While Others Evolved, I Understood Reality

"You little..."

Ryner gritted his teeth as Adam continued to ignore him. Being ignored by a nobody like Adam stung in ways he had never felt before. He clenched his fists in rage, wanting to beat Adam till he washed away the shame. But he could not do that, not when they were being watched!

"Hehe. Serves you right, Ryner."

April chuckled at the boy’s expense and sat beside Adam, who sliced another piece of meat and passed it to her.

"Be careful with it; it’s hot."

"Mm."

Ryner and Derek could not believe their eyes. Some complete stranger was ignoring them. And April, who was a part of their circle, had joined the stranger to ignore them!

Completely unbothered by the looks he received from the two strangers, Adam cut himself another piece, savouring whatever taste he could get. Since those two had no notion of basic human decency, then he would ignore them.

"Ugh... I never thought I’d want salt so much." April commented with a bitter expression, pleadingly looking at Adam as though he would pull out another miracle.

"Hehe. What did you expect?" Adam replied smugly as he too looked at the pink-haired girl. "It’s not like we have a lot of options. It’s either this or we scavenge for something else."

"Ugh..."

"Hey... I’m talking to you."

Adam ignored the Ryner fellow. From the corner of his eye, he saw Derek stepping closer. The boy came to stand beside his friend as he too looked at Adam with a frown. He took another bite of his meat and continued to chew, doing his best to ignore the blandness.

A sudden rumbling sound came from one of the boys.

Adam momentarily froze, the meat still at his lips. He flashed a small, knowing smile before resuming his action. April, on the other hand, burst into laughter. How could she not when the two were clearly hungry? Adam shook his head and continued eating.

Suddenly, Adam’s left hand shot forward, grabbing Ryner’s hand. He looked up at the boy and asked in a cold voice, "What do you think you’re doing?"

"Heh... You finally see me, huh." Ryner smirked as he held Adam’s gaze, ignoring Adam’s hold on his wrist. "Big piece of meat. It won’t hurt to share."

"You’re not included." Adam shot back as he pushed Ryner’s hand back.

"Come on, Adam." Derek stepped in with a cocky grin. "We’re all trying to survive."

"Survive somewhere else," Adam replied without glancing at the boy.

Hearing Adam’s response, the two boys exchanged glances and then looked at April. Ryner was the first to flash a devilish grin at the pink-haired girl before the two boys acted.

"Ad—"

Realising what they intended to do, April tried to warn Adam, who had returned his focus to the meat on the makeshift grill. To her shock, however, Adam was already on the move, having predicted what the two boys intended to do before they even acted.

It happened so fast that April only felt a powerful gust of wind before her eyes caught sight of Ryner and Derek being flung backwards. They stumbled across the plain, only coming to a stop when they crossed the thirty-meter mark.

Adam had pivoted on his left hand as he swept both feet over the grill and at the two boys, generating a powerful gale that blew them backwards. He slowly approached them as they groaned and cursed under their breath.

"Did you honestly think I was just going to sit back while you take what’s mine?!" Adam bellowed as he came to stand a few meters away from the duo. "I’ve been robbed once already, and that’s one lesson too many."

Around them, the other applicants looked on in shock. Many were thinking of approaching him for a share; others were even considering robbing him should he refuse. But as things stood, it wasn’t going to be easy.

"Y.o...You shouldn’t have done that." Ryner groaned as he pushed himself off the ground, bleeding from a cut just above his left eyebrow. He glared daggers at Adam as his breath came out heavy and strained.

A sudden crackle resounded as golden tendrils of lightning rippled out of Ryner’s body, his golden eyes gleaming with a dangerous light.

Beside him, Derek gritted his teeth as he too struggled to get back to his feet. That attack had taken them by complete surprise. But the damage they had received had come from crushing into the rocks that littered the plain.

"Hehe... Do-Do you even know who you’re messing with?" Derek suddenly let out a small laugh and flashed a bloody smile, his green eyes gleaming. "You’ll be lucky getting out of this alive!"

"Adam...! Be careful of those two! They’re dangerous!"

Adam looked slightly over his shoulder and nodded. He did not need the girl’s warning, as his own eyes gleamed with a blue sheen. His unique skill was activated, allowing him to perceive their actions and abilities.

No sooner had he nodded at April’s words than Ryner appeared before him in a flash of golden lightning, a right fist blurring towards his face. He saw an opening and took it without hesitation.

But Adam’s reaction was faster. He had read the boy’s body language, subtle signs that hinted that he would make a move at any moment. With a thought, Adam bent backwards, evading the lightning-powered blow with insulting ease.

Golden lightning crackled out of Ryner’s fist as it crashed into the ground a few meters away. The golden-haired boy clicked his tongue as he watched Adam roll out from under him.

Before he could stand upright, Derek closed in with an axe kick, intending to bury Adam into the hard ground. With a blast of wind, Adam spun out of the way, utilising the wind element to "boost" his reaction speed, creating a bit of distance from the two boys.

Two against one was new to Adam. And although he could quickly take them out, that would rob him of the opportunity to learn from them.

"Bastard...!"

Ryner was the fastest, and of course, the angriest. With a crackle of lightning, he dashed after Adam, throwing a flurry of punches and kicks at him. The strikes came at him fast and brutal, Ryner employing martial arts Adam was not too familiar with.

He did not attempt to make contact, seemingly hesitant to touch the lightning-infused Ryner. His eyes drifted to the side panel at the edge of his left vision.

<Electricity/Lightning:...2.34%...2.57%...2.98%...>

<Light:...3.43%...3.47%..>

’I see... His lightning has light properties as well. But to what end?’ That part eluded him for now.

<Unarmed Combat:...35% → 37.56%...37.89%...38.05%>

Still maintaining a swirling ring of wind around him, he continuously dodged as he studied the boy’s technique and ability. Ryner was good, far better than himself. But the boy had too many openings in his form and attacks.

Having seen enough of his martial arts, he capitalised on one of the many openings he spotted and delivered a devastating palm strike to Ryner’s stomach, blowing him back with a powerful gale.

Derek closed in right after, his right leg shooting towards Adam’s head. Adam responded in kind, meeting the high kick with his own. The air exploded with a muffled boom. Derek’s attack was a lot heavier than it appeared.

"Gotcha!"

Adam’s instincts suddenly flared when he saw a smirk on Derek’s face. Without hesitation, he disengaged and jumped backwards in time to avoid a blast of green mist that erupted from Derek’s body.

’Poison!’

<Toxicology:.....1.23% → 3.34%>

Adam didn’t spare the prompt a glance as Ryner was once again on him. The golden-haired boy had leapt into the air, unleashing a large tendril of lightning at him. With a swift series of backflips boosted with the wind element, he evaded and distanced himself.

’Tsk... Looks like I’ll have to finish this quickly.’

Adam clicked his tongue as he saw more and more applicants approaching. A few were even closing in on April, being drawn by the flowing aroma of his meat.

"What the hell are you looking at?!" Derek bellowed as he dashed towards Adam once more. "You should be more worried about us!"

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