CHAPTER 76: THE BIRTH OF A PREDATOR!

"Alright," Ozai said quietly. "I’ll handle it."

Lucen stayed silent, watching him out of the corner of his eye.

Ozai’s expression darkened as he stared at Bruce’s calm figure on the main screen.

’This is going to be troublesome... A total of 99 recruits with that Bruce included, I have to convince them and make sure a word of what they know remains a secret’ he thought grimly.

The Thornes don’t forgive humiliation. Especially not when it was spread for the world to see.

It was humiliation of the highest order, it’ll completely ruin many things for Ozai inside the family. The most important of all is his reputation, a ruined reputation reduce standing and spoils a lot of things

Ozai’s fist trembled once more before he shoved it into his pocket, hiding the frustration boiling beneath his controlled exterior.

Whatever it took, he’d make sure this never reached his family’s ears.

Because if it did... not even the Adventurer’s Guild would be able to shield him from the wrath that would follow.

Meanwhile, while Ozai and Lucen discussed the broadcast in the real world, the very thing they were trying to contain was already unfolding inside the VR simulation.

The air was still. The cave around Bruce was silent except for the faint hum of the VR interface as a string of golden notifications flickered to life before his eyes.

Ding!

[YOU HAVE SUCCESSFULLY KILLED OZAI THORNE.]

Bruce’s gaze lingered on the text for a moment. Then, slowly, a small smile curved across his lips. His heartbeat didn’t rise. His breathing remained steady. He simply stared, calm and unbothered, as another holographic panel appeared in front of him.

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU HAVE OBTAINED THE TITLE: FIRST VILLAINOUS ADVENTURER]

[REWARD: +500 POINTS FOR BEING THE FIRST TO KILL A FELLOW RECRUIT.]

"For real?" Bruce muttered, brows arching slightly. His tone was dry, almost amused. "That’s the title they’re giving me?"

He exhaled through his nose, clearly unimpressed. The title meant nothing to him, but the reward, that was interesting.

He hadn’t been told there were bonuses for killing recruits. That changed everything. If others found out about this, chaos would erupt instantly. The weaker recruits would tear each other apart for easy points. Trust would vanish overnight.

A small chuckle escaped him. "Good thing they didn’t mention it."

But the notifications didn’t stop there.

[THE POINTS OF OZAI THORNE HAVE BEEN TRANSFERRED TO YOU.]

[CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE NOW RANKED ONE.]

Bruce grinned, eyes gleaming faintly. "Rank one again, huh?"

He had expected this. Though he had started the trial as the top recruit with nine hundred points, a few of the more daring hunters, especially those who stayed up through the night when the beasts were more active, had managed to surpass him. But now, with Ozai’s accumulated points and the bonus added, Bruce was once again untouchable.

The hologram shifted again, the letters flickering like fire.

[YOUR ACHIEVEMENT WILL BE ANNOUNCED TO ALL RECRUITS.]

[PREPARE YOURSELF. YOUR LOCATION WILL BE BROADCASTED.]

Bruce’s grin widened. "Perfect."

Exactly what he wanted.

He didn’t even need to hunt anymore, they would come to him. Every ambitious recruit, every greedy fool, every thrill-seeker eager for glory. They’d all come charging for the bounty, bringing their points straight to his doorstep.

It was free experimentation material.

He quickly pulled up his map, and sure enough, there it was, his name glowing brightly among the countless dots. His coordinates were fully visible, an open invitation for anyone bold or stupid enough to challenge him.

At that exact same moment, in every other region of the simulation, recruits across the VR world froze as glowing notifications appeared in their vision.

[ALERT!]

[OZAI THORNE HAS BEEN KILLED BY RECRUIT: BRUCE ACKERMAN.]

[FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO HUNT HIM, HIS COORDINATES ARE 3458.0869, NORTHEAST REGION.]

[THIS SAME FATE AWAITS ALL WHO KILL ANOTHER RECRUIT. IF YOU CAN DEFEND YOURSELF WHEN YOUR LOCATION IS BROADCASTED, YOU ARE FREE TO TRY.]

The world went dead quiet.

Every single recruit stared at the hologram in disbelief. For a few seconds, no one even breathed.

Then, the ranking board updated.

[BRUCE ACKERMAN — Points: 2045]

[JEAN FROST — Points: 1034]

[SOPHIE REIGN — Points: 1000]

[ARIA STORMHEART — Points: 999]

[DOMINIC SAVIOR — Points: 985]

[LUKE DROT — Points: 950]

[AVERAGE JOE — Points: 945]

[FRISCA FOX — Points: 930]

[BALE LAS — Points: 925]

[DONN CHIT — Points: 925]

Gasps echoed everywhere. Conversations broke out. The VR world erupted.

"Wait, what?!"

"Did it just say Ozai Thorne?!"

"That can’t be right... he’s from the Thorne family!"

"Who the hell is Bruce Ackerman?!"

"Rank one... he’s rank one now?"

Some stared in open disbelief, while others frantically refreshed their rankings, hoping it was a glitch.

But there was no glitch. Ozai Thorne’s name had vanished. Deleted. Erased as if he never existed. His points had been merged completely into Bruce’s.

The stronger recruits exchanged wary looks.

The weaker ones felt their hearts sink.

Even those who knew Bruce personally, those who had mocked him, pitied him, or simply ignored him, were left dumbfounded.

"Is this really the same Bruce?" someone whispered.

"The quiet one from the academy?"

"The one who couldn’t even defend himself during academy trainings?"

No one had an answer.

They all knew Ozai’s background, his bloodline, his training, his family influence. Everyone assumed the Thornes’ heir would dominate this trial. But now...

The one everyone had dismissed as a nobody had just killed him.

The implications rippled like a storm.

Because if Bruce Ackerman, a nobody and a so-called weakling, could kill a Thorne, then no one was safe.

And worse still, Bruce’s coordinates were now visible to everyone.

That single glowing dot on the map became a beacon, a challenge to every ambitious recruit in the simulation.

Some saw it as opportunity. Some saw it as suicide. But all of them felt the same thing deep in their gut.

Fear!

Because the system hadn’t just announced a kill. It had just declared a predator. And surely the same fate awaits anyone who kills another recruit, their coordinates would be broadcasted, so many were thinking deeply about this one.