[Points 50]
Alden glanced at the notification flashing before his eyes as the lifeless body of the Bone-Knuckle Kangaroo slumped to the ground.
He wiped the sweat on his temple, his breathing was rough and uneven...
He hadn't used any of his sub-skills this ti as he wanted to check his current raw strength first.
But damn…
"I didn't think a damn kangaroo could be this tough."
The creature had been relentless, dodging every one of his attacks with unnatural speed.
He had even used his Predatory Gaze which had failed to have any effect on it due to its rank being higher than Alden.
In the end, he had barely won by binding its leg in the shadows using shadow manipulation before landing a decisive strike.
He could use his shadow manipulation freely as he had already gotten the family's official shadow mana to after defeating Cedric so he didn't need to worry about anyone finding it suspicious….
He lightly tapped his bracelet to see his updated rank…
---
[Current Rank - 13]
[Points - 150]
'Finally sowhat close…just need a few more kills." Alden muttered as he tapped on current rank…to check the leaderboard for the first ti.
He hadn't checked the leaderboard before as he was sure either Amyra or Lucien would be Rank 1…but he opened it now feeling a bit curious about how many points they had…..
His eyes moved down the list, but as soon as he saw the top rank his body froze.
1) NYX RAVENSCAR - 500
2) AMYRA CELESTRIAN - 350
3) LUCIEN CELESTRIAN - 250
4) SELES DRAVEN - 240
…
13) ALDEN DRAVEN - 150
"What the hell?"
Alden's brows furrowed in confusion. He had expected Amyra,Lucien or even Seles to dominate the rankings. But, so mystery candidate had taken first place and that too with a huge gap in points too.
"Nyx Ravenscar… Who the hell is that?"
'From the difference in points between her and Amyra it seems she is fairly strong…at least stronger than Amyra who was at Beginner Initiate Rank at the start of academy'
He went through his mories of the novel, but nothing surfaced. No character with such a na was ntioned in the novel.
A mistake? No, impossible.
"This test is different from the novel, but still… soone completely new topping the rankings, how can that be?"
He took a deep breath before calming himself as he scanned the na again. 'Could she be one of the other Supres?'
'I can't be sure yet'
'If she was indeed one then that ans, she is dangerous and definitely soone I needed to keep an eye on.'
"Tch, looks like this academy is going to be full of surprises."
___
Just as he was lost in thought…A slow, mocking clap rang out from behind him.
"Well, well, look who do we have here. If it isn't the esteed son of the Draven family…."
Alden's body tensed. His fingers instinctively reached toward his blade, but he forced himself to relax.
Keeping his expression impassive he turned around as he saw a brown-haired boy leading a group of three walking slowly towards him..
The one in front was Darius, son of the Guildmaster of Silver Wolf, one of Dravonia's gold rank guilds. A close friend of Cedric or as so might say a 'Lackey.'
Guilds were classified in bronze,silver, gold and platinum ... .as only those at Master rank and Above could open a guild…the ranking was straightforward…
Guilds having a Master Rank Guildmaster were Bronze Rank whereas those with Overlord rank were Platinum rank..
As Alden looked at the familiar face of Darius his expression didn't change much, but deep inside, a spark of malice rose to life.
'Fate really is kind to today.' Alden thought as a cold smile appeared on his face.
He hated Darius as much as Cedric…as he too used to beat him when Cedric was around….
'It's gonna be fun..haha' Alden thought as his body shivered with excitent…
Darius smirked, clearly mistaking Alden's shivering for fear.
"What happened? Cat got your tongue?" He laughed. "I heard you defeated Cedric huh? I am sure you must've used so trick.."
The two lackeys beside him chuckled, their strength in the Interdiate Novice Rank. Darius himself was stronger than his lackeys being at Advanced Novice Rank– the sa level as Alden…
Alden tilted his head slightly, his lips curling into a cruel smirk.
"I should thank you Darius."
"For what?" Darius asked in puzzlent ..
'For making my life hell before…for being on my hit list and for walking into my hands when I was just itching to test my strength properly.'
Alden's crimson eyes shone with unnatural hostility as he started walking towards Darius step by step…deliberately walking slowly..
"You were talking about my victory against Cedric being a trick, right?" His voice was quiet. "Let show you the sa trick."
The air was heavy with tension as nobody spoke for a mont before Darius' smirk widened as he saw Alden walking towards him..
"Hahaha…You finally grew a spine,huh?" He mocked , cracking his knuckles assuming a fighting position. "Or are you just too stupid to know your limit?"
His lackeys chuckled too, stepping aside as Darius had signaled them to not interfere in their fight…
Whereas Alden just smiled softly, his smile anything but warm—-A cold, calculated smile, one that sent an instinctive chill down Darius' spine before he could stop himself.
Alden wasn't afraid, instead he was thinking on how to inflict the most amount of pain on Darius….he couldn't do the sa with Cedric as their duel was held in family…..but here there was absolutely nobody who would interfere unless Darius was fatally injured.
"Co on, then I don't have all day." Alden gestured to Darius mockingly. "You wanted to teach a lesson, right? Show what you've got."
"Being Cocky, are we?" Darius' face filled with rage as his pride flared at the taunt "Let's see how long you can maintain that attitude.."
Darius dashed forward, fist pulled back ready to strike. His movents were quick but to Alden's [Eyes of Supre], he was seeing it in a slow motion.
Alden could see every detail about how Darius's muscles tensed up..., the slight shift in his weight as he prepared to throw his punch….he could easily predict which direction the punch was going to hit
But Alden didn't dodge with any large movent; he simply tilted his head slightly to the left , letting the punch slightly miss him.
Then, before Darius could even react…..Alden punched Darius' ribs with all his strength. The punch had so much force that it sent a shockwave through Darius's body as he heard the sound of bones cracking on impact..
'CRACK!'
Darius was on a similar level to Cedric in terms of power…if it was him from before he might've struggled.
But now?..he didn't even break a sweat..
"GHUHK"
Darius' eyes bulged out as he was sent flying back like a ragdoll before crashing into a nearby tree hard enough to leave a deep dent in the bark.
A silence spread out in the area as Darius's lackeys were also stunned seeing their friend being sent flying…
'What… just happened?' Darius coughed violently, his mind racing to comprehend what had just happened, the pain that flared throughout his body…. One punch?That was all it took?
"Y-You bastard" He scread, struggling to even stand up, but before he could Alden was already there standing just a few steps away as he stared at Darius with his cold crimson eyes devoid of any warmth…
"That's it?" Alden tilted his head as a mocking smirk appeared on his face. "You used to love beating up. Where did all that confidence go,huh?" Alden had also activated his [Predatory Eyes].
Darius' breathing started getting rough as beads of sweat started forming on his temple….he started to avert his gaze from Alden feeling primal fear.
His ntal strength had already taken quite a hit from being beaten by soone he considered weak didn't help it either…
Before Darius could even say sothing Alden slamd his foot down into Darius's forearm…his bone had snapped like a twig..
The snap of Darius's arm sent a wave of nausea through Alden as he had never been this cruel before. But the anger boiling in his chest was greater than any nausea he felt.
'This world is not for kind.' Alden knew: this world didn't care for kindness and he'd accepted that long ago so he didn't hesitate.
"AAAAARGH!!" Darius scread, rolling on ground as tears started streaming down his face..
The lackeys finally snapped out of their daze listening to Darius's screams.
"YOU BASTARD" They both lunged at Alden, their weapons drawn ready to attack him..
But Alden's eyes shone with cold light as he stared in their eyes his [Predatory Gaze] still active…both of the Lackeys froze on their spot…their rank being lower than Alden didn't help them…
Alden moved quickly, appearing in front of them as he slashed his blade which he hadn't used against Darius rcilessly…both of the Lackey's bodies turned into light as they vanished, being disqualified…
He saw their bracelets falling to the ground but he ignored it, turning his attention back to Darius.
Darius was still rolling on the ground, gripping his broken arm, his face was twisted in pain and fear.
"This is only fair, isn't it?"Alden crouched beside him muttering in a quiet voice. "How many tis did you do the sa to ?"
He gripped Darius's hairs as he pulled his face in front of him…staring right into his eyes again.
Darius trembled,
Not just from pain.
From fear.
Alden leaned in slightly, voice barely a whisper.
"The difference is... I'm just getting started."
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