The Discarded Son's Skill Market
Chapter 44: Different groups

Chapter 44: Different groups

Zaid and Erick went to the test site together. Erick, as always, was holding a book. It was a fantasy novel that he himself described as amazing and had insisted that Zaid read over and over again—the same one he had hit him with in the morning.

He walked nimbly even though he was reading intently. His feet didn’t trip over anything, even though he wasn’t looking where he was going.

And whenever he came to a spot that could make him trip, he nimbly avoided it without even looking.

This is due to his Soul Talent, Rank D, "Perfect Peripheral Vision." His body knows exactly where everything is within a 360-degree radius without even looking. The only problem—and the reason it’s Rank D—is that its range is even shorter along the length of his arms: just 45 centimeters from his body.

Still, it’s actually pretty good for certain tasks... like walking without seeing. After all, if he had the reflexes to move the moment he sensed something 45 centimeters away from him, he wouldn’t be Rank E.

"Hey, why do these tests take place in such an annoying place as the Forest of the Undead?" Erick asked.

Zaid shrugged. "Who knows? I heard it was Professor Lois’s decision. My question remains: Why mix Rank F tests with Rank E and Rank D tests? Do they expect us to kill Rank D beasts?"

"Sure." Erick closed the book after finishing that Chapter. "Whenever they do that, things happen, so be careful."

"Things happen? What kind of things?"

"Deaths. Last year, three people died in those kinds of tests."

Zaid frowned, but kept walking. That sounded dangerous.

"By the way..." Erick spoke up again, this time glancing at Zaid’s shoulder. "Why are you bringing a cat along? And a black one, no less! Are you trying to get us killed?"

"What’s wrong with that? Can’t I bring my pet along to see the sights?" Zaid complained. "Besides, don’t put down my cat just because she’s black. She’s a beauty!"

"That’s an ominous color, Zaid! For starters, if your pet were a tamed beast, I’d understand, but it’s a normal cat—and look at it, it’s even wearing clothes!"

In response to his complaint, the cat stared at him intently. She sent a mental message to Zaid: ’Master, I insist—who is this annoying guy? Should I kill him?’

’Please don’t do that. If you kill him, I’ll be in serious trouble.’ Zaid scolded her inwardly.

He didn’t answer Erick.

-

When they reached the Forest of the Undead, they didn’t enter through the main gate, but walked to the westernmost part, where the entrance was nestled between two hills. In years past, wild animals like tigers and lions had roamed here.

It was the largest group, thanks to the fact that there were no swamps nearby.

"Wow, that’s 7 Rank F classes, 3 Rank E classes, and 1 Rank D class."

It came as no surprise to him that the only Rank D class was Luke Shawn’s. He was sure that bastard was up to something.

As soon as he arrived, the students began whispering about him.

He ignored them and walked toward his classroom; Alice had already been there for a while.

"I stopped by to see you, but you were asleep..." Alice whispered, then looked over his shoulder and asked, puzzled, "What’s that?"

"A cat," Zaid replied with a smile. "Don’t you like cats?"

She raised her hands and grabbed her, pulling her into an embrace. Valia shuddered in her grip, annoyed.

’What is this filthy, bloodless woman doing, grabbing me?’ Valia complained.

’Don’t hurt her. She’s my friend,’ Zaid scolded her when he saw she was about to extend her claws.

Valia felt helpless... She’d been asked to play the role of a house cat and thought it wouldn’t be a problem for her. She hadn’t realized just how difficult it would be until now...

"I like them, but is this really a place to bring a pet?" Alice asked as she ran a hand over her head.

The cat growled angrily. ’Don’t get me dirty—it took me a whole hour to clean my gorgeous fur!’ Unfortunately, Alice could hear nothing more than faint growls.

"I think this is a good spot."

"If you say so..." Alice continued to gently stroke the cat.

All around them, that little cat had already become the center of attention.

Everyone wanted to scold Zaid for bringing a defenseless animal to this place!

The rest of the classes arrived about 15 minutes later.

And the teachers stopped talking and planning.

"Academic exams change from year to year, but some are repeated because they’re so useful. As you well know, you won’t always be able to have the same group of friends when you enter different dungeons."

"Sometimes there are disparities in ability within a group as well, so on many occasions, academic institutions and even professional associations bring together talented individuals with those who are less fortunate in order to help them grow."

"This is how this kind of test works. The idea is for you to become versatile when working in a group and for the weaker members to increase their strength. That’s why we’ve divided everyone according to their strength and placed them in different groups, with a Rank D leading each group. I’ll now call each of the Rank Ds forward."

The teachers proceeded to call out all the students in Class D, assigning each one to a group.

These same Class D students then gathered their groups...

Zaid frowned.

Luke Shawn wasn’t in his group, thankfully. But neither was Alice.

However, Alice wasn’t in Luke Shawn’s group either... though she was in a group with someone he had seen before.

’He’s one of the ones who were helping Luke Shawn level up,’ he thought. A subordinate of Luke Shawn, and standing next to him was the ever-scheming Jackson Clark.

"The teachers have already told us what the test will be about. Please listen carefully." Zaid’s group leader called out to them.

Zaid had to push his worries aside.

"I’m Joe, your leader. I’m a full-fledged Rank D, and I’ll be leading you." He introduced himself first, before continuing.

"The test is simple, but difficult. We have 24 hours to obtain 20 Rank F beasts, which must be killed by someone strong enough to earn their PE. In addition, there are 5 Rank E beasts and 1 Rank D beast. Ideally, I need to divide the Rank F beasts among the 4 of us—5 each."

At that point, he looked at Zaid. "You’re our problem. I won’t go into your backstory, but we all know that Zaid Zachary had a faulty awakening. Can you even level up? I don’t want to waste PE on someone who doesn’t gain any."