My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 172

"... Good morning Aspirants, today is finally the day of your expedition. Before we proceed further, you need to be well informed of what we will be doing for a week in a beast planet."

"....."

Silence descended upon the hall as all the Aspirants quietened down to listen to what the instructor had to say.

For an entire week now, no matter how much they asked, their respective instructors had stubbornly refused to inform them what the expedition was truly about.

They all insisted that everyone would be finding out on the D-day.

And today was finally the day.

Clearing his throat once more to ensure everyone’s attention was fixed on him, Sony continued.

"But before then, may I have all the leaders of the different squads come forth?"

Kai didn’t waste a single second as he proudly walked forward, and with that, the various leaders from the different squads began stepping out of their lines.

Ray even caught sight of Berg stepping out from his own group.

This was the first time he was seeing the boy since their physical alterations weeks ago.

’I’m not stupid enough to let my guard down. I know he will definitely be planning something against me during this expedition. I need to be ready.’

Those from Sony’s class lined up in front of him, while the leaders from the bulky instructor’s class, who stood beside Sony, lined up before their own teacher.

As if they were remotely controlled by the same signal, the two instructors opened up the crates in front of them; immediately after, they began handing out heavy backpacks to the squad leaders.

The backpacks were actually large enough to contain a smart TV, and for some reason, they were filled with several items the students didn’t recognize.

Collecting his own pack, Kai managed to haul it back to his squad.

None of them actually opened the bag yet, as they waited for the official command to do so.

Several minutes passed with the instructors sharing the gear, and after they were finally finished, they closed the now empty crates before them.

"You may open them," the bulky instructor ordered.

And without hesitation, they unzipped the backpacks.

The members of their squads all leaned in curiously to see what was hidden inside.

Well, Trish didn’t care much, as she remained rooted with her usual aloof expression on her face.

Dipping his hand into the bag, Kai pulled out five shiny silver bracelets.

It wasn’t only him; every single leader pulled out the same jewelry because that was the first thing that attracted their eyes the moment they opened the bags.

"You were told a day before to keep your watches back in your dorm rooms as you wouldn’t be needing them today," Sony began as he stared at all the Aspirants.

Knowing what to do, Kai distributed the bracelets to each of his teammates.

"Those bracelets in your hands have quite some peculiar functions that will make our expeditions much easier," Sony continued, watching as the Aspirants put them on one by one.

The moment they snapped them onto their wrists, the metal lit up with a dull blue light before settling back down.

"... We will be explaining the features of the bracelets after we speak about what the expedition will be about. But first, check out the backpacks some more," the bulky instructor commanded.

Kai dug his hand back into the bag and pulled out a small square box that had a red cross sign on the surface.

"Er... should be a med kit of some sort," he mumbled.

Next, he pulled out a sleek bow and a quiver filled with arrows.

"Huh?"

Chloe, on seeing the weapon, smiled and stepped forward to receive it.

"For some of you who attend the combat class, your instructor has deemed it okay to give you beast weapons to better aid you in this expedition.

Not all of you received one, as he mapped those who are actually enthusiastic about using a beast weapon and do not view it as a weakness."

Chloe turned to face Captain Jake, who remained motionless as a statue.

With a subtle, respectful bow in his direction, she slung the quiver around her body and gripped the bow tightly against her chest as if it were a precious, irreplaceable gem.

Next, Kai reached back into the depths of the bag and pulled out a small, unassuming ring.

"Those rings are storage rings, which you are strictly required to return after the entire expedition is concluded," Sony explained.

"They will assist you in storing beast cores and any other valuable resources you might discover out there. Note, however, that the internal space is actually quite limited, so be very selective about what you choose to fill it with."

Sony paused, thinking for a few seconds before giving a small shrug.

"It’s not as if you all will come across beast cores in such great abundance anyway, as only advanced ranked beasts and above typically possess these."

’So we are hunting beasts? That seems pretty simple for all the suspense they’ve built up,’ Ray mused silently, keeping his hands crossed firmly against his chest.

There was only one storage ring provided per bag, which technically meant that Kai had the right to keep it as the leader; however, he shook his head and immediately handed it over to Trisha.

"It’s not a wise thing to keep all the resources and important items with a single person," he noted practically.

Without uttering a single word, the girl collected the silver band, slipped it onto her middle finger, and then returned to her usual state of icy aloofness.

There was one additional med kit left in the bag, along with some other basic resources intended to aid the Aspirants and make whatever tasks lay ahead much easier to manage.

When they were finally done sorting the gear, they rearranged the bags and stood straight like disciplined soldiers while awaiting what the instructors had to say regarding the core of their expedition.

Clearing his throat, the bulky instructor shifted forward a bit and gazed intensely at the crowd of young Aspirants.

"As you might have guessed by now, you will be required to hunt beasts during this week’s expedition. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Those bracelets on your wrists are synced directly with your leader’s device, and then further registered with a central leaderboard.

Consequently, whoever from your squad secures the kill, the entire squad gets the credit. And points will be awarded accordingly."

A low, silent mumbling rippled through the crowd of students at the mention of a competition.

However, a single, piercing stare from Captain Jake was more than enough to shut them all up instantly.

"... Yes. Points will be awarded because, at the end of this journey, your individual and collective efforts will be recorded in our database.

This will actually help you all immensely in whatever career path you eventually choose within the military," Sony added, following up after the bulky instructor.

"Also," Sony continued, his voice dropping an octave, "this expedition is not totally about hunting beasts."

’There’s more?’ Ray thought, his interest now fully piqued as he leaned in slightly.