Chapter 404: One Step at a Time

The thunderous roar of the Frenzy Beast startled the students, causing them to enter a battle-ready state. More than 90 percent of the Warriors activated their Tier 1 Skill, trying to sense for the presence of any Frenzy Beasts in their midst. They knew that the military academy could surprise them in any manner possible. They had no restrictions in their thoughts.

Seeing their reactions, Madam Mary smiled involuntarily, 'The students this time are more battle-hardened than all the other Batches. I see, it is thanks to that incident when the Frenzy Beasts exited the Labyrinth of Frenzy.'

Followed by the roar, a blurry image of a Frenzy Beast flashed on the screen, but it was hard to make out its identity, for it just looked like three colours were splashed on it. A heading flashed into existence at the top, blurring out the background even further.

[Time duration of Jyorta Bone on every layer in the Labyrinth of Frenzy]

On seeing the heading, the students calmed down, realising the sound originated from the screen. Thanks to it being transmitted through Madam Mila's psychic energy, it looked like the sound originated from everywhere, perfectly real. That's why the students were startled.

"So, this will show the truth." A student commented, gazing at the one that mentioned how Jyorta Bone had probably hidden at the entrance of the Labyrinth.

"He probably focused solely on developing the ability to hide himself all this time. Each Esper specialises in different domains after all." Unwilling to see himself be made an embarrassment, the targeted student changed his tone immediately.

"Since his score hadn't changed during the time it was displayed in the Credit rankings, Jyorta Bone wasn't hunting any Frenzy Beasts during his stay in the labyrinth."

"Then what was he even doing? Meditating?" There was a spark in laughter followed by this statement, as the students in the clique of the commenter laughed. On seeing that it failed to latch on to the others, they stopped in embarrassment.

The students focused on the screen, mentally cursing at the time it took for the next set of words to materialise. It seemed like the staff wished to drag their curiosity to the maximum.

Unable to take it anymore, a student cursed after a minute, "Maybe Jyorta Bone was swallowed by a Frenzy Beast and carried everywhere?"

"You saw his appearance right, he looked like he was half frenzy Beast."

As the discussions became more random and disorganised, Madam Mary cleared her throat once, the action causing everyone to turn silent as they heard her loud and clear. On noting the silence, she smiled, as if she had enjoyed their confused conversations, "He was neither swallowed by a Frenzy Beast nor did he hide in one corner. He actively hunted Frenzy Beasts. The following is the duration he spent in each layer."

Followed by her words, a line flashed into existence at the bottom of the screen, causing the students to move their line of sight towards it involuntarily. Their eyelids twitched as they saw it, wishing to curse the staff again.

[Layer 5: 0 Hours, 0 Minutes, and 0 Seconds.]

On seeing their reactions, Madam Mary chuckled, feeling that she had trolled them enough. She then made the remaining four lines appear, watching the students take in sharp breaths, shocked, surprised, full of wonder and curiosity as to how he achieved it.

[Layer 1: 13 Hours, 48 Minutes, and 58 Seconds.]

[Layer 2: 9 Hours, 31 Minutes, and 14 Seconds.]

[Layer 3: 53 Hours, 48 Minutes, and 17 Seconds.]

[Layer 4: 2 Hours, 12 Minutes, and 3 Seconds.]

"Jyorta Bone stayed in the Labyrinth of Frenzy for almost 80 hours in a single exploration. This is the highest through Marble City. And, he was fighting non-stop during it." Madam Mary waved her hand, pointing at the screen that flashed three images one after another, "And, these are the scenes after he passed through the layers 1, 2, and 3 respectively."

The first image displayed a wide-angled shot of layer 1, showing a scene of carnage. All the rocks strewn about on the floor sported cracks, a sign of something heavy moving over it. A large section was burning, while the rocks within had melted.

Poisonous fumes billowed about, polluting the air while fierce gales blew. The dark layer was completely brightened because of the flames. Five Two-Faced Fireflies huddled in one corner, trembling in fear all along.

The ceiling that had been covered by spider web was in tatters now, with large portions having been pulled down. Blood of the Frenzy Beasts covered the floor, forming a thin layer on it. The Essence of Frenzy in them seeped into the rocks, turning them into mush.

There was barely any part of a Frenzy Beast in the scene; it was as if the perpetrator had devoured through them all, only leaving behind the blood that had spilled. The students shuddered in fright, for they knew how dangerous layer 1 was, even though it only had Tier 1 Frenzy Beasts that were the weakest of the bunch.

It was because of the traps and the total lack of sight, not to mention the terrain advantage the Floating Spiders possessed thanks to their speed of flight. Those that had used a torch to explore had paid a heavy price when they were swarmed from all sides like locusts.

"The sole survivors of layer 1 are five Tier 2 Two-Faced Fireflies that Jyorta Bone left alone for reasons unknown." Madam Mary said, watching the scene on the screen change to the one in layer 2.

Just based on the vigorous dancing of the air, the students realised the intensity of heat in the region, finding it beyond what they had experienced. There were traces of red on the sands, but other than that there was nothing amiss.

"It was a total annihilation in layer 2." Madam Mary's announcement was like a hammer striking their heads. Just traversing the layer took a lot of time and energy, and most of the students had become tired after fighting 2-3 Frenzy beasts in such a condition. This was for Warriors. Espers fared even worse, with most of them failing to even reach layer 2.

In a place where the terrain worked against them, achieving total annihilation was an impossible feat. But now, that impossibility was a reality before their eyes. Before they could fully think it through, Madam Mary changed the scene to the one in layer 3.

It showed blood-red shallow water, filled with the Essence of Frenzy and blood of the Frenzy Beasts. Thanks to the incredible heat, a dense mist had formed in the place, making the visibility zero. The withered carcass of a River Whale floated on one side, its expression making the students feel sad for some reason.

"Layer 3, total wipe-out," Madam Mary watched the students gaze at the scene, for most of them hadn't ever set foot in layer 3. They had been exhausted within layer 2 itself, and unwilling to lose the Credits they had accumulated through the Heart/Brain crystals they had harvested, they usually retreated.

Only a select few students that were confident in their strength dared to venture into layer 3. After all, Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts were common from that point onwards. The River Whales were also defensive creatures that wouldn't die thanks to the film of water protecting them.

Even if the water layer was shaved off from their attacks, the River Whales easily replenished them from the water flowing below, making it a continuous cycle until the student exhausted himself. Even killing a Tier 2 River Whale in layer 3 would have been a feat worthy to brag about within the academy. But presented before their eyes was a total wipe-out of the layer, containing dozens of Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts.

"And now, for the final layer he explored," The students became alert; their hearts thumped as they saw layer 4 for the first time. The students that had explored this layer only amounted to one person at a maximum per Batch, for only Tier 2 Frenzy Beasts lived there. And, the terrain was too terrible for the students. It wasn't something they could live within for more than a couple of minutes, for it was toxic, not to mention the tremendous heat they had to endure.

No Esper had even made it to this point, so they weren't even considered into the picture. The Warriors didn't possess a psychic arm to filter out the air perfectly.

The damage wasn't significant as compared to the other layers, but the students saw many injured Lava Turtles.

Quite a few Hunter Clams floated on the water as corpses. The damage was severe at the entrance of layer 4 that slowly decreased until the part beyond 200 metres looked unaffected by foreign interference.

"The territorial advantage in layer 4 is too much for the Lava Turtles to rely on. So, Jyorta struggled a lot against them and couldn't even get a proper footing. He was constantly on the run before he retreated to layer 3." Madam Mary then smiled, "I'll show you one scene of when he fought against a Wave Controller Lava Turtle. We had specifically released it to test the full extent of his strength."

The scene showed the Wave Controller Lava Turtle on one side, gearing up its final attack. Standing 25 metres from it was Jyorta, exuding a tremendous presence. Madam Mary used her psychic energy to enact the scene in reality, making the broiling aura waft from the screen, causing the students to shudder.

Some of them foamed in their mouths as a pale blue psychic energy entered their bodies, swiftly healing them and keeping them awake. Thanks to the psychic energy, the students were able to witness the scene without falling unconscious or suffering from damage. 

They watched with bated breaths as the two powerhouses clashed with one another. The plasma beam and the aura beam collided, resulting in a storm as the air cracked while lightning flashed. The scene was fully covered by the mist as the students felt the intensity of the exchange.

"Damn, he's a monster!" A student exclaimed. It wasn't unknown as to who muttered it out aloud, but Madam Mary sneakily amplified the student's voice, causing the others to hear it as if the one who muttered it was someone standing near them.

"Yeah!" A collective comment echoed before all the students gazed at each other in surprise, wondering why everyone spoke the same word. But, it echoed in their mind, Jyorta Bone was on a league of his own.

The two Bone Family members among them stood blankly, their faces agape, muttering in shock to each other, "This is that guy, right? The very same guy who was in a coma for 5 years right?"

"He is."

The scene changed, showing Jyorta's body being dragged by the Bundle Flea towards the Wave Controller Lava Turtle.

"Why's he heading towards it?"

"It's not dead yet. It's perfectly healthy."

All sorts of shouts resounded before the place turned deathly still, seeing the devilish grin on Jyorta's face. Haesha clenched her hand into a fish, her face pale, trembling as she noticed his expression, "He's never showed such an expression. That's not in his character."

"Yes, after firing off his aura attacks, he is affected by the ambient aura." Madam Mary explained to everyone. Even then, the students felt a sense of terror, watching him float on the water, lacking both arms, but expressing unsurpassable confidence.

He stopped a metre before the Wave Controller Lava Turtle, "You almost killed me, bastard."

"But," Jyorta laughed, followed by a couple of coughs, "If you cannot kill a healer, you will die next."

The students saw the air exhaled by the Wave Controller Lava Turtle freeze its nostrils before creeping over its body. Soon, its body began to melt and fall off. Jyorta saw everything as he got up, meditating for a moment as he started to control his mind. His expression returned to normal, a student that was calm, collected, and focused on his goals.

"And that," Madam Mary's voice echoed, "Is the personification of an exemplary student. Since day 1, he strived to better himself without rest and achieved his current strength. Set him as the example you wish to become. In Tier 2, when Espers were weaker than Warriors, Jyorta Bone achieved this strength. Make him your target to strive towards."

She then turned to her left, gazing at the figure of Jyorta that descended through the flight of stairs, "Do you have a motto that you followed in your journey here?"

"Just one," Jyorta smiled, fully healed, grasping Madam Mary's intention, "One step at a time."

Volume 2: Military Academy—The End!