Alex floated one hundred meters above the ground. This region was considered relatively safe because flying monsters were also not allowed to enter here. Because of that, Alex could rest in the air without much concern.
He sat cross-legged and entered meditation. However, he did not dare to cultivate. The instructors had repeatedly warned them that cultivating in the wilderness was no different from courting death.
The reason was the black miasma. It could corrode the mind, and anyone affected by it would eventually turn into a mindless monster, a demonoid.
.....
Around fifty four kilometers away, a male student was hiding behind a tree.
His body was drenched in blood. A huge claw mark had torn through his side, leaving a gushing wound.
He had been attacked by a Beast Master level mountain bear.
The body protection armor issued to them could only defend against normal high level Beast Master monsters. But there was something terribly wrong with that bear. It was overwhelmingly strong.
He tried to press the teleportation button and activate his communicator, but the bear's claw had already ripped the button off his armor, and his communication device was completely jammed.
The saints assigned to the inspection were only guarding the border of the region. They were not monitoring what was happening inside the one hundred kilometer zone. Only a few prominent students were being observed, and even that happened only once every few hours.
"What is that thing? That mountain bear should not be this strong. Its strength has already surpassed one thousand tonnes, whereas a high level Beast Master strength type monster should only have around five hundred tonnes of strength. I am going to die."
He covered his mouth with both hands as he spoke, forcing himself not to make a sound. The bear was still searching for him.
That was not even the worst part.
The black miasma was seeping directly from the wound and spreading through his body. It was slowly creeping toward his brain.
He could feel his consciousness slipping away.
Within ten minutes, his mind was completely destroyed by darkness. He stood up from behind the tree and walked out into the open.
The bear stared at him for a moment, then turned away and left in search of a new target. It sensed a similar monstrous aura coming from the human. Normally, monsters did not attack other monsters without a valid reason.
The boy walked like a zombie. Yet the aura within his body continued to grow stronger.
He had originally been a Martial Warrior level three.
Now, his aura had already reached Martial Warrior level nine.
.....
Among the twenty saints guarding the border, one saint suddenly looked in that direction.
"Only one in twelve hours? Where did the remaining modified monsters go?"
He frowned slightly, feeling confused.
What he did not know was that Alex had already killed all of those monsters indiscriminately.
Alex had sensed that something was wrong with them, but he had still flattened them like pancakes using his gravity manipulation ability.
None of the saints noticed this, because it was Vice President Arthur's direct order that no one was allowed to observe Alex while he was fighting. Alex did not want to reveal his power yet, and the Alliance chose to respect his decision.
If any saint's divine sense passed over Alex during battle, his battle suit was more than capable of detecting it. That would have meant the doom of that saint.
The saint narrowed his eyes.
"It looks like I will have to accelerate the plan. Alex cannot be allowed to leave this battlefield alive. Once he enters the academy, it will be impossible for us to kill him."
He had planted seeds inside normal monsters as well, just in case the tougher ones failed.
Neither he nor his faction had any idea that Alex already possessed strength at the Grandmaster level. They believed that a few berserk high level Beast Masters and some demonoids, enough to eliminate him.
The saint snapped his fingers.
The seeds inside the normal Beast Warriors instantly burst.
"It will take around three hours for these monsters to reach the Grandmaster level, and they will die after one hour. That gives them exactly one hour to kill Alex. I just need to guide them in his direction."
He calculated everything calmly in his mind.
.....
Three hours later.
Alex opened his eyes and ended his meditation. He felt much lighter than before.
"Nine hours remain. I will go and see how the other students are doing."
He muttered to himself and stood up.
What no one knew was that during these three hours, sixty seven Grandmaster level monsters had appeared within the region. They had already attacked more than fifty students.
And fifty demonoids had emerged.
The saint had played his cards extremely carefully, ensuring that the other saints noticed nothing unusual.
.....
At the base camp.
"Sir, a communication jammer has been activated. We cannot contact any students or the saints."
An instructor spoke with visible panic.
"What did you say?"
Arnold roared.
A terrible premonition surged in his chest.
"Cancel the test immediately. Activate the third protocol and contact the saints. Where are the last known locations of those five students, specially Alex? I am going there personally."
Arnold floated into the air and shot forward.
But at that exact moment, twenty Saint level monsters appeared out of nowhere and launched a surprise attack on the twenty saints guarding the border.
Only one saint remained calm.
Saint Daren looked at the Saint level monster charging at him and smiled.
"Go and stop Arnold. Do not go within five kilometers near Alex, or Arthur will come here personally and our plan will be ruined."
The monster attacking him was a gigantic ape. It looked at Daren with cold eyes.
"Do not order me, human. You are just a pawn in our grand scheme. Do not think of yourself as someone with authority."
After speaking, the ape rushed into the one hundred kilometer region to intercept Arnold.
.....
Alex was slowly searching for his classmates, while also looking for high level monsters to hunt.
Suddenly, a vile aura entered his mental range.
"Huh? What is that?"
He immediately moved toward the source of the aura.
What he saw was a student, but something was clearly wrong.
[Name: Marcus Hutchin (Demonoid)
Talent: Water Spear (A)
Rank: Martial Warrior 9]
"A demonoid? How did he become a demonoid without anyone noticing?"
Alex was still thinking when the demonoid suddenly attacked.
Five water spears shot toward him at extreme speed.
Alex activated Existential Nullity without hesitation. A sense of danger surged through him.
The demonoid instantly lost all of its power.
But before Alex could relax, sixty seven massive auras entered his mental domain and rushed toward him at supersonic speed.
Those auras were even stronger than his own.
"This is bad. Run."
Alex made the decision instantly. If sixty seven high level Beast Grandmasters were allowed into this region and were all charging at him, then someone was clearly plotting his assassination. That someone could very well be a saint or even an emperor.
Alex's mind became incredibly sharp in situations like this.
But to his horror, a barrier had already been deployed. He could not break through it.
Then he saw them.
[Name: Tiger Mastiff (Berserk)
Talent: None
Rank: High level Beast Grandmaster (temporary)]
He only needed to look at one monster to be certain that a faction was trying to assassinate him.
Instead of fear, excitement surged through his veins.
"Not so fast, suckers."
His blood boiled with an unknown thrill.
"Let us go all out."
.....
The monsters did not attack any emperor heirs, because each of those heirs possessed artifacts capable of summoning their ancestors in moments of extreme danger.
The plan was simple.
Attack Alex directly.
Let the demonoids create chaos among the students and trigger large scale panic.
.....
Back at the base camp.
An instructor directly contacted the Vice President and reported everything.
Arthur's furious roar echoed from the other side.
"You fool! Why did you not inform me immediately? Why did you take so long?"
Arthur vanished from his room the next instant.
He rushed toward the western continent at a speed of ten thousand meters per second.