A Story of Evil

Unlike the first two days, Sol and Alice didn't make a move on the third day. All they did was change locations for their base. Aside from that they simply rested and, waited for the reports of the Odd Balls that came every evening.

[Greetings Titans. Now generating the number of participants left per domain. The order is also based on your current ranking. Eliminated Domains will not be announced anymore.]

[Void Domain – Two]

[Fire Domain – Five]

[Earth Domain – Four]

[Steel Domain – Three]

[Frost Domain – Four]

[Enhancers Domain – Five]

[Wind Domain – Five]

[Water Domain – Three]

[Good luck. May Chaos Flow in your favor.]

"So we're still on top huh." Alice came down from her scouting post. The two were hidden inside a demolished building. Covering the holes with their cloak as they used a fire crystal to provide lighting.

Sol sat right in front of it. Cooking their meal for that evening which was still courtesy of the dead lightning titans.

"I guess the amount of points we gained was too high to beat in just three days."

"That's a given. We've taken out a total of seven titans after all. Even if they didn't accumulate any points themselves, they are still of higher value than the golems." Sol said, focusing on the meat and making sure that it was tender before flipping it over.

"Yeah but, given the fact that we aren't doing anything, aren't we gonna fall below the rankings soon?"

"Of course we will. But that is also part of the plan."

"Huh?"

"With the buildup on the first day, they tried taking us down right away but, after the quick and overwhelming loss of the lightning titans, we've been saved from any further targeting. But that is only because of shock. As soon as they stack up their kills, they would gain that confidence back. After that, it would only be a matter of time before they hunt us down. We're still top priority targets after all."

"So what are we supposed to do then?"

"Nothing."

"What?"

"We're simply going to continue preparing. With their numbers it won't be easy to pull any surprises anymore. The ones left in this match would probably have traps and some sort of sensors prepared. The ambush we did was only good for the first day and the morning of the second day." Sol finished cooking at that point. Handing Alice her share of meat that pierced through a stick.

"Still this feels a bit anti-climatic you know. We did train like crazy after all."

"Something being climatic or anti-climatic has nothing to do with this. We need to survive and that means getting away from danger as much as possible."

The popular view regarding the culling was that of winning through countless struggle sand fights. It was this sort of thing that got the people hype. Sol however didn't care about the crowd nor the popularity that may come from this method. He was the perfect rejection of all that society viewed in the Culling and, by winning using his method, he could show that raw strength is an obsolete measurement of power.

"So what's our objective going to be?"

"Let's finish eating first. The food may get cold." Sol said, gnawing down the meat which would make Ethan jealous of him if he was still alive.

There were still long days ahead of them. The Culling won't end within a single week and, with the overpowered earth titans, Sol had already placed himself on a tight spot. For him, they were the biggest threat. They still have flaws but, the boy saw no way for him and Alice to win if they were the only enemies left.

That's why they were the target for the next phase of his plan. Something which he was ready to say as both he and Alice were finally done eating.

"Okay boy genius. Spill it." Alice watched Sol get their bag as he began explaining.

"Okay. So we don't need to involve ourselves on some useless skirmishes but, that doesn't mean we're gonna stop fighting altogether."

"Wait, didn't you just say that we won't hunt monsters?"

"I did. But that was regarding the pointing system. We're not gonna go after that." Alice was once again left with a puzzled expression on her face so Sol took the liberty of continuing.

"We're gonna tame some monsters."

"Okay this time I'm sure that I heard you wrong. Please tell me I heard you wrong."

"Nope. We're gonna get some monsters Alice."

"Sol it's not that I question your decision making but…are you out of your mind? You wanna collect exotic pets instead of killing the other tians?"

"I know it sounds stupid."

"Oh it does. Even for you this is difficult to turn around boy genius."

"Take a look at this for a sec." Sol brought out an item from the bag. It was another core but, it was a summoner core.

"We have no idea how to use these items correct?" Sol continued.

"Well yeah. Nobody does. Even the summoners throw those things away."

"Exactly. But I tried using my [Analysis] on it" Alice's eyes squinted. They weren't supposed to use their skills unless the situation was too dire. This is because, using any skill could potentially destroy their mana veins – leading to a case where the growth of the mana veins would stop altogether.

"You can scold me after I give my explanation." Sol said, with Alice sighing as he continued.

"When I used the skill, although momentarily, I was able to get a glimpse of what it is actually used for. And do you know what I found?"

"What?"

"The orbs can tame monsters."

"HUUUUH?"

"That would've been the same reaction on my face if my emotions still work normally. But its true. The cores, when placed on the dead body of a monster, reanimates it and turns it into a loyal pet."

"Wait how does that work exactly?"

"I'm not entirely sure on the reason behind it. But as for the method, basically we need a freshly killed monster. That is the prerequisite. After that we just need to place the core inside and, depending on the strength of the core owner when he or she was still alive, the process may just fail altogether."

"So it isn't even guaranteed."

"Yes but, if we look at what we could gain from this trade, it's definitely worth the try."

"Okay then. What monster are we gonna take exactly?"

"One of the strongest monster found in the arena of course." Alice immediately understood what Sol meant. With how the boy's brain was wired, there was only one candidate based on his words.

"No…don't tell me…"

"Alice, we're gonna catch a basilisk."