Parasyte System

Chapter 98 - A Small Worry

A silence again filled the room, this time being much longer and uncomfortable to endure, especially for the upperclassmen.

"Good, I like that confidence!" Added the instructor, "Although I don't normally take tests for that kind of position, today I will make an exception just for you. If you manage to stand for 10 seconds, then consider yourself hired!"

*BOOM*

Immediately, an overwhelming pressure swept through all the students, coming from none other than the instructor, who was not only releasing her energy, but also her bloodlust.

Most of the students couldn't help but get dizzy and fall to the floor, feeling sick from the pressure they were enduring, which felt as if their bodies were being squeezed to the max, not even being able to let them breathe.

Naturally, this kind of pressure was not normal.

While a grade (B) super such as the instructor could suppress others using only her energy, she was not a normal super, but someone who had also worked as a hero, even going so far as to obtain the title of Executioner.

Rather than an official position in the Hero Association, it was more of a title, though there was no denying that it commanded respect among the other heroes and terror among the villains like no other official position.

And this was completely understandable, after all, this title was only awarded to those heroes who had killed at least 100 supers who were in their same rank.

As a result, the bloodlust she had managed to cultivate over the years had become an incredibly dangerous weapon, capable of intimidating even any super of rank (B), not to mention what it could do to an inexperienced young rank (C).

Unfortunately, it was this person who had received this kind of pressure head-on, falling to the ground while his nose was bleeding and his face was plastered with an expression of unconsciousness.

Apparently, he had lost consciousness as soon as he came into contact with the instructor's bloodlust, and for better or worse, it was extremely clear that he had failed this impromptu job interview.

As quickly as it came, the sea of blood that seemed to be covering them suddenly vanished, accompanied by the vibrant voice of the instructor, "Huff, I haven't done that in a long time, it brings back quite a few memories. Anyway, the rest of you students, follow me outside, I'll assess your capabilities there."

With those words as her last, the instructor left the room, followed some time later by the other students, who although they were staggering and seemed to have suffered considerably, were still standing.

However, one person lingered slightly, remaining alone for a moment in the room, frozen in the same position, a nervous expression on his face as he clutched his arm.

As soon as everyone left the room, that person released his right arm, from which moments later several small parasites began to emerge, which despite having no eyes began to look around desperately.

It was clear that they were incredibly excited, a product of having experienced such a tremendous display of energy, and although it was behavior that could be expected of them, their 'boss' was not much better.

'...I'd better get out of this room as soon as possible.' Jay thought, forcibly suppressing the aggressive emotions that his little ones and his own mind were endlessly transmitting to him.

***

Outside, the instructor led the students to a large field deep in the training center, with various wooden dummies and other training objects everywhere.

"Okay, we will start with the test for those who want to be gardeners, I need you to prune all the bushes in this field, nothing ostentatious but not too simple either. For the janitors, I need you to leave all the wooden dummies spotless."

Upon hearing her instructions, the students began to move towards their respective targets, all preparing to use their skills, spells and martial techniques in order to make the task easier.

As for what happened to the unfortunate proud young man in the classroom, no one seemed particularly interested in continuing to dwell on the incident, as if it were a normal occurrence.

*Clank*

However, just as they were about to begin, the sudden noise of several small objects falling to the floor caught their attention, causing them to turn to look at the source of these sounds, the instructor.

"While I like your enthusiasm, you shouldn't be so quick, I'm not finished, you barely gave me time to get out your work tools!" As she spoke, the instructor continued to bring out more and more buckets of wood along with rags and pruning shears, only finishing until there were enough for each person present.

Seeing these items, the students couldn't help but feel that something was wrong.

"Right, I forgot to tell you one tiny little detail! For this evaluation, it is forbidden for you to use any kind of skill, spell, martial technique or any special object! If I catch you, and obviously I will, you will be disqualified immediately!"

With those words alone, the mood of all the students plummeted.

Of course, this was understandable, after all, they were all supers used to using their powers for all sorts of situations, including in their daily lives, so being forbidden to make use of this was basically restricting their right arms... and left arms for those who were left-handed.

"Haha, no need to get so down on yourselves, boys and girls, it's not so bad to just use your bodies once in a while!" Added the instructor with a smile on her face, evidently amused by the students' reactions.

Without much else to do, they all reluctantly picked up their work tools and began their tasks.

As for Jay, he had been among the first to start, and was now filling one of the wooden buckets with water, soaking the rag he had been given inside the bucket.

When he had finished filling water, he chose a wooden dummy at random and began to wash it.

Although it was made of a special type of wood that was particularly resistant and rigid, specially made to receive supers attacks, that didn't take away the fact that it could get dirty, having several dirty spots everywhere, probably the product of several weeks of work.

Thus, another small competition began, but when barely half an hour had passed, several of those present began to show difficulty to continue with their tasks, especially the espers and wizards.

Because of the special wood, they had to use a lot more strength than usual before they could see results, and even if their bodies were better than the average human, they still tired quickly.

On the other hand, those who shone in this competition were undoubtedly the pugilists, continuing with the same intensity with which they had started, without even showing signs of tiring.

Of course, this was to be expected, after all, their bodies had been tempered time and time again, not only improving their fighting ability, but also giving them a great vitality that would allow them to work for days straight without stopping.

Add to the mix that they could replenish some of their energy by absorbing the qi in the surroundings, and it seemed clear that the position of janitor was going to fall into the hands of one of them.

Said and done, more and more mages and espers withdrew, until finally, after an hour of hard work, only a total of 6 people remained, all of them being pugilists... and Jay.

Seeing this, the instructor smiled before speaking again, "Now that only those with high vitality are left, it's time to make this harder!"

*CRACK!*

After saying that, the teacher stomped on the ground three times, to which a faint glow of blue spread across the ground, opening cracks that came to cover the entire training ground.

The next moment, as if the cracks had never appeared, they closed in a matter of seconds.

Just as the participants were about to question what the purpose of this action had been, the answer appeared on its own.

"What... I can't feel the qi!?" Said one of the young men who was cleaning the training dummies, stopping immediately.

And it was not only he who had noticed such a drastic change, but all the pugilists present, who also stopped cleaning the dummies to focus on this strange sensation.

Normally, they could sense the qi in their surroundings at all times, being able to make use of it if they wanted to, for them, it was almost as if it were oxygen, something absolutely necessary for their survival.

Therefore, the fact that they had suddenly lost that sense was cause for concern.

"Relax, even if you can't feel it, the qi is still present, just in much smaller amounts!" Explained the instructor.

What she had just used had been one of the inscriptions belonging to the training ground, whose function was to absorb all the qi or mana from the surroundings into the ground itself.

As for why the academy would have such a function, it was because over the years, they had realized that different students needed different types of stimulation in order for them to progress, especially those with exceptional aptitudes.

As a result, they had created a myriad of functions that could help them break through their limits, in the process making huge advances in understanding the powers of mages, espers and pugilists, such as this mana and qi inhibitor.

"Oh?"

However, while all the pugilists were still inspecting their bodies, what caught the instructor's attention was that there was a certain person who apparently didn't seem the least bit interested in what was going on, simply continuing to clean the dummies fervently.

Clearly, that person was Jay, who had only paused for a moment when the cracks appeared on the floor but quickly returned to his task.

Finding this quite interesting, the instructor walked over to him, her eyes giving off a gleam as she examined Jay.

"Wow, I didn't expect a esper would manage to go this long without tiring. Does your ability have anything to do with your stamina?" She asked.

While it was somewhat unusual to come across an esper whose ability wasn't completely offensive in the academy, it did happen from time to time.

Raising his head to meet the instructor's gaze, Jay replied, "No, ma'am, actually, my skill is Wind Control, it's just that I'm used to heavy tasks."

As he finished, he formed a small swirl of wind in his palm, though it only lasted a few seconds before he dissipated it and continued cleaning the dolls.

"Hm, it definitely shows! Keep it up and you could be the one to win the position, kid!" Replied the instructor with both hands on her hips, apparently, she liked Jay's perseverance.

The moment she finished saying that, the other participants also awoke from their trance and continued cleaning, thus continuing the competition.

Minutes passed, with some of the participants reluctantly withdrawing due to fatigue, and at the two-hour mark, there were only three students still cleaning the dummies.

Of those three, two were pugilists, a boy and a girl who had a look of determination on their faces, beads of sweat trickling down their cheeks and other parts of their bodies, a clear sign of how tiring this task was.

However, if one turned to look at the last participant, although one could also see that he was somewhat tired, his cleaning speed had not slowed down one bit, continuing almost as energetic as he had started.

For those present, the instructor included, this was an incredible demonstration of his vitality, that despite being an esper, he was able to compete with pugilists, who were known as the most energetic supers.

Thanks to this, some students began to feel a bit of admiration for Jay.

Unfortunately for them, what was going through the head of said person was something completely different, '...I really hope this won't bring any adverse effect to my body...'

Now that he could see his energy with the help of the system, he had been watching his energy levels rise and fall out of control, his energy regeneration struggling wildly with the expenditure that Jay himself was causing.

This had caused him to worry initially, but fortunately for him, his little ones began to help him, managing to create a balance that he could maintain for quite some time, just as he was doing now.

But the main concern for Jay at the moment was, apart from getting the job, will his body be okay with losing and gaining so much energy all of a sudden...?

While he was perfectly aware that his body had been optimized to withstand the parasites, he believed that there had to be a limit to that, so he couldn't help but get a little nervous.

"Haa..."

Deciding he would think about it later and hope for the best, he continued to clean with all his might,

Finally, after what seemed like a much longer time, the winner of this little competition for a job was decided.