Asher Princeton had kept most of his attention on Adam ever since he battled that silverback. And the more he observed the boy, the more certain he was of his decision to take Adam as his disciple.
He had watched as April approached the boy under the guise of friendship. And unlike Adam, the vice-principal knew what the pink-haired girl was capable of. As a matter of fact, her family had built their power and wealth around similar abilities.
The Mercer family were a family of powerful emotion manipulators. They could turn anyone into a loyal dog with a bit of effort. They usually got their victims under the guise of friendship, slowly building rapport with them until their guard was entirely let down.
More terrifying than that was how they could force their way into their enemies’ minds, using their emotions to break them down until they became nothing but empty husks. They were terrifying to say the least.
Asher was not too happy seeing the girl with Adam.
Bringing April’s information up, he quickly understood the kind of emotional power the girl wielded. ’I see... Her ability is Empathy Overlord. Doesn’t seem like much at a glance, but it could be dangerous for Adam.’
Empathy Overload was an ability that forced the target to intensely feel every emotion they brought out in others, including the user themselves. Anger, love, hatred, fear, doubt, and most dangerously, respect that could evolve into loyalty. Once they locked onto that one emotion, they could bind their target to themselves.
It was one tricky ability that kept most elite families away from the Mercers. No one really knew its limitations, and no one was truly invested in finding out. When Adam acted to protect the girl from the raptor, he frowned. The boy was playing right into the hands of the Mercer girl.
But that was not the worst of it.
Watching Adam save her from falling off the cliff more than solidified the girl’s emotions towards him. She could make a move at any moment, and Adam would be reduced to nothing but a puppet. Fortunately, the girl had not made any moves yet.
Adam had gotten to preparing the raptor meat, his movements evident of his impressive cooking skills. Asher smiled to himself, liking Adam more and more.
"Sir, what do we do about those who’ve closed in on the academy grounds?" An official asked, turning to glance at the vice-principal.
"Send them back," Asher instructed without even looking in the direction of the official. "The objective is to survive in the wilderness for three days, not make it back to civilisation."
"Yes, sir."
A few applicants had managed to trace their way towards the academy grounds. But as the vice-principal instructed, they were swiftly sent back into the depths of the wilderness in a flash of light.
Many among the applicants were simply hiding from threats while surviving on wild berries and other edible plants they found. Since barely a day had passed, most had not yet resorted to eating the beasts they found.
’Hmm...’ Asher thought silently, watching the flowing screens. ’Perhaps I made the trial too easy for them.’
The beasts the academy had allowed into their forests were not many to begin with. Most of them were powerful and had been locked away for the duration of the trial. But because of this, many of the talented applicants hadn’t gotten anything too challenging to deal with.
Many of the beasts had already been defeated or killed, making the entire trial less dangerous than he had anticipated. Asher was about to instruct the officials to release a few more beasts into the wilderness when the scene around Adam caught his attention.
’Ooh... This might be interesting.’ Asher smiled as several applicants closed in on Adam’s position. ’The aroma must have drawn them over. I wonder how this will play out.’
***
Utilising wind blades for dressing the meat was a lot more challenging than Adam had expected. His face and clothes were bloody from the blood that sprayed from the raptor. But he somehow got the job done without vomiting all over the place.
After rinsing the meat and himself with the water from the stream, he dried the meat out a bit before setting it over a makeshift grill he made with the stones and rocks lying around. April sat nearby watching Adam work with a smile on her face. She would giggle from time to time, drawing Adam’s attention.
He wondered what the girl was thinking, but couldn’t be bothered to ask.
Adam’s eyes darted around as he noticed a few applicants slowly coming over. He knew what their intentions were, but Adam was not in the mood for any more kindness. He still felt bitter about his stolen backpack, after all.
Ignoring them at the moment, Adam focused on grilling the meat. An inviting aroma wafted through the surroundings, drawing more and more applicants over. They were just as hungry as he was.
There was no way they were going to stay back and watch. Naturally, a few decided to stand back and watch. Adam’s gaze drifted to April when two boys approached her. And from the way they moved, Adam guessed they were the heirs of elite families.
"April... So this is where you’ve been." A boy with short brown hair and green eyes noted, glancing in Adam’s direction. "I see you’ve gotten a minion already. Good for you..."
His words caused Adam to frown slightly, his attention caught. But he didn’t turn to look, pretending his focus was entirely on the work he was doing.
"Derek... You know you shouldn’t be saying stuff like that." April narrowed her eyes as she replied. "And unlike you guys, Adam is someone I can see as a real friend."
"Haha! Friend?" The second boy, a golden-haired boy, laughed. "Does he even know what you’re capable of? You’re a funny one, April."
April frowned but stayed silent. This was exactly why she didn’t like hanging out with them. They were too full of themselves and had no qualms talking down to anyone they didn’t acknowledge.
The golden-haired boy shook his head and approached Adam, coming over to stand before Adam with a condescending gaze, his hands behind his back.
"I wouldn’t advise going against him, Ryner," April warned as she got up, a frown on her face. "You don’t know who you’re messing with."
April’s warning did not deter Ryner one bit. If anything, Adam should be the one worried about going against him.
"Adam, huh," Ryner smirked and then looked at the roasting meat. "Make sure it’s down well. I’m famished."
"..."
Adam did not respond. He did not even bother to look up at the boy. He looked over his shoulder to see a worried look on April’s face. He could care less about what the boys said, as April had not done anything to him... yet.
"The meat is almost done. Come sit with me." He gestured for April to approach before turning his gaze back to the meat.
"Hey..." Ryner muttered in a low voice, his expression dark. "You’re not ignoring me, are you?"
Adam still had not responded. He conjured a spinning wind blade, sliced off a small piece of meat, and tossed it into his mouth. The meat was bland but tender.
"Mm... That’s good."
"You little..."
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