My Tribrid System: More than a Monster

Chapter 93

Ray’s claws retracted into his skin as he stood there, panting heavily from the sheer physical exertion.

The training doll remained motionless on the floor, still surging with static after being incapacitated by the human’s lightning ability.

Beads of sweat trickled down the planes of his body while he mildly gasped for air, his lungs burning.

”Impressive.”

The feminine voice was little more than a whisper, yet it echoed through the vast hall, reaching his ears with startling clarity.

His heart skipped a beat in an instant, a cold jolt of adrenaline spiking through his system.

’Shoot. I have been caught.’

Slowly rising to his full height, he turned to stare toward the entrance.

A girl stood there, leaning casually against the reinforced wall.

The door had already closed behind her, providing no interference or backlight to obstruct his view of her face.

He recognized her all too well.

”Trish,” he mumbled beneath his breath, his eyes locking onto hers.

Even though she had uttered that single word of praise, her expression hadn’t shifted in the slightest.

Her features remained as hard and unreadable as a rock.

”Sorry?” Ray lifted an eyebrow, trying to gauge her intent.

The girl offered no further explanation.

Instead, she pushed off the wall and walked toward a treadmill on the far side of the room.

Without another word, she settled her headphones over her ears and began her workout, completely ignoring his presence.

’Huh? What a weird girl.’

”...”

’Wait! What exactly did she witness? Did she see the moment I manifested my lightning ability?

She has already seen my werewolf side during the mission, so that isn’t the issue. How long has she been standing there watching?’

He was deeply confused.

Yet, he found he couldn’t bring himself to ask a single question as he watched her run at a steady, rhythmic pace on the machine.

With a quiet sigh, Ray simply shrugged and walked toward the metallic doll he had sent crashing to the ground.

He hauled it up and began pushing it back toward the corner where it had originally stood.

Once the equipment was returned to its place, he grabbed his discarded shirt and pulled it on.

Clack.

He had just taken a single step toward the exit when...

Beep!

The treadmill stopped its rhythmic humming, and Trisha’s voice cut through the silence once more.

”What is your goal?”

Ray paused in his tracks, his brows flaring up in surprise.

”Sorry?”

”What is your goal?” Trisha repeated, her voice steady and devoid of emotion.

Ray turned around slowly to face her.

Still, he couldn’t read a single thing behind her gaze.

He simply shrugged, giving the most honest answer he had.

”For now, it’s to get stronger so I can eliminate every single Aberrant from this world.”

”....”

Trisha stared at him with a blank, hollow look for a second, as if she were meticulously evaluating the weight of his words.

However, she allowed none of her thoughts to manifest on her face.

”Okay.”

’Huh? Okay? That’s it? For real though, what kind of person is she? She’s so strange,’ Ray scoffed inwardly.

«And quite beautiful,» Bruce commented within his mind, letting out a light, mischievous chuckle.

Ray pointedly ignored the remark and turned away.

Without being stopped a third time, he walked out of the training hall, leaving Trisha staring at the digital display of the treadmill for a few silent moments.

Then, she lifted her head, her eyes drifting toward the specific doll Ray had just battled.

Driven by a sudden spark of curiosity, she walked over to the machine.

Circling around to the back of the unit, she checked the configured grade Ray had selected for the simulation.

There, staring back at her from the interface, was the number: Grade 5.6

She blinked for a few seconds, her gaze shifting back to the heavy doors through which Ray had just exited.

’I’m a Grade 5.4 meta-human. I could defeat this doll without breaking a sweat. But for him to do that without even fully transforming... it shows where I can finally place him. Right beside me.’

She paused, her eyes hardening as she glared at the steel doll.

’... He’s about to surpass me. No! I can’t let that happen. If I want to eliminate him, I have to grow stronger. Yes! Stronger.’

Musing to herself, she reached into her pocket and pulled out a shimmering beast core.

She stared at it, her fingers tightening around the cold stone.

When they had first arrived back at the Corps, they hadn’t been asked many questions.

It wasn’t as if the authorities knew the gate had actually been closed by the Aspirants themselves.

They assumed maybe Captain Raze had handled the situation on his own.

Because of this, the higher-ups had no idea that an advanced-ranked core was currently in the possession of one of the Aspirants.

’The blonde-haired boy was the one who killed the beast, so this is rightfully his. But still,’ she paused, studying the gem for a few more seconds. ’... He is already strong. He definitely doesn’t need this as much as I do.’

Crush—!

Shatter—!

Cracks spiderwebbed across the core’s surface, and within a single second, the fractures deepened.

Soon enough, the object shattered into dozens of tiny, shimmering dust fragments that floated in the air for a moment before Trisha inhaled sharply, drawing the particles toward her.

They entered her nostrils as she inhaled deeper, pulling every last grain into her system.

Within a blink, the essence was inside her, swimming toward her own internal core and nourishing her entire body.

She could feel the fragments instantly expanding her total MF pool.

Her body felt noticeably lighter as she finally opened her eyes, a small, sharp glint flashing across her pupils.

Clenching her hands and then unclenching them, she gave a slow, satisfied nod.

”Good,” she mumbled, turning toward the exit.

This was the sole reason she had come to the training hall.

She hadn’t wanted to perform the absorption in the dorm room, as questions would surely begin flying regarding how she had gotten her hands on a soul core.

She wasn’t the talkative type, so to avoid the hassle of an interrogation, she had come here—where she inadvertently spotted Ray.

Initially, she couldn’t see him, as a thick earth wall had been erected, shielding her view of his specific movements.

All she had heard was a series of loud bangs followed by the doll flying through the air before crashing to the ground with a heavy thud.

In order to throw the boy off her trail and hide her own activities, she had acted as if she were merely there to exercise, climbing onto the treadmill as a cover.

Now that her true mission was finished and over with, it was time to leave.

She began walking away, almost passing the heavy punching bag suspended in the air, when she stopped dead in her tracks.

She tilted her head, noticing the digital display on the bag showing a specific number—a double-digit score.

When she leaned closer to verify it, her eyes lit up in genuine shock.

”50.”

’The fuck?!’ she thought, her composure slipping for a fleeting moment.

’Who punched this bag so hard that they managed to get the exact same score I did?!’