Chapter 101: Pitiful

Landing on the ground, I rolled forward to avoid another centipede that had just appeared below me.

I had to commend the monster for it’s agility, despite being a mere bronze core.

In a return motion, I twisted my body, grabbing the thick shell of the centipede before slamming it into the ground.

Thud!

Using its dead body as support, I turned my body upside down before spinning my legs in a circular motion.

The other bronze-ranked centipedes that had circled me were thrown away upon contact with my legs.

At least most of them were.

A dark-coloured centipede had withstood my attack and was now adjacent to the ground, aiming to engulf me from the side.

Pushing myself against the ground, I propelled my body high up into the air before twisting it to defend against the incoming mouth.

Clank!

My sword brushed against the centipede’s teeth, sending vibrations through my body.

This was the first Silver-ranked centipede that I had fought.

Instead of being disappointed, I used the reverse momentum to retreat backward before charging at the scorpions that were waiting to attack me.

In a battle against superior numbers, focusing on a single opponent was a guaranteed way to die.

One had to constantly keep changing positions so as not to get overwhelmed under a series of attacks.

The number of scorpions was far less than the centipedes, but each of them was a hassle to deal with.

With their insane agility combined with those sharp claws, numerous legs, and venom-spitting tails, I had to divert nearly fifty percent of my attention so as not to get caught and pincered beneath their bodies.

Clank!

Another of my swings was deflected by the peak Silver monster, but not without having its own claw cut into two halves.

It was the same scorpion that had attacked me at first.

Losing one of its claws, it gave a pained roar before charging at me again in its frenzy.

But I had already shifted my attention to the early Silver cores around me.

More monsters were attracted toward me as the vibrations of our battle reached even wider areas than before.

My sword didn’t stop its judgment as I danced through the wall of monsters around me.

Spurt!

Spurt!

Spurt!

The monsters at Silver 1 were strong, but their shells weren’t strong enough to defend against my strikes.

With each swing, another head flew, bodies piling up one after the other.

I could feel various different types of mana essence trying to enter my body.

Each time, I resisted the urge to absorb them.

Though now my mana control was fairly good, resisting the temptation to absorb mana essence was more difficult, as my body craved the sensation of pleasure that accompanied the absorption.

But I had enough control over my mind not to let things like that become a hindrance to my goals.

Aiming my sword at one of the claws of a scorpion, I tensed my muscles for the strike—

Bam!

“Argh!”

A Silver-ranked centipede had emerged from my blind spot, crashing into my body as I was thrown across the sand.

The damage done wasn’t much, as my regeneration took over.

But the attack hit my ego.

Damn that pest.

I quickly picked myself up from the ground, searching for the offender.

There it was with its mouth facing the sky, roaring in what felt like an act of satisfaction.

Was it trying to flex?

Digging my foot into the sand below, I accelerated toward it.

Closing the distance between us, I appeared before the centipede within seconds and aimed my fist at its mouth, which seemed to be insulting me.

Crack!

Boom!

Its skull—or whatever it was—cracked under the impact of my punch.

The monster slid a few meters back—but it wasn’t dead.

Looking at my hand, I could see some of the bones on the outer side deformed due to the punch.

Though the injury began to heal, the pain from getting your bones crushed was the real deal.

Before I could focus on it again, other centipedes began to gang up on me.

Sigh.

I needed to take care of these small fries first. They couldn’t do any real damage to me, but their presence was becoming a constant hindrance.

I closed my eyes for a brief moment that lasted less than a second before opening them again.

Silence.

All the monsters in my vicinity paused their movements, as for the first time in a while, I had released the full might of my mana pressure.

The monsters at the Bronze core kneeled at first before bursting like balloons under the pressure created by my mana core.

I could have used the mana pressure much earlier, but I wanted to experience fighting large numbers… though the idea proved to be a little difficult to execute.

It had been quite some time since the test had begun, and I had a feeling that the time for the practical session would conclude soon.

I didn’t glance at my bracelet, instead focusing my attention on willing more of my mana reserves to intensify the pressure around me.

In about five to ten seconds, nearly all of the Bronze cores were dead, their bodies lifeless on the ground below.

As for the Silver-ranked beasts, those at Silver 1 had sustained injuries that had brought them to death’s door, a step away from their actual death.

As for those at Silver 2 and the peak of the Silver rank… the bastards had managed to survive.

Though all of them were pinned to the ground, unable to show much movement.

But that didn’t last long, as the peak Silver cores quickly adapted to the situation and amplified the mana supply to each cell in their bodies.

The result was another combined charge at me.

But this time, the numbers were nearly negligible.

Ignoring the charging monsters, I first dashed toward the early Silver cores, relieving those pitiful creatures of their pathetic lives.

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