CH16:ASTOUNDED

CH16: ASTOUNDED.

"This ought to be an interesting expedition, don't you think gentlemen?" General Luke asked as he watched the teens trying to conquer the testing field.

"Indeed. But I do not know about the boy with orange hair." One of the other generals replied while he flipped a couple of papers.

"What exactly do you mean?" Luke asked.

"He's not in any of our records. Every teenager with the serum was recorded but his name hasn't showed up at all."

"That's what makes him more interesting." General Jack spoke with a smile. "I don't know what it is but this boy has got something that we may have never seen before. Just you watch and see."

-------

Chris let go of Ace while he flew to the finish line. As much as he wanted to help him Ace's stubborn ways got the best of Chris and he had no choice but to let go of Ace. While Chris dodged the mech Granians in the air, the remaining ten Gifted teens were struggling with another set of tougher mechs. These ones were heavier, faster and they each had an electronic staff which they used to zap the students.

Chris watched from above and laughed at the others since they weren't able to advance anymore but then, one of the mechs threw its staff and electrocuted Chris until he came crashing into the ground. He got the staff off of him and got up to fly up again but sadly for him, two mechs surrounded him at his back and front.

'Are these Generals trying to kill us?' He asked himself as his arms transformed into those of a gorilla. He coated his forearms with an armadillo's scales so that they'd absorb any impact taken. The first mech swung its tail at Chris, which he easily got with one arm. With his other arm, he slammed down on the tail and ripped it off the mech. The second one swung its staff at his head. The boy barely dodged it and retaliated with a blow to the mech's chest.

"Aargh. Damn it." He complained after realizing they didn't feel pain. To compensate for this, he grew a rhinoceros horn on his forehead and slammed the mech's chest area. His horn managed to penetrate its mechanic hide, however, his horn remained stuck so the other mech without a tail hit his sides with its staff.

An electrical current passed through Chris' body and fried the other mech's electrical system. He snapped the horn off and used it as a weapon to jab the remaining mech's cameras that acted as its eyes. Using his gorilla arms, he crushed its head with ease and continued to the finish line.

'This isn't going to be as easy as I hoped.' He said to himself. 'Looks like tougher makes will be deployed when we advance deeper into the field.

---------------

Ace hid behind one of the wrecked mechs and tried calculating a way for him to get to the finish line without facing any confrontation. 'Damn it. Looks like they've got more than enough mechs to take care of all of us.'

While Ace was trying to find the easy way out, the ground behind him opened up while three mechs rose from it. Each one of them had two staffs in their hands and the tips of their tails were pointed with small shards. 'Now they're trying to definitely kill us!!'

The first mech swung its tail at Ace, which he barely dodged. The second jabbed the staff but it miraculously missed stabbing his lungs. Ace took a few steps back and glared at each of the mechs. He wasn't good at fighting and neither did he take time to learn or watch any moves, so it was going to be an extreme challenge for him at the moment.

The mechs leapt in the air and each landed with a painful kick that hurt Ace severely.

[-10HP]

[-10HP]

[-10HP]

[30/50HP]

Ace's body skidded across the dirt as his injured parts throbbed in pain. He coughed out drops of blood that quickly rushed back into his mouth.

'What the hell is that? Did that kid's blood go back in his mouth?'

'That's it. I've had enough.'

[Blood drain activated.]

Ace wasn't so sue about using the blood drain skill since these mechs didn't have any in them. However, it was the only skill he had so he tried it out of disparity. Ace held out his palms and folded them. Black oil quickly drained from the mechs and covered the boy's arms. "It worked. I can't believe it worked." He said with joy.

The mechs started malfunctioning since the fluids Ace drained out were important for their functioning. Not knowing what to do with the oil, he opted to pour it on the ground but it remained stuck to his skin for some reason.

'What's happening? Why is it still sticking on me?'

[Ding]

[New Skill Acquired.]

[Blood Manipulation: Manipulate the blood of your enemies into any form you desire. This can be turned into weapons and tools that can assist you in battle.]

[-2 Energy points each time used.]

"Perfect."

1 Stat point has been allocated to strength

Strength: 8

With the amount of oil Ace had, he made a long, black scythe out of mech oil and swung it as hard as he could at each of the mechs. He managed to cut off their heads with ease but the same couldn't be said for his scythe due to the fact that it broke after hitting the last mech.

After taking care of the mechs, Ace stood on top of their bodies and starred at the finish line. "Here we go."

------

"Chaps. Did any of you see what orange hair did?" Luke asked in disbelief. Him and the other comrades were greatly impressed by Ace's hidden skill. They were so impressed that they focused their attention on him, instead of the other nine teens.

"Astounding. Could he be a Blood Group O carrier? Because the only logical explanation for his skills match those of the Blood Group O type."

"Indeed but you have to remember that we do not know everything about those in that group. We only have but a few of them." General Jack said. "Gentleman. We must be vigilant in keeping our focus on this lad. He truly is special."

Just as the Generals were praising Ace for his display, a loud alarm went off across the entire underground base. General Jack quickly ran out while the other five remained behind. Each one of them wondered what the cause for the alarm was but they still had these batch of teens to test. "We'll check it out once these ones are finished." Luke said while he starred at Ace.