beside the Light ore, the two would damage each other. The same was true for the Fire and Ice ore.

Next, Shang took the Light ore and placed it a bit further away from the Ice ore, leaving a gap.

Lastly, Shang put the Fire ore beside the Light ore.

Two short lines.

One was Darkness and Ice.

One was Light and Fire.

Then, Shang took his sword into his hands with a smirk.

"Have fun," Shang said.

And he placed his sword on top of the ore.

The sword touched all eight pieces at the same time.

Shang could visibly see how the ore was vanishing. It wasn't nearly as fast as when the sword had absorbed the metal around the General Stage Vanishing Snake's tail, but it was still quite fast.

However, that was understandable. After all, back then, the sword had only absorbed pure Metal Mana, while this time, it was absorbing actual ore.

One could liken it to someone eating a big stone and actual food.

While the big stone remained in someone's stomach, they would weigh more. However, the stone would sooner or later leave their body. After that, the person would be just as heavy as before they had eaten the stone.

But if someone ate a lot of food with the same weight, they would definitely gain weight in the long term.

However, the transformation from food into sugars and fat would take work and time.

That was why the sword was taking longer this time. After all, it was absorbing the ore and fusing with it permanently.

It took a couple of minutes, but eventually, the sword was done.

Surprisingly, the sword had consumed all the ore. Since the sword was only around seven units of ore big, Shang had assumed that it would leave some ore, but it didn't.

It seemed like it had been rather greedy.

When the sword realized that all the ore was gone, it returned to Shang.

It moved quite a bit faster compared to before.

Before its upgrade, the sword had moved as fast as an ant.

Now, it was moving at the speeds of a small lizard.

If Shang walked very slowly, the sword could theoretically keep up with him.

When the sword reached Shang, it stood up, surprising him.

Then, it seemingly jumped, which looked weird. After all, it didn't curve at all.

Sadly, the sword didn't manage to reach Shang's back and fell down.

Shang only chuckled a bit. For some reason, he found the sword cute.

Shang took hold of the sword.

As soon as he touched it, he felt its feelings.

It was satisfied and thankful.

'Sure enough, the feelings have become more pronounced. It's actually able to feel thankful now. It's no longer just a wandering mass of instincts.'

"Try."

It wasn't a real word, but it also wasn't just a feeling.

It seemed like the sword had been able to imitate a word in Shang's mind.

Shang nodded in appreciation.

"Will do," he said.

"Fire Mana," the sword said in Shang's mind.

Shang put his hand on the sword and released a Fire Blast.

Nothing happened.

And that was good.

Usually, a small explosion of Fire Mana would appear, which would push Shang into the distance.

But this time, it was like Shang had done nothing.

Yet, his arm was nearly freezing.

"Strike," the sword said.

Shang followed the sword's instructions and did an overhead strike.

WRRRR!

As Shang's strike started, the lower edge of the sword began to become orange with heat.

The sword had gathered all the scattered Fire Mana from Shang's left arm and had focused it on the very tip of its edge. That essentially transformed an undamaging gust of hot air into a searing line.

The air around the sword had warped with searing heat during the strike.

On top of that, Shang noticed that the sword had cooled down at terrifying speeds. Just now, it had been incredibly hot, but as soon as Shang finished his strike, it had returned to room temperature.

There wasn't any remaining heat.

"Once," the sword said to Shang in his mind.

"One load of Fire Mana is enough for one strike?" Shang asked.

"Yes," the sword answered.

Shang wasn't surprised that the sword could already somewhat talk and understand him. After all, it had gotten an inheritance from the dean's spear. That probably included language.

"Ice Mana," the sword said.

"Wait a second," Shang answered. "I can't use my abilities without waiting for a bit. I don't want to injure my left arm right now."

"Wait, ok," the sword answered.

Shang moved his arm around for a bit until it returned to somewhat of a normal temperature.

Then, he used an Ice Blast on the sword again. Just like before, seemingly nothing happened.

"Strike," the sword said.

Shang released a strike.

This time, white mist followed his swing as the water in the air froze.

"Once," the sword said. "Dangerous to weapons."

"That ability is dangerous to other weapons?" Shang asked.

"Yes. Harder. Other weapons weaker," it said.

"You become harder, and any weapon that hits you becomes weaker?" Shang asked.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ "Yes," the sword answered.

"Ice, target, hard."

"Fire, target, soft."

Shang nodded. "I get it. Thanks."

"Darkness Mana."

"Well, I'm not sure if I can release Darkness Mana," Shang said.

"Try," the sword said.

Shang looked at his sword with furrowed brows.

Then, he put his arm on his sword and used Darkness Absorb.

Shang's eyes widened as his left arm suddenly shriveled up.

"Stop!" Shang shouted as he pulled his thin and old-looking arm away. "If you absorb too much, my arm gets destroyed."

"Sorry. Will remember," the sword answered.

Shang focused his Mana onto his left arm, and it began healing. A lack of life energy took a bit longer to regenerate than just a simple injury.

However, it would heal in a couple of minutes.

"Darkness, target, Mana," the sword said.

Shang furrowed his brows. "I don't get what you mean."

"Target, Mana. Target, fire, water, air, lightning. Target, enemy attack," it said.

"Wait, you mean Spells?" Shang asked.

"Right, Spells," the sword said.

"Wait, you're telling me that Darkness Mana can be used to destroy my enemy's spells?" Shang asked.

"Yes. Darkness, absorb. Darkness, weaken, Mana. Darkness, weaken, attack. Darkness, fire, colder. Darkness, earth, softer. Darkness, wind, weaker," the sword explained.

Shang's eyes widened in surprise.

"So, if I were to attack a fireball with Darkness Mana, it won't explode as soon as it hits you?" Shang asked.

"Yes," the sword said.

Shang was quite surprised.

The upgrade of his sword had improved his power by way more than he had expected.

He had gained three very useful and powerful attacks, and he didn't need to use his Affinity only for movement.

Now, he could strengthen his sword with them.

"What about Light?" Shang asked.

"Light, useless."

Shang blinked a couple of times.

"It's useless? There's no use for it?" he asked.

"Light, useless."

Shang frowned.

"Light, heal. Light, strengthen. Light, attack, enemy. Enemy, stronger. I, attack, Light, friend. Friend, weak, strong. Pointless."

Shang understood what the sword was saying.

If Shang attacked his enemy with Light, they would become stronger. If he wanted to use it on a friend, the sword would need to strike them first. That would essentially injure and heal them, making it useless.

"Light, useless," the sword repeated.

Shang could only sigh.

"Well, it might become useful in the future when I get my true Affinity."

"Missing, ore," the sword said.

"You want more ore?" Shang asked.

"Yes, no."

Shang only looked confused at the sword.

"Fire, present. Ice, present. Light, present. Darkness, present. Last, missing. Need, last," the sword said.

"You're saying that there is a last piece of ore that you're missing?"

"Yes."

Shang frowned.

"Do you know where to get it?"

Shang looked at his sword in anticipation.

"No."

"No, me, problem."

"You, problem."

Shang looked with shock at his sword.

Was it developing an attitude?

It was telling him that this was his problem?!

 

Chapter 147 Nobility

The training field was silent as the students of the Caterpillar Class noticed that Shang had returned.

Shang had appeared once in their class, but that had been over a week ago.

Back then, Shang had made quite an impression due to his Realm, but that was it.

His power hadn't been special.

However, a lot of things had happened since the last time they had seen each other.

For starters, Shang had nearly killed several students, changing the impression the Caterpillar Class had of him.

What did they think of Shang?

Hothead.

He couldn't keep himself under control, which was a sign of immaturity and weakness.

The fact that he had nearly killed someone didn't bother them too much. After all, nearly all of them had already killed several people.

What made them frown was the fact that Shang had lost control of himself. If the Water Mage hadn't interfered, Shang would have ruined his entire life.

No one thought about the other student's fate.

The weak died to the strong, and that was normal.

They were just disappointed that Shang couldn't keep himself under control.

But it actually wasn't so bad. After all, Shang was only fifteen years old or something like that. They all saw him as a kid, and such mistakes weren't as devastating as if an adult had committed them.

He still had a lot of time to grow up and learn to control himself.

However, that wasn't the reason why the training field was silent.

No, the reason was Shang's power.

For some reason, Shang felt far more powerful than when they had met him a week ago.

But how was that possible?

Only a single week had passed!

It wasn't like every other student was standing still. They also continually trained day and night.

Yet, for some reason, Shang's power had completely transformed.

None of them knew exactly how Shang's power had increased or what the reason for it was. They only knew that he had definitely become far more powerful.

What could have happened in only a single week to increase someone's power by that much?

What had Shang done to grow that much in such a short amount of time?

As Shang arrived in the training field, his eyes directly focused on two people.

Astor and Sarah.

Sarah glowered at him. She was probably angry that Shang hadn't trained with her after making a pact.

They had come to the agreement that Shang would train Sarah's ability in fighting beasts, and he would gain her knowledge in terms of ore.

Yet, they had only fought a single time.

After that, Shang had vanished.

Astor didn't look at Shang at first, but he started to look at him when he felt Shang looking at him.

At that moment, Astor felt Shang's transformation.

His interest was immediately piqued.

However, there was another person very interested in Shang.

"Your name is Shang, right?" a boy with green hair said.

Shang looked over with a cold expression.

It was Elver, the student that had constantly insulted Shang the last time he had come here.

"Yes. So?" Shang answered coldly.

He definitely didn't like Elver.

Yet, surprisingly, Elver only took a deep breath.

"Listen, Shang," he said with a calm tone. "I'm sorry for how I have treated you the last time."

Shang lifted an eyebrow. "What brought that change on?" he asked.

"You know, I thought you were some spoiled brat from some noble family," Elver said with a sigh. "I come from a farmer's family, and I had to reach this stage all on my own. I had no monetary help or any truly powerful teachers outside the academy."

"So, when I saw a fifteen-year-old with the body of a Peak Soldier Stage warrior, I became jealous," Elver said slowly. "I thought you were the chosen progeny of your family and that you have received only the most expensive resources ever since you were young. I thought that you have never gone through any hardships."

"I felt like you didn't deserve to be in the same class as me. I had to work so hard, but you managed to get here by no effort of your own."

"At least, that was what I had thought," Elver said.

"And what made you change your evaluation?" Shang asked with a less cold tone.

"When you had that run-in with the three students, I was there," Elver said. "Originally, I was looking forward to you getting beat up, but as you know, things didn't go that way."

"I saw your eyes back then. Your anger and self-hatred were practically broadcast across every watching student."

"I saw familiar emotions in your eyes. Seeing your actions reminded me of the first time I had to kill someone else. I also remember how I have acted the days following that event."

"That made me realize that you are actually not someone that managed to reach this stage with no effort of their own. I could feel the struggle inside you. At that point, I realized that you were someone like me, someone that had to struggle for everything on their own."

"So, Shang, I'm sorry for how I've treated you," Elver said.

Shang looked at Elver for a bit.

When Shang had seen the luxurious robes and the expensive and ornate weapons adorning Elver's body when they had first met, Shang had assumed that Elver was some arrogant progeny of a wealthy family.

But now, things were different.

It also explained Elver's reaction upon seeing Shang back then.

Elver was probably self-conscious about his background. It was no secret that the majority of students came from wealthy households. As one of the few students coming from a poor background, Elver probably felt a bit like an outsider.

That was probably why he had changed his outer appearance to reflect the image he wanted to portray.

Maybe he got lost in his own incorrect perception of his self?

"It's fine," Shang said with a sigh. "I think I also misjudged you. I also saw you as some pampered spawn from some royal family."

Elver only smiled bitterly. "I can guess why you thought that. I do give off that image."

Shang nodded.

"Aw, look at the two of them," a third voice said with ridicule from the side.

Shang looked over and saw Mattheo, the acknowledged second-strongest person in the Caterpillar Class.

"Look, Elver. You made a friend. Congratulations!" Mattheo said with a graceful clap.

Elver only snorted as he looked to the side.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Then, Mattheo looked at Shang. "I know that you were only speaking your mind, Shang, but I would ask you to avoid using offensive words such as spawn while referring to the noble families."

Shang thought about Mattheo's words for a second and nodded. "I think there was no reason for me to use such a word against an entire category of people."

Mattheo nodded with a smile. "Thank you. Also, please don't believe that people from a richer background don't have it tough. Yes, we do get a lot of help, but there is also an unimaginably heavy burden on our shoulders."

"Exceptionality demands exceptionality. After costing our families so many resources, we can't afford to only be good. It is expected of us to be outstanding. Being good enough means being the best in our families."

"So, please, don't try to downplay our hardships just because we had a lot of help. Nothing is free in this world, and if we can't repay the help we have received, we will have to pay, one way or another."

As Mattheo said these things, an oppressive silence went over the training field.

Many students were reminded of their own families and the things they expected.

It wasn't easy.

No one had it easy.

Chapter 148 Mattheo's Troubles

"What do you know?!" Elver shouted in frustration.

"You never had to starve!"

"You never had to go out and risk your life to kill a Pest Cat because it keeps threatening your family!"

"You never needed to fear that your entire family is gone after just a single excursion into the wild! Every time I went out to train in the wilderness, I feared that I would find my family dead upon my return!"

"So, don't speak about hardship!" Elver shouted with a venomous tone.

The entire atmosphere turned hostile.

Elver had essentially insulted every student present.

Mattheo only looked at Elver with a polite smile.

"Elver, when was the last time you slept?" he asked.

"What does that have to do with anything?" he asked with an aggressive tone.

"Just humor me," Mattheo answered.

"About three days ago," Elver answered unwillingly.

Mattheo sighed. "Ah, a good night's sleep. How I miss that."

"Do you know when I last had a good night's sleep?"

Silence.

"Seven years ago."

Elver's expression transformed into shock and then disbelief. "How would that even be possible? You couldn't survive without sleeping."

"Mind Magic," Mattheo said. "A Mage that focuses on Mind Magic can put a Magic Circle into your mind that deals with memories."

"The Magic Circle distinguishes important information from unimportant information and transports it from my short-term memory to my long-term memory while I am still awake."

"My body can only rest during meditation while my mind is always active."

"Of course, such an intrusive procedure has plenty of disadvantages."

"For example, I can't sleep, even if I want to. I can't remember things that the Magic Circle deems unimportant."

"Have you ever been interested in someone, and you wanted to build a connection with them?"

"What if you were to forget their existence after the conversation finishes because the Magic Circle doesn't deem that person as important?"

"Do you know how many people came up to me and spoke about our previous conversations, and I had no idea who they were?"

Silence.

"What do you think it feels like to not be able to choose your own friends and associates?"

"What do you think it feels like to work every single waking hour of your life?"

"You can focus on your studies in the Warrior's Academy."

"I have to focus on the Warrior's Academy and the Mage Academy."

"Additionally, I have to learn about etiquette, politics, history, and law."

"Father would never allow me to only pursue the path of a warrior, no matter how much I want to. I have to learn Magic and practice Magic primarily."

"I am only here because I am at the top of my class in the Mage Academy. If I only were second place, father would forbid me from coming here."

"My entire life is micromanaged to the finest of details."

"I last went out with friends three years ago."

"So, please, Elver, don't compare our different situations. They are incomparable," Mattheo said with a kind smile.

Elver gritted his teeth. "At least you have a family," he said with a venomous tone before walking away.

Shang was quite shocked after hearing Mattheo speak.

Mattheo had to do so much?

Also, what did he say?

Did he say that he was at the top of his class in the Mage Academy?

Shang remembered Mattheo's fight with Astor, and he remembered that Mattheo hadn't used any spells.

Yet, Mattheo obviously knew how to cast spells. After all, he was outstanding in the Mage Academy.

'So, Mattheo managed to become the second strongest in the Caterpillar Class without relying on his abilities as a Mage?'

Mattheo's entire image had changed in Shang's mind.

Earlier, Shang had seen Mattheo as only the second strongest in the Caterpillar Class.

Yet, Shang had never known that Mattheo had such an insane handicap.

Earlier, Shang had thought that Astor was a monster.

But no, Mattheo was a true monster!

"I hope you don't think lesser of me after my short outburst, Shang," Mattheo said with a smile.

Shang was taken out of his thoughts as he looked at Mattheo. "No, it's fine. It wasn't even a real outburst."

"Then, everything's fine," Mattheo said.

"Did your father really force such a cruel Magic Circle upon you?" Shang asked.

Mattheo looked back.

"Oh, sorry!" Shang said quickly. "That was a personal question. I was only curious."

Mattheo chuckled a bit.

"It's fine."

"In truth, I was the one that requested the Mind Mage," Mattheo said.

Shang looked with shock at Mattheo.

"Why?"

"Well, I always wanted to be a warrior," Mattheo said with a distant look in his eyes. "I always thought that they were very valiant. In comparison to Mages, warriors meet danger head-on. They throw their bodies at the enemies so that everyone else can live in safety."

"Of course, even though father owns the Warrior's Academy, he didn't want his own son to focus on the path. He said that it's too early."

"But I wanted to become a warrior, you know," Mattheo said with a smile. "So, I simply decided to do both. As long as my studies are progressing greatly in the Magic Academy, my father can't stop me from pursuing the path of a warrior as well."

Shang's mind had already frozen.

Mattheo's father had founded the Warrior's Academy?

"Alright! Everyone, be quiet! The lesson will start shortly!"

Everyone looked over as teacher Loran had just arrived.

Shang wanted to speak more with Mattheo, but that had to wait now.

"Astor, you and Mattheo, as always. Sarah-"

"I want to fight Astor," Shang suddenly said as he interrupted teacher Loran.

Teacher Loran looked at Shang. "What? You? You obviously…"

Teacher Loran was just about to rebuke Shang, but after a moment, he began to furrow his brows.

He was inspecting Shang very closely.

This was the main reason why Shang was here.

He wanted to have a rematch with Astor.

Yes, Elver and Mattheo had distracted him, but his rematch with Astor was why he was here, to begin with.

For a while, the training field was silent as teacher Loran looked at Shang.

"Alright. You get one match," teacher Loran said.

At the side, Astor looked at Shang with burning eyes.

He felt Shang's power.

It was like Shang had transformed into a different person from before.

Everyone else was a bit interested.

Normal people would think that the fight would just go down like before. After all, only a week had passed, and Astor had been far more powerful than Shang back then.

But these students were seasoned warriors. Even though they didn't want to believe it, they could feel Shang's power themselves.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ They knew that Shang had undergone a transformation.

Because of that, they became very interested in the fight.

Shang looked at Astor from a distance as he readied his sword.

Astor smirked as he took out his gigantic sword. "Show me how much you have grown in the last week," he shouted.

"I will," Shang said quietly.

This time, Shang wouldn't lose that quickly.

He had his new upgraded sword, and he would finally show his Ice Affinity in public.

This fight would not go like the last one.

Chapter 149 Rematch

Shang put everything about Mattheo to the back of his mind. He had several more questions to ask him, but his fight with Astor was far more important.

Shang had done a lot in the past week.

He had upgraded his weapon.

He had killed his first General Stage beast.

He had gotten very familiar with his new Affinities.

Now, it was his time to prove that he had become more powerful.

"Start!" teacher Loran announced.

BANG!

Shang exploded forward, the ground below him cracking.

The watching students' eyes shone.

Shang was faster than before!

His body obviously hadn't become more powerful, but his speed was definitely higher. That meant that Shang had gained far greater control over his body.

Astor readied his sword as he stepped backward with one leg. He was obviously readying a counterattack to Shang's offensive.

Shang pointed his left arm to the back.

BANG!

Shang unleashed an Ice Blast, which shot him forward at incredible speeds.

At this moment, Shang reached the speed of an Initial General Stage warrior.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Astor readied a shoulder check.

Yet, Astor's eyes widened when he saw Shang appear right in front of him in an instant.

Shang's sword swung.

CLINK!

Teacher Loran stopped the sword just before it hit Astor's head.

Silence.

Deafening silence.

Astor looked with shock at the sword in front of his eyes.

The students watched with slack jaws.

They knew that Shang had become more powerful, but they hadn't expected something like that!

It had only been a week!

"That's for our match before the last one," Shang said as he pulled his sword back.

"Back then, I took you lightly, and I lost without even being able to show my power."

"Now, things are reversed."

"We won't count this one. Let's go again," Shang said as he slowly walked back to his starting location.

By now, the students had calmed down, and their brows furrowed.

Earlier, they had been shocked since it was basically impossible for a Late Soldier Stage warrior to reach speeds equivalent to an Initial General Stage warrior.

But then they remembered that Shang was at the Peak Soldier Stage.

Several students could reach speeds above their level for a short time. Shang definitely wasn't the only one.

Mattheo could reach these speeds with his explosions.

Astor could reach these speeds by throwing himself forward with his sword.

Now, Shang had also unlocked this ability.

Not every student had the ability to increase their speed by a level, but a lot of them could. Of course, there were also students that could increase their power or their defense by a level.

In a way, nearly every student could upgrade something of themselves to the next level for a short moment.

However, one shouldn't take Shang's new power lightly.

These warriors had trained for a long time to unlock this ability.

The last time Shang had been here, he hadn't had this ability.

But in just a single week, he unlocked it.

This meant that Shang had closed a significant gap between him and the other students.

"Incredible," Astor said with an intense smirk. One could see burning battle intent in his eyes.

"Finally, there's another person in our class that can fight me properly. You didn't disappoint, Shang."

"I lost the last fight because I underestimated you. That is one of my shortcomings, and it won't happen a second time," Astor said.

Astor readied his sword. "Let's go again!"

Shang nodded as he readied himself.

"Mattheo and Sarah," teacher Loran said while Shang and Astor were focusing on each other.

He wouldn't stop the entire class just to watch Astor and Shang.

Sarah looked at Shang with narrowed eyes.

No one knew what she was thinking about.

BANG!

Shang charged forward again, but this time, he didn't use his Ice Blast.

Shang had unveiled his Ice Affinity earlier, but just as expected, nobody had cared. Ice was a normal Affinity, just like all the other ones. Sure, it was on the rarer side, but the academy had plenty of students with rare Affinities.

Just before Shang reached Astor, Astor swung his sword forward.

Astor's swing took Shang's potential, higher speed into account, and if Shang accelerated, he would run right into it.

However, Shang didn't accelerate.

The swing would miss.

Suddenly, water appeared below Astor's feet, and he got carried forward by a meter.

Shang's eyes widened.

The swing would hit him!

BANG!

Shang's sword blocked Astor's attack, but it wasn't easy. Shang's entire body shook, and he heard his sword creak. Luckily, Astor hadn't been able to put his entire power into the swing. Otherwise, it would have broken Shang's sword.

"Danger, I, break. Block, Ice," the sword said in Shang's mind.

It obviously wanted Shang to block with his Ice Affinity, but that was still a risk. After all, Shang could only release his Ice Blast once before he needed some time for his arm to heat up again.

In the wild, he could simply use a Fire Blast and then quickly heal his arm with his Mana, but he couldn't do that here.

He had decided to go public with his Ice Affinity, and if he suddenly showed a Fire Affinity, people would become very interested in him.

Because of that, Shang only had a single Ice Blast per fight unless the fight took a very long time.

Astor's body was one level below Shang's, but the sheer power behind the swing made it reach the power of a Peak Soldier Stage warrior, the same power as Shang.

However, Shang still managed to block the attack.

BANG!

Shang pushed the side of Astor's sword upward and out of his way with his left arm before he charged forward again.

Shang took a large step forward and slashed at Astor.

More water appeared beneath Astor as he slid back.

Shang extended his step and slashed towards Astor's new position.

However, at that moment, Astor's sword began to fall again.

Astor had put all his weight on top of his sword, pushing it down again.

Shang gritted his teeth.

He wouldn't be able to hit Astor's head. At most, he could hit Astor's chest.

However, the uniform would block Shang's attack. He had learned that the hard way in their last fight.

Blocking was also out of the question since his sword was already extended to slash at Astor.

Astor had managed to put Shang into a predicament yet again. Sure enough, he had far more experience in fighting against humans than him.

Shang pulled his sword back as he rotated to the side.

He had canceled his attack, but Astor would miss.

When Astor saw that, more water gathered beneath his feet as he slid away from Shang.

His sword continued to fall, but due to Astor's new position, it was now behind him.

Astor took a deep breath.

In that instant, time seemed to stand still.

Then, Astor's eyes shone with burning conviction.

"AAAH!"

Astor shouted with all of his power as his entire body trembled with power.

Shang felt like an incredible pressure had appeared around him.

It was like he was fighting the General Stage Vanishing Snake again.

This was the feeling of total suppression.

If that attack hit Shang or his weapon, it wouldn't matter what he would do.

This attack couldn't be blocked.

Even by someone with a more powerful body than Astor.

 

Chapter 150 The Result

Shang was stuck between three choices.

Charge at Astor with his Ice Blast.

Try to evade the strike and counter.

Try to evade with his Ice Blast.

All of them had different advantages and disadvantages.

In the end, Shang went with the second option.

Why?

Because he needed his Ice Blast to end the fight.

He couldn't reliably end the fight by charging in now.

If he evaded with his Ice Blast, he would be on the safe side, but he would lose his best shot at winning against Astor.

Astor's defense was incredible, and without a severe speed advantage, Shang couldn't break through it.

So, Shang ran into the distance.

Astor had already built up his momentum, and he would soon jump forward with his sword.

It was essentially the same situation as when Shang had first fought Astor.

But this time, Shang's instincts had been honed a lot more. On top of that, he had seen that attack before, and he knew of a good way to evade it.

By widening the distance between them, Astor's momentum would weaken on his way to Shang.

And then, Astor unleashed his strike.

BOOM!

The earth cracked beneath him as his body was thrown forward with his sword.

Shang saw Astor approach, and he was sure that Astor was even faster than back then.

Obviously, Astor hadn't unleashed his full power in their first fight.

Shang jumped to the side.

At that moment, water appeared beneath Astor's feet, and he slid to the side while keeping hold of his sword.

Astor had slid more to the side than Shang due to his higher momentum.

Shang could only jump to the ground to let the sword pass above him.

Astor's strike missed, and Shang quickly slashed at where Astor should be.

Yet, Astor had already passed by Shang.

More water appeared beneath him as his body rotated.

Then, the water vanished.

"AAAHH!" Astor shouted as he changed the trajectory of his sword while adding more power to it.

Shang's eyes widened.

He couldn't stop Astor before he charged at Shang again like a bullet.

Just by using some water, Astor had been able to completely conserve his momentum!

Who said a Water Affinity was only useful for healing?!

Shang jumped to the side again.

Water appeared beneath Astor's feet again.

And then, Shang's eyes shone.

This time, he was prepared!

Shang pointed his left arm at Astor and unleashed an Ice Blast.

BANG!

A wave of Ice Mana washed over Astor's entire body, but it only counted as a cool breeze.

CRK!

But then, Astor's eyes widened in horror as the water beneath him hardened, and in just a moment, it had transformed into ice.

Astor lost control over his water, and his feet hit the ground unexpectedly, completely ruining his equilibrium.

Shang's eyes shone as he charged at Astor.

Shang's Ice Blast definitely wasn't powerful enough to freeze that much water instantly.

But then why had it suddenly frozen?

Shang remembered something he had learned in teacher Niria's class.

Since beasts in the Empress Cobra Zone had a partial Water Affinity, they avoided the Ice Wyvern Zone.

Why?

Because Ice Mana could transform Water Mana into Ice Mana as long as there was more of it.

The water beneath Astor's feet wasn't natural water, but water created with Water Mana.

So, as long as Shang could blast it with a lot of Ice Mana, it would transform into Ice Mana.

Astor didn't have an Ice Affinity, which meant that he wouldn't be able to control it anymore.

And it had worked!

The water had turned to ice, and Astor lost his equilibrium.

Shang charged forward.

Astor's knees hit the ground as he slid forward. He was trying to regain his balance.

Shang closed in.

It was impossible for Astor to regain control of his sword in a short amount of time.

Astor's eyes widened, and he threw his sword away.

His sword began to rotate, and the rotating hilt came between him and Shang.

BANG!

Shang blocked the hilt with his sword and quickly slashed forward.

But he missed!

Astor had sidestepped on instinct, and he was approaching Shang with a raised fist.

Then, Astor released his fist towards Shang's face.

Shang hadn't expected this attack.

He had always been the one to throw his weapon away. He hadn't met someone else that did that.

At that moment, Shang's mind shut down.

His instincts honed over years of training took over.

Out of habit, Shang dropped his sword.

At this moment, Shang wasn't even thinking about his sword.

Shang's hands pushed Astor's arm away by the elbow while taking a sidestep.

Astor's eyes widened.

His attack had missed?!

Out of habit, Shang jumped upward.

His left knee went to Astor's back as Shang pulled his arm to the side.

Astor's balance was destroyed again, and he hit the ground.

BANG!

Shang landed with his left knee on Astor's back while clinging closely to his arm with both of his arms.

Shang had essentially created a pseudo-armbar!

Silence.

The students that weren't in a fight yet watched on in shock.

Astor looked with shock forward. He couldn't see Shang from his current position.

His arm was extended towards his back, and he knew that Shang could break it.

"One strike to your head and you're dead," Shang said.

"I won."

A long moment of silence passed.

"Mana Transformation," Astor mumbled. "To think that Mana Transformation could also be used in this way."

Astor was obviously referring to how Shang had frozen his water with his ice.

"Can you let go? I lost," Astor said calmly.

Shang nodded and stood up.

Astor also stood up and cleaned his uniform.

Then, Astor smiled brightly.

"I learned something today," he said. "It's been a while."

"I also learned several things," Shang answered. "This was my first proper fight with a powerful warrior."

Astor laughed.

"Let's go again!" he shouted with a wide smile.

"Sure," Shang answered.

"But don't believe that I only won due to a fluke."

"I won't," Astor answered. "However, don't expect to win again."

"We'll see," Shang answered with a smirk.

Astor also smirked.

Sadly, Astor was right.

Over the next three hours, Shang would lose all of his matches.

Astor had adapted to Shang's powers.

Shang had been able to win two times, but with his surprise advantage gone, it was clear that Astor was still the more powerful one of the two.

However, Shang was now equal in power to Mattheo.

pᴀɴdᴀ nᴏveʟ Well, as long as he only fought as a warrior.

Astor finally had someone new to fight against, and Mattheo could finally relax from constantly losing to Astor.

That was Shang's job now.

And before they knew it, the lesson was already over.