Chapter 26: Battle Against The Yeriwe Centipede

Despite how hard it is to improve a Cultivation Art, it was something that needed to be done no matter what. Only with a better Art could a cultivator achieve greatness.

Even a genius with mediocre cultivation art will fall behind. Just look at Kyrell. His physique has a mana capacity three times greater than ordinary people's. This was a rare thing to have.

However, despite that, the geniuses from the Three Great Clans have a higher mana capacity compared to him. This isn't necessarily because their natural mana capacity is higher than his but most probably has something to do with their cultivation art.

A high-quality Cultivation Art can bestow the cultivator many times more mana compared to their peers. As such, it was hard for an ordinary person to become a powerful expert.

Even if they were to reach the peak of the Spirit Nourisher Realm, they might be defeated by a monstrous genius that is only at the early stage of the same realm that combined natural talent with a high-quality Cultivation Art.

Of course, such instances might have only happened a few times in the history of cultivators but it might not be impossible.

"Next!"

The staff's voice entered Kyrell's ears and that brought him back to reality. It was finally his turn to be tested. He can't help but look at the large Trial Crystal in curiosity.

Since he was already briefed by the academy staff previously, he knows what to do and with a deep breath, he placed his palm on the blue crystal.

As soon as he did that, he felt his consciousness being dragged. He blacked out for a moment and when he could finally see again, he saw that he was in an empty white space.

In this space, he was the only person present and he unconsciously looked at his body.

"My appearance, my clothes, and even my equipment are fully replicated. This illusion is incredibly realistic" Kyrell marveled at the illusion that was no different than reality.

He felt like a countryside bumpkin entering a highly civilized society. "This is no different than virtual reality technology" he mused before motes lights appeared not far from him.

He knew that the magic beast would appear and he was correct. The motes of lights condensed into the figure of a giant black centipede.

The centipede was as long as ten meters with tens of arms, looking really disgusting that Kyrell couldn't help but grimace.

"Zero, are you there?" He asked mentally. Even though he trained hard, the Royal Academy has high standards. He was not confident of passing without cheating.

[Zero is here. Does the host have an order?]

After hearing that cold metallic voice, Kyrell was relieved. His cheat didn't fail him and this even made him believe more that maybe, Zero indeed fused with his soul. If not, this might not be possible.

Of course, this is just his theory. Even in this world, there is scarce information about the soul. Not just anyone can see or sense their soul. It was said that only Spirit Nourishers can vaguely sense their soul.

Back to the present, Kyrell unsheathed the sword at his side as he readied himself for a battle which was the right choice.

After the centipede was materialized, it immediately launched an attack. With the help of its numerous arms which are also its legs, it crawled towards Kyrell.

Its mouth parted in an attempt to bite the human in front of it. This was merely an illusion but it looked felt too real.

Despite knowing that nothing in this place was real, Kyrell's muscles still tensed. Thanks to the guidance of Zero, he can see the centipede's movement trajectory and he was able to dodge.

The sound of the centipede's carapace was quite loud and eerie. The young man can't help but complain as to why the academy decided to have him fight such a disgusting-looking beast. Surely, they can arrange for a more 'beautiful' beast for him, right?

Too bad that no matter how much he complains, nothing will change and Kyrell continued to dodge. When he found the chance, he wielded his sword to strike at the centipede.

"Argh!"

As soon as the sword met the centipede's carapace, a strong rebound feedback was transmitted to Kyrell's whole arms. It doesn't feel like hitting a living creature but more like striking a solid wall with a sword!

The centipede was clearly unfazed and it turned its body in an attempt to attack Kyrell again.

Fortunately, due to its long body, although it was quite fast that is only if it's charging into a straight line. Once it had to turn its body around, its speed was greatly affected.

"If my goal is only to survive for ten minutes, I can do it since I can see the trajectory of the centipede's movement. However, that would give me the lowest amount of points"

"While I don't dream of reaching the top 10, to guarantee admission, I can't accept only receiving ten points. I must kill this centipede!"

A frown appeared on Kyrell's face as he continuously dodged the centipede's attacks.

"Zero, what is this magic beast and what is its weakness?" He inquired.

While Kyrell read many books, he scanned even more without reading to enrich Zero's database. Surely, the academy wouldn't use an ultra-rare species just for a single test, right?

Although Kyrell cannot recall what species this centipede is, Zero should know, right? Fortunately, the A.I. didn't disappoint him.

[Yeriwe Giant Centipede, a centipede-type magic beast that can grow as long as hundreds of meters in size. It has remarkable defense and charging speed but is not flexible.

When enraged, the centipede can grow its limbs to grab and crush the enemies. Each hand can easily pulverize a fist-size rock.

Weakness: There are small gaps in its hard body to facilitate movement]

A string of information appeared directly in Kyrell's mind as he jumped back to avoid the vicious tail of this centipede.

Using his free hand, he retrieved three shurikens from his weapon pouch that he used to attack.

Unfortunately, the shurikens just flew off as they were not powerful enough to penetrate the hard shell of this magic beast.

"Zero, show me the weak points of this disgusting centipede!" Kyrell ordered and the A.I. scanned the magic beast's body.

Kyrell made sure to encircle the centipede so that Zero could scan its whole body and show him all the weak spots.

After around a minute, Zero was done with a scan, and in Kyrell's vision, he could see multiple green circles. Those are the weak spots of this giant centipede.

With growing confidence, he retrieved threw more shurikens and he threw them in the green arrow trajector that only he could see.

With an advanced A.I.'s help, it was easy to become a shuriken master thrower! You just need to throw the shurikens on the path that is shown in your vision.

Pichi!!

With remarkable throwing skill, all three of the shurikens embedded themselves in the weak points of the centipede.

Pungent and disgusting green-colored blood soaked the area around the wounds and the centipede issued a loud piercing cry of pain.

"Damn, this is just too realistic!" Kyrell shuddered as he felt like he had hurt a living entity. He doesn't have much time for 'pity' though and his attack enrages the centipede.

Ten of its arms suddenly grow long and they all attempt to grab the human cultivator that dared to hurt it.

Slash! Slash! Slash!

Kyrell used his sword to defend against these ten hands but one of the hands held the blade of his sword.

That action cuts the hand but in return, Kyrell is forced to give up his weapon as the other nine hands continue to attack.

He has no choice but to retrieve two daggers from his weapon pouch to switch weapons. Too bad that even with the devious Fiendish Dagger Technique, Kyrell was getting pushed back and suppressed.

As expected, the magic beast in the illusion was way above the average considering that only the talented can successfully join the Royal Academy!

"Fuck!"

Kyrell retreated, even his daggers were caught by the elongated arms and since physical combat was proving to be ineffective, he could only try to use a Martial Skill.

While Kyrell retreated, he was trying hard to concentrate his mana on his right hand and of course, the 'nanobots' were also mobilized inside the illusion, aiding him.

If not for them, he certainly doesn't have enough skills to use a Martial Skill this easily.

When enough mana was gathered, Kyrell raised his right hand and from it, a green vine shot out like lightning.

"[Martial Skill: Constricting Vine!]"

The green vine wrapped and held at least five of the centipede's arms and the centipede was unable to move those arms temporarily.

Seizing the chance, Kyrell retrieved another dagger and he used his left hand to cut those five constricted limbs.