When Zeldris gets back to the forest, 8 hours of time remains until the end of the event.
The day is slowly starting. The darkness slowly getting brighter...
Currently it's no longer pitch dark outside. A little light illuminates everything. Enough to make out objects.
Zeldris has no intention to take part of the training exercise competition anymore. He instead sits under a tree, making himself comfortable. Then starts sorting through the items he looted.
The spacial ring on his finger activates and a bunch of items appear around him. There is enough stuff to fill up a truck, but this is just a fraction of everything he has.
He searches for all of the spacial storage bags and rings, collecting them in front of him. In total, there is a staggering 100 storage devices.
So with a calm mind, Zeldris gets to doing the tedious work of organising everything within those 100 storage devices.
Even though he moves fast, 2 hours passes by.
However a problem has occurred...
27 storage devices are locked. When he tries to get in them, they lock him out. It seems they have some sort of security measures on them.
"What a bother." Zeldris sighs. He takes one in his hands and starts playing around with it.
Everytime he inserts his aura into it, he gets locked out. He tries a different approach, but fails again. He continues again and again, even utilizing his new fire ability. Finally he manages to do something.
*Voom* The ring breaks and a warehouse full of stuff expands with great speed. Zeldris is immediately buried under a mountain of things.
"..."
Atleast he got the things out...
....
Sorting through the mountains of items was a massive hassle. By the end of it Zeldris's mind is numb, but atleast he got it done.
He stored everything in a particularly spacious ring.
Everything useful atleast. Most of the stuff he discarded.
There was all sorts of things in the storage devices. From martial art manuals, to cultivation techniques, to weapons, to treasures, to clothes, to books, to even sex toys, whips, chains and porn books.
Zeldris currently doesn't have enough knowledge to tell what martial and cultivation arts are good, and which ones are trash. So he just kept all of them to be decided on later.
The best weapon he got is a black steel sword.
Black steel is essentially the best material for weapons, under magical metals, such as mythril, orchalcum and others.
In addition to the sword, what he can currently use, he got a large number of aura cultivation pills, herbs, and body tempering pills.
Organising things took 6,5 hours in total. Leaving 1,5 hours until the end.
By now the sun has already risen.
Zeldris sits on a tree branch comfortably and rests his mind, with his arms crossed and eyes closed. Sleeping is not possible currently, as he has to be ready to respond to any threats that come his way, instantly.
Speaking of threats...
"Well look at that... A demon. All alone." He hears a distinct voice speak out. Causing him to open his eyes.
Looking down from the tree, he sees his senior sister stare at him with a malicious grin. Her expression by itself makes it clear what kind of intentions she has.
The short, black haired girl seems delighted to see him. But not in a friendly way.
"Oh? You didn't manage to die?" Zeldris asks, with distain.
"Heh." *Slice* She executes a fast slash, cutting off the branch on which Zeldris was sitting on.
Even faster than the slash, Zeldris jumps, flipping off the tree. Landing behind Three, a small distance away.
She slowly turns towards him. Her sword in hand.
"Where's your husband? I must make a family grave and bury you together." Zeldris states maliciously. Feeling annoyed.
Three's aura surges, indicating that she's not interested in talking. She lunges at Zeldris, attempting to stab him in the heart. He pulls out his sword and deflects her's as a response.
*Clang* *Clang* A few quick exchanges follow. Neither of their swords connecting to flesh.
"Kuh!" Zeldris manages to punch her in the ribs, making her stagger. He follows up by sweeping her legs and kicking her in the chest, making her take air and fly away.
*Thump* She hits a tree with her back. All the air exiting her lungs.
"Such a weak display after all this time. Can't you even entertain me..." Zeldris slowly walks towards her, sighing in disappointment.
He has reached mid tier 4 in his aura cultivation. While his senior sister is high 3rd.
At this point, if he desired, he could end her instantly.
When he's about to reach her, Zeldris hears steps behind him. Reacting instantly, he parries a sword coming straight at him. Immediately countering with a kick to the stomach of the perpetrator.
"Huk!" "The husband is here..." Zeldris comments. While Two has gone airborne from the kick.
Watching the two struggle to get up, with a blank expression. Zeldris deliberates on what to do with them.
Should he cut off their legs and throw them to monsters? Or should he kill them himself. The two are completely at his mercy. Zeldris's blows almost incapacitated them, further underlining the difference in strength.
Luckily for the two, before Zeldris can bully them any further, some people appear.
"Who are those?" An inquiry.
Zeldris looks at the voice and spots two kids, about the same age as him.
Those two are other participants of the training exercise, just happening on the scene.
"Hmm? What are they doing?" The two newcomers initiate a conversation.
"Looking at their clothes, they're master Hong's disciples. Let's stay away from them. His disciples are notoriously crazy."
"Master Hong is a lunatic himself. I heard he eats his own disciples..."
The two talk without care. Obviously knowing Zeldris, Two and Three can hear them.
With a small sigh, Zeldris seathes his blade.
"It's your lucky day." He says to his senior disciples with a sneer and walks away.
....
Following the events at the forest, the joint training ended. All disciples were called back to the starting point with their locator device.
As Zeldris reached the meeting point, he saw One already there. One just waved at him casually, but Zeldris was shocked!
Him being there wasn't what shocked Zeldris. It was the drastic changes to One's appearance...
Zeldris was pretty sure One had black hair and black eyes. As he is young, Zeldris is quite confident in his vision... But the One in front of him now has white hair and icy blue eyes. The stark contrast is shocking to see.
Walking over to him, Zeldris's gaze doesn't leave One for a moment. He looks at One, like he's seen a ghost. One's new appearance even making him suspect he really is a ghost.
"You look like you've seen a ghost." One comments, gazing back at Zeldris. His expression blank.
"How did you get back?" Ignoring his statement, Zeldris asks.
"I just woke up in the city. I have no idea how I got out of that dark place." He responds.
Zeldris sighs and shakes his head. These inexplicable things keep happening ever since he came to this world. Slowly but surely, Zeldris is turning numb to everything.
"What about you?" One asks.
"Same." Earning a curt response.
"Looks like everyone has gathered." An instructor draws everyone's attention.
"Please come here and present all proofs of your kills." He beckons. Prompting all disciples to take out their monster materials and present them to their instructors.
When Zeldris and One give their meager spoils to master Hong, he looks shocked. Then his gaze turns icy. Obviously being displeased by the small amount.
Since Zeldris and One barely hunted anything, their spoils are the least out of everyone. The difference is quite drastic even.
Based on master Hong's extremely displeased reaction, the instructors also had some kind of competition between themselves. His and One's contribution solidified master Hong's last place.
"Heh." Zeldris sneers, a malicious grin on his face. That fucker deserves the humiliation.
He knows that master Hong will take all his frustrations out on them later on. But for now, he just enjoys the sour expression on Hong's face.
....
....
A few days after the joint training event.
A boy is perched on the bottom of a tree. Sitting on the ground and resting his back up on it.
He is relaxed, eating an apple and his red eyes are gazing at the thick mist in the distance, that almost resembles a wall.
It's Zeldris eating a special apple, from the special tree.
"Nyahahaha." A suspicious chuckle comes from above. Accompanied by the bristle of leaves.
*Plomp* Suddenly an apple falls to the ground.
*Plomp* *Plomp* Another one, and another. It comes to attention that someone is up there, raiding the tree.
"Heop!" With an exclamation, a girl jumps down. Landing a pose as she does.
Her dark eyes land on Zeldris, seeing him completely in his own world. A small discontent frown forms on the girls face.
"Zeldris!" She yells.
"What?" He asks, slightly startled at the loud voice.
"I haven't seen you in so long and you don't pay any attention to me!" She exclaims jumping in front of him aggressively and plopping down on his lap. Staring at him with a pouting look.
Zeldris is even more startled. He didn't expect her to jump on his lap. The girl is a little bit bigger than him, so she has to slouch to be on his eye level.
Due to their many meetings during the past year, Zeldris has become somewhat close to the girl.
"Mei Mei, I was thinking about improtant things. I acturally have many things to ask you." He takes his hand and lays it on her head.
The girl is very content with this. Forgetting her grievance.
Wu Mei is a very needy girl. Whenever she is with him, she always demands his attention.
Most of it is due to the fact that she has no friends her age...
To Zeldris's knowledge, Wu Mei only interacts with the sect master and her grandfather Wu Sheng.
Zeldris being the only one she awknowledges as a friend, the prepubescent girl has very quickly become attached to him.
"How did... *Nom*." When she starts speaking, Zeldris shoves his half eaten apple into her mouth to shut her up.
The girl accepts the apple, taking a bite. Her black eyes are locked on him, like a hawk.
Wu Mei doesn't seem to want to leave his lap, nor look away. It's like she thinks he will disappear from her eyes if she does.
Zeldris believes she's socially oblivious.
"Take a look at these things. I need your advice on them." Saying this, Zeldris takes out a pile of martial art manuals from his storage ring.
Wu Mei's gaze lands on them and she quickly picks up one of the manuals. Going over it with her eyes. "This is trash." Saying so indifferently, she throws it away. Then grabs another one.
"Trash. Trash. Trash. Oh? This one is decent." Continuing to filter through the pile, she stops on one.
"As expected, I asked the right person." Zeldris praises her and caresses her head. "Help me filter through all of them."
Wu Mei is secretly happy at his praise. Feeling motivated to not disappoint her only friend. "Leave it to me."