My Tribrid System: More than a Monster-Chapter 110: Choosing a Befitting Weapon

Chapter 108 𝕗𝕣𝐞𝐞𝘄𝐞𝚋𝚗𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹.𝚌𝕠𝚖

Now, it was time for the Aspect classes.

Kai had already moved toward the ability class, while Van quickly rushed toward the tech class.

Ray, meanwhile, was on his way to his usual combat session.

On his way there, he kept his hands shoved deep into his pockets, maintaining a straight, focused gaze ahead.

That was when he heard the rhythmic sound of footsteps trailing behind him.

Turning around, he saw Trisha walking forward.

Her eyes were fixed on the path—in fact, she hadn’t even seemed to notice the boy yet.

She strolled ahead until she suddenly reduced her pace to match Ray’s exactly.

A pair of headphones sat snugly on her head.

’Strange.’

Trisha kept walking silently, not even batting an eyelid at Ray as she maintained her characteristic composure and icy coldness.

’Wait. Why do I feel such a distinct chill just standing beside her?’ Ray wondered.

The walk to the hall was eerily quiet.

Within minutes, they had both made their way inside.

The moment they stepped across the threshold, the two dispersed in different directions without a word.

Seconds stretched into minutes.

After twenty minutes had passed, the hall was completely filled with Aspirants.

The moment the room was packed, Jake smiled at the class from where he sat at the base of the raised platform.

"Good morning to you all."

— Morning, sir!

The Captain kept gazing at each and every one of them until his eyes finally met Ray’s, who stood quietly in a far corner.

’This kid...’

He didn’t let any emotion show on his face, however, as he maintained that quiet smile while examining every single person—including Trish, who stood like a robot of some kind.

Unmoving. Unshaken. Cold. Detached.

"Alright!" The Captain shouted as he rose to his feet with a wide smile.

"Yesterday, we had a small sparring session where I said that any Aspirant who could land a clean hit on me within two minutes would win a prize. And if you actually performed impressively, you would receive an additional gift, right?"

The students all nodded at each other in recollection.

Jake didn’t say anything more as he walked toward a chair positioned on the platform.

Ray followed the man’s movements with his eyes and spotted a few shiny objects resting on that chair.

’Beast cores.’

But the Captain wasn’t even heading for the cores yet.

He simply stretched out his hand and grabbed a small piece of paper.

"Unfortunately, out of the eight Aspirants that came out yesterday, only three managed to land a hit on me."

’Three? So someone actually managed to land a hit on him after I left? Wow. That is shocking,’ Ray mused.

"And I took the time to get your names to make things easier. So; Trisha Hunt, Bart, and Ray Dawson. Will you three please step forward to claim your prizes?"

Clack. Clack. Clack.

Tak. Tak.

The sound of footsteps echoed through the hall, and within seconds, the three Aspirants stood at the base of the platform.

In unison, they stepped up and made their way toward the Captain.

Turning toward the chair, the man grabbed three shimmering cores and stretched them out one by one.

"An advanced rank core for actually managing to land a hit on me."

The Aspirants received the cores and then saluted the Captain with grateful expressions on their faces.

’Beautiful. Now I can finally increase my MF pool. I wonder how many points I will get from this, though,’ Ray grinned inwardly.

With that, the three turned around and were about to walk off when—

"Uhm... Trisha and Ray, stay back."

The duo paused, confused, as Bart made his way off the platform alone.

Everyone else stared at the Captain, wondering why he had singled the two of them out.

They turned back to face Jake, who had casually sat down on the chair.

"As I promised, anybody that was actually impressive in the course of the spar will get an extra gift in the form of picking any weapon hanging on the wall over there," Jake said, pointing toward the far wall lined with dozens upon dozens of various weapons.

"... Well, you both are in luck. Go select one weapon of your choice, and it is yours."

****

’What?! A beast weapon of the advanced rank? That’s incredible. I was already torn on deciding whether to absorb this core or save it to turn it into a weapon later. Noice!’

Without any hesitation, the two saluted once more and walked toward the wall to select their new gear.

Standing before the wall, Ray gulped silently as he stared at the mountain of armaments before him.

’Yikes. Now what do I pick here? Which weapon will actually complement my style?’ he mused in confusion as his gaze moved from one lethal instrument to the next.

Short swords, daggers, staves, bows and arrows, spears, longswords, tachis, katanas... his eyes kept scanning the vast array.

He couldn’t even make a definitive choice as his fingers grazed weapon after weapon in deep thought.

’Any help here?’

«Sorry, I don’t know much about fighting with weapons,» Elyon replied honestly.

’Bruce?’

There was no response.

Of course, what did Ray expect from the stubborn werewolf in his head?

"I have made my choice." Trisha’s voice suddenly cut through his thoughts, and he turned to see what she had selected.

It was a sleek, beautiful katana with a striking blue guard.

She gripped the hilt firmly and gave it a few experimental swings.

The blade sliced through the air, bringing with it a melodious, sharp ring that echoed through the hall.

"Are you sure that’s what you want?" Jake asked.

"Yes."

"Very well then. You may return to your position."

Trisha gave a crisp salute and walked off.

This left Ray alone, still staring at the rows of steel.

’Oh come on. All eyes are on me. What do I pick? Should I take a sword too? It always did look cool on the main characters in the mangas I’ve read. Yeah, that should be—’

He froze as his eyes caught a pair of weapons tucked off to the side.

They were like a pair of gloves? No, not quite.

He walked toward them, pulled them off the wall, and gave them a long, contemplative look.

They had a sleek black, solidly leathery base that made them look like a pair of heavy-duty gloves, but with sharp steel claws jutting out from the knuckles and curling forward slightly.

’I think I have seen something like this before. A gauntlet? That’s right. I forgot that I’m part werewolf and it’s not every time I can manifest my natural claws. This is my next best bet and also,’ he paused, clenching his fist.

’If I wanted to hold another weapon, I actually still can. These don’t obstruct my palms. Let’s go with this, I guess. Right?’

«Looks good,» Elyon replied.

With a shrug, Ray turned back toward the Captain.

"Final choice?"

He nodded firmly.

"Very well then."

Ray saluted and thanked the man before slowly walking off the platform when—

Tok. Tok.

A knock sounded on the main door.

All eyes turned toward the entrance as the door slowly slid open and a figure walked in.

"Uhm... I’m told this is the combat and beast weapon class?" a voice asked, causing Ray to freeze in his tracks.

His brain immediately recognized that specific tone.

He stiffly turned to face the new entrant.

On catching sight of one another, the figure beamed widely, his eyes lighting up with recognition.

"Oh, hey brother! Didn’t know you were here too!" he shouted aloud from the doorway, causing Ray to immediately facepalm.

’I’m dead.’