Chapter 25: Level

Cain heard the sound of cries and explosions behind him but did not look back and just continued running. He did not know how long the Atrox would spend with the duo, so he needed to use this time to get as far away as possible.

His Astral Wave finally depleted after five more minutes of running, but he kept going forward despite feeling he would pass out from the exhaustion. An hour later, Cain had finally reached his breaking point, and with the last strengths left in him, he climbed a tree before falling asleep.

Ten hours later, Cain’s eyes slowly opened. At first, there was drowsiness, but when the memories of what just happened reached his mind, he almost jumped from the branch and focused his senses.

Cain calmed only after ensuring he was alone and there was no one in the vicinity. A smile appeared on his face as he looked at his arms and remembered the blow he landed on the Atrox.

However, along with that happiness, there was also confusion. Cain did not understand how his mind reached such a heightened state and why his Astral Wave mobilized so smoothly and fast all of a sudden.

“Apex?”

The youth knew that Apex constantly used the [Basic Hacking] to obtain information from the Godslayer Humankind Network, so he hoped there would be some insight into his previous state.

.....

“Sorry, brat. Although there are some mentions of your state in the Empire Science Academy, the data I have collected is too shallow. I might come up with an answer after more digging. If I do, you will know.”

Cain sighed and nodded toward the System Spirit’s words. It seemed he would have to wait.

After using some Wave Beasts’ hearts as food and replenishing his Astral Wave, Cain got down from the tree and continued his journey back to the entrance. He did not distract, avoided all fights, and just ran.

It took Cain almost one week and a half to race back to the entrance. He was surprised to see many cadets already present, and there was also Vice-Captain Josef standing there.

Cain’s appearance drew a lot of attention due to the Wave Artifacts in his arms and legs. Many showed greed, but not even those cadets from Noble Families would dare to do something with Vice-Captain Josef present.

Although Cain felt those stares, he did not bother with them. After finding an empty spot to sit down, he began to take Wave Beasts’ hearts to train and eat.

Once again, Cain drew attention. Since the cadets all hunted in groups, none of them had Wave Beasts’ hearts left.

Some cadets got near Cain to see if they could buy the hearts, but the youth did not even glance at them. He was just too engrossed in his training and had no interest in selling something so beneficial for him.

A few days later, Cain body trembled and felt a rush of strength as his Wave Cloak manifested on its own, growing stronger.

Vice-Captain Josef turned toward Cain, and a small smile appeared on his face for a second before returning toward his stoic expression.

Cain opened his eyes and could not help but smile as he understood what had just happened.

‘Level 2!’

The eyes of many nobles focused on him as they saw that. Although they could not be sure, they had deduced that Cain entered the trial as a newly advanced Level 1 Wave Warrior. So, for him to advance so fast, his Wave Talent was above Tier 3.

Cain couldn’t care less about the gazes of the cadets and immediately commanded the system to scan him.

‘System, scan me!’

[Scanning Vessel

—

Name: Cain Laurifer

Race: Godslayer Humankind

Path of Power: Astral Rebirth (Level 2 Wave Warrior)

Linage: Lightning Lupus

Wave Talent: Low Tier 4

—

Stats:

Strength: 0.19

Agility: 0.25

Vitality: 0.22

Wave: O.21]

‘Awesome!’ Cain was thrilled with his advance and improved stats.

‘Had I been this strong at the start of the trial, my gains would have been much higher.’

Cain did not linger too much on those thoughts since they did not matter. He closed his eyes and continued training.

While the feeling of strength was great, he did not forget the immense might of the Atrox and how close he came to losing his life.

After a few days, a metallic sound woke Cain out of his training, and he saw how the gates out of the Danger Zone were opening, and many soldiers crossed it.

Most of the cadets were already here, and soldiers would explore the Danger Zone to catch the Wave Beasts and warriors of the Dark Races still alive, and they would also pick up the corpses of the dead cadets.

Cain stood up with a smile on his face. He had grown a lot in this trial, both in body and mind. Just as he was about to reach the open gates, he heard a voice that shocked him.

“YOU!”

That voice belonged to someone Cain was sure was dead. He turned around and saw Nira’s frail figure. Large wounds were all over her body, and her right arm was gone.

‘Fuck!’