Chapter 137 – Puny
What restricted regions represented was a zone which possessed thicker concentrations of dimension energy and was a place where a large number of mutated lifeforms would frequently gather. The evolution index within was very high and completely surpassed that of any ordinary wilderness area. Along with this, the changes to the environment was very severe as the terrain and climate became complex.
The army itself had difficulty suppressing such regions and could only explore, observe, and record what they could. At appropriate times they would send out troops to clean them up.
Naturally, quite a number of homeless mercenaries and refugees chose to hunt and kill a few low ranked mutated beasts in the less dangerous restricted regions. They would use up the corpse and harvest the crystals for those who needed them in exchange for various resources.
Generally speaking the Federation would give grades for the various known restricted regions based on the danger rankings of the mutated beasts within. S Grade was a life-restricted region. A, B, C, and D grades had mutated beasts that grew progressively less dangerous.
Although C Grade regions were considered the second-least dangerous restricted region in terms of grading, the central region still exceeded the capabilities of these students who had yet to cast their heroic souls. Entering the central region would definitely be risking one’s life. None of them knew why Grace gave them such a task.
This time Grace didn’t use threats or menacing actions to set up her prestige like before. She just casually said, “The group training this time is different from before. The center of the C Grade restricted region is dangerous even for a heroic soul solder and it will be difficult escaping in one piece. For you guys, it will be a life and death struggle. Therefore, if anyone wishes to withdraw now I won’t force you guys.”
Withdraw?
While most of their faces had turned ugly when they heard about their task to pierce toward the center, the word ‘withdraw’ definitely hadn’t appeared in their minds. Those who past the previous selection and remained were the elite of the elites. At least, their willpower was sufficient enough to endure up until now. Others might have agreed to the withdrawal but they definitely wouldn’t.
Grace saw that the group wasn’t as undisciplined as it was in the beginning and nodded. “Then I’ll give a word of advice to those participating in this. You all better have remembered the feeling and experiences you had gained in the first group training. Don’t let that easy and comfortable life back at the academy impact your judgement and will. That is all.”
Grace clearly didn’t have the interest to joke around with them. She clapped her hands and Markis lifted the drape covering the table, revealing countless weapons that radiated with rune auras. Everyone’s eyes instantly lit up.
“You guys can carry any weapon here. They were all prepared for you.”
While people like Barran were still clueless about what they were seeing, those like Wang Zhong, Reeves, and Scarlet were able to understand the quality of these weapons and note them down as superior due to their luster and rune patterns. These were products from KD Heavy Industries and were also mass produced rune weapons. There was a huge difference in the quality between those ordinary-looking toys in the academy and the ones before them.
These were high-end products that only the regular army troops could use. Considered army resources, they weren’t items that could be bought with money.
With a roar, everyone moved forward. Wang Zhong chose a rune dagger, rune bow, and a quiver. Compared to hot weapons he preferred the feel of cold weaponry. Furthermore, the sounds made by guns firing was simply too loud. It could attract the attention of large-scale mutated life form groups within this dangerous restricted region.
Grai casually chose a rune sword and slung it over his back. He was still a guy as confident and carefree as the wind. He’d previously used just his fingers to defeat Adams on the stage, so quite a few had assumed he was an empty-handed soldier. When they saw him choose the rune sword, many raised their eyebrows in surprise. Hymin stared at him until her eyes shone.
Barran chose a rune shield and greatsword, as well as a suit of armor that wasn’t considered too heavy. This offered the best standard of defense and was the usual choice for heavy soldiers.
Emily chose dual rune daggers. Due to the stimulation she felt from watching Brooks she began to train bitterly in the two daggers. While there wasn’t any concrete evidence that she’d improved, one could easily tell her confidence changed completely. Emily weighed the daggers and inserted a bit of soul power into them. She could feel the sharp, acute feeling that came from the daggers. The free, effortless soul power manipulation, as well as its unhindered conductivity and the firm stability as she held them, made her very satisfied.
The others also grew more confident. These weapons were all top notch and would greatly increase their overall combat capabilities. From the looks of it, Grace spent quite a bit of thought on all of this. The more quick thinking of the group had already guessed how the task would be divided. It obviously wouldn’t be realistic for the group of 20 to move as one. After all, this involved the final quotas to enter the competition. Grouping them all together would definitely lower the competitiveness of the the endeavor.
Upon seeing that everyone had chosen their weapons, Grace nodded and said, “You guys can go and form your own groups. As this is a group task the trust within the group will be fundamental and the key element to you completing the task. Therefore, I hope that you will all be cautious when choosing your group.
“Bringing back the token is just the criteria to pass. The final ten quotas for participating in the competition will be judged by the number of mutated lifeforms that had been hunted and killed as you complete the task. As such, do not try and avoid combat. The more you kill the higher the probability of you advancing.”
Grace did not issue a specific hunting target, but everyone understood that this was the most decisive factor. The more they killed higher graded mutated life forms the better the score they would get.
Reeves smiled faintly and the members of Saint Judgement automatically moved towards him. Including Reeves, Saint Judgement had ten people on their side. Regardless of what happened, Saint Judgement was still considered a major force within Tianjing Academy.
Seven Black Rose Society members were grouped together with Scarlet at the head. With another member of a small society, they formed an eight-person group.
The four from the Prodigy Society formed a group and the only individual left alone was Hymin. There was no helping it as the Special Abilities Society of Tianjing was of too weak a standard. After the first round of eliminations, she was sole person remaining out of the four members participating.
Reeves beamed as he looked toward Hymin. There was no doubt that the best choice for her was to join Saint Judgement’s group. Hymin’s special ability was powerful and with Reeve’s forceful charisma it would take just a few words to remove a member of their group for her.
Naturally, she could also choose Black Rose as their strength wasn’t low. Their group also happened to have free space… but Hymin actually walked over to the Prodigy Society.
“I’ve considered the Prodigy Society’s side,” Hymin said before winking at Grai.
Reeves’ smile didn’t change but the few people from Saint Judgement showed fierce expressions. This bunch was the core of Saint Judgement. Other than Lily and Colby and the very small group of people who were more accepting, the rest cared greatly about the small and big grudges between Saint Judgement and the Prodigy Society. If Hymin had chosen Black Rose then they wouldn’t have said anything about that. To choose the Prodigy Society, however, made that group feel as though they had been slapped.
Grace didn’t interfere with the group allocation but instead glanced at the time on her watch. “Since you are all done preparing, let us set off!”