Chapter 1 Inductive Reasoning

The Abyssal Strong Acid Worm was also a mutated monster that had never appeared before. If not for the All-Knowing Eye, which allowed him to understand the habits of these worms, Suren wouldn't have had any doubts.

But now that he knew, doubts arose.

Clearly, these worms weren't aggressive, so why would they fall from their nests for no reason?

The detailed note, "They generally don't leave their nests unless threatened with a fatal danger," was particularly striking. What threatened their lives?

Was it the academy's instructors trying to increase the difficulty of the trial?

A sense of unease flashed through Suren's mind, but he didn't have time to think about it, as the group of students had already run out of the acid pool and were rushing towards the tunnel entrance where he was hiding.

...

"Ugh, disgusting! This snot-like slime almost made me throw up my breakfast."

"Damn it! What are these worms? Why have I never heard of them..."

"Someone help me wash off the slime on my clothes. I feel like I can't breathe..."

"..."

The students abandoned their mechanical shields and some heavy equipment, running over with disgust, covered in green slime and looking utterly disheveled.

However, these worms were clearly just an appetizer.

Suren's gaze was fixed solemnly on the depths of the tunnel, as if searching for something. He hadn't forgotten the note at the end of the worm's description: "Mature forms are extremely aggressive."

If this was a nest of larvae, then the mature monsters must be nearby!

The female teaching assistant, Rosa, also seemed to realize this, as she stopped the students who were trying to take off their combat suits on the spot and said, "Everyone, be careful, the next wave of monsters is probably coming! Everyone, release your alchemical implants and prepare to fight!"

With that command, the students who hadn't released their implants had alchemical formations light up beneath their feet, and various magnificent alchemical implants appeared, like a high-end exhibition, dazzling Suren's titanium alloy eyes as an outer city hick.

[Diamond Dragon's Skin], [Lava Demon's Flame Core], [Thunder Serpent's Eye], [Velociraptor's Rampage Muscles]... There was also a familiar type of implant, the Thousand Feather Wings of the Scarlet Crusade executives!

The complexity of the alchemical formations on the ground showed the level of the alchemical implants. There were magical, physical, and functional types... Not a single Black Iron implant!

There were various Silver implants that Suren had only seen in the "Complete Alchemical Implant Guide," and several students even had what appeared to be Gold implants.

Once the alchemical implants were released, the entire team's aura instantly changed dramatically.

(Note: Implants consume Dark Spiritual Power, and low-level professionals cannot maintain the released state for long.)

"..."

Suren looked at these students, his gaze slightly lingering.

He had spent all his savings to get a Gold implant blueprint, and the main materials weren't even secured yet, but these students, before even leaving school, were easily equipped with the most high-end implants.

Of course, after seeing the luxurious equipment of this group of young nouveau riche along the way, he wasn't too surprised.

Of course, there were always some exceptions among this group of arrogant young lions.

Teaching assistant Rosa's words made everyone aware of the crisis, and the atmosphere instantly became tense.

At this moment, Suren once again felt a gaze from the crowd fixed on him.

Turning his head, he saw the chubby Charlie looking at him again with a weak, pleading gaze, as if saying: See, I told you there was danger. Brother, you understand, right?

Almost all the students in the class had released their alchemical implants, but the chubby squad's few stragglers... hadn't.

It wasn't that they didn't want to, but that they didn't have them.

The only one was a Black Iron implant that Suren had overlooked, the Ironhead Dragon's Mushroom Skull, an implant that could improve survivability but was extremely ugly.

Probably because their talent was too poor to fuse with high-quality implants, they could only barely equip this thing.

The rest of Fatty's group weren't even professionals!

After all, money could assist in cultivation, but it couldn't completely replace it.

Advancing to become a professional required Dark Spiritual Power to reach the standard, which required countless days and nights of hard meditation. For many, it was a very difficult process, and the more they wanted to become a professional as soon as possible, the more self-discipline they needed.

Obviously, the chubby Charlie wasn't the kind of person who could be disciplined in cultivation.

Suren showed another wry smile, but nodded to Fatty, who then turned his head away in peace.

...

Clearly, Suren's worries weren't unnecessary.

Teaching assistant Rosa's reminder also prevented the students from being caught off guard again.

Not long after those white worms fell to the ground and shattered, they triggered a chain reaction.

There were no aberrant monsters to be seen yet, but dense and strange "squeaking" cries came from those deep holes in the ceiling that looked like megaphones...

In this dark cave, it made people's hair stand on end.

"They're coming!"

Suren's eyesight allowed him to see the monsters before anyone else.

He saw some flying monsters that looked like bats and moths suddenly dart out of the holes where the worms had fallen.

[Aberrant Flesh-Winged Moths]

Details: 'Blue-Eyed Poison Moths' that have mutated due to environmental influences; although they are very fragile, their mouthparts have extremely strong armor-piercing abilities and can inject deadly nerve paralytic toxins; they are extremely sensitive to luminous objects and are highly aggressive!

"Are these the mature forms of those worms?"

Suren looked at the strange moths in the distance, about half a meter long, with bat wings and long mouthparts, his expression slightly solemn.

Without any hesitation, he immediately hid all the luminous and reflective objects on his body behind his windbreaker.

There was no time to remind anyone, and in an instant, the strange moths flew down like a swarm.

At this moment, teaching assistant Rosa quickly approached Suren and kindly reminded him, "Mr. Guide, don't stray too far from me."

This was a trial for the students, not to send the guide to his death. Looking at Suren's "simple equipment," she naturally wanted to help if she could. She didn't want the guide to die here so early in the trial.

"Okay."

Suren nodded, not refusing the kindness, and replied, "Thank you."

Although those monsters were very fast, in his left eye, he could clearly distinguish and capture almost every moth that approached.

He didn't prepare to draw his gun, but instead touched the two kukri he had crafted himself at his waist.

Since he knew that these moths were attracted to light, it was best not to use a gun, otherwise the light would surely attract more moths. Although he didn't usually show his close combat skills, Suren, with his [Intermediate Swordsmanship Mastery], was no weakling in close combat!

...

Suren instantly knew the monsters' habit of being "attracted to light" through the All-Knowing Eye, but the students didn't know.

Moreover, the energy logos on their combat suits (to prevent accidental injury in the dark), as well as the light from their implants and spells, were all sources of light and couldn't be concealed no matter how hard they tried.

In the dark, they were particularly dazzling.

As soon as the swarm of strange moths flew down, they rushed towards the students.

For a time, gunfire erupted, and various dazzling spells were thrown at the monster swarm without regard for cost.

But this time, "money power" didn't seem to be so obviously useful.

Too much heavy equipment had been used in the previous battle, some needed to cool down, and some had been left in the acid...

Although the concentrated fire killed a large number of moths, the sudden burst of light made the strange moth swarm even more "excited."

They instantly enveloped the entire team like a sandstorm.

Suren didn't dare to get close to the students' team, and found a dark corner to hide in. This was the students' trial, not his. But even so, he still slashed down several strange moths flying around him.

"The students are in for a hard time now..."

Suren looked at the students who were still using fire to kill the monsters, and knew that this time "money power" was sure to stumble.

Experienced wasteland hunters knew that dealing with aberrant monsters wasn't just about bulldozing them with brute force, but also about observing the monsters' habits. If they found the right techniques, they might be able to achieve great results with little effort; if they didn't, and encountered abilities that countered them, even high-level professionals could be killed by low-level monsters.

Just like now, using fire spells on these strange moths that were sensitive to light was not very effective at killing the enemy, but it was indeed good at luring them.

When these strange moths saw the light, they would rush over fearlessly!

Moreover, flying monsters were much more agile than the previous land-based monsters.

The all-around, three-dimensional attack made the students' defenses almost useless.

Moreover, because the monsters had the same agile ability to dodge obstacles as bats, the damage that firearms could cause was very limited. Without superb marksmanship, it was impossible to hit them at all.

...

"Captain Jack, what do we do?!"

"Damn it, these moths are interfering with my vision, I can't aim at all. Hitting their wings is useless, we can't kill them unless we hit their heads!"

"What are these monsters? The more we burn them with the flamethrower, the more there are! We're in trouble if we don't think of something."

"..."

As the strange moths attacked, the students instantly felt that the effectiveness of the firearms in their hands was getting worse and worse. Even Jack, who was known as the "Academy's Top Marksman," was misfiring and making frequent mistakes.

He had been so confident before, taking out an aberrant monster with one shot, but now he couldn't even manage the most basic self-preservation.

Suren watched from afar, clicking his tongue.

This was the difference between target practice and real combat.

Jack had been able to perform so well before because his teammates created a stable shooting environment for him. But now that he was being harassed by the strange moths at close range, his lack of adaptability in real combat was immediately exposed.

...

After a while, the situation was getting worse and worse.

"These guys should have learned 'combat observation.' After suffering such a big loss, they still haven't realized that these strange moths have a habit of being attracted to light?"

Suren frowned from time to time as he watched.

Their equipment, implants, skills, and knowledge reserves were all top-notch, but their adaptability was too poor, and they didn't have any real combat experience. When they encountered a monster they had never seen before, they were completely dumbfounded.

Originally, Suren knew that there was a second-tier instructor secretly following the students, so he watched them being beaten and fleeing in embarrassment, and followed from a distance without offering any advice.

But gradually, as the situation became more and more serious, he realized that something was wrong.