Biocores: The Legendary Weapon Designer-Chapter 79: Althea

The following demonstrations were just as swift and decisive as Akron’s.

From his seat, Nioh observed carefully. It was easy to separate those who had received formal training from those who had none—the difference in refinement was obvious.

Yet, he still hadn’t found what he was looking for.

He wasn’t searching for strength alone.

He wanted someone sharp, unpredictable—a true individual. Someone who wasn’t molded by a faction but had the raw potential to be polished into something greater.

As the number of candidates dwindled, so did his hopes.

"Sigh, they’re all so weak," Akron muttered.

"It’s not that they’re weak." Nioh’s voice was barely above a whisper. "They have no personality." freёnovelkiss.com

That’s when she walked into the arena.

She was about the same height as Akron, with pitch-black curls that bounced with each step. Her orange and blue outfit stood out boldly against the dull surroundings.

Her presence was impossible to ignore—unshaken, effortless, completely her own.

A candy bar dangled from her lips, as if this entire evaluation was just another casual day for her.

The moment Nioh saw her, something clicked.

His eyes narrowed, his focus sharpening.

This one was different.

Her opponent stalked into the arena—a five-star Lightning Leopard.

It was faster, deadlier, and far more difficult to handle than previous biocores.

The moment the beast lunged, her right arm shifted—morphing into a plasma blade.

CLANG!

She parried its claws, steel meeting energy, sparks flying. Both stepped back, recalibrating.

Then—her left hand shifted into a submachine energy gun.

She opened fire.

The leopard twisted, dodging the shots effortlessly while closing the distance.

But she was waiting for this.

The instant it was in range—

She dodged the incoming swipe, spinning midair—

And her leg transformed into a plasma cannon.

BOOM!

A blinding blast engulfed the leopard, vaporizing it instantly.

The arena fell silent.

"I want her."

Nioh’s voice was calm, but resolute.

Akron gave him a wary glance. "What do you mean you want her?"

"As a weapon designer, she’s my ideal partner."

There was something more to it—something he couldn’t quite explain.

An affinity. A connection. A gut feeling.

Before Akron could protest, Nioh was already moving.

He leaped down from the stands, a diamond needle shooting from his umbrella to support his descent.

He landed gracefully in front of the girl.

She looked at him, unfazed, still chewing her candy.

"Hi."

The girl barely glanced at him before her right hand shifted—morphing seamlessly into a sleek pistol.

She pointed it at his face without hesitation.

"Fuck off, pretty boy."

Nioh raised both hands in surrender, his signature smirk never wavering.

"Easy! My name’s Nioh. I’m the Anomaly." He flicked his wrist token, its interface flashing to confirm his status.

"Why don’t you join my team?"

Before she could answer, the arena countdown echoed through the speakers.

3... 2... 1...

A thunderous roar shook the ground.

A Fire Lion charged into the arena, its flaming mane crackling like an open furnace. The air thickened with heat, carrying the scent of burnt metal and sulfur.

Nioh didn’t even turn to look.

From beneath his cape, his hand flicked outward.

A diamond needle shot through the air, aiming directly for the beast’s skull.

But just before impact—

Sparkes appeared around the lion erupting, twisting, and solidifying into a massive lightning-forged sword.

The blade crashed down, impaling the creature instantly.

BOOM!

The explosion sent a gust of scorched wind through the arena.

Nioh turned back to the girl, brushing stray embers from his sleeve.

"As you can see, I’m very strong."

His eyes gleamed with confidence.

"Only I can bring out your true potential."

He stepped back, floating effortlessly upward as his diamond needles lifted him into the air.

"If you change your mind, come find me at Ethereal Weapons."

With that, he disappeared into the stands.

"What a weird fella" the girl muttered as she left the arena.

-

The three conquerors descended from the sky shortly after. It seemed like their little scuffle with Grimmes, did not end up in their favor. However, they could not allow it to continue to disturb the evaluation. The abbot was the first to step forward.

"Thank you to all of those who participated in this evaluation. Your results will appear on your wrist token, in about... right now" he said looking at his.

"Those who have failed, pack your bags and prepare to leave the citadel." The witch added

"Congratulations, to those who passed. Descend into the arena to choose your progression path" she added.

"This is not fair, how can you allow an anomaly to pass and eliminate hard-working people" A voice said from the bleachers.

Immediately, rants and protests began to rise within the new seeds.

*Boom* simultaneously the three conquerors made a move. Three new seeds lost their lives. One was burned crisp, the other was shot in the head, and the latter just smashed into nothingness.

" From where did you get the feeling that this was a fair place?" The witch declared.

"Changed my mind, send these failures to the frontiers, they are always in need of fresh meat." She added before refocusing on the ones that passed the evaluation.

"I am the Pathfinder, She is the harvester, and the bald priest is the Warden. Chose wisely." The trigger declared as the three conquerors, relocated to different corners arena.

Of the five hundred or so new seed candidates, only a hundred passed the basic evaluation. The main disruptor was the funds in conqueror points, not having at least a million conqueror points after a year was proof you could not reliably survive in the Citadel.

The ability to be self-sufficient or have powerful backing was paramount to conquerors with the potential to grow stronger.

The new seeds were distributed almost evenly between the Pathfinder and Warden paths leaving the harvester path with barely seven people.

"We meet again," Nioh said to the girl who to his contentment was also choosing the harvester path

"Stop harassing! Me" She admonished him. However, Nioh completely ignored her comment " This twerp is Akron" he said pointing at the twink. "He is our other team member" he explained.

"When have I accepted to join your team?" Both of them exclaimed at the same time.

"Let’s not waste time on semantics, we should introduce ourselves to each other"

"I am Akron Brimes from Shoxa" Akron spoke after sighing. Although his expression was one of reluctance. It was the first time for him to have comrades of the same age range as him.

"Althea from Daewyth" she finally replied, after twirling her candy in her mouth.

" I am from Daewyth too. Welcome to the team" Nioh added.

"I am not joining your team" Althea deflected

"Why are you joining the harvester path?" Akron asked curiously.

"Harvesters make the most money. My biocore is a money-consuming one" She explained as they looked around, evaluating the other recruits.

"I joined because he did, he joined because he is suicidal" Akron explained

"But when it comes to making money, he is the best in this batch."

"OH! Really?"

"Yes! if you join the team, I won’t mind getting rid of a few million to feed your habits." Nioh teased.

"You are not pulling my leg are you ?" Althea replied with an excited tone.

"Here this is your sign-up bonus," Nioh said while transferring her a million conqueror points." If you work hard. There will be more to come"

"Boss, don’t worry. You can count on me" She replied happily.

"You are so easily bought," Akron said with disdain.His evaluation was complete.

There was nothing left for him here.