12 Chapter 12: Learning

After being hit by the fireballs at that range, the two snakes immediately died with their bodies being scorched to death. Since two of them were already dead, it would be much easier to kill the remaining one

Keon aggressively swung his sword and the snake was thrown away. The snake was just about to regain its balance but Keon won't let that happen

The youth's sword didn't waste any time and it slashes the snake's body resulting in its death. However, before Keon can even take a breather, he suddenly felt the ground around him was shaking

There was no time to think much and Keon instinctively jumped away from his earlier position and it turned out that his decision was correct

From the ground, a large worm with several rows of sharp teeth came out. If Keon didn't jump, he might have become the worm's breakfast already

"Is this really a test for beginner mystics? How can a creature this big be included in the test!" Keon starts questioning this test. If a worm around two meters big was already present with the test of the orphans that only has three months worth of training, what more if they were actually sent into real realms outside of humanity's control?

However, now that Keon thinks of it, in the wild, a mystic will meet all sorts of creatures. Just because a realm has a certain average level of power doesn't mean all the creatures inside it only have that kind of strength. There are bound to be monsters stronger than their peers

This test might just be trying to be as realistic as possible and Keon was just unfortunate to meet such a large worm this early. As for whether Keon wants to fight this worm or not, he is still undecided

The stronger the monster, the higher the points he would gain. It would be better if he can defeat this worm but if not, he would simply run away

Keon tested the worm first and he found out that its speed was quite lacking. The worm has a large body and being bitten by its rows of teeth might result in decapitation but as long as Keon would be mindful of its teeth, he should at least be safe

In the end, Keon decided to kill the worm. It would be a lot of work but the points he would gain should also be equally high

Keon went behind the worm and it immediately tried to catch up to him. However, with the worm's body type, turning around was a difficult thing to do and Keon naturally will use that to his advantage

A card formed in front of Keon's sword and electricity came out from it. The electricity coated the surface of Keon's sword and he gave the worm's back a large slash

As a result, blue blood was spilled in the ground while the worm writhed its body in pain. The smell of charred flesh also wafted in the air making Keon a bit nauseous but he just ignored that. He can't be a sissy in this kind of situation

After injuring the worm, Keon moves around to be as far as possible from the worm's mouth that was also the only dangerous part of its body

Minutes pass and Keon inflicted several large wounds in the worm and it was continuously losing blood yet it was still alive

This worm's vitality was just too great!

"If only I have poison"

Keon thinks in his mind. If he absorbs any kind of poison before, he might be able to use it with his cards and the fight against this worm would be easier. Too bad that in the orphanage, he does not have access to any kind of poison

The fight was already ongoing for minutes and Keon wants to end this as soon as possible. The energy expenditure is just too high. He doesn't know if his efforts would be worth it since aside from a large body and strong vitality, this worm isn't exactly powerful and the points he will gain might not be as high as he thinks

Still, Keon already puts a lot of effort into defeating this worm. He is unwilling to just run away after exerting that much effort

"I need a smarter way to deal with this worm"

Keon thought to himself before three snakes suddenly fell from the trees

Fortunately, since Keon was almost caught off guard by the worm before, he didn't let his guard down again and he sensed the falling snakes

Keon dodged the snakes before they shot their bodies like an arrow. Exactly the same thing that the first batch of snakes that he met does

Seeing the snakes, Keon's eyes lit up. He uses his sword and accurately puts it into one of the snake's mouth before two cards appeared in front of him

The cards issued a strong gust of wind that threw the bodies of the two other snakes and they landed in the worm's body

The snake that was in Keon's sword was also thrown by him and now, three snakes were on top of the worm's body

The worm wiggled its body trying to shake off the snakes but it seems like its action made the three snakes furious. The snakes started biting on the worm's body and Keon saw how the worm's skin started to turn purple

Just as Keon feared before, the snakes were venomous! He watched as the worm wiggled its body aggressively and it was easy to guess that it was in so much pain

Soon, the worm's resistance grew weaker and weaker until it eventually stops moving

The worm has a big body and sharp teeth but is lacking in speed in flexibility. The snakes were weak but they possessed potent venom. Every monster has its own strong and weak points. Keon was learning a lot and with his intellect, he can already guess that this is one of the things that this test wants to convey to the orphans

To not waste any more time, Keon walks to the corpses while still being mindful of them. It would be bad if they suddenly started moving and attack Keon that lowered his guards

Keon swipes his hand that is wearing the spatial ring and with the help of his will, the corpse from the snakes and worm vanishes

When Keon's mind entered the space inside the ring, he saw that the corpses were inside it. Although Keon knew that the ring would work, he is still amazed when it actually works when he uses it

Now that the enemies are taken care of, Keon sat in front of one of the trees to rest for a bit. Fighting the snakes and worms took some toll on his body

Since this test would last for six hours, Keon's energy can't possibly last until the end. He needs to have some rest in between fights

Keon was resting but he actually can't be fully comfortable as he is worried that more snakes will fall from the trees

After thirty minutes, Keon ended his rest and he stood up from his seat to head deeper into the forest

The forest was full of snakes falling from the trees but as long as the orphans won't lower their guards, they can kill the snakes easily and they are like free points. If they want, they can just simply farm points by killing the snakes but of course, that might not be the most efficient way

Soon, Keon met another type of enemy. It was a mutated plant monster. The monster has a thick stem as its main body with roots as its feet. It has a circular green head that also has rows of sharp teeth

Monsters not only came from blood and flesh type of lifeforms, but there are also plant types like this one

The plant monster opened its mouth and a green bullet escaped from it. In return, Keon places his sword in front of him to block and the impact causes his hand to turn a bit numb. A crack also appeared in his sword and Keon was forced to patch it by using more mystic energy

Green lights start gathering at the plant monster's mouth again and Keon decided to dodge this time. He wants to preserve as much mystic energy as possible

Keon runs away from his earlier position and the green bullet passes by it. However, the plant monster gathered energy inside its mouth for the third time and another bullet was fired at him

Keon can't let this continue as he might possibly be hit by that bullet and he threw two cards into his opponent

The cards turned crimson red in color and fireballs exited them. Against a plant-type enemy, using fire would be the best option!

Keon was not disappointed as the fireballs managed to kill the plant monster. Its body was almost fully burned but it left some seeds and Keon just picked them up

Fire abilities are strong against plants but it would also destroy their bodies. Keon might not gain many points with the condition of this corpse

"Wow, you are strong. You actually killed the monster in one shot" a voice entered Keon's ears and when he turned to his side, he saw one of the orphans in the distance

Keon's body tense at that since orphans can snatch the prey of each other but since this is still not the time to ruin his reputation, Keon gave the fellow orphan a smile

"I was just lucky" Keon replied in a humble manner but he can sense something in this man that he doesn't like

"No need to be humble. Hi, I'm Gabriel, what's your name?" The man asked while walking towards Keon and holding out his hand for a handshake

"I'm Keon"

Keon was wary of this Gabriel but he still decided to be civil and he holds out his hand to give the man a handshake. But before Keon can even do that, his body stiffened as he felt Kreon trying to take over

"You really are stupid" Kreon's voice entered Keon's mind making him confuse

"What the fuck are you talking about?!" Keon asked in annoyance as he can feel Kreon's despising attitude towards him

"Hahahaha how stupid! You can't even feel the hiding killing intent from that man!"

Killing intent? How can Keon easily sense something like that when he hasn't killed a human before? Besides, how can Kreon even sense something like that?

Keon knows that his other personality has a huge murderous tendency as if it wants to destroy the world and kill all the humans in it but... they are sharing the exact same body!

Since Keon hasn't encountered a human that wants to kill him, how can Kreon sense a hiding killing intent from someone?

"Keon?" Gabriel asked after seeing how Keon's body stops from moving

Before Gabriel can even react, Keon already places a sword in his neck and that naturally made him furious. He was the one that planned on sneak attacking Keon, why is the role suddenly reverse?

"Keon, what is the meaning of this?!" Gabriel asked angrily with a furious face but that simply won't work

Using his other hand, Keon grabs Gabriel on the wrist. "Care to explain why you have a needle tip in your palm?" Cairo asked while looking at the small metal poking out from Gabriel's palm

If not for Kreon that can sense where some of Gabriel's killing intent is focused on, Keon won't even know that Gabriel was hiding a needle in that location

If Keon really gave Gabriel a handshake, he might have been eliminated already. In this test, killing is not allowed but that is only for show

After all, the participants will do their best to defeat both monsters and humans. This test would be pointless if the orphans can't even exert their full power in fear that a fellow human would die

"T-this is ...." Gabriel becomes speechless as he didn't think that his needle will be discovered. Gabriel tried to shoot the needle but before he can even do that, he already loses consciousness

Keon hits Gabriel's neck with the handle of his sword and the impact left the man unconscious

With Gabriel losing consciousness, he is now eliminated and Keon take the contents of his ring and placed them inside his own ring

With Keon's action, although he literally robs a fellow human, his reputation is still saved. After all, it was Gabriel that wants to attack him first and he just retaliated!