Chapter 135: Victor is an opportunist!
Victor advanced through the forest in complete silence as the Mist Steps carried him among the highest branches of the gigantic trees. The Blood Demon’s Concealment remained active around his body, hiding his presence so efficiently that even the most sensitive creatures in that region seemed unable to perceive his existence. As he moved, his expanded perception continued to work without interruption, tracking everything within the monstrous range he had awakened after absorbing the Primordial Blood.
That ability remained strange.
Victor hadn’t yet given it a name, but he already understood that it was probably one of the most absurd tools he possessed at that moment. It didn’t matter if the targets were hidden behind mountains, buried underground, or concealing their own energy. As long as they were living beings, he could sense them.
And at that specific moment, a presence caught his attention.
It was enormous.
Much larger than any ordinary group of monsters.
Much heavier than the participants scattered throughout the forest. Victor watched that mass of energy as he traversed the branches above the forest at a steady speed.
"Looks like I’ve found a territorial boss."
His voice was low.
Calm.
After all, that was exactly the type of target he was looking for.
Territorial bosses were worth one hundred points.
Ten times more than a common badge.
If he eliminated some of them, his score would skyrocket without having to waste time chasing random participants through the entire forest.
So he kept advancing.
The distance gradually decreased.
First a few kilometers.
Then hundreds of meters.
Until he finally got close enough to see the location.
Victor stopped on a high branch and observed the clearing below.
Then he raised an eyebrow.
"...Ah."
That was unexpected.
Because the territorial boss wasn’t alone.
Not at all.
Two people had already arrived before him.
Emma and Charlotte.
The two sisters stood on opposite sides of a huge, destroyed clearing. Giant trees had been felled. Rocks were scattered everywhere. The ground was completely cracked in several places.
At the center of the destruction was the territorial leader.
A monstrous gorilla.
The creature easily stood over fifteen meters tall when upright. Its muscles looked like blocks of living stone compressed under a thick layer of dark skin. Its arms were absurdly long, and each movement produced small vibrations in the ground.
Victor observed this for a few seconds.
"...Big."
The observation was objective.
Because it really was big.
But it didn’t seem particularly intelligent.
Nor especially fast.
It was probably a creature specialized in brute force.
The problem was that Emma and Charlotte seemed more interested in arguing with each other than in eliminating the monster.
"I found it first."
Charlotte pointed to her sister as she spoke.
"But I was the one who attacked first."
Emma replied immediately.
"That doesn’t matter."
"It does matter."
"It doesn’t matter."
"It does matter."
Victor continued watching.
Then he rested his chin on one hand.
The gorilla roared.
Neither of them seemed impressed.
Emma glanced at her sister.
Charlotte returned the look.
Victor began to suspect that they had temporarily forgotten the monster’s existence.
"They’re arguing more than fighting."
The conclusion seemed quite accurate.
The gorilla apparently agreed.
Because it seized that moment to advance.
The creature crossed the entire clearing in a few gigantic strides before delivering a punch capable of demolishing a small house.
Emma dodged to the left.
Charlotte dodged to the right.
The fist hit the ground.
The resulting explosion opened a huge crater.
Victor whistled softly.
"That would have hurt."
The two sisters finally turned their attention back to the battle.
Still arguing.
But fighting.
Which was already progress.
Victor remained hidden, observing.
For now, he had no intention of intervening.
In fact, he preferred to wait.
If they wore down the territorial chief first, his job would be much simpler.
Besides, observing other participants was always useful.
Especially those considered prodigies.
So he decided to watch.
Emma was the first to demonstrate her skill.
She raised one hand as she retreated quickly across the battlefield.
The air around her began to move immediately.
First subtly.
Then extremely aggressively.
Gusts of compressed wind surged around her before firing at the gorilla.
The invisible blades struck the monster’s body in sequence.
Several deep cuts appeared instantly.
The territorial boss roared in pain.
Victor watched intently.
"Wind ability."
It made sense.
But the interesting thing was the control.
Emma didn’t seem to just generate wind.
She manipulated pressure.
Direction.
Speed.
Intensity.
All at the same time.
That required far more precision than most novice users usually possessed.
Before he could analyze it further, Charlotte sprang into action.
Dark clouds began to gather above the clearing.
The sky was covered in a few seconds.
Then lightning exploded.
Not one.
Not two.
Dozens.
Columns of electrical energy descended violently upon the territorial boss. The impact caused the creature to recoil for the first time since the beginning of the battle.
Victor watched everything in silence.
"Hm."
Now he understood better.
Emma controlled winds.
Charlotte controlled storms.
Separately, these were already strong abilities.
But together...
They complemented each other almost perfectly.
Emma’s winds fueled Charlotte’s storms.
The storms strengthened the winds.
It was an extremely efficient synergy.
The gorilla tried to react.
But it encountered difficulties.
Gusts cut off its movements.
Lightning destroyed any attempt to approach.
Little by little, the creature began to accumulate wounds.
Victor attentively observed every detail.
Not just the attacks.
But also the way the two fought.
That was more important.
Because both had recently awakened their abilities.
Even so, they already demonstrated impressive mastery.
They didn’t seem like beginners.
They didn’t seem like people experimenting with new powers.
They seemed like veterans.
Emma instinctively adjusted the intensity of the winds as the situation changed.
Charlotte did the same with the lightning.
None of them wasted energy.
None made unnecessary movements.
Victor watched everything in silence for several minutes.
Then he murmured to himself:
"It’s nothing new."
Because, honestly, it made sense.
They were talented.
Very talented.
People of that level learned quickly.
Extremely quickly.
Victor understood this better than anyone at that moment.
Because he himself had been through the same situation.
Just a few hours ago he didn’t even possess those abilities.
Now he could use them naturally.
The black lightning.
The white flames.
The black ice.
Even that strange blood-based vision. Everything already seemed familiar.
As if it had always existed.
He didn’t yet know all the limits.
Nor all the applications.
But basic control came almost instantly.
Perhaps it was the effect of the Primordial Blood.
Perhaps it was compatibility.
Or perhaps just raw talent.
Victor didn’t know.
And honestly, he didn’t care much.
If it worked, he was satisfied.
His attention returned to the battle.
The territorial boss was already showing clear signs of wear and tear.
His movements were slower.
His breathing heavier.
The wounds were accumulating rapidly.
Emma and Charlotte noticed this.
Naturally.
That’s why they began to intensify their attacks.
The problem was that they also started arguing again.
"I’m going to finish it."
"No, you won’t."
"Yes, I will."
"No, you won’t."
"I will."
"No." Victor closed his eyes for a few seconds.
Then he sighed.
"Impressive."
Because they could actually argue during a deadly fight.
That required a special kind of talent.
The gorilla probably agreed.
The creature roared once more before destroying another part of the clearing, trying to hit either of them.
Unsuccessfully.
Emma dodged.
Charlotte dodged.
The argument continued.
Victor remained watching from the top of the tree.
Patiently.
Waiting.
Because the further the battle progressed, the better for him.
The territorial boss was getting closer and closer to defeat.
And when he finally reached his limit...
Victor intended to steal those hundred points.
Without guilt.
Without remorse.
After all, that entire exam had been built precisely on that concept.
Stealing points.
Eliminating opponents.
Taking advantage of opportunities.
The organizers practically encouraged this behavior.
So he saw no reason to act differently.
As he watched the gorilla receive another brutal sequence of attacks, a small smile appeared on his face.
Emma and Charlotte continued fighting.
The territorial boss continued weakening.
And Victor continued waiting.
Calmly.
Because sometimes the most efficient way to win a battle was simply to let someone else do almost all the work first.
Victor continued watching the battle from the top of the tree, following every movement of the two sisters. The fight had entered its final phase a few minutes ago. The territorial boss was clearly exhausted, covered in deep wounds, electric burns, and dozens of cuts scattered across its gigantic body. Its breathing had become heavy and irregular, while its movements lost speed with each new exchange.
Emma and Charlotte noticed it too.
It was impossible not to notice.
The creature was already at its limit.
Victor observed the red lines within his perception and quickly concluded that the monster wouldn’t last much longer.
The territorial boss was finished.
And that meant that the most important moment of that fight had finally arrived.
The moment to steal the points.
Victor smiled slightly.
"Time to work."
The Blood Demon’s Concealment remained active around his body as he silently disappeared from the branch where he was sitting.
No sound.
No energy.
No warning.
The Mist Steps propelled him through the forest at an absurd speed. Below him, Emma and Charlotte prepared the final blow.
The winds began to swirl violently around the clearing.
Above them, a colossal storm was taking shape.
The two had finally stopped arguing.
Miracle.
The territorial chief roared one last time as he tried to escape.
Unsuccessfully.
Emma raised both hands.
The air exploded.
Dozens of currents of compressed wind enveloped the monstrous gorilla’s arms and legs, pinning the creature to the shattered ground.
At the same time, Charlotte raised her sword.
The sky responded immediately.
An absurd amount of electrical energy began to accumulate above her.
The final blow.
Victor recognized it instantly.
That attack would kill the territorial chief.
The problem...
Was that those hundred points belonged to him now.
Charlotte began to bring down her sword.
The lightning responded.
But before she could reach her target...
Victor appeared.
Without warning.
Without presence.
Without detectable energy.
One instant Charlotte was alone.
The next there was someone behind her.
Victor.
Her eyes widened.
Instinctively she tried to react.
Too late.
Victor spun his body and delivered a sharp blow to her side.
BOOOOOOM.
The impact exploded the surrounding air.
Charlotte was launched across the clearing like a projectile.
The girl crashed through trees, rocks, and a small rise before disappearing into the distant forest.
The lightning she had prepared immediately lost control.
The energy exploded far from its target.
Emma froze for a moment.
Confusion.
Surprise.
Anger.
It all appeared on her face at once.
Victor completely ignored it. His attention was already focused on the territorial chief.
The creature was still trapped by the wind currents.
Immobilized.
Vulnerable.
Perfect.
Victor raised one hand.
The blood around him responded immediately.
Red rivers began to emerge from the accumulated energy within his own body. The substance rapidly condensed above him, forming something gigantic.
A hammer.
Enormous.
Monstrous.
The weapon was several meters long and seemed to be made of solid blood compressed under absurd pressure.
The territorial chief realized the danger.
Too late.
Victor smiled.
Then he lowered his arm.
The hammer fell.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM.
The entire clearing trembled.
The ground sank.
Shockwaves swept through the forest.
As the dust began to rise, the gorilla’s head simply vanished.
It disappeared.
It exploded.
It became an unrecognizable mass scattered across dozens of meters.
The colossal body collapsed instantly.
Dead.
His smile widened.
"Perfect."
But Emma’s reaction was predictable.
She lunged forward instantly.
Furious.
The winds around her exploded into a storm of invisible blades as the girl fired directly at him.
