Once again, Gunther had approached Raze, and this wasn’t going unnoticed by all of the other students who were being treated in the room.
“Hey, does that no-name really have connections?”
“Maybe he’s an unwanted son, an illegitimate child of a clan head and a concubine. That stuff happens all the time, right? Then he comes back to exact his revenge on all his brothers, but there is a kind brother looking out for him.”
“What type of crap are you spouting? Go take your fantasy crap elsewhere. Clearly, he just thinks he has some talent, so he’s talking to him.”
It was true, Gunther had approached Raze because he thought he was a skillful student, but due to him being a no-name, he knew that this wasn’t a blessing in this situation, but it was actually worse off for him.
“If we’ve gotten this far, why do you want us to drop out?” Raze asked. “Is it because of what happened during this assessment, or do you have your own motive?”
Letting out a big sigh, Gunther turned to look around. He then passed over a few more medicine pills that had been given and handed them over. Raze was applying the green substance onto his cuts.
His arm would sting for a few moments, but he only let out a small grunt before continuing elsewhere, while there were literal sounds of screams coming from others.
“You don’t need to put on the tough guy act with me,” Gunther smiled. “Look, we told you at the beginning that the assessments were just to evaluate you. With the second assessment over, everyone has already passed; the third assessment is just to determine what groups to put you in.”
“Then shouldn’t I still try my best? Better groups will have access to better resources, correct?” Raze asked.
Gunther wasn’t wrong about this kid; he had seen it before, the certain look he would have in his eyes, the look of wanting more power no matter what it took. Raze wasn’t the only one.
People in the entire continent went through crazy events and things, which gave them all determination to get stronger. What separated people was just how strong this determination was.
“You should know resources are useless if you’re dead, right?” Gunther replied back. “Look, I shouldn’t really be telling you this, but you seem to be a smart one, so I’ll give you the details of the next event. 𝒩𝑂𝒱ℯ𝓛xt.𝑪𝑂𝑀
“It’s a hunting ground,” Gunther explained. “Behind the academy, there is a large forest. Small beasts known as hop bunnies will be released, and it’s the students’ jobs to get as many Power stones from the beasts as possible.
“In a way, this whole event is just a way for students to flex or give themselves a ranking amongst each other. As really it will be just the disciples of the five main clans competing against each other, but did you notice why it will be a problem.”
Thinking about it for a while, Raze had managed to come to a conclusion based on the carefully selected words.
“Because the task is to gather power stones, not to kill the beasts,” Raze answered.
“I knew you were a smart one. If I could, I would make you my own disciple right now, but my arts won’t be the best for you,” Gunther continued. “The fact that the assessment is to gather stones means it encourages the others to take stones from others, and that will be by force if necessary.
“You and your friends already stand out a lot, and the main clan disciples aren’t going to like that. Now, it seems like they have a little grudge against you, so the best thing for all of you to do is just not gather any stones and avoid any more attention.”
With his warning given, Gunther felt like he had done the deed he needed to do and started to head off to set up the next steps.
‘Argh crap, I was meant to ask what that technique he used earlier was with the stone. That was pretty cool. I was going to ask him if he had ever heard about the Dark Magus as well. Oh well, I guess I can just save that for next time we meet,’ Gunther thought.
The advice given by Gunther seemed genuine, but Raze felt like he was still too naive. He was looking at the others from his point of view and how he would act, but people were different in the world.
There wasn’t black or white; there were multiple shades of grey in between. Raze knew that even if he didn’t gather any power stones, they would still target him, and not just him but the others as well.
‘Now, I need to figure out how to deal with it.’
Mada, while walking around the hallways of the academy, had passed by and heard a few interesting things. Some of the students had only minor wounds and after they had been looked at, they were heading to the canteen for some food before the next assessment.
“Why do you think he went to see him?”
“How am I meant to know? Maybe they’re secret lovers or something.”
The other student punched his shoulder. “Hey, if they catch you saying that stuff about an examiner, then you’re dead. Still, it is strange that a no-name is receiving so much attention.”
“Hey!” Mada called out. “What are you guys talking about?”
The two students glanced at each other; they knew who Mada was and thought that he might have overheard what he said. No, it was quite clear he had, and now they were fearing the worst and were preparing for a beating.
“We’re sorry!” the students bowed down. “We were just joking around. We saw Gunther and the no-name from before, the one that caught your— I mean, the white-haired one talking to each other.”
Mada immediately started to clench his fist hard until his knuckles were turning white.
‘Why does he care about a no-name so much? He’s never looked at me with the same expression, much less acknowledged I even exist, yet he’s paying so much attention to him. Alright then, Gunther, let’s see how you react when I get rid of him.’