MIGHT AS WELL BE OP-Chapter 368: Adaptive Combat Slime

The following day arrived with swift inevitability.

Anthony roused from his slumber at the appointed hour, his gaze lingering on the modest surroundings.

He lowered himself into the sole chair in the room, its simplicity echoing the austere nature of his confinement.

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A weary sigh escaped his lips.

'How I long for the simple luxury of a bath'

He thought silently, his eyes tracing the faint light filtering through the small, unadorned window.

The room was devoid of any comforts or amenities, except for a humble bed, a solitary chair, and an unassuming table, nothing more.

These rooms were designed for recruits expected to endure little no more than forty eight hoursduring the trials.

Even those who succeeded in passing would soon be told to vacate, as they would no longer be considered recruits once the trials were concluded.

The military saw no reason to squander resources on frivolous comforts.

The recruits, in turn, gave little thought to the barrenness of their quarters.

Their sole focus was on conquering the trials ahead, leaving complaints for another time, should they survive to voice them.

'Why can't I just let go of bathing and eating like the others?'

Anthony thought, a fleeting frustration crossing his mind.

Many had long since abandoned such mundane needs, bathing and eating, once they reached the appropriate cultivation level, typically around the late Master rank or early Grandmaster rank.

These physical desires were easily supplanted by mana, allowing them to go months without need for sustenance.

Yet, Anthony remained an anomaly, stubbornly clinging to these trivialities that others had long since cast aside.

Shaking his head, he dismissed the thought, his gaze rising upwards toward the floating island like structures.

'I wonder what lies there'

Anthony thought, his eyes drifting towards one of the floating lands, curiosity piqued by its mysterious structure.

However, before he could fully contemplate the sight, a sudden, unseen gaze seemed to fall upon him, sharp and piercing.

In an instant, a voice resounded within his mind, forceful and commanding.

"If you weren't the son of the Sword Saint and the Crimson Witch of Destruction, you would have been disqualified. Stay where you are and refrain from making any unnecessary movements"

The voice vanished as abruptly as it had come, leaving no trace but a lingering weight in the air.

Anthony frowned, irritation flickering within him.

He was accustomed to evading notice, but this time, he had been caught.

'The military is indeed a different beast'

He thought, shaking his head as he slowly withdrew his gaze, his curiosity momentarily extinguished by the unsettling encounter.

'I wonder what the second trial will be like'

Anthony pondered, his thoughts drifting.

His mind returned to the restrictions imposed upon him, a quiet sigh slipping from his lips.

He couldn't help but speculate, would the second trial be more grueling, or perhaps easier, designed to allow more recruits to pass?

Either way, the military would gain more bodies for their ranks, regardless of the challenge's difficulty.

Lost in these thoughts, Anthony remained seated, the weight of uncertainty pressing on him.

Suddenly, a knock echoed through the room.

He turned toward the door, already sensing the presence of those standing on the other side.

They were unfamiliar to him, strangers whose identities held no significance.

Without a word, he made no move to answer, nor did he rise to open the door.

He simply chose to ignore them, his focus unbroken.

The steady rhythm of the knock shifted to a sudden, forceful bang that reverberated through the room, relentless in its insistence.

"We know you're in there. Open up!"

A voice called out, its tone demanding.

Yet, Anthony did not stir.

His gaze remained fixed on the world beyond the window, as though the noise itself was nothing more than a distant murmur.

The banging ceased abruptly.

A moment later, an unnatural distortion twisted the door, bending and warping as if it were nothing more than soft clay in the hands of those beyond.

With a swift motion, the door was restored to its original shape, the intruders stepping across the threshold without a second thought.

Anthony's head finally turned, his eyes settling on the four figures that now stood before him, vampires, their pale, ethereal faces betraying nothing of their intentions.

The leader, standing at the forefront, sneered, his voice dripping with contempt.

"How dare you, lowly human, refuse to open the door when I knocked? Do you wish to die?"

Despite the venom in his words, Anthony's gaze remained unshaken, his expression as still and unreadable as ever.

Not a hint of anger or confusion flickered across his face.

He was simply… indifferent.

The silence stretched for a moment before another voice broke through, this one from behind the leader.

"Do you think that just because you emerged from the trial in better condition, you're somehow superior to the rest of us?"

The tone was mocking, dismissive, as if they believed their status alone entitled them to act as they pleased.

But Anthony said nothing, his eyes still fixed ahead, untouched by the provocation.

'Normally, I would have just killed these fools and been done with it'

Anthony thought silently, his gaze still unbroken.

'But that could get me disqualified…'

He let out an internal sigh, his thoughts drifting in frustration.

'Can't the author come up with something else to write? Better yet, just tell me where my girlfriend is instead of wasting all this time on these useless Young Master moments'

Finally, he broke the silence, his voice calm and disinterested as he spoke with a heavy sigh.

"We're in the military base. We just passed the first trial. Do you really want to risk everything just to feel good about yourself for two minutes?"

The leader vampire sneered at him, but before he could speak, another vampire chimed in, boasting.

"My father is a Vampire Count. With just a word, I could have a guaranteed spot in the military"

Anthony's eyes narrowed as he assessed the fool in front of him.

A faint shake of his head followed as he silently thought.

'All that blood control ability, but you can't get your brain to work right'

Even as the son of the Sword Saint, he had been given no such privilege.

The military didn't work that way

"Well, I was just getting bored"

Anthony finally spoke, his voice devoid of any emotion as he rose from his seat.

The atmosphere in the room shifted dramatically, a sudden chill settling in the air, sending an unmistakable shiver down the spines of the four vampires.

They froze for a brief moment, their senses heightened, but before any of them could act, the same commanding voice boomed once more.

"Be there in five minutes"

Anthony paused mid step, his expression unchanged as he absorbed the voice's command.

With a simple, deliberate thought, he sealed the space around the vampires, trapping them within an invisible barrier.

They struggled, but their movements were futile.

Without a word, Anthony teleported in an instant, vanishing from the room.

Since he couldn't deal with them directly at the moment, he decided to make them pay in another way.

'If they wanted to play games'

He thought with a wry smirk.

'They might as well be disqualified while they're at it'

In the blink of an eye, Anthony reappeared at the designated location, his presence barely disturbing the air as he materialized.

Five minutes quickly passed, and all the recruits had arrived, everyone except the four vampires.

A figure materialized among them, cutting through the gathering with an air of authority.

Colonel Vazeryth, his posture rigid and commanding, surveyed the group with cold eyes.

He didn't bother with pleasantries or formalities.

Instead, he got straight to the point.

"Today's trial is the final. Pass, and you are now one of us"

As his words hung in the air, Corporal Daniel stepped forward, distributing small items to each of the recruits, just as he had done the previous day.

Anthony looked down at the object in his hand, a strange, gelatinous blob.

'A slime?'

He thought, his brow furrowing slightly.

He turned the blob over in his hand, inspecting its odd texture, wondering what role it would play in this final trial.

"I won't go too much into what the slime is. You will be teleported to the trial ground now"

Colonel Vazeryth said, his tone final.

Without another word, he snapped his fingers, and in an instant, the recruits were teleported once more.

Anthony's surroundings shifted rapidly, and as his eyes opened, he found himself standing amidst a rugged mountain range.

The air was sharp and thin, the towering peaks surrounding him like silent sentinels.

The stillness was interrupted only by the booming voice of Colonel Vazeryth, which echoed in the minds of every recruit, including Anthony.

"Now for the instructions. Send your mana signatures into the slime, then throw it a few meters away, or a kilometer at most"

The recruits immediately complied, their focus intense.

Each one began channeling their mana into the slime in their hands, sending their unique signatures deep into the blob.

Once their energy had been transferred, they hurled the slimes forward, sending them scattering across the terrain.

Anthony's gaze remained fixed on the slime his attention rapt as he studied it closely, wondering what would happen next.

The slime began to squirm and pulse, its form shifting as if it were alive. For several moments, it writhed and expanded, growing in size.

Then, with a fluid, unnatural motion, its shape morphed completely.

Before Anthony stood a towering figure, 6 feet and seven inches tall, with long white hair flowing down their back, gem like blue eyes, and a flawless face that seemed almost too perfect.

The figure stood still, lifeless, a mirror image of Anthony himself.

His gaze narrowed, a sense of unease creeping through him as he observed the slime's transformation.

'A perfect replica of me'

He thought, his mind racing.

Vazeryth's voice reverberated once more, echoing in the minds of all the recruits.

"What you are seeing in front of you is the Adaptive Combat Slime. It possesses the ability to replicate the battle style and experience of any mana signature it devours"

The weight of the words hit Anthony like a bolt of lightning.

'It can replicate... any battle style?'

His mind spun with the implications.

Colonel Vazeryth's voice boomed once again, cutting through the tension in the air.

"For the instructions: only use your weapon, mana, and intent, or aura, if you possess one, and nothing else. All you have to do is win against yourself within an hour"

The words hung in the air, heavy with meaning.

Anthony's gaze remained fixed on the figure in front of him, the perfect replica of himself, motionless, awaiting the signal.

"To begin the battle, all you have to do is send out a killing intent toward the slime, and the battle begins. Your time starts now"

With that, the restriction bracelets on their wrists buzzed to life, and a sixty minute countdown flickered into existence, each second ticking away silently.