NOVEL NEXT Chapter 132 Bloodline Affinities
Inside Titan Ruin No. 3345, the concentration of corrupted beasts was over a hundred times greater than in the forests outside on Mars.
The moment the participants crossed the threshold, they were met with relentless waves of creatures—and the hunt began all over again in every direction.
This time, the rankings shifted rapidly. After surviving the bloodbath on Mars, the freshers had grown more experienced, more confident, and far more efficient in their hunts.
From afar, the rumble of oncoming hordes echoed through the ruin.
Zane was already cutting a path toward the First City he'd spotted in the distance. Fifteen hordes had fallen to him so far—wave after wave crushed without slowing his pace. Using Luminous Steps, he swept across the flatlands, each movement a blur. Every beast he passed dropped lifeless, a clean strike to the forehead ending them instantly.
When the last corpse hit the ground, Zane knelt to harvest the mana cores. One by one, the green card in his pocket absorbed them.
Finally, he pulled the card out to check his progress.
His rank number climbed rapidly on the display—until it stopped at #4567.
"I've been hunting non-stop for three hours, and that's all I get? This pace won't cut it for the benchmark rank."
He knew that breaking into the top 600 would only get harder from here—everyone else would also be pushing their limits.
Sighing, Zane sat down on the grass to catch his breath.
A faint ripple of presence reached him. He tensed—then relaxed when Henry suddenly appeared beside him and took a seat.
"How's your ranking?" Zane asked.
Henry pulled out his green card with a grin.
"Rank #10567! I'm definitely making the top 600." He raised both arms in triumph.
Zane blinked. "That low? You're not going to make it. What was your rank earlier?"
"Rank #29,599."
Zane stared at him. "That's dead last. What were you doing all this time?"
"I've been looking for you for the past three days," Henry replied. "Didn't have time to hunt. Besides, I wasn't interested in rankings before. Today's my first real hunt—and in one day, I jumped this far. Give me two more days and I'll hit top 600 easily."
Zane was stunned. So this kid started today and already climbed from the very bottom to here?
A loud, drawn-out hoooop echoed over the plain. A massive boar lumbered into view, the twins riding on its back.
They hopped down and joined the group, and a short while later Asphalt arrived as well.
Naturally, they compared ranks.
"I'm at #765," Asphalt said.
"#345," Har reported.
"#342," Dar added.
Zane shared his rank, and Henry did the same.
"We've got to work harder, Henry," Zane said.
After resting for half an hour, the group resumed their march toward the city. As they drew closer, they realized it was far larger than they had imagined—its tall buildings stood like silent sentinels against the strange, swirling sky of the ruin.
Not far away, Master Ronaldo perched high on the thick branch of an ancient tree, quietly observing.
"Those five are something else," he murmured. "The twins and their beast handle hunts with precision. And Asphalt… his weapon work is impressive, but his blade work—that's a cut above the rest."
His gaze shifted. "That boy, Zane—fast, precise, and clean kills without unnecessary gore. And that strange one… moves like the wind itself."
He smirked faintly. "They're not just good with finance. These first-years—who aren't even officially in the Academy yet—are already well-versed in battle. Efficient, controlled, dangerous."
Seeing the team set off again, Ronaldo rose smoothly and leapt into the air, flying low over the treetops as he shadowed them.
Along the way, the group encountered corrupted beasts of every size and type. None lasted long. Their kills were clean, their movements efficient. Their rankings crept steadily upward as they pushed on.
At last, the towering wall of the First City came into view—a perfect circle of some unknown, ancient material.
Zane's eyes swept the surroundings. Thousands of students milled near the city gates, but at the very front, chaos reigned.
Three groups were locked in fierce battle with a massive black tiger, its two tails lashing like whips. Explosions rattled the ground, the clash of steel and the roar of magic mixing into a deafening storm. Dust billowed high into the air.
Through his System interface, Zane quickly scanned the beast.
[Corrupted Black Flamingo Tiger]
[Strength: 10,250]
[Agility: 10,149]
[Intelligence: 10,300]
[Health: 13,245 / 15,235]
[Mana: 14,500 / 16,700]
[Core Rating: Two Stars]
Har's eyes lit up. "A Two-Star beast! Dar, I want to tame that tiger."
Dar frowned. "Forget it. It's already marked by those groups. They'll never let us near it—not after what we pulled on them."
"We'll find other Two-Star beasts along the way," Asphalt said, his tone light, trying to coax them out of it. "And now that we're working as a team, taming one will be much smoother."
Zane's gaze stayed on the fight. "Asphalt, which noble houses do those three teams belong to?"
"The ten in green and white stripes—that's the Glimmerveil Household," Asphalt replied, pointing. "The seven with silver armbands are Silvermane Household. The twelve left are Emberwick."
He continued, "Each has a distinct bloodline. The Glimmerveil possess a strong fire affinity. The Silvermane carry a metallic elemental bloodline. The Emberwick wield a water elemental affinity. All of them have exceptionally high mana compatibility for their respective elements."
Zane committed the information to memory, then shifted his focus back to the ongoing fight.
As they moved closer, other students noticed their approach and shot them hostile glares filled with enmity.
Zane and his teammates ignored the death stares, pushing forward until they had a clear view of the battle.
The clash was growing more savage by the second. Now, Zane could clearly see that the tips of the tiger's two tails tapered into spear-like points.
The black tiger's movements were a blur—swift, brutal, and lethal with every strike.