Chapter 36: Blood on the Island

Words : 1127 Updated : Sep 12th, 2025

Chapter 36: Blood on the Island The moment Alex's body reformed on the deserted isle, a strange silence wrapped around him. A thick fog of mana hung in the air, twisting slightly like it was... watching. The sound of thousands of feet stomping, shouting, and steel clashing echoed across the island as the rest of the candidates were also forcefully teleported. The peaceful-looking landscape shattered into chaos within seconds. Screams. Explosions. Mana flares. Light and fire clashed against shadow and steel. Alliances were forming and breaking at rapid speed. Alex stood still amid it all, his blue eyes narrowing as the wind tousled his sliver hair. He calmly took a step forward. "Well, this is just a warm welcome, isn't it?" he muttered sarcastically, brushing dust off his coat his shoes sinking in the sand. He flicked his wrist and summoned his EVOband interface. A translucent screen hovered in front of him, displaying the point distribution system: Point System – Updated: Novice (Low) Monster: 10 points Novice (Mid) Monster: 30 points Novice (Peak) Monster: 50 points Intermediate (Low) Monster: 80 points Intermediate (Mid) Monster: 100 points Intermediate (Peak) Monster: 150 points Advanced (Low) Monster: 300 points Advanced (Mid) Monster: 600 points Advanced (Peak) Monster: 1000 points Candidate Elimination : Points from defeated candidate are transferred to eliminator. Alex nodded. "Straightforward. Brutal. Kinda like a sales department." He cracked his neck and marched into the forest. The dense forest canopy swallowed light, but his senses were sharp. The bushes rustled. A Novice (Low) rank Wolf leapt at him, fangs bared. Alex didn't even flinch. One smooth draw of his blade — slash. The beast landed behind him, twitching once before collapsing. +10 points Another three burst out: a Novice (Mid) Thorned Ape, and two Novice (Peak) Razor-Hogs. "Now we're talking." He dodged under the ape's swinging arms, stabbed upward into its neck, pivoted to parry a hog's charge, and backflipped off a tree to land between the second hog and the collapsing ape. His blade danced. By the time he stopped moving, all three monsters were bleeding out on the forest floor. Sweat glistened on his forehead. "This feels like grinding low-level mobs in a Soulslike. Fun, until the boss pops out." Almost as if summoned by his words, three Intermediate (Low) rank monsters arrived. A two-headed jungle serpent slithered down a tree, fangs dripping venom. Behind it, a Horned Ironback charged. "Yep. There's the boss music." He dropped into a stance. Void Step activated. In a blink, he vanished. The Ironback's charge met only air. Alex reappeared behind the serpent, slashing across both heads in a single, clean arc. The serpent convulsed. The Ironback spun, but Alex launched a Phantom Rend — his blade split into shimmering afterimages, each strike slamming into the beast from different directions. The Ironback collapsed. Panting slightly, Alex muttered, "Note to self: I need to eat something that isn't forest pig guts later." He continued deeper. That's when he heard laughter. A group of cadets — seven in total — emerged from the trees. Their armor mismatched but functional, their expressions cocky. "All alone, pretty boy?" the leader sneered. He was Intermediate (Mid), the others Novice (Peak). Alex just sighed. "Seven versus one. You sure you're not overestimating yourselves or just that desperate for a participation trophy?" "You'll regret those words." The group charged. Alex grinned, stance wide. Bladestorm Mirage. The world became streaks of steel. He weaved through them, every move fluid. The first went down with a gash across the chest. The second lost his weapon and consciousness after a spinning kick to the jaw. A third raised a barrier — it shattered instantly under a downward cleave. The leader screamed and launched a barrage of fireballs. Alex deflected them mid-air with expert timing. He leapt over the last cadet, slashed downward with a Phantom Rend — triple-hit combo — and landed softly. Silence. All seven were down. Alex exhaled. "Now that was a workout. Did they seriously think I wouldn't take them all? Rookies." "Even if it is virtual reality killing humans does not feel good in the slightest but I'll have to get used to this because this is how this world works the strong takes everything and the weak just have to get by on there scraps." Alex exhaled "I and lily have learned this the hard way good thing I have experienced those damned ancient ruins so it doesn't affect me much." He checked his EVOband. Current Rank: 5509 / 1,000,000 Points : 950 He frowned. "...Seriously? After all that effort? Man, either this leaderboard is broken, or there's some monsters out here farming points like crypto bros." He smirked. "Fine. Let's step it up." He activated the third form of his sword art. Celestial Flow. Suddenly, he vanished into a streak of speed. In that moment, Alex ceased to be a human and became a storm. Blurred shadows zipped across the forest. Monsters froze mid-roar, unaware their necks had already been severed. Candidates clashing mid-duel blinked in confusion before their heads hit the ground, and their vision faded to black. "W-Who was that?!" one managed to gasp before being eliminated. Even Intermediate (Peak) cadets fell before they could react. The few who survived the encounter only saw a streak of silver and red vanish into the trees. Back at the academy, dozens of candidates were being forcefully teleported back. "Who the hell was that?!" "I didn't even see his face!" "A monster! That's not a person, it's a monster!" Meanwhile, in a secluded cliffside in the forest, Alex stumbled to a stop. His body shook. "Shit... shouldn't have used Celestial Flow for that long..." he muttered, dropping to one knee. His muscles throbbed, and blood seeped from his glove. "That really takes a toll... and I still have to fight guys like Ethan and Alden." He stared at his sword. The edge was clean, glowing faintly with a silver sheen. "...But damn, Jack really knows how to craft." He ran a hand along the blade. "This isn't a sword... it's art." He opened the EVOband interface again. Current Rank: 195 / 1,000,000 Points: 2970 Alex cracked his neck and laughed. "Now that's more like it. Blood, sweat, and absurd amounts of sarcasm — always works." He stood up, sheathing his sword. "There's still more to do. Next stop... northern cliffs. If the game's right, that's where the Advanced (Low) monster shows up. I wonder what those two clowns and other main character's are up to." After that He turned, disappearing once more into the forest.

Chapter 36: Blood on the Island

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