On the island, Reed Newt strolled slowly through the dense jungle, his footsteps crunching softly against the layer of fallen leaves beneath his feet.
His sharp eyes continuously swept across the surroundings, taking in the towering giant trees that seemed to stretch all the way into the sky.
Their enormous trunks were thick enough that several people would probably need to join hands to encircle them.
Above his head, the dense canopy blocked out most of the sunlight, leaving the jungle beneath it shrouded in a dim, gloomy atmosphere.
From time to time, a deafening roar belonging to a sea monster would echo from somewhere in the distance.
“Roar-!” The sound reverberated through the jungle; even the branches above Reed Newt’s head seemed to tremble slightly.
Anyone else who heard such a terrifying roar while wandering alone through this unfamiliar jungle would probably have turned around and fled long ago.
But Reed Newt remained remarkably calm.
He continued forward.
He didn’t know how much time had passed.
Perhaps half an hour.
Perhaps even longer.
Finally, he stopped, and his gaze fell upon a blood-red vine growing beside a towering tree.
The vine was unusually thick, almost as thick as an adult’s arm.
Its surface was covered with strange, fine patterns, and its deep-red color made it look as though blood was flowing beneath its bark.
Reed Newt’s eyes immediately lit up, and he walked over and reached out to grab the vine.
After carefully examining it for a moment, he took out his bone knife.
He first tested the hardness of the vine.
Then, he pulled it forcefully to test its flexibility.
The result made him extremely happy.
“This is good…” The vine was surprisingly tough; even after being pulled with considerable force, it didn’t show any signs of snapping.
More importantly, its flexibility was excellent.
“You are the one!” Reed Newt’s eyes gleamed as he had finally found the material he needed.
Without wasting any more time, Reed Newt immediately began cutting.
However, the toughness of the vine far exceeded his expectations.
Even with the sharp bone knife in his hand, cutting through it wasn’t an easy task.
It took quite a while before he finally managed to sever the vine.
Reed Newt wiped the sweat from his forehead, then, he began weaving the trap.
“The strength of that sea monster is terrifying, and its three-meter-high body is even more troublesome…” Reed Newt carefully intertwined the vines while speaking to himself.
“If I fight it head-on, I definitely won’t be able to kill it in a short time.”
He had already witnessed the terrifying strength of the sea monsters on this island.
Even an ordinary three-meter-high sea monster possessed strength far beyond that of an ordinary human.
With his current physical condition, fighting such a monster directly would be extremely dangerous.
Therefore, he needed another method.
“I have to find a way to trap it first…” Reed Newt’s eyes narrowed slightly.
“Then I can slowly kill it.”
This was the safest method he could think of.
He had searched almost the entire surrounding area of the island; only then had he finally discovered these extremely flexible blood-red vines.
As long as he could weave them into a sufficiently strong trap, once the sea monster stepped inside, it would have difficulty escaping.
And if the trap were connected to several enormous trees, even a powerful sea monster would have a hard time breaking free.
After all, it wasn’t easy to uproot several towering giant trees with brute force.
Reed Newt continued working.
One knot.
Then another.
The vines were intertwined and reinforced again and again.
After a full hour of hard work, a special trap designed specifically for catching large prey was finally completed.
Reed Newt stood nearby and carefully inspected his handiwork.
The vines were firmly tied around several towering giant trees surrounding the trap.
Every connection had been reinforced multiple times.
The entire trap looked inconspicuous when viewed from a distance.
But beneath that seemingly simple appearance was a terrifying amount of pulling force.
As long as a sea monster accidentally broke into the center, the vines would tighten instantly.
Then, the enormous body would be pulled violently into the air.
Once suspended upside down, the sea monster would have difficulty using its strength.
At that point, Reed Newt could simply stand below it and slowly attack.
It could be slaughtered at will.
Unless the sea monster possessed enough terrifying strength to uproot several enormous trees at the same time, otherwise, there was absolutely no way for it to escape.
Reed Newt looked at the trap for a moment before nodding in satisfaction.
“Now…”
He looked toward the depths of the jungle.
“All that’s left is to wait.”
On a certain island.
“Roar-!” A furious roar suddenly erupted.
The surrounding trees trembled violently, and leaves fell from the branches like rain.
Standing in the middle of the island was a three-meter-high sea monster.
Its enormous body was covered in strange flesh, while twelve thick tentacles continuously writhed around it.
At the same time, a young man stood several meters away.
Rudyard Wilf, who had already become an evolutionary, stood with his hands behind his back and calmly stared at the terrifying sea monster before him.
There was no fear in his eyes.
Instead, there was a trace of confidence.
In the textbook, this type of sea monster was called a Squid Monster.
It possessed twelve tentacles, and each tentacle was covered with countless suction cups.
Those suction cups weren’t merely capable of gripping objects; they could also absorb flesh and blood.
Once a human was caught by those tentacles, the suction force would instantly drain the blood from their body.
In a matter of moments, their entire body would be reduced to a lifeless corpse.
Before becoming an evolutionary, Rudyard Wilf wouldn’t have dared to confront such a terrifying monster directly.
If he had encountered one before becoming an evolutionary, his first thought would have been to flee.
But now, everything was different.
Rudyard Wilf slowly inhaled, causing his chest to rise and fall.
Then, he slowly raised one hand, and a faint flame emerged from his fingertips.
At first, it was merely a tiny flame.
But in the blink of an eye, the flame rapidly expanded.
Boom!
Fiery light erupted, and the surrounding temperature began to rise rapidly.
The tiny flame transformed into a terrifying blaze.
Then, under Rudyard Wilf’s control, the flames gradually took the shape of a dragon.
A gigantic fire dragon appeared before him.
Its body was composed entirely of blazing flames.
Its eyes seemed to burn with golden-red light.
“Go!” Rudyard Wilf shouted.
The fire dragon suddenly roared, then it shot forward at an astonishing speed.
It charged straight toward the monster.
Wherever it passed, the surrounding air seemed to distort from the terrifying heat.
The heat wave rolled outward in all directions, and even the nearby vegetation began to wither under the terrifying temperature.
Whoosh!
The fire dragon tore through the air, and a terrifying sonic boom erupted.
“Roar-!” The monster’s pupils instantly turned scarlet.
It let out an enraged roar, and its tentacles whipped through the air.
Then, its enormous body charged directly toward Rudyard Wilf.
It didn’t retreat.
Instead, it chose to collide head-on with the incoming fire dragon.
Boom-!
When the two sides collided, a terrifying explosion erupted and flames spread in every direction.
The shock wave swept across the island. Get faster updates on g.com.
The ground beneath their feet cracked.
“Roar-!” A miserable roar followed as the enormous body of the monster was blasted backward.
Its huge body flew through the air before crashing heavily into the ground.
Boom!
Dust and debris scattered everywhere, and Rudyard Wilf stood calmly amid the flames.
“Overreach!” He snorted coldly.
He didn’t give the monster any opportunity to recover.
Taking advantage of the situation, he immediately pursued.
His fingers moved, and the terrifying flames once again gathered around him.
Rudyard Wilf manipulated the flames according to the method taught by his instructor.
The energy within his body surged violently.
Boom!
A terrifying aura erupted, and the flames transformed again.
The temperature surrounding him continued climbing.
The monster desperately attempted to resist; its tentacles lashed out repeatedly.
But the flames were simply too powerful.
One attack after another bombarded its enormous body.
The entire battlefield was filled with explosions.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Half an hour later, the previously terrifying monster was lying motionless on the ground.
Its enormous body had been completely charred black.
The flames had burned away most of its vitality.
There was no longer any sign of life.
The battle…
Was over.
Rudyard Wilf stood nearby.
The energy within his body was almost completely exhausted.
His breathing was heavy, and sweat covered his forehead.
Even so, he didn’t stop.
His eyes remained fixed on the corpse of the giant chapter monster.
He walked directly toward it.
Then, after searching the corpse for a moment, he reached toward its forehead.
His fingers pierced into the flesh.
A moment later, he pulled out a strange red crystal-like object.
The crystal was roughly the size of a fist.
A faint red glow continuously circulated within it.
“The core of evolution.” Rudyard Wilf’s eyes flashed with excitement.
He could clearly sense the powerful evolutionary energy surging within the crystal.
This was the most valuable part of the monster.
The evolutionary energy contained within it could help him advance.
It could allow him to become even stronger.
And for an evolutionary…
Strength was everything.
In Valley View Academy Observation Room.
“The scoreboard is open!” The moment these words were spoken, everyone immediately gathered in front of a massive stone tablet.
The surface of the stone tablet was covered with mysterious patterns.
At this moment, countless names were continuously appearing and changing across its surface.
The mentors stared intently at the constantly changing rankings.
Their eyes were filled with anticipation.
Today was the first day of the official Island Holder survival assessment as the 24-hour novice protection period had just ended.
From this moment onward, the true survival assessment had officially begun.
As long as an Island Holder successfully killed a sea monster, their name would appear on the scoreboard.
And for every sea monster killed, points could be obtained.
Soon, the mentors discovered the names of several students from their group in the standings.
One of them was ranked seventeenth.
“Rudyard Wilf, a student of Valley View Academy, killed a monster and obtained 10 points.”
Looking at this line, several nodded in satisfaction.
This result wasn’t bad.
At least, Rudyard Wilf had successfully entered the standings.
At this moment, the person occupying the top position was Hanna Raelene from Cypress Institute.
She had also killed a monster and obtained 10 points.
However, the reason she was ranked first wasn’t because she had killed more monsters.
Instead, her killing time had been earlier than everyone else’s.
Therefore, when everyone had the same score, she naturally occupied the first position.
This also meant that the time when she had become an evolutionary was far ahead of the others.
“I thought Rudyard Wilf could enter the top ten standings, but I didn’t expect the other schools to also have so many talents.” Meinhard Janek glanced at the list and couldn’t help sighing emotionally.
The 24-hour novice protection period had only just ended.
There weren’t many sea monsters that had landed on the islands yet.
Therefore, most of the people who had successfully entered the standings only had 10 points.
But as time continued to pass, more and more sea monsters would land on the islands.
The number of monsters each person killed would gradually increase.
And once that happened, the gap between everyone would inevitably widen.
“Look!” At this moment, someone suddenly pointed at the scoreboard.
“Helge Nollaig also successfully killed a sea monster by relying on his physical evolution!
He ranks twenty-fifth in the standings!”
The surrounding mentors immediately looked over.
“Hey, that’s pretty good.
His physical evolution is quite powerful.
He’s only just begun, but he’s already twenty-fifth.” Another mentor spoke with admiration.
“Anna Julianne isn’t bad either.
She only recently became an evolutionary, yet she can already manipulate the power of frost to such an extent.
Her control is quite impressive.
She’s ranked twenty-ninth in the standings!”
“There is also Waltraut Liselotte.
She’s ranked seventy-eighth.
Unfortunately, none of our students have entered the top ten yet.” A mentor shook his head.
“There is still an entire month to go.
With so much time remaining, it isn’t impossible to catch up from behind.”
“…”
The instructors continued discussing animatedly.
Everyone had different opinions.
Some were excited.
Some were worried.
Others were simply observing the situation calmly.
Not long afterward, they finished counting the students from their own school who had successfully entered the standings.
There were twelve in total.
This was already a fairly impressive number.
But just when everyone thought the list was finished, one of the instructors suddenly noticed something strange.
“Huh?” His expression changed as he stared at the scoreboard for several seconds.
Then he rubbed his eyes.
“Wait…”
“What’s wrong?” The others turned toward him.
“Reed Newt…
Why is Reed Newt on the list?”
Everyone immediately froze.
For a moment, the entire observation room became strangely quiet.
Then, almost simultaneously, everyone subconsciously turned toward the scoreboard.
Reed Newt’s name was clearly displayed among the rankings.
It wasn’t an illusion.
It wasn’t a mistake in their eyes.
It was actually there!
“Reed Newt, ranked 437th, a student of Valley View Academy, killed a Squid Monster and gained 10 points.”
The words appeared clearly on the scoreboard.
Seeing this scene, the expressions of many instructors changed drastically.
Their eyes widened, and disbelief appeared across their faces.
“This…
How is this possible?
He hasn’t become an evolution yet.
Could there be a problem with the standings?” One instructor couldn’t help but question.
But another immediately shook his head.
“Impossible.
There has never been a single statistical error in the standings for a hundred years.”
The scoreboard had existed for a very long time, so its accuracy had never been questioned.
If Reed Newt’s name appeared on it, then there was only one explanation.
He had truly killed a sea monster.
“But how did he do it?”
“He actually killed a sea monster?”
Everyone swallowed subconsciously.
The atmosphere inside the observation room became increasingly strange.
Something…
Just felt completely wrong.
Even Meinhard Janek had a solemn expression.
He subconsciously turned around, and his gaze fell upon the projection screen displaying Reed Newt’s island.
Then, his expression froze.
The projection showed the jungle with several towering giant trees stood in the middle of the screen.
And between those trees, a three-meter-tall sea monster was hanging upside down.
Its enormous body had been firmly bound by several vines as thick as arms.
It had long since stopped moving.
It was dead.
But the person standing beneath it was even more surprising.
Reed Newt was holding a bone knife.
His clothes were covered in dirt and blood.
His breathing was heavy.
He was clearly exhausted.
Even so, he was still continuously pulling at the limbs of the sea monster and cutting away at its flesh.
Swipe!
The bone knife descended.
Swipe!
Another cut.
Reed Newt paused for a moment, then he couldn’t help complaining.
“This sea monster is too tenacious, isn’t it?”
He looked at the corpse hanging above him with a helpless expression.
“I have been stabbing for 30 minutes…”
His expression became somewhat speechless.
“And it only just died completely?”
The entire observation room fell silent.
Meinhard Janek: “…”
The corners of his mouth twitched slightly, and he suddenly didn’t know what to say.
Stabbing with a bone knife…
for 30 minutes…
What kind of torture was this?
Several instructors stared at the projection with complicated expressions.
“So…
That trap was made from those vines?
Reed Newt trapped the sea monster first…
Then he slowly ground it to death?” The instructor who spoke seemed unable to believe what he had just witnessed.
Another instructor immediately widened his eyes.
“Crazy!
Couldn’t he have just given the sea monster a good time?”
Someone else stared at the hanging corpse.
“This should be the most embarrassing sea monster to have died.”
“…”
The instructors looked at one another.
Their expressions were indescribably strange.
They had to admit…
Reed Newt had genuinely shocked them.
He had killed a sea monster without even becoming an evolutionary.
That alone was an astonishing achievement.
But after seeing exactly how he had done it, they couldn’t help feeling a little speechless.
The method was too primitive.
Too inefficient.
And…
Far too exhausting.
It took an enormous amount of time and effort to kill a sea monster using such a method.
The problem was that the current number of sea monsters was still relatively small, as the 24-hour novice protection period had only just ended.
There weren’t enough monsters to create a massive difference between the Island Holders.
But later, as more and more sea monsters landed on the islands one after another, the situation would completely change.
The stronger evolutionists would be able to kill monsters rapidly.
One.
Ten.
Dozens.
Perhaps even hundreds.
But Reed Newt?
How many could he kill with a bone knife?
Even if he didn’t sleep…
His killing speed would definitely never be able to keep up with the other evolutionists.
And that wasn’t even the most dangerous part.
Once multiple sea monsters appeared on his island at the same time…
Once he was surrounded…
His trap would become difficult to deploy.
His bone knife would become useless.
His physical strength would eventually run out.
At that point, there was only one possible outcome.
A dead end.