"Well? What are you guys waiting for? The clock is ticking. Quickly go!" another teacher reminded them of their time remaining. Based on a two hours time limit, they needed ten minutes running nonstop to reach the entrance of the Dominus Fortress. Another ten minutes of running is a must to enter the forest.
With forty minutes is wasted in traveling forth and back, their initial 120 minutes only have 80 minutes remaining. Although their ability to kill a monster is increased with the Medan-Material Short Sword, luck still applies on them to meet a monster the moment they entered the forest.
Furthermore, there are two hundred students! If each of them is killing one monster before returning, that's a decrease of 200 monsters in their list! With their mind become more desperate to get a better result, they can anticipate at least a thousand monsters will be killed in this class alone!
For the sake of getting higher points, what can he do? While running towards the forest, this question continues to bother Technos. He considered many different options for him to proceed, but the result is less than satisfactory.
The more commonly found monsters Like Red Ruby Lizard and Ruby Spider is much easier to capture and kill, but difficult to process them. Plus among the two hundred students, half of them will select this monster. Therefore, this two monsters is not on his list.
Otherwise, he can try to hunt a Red Ruby Champion. As one of the students aiming to obtain one of the top ten spots, this monster is the best option for him to choose. But the problem is, how can it be that easy to spot a Red Ruby Champion?
The Left Wrist Guard releases a pulse. When the list of collectibles and monsters appeared in his mind, a smile appeared on his facial expression. In the list is a kind of monster people seldom seek due to the difficulties in handling the monster.
Ruby Scarabs
Come with the size of about a 50cm circle width, the Ruby Scarabs is a kind of monsters that live in a large group. The Ruby Scarabs nature is quite docile, but the problem to hunt them lies on the issue with the carapace that's hard as a crystal. Resistant to most of the Bone Weapon available, the Ruby Scarabs can only be killed by an extremely sharp weapon like his Medan-Material Short Sword.
But the reason they're not in high demand is due to the difficulty to process them, and the material obtained from them hardly usable. Furthermore, how many hunters with Medan-Material equipment willing to sacrifice their weapon to prepare a smaller than 1 pound monster?
Perhaps among the two hundred students, none of them will consider capturing this monster! Won't this monster become his most suitable choice to try taking one of the top ten performance results? Plus his Uncle Don taught him a way to handle the Ruby Scarabs efficiently. The only reason he did not approach them is that he did not possess a Medan-Material Weapon before this!
Following the vibration, he approached a section of the woods only to be greeted with a nest of sixty to seventy Ruby Scarabs. Because of the docile and timid nature, the Ruby Scarabs is hardly dangerous. Unless a failed attack to try killing it in one attack or sleeping here with honey wrapping their body, it is almost impossible to die under the hand of this beast.
Using his Medan-Material Short Sword, Technos approached one of the Ruby Scarab located farthest from the others. This target will be the best for him to try utilizing the method taught by Uncle Don. Using a sturdy branch as the beam and stone as the fulcrum, he put an effort to overturn the Ruby Scarabs.
The mechanic of this simple physics allowed him to turn the Ruby Scarabs upside down. While the monster is struggling to come back on its six legs, Technos went in for the kill. The Medan-Material Short Sword stabbed through the middle of the softer part of its shell and killed it in a single strike.
With this method of killing become so easy, he went crazy.
Turning as much as he could in the limit of 80 minutes he got, Technos killed as much as thirty of them before he has to return to the Dominus Fortress. Since the only proof needs to indicate his number of kills is by delivering the heads of the monster he hunted, Technos cut all thirty heads from the Ruby Scarabs and collected all the bodies into his Left Wrist Guard before leaving.
Of course, looking like someone without a hunt in hand, he got despised by the others on their way back to the Dominus Fortress. As a qualified Hunter and owner of a Medan-Material Short Sword, not able to capture at least a monster when going out from the fortress is a shameful thing. In the hand of the others, most of them are walking back with one to two heads of a Red Ruby Lizard in their hand.
At their side, a few packages of meats in their fifteen to eighteen pound is seen. This means that they spent most of their time to process the kill instead of continuing the hunt. Smiling in the outside as they go, his mind thought of something else.
"If I did not find the two Wrist Guards when I went out to hunt, won't I become the same like them? Maybe I may become worst than them as I am unable to ignore the collectible resources. Thankfully, the one standing here without a burden of weight is me, and not them." Technos steel his heart from feeling too demotivated from their gaze.
But when all of them started to hand the heads of the monster they captured or killed, their results begin to shift nonstop, until a hundred of the student results is counted. Followed by the remaining students, each of them presents the heads until three more people remained.
"Why is there only three more left? Where are the remaining four students?" a few students questioned, but everyone knows the reason why the four remaining students did not return after this two hours time limit. They're dead before they managed to bring the head of the monster back.
"Vector." among the three of them, one introduces his name as Vector and came up with his bag. When it was opened, everyone was shocked. It was the head of two Red Ruby Champion. Putting luck aside, to be able to kill a Red Ruby Champion is counted as a great job. But by making that two kills is not something someone in their recent qualified status can achieve.
"Good job! Vector, Ten points!" while everyone is still surprised by the two heads, the teacher reported his results. A Red Ruby Lizard or Ruby Spider's head is worth 1 point, while a much difficult to hunt Red Ruby Champion is worth 5 points.
"Technos." he stepped forward when he noticed that the remaining guy intended to go last. Taking out his bag to withdraws the heads belonged to thirty Ruby Scarabs, his action surprised crowd and the teachers. Although they're only worth a point each, it's thirty heads there!
Plus the main reason for their shock is not because of the thirty heads, but how the hell did he kill thirty monsters in that period of 80minutes! Everyone knows how difficult and hard is the shell belonged to the Ruby Scarab, and it difficult to cut the head off.
"Did you kill them personally? Let me have a look at your weapon used to kill these monster." the teacher requested to have a look at his weapon. Without any hesitation, he took the sword out from his back for the teacher's inspection. After the teacher confirmed that the chipped edges are precisely caused by the Ruby Scarabs, the sword is returned to him.
"Technos, thirty points!" a result is a result. No matter how the other thinks about it, this amount of points is what he achieved in his two hours time limit. If anyone looking for a person to blame, they can only blame themselves for not hunting for the Ruby Scarabs.
While the attention of everyone is focused on Technos, the final student came forward to the teacher and placed two bags in front of the teacher's table. With a smirk in his facial expression, he mentioned his name before opening them.
"Corias."
The bag is rolled down to presents the teacher with the head of a spider. It was different from the Ruby Spider because of the color differences. This head carried a red similar to blood, and not translucent red. Looking at the head of a spider, the three teachers stand up and inspects it.
"As we expected... It's a Ruby Broodmother. It was amazing you're still alive. Moreover, you even killed it." one of the three teachers praised Corias for his amazing feat in killing a Ruby Broodmother. Similar to a Red Ruby Champion, a Ruby Broodmother is something rarely seen, and extremely dangerous to face alone.
Like how she was named, the Ruby Broodmother carries the ability to spawn the eggs to be hatched into Ruby Spider hatchlings. When provoked, it wasn't impossible for her to produce over two hundred eggs that will hatch in a matter of minutes. Most importantly, the egg sac that will carry all her eggs worth a hefty sum because it can be processed into a special armor that absorbs impact damage.
"And what is in this second bag?" one of the teachers asked. If his guess did not go wrong, it should be the egg sac. Corias opened the bag to presents the egg sac that was emptied from any remaining eggs. It was well processed and cleaned, allowing the textile-masters to start working on the material.
"Corias, Thirty-five points! Because of the difficulties to encounter and capture the Ruby Broodmother, we give him thirty points. As for the additional five points, it was because of his contribution in bringing back the Egg Sac to be made into Impact-Resistance Armor." the teacher announced the points Corias obtained and disclosed the reason for such a result.
"Number 1, Corias, 35 points."
"Number 2, Technos, 30 points."
"Number 3, Messiah, 21 points."
"Number 4, Vector, 10 points."
"Number 5, Adrian, 9 points."
"Number 6, Rexxon, 8 points."
"Number 7, Samuel, 6 points."
"Number 8, Benyamin, 5 points."
"Number 9, Yen, 4 points."
"Number 10, Quin, 3 points."
"As for the others, you should pay more attention and take this ten as an example. Always consider the best option to proceed with your hunt. Never overestimate yourself, and never underestimate yourself." the last and quietest teacher speaks.
Without even needed to announce the item they're going to give to the top ten, ten bags are taken out in the open and distributed to the ten of them. Inside each bag is a complete set of hand-woven chainmail, shoulder-guard, pelvic-guard, and boots. Although their quality was nothing comparable to a Medan-Material Armor Set, they still provide protection better than normal tree resin-made thick clothing.
After the class over, everyone returned to their own houses. After preparing the dinner and waited for Uncle Don, he took some free time to inspect the Wrist Guards and see what miracle can they bring to him. Noticing that the two Wrist Guards will not activate unless worn, he put them aside when a knock came from the door.
"It must be Uncle Don." Technos left his seat and went to open the door. But what greets him outside is two guards with a piece of paper handed to him. It was weird for him to suddenly received a written letter, so he tried to ask the guards about what happening.
"Just read the letter, you will know what happens to your neighbor. Since he already left the house to you, make sure you maintain it." the guards left after answering his question with what they know.
"Why would Uncle Don left me the house out of sudden?"
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[Author's Note]
I noticed that a few of my readers from another novel came here to support my works. Thank you so much!
Do leave a comment to me regarding the progress of the story. I'm sorry because my story took more into the explanation and too many plot armor side instead of fighting.
If you think its ok, can you get more friends to vote for me too? Thank you for all the support! I will strive to do better!