Julius’s lowered his stance, his calm expression giving way to one of sharpened focus.
The creature exploded forward.
Julius’s lips parted.
“[Bloodflow].”
Veins lit up across his skin in crimson streaks, pulsing as his eyes gleamed red.
He pivoted cleanly to the left, his rapier snapping up to meet the creature’s claws. Sparks burst from the clash.
With a subtle shift of weight, Julius expertly redirected the creature’s momentum, sending it flying.
But it twisted mid air, landed hard, and skidded across the dirt. The instant it stopped, it snarled and lunged again, only for the same thing to happen.
Once more, Julius shifted his stance, diverted the charge, and sent it crashing across the battlefield.
Then again.
And again.
Each time, the result was the same.
No matter how wildly the creature attacked, Julius didn’t break a sweat.
He moved like a dancer and the creature couldn’t even graze him.
Clap. Clap.
Some of the students began clapping, unable to hold it in any longer.
Then the whispers started.
“The Eighth Vein is amazing!”
“Totally! He’s holding his own against a grade one darkness creature!”
“Holding his own? He’s toying with it!”
The atmosphere shifted entirely. The fear that had gripped the class earlier had begun to fade. For the first time, some of them exhaled.
Watching a darkness creature get handled like a disobedient pup… it changed everything.
Maybe, just maybe, they weren’t as terrifying as they’d thought.
As the sounds of clapping reached Julius’s ears, he smiled faintly.
‘Looks like it’s about time I finished this.’
His eyes sharpened as the creature lunged at him once more with ferocity. But this time, Julius didn’t shift to the side.
He dipped low, sliding beneath the swipe of claws meant to shred him apart.
With both hands gripping the hilt of his rapier, he shot upward and drove the blade clean through the creature’s chin.
The pointed tip pierced through its jaw, splitting through bone and flesh until it jutted out from the top of its skull in a swift, clean motion.
The creature twitched once, then stilled.
Julius brought it down to the ground, then pulled his weapon free with a sickening sound that tore flesh as it withdrew.
With a flick, he sent black ichor splattering to the ground before calmly sheathing the bloodstained rapier.
As he turned, he met the eyes of the watching youths. Their gazes were wide and lit up in awe, completely mesmerized.
Julius gave a small smile.
“They’re just beasts,” he said. “There’s nothing to be scared of. You’re warriors of the Sanguine. Show them who you are.”
Clap. Clap. Clap.
The students erupted in applause.
“You’re right, Eighth Vein!”
“Thank you for your words, Eighth Vein!”
“You’re amazing!”
Julius maintained his calm smile, nodding slightly in acknowledgment. That single nod only made the clapping grow louder. Then, he returned to stand among them.
A sharp clap rang out.
“Alright! That’s enough!” Yonin’s voice cut through the cheers.
The students fell silent immediately, turning toward him.
“Thank you, Eighth Vein, for showing us how it’s done.” He smiled faintly, then gestured forward. “Now, let’s get moving!”
One by one, Yonin began calling on the students, each one stepping forward to face a darkness creature.
Aside from Julius, the others were matched with gradeless creatures. And even then, many struggled.
Most of the students in the advanced class were between the ages of fourteen and fifteen. At this stage, many had stepped into the node formation phase. And yet… they still struggled against gradeless creatures.
It would confuse most.
Even as an unevolved, Malakai had managed to kill a gradeless darkness creature with little trouble. So how were node formation evolvers stumbling?
The answer was simple.
It was all in the mind.
Many were still wary. Many were still scared.
Darkness creatures didn’t just bring death, they brought with them a chill, a suffocating pressure that numbed the minds of the weak willed. That pressure threw off movement, ruined coordination, and made precise strikes sloppy.
Still, despite their fear, each student managed to kill their creature in the end.
Eventually, it came time for the other Veins to step forward, Aurelia and Maximus.
They were pitted against grade one creatures.
And they didn’t disappoint.
Maximus ended his battle in a handful of powerful strikes, while Aurelia’s fight ended almost as soon as it began.
The students were stunned, but not entirely surprised.
After all, Aurelia was the oldest among the Veins present in this camp.
And by all expectations… the strongest.
Malakai had watched everything with a calm gaze. If anything, he was glad.
Being able to observe what would likely become his major opponents during real combat was a luxury. And in just these few minutes, he had gathered very useful information.
As that thought passed, his gaze suddenly sharpened.
Renlo was walking toward the center of the field with trembling steps.
He looked terrified, utterly out of place. His arms clutched his stomach like a child trying to hold in tears, and his legs wobbled like he was standing on a soaked wooden plank during a storm.
It was clear.
He didn’t want to be here.
As the instructor turned his gaze to Renlo, Yonin’s expression shifted. His earlier grin was gone, replaced with something serious.
Then he spoke.
“Grade one.”
A wave of stunned gasps swept across the field. Malakai’s eyes narrowed, and he wasn’t the only one.
Many of the other youths visibly flinched in surprise.
They hadn’t expected that.
To pit this weak, trembling boy against a grade one darkness creature?
‘He must’ve noticed the same thing I did.’ Malakai’s gaze turned to Yonin.
The instructor looked completely unfazed by the shocked expressions of the others. Without hesitation, he summoned a grade one darkness creature and brought it out for Renlo to face.
Just as Malakai had sensed something strange about Renlo… it was clear Yonin had seen it too.
‘He’s trying to force it out.’
A life-and-death situation. That might be what it took to draw out the other side of Renlo, the one Malakai had seen emerge briefly during their earlier battle.
‘Let’s see if it works.’
Malakai’s eyes narrowed further, now locked on Renlo with intrigue.
But while everyone else stared in curiosity… Renlo looked like he was standing on a mattress tied to a trampoline in a windstorm.
“Ah… my rotten luck…”
