"!!!"
"!!!"
Romulus was helpless to stop what was happening, but when the results came through, his helplessness quickly morphed into happiness.
[Ding! You have assimilated the Dark-Element Magic Core of a B-Rank monster, thus giving you the B-Rank Dark Element Skill 'Veil of Darkness']
[As your body has instantly grown familiar with this unique Element due to special effects of the EX-Rank Skill Truck-kun's Retribution, a plethora of Sub-Skills have been allotted!]
"Grown familiar with the Element? Is that how I keep on receiving new—" Before Romulus could dwell any further on the matter, the system bombarded him once more, making him even stronger.
[Ding! You have learned the Dark-Element Sub Skills: [C-Rank Shadow Step (Lvl 1)], [C-Rank Dark Erosion (Lvl 1)], [D-Rank Cursed Strike (Lvl 1)], [C-Rank Night Blade (Lvl 1)], and [D-Rank Shadow Bind (Lvl 1)]]
[Your Elemental Affinity with the Dark Element has grown tremendously!]
[Your Elemental Affinity with the Water Element has grown tremendously!]
Upon feeling his power improve by insane degrees once more, Romulus moved from his spot and looked deeper into the fog. Even though his vision had increased by a lot due to multiple different factors, he still couldn't peer more than a few hundred feet into the fog. Still, that didn't mean he couldn't see the flashing tags of unknown monsters, all of whom were seen as stronger than him by the system.
In the Ghost Town's Inner Circle, a B-Rank monster like the Grimwatcher was merely the beginning. What lay beyond, however, reached lengths that even the most powerful members of the Demon King's Army would have a hard time fighting head-on. Yet, the danger involved would not be enough to stop Romulus from finding a way out of this place and becoming even stronger. Even if flying out of here was not a viable option, that didn't mean there was absolutely no way out.
With his mind churning and his five elements passively circulating inside his body, he walked into the fog, quickly vanishing from sight, with only his faint retreating shadow still visible from the outside.
—------------
Meanwhile, in the Kingdom of Valerian, at the massive outdoor Training Grounds of the Royal Castle.
"Come on! Put some more back into it! Is that all you useless maggots got!?"
"No, sir!"
"I can't hear you properly!! Tell me, are you not Heroes!? Or are you just a bunch of wannabes wishing to make it big!?"
"No, Sir Drill Instructor!"
Under the sweltering heat waves of the blazing sun hanging in the sky, twenty-five Heroes were lined up in even rows. All of them were standing with the same stance, their legs bent down to a 90-degree angle, their backs straightened like pencils, and their arms stretched out in front of them. Large beads of sweat trickled down their foreheads, and a few of them were trembling in place, but that didn't stop the Royal Castle's Drill Instructor from ordering them to hold. Although a lot of them held many grievances within their hearts, when they recalled what happened after they finished testing out their Unique skills, they kept their mouths shut and gritted through the pain.
Originally, they were quite happy when they unleashed their skills on the Training Dummies, and some, like Nanami and Akira, were even able to deal some serious damage to them. However, when it came time for hand-to-hand combat training, not a single one of them could do much as defeat a little five-year-old boy or girl of this world. Simply put, their stats were ridiculously high, but they had not a damn clue how to actually make use of those high numbers. They thoughtlessly attacked and swung around with swords, unable to so much as scratch their opponents. To fix this flaw as soon as possible, the King and the Three Holy Priests put together a group of instructors. First and foremost was their lack of muscle mass, discipline, and physical prowess. Hence, Drill Instructor Udon took the stage.
Some might view his way of teaching as barbaric or even criminal, but for the sake of the Heroes, this was necessary. The world of Utavia was an almost endlessly wide place and was filled with the unknown, but its beauty was covered with so many thorns that one might see it as more of a prickly bush than a magnificent rose. If the Heroes wished to survive long enough to make it to the Demon King and take off his head, then they needed to properly prepare themselves.
As they were right now, it was highly possible they would die even when faced up against the weakest of Lvl 1 Slimes...
"I-It hurts, but I just need to keep pushing through!" Someone mumbled hysterically, his eyes flickering erratically. He was on the verge of collapse, but even still, he was one of the last ones to remain standing. His legs were shaking like a light breeze could blow them away, but his immense resolve was evident through those fiery red eyes.
Off to the side were all of the Heroes who had reached their limits a few minutes ago. They watched the last four standing people in awe.
"Can you believe how well Tatsuya is doing?? He is even keeping up with the S-Rank Heroes and Haruto! Well, everyone except Ryota," Hana, a short, cute girl, said as she briefly glanced at the haughty man sitting off to the side, acting as if the whole world was beneath him.
"Hah! As if this measly ground and that low-level air deserve to witness my sweat!" Ryota scoffed aloud, his mind once again getting lost in its own delusions, with that same black energy permeating his aura.
The others simply ignored the guy who was the first one to fall, instead putting their focus back on the S-Rank and A-Rank Heroes, and the E-Rank Underdog Tatsuya. Something was different about him — something that made him special and put him above the rest. However, no matter how the other Heroes thought about the matter, they just couldn't understand how, even with lower stats, Tatsuya was still standing after the rest of them fell. Was it just pure grit and determination, or was there something… more?
…