Henry stood in disbelief as he watched Ethan disappear into the distance. The magnitude of the boy's feat weighed heavily on his mind. How could someone so newly awakened overpower a force of nearly 300 individuals, many of whom were more experienced and powerful than he was? The school's rules had prevented anyone from unleashing their full awakened powers, but even so, it was an astounding accomplishment.
As Henry surveyed the aftermath of the battle, frustration and concern gnawed at him. His group had suffered greatly; almost everyone was left injured and unable to continue. The gravity of the situation sank in as he realized the consequences of their defeat.
"You have no idea what you've done," Henry murmured to himself, his voice filled with a mix of anger and worry. The defeat not only made him a target for students seeking the dungeon but also attracted the attention of the Supervisors responsible for ensuring students' safety.
He took a deep breath, looked in a specific direction, and saw fire and rage in his own eyes. He resembled a hungry beast, about to devour everything with his Shadows.
**Roar**
In this state, even Henry would have to use everything in his arsenal to defeat him. Of course, it was Eric who was about to lose his sanity completely after being humiliated for the third time in one day.
Henry knew what was about to come.
"I will kill him. I will kill him. I will kill him. I don't care about the rules anymore," Eric growled, his voice dripping with malice and deep-seated rage. His declaration echoed through the ranks of the Shadow school, instilling a sense of urgency and determination in his followers.
"Everyone from the Shadow school, the inhabitant of this place is a dead man walking. I don't care if you have severe injuries or even lost limbs. Everyone must bring me the boy, even if it means sacrificing everything," Eric's words resounded with chilling resolve. The atmosphere grew tense as his followers, driven by fear and loyalty, prepared themselves to carry out his vengeful command.
**Swoosh, swoosh, swoosh**
Suddenly, a suffocating aura pressed down on Henry, demanding an answer.
"What have you done, and why did you go so far against your competitors?" The aura of a Moon-Rank Expert enveloped him.
Henry used his power to remain standing; otherwise, he would have collapsed under the pressure from Supervisor Jordan of the Shadow school.
"What are you doing, Jordan?" A gentle yet unwavering aura pushed Jordan's aura away. At the same time, Aurelia demanded an explanation for his actions.
"Do you perceive the extent of the devastation in this vicinity? Who else wields such formidable destructive power?" said Jordan.
"I don't like to go against your Sun School, but it seems logical to me as well," added Adrian from the Eagle School.
"What, did you think you could defeat everyone before entering the dungeon to monopolize it for yourself?" Kael from Tiger School chimed in.
"Hahahaha!" Suddenly, Henry, the person in question, started laughing hysterically from the side. "I knew you'd be mad about me not taking the path the family planned for me and going my own way, Uncle Jordan. But you shouldn't accuse me of such things without checking the obvious; otherwise, your humiliation could backfire and make you look like a senile fool."
"What did you say, you little brat?" Jordan said, emitting an even darker aura than before. Henry did not back down. Firstly, he had been badly beaten without really being able to retaliate, and secondly, he knew that he wasn't as special as everyone claimed.
"Don't you see that everyone from my group is as badly beaten as everyone else? And don't you see Eric standing there, not even trying to fight me? Do you really not know your favorite's personality, or are you just acting dumb?" Then he added, without giving anyone a chance to retort: "If you really want to catch the culprit, Eric did place a marker on him. He's not from any of the Big Five, but one of the inhabitants of this jungle. And from the power he emitted, a new awakening at that."
The supervisors of the Big Five became hesitant. Was it really possible for a newly awakened to do so much damage?
"Is it true, Eric? Are you saying that a newly awakened person was able to humiliate 300 of the Big Five at once?" Jordan asked, seeking an immediate answer.
Eric frowned but did not answer directly. Jordan understood his silence. He approached Eric and demanded an answer this time: "Did you not hear me talking to you? Answer me!" This time, his aura was extremely cold.
"Yes, but he took me by surpri--" Before he could finish, Jordan interrupted him. "Sore loser! Just give me his mana signature."
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"Nova, I need to hurry. I suddenly feel an immense crisis behind me. It feels like a shadow is about to swallow me whole. How far are we from the dungeon?" Ethan suddenly felt an immediate threat behind him, and it felt like it was getting closer.
"If you maintain your speed, you should arrive in three minutes. But you are free to use more mana to double your speed. It's well known that the instincts of an awakened person are not to be underestimated, so you should speed things up, even if it costs you your mana," Nova advised.
He didn't need to hear it again; it felt like a deep shadow was following him, suffocating him to death.
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"Hahaha! You will be mine. Those foolish supervisors are only looking at what is in front of them and can't see the big picture. I will make you my student and make you the leader of the West. Just wait for me, little genius."
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"Elder Sheng was right. The jungle is really easy to navigate through using chakra sensing," said a man in martial arts clothing.
"So we are the first to arrive at this place. This is perfect. It will be our opportunity just before the big competition."
In the jungle, a group of 100 people, all wearing martial arts suits, gathered in front of a portal. They were the chosen ones from the Fist School for this dungeon raid.
Suddenly, a girl with golden eyes and confident steps walked forward, and everyone became silent.
"We, the Fist School, are the first to find the dungeon entrance and will be the only group to enter it. After entering the dungeon, we will have five minutes from the first person to the last to enter," she declared. "We will monopolize the dungeon and show the so-called Big Five that we don't even stand on the same ground. No, that's not right either. While they are crawling under our feet, we will soar like dragons through the sky. We. Will. Dominate. This. Competition!"
Roar!
Their voices traveled through the jungle, making the ground vibrate. Anyone witnessing this scene would feel as if a volcano were about to erupt.
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"F*ck, I sent at least 100 people in a radius of two miles. This is messed up. I need to enter the dungeon and hope for a miracle. How far am I from the dungeon, Nova?"
"Thirty seconds left. You should already be able to sense the mana output from the dungeon," Nova responded.
"I feel like this won't be enough. My sense of crisis is getting more and more intense; it's suffocating me."
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"Damn worms, don't even think about touching my prey," muttered Jordan, his eyes those of a predator about to consume its prey. At this moment, he didn't even care about his entire school being eliminated. If he could make this individual his student, he would secure his place in the family. And if the individual really was newly awakened, then manipulating him would be extremely easy.
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"What the...?" Ethan felt the sense of crisis intensifying. "Nova, how much further?"
"Twenty-five seconds."
"Why does every second feel like hours? Can't I somehow move faster?" He asked, beginning to panic.
"Calculating possibilities... The only way right now would be to break through to the next rank of awakening, from the beginner rank to the middle rank. This should help you most in this situation," Nova replied emotionlessly.
"How do I break through? I don't have any experience with anything like that," Ethan became even more anxious.
"Usually, this wouldn't be possible, but—"
"I don't have time for an explanation right now. What do I have to do?"
"I will help you manipulate the nanochips in your body to expand your meridians and your mana core. By doing so, I will use a large amount of energy, which will drain my reserves and shut me down until you find a way to power me up. Do you consent to this?"
"Fifteen seconds."
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"We're almost there. I can see the dungeon entrance. Don't let him enter!" The voices of Ethan's pursuers rang out behind him.
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"Kikikikiki. Why are you so afraid? Stop running and come here!" Jordan's taunting laughter echoed through the air, his excitement palpable. "This is the thrill of being a hunter. Witnessing the desperate struggle of your prey. Kikikikiki."