Sora sized up the three Quincy who had emerged from the rock pillar forest.
The leader was quite strong and claimed to be an instructor in the Military Police.
However, what caught Sora's attention more was another Quincy who came out skipping.
This Quincy, seemingly trying to be cute, wore a skirt-like outer garment, black tights, and white boots, appearing to be a petite and lovely girl type.
But these conspicuous features reminded Sora of who he was.
The cute-acting Quincy had a sweet face and long, straight black hair, but the two long strands sticking up from the top of her head looked somewhat like the antennae of some twin-tailed elf sprite.
Giselle Gewelle, the cross-dressing member of the future girl group!
[Giselle Gewelle]
Talent: S
Reishi Manipulation: Lv 55
Affinity Level: Stranger
Sora glanced at the panel, confirming his guess.
"A good prospect... but now is not the time."
There were five members in the girl group in total, and Sora had already taken four of them as disciples.
While wandering the city a few days ago, he had also tried to find Giselle and other Quincy with the potential to become Sternritter.
Perhaps he had used up all his luck in the previous days, as he hadn't encountered any other good prospects.
"Want to team up? Instructor Gewelle is very strong!" Giselle showed an innocent smile.
"Yes, although Instructor Gewelle is usually a bit strict, she's a very good person. With her around, you can rest assured. We can work together and get out of this hunting ground," another Quincy said gently.
"More people working together can speed up the hunt for Menos," Instructor Gewelle nodded. "We can distribute points based on contribution to the team. You won't be at a disadvantage."
The three seemed very sincere, but Sora had no intention of joining them.
"No need. I still need to rendezvous with my companions."
Sora still needed to find his two disciples and rejected their invitation.
"Then there's nothing we can do," Instructor Gewelle said politely. "However, if you find your companions and still want to cooperate with us, you are always welcome."
They had seen how Sora had instantly killed the Menos and didn't want to clash with such a strong fighter.
"Alright."
Sora nodded and left directly.
After he left, Instructor Gewelle said worriedly to the other two:
"Let's get moving too. We need to gather the soldiers of the Sixth Military Police Corps quickly."
Instructor Gewelle had a bad feeling. Originally, she wanted to keep the soldiers of her corps together for collective combat to minimize casualties.
But the higher-ups had forbidden her from doing so.
In the same hunt, each corps was only allowed to enter a maximum of ten members, which directly broke up the corps that usually competed with each other and mixed them together.
...
Sora quickly found Meninas. She was being besieged by two Gillian-class Menos.
After just ten days of training, Meninas was already vastly different.
With her speed advantage, she seemed to be handling the siege of the two Gillians with relative ease.
"Ordinary Punch!"
Some blue lines appeared on Meninas's right arm.
Blut Arterie!
Meninas had completed the five modes of training with the bracers in seven days.
She had now begun her Blut training.
However, her Blut could not yet cover her entire body, only her arms for now.
Even so, the power increase from Blut Arterie was not to be underestimated.
The combination of Blut Arterie and her strength talent was perfect, multiplying the power of her attacks several times over.
Boom!
This punch landed on the Gillian's mask, actually shattering it directly.
"AOW!!!"
The Gillian instantly entered a state of rage.
The mask is crucial for a Hollow; it's a part that cannot be regenerated.
If the mask is damaged, the possibility of further evolution is lost.
A Cero gathered in the Gillian's mouth.
"Too slow!" Meninas's fists became a blur of afterimages. "Consecutive Ordinary Punches!"
Boom, boom, boom—
Her fists landed on the Gillian's head, causing bursts of blood mist. The Cero in its mouth could no longer condense and dissipated.
However, just as Meninas was punching with gusto, about to deliver a fatal blow, another Gillian appeared behind her.
Meninas quickly activated her Hirenkyaku, dodging the attack.
"Oh no, how are there more and more of them!"
Meninas glanced back at the heavily injured Menos. Its wounds were regenerating at an extremely fast rate. The thought of retreating entered her mind.
Gillian-class Menos were tough and had strong regenerative abilities. Her attacks could injure them but couldn't kill them in one hit. Defeating one completely would likely take considerable effort.
If she dragged this out, the roars of the Menos would attract even more, making the situation increasingly unfavorable. If she continued to get entangled here, she would eventually be worn down.
It was better to retreat while she was still in good condition and rendezvous with her professor and Candice.
Meninas quickly assessed the situation and decided to withdraw.
"Well done. A tactical retreat is a wise choice."
"Professor!"
Meninas was pleasantly surprised to find her professor on a nearby rock pillar.
She quickly broke away from the three Gillians and came to his side.
"When did you get here, Professor? I didn't sense you at all!"
"Just arrived."
Sora raised his hand, forming a gun shape with his fingers. Three reishi bullets shot out.
Bang, bang, bang—
The three Gillians that had been chasing Meninas were blasted in the head before they could reach them.
Their massive bodies crashed to the ground.
"So... so amazing! The Professor is too strong!!!"
Meninas's eyes seemed to glow, her admiration almost overflowing.
She had experienced it firsthand. Against two Gillians, she could still use her speed advantage to fight guerrilla style. When the number reached three, she already felt overwhelmed.
Yet such powerful creatures had their heads blown off casually by her professor.
"Just basic operations only. Train hard, and you'll be able to do it too in the future," Sora chuckled.
After the Menos died, the bright marks on their shattered masks turned into reishi and floated into the scoring bracelet.
"When facing clumsy Gillians like these, if your offensive means are insufficient, you can try to use their Ceros against them," Sora advised. "You interrupted it too quickly just now. If you had waited a little longer, the Cero would have exploded in its mouth."
"It was my first time facing a Menos... I was a bit nervous," Meninas nodded. "I'll definitely pay attention next time!"
"Okay, let's go find Candice."
"Can the Professor sense Candice's location?"
"She's to the southwest, but quite far away. We need to hurry."
"The Professor's spiritual sense range is so large!"
Sora and Meninas didn't linger and quickly flew towards Candice's direction.
...
"Actually is random teleportation..."
As soon as Candice entered the hunting ground, she felt something was wrong.
She had been separated from her professor and Meninas.
"Damn it... the hunting ground is too big. I can't sense their location!" Candice's handsome brows furrowed tightly.
Although she couldn't find them, she did sense the spiritual pressure fluctuations of Hollows.
Menos Grande!
All Menos Grande!
"This place is terrible!"
"The Professor's guess was right. This recruitment is unusual. It's too dangerous, there are Menos fluctuations everywhere!"
"huh... isn't that the Sergeant Major's spiritual pressure over there?"
Candice caught the fluctuation of someone familiar.
The Sergeant Major was the leading officer of Candice's squad, in charge of a dozen or so soldiers.
If it weren't for her professor, Candice would have entered with the Sergeant Major's squad just now.
Since she couldn't find her professor and Meninas anyway, Candice flew towards the Sergeant Major's location.
She was only a few hundred meters away and quickly arrived.
Candice's Sergeant Major was a stout female Quincy. She was not alone; two unfamiliar Quincy were beside her.
Besides the Sergeant Major, the other Quincy were not from Candice's squad.
They were fighting a Gillian Menos.
"Candice! You came at the right time! Quick, come help!"
The Sergeant Major was overjoyed to see her.
"Still ordering people around, Sergeant Major Lita!"
The corner of Candice's mouth turned up slightly.
She hadn't come specifically to save Sergeant Major Lita.
She was here to show off!
Her relationship with the Sergeant Major was not good.
This woman, whose heart was as ugly as her appearance, was jealous of Candice's beauty and always made trouble for her.
As soon as the news of the recruitment came out, the soldiers began to prepare.
But Candice's leave requests these past few days had all been rejected by Sergeant Major Lita on the grounds that patrol duty had to be performed.
Those soldiers who were on good terms with her, however, were assigned the easiest task of guarding warehouses, allowing them to train whenever they wanted. Only Candice had patrol duty every day, making it difficult to find time to train with her professor.
But fortunately, Quincy physiques were relatively strong. Candice had cut down on her rest time during this period, striving to train every second.
After receiving guidance from her professor, Candice had improved rapidly, and her strength had greatly increased.
Sensing Sergeant Major Lita here, she couldn't resist coming over to show off.
"What are you standing there for? Hurry up and help! If we don't finish this quickly, more Menos will be attracted!"
Sergeant Major Lita was dissatisfied with Candice's slow response and urged her on.
She wasn't afraid that Candice wouldn't come.
This hunting ground was perilous, with Menos everywhere. Candice was just a new soldier; it would be difficult for her to survive alone.
Teaming up was her only option.
"Alright, my dear Sergeant Major."
Four 'Gintō' appeared in Candice's right hand.
These were spiritual tools provided by the little rich girl Liltotto.
The reishi from the 'Gintō' surged out, quickly forming electric arcs.
In a short while, lightning flickered around Candice. The dancing arcs converged towards her palm, bound together by her spiritual pressure.
Lightning-based techniques were one of Sora's specialties, and he had considerable experience in using lightning power.
Candice's previous use of lightning had been crude. Now, under his guidance, her understanding of her own power had taken a huge leap.
Zzzzzzzzt—
Countless lightning arcs compressed into a lightning spear.
At the same time, some blue lines appeared on Candice's right hand.
Blut Vene!
Candice did not yet possess the ability to directly wield the lightning spear and needed the assistance of Blut Vene to avoid being injured by it herself.
The violent lightning power in the air attracted everyone's attention.
Even the Gillian on the ground looked up at Candice.
"The lightning is about to go out of control... using four 'Gintō' at once is a bit much." Some fine beads of sweat appeared on Candice's smooth forehead.
With her current strength, controlling such violent power was still a bit difficult.
If she hadn't completed the training with the bracers, she would have been completely unable to restrain such violent lightning power.
"Taste this!" Candice threw the lightning spear in her hand.
It fell like a meteor onto the Gillian's head.
"BOOM—!!!"
The lightning struck, and the huge Gillian was actually split directly in half.
Its two massive halves crashed to the ground.
"Ha!" Candice laughed heartily. "How was my move!"
"What kind of move was that! When did you become so strong?!"
Sergeant Major Lita and the other Quincy were all astonished. They had never seen such a move.
"It's a secret technique my professor taught me," Candice wiped the sweat from her forehead and landed.
"Your professor taught you?" Sergeant Major Lita's eyes darted around, and she immediately put on a fawning smile. "It seems your professor is a powerful Quincy."
When Candice had asked for leave before, she had also used the excuse of training with her professor.
At the time, she had thought Candice had just spent merit points on a private tutor and had rejected her without a second thought.
However, the results of Candice's training exceeded her expectations.
This kind of skill was clearly not something that could be taught by a hired tutor.
"Heh," seeing Lita's change in attitude, Candice felt much better.
"Candice, I was wrong before. When we get out, I will definitely compensate you!"
"You should have realized by now, this place is very dangerous, filled with Menos fluctuations everywhere. We can't survive alone. Let's stick together!"
Sergeant Major Lita could bend and stretch. She realized how dangerous it was here and wanted to win Candice over.
Lita's own soldiers had entered with her, but due to the random teleportation, they were now scattered.
She wanted to gather her soldiers as soon as possible and needed Candice's help.
"It is indeed dangerous here."
Candice did not refuse. She couldn't sense her professor or Meninas, and acting alone was very risky.
The lightning spear she had just thrown couldn't be used many times.
Teaming up with other Quincy was the best choice.
Although teammates like Sergeant Major Lita were unreliable, if they encountered danger they couldn't handle, Candice just needed to run faster than the others to have a greater chance of survival.
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Note: I haven't been able to upload chapters because I didn't have internet
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