'The pest didn't give me one, but the maggot did?' Azrael thought.
It really seemed like the granting of skills was random, not connected to the strength of the creature you'd defeated.
Shaking his head, he read the skill's information.
Skill: [Blood Manipulation]
Skill Rank: [Warped (Tied)]
Skill Description: [After escaping the grasp of its immoral mother, the Bloodleech wandered through the corrupted lands in search of a worthy vessel. It inhabited countless beings, its thirst for blood ever-growing, yet in the end, the worthy vessel never appeared.]
Azrael furrowed his brow.
'Its Rank is based on the Corruption ranking and not the Purity ranking? Does that mean this skill is exclusive to monsters?'
His eyes paused at the word (Tied).
'If I'm not mistaken, it means the skill's Rank will grow proportionally with mine… considering it follows Corruption ranking, it's safe to assume that if I increase my Corruption, the skill will grow along with it.'
For a brief moment, he considered abandoning everything — going on a rampage, killing as many monsters as he could to raise his Rank. But the fear of what might happen to his sanity if his Corruption outpaced his Purity stopped him.
'This just makes me want to Rank up as soon as I can,' he thought, staring at his palm.
Since Victor was still far away, his gaze landed on the monster blood that had polluted the soil. Extending his palm, he thought of using the skill.
A faint ripple appeared on the blood's surface, barely noticeable, but proof that the skill had activated.
Satisfied, Azrael stepped into the river, trying to rid his body of the scent.
*****
"Do you think we'll get first place?" Azrael asked, wringing water from his uniform.
Victor glanced at the monster's corpse, then at what remained of their bait.
"No," he said bluntly. "Some of them come from major families and clans. Their heirs were likely given countless items and maybe even skills. Beating them right now is impossible."
Azrael scratched his chin in thought. 'Giving them items is one thing, but skills? Those can't be shared. That means they've had them hunting monsters from a young age… just for a shot at getting one.'
He studied Victor for a moment, deciding to indulge his curiosity.
"If you don't mind me asking, how did you grow to be two and a half meters tall? Is that because of your Inborn Trait?"
Victor laughed coldly. "No. I just have a nasty disorder. Have you heard of gigantism?"
"No."
"It's basically when a person begins to grow abnormally fast at a young age. I especially had a really bad case of it. I should have died about 8 years ago."
Azrael's eyes narrowed. "Yet you survived. How?"
A smirk appeared on Victor's face. "Father. That crazy old man. After mother died giving birth to me, he made sure that I, as the last memory of her, would live no matter what. Since the biggest problem was that my muscles couldn't support my growing frame, he did what he had to: performance-enhancing drugs. Lots of them. Combined with relentless training... you get something like me."
"But don't those drugs shorten your lifespan?" Azrael challenged.
"They do," Victor nodded. "Still, father figured dying in my late twenties from heart failure was better than dying before ten."
He glanced at his axe, then strapped it to his back. "In the end, I got lucky. I was Chosen. Thanks to the Purity in me, all the drug side effects vanished — even the need to use them to keep my body stable. Pretty rad, right?"
Azrael's eyes darkened momentarily. "Sounds like you had a caring father."
Victor eyed him suspiciously. "Did you not?"
Before the Death Heir could respond, a voice echoed through the containment room.
"Good work. All the monsters have been taken care of. Gather at the entrance. The results will be shown shortly."
Regretting that they had wasted valuable time cleaning up, the two men followed the orders and headed toward the gathering spot.
Azrael scanned the area briefly.
'Our numbers have dwindled,' he noted.
While it was good that he now had fewer potential competitors, it also meant that should he try to kill them, trying to devour their soul, it would be much harder. There were benefits and negatives to being surrounded by the elite.
Soon, Instructor Iris appeared before the remaining Chosen.
"There's no need to pretend. You all know many didn't make the cut."
A few of the Chosen hurled curses, while others remained unfazed. Getting worked up over the loss of a few dead would be pointless.
"Since this is your first day, I will excuse the ones that dared to insult me," Iris spoke coldly, her gaze bearing into them.
"But don't push your luck, brats."
Azrael's eyes didn't stop their observation even for a second. He made sure to burn it into his memory—the ones that had survived, what was their condition, how many injuries they had accumulated.
Even their facial expressions were of utmost importance. Did they look scared after losing their known ones? Or were they emotionless, unbothered by the loss of human life?
Considering that these people could very well become his enemies in the future, he had to be prepared for the worst.
'As expected, the ones who looked like they came from privileged families don't seem scared at all,'
"You have one hour," Iris said, cutting into his thoughts.
"Use it to clean yourselves, then proceed to your other lessons."
She let her gaze sweep across the group. "Any questions?"
Azrael raised a hand. "How often will we be facing threats like these?"
"Rarely," Iris replied. "It takes a lot of time for monsters to emerge from the Rifts, and even more to manage and distribute them equally around the area. So don't worry — days like today will be few and far between."
'This means my Corruption Rank will be much easier to manage,' Azrael thought with relief, without letting it show on his stoic face.
He wasn't the only one. Some looked visibly grateful that they wouldn't have to risk their lives again so soon. Others, though, seemed angry — knowing that fewer monsters meant fewer chances to earn skills and items.
"Since there are no more questions, you are dismissed. Your evaluation scores will soon be visible on your devices."
With that, she left them to their own devices. Unlike last time, silence fell on the area. No one was in the mood for talking—every Chosen here had fought with at least one monster and seen the death of somebody. No one would be in the mood for chatter after that.
*****
"It was nice teaming up with you," Victor patted him on the back.
"If the opportunity arises, let's do it again," he added, raising a hand in farewell.
Azrael sighed, making his way toward his assigned room.
He rushed straight to the bathroom and didn't come out until every trace of death had been scrubbed from his body.
The river hadn't been enough, not without soap or shampoo.
With the clock ticking, he dried up, put on his uniform, and was about to head out.
However, before he could, a notification stopped him in his tracks.
"Oh?" he mused, reading it.
It seemed that the result of the evaluation had been published.