I Can Devour Monsters' SSS Talents

Darren’s body froze for a moment.

Several people who had witnessed the previous bet also had strange expressions, one of them lowered his gaze while another pressed his lips tightly together to stop himself from laughing.

”What bet?” Rodrick turned his gaze toward Darren, it was clear that his subordinate had not dared to tell him the whole truth about what had happened.

”It’s nothing important.” But his face changed slightly.

”It’s important to me.” Lian raised an eyebrow.

”I asked what bet?” His voice was not loud, but Darren immediately understood that he could not avoid the subject.

Before he could say anything himself, one of the people in the group who had been at the Speed Seal explained what happened with some hesitation.

The ten-minute bet.

Lian entering alone.

Defeating the Guardian in seven minutes and forty-one seconds.

And the punishment for the loser.

When he finished speaking, a strange silence appeared.

”You really made that bet?” Kain slowly turned his head toward his best friend.

”Yeah, actually he made that bet, and I just repeated the same thing as what I wanted.”

After hearing the explanation, he started laughing loudly, and a big smile appeared on his face.

Rodrick did not laugh, however, and stared at his stupid subordinate for several seconds.

Darren expected him to say something to save him, or at least declare the bet unimportant, he did not want to suffer such humiliation, he did not want to do something like this.

If he did such a thing, how was he supposed to continue living after this? How could he hold his head up in front of everyone?

How could he remain his right-hand man?

”Do it.” But Rodrick only said two words.

”What?”

”You lost your bet. So do it.”

”But Rodrick, it was just a stupid bet and he—”

”You were the commander of one of my groups, you made that bet in front of the members of that same group, if you go back on your word now, you won’t just lose your own reputation, you’re telling everyone that the word of one of my people has no value.”

”But—” Darren clenched his fists.

”I won’t say it twice.” Rodrick’s gaze became even colder, and it was clear that this was his final warning.

Everything was over, and Darren knew there was no way to back down anymore, even if he could endure the humiliation in front of Lian, directly disobeying Rodrick in front of dozens of people would be much worse for him.

His face had turned red, his jaw was shaking from the pressure, but in the end he slowly lowered himself.

One knee.

Then the other.

Then he put both hands on the ground.

Kain immediately turned his head away and covered his mouth with one hand, his shoulders shaking from laughter.

”No... no, this is really happening.” He said between laughs.

He had never thought he would be able to see such a scene, this bastard had humiliated and made fun of him throughout all these months, he had insulted Lian many times.

Many times, whenever he had the chance, he caused trouble for him and was responsible for making sure that just because he was Lian’s friend, he would not have an easy life.

It went so far that they isolated him and cut off all his connections.

And now he was barking in front of everyone like this... Karma really could be a strange thing.

Darren started the first round, his face almost purple from shame.

”Woof... woof...”

”Louder, the sound of the wind is louder than you.” Lian tilted his head slightly.

Darren stopped for a moment, gave him a look full of hatred, and then clenched his teeth.

”Woof! Woof!”

Kain could no longer hold himself back, and his laughter spread across the field.

Even several people from Rodrick’s group turned their eyes away, because if they looked directly at Darren, they might lose control of their expressions.

Three rounds.

Each round was more painful than the one before, and when it was over, he almost jumped off the ground and moved back without looking at anyone.

”Acceptable.” The young Vorhelm nodded with satisfaction.

If looks could kill, Darren would probably be trying to kill him a hundred times right now.

But Rodrick did not look at him even once, the matter was already over for him, and this time he turned toward Rindo.

His manner became formal again.

”Student Council President, your group’s result is truly respectable. Three out of five Seals is not something that can be explained by luck, congratulations.” He said with apparent respect.

”What are you after?” Rindo looked at him carefully.

”Nothing, I just think it’s appropriate to show my respect to the current Student Council President before the school year ends.” He paused for a moment and continued.

”If the students choose me, I would be honored to inherit your position.”

”The Student Council is not a kingdom that has an heir.” But it was clear that the current Student Council President was not happy.

”Of course it isn’t, that’s why I said if the students choose me.” Rodrick added, and the sentence sounded completely respectful on the surface.

But the confidence behind it was almost insulting, he was not speaking as someone who might become the next Student Council President.

He was speaking like someone who was only waiting for something to become official that he already considered his.

”Choice? Like the choice everyone else had when they decided not to group with me? Did you really give them a choice? You basically told them either isolate him or I’ll make your lives miserable!” Kain let out a humorless laugh from beside Lian.

The atmosphere of the field became several degrees colder, and Rodrick shifted his gaze toward him.

”I never told anyone not to work with you.” No anger appeared on his face.

Kain smiled, but there was no warmth in it.

”Of course, you’re much smarter and... more of a bastard than to directly say something like that.”

He took one step forward.

”You just created a system where anyone who worked with me would lose better missions, strong teams, and the support of your group, the group that was the strongest faction in the academy after the Student Council... though now I should say the strongest? Anyway, then you stood aside and let everyone figure out for themselves what choice they had to make.”

”I gave the resources that belonged to my group to the members of my group, nobody was required to join me. Nobody was forced to distance themselves from you.” Rodrick stayed silent for a few seconds.

”Yeah. You found a nice explanation for it.” Kain sneered, he was talking about his own resources, but in reality, by putting pressure on the members of his group, he had forced them to always spend whatever Student Points they had on resources so those resources would not reach him.

He tried to get the resources he wanted from outside the academy, but they were very expensive, and his only hope was his family, who were able to help him a little.

Unfortunately, his family was not as rich as the Vorhelms or that bastard’s family, and he had limited resources.

He needed resources to maximize his stats, not everyone was like Lian and could gain stats by hunting.

In the end, he was forced to find the things he wanted himself through exploration and advancing deeper.

”It’s called a choice.” Rodrick kept looking directly into his eyes.

For a moment, no one said anything, and these few sentences showed Rodrick’s true character more than any shouting or threat could.

He did not see himself as a bully, to him, power meant creating conditions.

If people made a decision that benefited him under those conditions, in his mind, it was still their own choice.

Rindo was worried about the possibility of him becoming the next president for exactly this reason.

This boy did not need to openly break a rule, he could make the rules appear to remain in place, while the result was always what he wanted.

Finally, Rodrick took his gaze away from Kain and looked at the three platforms of the Gate.

”Anyway, you won this part.”

Several people from Lian’s group raised their eyebrows, and he slightly raised his hand, causing his people to step back a few steps.

”You have three Seals. We have two, the rules are clear, put your Seals in, take your reward, and open the path.”

’What the hell is this bastard thinking?’ All of them suddenly frowned more deeply, and the same thought appeared in their minds.