In a dimly lit room, a group of ten sat around on a circular sofa, legs crossed and smirks on their lips as they all looked at the various holographics floating before their eyes, situated at the center of the room and clear for all to see.
They all shared a common aspect—red shirts and dark trousers. Most wore spectacles, dressed like instructors of an academy, and indeed, they were none other than some of the instructors from the Ascension Academy.
"It seems this generation of family geniuses isn’t that bad themselves. Hahaha." A chubby man, seemingly in his early forties, called out with a boisterous laugh as the instructors looked at the holographics.
Even though about 80 to 100 fights were currently ongoing, each instructor could easily process everything with ease, watching all 100 at the same time.
"Truly, there are a few exceptional ones, like that Giantkin..." an instructor noted, drawing the attention of the group to a particular holographic display.
In the hologram was the figure of an enormous Titan, close to 10 meters in pure height, bulging with rippling muscles and radiating intense Apex Energy.
Every step he took caused tremors, and all the beasts attacking him were reduced to nothing, either by a casual punch or simply being stomped to death.
"That little Alpha boy too is not bad..." another instructor observed, as their gaze rested on a young man with crimson eyes casually walking through a forest.
The beasts rushed toward him, but the young man didn’t even seem to move before they all suddenly crashed to the ground.
On their necks were three elongated claw marks that instantly ripped away their life.
One couldn’t even see the young man take his hands out of his pockets, leaving everyone to wonder just how the beasts suddenly died whenever they got too close to him.
"The Fallen girl too is quite good. Although a bit brutish for a Fallen, who are known for their more calm and inherently deadly attacks. She fights like a Titan..." a lady said among them, her eyes shining a deep purple as she stared at Morgaine, whose figure blitzed around beasts.
Suddenly, the creatures would explode upon her passing, as relentless attacks rained down on the hordes, tearing them to pieces.
"Isn’t he a bit strange..." an instructor with a refined aura and seemingly in his early thirties called out.
He seemed like the youngest among them, but the other elders paused their speech to look at whom he was referencing, and they soon found out.
A young man with a humongous scythe in hand was fighting beast after beast, surrounded by the blood and corpses of creatures ripped into two halves.
Occasionally, his figure would be covered in ice daggers, which he used more as a distraction.
His combat style, however, was incredibly deadly, precisely targeting the beasts’ weakest areas and ending them with a swift stroke.
A seemingly calm combat style, yet deadly with precision.
"Sure, he seems pretty talented at spotting the beasts’ weak points, and his combat ability isn’t too shabby. But he seems to owe his success to that artifact he’s using, doesn’t he?" an instructor stated, referencing the humongous scythe Ryuk was holding.
Truly, it was hard not to notice. The other geniuses were using their various skills and abilities, but the young man seemed to rely on an artifact instead.
As much as an artifact’s power was a strength in itself, it was looked down upon, as one couldn’t claim it to be true combat ability.
People like Ryuk, once their weapon broke, would typically see their combat power drop by 50% due to their over-reliance on their weapon.
"No. The scythe is not an artifact. It’s his personal skill, seemingly made from some type of weird... nanobots?" an instructor wearing spectacles remarked, leaning forward toward Ryuk’s figure.
His eyes suddenly shifted into a galaxy-like glow, hundreds of starlike runes spiraling within them, effortlessly magnifying Ryuk’s figure.
"Just like most typical humans. Knowing well of their lack of comprehension of elements, they tend to fuse with Apex technologies like fighting nanobot suits and artifacts. A powerful but inferior path of cultivation..."
"What is a human doing under the name of the Fallen family, though?" an instructor with an earpiece asked, slowly removing his hand from the button on the tech tool.
"Truly interesting..." The instructor who had first called out Ryuk said, his eyes flashing an intrigued light as he looked at Ryuk’s valiant figure.
"From now on, this human’s watch is mine. I’ll supervise his training and be the one to record him," the man stated, as the other instructors pursed their lips.
’They haven’t even started yet with picking geniuses to mentor, but the young instructor has already made his choice.’
"Very unlike you to choose a supervised genius so early, Mad White."
"What? Is it because the boy is the only human worthy enough to rank together with the top ten family geniuses, just like you?" a lady with long purple hair asked, smirking at the young instructor, who simply shrugged his shoulders, ignoring the rest of the unfolding holographics.
"Just leave the boy to me. You all can fight over the rest."
"And it wouldn’t kill to be a bit partial toward one of my own race, would it?"
Turbid white air escaped Ryuk’s lips as he looked around him, the corpses of about 50 or so beasts lying all around.
[Congratulations, Host! You have killed a total of 30 beasts at the Peak of the Stage of Ascension and killed 20 beasts at the Initial Stage of Dominion!]
[Host has earned +22,000 EXP!]
The system called out as Ryuk regulated his breathing. His eyes soon settled on a gargantuan vortex that appeared just a few minutes after he slaughtered the last beast.
’Just like I guessed.’ Ryuk thought as his scythe disappeared back into him, and his body blew out frost white mist that blew the blood on him away.
[Congratulations on passing the Hierarchy Test!]
[Your ranking is Number 10!]
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In and Out_SnowySmoos.