"Now you should understand why I said you might regret changing groups."
Asher placed the crystal in his palm.
Nova stared at the painfully familiar family emblem, and for the first time, obvious uncertainty appeared in her eyes.
"Impossible. The Valderis family has no reason to harm the other candidates participating in the examination."
"Their target isn’t the others."
Asher looked at her. "It’s me."
Nova wanted to refute him, but whether it was the sudden anomaly within Spatial Gate No. 7 or the Bloody Inducement Crystal deliberately hidden inside Asher’s badge, everything already proved that this was no ordinary accident.
More importantly, the crystal came from the Valderis family.
"It was Harrison." Nova quickly found another explanation. "He’s responsible for arranging the examination groups, and he had an opportunity to access your badge. This might not have anything to do with Father."
"I hope so."
Asher did not argue.
Because no matter what he said now, Nova would never believe that the man who had always represented both a hero and a father in her heart would send an entire examination team into a dangerous Spatial Gate merely to kill an illegitimate son he had never acknowledged.
But the seed of doubt had already been planted.
He did not need an answer now.
He only needed that seed to slowly take root in Nova’s heart.
Crack.
The Bloody Inducement Crystal in Asher’s palm suddenly fractured.
A stream of red aura so dense it was almost tangible surged from inside the crystal and rapidly merged into the surrounding air.
A system warning appeared simultaneously.
[Warning!]
[Bloody Inducement Crystal has been damaged.]
[Remaining inducement energy is being released all at once.]
[High ranking magic beasts within a five kilometer radius have been alerted.]
[C Rank Lifeforms Detected: 17.]
[Peak C Rank Lifeform Detected: 1.]
[Targets are rapidly approaching.]
Asher slowly raised his head.
Deep within the black forest, pairs of scarlet eyes began lighting up one after another.
Even from the direction they had come, the heavy sounds of trees being smashed apart began to echo.
Powerful auras filled with killing intent rapidly closed in from every direction.
Claire, who was treating the injured candidate, instantly turned deathly pale.
Ryan tightened his grip on his already cracked spear.
"We’re surrounded."
Nova forced herself back to her feet.
Almost none of her mana remained, while every aura currently approaching them was no weaker than the Crimson Bone Dire Bear they had just fought.
Farther away, a roar far more terrifying than those of the other magic beasts suddenly erupted.
ROAR!
The sound transformed into a visible shockwave that swept across the entire black forest.
Countless twisted trees shook violently at the same time.
Even the C Rank magic beasts that had been rapidly approaching suddenly stopped upon hearing the roar, as though waiting for the command of their king.
The system panel changed once again.
[Source of Anomaly has awakened.]
[Target: Abyssal Blood Beast King.]
[Rank: Peak C.]
[Current Status: On the verge of breakthrough.]
[Once the breakthrough is completed, Spatial Gate No. 7 will officially advance to B Rank.]
Asher stared at the enormous black silhouette slowly rising in the depths of the forest, then clenched his still bloodstained fists.
This was no longer an examination.
It was a hunt specifically prepared for him.
Unfortunately, Cassian seemed to have forgotten one thing.
The identities of hunter and prey were never fixed.
"Everyone who can still fight, come over here."
Asher’s calm voice echoed through the forest.
Ryan frowned. "What are you planning to do?"
"If you want to leave this place alive, then from this moment onward, follow my orders."
"Why should we?"
Asher lowered his gaze toward the hidden quest displayed by the system, then looked toward the Abyssal Blood Beast King preparing to break through deep within the forest.
The corners of his lips slowly curved upward.
"Because every last one of them is coming for me. And I know how to kill them all."
As Asher’s calm voice fell, the examinees who had been thrown into panic by the rapidly approaching auras of magical beasts instinctively turned their attention toward him.
Ryan clenched his fist, obvious doubt still written across his face.
"We’re not facing one or two C Rank magical beasts. There are at least a dozen! Even if you have rapid regeneration, there’s no way you can withstand all of their attacks. And there’s still a peak C Rank Beast King in the depths of the forest that’s currently breaking through. Once it successfully advances to B Rank, not a single person here will survive."
"That’s why I’m not planning to face them head on." Asher lowered his gaze toward the cracked Bloody Lure Crystal in his hand.
Although most of the power accumulated within the crystal had already been released, it was still the most obvious lure in the perception of every magical beast nearby. As long as they used it properly, there was no need for them to face all the approaching C Rank magical beasts at once.
Nova understood what he was thinking as well.
"You want to use the crystal to lure them somewhere else?"
"Simply luring them away isn’t enough."
Asher glanced at the Crimson Bone Dire Bear lying nearby.
"These magical beasts have already been completely enraged by the crystal. Even if we temporarily put some distance between us, they’ll continue tracking the residual scent on my body. So first, we need to make them fight each other over the strongest source of the lure."
After saying that, he walked directly toward the corpse of the Crimson Bone Dire Bear, thrust his arm through the mouth that had been pierced by lightning, then forcibly tore open its already shattered chest cavity and stuffed the cracked Bloody Lure Crystal into its heart.
The instant the crystal came into contact with blood, an intensely sweet and bloody scent several times stronger than before rapidly spread in every direction.
In the distant forest, the pairs of crimson eyes that were rapidly approaching instantly became even more frenzied.
Roar!
Awooo!
One beastly roar after another echoed through the forest.
Countless trees were violently smashed apart by enormous bodies, while heavy footsteps rapidly approached from every direction, causing the entire ground to tremble faintly.