Chapter 8 The exams continues

"This beast is quite cunning," Miguel said, his face pale with concern. "It's a Warrior-level beast. Damn it, we were careless."

Miguel rushed towards Kaito, emerging from the shadows as he approached the dust cloud. As the cloud slowly cleared, Kaito's figure came into view, slowly getting to his feet.

"Are you okay?" Miguel asked, his eyes scanning Kaito's battered form.

Kaito raised his head, revealing a bleeding gash and blood-stained lips. "Yeah, just a little scratch," he said nonchalantly.

Miguel's eyes widened in alarm. "You call this a little scratch?"

Kaito shrugged. "You know how I can recover from injuries, right? I just figured out how that works."

Miguel's expression turned serious. "Before we discuss that further, we need to deal with this bastard."

Kaito's gaze shifted to the big wolf, which was now snarling furiously, its eyes blazing with fury. The remaining wolves gathered around it, preparing to launch another attack.

"Yeah, you're right," Miguel agreed. "Let's fight properly now. Try not to get surrounded, and watch out for the big wolf's sneak attacks."

Kaito nodded, his mind racing with newfound insights. "I just realized that I've been limiting myself by trying to control these things... recalling how the bandages split the wolves earlier, it seems like I've been doing it wrong this whole time."

A hint of excitement crept into Kaito's voice. "I know there are limits, but limiting the potential of the bandages... or whatever this is... that's not right."

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"Okay, then round two begins!" Kaito declared, his eyes gleaming with anticipation.

Miguel vanished into the darkness, leaving Kaito to face the wolves alone. Kaito closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then exhaled slowly. His eyes snapped open, and he charged towards the wolves with incredible speed.

Several bandaged extremities sliced through the air, cutting down multiple wolves with deadly precision. The wolves' bodies withered away, leaving behind dried-up husks. Miguel reappeared, his dark energy orbs exploding above the wolves' heads, killing them instantly. He then disappeared back into the shadows.

The alpha wolf, enraged by the decimation of its pack, growled and snarled furiously. It targeted Kaito once more, bursting forth with incredible speed. Kaito stood his ground, a fierce grin spreading across his face.

"I've been waiting for you, bastard," Kaito said, his voice dripping with confidence. "This round won't be like the previous one."

A multitude of bandages, too numerous to count, shot out from Kaito's body, cutting down several wolves and clearing a path towards the alpha. The bandages then attempted to wrap around the alpha, but it showcased its agility, dodging and weaving between the attacks.

More bandages attacked the alpha from different directions, cutting off its escape routes. The alpha attempted to slip back and avoid the bandages, but something came flying at it – it was one of Miguel's orbs. The alpha used its wind blades to intercept the orbs, it was successful but the kinetic force crashed into it and sent it crashing to the ground.

As the alpha struggled to get back to its feet, it noticed that it was a wolf that had hit it but it was a corpse. Before it could growl in anger, several bandages wrapped around its legs, swiftly slicing across its body and pulling it to the ground.

The alpha wolf struggled to get up, but Kaito's bandages only tightened around its body. Miguel finally appeared, launching indiscriminate attacks towards the remaining wolves. The wolves, realizing their leader was down, attempted to come to its aid, but Kaito's bandages dealt with them swiftly.

It didn't take long to dispatch the remaining wolves, which were significantly weaker than their leader. With the threat neutralized, the scene shifted back to the conference room.

"These kids are good, very good," the Monster Tech owner said, impressed.

Indeed, they are," the Support School Dean agreed. "Using dark energy attacks to divert attention, and then utilizing one of the dead bodies as a projectile to knock the wolf down... the fight was over at that moment. Quite decisive."

Back in the forest, Kaito and Miguel sat down on the ground, both visibly stressed physically and mentally. The wolf leader, still bound by Kaito's bandages, lay nearby.

"That was thrilling," Miguel said, exhaling deeply.

"Way too thrilling, if you ask me," Kaito replied, glancing at the wolf leader.

Miguel turned to Kaito, his eyes scanning his friend's body. "So, about that recovery you were talking about...?"

Kaito thought for a moment before responding. "Well, the first time I recovered, I was unconscious, so I couldn't really tell... "

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Miguel's curiosity got the better of him. "But now you can, ehm...?" he asked, prompting Kaito to continue.

"I felt it clearly," Kaito said, his gaze fixed on the massive wolf. "That's what happened when I got distracted, allowing that guy to land such a hit. All I can say is... life force. By killing creatures, I think I can absorb their life force."

Kaito gestured towards the dried-up husk of a wolf nearby. "The life force of the creatures I've killed shows obvious physical effects, like this. Secondly, I've been actively trying to control the bandages, but they respond faster and more effectively to my will when I don't try to control them. So, I relinquished control – that's basically what made this fight look kind of easy."

Miguel turned his attention to the big wolf. "So, what are you going to do about this big guy?"

Kaito grinned. "You can have this one. I killed most of the wolves, so I have more points. Let's just try to reach the top as a team."

Miguel noticed that Kaito's statement was true – most of the wolf corpses around them were dried-up husks, with few exceptions. "You know, if you say so, I wouldn't stand on ceremony," Miguel said with a chuckle.

Miguel walked towards the big wolf, condensing a ball of darkness that he shot towards the wolf's head, blowing it up and stirring a small cloud of dust. The dust settled, revealing the wolf's corpse with its head blown into a black mess. His badge displayed the number 25.

Kaito's badge, on the other hand, displayed the number 35. "Hell, Miguel, couldn't you have done this a little more cleanly?" Kaito asked, eyeing the wolf's mangled corpse.

Miguel shrugged. "Whatever, dude. With this mess, how are you going to clean this up? The smell of blood isn't as thick due to your unusual ability, but it's still there, and it might attract more monsters. You might hardly get any sleep this way."

Kaito thought for a moment before responding. "What's there to think about? We'll just take shifts. More monsters mean more points, and I feel like I could stay awake some more so I'll go first"

The night wore on, uneventful, until Luke's end of the group. Kaiter and Miguel were busy setting up for the night, oblivious to the chaos.

As Luke and his group caught their breath, the group found themselves face-to-face with a snarling pack of mutated hyenas. The beasts were servant-class, but their vicious growls sent a shiver down the spines of even the most students. But it was easily dealt with by the group

"It's getting late, and we still haven't found shelter," one of Luke's goons complained, wiping the sweat from his brow.

Luke shot him a withering glance. "There's nothing we can do about it now. It's too dark."

Sam, ever the voice of reason, intervened. "Alright, let's camp out. We'll take turns keeping watch."

Just as Luke nodded in agreement, his stomach growled loudly, echoing through the forest. The others stared, amused.

"Do you smell barbecue?" one of the goons asked, his nose twitching.

Luke's eyes narrowed. "Are you mocking me, Peter?"

But Peter's expression was genuine. "No, Luke, I'm serious. There's a smell of barbecue."

Sam sniffed the air, his eyes scanning the surroundings. "It's true, Luke."

The scent wafted through the air, tantalizing their taste buds. Stomachs rumbled in unison, a chorus of hunger.

Peter's gaze fell upon the mutated hyena carcasses scattered on the ground. "We could roast these creatures."

Luke's face contorted in disgust. "You want to eat the meat of a scavenger? Who knows what kind of rotten stuff it's eaten?"

The group settled in for the night, their hunger a gnawing reminder of their situation. Luke's voice was firm. "First thing tomorrow morning, we find something to eat."

As they huddled together, the darkness seemed to press in around them, a reminder of the dangers that lurked in the shadows.

As the night wore on, it became clear that the other students had fallen into distinct categories. Some were cowards, running away from challenges and needing protection, while others were top-notch students, well-prepared and skilled. And then there were the dark horses, like Kaito, who kept to themselves and revealed little about their intentions.

Not all of these cowards would make it through the exam. The creatures that hunted at night were more ferocious and numerous than those that roamed during the day. The students would have to be on their guard to survive.

Luke's group wasn't the only one struggling with the basics. Others had also forgotten to pack food or were making rookie mistakes. But there were also students like Kaito and Miguel, who had prepared thoroughly and were well-equipped to handle the challenges of the exam.

As the darkness deepened, the students huddled around their makeshift camps, trying to rest and recharge for the dangers that lay ahead.