Others Summon, I Forge Beast Armor

Derek’s Team.

「Student: Lucretia Blackstone」

「Evaluation Updated

(11) Beta Monster Slain: +220 pts

Completed An Emergency Objective: +10 pts

Negligible Injuries: +40 pts

Discovered A Monster Zone: +25 pts

Total: +29500 pts 」

「GT: 54,000 pts」

Lucy slew some monsters. After the fight, her token informed her of her progress so far.

In her attempt to ignore the information, it persisted nonetheless.

「Congratulations! You are leading #9 in the top 10!」

「Hunter Trial Day 1| Remaining Time: 05:59」

”How do I turn this dumb thing off?” she hissed, showing her frustration at just how much of a disturbance it had been so far.

Picture giving your all, only to have the token keep telling you that other students were doing just better.

Lucy preferred if the trials were kept more private. If it was, then she could focus without being reminded of the rankings every time.

Lucy had also stopped herself from cleaving her drone with her scythe because that would get her eliminated.

”I shouldn’t compare myself with others,” she thought. She knew that was where this annoying feeling was coming from. ”Get me those cores. Let’s revitalize.”

The second person in question was Lucy’s summon, the Malefic Spider. It crept across the amusement park, trampled over dead monsters, and did as Lucy said.

Lucy slowly got back on her feet and looked around at the mess. She should be proud of herself. Her strength was still the same as it had been a year ago, yet she could still fight and triumph.

The spider returned with seven cores, which her mistress picked one after the other.

”Lucy, hope you’re ready,” Lucy said to herself, because she knew what was coming. Pain.

The Malefic Spider was also aware, so it wrapped its legs around Lucy as she absorbed three cores. What followed was a minor seizure, as if her body was forced to absorb it rather than a seamless process.

If not for the spider holding her, everyone nearby would have heard Lucy scream from the pain.

〖Congratulations! You have cleared Rollercoaster Phase!〗

〖Goodluck in defeating the Boss!〗

Lucy collapsed to the floor, her hair spread out like a spiderweb, her chest rising and falling as she tried to catch her breath.

At the appearance of the system, she called back her spider into her soul. It was her job to clear the rollercoaster phase, and she had done it. What was left now was the boss phase at the circus tent, and that would be Derek’s job, as they had agreed.

Their team always divided the work so everyone could have their own moment.

They had handled five zones today, and it was the same routine. Ayn Nightjoy begins, Mizuki follows, Lucy goes next, and Derek finishes last—or sometimes they switched the order around.

Speaking of teammates, Mizuki saw Lucy lying on the floor, resting after her fight. She walked over and looked down at her, just staring at how beautiful she was.

Mizuki couldn’t help herself. She used her index finger to poke Lucy’s breasts, which were about to spill out of the top of her blouse. When Mizuki poked one, they shook like waves.

”Excuse me, miss?” Lucy panicked, flabbergasted, covering herself up.

”Sorry,” Mizuki said. ”I was just admiring, since I don’t really have assets like that.”

Lucy sat up, her hair messy from lying on the floor. She looked at Mizuki, then at Mizuki’s chest. There was nothing there except the buttons of their uniform.

”What do you mean? Your breasts are right there!”

”Stop lying, Lucy.” Mizuki harrumphed. ”My boyfriend says they’re too small. He says they’re flatter than a pro wrestler’s!”

”Well, if your boyfriend said that, you should break up with him.”

”Are you sure about that?” Mizuki asked.

”Yes. Definitely. That doesn’t sound like boyfriend material,” Lucy replied as she stood up, regaining composure and energy.

Meanwhile, the other teammates, Ayn and Derek, had been watching the girls from a stone’s throw away.

Their party was currently in an abandoned amusement park in Skeleton Town, and they had gotten the manifestation because of Lucy. She had used some of her resources as a Blackstone to find it, which was one reason why she was important to the party.

But after watching her performance today, Ayn Nightjoy had a few complaints.

He didn’t like seeing weakness from the people around him, and he had noticed a lot of it from Lucy since the trial started.

”Prince Derek, are you sure Queen Lucretia is really as dangerous as everyone says? She has an Elder spider, yes, but my Greater beast and I could solo her. I’m sure of it.”

Derek knitted his brows and looked at Ayn, confused. Almost nobody in the academy would agree with what he said.

”Are you saying that because she has the fewest kills among us?” Derek asked. ”Even among the best, somebody ranks lowest.”

”No. It’s just that...” Ayn searched for the right words. ”She gets knocked back a lot. And her summon feels lifeless. I don’t know. Does she really want to be a hunter? Does she have the drive for it? Maybe she’s more suited to being a non-combat summoner.”

Derek laughed out loud at that, his broad shoulders bouncing and his green hair shaking too.

”You are ridiculous, Ayn,” he said, looking over at Lucy fondly as if she belonged to him. ”What do you expect from a highborn girl like her? Of course she’s going to act reserved and keep her full strength hidden. She didn’t grow up like us.”

Ayn wanted to argue that it wasn’t just her being refined but that she was actually limited in battle. Yet Derek refused to listen to any of it.

All Ayn received was a tap on the shoulder as Derek left him for the girls.

Lucy and Mizuki were still debating what counted as boyfriend material when Derek interrupted them. His presence alone was enough to make Lucy uncomfortable.

He was tall, broad, and handsome, standing around 6’4”, two inches taller than Luke Kingsley and, according to most girls, much more attractive.

But Lucy still preferred Luke.

Maybe personality really does matter after all.

Derek’s looks meant nothing to Lucy. In fact, she despised him.

She only accepted his invitation to the team because they were one of the strongest students. Staying with them assured her a spot at the top.

Sometimes you have to set aside personal preferences and work smart.

”Took you long enough, my queen,” Derek said with a smile as he walked past Lucy and Mizuki. ”But I suppose I can forgive you this once.”

Lucy narrowed her eyes as Derek entered the tent, ready to face the boss monster.

The boss monster of the amusement park was the Monkey King. They had learned about the monster zone before coming, so they knew what they were dealing with. They also knew the Monkey King had a guardian, a Flaming Elephant.

Derek Cole stood unfazed against the mammoth, a confident smile on his face, followed by a chuckle.

The Monkey King went, ”Ooo! Aaa!” and pointed at the intruder with a flamboyant staff in its grip. The gesture roused the elephant, which snorted its trunk at Derek, releasing a flush of fire.

Derek rolled away just in time, the flames passing over him before he stood up again.

”Mordred! Go! Mimic the Flaming Elephant!”

You would expect a powerful beast of grand renown, but all Derek had was a slime. A black blob only as big as his head. But this wasn’t your average slime. It was Ancient-grade Abomination Slime.

It copied the form of the Flaming Elephant once summoned, but also had the will to grow twice as big, meaning twice the firepower.

FWOOOM!

The Flaming Elephant got incinerated by its own ability.

The Monkey King became angry and started beating its chest, shouting as it pointed at Derek. It looked intimidating, but Derek wasn’t impressed.

”Mordred, blade my sword.”

The Abomination Slime bounced across the ground and jumped into Derek’s sword. Dark matter spread over the blade, making it stretch longer and longer until it was twelve times its original length. Derek held the sword with both hands before swinging it as hard as he could.

The huge blade cut through the circus tent and everything inside it, including the Monkey King.

〖Ding! You have slain the Boss Monster!〗

「Student: Derek Cole」

「Evaluation Updated

(1) Beta Monster Slain: +20 pts

Boss Monster Slain: +25 pts

No damage taken: +5 pts

Total: +5000pts」

「GT: 91,000 pts」

「Hunter Trial Day 1| Remaining Time: 00:00」

「NOTICE: Day 1 of the Hunter Trial has ended.」

「NOTICE: All students must return to Montclair Academy and observe curfew. Students currently inside a zone may remain and complete the zone they have already entered. Students outside a zone are prohibited from entering a new zone. Violating these orders will result in disciplinary action.」

Derek grinned when he saw the notifications.

”Right on time,” he whispered, petting his slime and allowing it to devour whatever it could find around the tent.

He looked at his total points again, proud and confident that he had claimed the top spot in the trial. Ninety-one thousand points. As far as he knew, nobody else could do better.

He walked out of the circus tent and found the rest of his team waiting outside. Everyone looked tired, looking forward to rest and sleep.

”I finished the day with 91k points. What about you, Lucy?” he asked.

”Look for yourself and don’t ask me,” Lucy replied, turning around to leave, but Derek grabbed her wrist, preventing her from doing so with the urgency she wanted.

Lucy summoned her spider to express her comfort with fighting him, but Derek only had a smile on his face, like he didn’t take her threat seriously.

”Now that is the spirit I want from you,” he said. ”If I’m going to become the Dux and eventually rule over worlds, I want you and Scarlett as my wives. I’d need both of you to be stronger than everyone else too, inferior only to me.”

Lucy laughed and pulled her wrist free.

”Keep living in your delusion. Just because you’re topping the trials, you think you’re the strongest?”

Derek just grinned back at her arrogantly.

”What else then makes one the strongest?”

「Notice!」

「Luke Kingsley is the first student to reach 100,000 pts!」

「Luke Kingsley is the first student to reach 150,000 pts!」

「Luke Kingsley is the first student to reach 200,000 pts!」

「Luke Kingsley has attained the title: Emperor of Trials!」

「Luke Kingsley has attained the title: God of Trials!」

Slowly, like a time-lapse, Derek lost his smile with every notification.

Lucy was just as surprised at what she saw, but the look on Derek’s face was more entertaining.

”Looks like the sky is a lot higher than you thought,” she mocked and walked away, leaving him standing in disbelief.