Chapter 1765 Bonafide Demon Slayers
?'I fucking knew it. Shit was too good to be given for free.'
Eren vented his frustration with a string of curses directed at the goddess, dismayed at the apparent theft of his hard-earned Origin Force Points. If there had been a table in front of him, he might have been tempted to flip it in a fit of rage.
It seemed to him as if the goddess had offered him the Unique Skill with the sole intention of siphoning off his Origin Force reserves. While he appreciated the Skill's effects, he found fault with its reliance on the rare Stat.
He would have preferred if the Skill had tapped into the more replenishable Mana or Spirit Stats. He could recover them easily with a day of rest. So he would have had no problem using the Unique Skill more freely.
Risking exposure as the true inheritor of the Elder Ichor bloodline, Eren had turned the world of Labh Salem upside down to amass around 8000 Origin Force Points.
Though these points were still in the process of regenerating, fueled by the ongoing speculation surrounding his masked appearance in Agora, he was aware that the fervor would eventually wane.
The initial hype would yield diminishing returns over time, necessitating his constant engagement in Labh Salem's affairs if he wished to employ the ocular Skill regularly.
[ Unique Skill: Unreal Reflection allows the user to temporarily create their own world inside the Skill zone. Origin Force is the foundation behind the creation of any world, which is why it has the word 'Origin' in its nomenclature.
Consequently, Origin Force acts as the vital energy source supporting the Unique Skill. Due to the intrinsic nature of the world creation process, no other Stat can be utilized to activate this Unique Skill.]
'Wow. Now you're even monitoring how I feel?'
Eren muttered under his breath, expressing further discontent after perusing the clarification from Menaka's Blessing. A new prompt materialized promptly.
[Menaka's Blessing provides automated responses to address any queries users may have regarding unlocked Skills or items acquired through the interface. Rest assured, user information is safeguarded at all costs. This service is complimentary, offering users an opportunity to enhance their understanding of their Skills.]
'Now that's just creepy.'
However, if we join hands, things would be easy to deal with for both of us. I know that with a bigger team, the profit margins per candidate dwindle. But that is something we have to deal with by hunting more fiercely," Eren said as he observed Jen's ever-changing expressions carefully.
"Of course, you can refuse. But then I'll have to kill you," Eren's tone turned icy cold as he looked at Jen with a predatory gaze. Without the support of his Unique Skill, Eren was not a threat to Jen in his current condition. However, he didn't let that stop him from acting tough all the same.
"Al... alright," Jen agreed after some hesitation. Briefly toying with the idea of retaliating against Eren on the final day, she abandoned the thought upon meeting the fearful gaze of his emerald-green eyes.
Eren, despite struggling to stand, permitted Jen to contact Yugi. He almost compelled the evasive Elementalist to approach him.
"Kekekeke. Look what the cat dragged in," Eren greeted Yugi as she and Jen approached him. Swiftly forcing Yugi into compliance, he achieved complete suppression and cooperation from his ex-enemies.
Things were a bit easy for Eren and the rest after the end of the fourth day. They found plenty of demons to hunt. And they managed to repel any group of candidates who came to them with nefarious intentions.
In fact, it was Eren who decided to pull the same move Jen had pulled on him. His choice for selecting such groups to "feed" on was even more thorough and foolproof than Jen's. Surprisingly, he didn't have trouble convincing them to his seemingly unreasonable demands either.
'I... I tried to bully the guy who makes his living out of bullying others,' Jen thought to herself as she watched Eren in action.
Eren didn't have to kill any other candidate after Raif's death, which was a feat because more and more three-person teams were forced to group up with each other as the test progressed.
He seriously injured a candidate or two in such groups. And this action was enough for the groups to back off on their own.
Most candidates who had come to take the test were smart. They could identify the threat that was right in front of their face and take action accordingly.
At first, she and Yugi were quite uncomfortable with teaming up with Eren after he had killed their ex-teammate. But they were manipulated into coming around. All Eren needed was time and a set of right words.
With this forceful yet effective approach, Eren secured his position within the top 20 candidates who successfully completed the test. His teammates, Horen and Vasco, also emerged victorious.
Unsurprisingly, even Jen and Yugi managed to clear the test as well, solidifying their status as certified Demon Slayers by the conclusion of the seventh day.
Jen and Yugi quickly distanced themselves from Eren after they were out of the isolated dimension. They practically ran away, not allowing Eren to turn them into his acquaintances.
They hoped that they would never have to cross paths with the demon they had seen live in action during the course of the last few days.