Alex observed from the stands as the first among the recruits stepped into the field for their combat exercise. Then, he watched as a monster inside a cage was being wheeled into the arena.
"You think he'll win?" Jared asked.
Alex shrugged. "I have no idea how strong either side is."
The demonic monster looked like a giant red octopus with brown horns, while the recruit facing it wore protective armor and had a sword.
The moment the cage opened, the demonic monster sent its tendrils toward the recruit.
"Fire!" the recruit's sword erupted in flames.
Alex raised an eyebrow. "The fuck?"
"Never seen someone use their skill before?" Jared asked.
"No. I just wasn't expecting it," Alex replied. "How many cores do others have anyway?"
"Normally, they'd have two," Jared answered. "Their original core and a demonic core sponsored by their family."
Alex nodded. "Forgot about the whole family business thing."
"What about you?"
"I got two as well. Though, I don't have an original core."
Jared looked surprised. "You got demonic cores without a family sponsoring you?"
"Had two beat them up myself," Alex said.
"You're one hell of a guy."
As their conversation ended, the match ended. The recruit got captured by the demonic monster, causing the instructors to intervene. The next match proceeded with a different recruit but the same monster. This time, the recruit wielded a spear but had the same results as the first match.
"Why do I feel secondhand embarrassment?" Alex muttered.
"I expected everyone to be stronger..." Jared commented.
Next, it was Jared's turn. His weapon of choice was a great sword nearly as tall as him. Simon had explained to him that original cores rarely provided a skill. Instead, they enhanced the user's physical abilities directly, so it wasn't a surprise to Alex when Jared swung that giant sword without any issues.
Despite it being the tenth recruit, the monster remained the same. Was it just that strong, or were the recruits just that weak? Jared seemed stronger than the other recruits since he actually landed a hit.
After parrying the tentacles and getting close enough to slam down his great sword on the monster's head, the monster finally received some damage. This caused the monster to become even more aggressive and started sending more tentacles.
"Not today!" Jared yelled as a barrier appeared to block the tentacles.
Jared leapt into the sky and brought down his sword on the monster, cleaving it in half. As the monster crumbled into dust, a red crystal fell to the ground.
"Looks like it's finally my turn."
------
"You want to exchange all your credits for demonic energy crystals?" the person at the counter asked Simon in confusion. "But you don't have a registered core?"
"I'm planning on giving it to my team member," Simon stated. "I should have enough points for two crystals."
Despite how much of a loss it looked to the other people, it wasn't much to Simon since he knew he could potentially reimburse everything. Alex had just gotten a newly discovered skill, so developing it would yield great benefits for both of them.
Simon couldn't wait to find out the limits of a skill that functioned around the core.
------
Alex stepped into the field at the same time as a new monster of the same species was wheeled in.
"Damn... I get this one all to myself."
The monster didn't look any different from the previous one, and from what he had seen from the earlier battles, the monster wasn't as strong or fast as the werewolf he faced.
Alex twirled the knife while waiting for the monster to be released. The moment it was released, the demonic monster sent its tentacles toward Alex.
"I'm not a fan of those," Alex muttered as he cut down several tentacles.
The monster quickly regenerated its tentacles, giving Alex no chance to counterattack.
"You're more aggressive, huh," Alex smirked. "Good thing I wasn't planning on attacking myself."
A werewolf appeared from behind the monster and began ripping it apart from behind. When it tried to escape, black tendrils tied it down, allowing the werewolf to finish it off.
"Curse of binding," Alex muttered. "It's only useful on weaker demons, huh."
He picked up the crystal, but he wrapped it up in a piece of clothing first.
"What are you doing?" the instructor asked him as they began cleaning up.
"Can't have it getting absorbed by accident again," Alex replied.
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"Just wrap your hands in Aether to prevent it," the instructor stated before proceeding with their job.
"..." Alex just glared at his hands.
------
"A necromancer," Lysander muttered as they watched the recruit exit the field. "Quite rare to see one this early. What family is he from?"
"He's an exposure, sir," the instructor answered. "Joined us last week."
"He's got a lot of potential then," Lysander commented. "I expect many families would try to recruit him during the recruit exhibition."
Lysander observed as the recruit's summoned creatures turned into dust. A lich that used curses and a werewolf. Not a bad combination, but it was suspicious that a mere recruit could call upon original demons to fight for him.
"Investigate him."
-----
"Congratulations," Simon greeted me when I arrived at his office.
"Thanks," I replied. "Now, tell me how to use this," I placed a briefcase on his desk and opened it to reveal two demonic energy crystals.
"You just need to focus on which core you want to enhance and meditate," Simon explained.
"Meditate?" Alex grimaced.
"Well, you need to be relaxed, and meditation is the best method."
"I just need to be relaxed," Alex looked thoughtful for a moment. "I want to try something."
Simon got confused. "Alright?"
"I need a sparring area."
Simon got even more confused. "Why?"
When they arrived at the sparring field, Alex scanned his surroundings. Each field where people were already sparring had a barrier that reached the ceiling.
"What are you planning?" Simon asked.
"Something stupid," Alex grinned.
They reached an open field, and Alex summoned the werewolf. Simon turned on the barrier, leaving Alex inside with the werewolf. He opened the case and took out one of the demonic energy crystals. The crystal began to shine as it was absorbed into his body.
"Bring it!"
Alex and the werewolf charged at each other. Unlike last time, the werewolf was no longer too fast for him. Alex dodged a swipe and countered with a right hook. Thanks to his enhanced strength, the werewolf felt the hit this time and staggered back.
"Now, this is relaxing!" Alex exclaimed as he charged.
He landed a punch to the gut, causing the werewolf to buckle down. Alex followed up with a knee to its head and then a right hook downwards. He could feel the heat on his chest but didn't get the chance to ponder it as the werewolf suddenly grew in size.
"I can't believe this is working," Simon muttered.
The werewolf grabbed Alex's leg and tossed him across the field. He managed to maneuver himself into the air, landing feet first on the barrier and using it as a footing to jump. He spun midair and landed a spinning kick on the werewolf, sending it staggering back.
"Time for another one," Alex said as he landed.
He used his foot to toss the other demonic energy crystal into his hand. As the crystal was absorbed, the werewolf charged. Another series of exchanges followed, showing both their increase in physical strength.
"What the hell am I watching?" A tall and dark-skinned man stood beside Simon.
"Marcus," Simon greeted him. "That's Alex, a recruit that has a necromancy core."
"A recruit has a core that lets him use original demons?" Marcus raised an eyebrow. "Those crazy families will be fighting over him."
"They'd have to get past his rough attitude first," Simon mentioned. "I've only interacted with him a few times, but I'm pretty sure he only takes orders if he likes you."
"Sounds like a headache," Marcus commented.
"Another!" Alex yelled.
"Seems so..." Simon agreed.
------
Name: Alexander Gray
Race: Human
Augmentation: Strength, Agility, Durability
Core:
Black magic: Necromancy - stage 4
* Demonic core revival - Summons the demon sealed within your core. The strength of the demon is proportional to the stage of your core. Prevents the user from creating their core but enhances the absorption rate of demonic energy.
* Lich - stage 6
* Lycanthrope - stage 5
Shapeshift: Beast - stage 5
* Bloodhound - Physical abilities and senses are greatly enhanced in proportion to the stage of your core.
"Your cores increased by a lot," Simon commented as the golden letters faded.
"Why did you get me two extra crystals?" Alex asked.
He was surprised when Simon suddenly gave him two more demonic energy crystals. Considering what he had to do to get some, those crystals wouldn't be cheap.
"Don't worry about it. Since your skill is completely new, I'd be able to get those reimbursed after some research."
"How many people know about my skill?"
"I'd guess only the research department does," Simon answered. "But they only suspect it's a new skill since you haven't reported it yet."
"... you seem sure of that."
Simon laughed. "I figured that was the situation since you don't like revealing too much about yourself."
"It's not that I don't like to. It's just that the people who find out don't exactly live long enough," Alex said with a smile.
"I hope that's a joke," Simon said with a blank face.
"You said it yourself last time. Demonic energy can only be obtained by killing demons," Alex got up. "I've never met an original demon before last week."
------
"Why did we have to go on another mission already?" Astrid grumbled when they returned.
"Technically, we failed the last mission," one of her teammates responded.
"But the demon died!" Astrid exclaimed.
"After escaping from us," Argon stated. "If the boy wasn't there, the demon would have escaped and caused even more problems."
Astrid crossed her arms in annoyance. "We better have a long rest this time," she grumbled.
"You will," Argon answered. "Since I would be overseeing a filed exercise on the weekend."
"Field exercise? For the recruits?" Astrid asked in curiosity. "Aren't the recruits special this time since their primary heirs? I heard all of them are two cores."
"They're pathetic and spoiled brats," Argon commented. "I heard, after the combat exercise, they ran to their parents to complain but received severe warnings instead."
"I heard only two people passed. The heir of the Garuda family and the new kid," one of the members mentioned.
"Damn... pretty pathetic," Astrid commented.
"Well, if it isn't Argon."
Everyone turned to a woman wearing a full cybernetic suit of armor walking towards them. Her mask opened to reveal fair white skin and beautiful amber eyes. Two katanas were strapped to her waist, while another two were sheathed on her back.
"Valery. What's a four-core demon hunter doing here?" Argon asked. "Don't you have your own area?"
Valery shrugged. "There's nothing I can do. My captain told me it was my turn to scout."
"Then you'll be joining the field exercise this weekend. Otherwise, there's no point coming this early before the exhibition."
"Yes and no," Valery smiled. "You see, something big happened a few days ago in some random part of this city."
Argon narrowed his eyes at Valery. They weren't exactly enemies, but they weren't friends either. Valery was a four-core hunter, with all of her cores being around stage eight, while Argon had two cores at stage ten. Having two cores at their peak meant he wasn't that much weaker in comparison to her.
"See you around Argon," Valery waved goodbye as she walked away.
"I don't like her," Astrid spoke.
"I'm pretty sure her captain doesn't either," Argon added.