Liam, Aarav and his classmates respawned in the same spot they died and were shocked by the carnage around them. Corpses of the Ruin Hunters were scattered across the ground. Some had intact bodies while others were unrecognizable— having lost more than half of their body.
"What the hell happened here?" Rika gasped as she took in the scene— eyes wide open.
"Something must have slaughtered them..." Aarav said with a calm tone as he looked at the mutilated corpse of the Ruin Alpha. "And it must be something powerful for it to even kill the leader."
"It could be someone." Eric, the silent mage added as a circle of runes lit up around his hands— highlighting faint footprints in purple color.
Suddenly, Liam remembered those black eyes that he saw just before he died. He felt like it was familiar but he just couldn't place a finger on it.
"So it's a student?!" Rika gasped, feeling quite shocked.
"Probably from Class-A. What do you think, Liam?" Aarav reasoned with a thoughtful expression.
"There's a 70% chance they're from Class-A. And there's also the possibility of them not being in Class-A and being a person who wants to stay under the radar." Liam said as Logan's image flashed in his mind. 'While some are forced to stay under the radar.'
"Ohh! That's a strange but perceptive insight. I can see why Iruca-ji likes you." Rika cheered happily.
"Quit the yapping."
Surprisingly, Eric pulled her away while she dropped her head like an obedient girl.
Looking at Liam's surprised face, Aarav smiled. "We really have strange relationships in our class."
"Yeah." Liam nodded then summoned his weapons and armor. "Ready to go?"
A giant battle-axe appeared in Aarav's hands as he smiled briskly. "Anytime."
....
The small team weaved across the terrain, slaying some stray beasts while avoiding large hordes of them. In over two hours, they had found two Class-B students and Maya; Kiera's friend.
"I can't believe I'm actually getting along with a rival!" Maya whined in mock complaint as she wrapped her arm around Rika's shoulder— a grin plastered on her face.
Unsurprisingly, they both clicked well and were even acting like best buddies.
"We aren't even sure we'd be rivals yet."
Rika scowled as she hoisted up her shield, shaking it to shake off the bloodstains on it.
"Fuck it. That's true." Maya hollered back, laughing wildly.
"What a strange classmate you've got." Aarav chuckled as he looked at the body of the Warrior Realm beast they had just killed. It had taken them a lot of efforts to kill it but since it was a weak one— injured at that, they managed to kill it with Liam giving it the final strike.
And although Liam landed the final blow, everyone got a fair share of points.
"Hmn. She is a brute type." Liam nodded with a small smile tugging at his lips.
...
Earlier, when they met up with Maya, the first thing she asked after greeting Liam was:
"Yo! Curly hair. What type of woman do you like?"
The question had stunned them all and forced Liam to facepalm in embarrassment.
...
"Who are you calling a brute? Y'know I can hear you perfectly!" Raising her voice a little bit too loud, Maya scowled at Liam.
Grimacing slightly, Liam pretended not to hear and ignored her.
"C'mon, let's go find more students."
He called out to the others as they all stood up and continued their journey.
....
"So what now? Wanna start teaching me how to fight?" Hazel asked coldly as she rolled her shoulders, her body now fully healed after an hour.
"You haven't reached the stage where you deserve to learn from me." Kuramoto replied emotionlessly. He was sitting on a nearby rock as he combed his silver hair gently.
"So arrogant. God knows what kind of sin I committed to be stalked by arrogant bastards." Hazel hissed in complaint as she smashed a small bug with her feet. The crack of chitin beneath her boots told her it wasn't just any bug— and the system confirmed it.
[You have slain a Gremlin Beast, Corrupted Bug]
[Your art grows stronger]
[You have received 1 points]
'This place really is dangerous. If a swarm of this suddenly shows up, I'll be damned. It won't right?' She thought as she warily looked around.
"Seems like you just noticed. We're currently standing on the nest of a horde of insects." Kuramoto calmly chimed in as he resumed combing his hair after a short pause.
"And you didn't say anything? Damned Jerk!" Hazel growled as she quickly leaped onto a wall— her warning signals flaring.
"You didn't ask."
Putting his comb into his pockets, he calmly stood up and stomped on the ground— creating a shockwave that spread for over 20 metres.
'He's strong too.' Hazel thought as she struggled to firmly plant herself on the wall. Even then, she was ready to escape at any time.
SKRITT!
Soft chittering sounds began getting louder as small bugs emerged from the ground— their shiny black chitin creating what looked like a sea of black water.
Kuramoto took a single step forward yet countless bugs turned into paste without flair.
'What—?'
Hazel's eyes bulged as she failed to understand what had just transpired.
Killing several Gremlin Realm beasts with one step?
That sounded exaggeratedly ridiculous.
He didn't even touch them physically. There was something weird also. It felt like the air pressure from his foot had crushed the beasts.
Still however, their numbers didn't seem to be dwindling.
"Curious?" He asked without turning back as flames ignited on his finger.
"It's a simple thing actually. My ability [Amplification] allows me to multiply every single action I take by tenfold."
Blowing the small flames on his fingers, they suddenly erupted into a blazing inferno that scorched the surroundings and turned all the bugs into ashes.
[You have slain a colony of Gremlin Beasts, Corrupted Bugs]
[Your art grows stronger]
[You have received 457 points]
———
[You have slain a Warrior Beast, Corrupted Bug Queen]
[Your art grows stronger]
[You have received 270 points]
His lips curled into a cruel smile as he turned to look at the shocked Hazel.
"What do you think?"