Chapter 320
Student Council Trials (6)
His sword flashed through the air as a sharp *clang* rang out, saving Henry from losing his head. At the same time, he jumped backward to create distance, his eyes laser-focused on the deadline creature in front of him…
It had a pale white body—not like a human's—but something resembling a material similar to a car tire. Its skin was extremely wrinkled, and its jittery movements made its entire form vomit-inducing to look at.
It had four arms, each ending in a sickle-like claw. One of them had just been used in an attempt to cut off Henry's head. It stood on hind legs that slightly resembled a horse's, except these ended in sharp claws that dug into the ground for purchase when it moved at extreme speeds.
On its face were normal blue eyes—the kind you would see on a human—but they appeared tiny compared to the rest of its proportions. Its mouth, however, was anything but normal. Dark purple tentacles spilled out from within, wriggling disgustingly in Henry's direction as if excited for a meal.
Overall, it stood over two meters tall, easily towering over him. It was a peak novice deadline creature due to its incredible physical capabilities. However, without a unique ability—like the devil that had wiped out IAM's group in the past with its black liquid—it would never go past peak experienced.
It had already been established that deadline creatures could grow stronger over time, depending on the creature, allowing them to travel through the levels. However, it wasn't so simple. There were caps placed upon certain creatures—those that simply were not "unique" enough.
This showed that even as incomprehensible, mysterious, and strange as these creatures were, they could not escape the words every ascender was aware of.
Uniqueness prevails over all.
But there was another way for these creatures to grow stronger, and that was to… devour.
By devouring humans and even other creatures, they could increase their strength. Of course, they would need to consume a ridiculous amount just to move up a single stage, but it could be argued that it was still significantly easier for them than it was for ascenders to traverse the levels.
One could only imagine—and tremble at—the strength of creatures that had been alive for a significant amount of time. Surely, they had devoured countless others during that time to reach incredible heights.
But all of that could be left for the future.
Right now, Henry was focused on the deadline creature in front of him—a peak novice creature. Meanwhile, he himself was only mid-level novice. That was a difference of two stages. The creature had already gone past mid, through high, and settled at peak—just on the edge of advancing to experienced.
…
"That guy is a bit unlucky to be faced with one of those by himself, don't you think?" the woman said with a smile, glancing toward Snow.
Snow wore a conflicted expression before simply replying, "Yes."
…
The creature suddenly let out a screech as it dashed toward Henry at breakneck speed. He didn't even entertain the idea of running away.
Even though this was his first time facing a deadline creature—albeit an illusion, but nevertheless real within this world he was currently in.
Because he hadn't stepped onto the path of an ascender at the beginning of the student trials, he had been placed in the other group—the non-ascenders. They weren't required to face deadline creatures. Fortunately for them, they only had to face each other.
Now that he was finally facing one, he strangely felt calm. He knew he had to use a portion of his strength and not hold back too much. After all, this was a deadline creature.
He quickly ducked out of the way as the four sickles attempted to turn him into mince meat, the air screaming where Henry had just been.
Another screech rang out, and much to Henry's absolute shock, the top half of the creature—its waist and above—spun around in a one-eighty motion to deliver a deadly blow with two of its sickle-like claws.
Henry could barely react.
He blocked the first strike aimed at his throat, steel clashing violently—but he couldn't stop the second. It cut through his stomach with ease.
He leapt back simultaneously with a grunt of pain, clutching his wound as blood flowed freely between his fingers and onto the earth beneath him.
If he hadn't jumped back at that exact moment, the strike would not only have cut through his skin—it would have gouged out his guts entirely.
Henry's expression turned extremely serious as he realised the true danger he was in. In that instant, he understood even more clearly the fear and trepidation these creatures inspired across the world.
He could now see with complete clarity just how dangerous they truly were.
They were no joke!
Genius or not—whoever you might be—these creatures would cut you down all the same!
Henry couldn't allow himself to wallow in his injuries. He had already learned from his many lessons that the best way to deal with any deadline creature was to take it down as swiftly as possible. He couldn't give it time to display its abilities—or unleash more of its nasty surprises, like the one he had just experienced.
With a determined and valiant look, he didn't retreat or show fear toward the creature. Instead, he sprinted forward to meet it.
At the very tip of his jian, a faint golden, fire-like liquid energy began to form as he closed the distance. The creature let out a bellow, emboldened after having already drawn blood.
Its dark purple tentacles stretched toward the sickle-like claw that had injured Henry, absorbing the blood from it like a sponge. As it did, its movements seemed to grow even more fervent.
…
Snow wore a slightly worried expression, her eyes almost glued to a single floating screen as she watched Henry prepare to engage the creature despite his injury.
"He's not bad," Ari analysed calmly. "Being able to handle himself like that—not fearing the deadline creature. Brave and smart. He knows he can't give it time. He has to slay it as quickly as possible."
She gave a small nod toward that screen before shifting her gaze elsewhere. She couldn't stare at only Henry's situation all day.