Free Web NovelChapter 70: Victor’s Stupidity
Silas looked around at the exhausted group and sighed. They looked terrible. Victor’s armor-like skin had already returned to normal. Peter’s face was pale. Christian looked like he had fought a war, died halfway through it, then decided to continue anyway. Alpha was sitting on a rock, questioning every decision that had led him to this moment, while Emma remained as expressionless as ever.
"Okay," Silas clapped his hands. "Everyone, sit down and rest."
Nobody argued. That alone was proof of how tired they were, plus none of them was ready to argue with someone like Silas. The six immediately found places to sit. Alicia leaned against a tree, Victor collapsed onto a rock, while Christian practically hugged the ground. Silas watched them for a moment before turning toward Chloe and Gromda.
"You two," The girls walked over.
"What?" Chloe asked.
"Keep an eye on them," Silas lowered his voice. Chloe glanced toward the students.
"You think they’ll do something?"
"No."
"Then?"
"They look like they’ll die from stress."
"..."
"..."
Gromda nodded seriously.
"I watch."
"Good."
Silas gave her a thumbs-up, and Gromda immediately returned it. Satisfied, Silas turned around and walked toward the battlefield. The Hobgoblin Chieftain’s corpse was still standing. Its headless body looked surprisingly stubborn.
"Honestly, that’s impressive."
The corpse did not reply. Silas approached the massive curved sword embedded in the ground, grabbed it, and pulled. The blade came free with a metallic screech. The weapon was easily over two meters long, far too large for a human, and far too valuable to leave behind.
After making sure nobody was paying attention, Silas moved behind the corpse, and the sword disappeared. He nodded in satisfaction after placing it inside his storage and turned toward the resting group.
"You," He pointed towards Victor.
"Hm?"
"And you, your name is... Peter, right?"
"Yeah?"
"Christian," as for the fat guy, he remembered his name. He was too huge to ignore. The so-called "Monster of the Cafeteria." This guy ate through a beating. Even during the time he damaged Damien, Christian was just focused on his food. That level of concentration was seriously overpowered. Speaking of Damien...
’I kinda miss that idiot. Kidding.’
[Are you finally going insane?]
’Piss off!’
"What now?" Christian asked in disgruntlement. Silas pointed toward the battlefield.
"Gather the bodies."
The three stared at him.
"..."
"Why?" Christian finally asked. Silas looked at him as if he’d asked why water was wet.
"Because they’re useful."
That wasn’t an answer, but somehow it felt like one. The three stood up and began working. Victor dragged corpses, Peter used Blood Manipulation to pull several together at once, while Christian used four extra arms to carry bodies like sacks of potatoes. Soon enough, dozens of goblin corpses were piled together, while the others watched curiously.
"What exactly is he doing?" Alicia asked.
"No clue," Emma replied.
"Probably something weird."
"Fair."
A few minutes later, the pile was complete. Thirty goblin corpses, several severed heads, broken weapons, and the enormous body of the Hobgoblin Chieftain.
"Nice work," Silas nodded approvingly. Christian looked proud of himself. Silas walked around the pile. The system was already giving him options. Everything could become CP, and that was exactly what he was going to make them. The only problem was that he couldn’t exactly make an entire mountain of corpses disappear in front of everyone. That would raise far too many questions. So he settled on another option.
"Victor."
"What?"
"Think you can make a hole?" He had finally gotten the guy’s name, but for how long it would stick in his head, no one knew.
"How big?" Victor frowned. Silas pointed at the pile.
"That big."
"What kind of grave is that?" Peter asked.
"The efficient kind."
"..."
The three exchanged glances. Silas definitely had plans. Unfortunately, none of them could figure out what those plans were, and somehow, that was becoming a recurring problem whenever Silas Ashard was involved.
Victor immediately proved why some people shouldn’t be trusted with simple instructions. The plan was straightforward: Dig a hole, throw the goblin corpses inside, and you are done.
Simple.
Unfortunately, Victor Wesley possessed the rare ability to turn even simple tasks into problems. His Metal Body activated as his arms transformed into silver blades. Instead of digging normally, he swung his arms into the ground repeatedly. Chunks of earth exploded everywhere, and the hole grew rapidly. Cracks spread through the surrounding ground, causing several nearby trees to tilt dangerously.
"Victor," Alicia called. He ignored her. Peter nearly lost his footing.
"What are you doing?" Christian shouted.
"Digging."
"That’s not digging!"
"It is."
A section of the earth collapsed entirely, causing everyone to jump back. Silas watched silently and pinched the bridge of his nose. The guy was an idiot, a very strong idiot.
"Victor." No response.
"Victor." Nothing.
"Victor Wesley."
The now pale gray-haired boy finally turned.
"What?"
Silas pointed at the increasingly unstable terrain and said, "Stop."
"I’m almost done," Victor frowned.
"I said stop."
Victor’s expression darkened, and the atmosphere immediately changed. Everyone noticed it. The tension, irritation, and resentment. It had been building for days, maybe even longer, starting from when they entered the rift and all this team stuff started, then others awakened abilities more powerful than his. Silas was going to bear the brunt of it all.
"Funny," Victor slowly stood.
"What’s funny?" Silas raised an eyebrow in confusion.
"You." The others immediately realized where this was going.
"Oh no," Peter muttered.
"You show up after disappearing for a week," Victor pointed directly at Silas.
"Okay?"
"And start giving orders."
"Okay."
"And act like you’re our leader."
"Someone has to," Silas shrugged in response, making Victor’s eye twitch.
"You know what?"
"No."
"I would’ve loved to see this attitude before."
Silas tilted his head. "Before what?"
"Before you awakened."
The clearing fell silent, and even the wind seemed to stop. Victor took a step forward.
"If you hadn’t awakened as an S-Rank, nobody would’ve listened to you."
Alicia sighed while Christian covered his face in second-hand embarrassment. Peter started backing away, while Emma just watched.
"You were Pinky."
"..."
"The academy joke."
"..."
"The guy nobody respected."
"..."
"And now suddenly you’re acting like you’re above everyone."
Silas remained silent, and Victor mistook that silence for weakness—big mistake.
"You think awakening changed who you are?"
"No," Silas finally spoke.
"Then stop acting-"
A fist hit him in the face. One second, Victor was talking: the next second, he was flying. He smashed through a tree and bounced across the ground several times before finally stopping.
"You talk too much."
Victor slowly stood, blood dripping from his nose. His face twisted with rage as his entire body transformed into metal.
"You son of a—"
He charged at Silas, his metal fist shooting towards his face. Silas didn’t move as Thread Sight activated and the world slowed. He sidestepped, and Victor missed. He then grabbed his arm and twisted it. Victor screamed in pain as Silas threw him again, causing him to smash into another tree. Before he could recover, Silas appeared in front of him and slammed a knee into his stomach. The metal around Victor’s body dented, and his eyes nearly popped out.
Silas grabbed his face and planted it into the ground, causing the earth to explode. Victor’s body twitched, while Silas stood over him calmly. For the first time since they’d met him, there wasn’t even a hint of a smile.
"You think I changed?"
Victor coughed up blood while Silas crouched beside him.
"No," His voice was quiet. "The difference is simple."
Victor glared at him. Silas pointed toward the battlefield filled with dead goblins.
"Before awakening, I couldn’t punch idiots when they deserved it. Now I can."
Everyone looked away as what he said bit deep into them. He stood up, but his action made Alicia step forward.
"That’s enough." freewebnovёl.ƈom
Silas looked at her coldly and shook his head.
"Prepare to leave. We are going back to camp."
He turned and started walking away. After several steps, he stopped. Without looking back, he said:
"Victor. If being an S-Rank is the only reason you listen to me, then that’s your problem... because if rank disappeared tomorrow..." Silas glanced over his shoulder, his pink eyes glowing faintly. "...I’d still beat the shit out of you."
And he walked away. Nobody laughed, because everyone knew he wasn’t joking. Damien was a perfect example of that.
