"Where am I?" Kevin woke up and looked around.
"You're in the medical facility of the camp set up by World Academy," one of the doctors who had been monitoring Kevin's health replied.
"Huh?" Kevin tried to sit up, but he felt pain all over his body.
"Don't move too much; your body is still recovering from the shock of using Lightning Aura," the doctor advised.
"What about the race?" Kevin asked, his memories still fuzzy.
"The other team won," he replied.
Hearing these words, Kevin remembered the last thing he saw before he lost consciousness.
"Damn it," Kevin punched the bed he was lying on.
Observing his behavior, the doctor stepped outside, giving Kevin some time to gather his thoughts.
"I gave everything," Kevin said, looking down at his hands.
Every time he had lost to Asher, it was during duels where they hadn't used their full potential. But in this exam, Kevin had not only used all the artifacts given by Raelyn but had also deployed the Lightning Aura technique.
Originally, he had planned to hide this ability until the end-of-term examination, using it only if necessary. The Lightning Aura was currently Kevin's strongest technique.
It allowed D-Rank Kevin to be comparable to a C-Rank Hunter, but only for a short time.
It was the first time he had felt so defeated in his life, but this feeling fueled his urge to defeat Asher even more.
"No, I can't go down like this," Kevin remembered what his father had always told him.
Kamden had ensured that Kevin and Raelyn grew up in an environment suitable for them to become strong individuals who could hold their own in high society.
Kamden hadn't achieved his current status through power alone.
While Kevin was finding his motivation, Elena was in her training room, practicing alone.
But it was less of practice, more of her venting her anger.
Casting multiple spells all around her, Elena stopped as she felt her mana depleting rapidly.
"This won't work," Elena said to herself.
All this time, she had believed that one day Kevin could surpass Asher with her help, but it was time for her to face reality.
The gap between them had grown so large that she felt somewhat powerless.
"We need to get stronger," Elena said, her eyes turning sharp.
While the losing team were finding their resolve to become stronger, everyone on the winning team was happy, but most of them had gone straight to sleep.
Except for Asher, who was standing in the training facility looking at his spatial device.
"Come out," Asher commanded, and a black shadow formed, a serpent appearing before him.
"Take these," Asher offered 20 corpses of Peak D-Rank monsters to Rifir.
Rifir examined the monster corpses spread around him.
In the next moment, Rifir began wrapping around various monster corpses, devouring the energy in their bodies.
Asher felt the mana in the monsters' bodies deplete rapidly as Rifir took his time to devour them.
"Not enough," Rifir's voice echoed in Asher's head.
Asher glanced around, noting that Rifir's level hadn't increased at all.
'Are these not enough?' Asher wondered, surveying the corpses now devoid of mana.
Although he wasn't sure, Asher had estimated that the strange beast he owned wouldn't find D-Rank monsters appealing.
After all, he knew how Rifir's presence alone made the monsters step back in fear.
"Take these, then," Asher said, offering the C-Rank monsters.
The next moment, Asher felt a surge of black energy around Rifir as he began devouring the C-Rank monsters Asher had acquired from the dungeon.
[ Rifir is devouring C-Rank Monsters ]
[ Rifir's Level has increased to Level 2 ]
[ Rifir's Level has increased to Level 3 ]
[ Rifir's Level has increased to Level 4 ]
[ Rifir's Level has increased to Level 5 ]
[ Rifir has unlocked a new skill ]
Asher saw a new notification as Rifir finished devouring all the monsters. The notification mentioned that Rifir had unlocked a new skill, which was different from the previous Perfect Concealment.
"More,"
Asher heard a voice in his head.
As Rifir gained levels, Asher noted his speech was much improved.
[ Rifir has gained Shadow Travel ]
Shadow Travel
[ The skill allows the beast to return to the host no matter where it's from. The beast has imprinted itself on the host, so it will return to you no matter where you are. ]
"Absorb them as well," Asher told the serpent, giving it a few more C-Rank monsters. Their blood spilled onto the floor of the training facility.
However, whenever Rifir absorbed them, even the blood would disappear.
The serpent's Blood Iris stared at Asher for a moment.
Then it returned to the task Asher had given it.
Asher left the training facility, leaving Rifir to feed on the monsters.
But after eating so many C-Rank monsters, the experience gain had significantly decreased for Rifir.
This was apparent, as Asher had received only a single notification from the system.
[ Rifir's Level has increased to Level 6 ]
After that, the notifications stopped. Soon after, Asher saw the serpent emerge from his shadow and disintegrate as it returned to the strange tattoo on his right arm, which also disappeared.
Seeing this, Asher stood up and decided to take a shower.
In a large mansion in Belvoria, also known as the Water Continent:
"Has Jayden returned?" asked a woman in her mid-thirties.
The servant responded, "Not yet, my lady."
The room was filled with the strong scent of a particular perfume, but the servant had grown accustomed to it.
"Did he not receive my message?" the woman said, maintaining her calm gaze.
But the servant was not fooled; he had worked for the Hargrave family for many years.
"We have sent the message, so Young Master Jayden should arrive soon," he replied, struggling to breathe in front of this woman.
"Is her forgetting, by whom's help he became the Heir of this Family," The woman said she tapped the edge of her desk.
Even now, the servant didn't dare meet the eye of this woman.
"Go back," the woman said, and the servant carefully stepped backward so as not to make any noise.
Once outside in the hallway, the servant took a deep breath.
He had already contacted Jayden Hargrave multiple times, but it he had not responded to the message.
"Why was I chosen to serve her?" he wondered, cursing his luck.
Many people sought to form connections with members of elite families, and being the younger sister of the Hargrave family head, it was strange for the servant to feel this way.
Even though his status had increased as he worked for the family members of the Hargrave family, there was one problem.
The lady he served was not the kindest soul in this world.
In fact, rumors circulated that anyone who offended the young lady of the Hargrave family would soon meet their end. And the fact that the Hargrave family head turned a blind eye to all these rumors made it harder for people to blame her, as no evidence was ever found.
"I've waited for this gala, finally," the woman said, pouring wine into a glass.
There was a hint of killing intent seeping from her.
