Aster was teleported into the middle of a dense forest. He looked around, but none of the other students had been teleported anywhere nearby. "Looks like everyone was scattered"
Before he could think any further
ROAR!
A massive Demon Bear suddenly lunged out from the bushes, swinging its enormous claw toward his head. "Grapple." Aster instantly pulled himself sideways, narrowly avoiding the attack. Without hesitation, he summoned his Sunbreaking Sword.
"Solar Slash."
Five blazing slashes manifested out of thin air and struck the Demon Bear simultaneously.
BOOM!!
The bear exploded into countless burning fragments. Outside, the audience watched everything through the giant screens.
"Wow! That’s a Demon Bear! It exploded instantly!"
"That fire attack is insanely powerful!"
"Why didn’t he use that during the duel?"
Saint Helena’s principal frowned. "So... this Aster was holding back while fighting my student?"
"Just how strong is he?"
System: Demon Bear defeated!
The wristwatch on Aster’s arm lit up.
Aster — Hunting Points: 10
"So only ten points... It was probably around Level 20 to 30."
"I need to hunt stronger monsters if I want to rank at the top." Using Grapple, Aster shot through the forest at incredible speed. Even the instructor secretly assigned to monitor him struggled to keep up. As he traveled through the forest, monsters continuously appeared.
System:
Level 20 Fire Horn Deer ×2
Level 24 Dragon Frog ×9
Level 29 Steel Tortoise ×1
Level 32 Golden Bear ×1
Ding!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Level Up!
Aster — Hunting Points: 140
The audience could barely believe what they were seeing.
"Whoa! He’s killing monsters way too quickly!"
"It almost looks like they’re exploding on their own!"
"I doubt even some instructors could hunt this fast."
Saint Helena’s principal clenched his fists. "Damn it... This Aster is even stronger than I imagined."
"Now I’m afraid my students will only get beaten by him."
"If only I could contact them and tell them to stay away from Aster..."
The screen suddenly switched to another location. All four remaining students from Saint Helena had gathered together with the four students from Pine Hill Martial Art College.
The audience became confused. "Wait... why are they all together?"
Veyl looked toward one of Pine Hill’s female students "Use your skill." She nodded before activating her ability. Hundreds of glowing butterflies spread throughout the forest. She closed her eyes, sharing the vision of every butterfly.
A few moments later
"I found one."
Everyone immediately followed her. Not far away, Alas was fighting a Demon Snake.
Suddenly
Whoosh!
An arrow pierced his leg from behind. "AAH!" Alas fell to one knee. Before he could react. A rift opened directly in front of his face. "Radiant Judgment!" A pillar of golden light erupted from the rift and blasted Alas unconscious.
The instructor monitoring the battle instantly appeared, picked him up, and teleported him outside to the healers.
General Cassius slammed his fist onto the table. "Bastard! What is the meaning of this?!" "This is a college ranking tournament! Why are you teaming up?"
The Pine Hill principal smiled calmly. "Is there any rule saying colleges can’t cooperate?"
"We’re simply working together to defeat the monsters."
"It’s a perfect example of unity."
General Cassius’s face darkened. "So you’re calling my students monsters?"
The principal quickly waved his hand. "Please don’t twist my words."
General Cassius merely glared at him without another word.
Meanwhile...
The alliance had already found Adrian. An arrow suddenly flew toward him. Thanks to his sharp instincts, Adrian sensed it and dodged.
Instantly
A rift opened behind him. "Rift Slash!" A pitch black slash shot toward his back. "Tempest Step!" He barely avoided it. The next moment, all eight students surrounded him.
"Cowards!"
"You needed eight people just to deal with me?"
"You have no shame!"
Another barrage of attacks rushed toward him. "Tempest Step!" He disappeared like the wind, dodging every attack. "Mana Pressure!" An invisible force crashed onto everyone. Several students staggered. Veyl quickly released his own mana to neutralize the pressure.
By the time everyone recovered
Adrian had already escaped.
"Find him!"
The butterfly user closed her eyes once again.
"I found him."
"Follow me!"
The group immediately gave chase. Adrian sprinted through the forest at full speed.
Suddenly, Someone appeared directly in front of him. He instinctively prepared to attack.
"Hey, hey. Calm down. It’s me."
"Aster!"
Relief appeared on Adrian’s face. "Saint Helena and Pine Hill teamed up to eliminate us!"
"What?"
"They teamed up?"
"No time to explain! We have to run!"
"Alright."
Aster grabbed Adrian’s arm.
"Grapple."
In an instant, they disappeared. Adrian’s eyes widened. "So fast..."
After creating some distance, Aster asked, "Now tell me everything." Adrian quickly explained the situation.
Just then, Rustle...
Someone was approaching. Adrian immediately entered his fighting stance. Aster silently prepared Solar Slash. A figure stepped out from the bushes.
"Oh! Found you guys!"
"Hey, it’s Yor."
Yor listened as Adrian explained everything.
Aster said "So they’re using a tracking skill? Hay Yor can you use your treants to track them back?"
She nodded.
"My Treants can’t search very far..."
"But my class talent lets me see through nearby plants."
Aster smiled. "Perfect. Can you locate them?"
Yor closed her eyes. Countless nearby plants became her eyes.
Only seconds later,"I found them."
"Good."
"Both of you, hold on tight." Aster activated Grapple. The three of them shot across the forest like a bolt of lightning. And reach where there were.
The butterfly user was sitting high on a tree, controlling her butterflies. She was approximately 115 meters away.
"Slash."
An invisible slash instantly crossed the distance.
Slash.
Before she even realized what happened. Blood splashed. She fell from the tree unconscious.
"Yor."
"Your turn."
Yor summoned her Treants.
"Go."
Dozens of Treants charged toward the enemy.
"What?!"
"Where did these monsters come from?!"
"I remember them! They’re that Military College girl’s summons!"
Veyl immediately shouted,
"Radiant Judgment!"
Golden light exploded across the battlefield.
Several Treants were destroyed.
Meanwhile, Aster continuously used Grapple to enter the 115 meter range of each opponent before launching invisible slashes.
One student...
Then another...
Then another...
Each fell before they even understood where the attacks came from.
Veyl’s expression changed.
"Pine Hill has been wiped out!"
"Everyone, gather together!"
The four remaining Saint Helena students immediately formed a defensive formation and activated their protective skills.
Aster suddenly appeared right in front of them.
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
"Solar Slash."
A storm of burning slashes engulfed them.
BOOM!!
Three students were eliminated instantly.
Only Isolde remained.
His skill, Veil of Whispers, allowed attacks to pass harmlessly through him for one minute. Aster remembered the skill from yesterday’s duel. Instead of attacking, he simply walked beside Isolde.
No matter how fast Isolde ran Aster matched his speed effortlessly. Seconds passed.
Finally
The skill expired. Isolde slowly turned toward Aster with a frightened smile.
"B-Big brother..."
"I surrender..."
Aster smiled.
"Solar Slash."
BOOM!