Chapter 30: The First to Return
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"998... 999.... 1000... 1001—" Instructor Gerald pushed his body up and down in a steady and fluid motion, not breaking stride as he continued performing push-ups.
Beads of sweat glistened and dripped down his body and into the soil.
"1023... 1024—"
His eyes suddenly narrowed and he halted his movement.
In one smooth motion, he pushed himself off the ground and unto his feet.
"A student?" He whispered, focusing his gaze on a bunch of rustling bushes. "I honestly thought I would’ve done three thousand before anyone would finish the assessment."
His eyes widened the moment the student stepped out of the bushes. ’A single one?’
The student in question had golden blonde hair, with golden eyes that shone with confidence. His white and gold uniform was still in perfect shape, except the little cut that was mending itself on his right arm.
He held a long black katana that radiated a certain presence of darkness and he carried a black bag strapped on his shoulder.
’It’s the student who took the C rank artifact. Why is he here already? Did he give up?’
The student’s golden eyes scanned the open field till his eyes landed on the sweaty instructor, then he walked with calm and confidence steps towards Gerald.
"What? Given Up?" Gerald asked with raised eyebrows as he watched the student draw closer.
"No—" Theon answered, then paused in front of the instructor. "I’m done."
The instructor stared at him with wide eyes. "That can’t be possible. You only did about twenty minutes inside the forest— and you’re alone."
Theon shrugged, then removed the bag placed on his shoulder and turned it upside down.
Multiple glowing crystals of different sizes poured out of the bag, forming a small mountain.
Instructor Gerald’s eyes widened as he watched the last beast core fall out of the bag.
Theon gave the bag a little shake. Once he was sure that the bag was empty, he tossed it aside.
’Ten F rank cores... Five E ranks, and a single D rank core.’ Instructor Gerald counted the cores on the ground, his mouth slightly agape.
"How were you able to get this many?" Instructor Gerald questioned, his mouth still a little bit open.
"I was lucky, I guess." Theon shrugged and scratched the back of his head.
The instructor stared at Theon quietly, then broke into a wave of laughter.
"Hahahaha!! You keep on surprising me kid!" The instructor grinned, wiping the tear that had formed at the edge of his eye.
Theon stared at him quietly. ’He really is hyperactive, huh?’
"You’ve passed my assessment, and just as promised— you can keep all the beast cores you collected today." Instructor Gerald still kept the wide grin. "As for your reward. I would’ve given you a C rank artifact, but you already took it, so—"
Theon’s eyebrows raised as he watched the instructor stretvh out his hand. Slowly, a green glowing crystal as well as a small silver ring with golden patterns materialized in his palm.
Once fully materialized, the crystal radiated a strong amount of essence— stronger than the essence that was being radiated from all the cores that was piled up on the ground.
"This is a C rank beast core, and this—" The instructor’s grin widened. "This is a C rank artifact i got in a B rank dungeon. It’s an inventory ring. It grants the user the ability to store items in a separate space."
"I also have one—" Instructor Gerald turned the other side of his hand and displayed the shiny silver ring worn on his middle finger. "It’s also how I was able to make these items appear out of thin air. Of course, the space is relatively limited due to it being only a C rank artifact, but it should still be of great use to you."
The instructor handed the items to Theon.
Theon could immediately feel the weight of the C rank core and he could tell that this was levels above that of the D rank.
"Thank you sir! I really appreciate this." Theon bowed his head slightly, expressing his gratitude.
"Just keep on impressing me, kid!" The instructor still kept his wide smile. "This is just the tip of the iceberg."
Theon’s eyes widened. ’So he has stronger items. Well, it’s to be expected for an instructor of his caliber.’
"It’s going to be a while till the rest of the students finish their assessments," Instructor Gerald squatted. "I’m going to continue my little workout session. You— can do whatever the hell you want till then."
He said, then continued performing perfect pushups at a calm and steady pace.
A slight bead of sweat dripped down Theon’s face as he stared at Instructor Gerald.
’He calls this little.’ Theon smiled awkwardly.
’Since I have so much free time, I should start absorbing these cores.’ Theon’s gaze shifted to the cores laid on the ground then to the one on his hand as well as the ring.
A small smile bloomed on his face as he lifted the ring.
’I’ve always wanted to have something like this,’ he slowly put the ring on his index finger.
The system’s golden screen flashed in front of him.
[Name: Inventory Ring]
[Attribute: Space]
[Rank: C Rank]
[Description: Stores items in a separate dimension]
"Hmmm! How do these even work? I guess I just—" he muttered then poured his essence into the ring.
The space around his palm felt like it was being torn open, then the C rank core which he held in his hand disappeared.
Theon’s eyes glowed excitedly, then a small smile spread across his face.
’This is really going to come in handy.’ he clenched his fist.
"Now, for the cores." He whispered.
He carried them and took them further away from the Instructor, so he wouldn’t disrupt his training session.
Then he got into a lotus position and began absorbing the F rank cores first.
It took at most thirty seconds to absorb a single F rank cores before he would toss it aside and start with the next one.
Soon, he finished with the F rank cores and started with E ranks. This took a little more time to absorb, but the progression was still fast either way.
Even Instructor Gerald has to pause his training session for a while as he stared at Theon with a shocked expression.
’This kid! Does he really possess a Gray purity core. The rate of this absorption— only resonants with gold purity cores can do this. And even so, it still feels faster than that. Just who the hell is this kid?’
Gerald’s gaze lingered on Theon fir a second longer, before he continued his workout session.
Theon soon finished absorbing the essence in the E rank cores then began absorbing that of the D rank core.
This one took slightly longer.
By the time Theon felt like he was almost done, groups of students already began to emerge from the forest from different sides.
Their eyes all widened when they saw Theon quietly absorbing the D rank core, but their attention was soon taken away by the instructor who grinned brightly.
"It seems some of you have brains." He grinned.
Most of the students understood what the instructor’s requirement for the assessment was and paired up to tackle it.
Some of the stronger grouped up students were even able to bring the five E rank cores.
But none was able to bring a single D rank core.
Damon had also emerged from the forest as well. He had cuts and bruises all over his body, but none the less he submitted five E rank cores.
None of the other students were surprised. After all, Damon was one of, if not the strongest Gray purity First year student.
After submitting the cores and receiving full marks, Damon’s eyes scanned the field, and once he spotted Theon who was still absorbing the core, he smiled in relief.
’Thank the heavens you’re alright Theon.’
Soon, Theon had completely absorbed the D rank core and his eyes fluttered open.
Multiple students had their eyes on him, but none of that really concerned him.
He clenched his fist and released a small smile. ’I can feel it! I’m close to breaking through. Once I absorb that C rank core, I will officially become a D rank resonant.’
"Theon!!" Damon’s voice echoed, snapping Theon out of his thoughts.
Theon looked up and saw Damon walking towards him with a small smile on his face.
"Glad to see you’re alright." He stretched out his hand.
Theon smiled, reached out and grabbed it. "Yeah!"
The one hour time limit soon elapsed, and the Instructor had to go in to the forest to bring out the students who were still inside.
Within the group of students that the instructor had brought out were Jude and his group.
They all spotted Theon easily but avoided his gaze completely.
Instructor Gerald failed all the students that had exceeded the one hour time limit. And with that, he brought an end to the assessment.
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