CHAPTER 117: TESTING

Testing

It only took Mike a few hours to fully recover after he woke up.

It couldn’t be helped, his vitality was simply too high, and his regeneration was even more extreme. As such, he was able to heal his damaged Pathways at an extreme speed.

After a series of stretches, Mike looked down at himself in satisfaction. Everything was in order.

"So, now what?" Theresa asked after making sure that Mike was indeed properly recovered.

"Well, I wanted to test a few things against some beasts. But what about you guys?" Mike scratched behind his ear.

"I know the position of a flag we can use to acquire points." Kris shrugged.

"I was thinking we should start heading for the supply markers." Theresa suggested. At this, the three of them fell silent.

"... Do we split up or...?" Mike started to suggest, but Theresa immediately shook her head.

"Absolutely not. Even if we forget the fact that the two of you got jumped by something endlessly adapting rat creature, there’s still half of our classmates who want us dead or maimed." Theresa scoffed at the idea.

"To be fair, I can easily avoid getting caught." Mike shrugged. With his senses, it wasn’t hard to avoid his fellow classmates.

"You’re an outlier. Besides, even if that’s the case, besides, knowing you, you might just see some strong monster that would give you a challenge and decide to fight it, consequences be damned." Theresa folded her arms.

’Oof.’ Mike cursed his lips,unable to fully refute her.

At this, Kris turned to Mike before saying.

"The thing you want to test, is it dangerous?" Mike perked up.

"Not particularly. At least, I don’t think so." Mike answered with a curious look, wondering where Kris was going with this.

"Hm. In that case, why not test it near the cave? Or better yet, with the wolves. I’m assuming you need beasts to test it on. That way, you can easily head back or be protected if anything happens." Hearing his suggestion, Mike tilted his head.

’Hm. He has a point.’ He noted.

If Mike stayed near the cave, he could simply return if there was a situation. However, beasts didn’t really hang near it due to the wolves having claimed the surrounding area as their territory.

Alternatively, if he followed the wolves while they hunted, he could just break away from them and hunt the surrounding creatures.

"... I wouldn’t mind." Mike admitted before looking at Theresa who seemed contemplative.

After a while, she nodded slowly.

"It could work. Just..." Mike prepared for her to tell him to stay safe again, but she closed her eyes and took a breath.

"Actually, you know what? Do whatever you want." She suddenly said, causing the two boys to blink.

"... Huh?" Mike couldn’t help but be surprised.

"I just remembered that getting stronger is our primary goal in this place, and you can’t exactly do that if I keep dictating what you can and can’t do, especially in regards to fighting. Besides, I can feel it

You’re stronger now compared to before you fought the rat king," Theresa admitted. "That’s not fair of me. Especially since Kris was also hurt quite a bit by that thing, but I didn’t show nearly as much worry for him, even as he decided to hunt more monsters while not being at 100%." She stood up.

"So yeah. Go do what you want. Whether it’s fighting our classmates or that giant flower. I... Well, I can’t say I don’t care, but I care more for your autonomy. So I won’t stop you. Just..." She took a breath. "Don’t get sent out early. Or... you know, die." As soon as she finished speaking, Mike stared at her, and his pupils dilated slightly.

He could feel her emotions loud and clear, and he understood just how worried she was about leaving him alone, especially when she saw how damaged he’d been the day before. And yet...

’She’s trusting me to do her own thing...’ The thought was... a lot more endearing than Mike would have ever thought, and he suddenly had the urge to pounce on her.

Seeing his stare, Theresa could practically see a metaphorical tail wagging behind him, and she forced a cough as her face reddened slightly.

"I-In that case. Kris and I will go to supply markers on our way to the flag, if that’s okay." She said, sounding a bit flustered, but Mike just nodded, not taking his eyes off her.

’Cute.’ Kris remarked inwardly at their interaction.

Eventually, though, the two of them stepped out, leaving Mike alone in the cave.

"Fuu~." He let out a breath before smiling.

’Alright. Let’s have a little fun, then.’

***

In the end, Mike didn’t need to travel too far outside the wolves territory before he found a suitable target for what he wanted to do.

A group of bear-like creatures could be seen lugging around. Each of them was at least 3 meters tall with deep brown fur that looked like it was made from dirt, and they had claws like stone knives.

Mike got a feel for them with his senses before nodding to himself.

Individually, each one was stronger than one of the adult wolves, but not by much. Moreover, there weren’t that many of them. Just 8 in total.

’Alright, that should work.’ He thought to himself as he came out of his hiding spot, not bothering to hide his presence.

As soon as he did so, the bears noticed him almost immediately, and they immediately went on guard as all of them stood at their full height, trying to intimidate him.

Mike found it laughable.

"Allow me to show you true intimidation." Mike took a step forward, and then, he activated Primal Authority.

There was a faint shift in the air, and everything went quiet.

The chirp of birds, the stridulation of insects, the faint rustle of leaves, the whistle of the wind, all of it died down, like the forest itself was holding its breath.

Then, suddenly, a pulse rippled outward from Mike. It was a faint blue at first, but it grew brighter and denser as it spread around him.

Calling it light wouldn’t have been completely accurate. It was more like... tangible pressure. Like a haze that clung to everything around him. Suffocating.

Then, in the air above him, two colossal eyes formed in the air.

Their shape wasn’t human. No, they resembled those of a wolf. But even then, they technically weren’t truly even there.

One thing was clear, though. As they glowed with eerie blue radiance, the sheer level of detachment and indifference coming from them couldn’t be measured easily. They were predatory, and every creature that saw them could only bow in response.

Every living thing in the area fell within its line of sight.

The bears that stood tall moments ago faltered. Their growls turned into fearful whines as their bodies hunched, each of them shuffling backwards uneasiness as their claws scraped the ground. Their instincts screamed at them to flee, but it was like an invisible vice held them in place.

At the same time, Mike’s shadow stretched unnaturally long until it formed the faint outline of a wolf that stood over him. Massive, predatory, and regal. The translucent figure mirrored his movements, rippling with blue light that resembled the mist that caught moonlight in the evening.

Moreover, every breath Mike took made the pressure worse.

Keep in mind, the ability scaled with his aura, and he hadn’t even used that yet, so it wasn’t an exaggeration to say that his current use of it was at the absolute base level.

’... A lot more flashy than I thought it’d be.’ Mike pursed his lips. He wasn’t sure what he expected in the visual aspect, but certainly not this.

’Still, the effects seem quite potent. There’s no direction on my part, but the suppression effect is already much better than before.’ Mike noted with a hint of satisfaction.

Then, he glanced at the bears and realized something. Despite their frozen states, they were still standing.

He didn’t like that.

"Fall."

It wasn’t a command. It was simply a law within his domain.

In an instant, all the bears dropped flat, their burly bodies looking oddly small now that they were trying to press themselves into the ground as much as physically possible.

As soon as they were like that, Mike instantly felt better. It was like removing something unsavory from his sight. The notion of such lowly creatures standing in his presence was nothing short of insulting... wait.

’I’m doing it again.’ Mike caught himself.

Immediately, he recalled his behaviors when he killed the Rat King, the sense of superiority he had towards the creature and how he felt nothing but disdain and pity for it as he wholeheartedly believed that its entire existence was beneath his.

It was a similar situation now.

As soon as he activated Primal Authority, he found himself on that familiar–and dangerous–high.

’That’s hard.’ He realized.

Despite being aware of the shift, it was difficult to see himself as anything but a superior lifeform. It was concerning, as it was possible for him to become complacent due to that.

’But that’s why I’m testing it, isn’t it? To get a hang of it?’ He told himself as he took a breath.

Then, he looked at the closest bear and willed his presence.

He recalled the sensation of worming his will into that of the Rat King and tried to do something similar here.

With his instincts allowing him to feel the bear’s emotions, he felt its terror, its reluctance, and he immediately held onto that.

Like a parasite, his will clung to it. Every negative emotion it developed as a result of enduring his presence was spread through until Mike’s will had a firm hold on the bear’s very being.

At that moment, he knew. If he so wanted, he could snuff it out like a candle.

So he did just that

It wasn’t hard, he just thought about it, and in the next moment, the bear stopped quivering.

Its body was intact, nothing was destroyed. Not physically, anyway.

But its mind was gone, and its heart simply stopped beating.

A slow smile spread across Mike’s face.

’Well, this should be fun.’