Sweet Hunting Ground [GB] - Chapter 7.2

Ani had obtained the passcode to Lin’s room.

She changed into the uniform of Blue Ocean University. Ani had grown up in a garbage dump, familiar only with the lives of the lower class. This was her first time wearing such soft, expensive fabric, receiving a top-tier education at Blue Ocean Star, one of the most prestigious institutions.

She had worked hard.

The F department encompassed most humans. These former top students, upon entering this new environment, were crushed by the innate racial talents of the Merman people. Fields like “Starship Piloting,” “Close Combat,” and “Mecha Maintenance and Dismantling” were demanding to an outrageous extent. Meanwhile, the privileged young nobles had been exposed to this knowledge long before, giving them a gap of more than ten years.

The huge disparity and discrimination caused many to give up and contemplate quitting.

In this bleak atmosphere of the F department, only Ani stood out for her diligence. After more than a month of classes, she had not made any new friends, and had completely immersed herself in human knowledge.

She was like a weirdo that doesn’t participate in any socialisation..

“Tsk, that’s her, see?” Soft murmurs often rose behind Ani. “It’s a pity, talent isn’t something you can catch up to just by hard work. She still naively believes it’s because she’s not working hard enough…”

“She came from the third district.”

“The third district? That place?!” The newcomers joining the conversation were shocked.

“Yeah, she probably still thinks she’s some kind of a genius…”

“My mom had told me to strive to become an interstellar warrior, to be selected by the school to battle across the star sea, when I first entered the school. Looking at our situation now, I guess that’s not going to happen. Those merfolks are just freaks.”

“Tsk… A noble, non-intermarrying species. They are just afraid of their bloodline getting diluted through marrying humans, and being swallowed up by the massive human population, leading to their extinction. Their arrogance is through the roof.”

“Keep it down, I heard we’re getting a new teacher for this class. Maybe it’ll be a really strict one…”

Before the conversation could continue, a row of surveillance cameras flew into the room, patrolling in sequence, inspecting the students as a notification sounded, “The ancient history class is about to begin. Students, please remain quiet.”

As the voice faded, a deep blue figure entered at the exact moment. The classroom grew extremely quiet, all eyes were fixed on newcomer’s face— he was an adult male Merman with milky white exoskeletons extending from his ear tips, resembling clusters of snowy corals. Silver scales glimmered at the corners of his eyes. His deep blue irises glowing. His long hair reached his waist.

The room was dead silent.

Clearly, he was a merman with very noble bl00d. But, this was also the bottom-tier F department. It was obvious that he should have been teaching the noble young masters, not standing here in this F Department classroom.

Ani finally looked up from her notes. She glanced at Lin at the front of the classroom, her pale pink eyes brightening slightly, and smiled as she silently mouthed, “…Teacher?”

It was just a mouthing gesture.

However, Lin, receiving this uncomfortable form of address, became quite irritated. He put on his projection glasses for teaching and, without thinking, instinctively touched the back of his ear.

How annoying,

The most attentive listener in this obscure and tedious ancient history class was this annoying creature. After the study room closed every day, this terrifying and bothersome monster would still share a room with him.

Her all-nighters had become a habit of her’s, and the vast amount of knowledge kept Ani from being distracted.

Having scavenged in garbage dumps for years, she was well-acquainted with the discarded mechanical scraps, often reading a book with her eye while assembling mechanical parts with her hands.

Even though she had bought only the cheapest assembly parts, the difficulty level was still even higher.

Her hands were incredibly dexterous, more so than any human’s. With only a quick flick of her fingers, the metal fragments would turn into intricate pieces of machinery. Meanwhile, her eyes were focused on another subject entirely.

Multitasking? Lin once again confirmed that she was indeed an honor student.

His gaze shifted, only to suddenly notice a tentacle stretching out from the side of Ani’s body. The soft pink tentacle coiled around an electronic pen, rapidly scribbling across the screen.

Lin nearly choked on the sip of water he’d just swallowed.

A second tentacle slowly inched its way up, holding “Starship Piloting” and carefully reading it.

A third tentacle had already logged into a StarNet account and opened a virtual star battle simulation course.

A fourth…

She could actually, at the same time, learn more than a dozen subjects?!

Did these tentacles each have a brain of their own?!

Lin tapped his forehead, trying to hypnotize himself into forgetting this scene before him. As he turned to head back into the water to sleep, a long-hidden little thing wrapped around his ankle. His movements froze as he looked down to see a soft, pink, moist, and tender tentacle. It didn’t have eyes, yet he still felt as though Ani was watching him.

“Teacher.” Ani’s voice came from behind him. “Could you give me extra lessons? History belongs to the cultural classification, and it’s worth ten points in total, but some of the documents are written entirely in Merman language, and many of the terms can’t even be found. The knowledge blockade on Blue Ocean Star is so severe.”

She clasped her hands together, praying earnestly, “Please, please.”

“Can I refuse?”

Ani curled the corners of her lips into a smile, her eyes opening as she looked at his back, her tone light and playful as she laughed, “No, you can’t~”

——— 

The first month. After the initial joint exam ended, the results were displayed on the massive floating screen in the teaching building.

Name: Ani – Student ID XXX51
Rank: 7654
Scores: Culture 65, Skills 77, Combat 50, Physical Fitness 64
Rating: D

The bright red letters representing the F Department stood out vividly, wedged between a bunch of mediocre merfolk. Ani walked past without raising her head, only hearing murmurs around her. “She’s really putting in the effort, huh?”

“What’s the use? Only the top ten can participate in the Star Sea Warrior selection. She could only be the top in our department…”

Ani only continued on walking without stopping.

The second month, the rankings were updated with the latest exam results. The names and scores displaying all across the building.

Name: Ani – Student ID XXX51
Rank: 2533
Scores: Culture 77, Skills 80, Combat 69, Physical Fitness 75
Rating: C

“Isn’t she kinda scary?”

“I heard those arrogant merfolk have already noticed her presence, and they seem really angry.”

“Have you heard about her rumored affair with that teacher…?”

Ani opened the classroom door.

All the voices suddenly vanished as she entered the room. Countless gazes shifted with her movement as she moved closer. This white-haired girl with genetic flaws didn’t appear very strong with her physique, but her scores in “Combat” and “Physical Fitness” made people hesitate.

Ani sat down in class. The area surrounding her immediately cleared out, as though everyone was afraid to be near her.

But the girl was just simply yawning, a result of her all-night studying as a regular habit.

In the third month.

Name: Ani – Student ID XXX51
Rank: 598
Scores: Culture 89, Skills 88, Combat 73, Physical Fitness 81
Rating: B

That glaring red title entered the first page.

On the day the rankings were updated, Ani received unprecedented “attention.” Countless young merfolks questioned her combat abilities, and her star network inbox was flooded with insults and criticism, filled with all sorts of challenge posts.

Childish. It was all so childish.

In an alley where no flying cameras patrolled, Ani stepped on the face of a young Merman, the sole of her shoe pressing against his skull, while she swiftly deleted all the contents of her inbox.

The merfolks who had tried to “teach her a lesson” couldn’t even get up. Their proud genetic gifts were shattered in that moment, and droplets of bl00d splattered on the ground. Ani’s foot ground down on the Merman’s handsome face as she answered the call from Lin.

“What’s for dinner…”

“Let’s have octopus for dinner!” Ani said.

“…You’re going to kill your own kind?”

“I’m not their kind,” Ani kicked the merman senior who was now powerless and sprawled on the ground, stepping over him. “Teacher, are you out of money recently? Why are you cooking for yourself now?”

“Shut up. Don’t meddle.”

The fourth month, the fifth month…

Each ranking update made that bright red name catch the eye. After the semester end exam, people were already stationed in front of the screen, monitoring the real-time results.

This wasn’t just a simple grade ranking.

It was also the candidate pool for the Star Sea Warriors, future participants in the slaughterous hunting grounds. As long as someone stood out in the hunting grounds, they could obtain everything ordinary people dream of— money, power, strength— even the most arrogant noble merfolk would bow to such a powerful mate.

But Ani was just too dazzling.

Born in the Third District, a girl with unstable genetics, yet she could defeat so many formidable merfolks in combat exams without breaking a sweat.

“What a terrifying girl,” in the principal’s office, several people who clearly weren’t school staff were sitting around. Some were dressed in tight combat suits, others in expensive, exquisite gowns, but they all exuded an aura of power that was distinct from the rest.

“Who would have thought there was a gem like this from the sea?” a woman with a human appearance said. “I thought when the human race left the Blue Ocean Star many years ago, they took all the promising seeds with them. I didn’t expect she could take root in such an environment.”

“Don’t speak so confidently.” The Merman spoke sharply, clearly not wanting to sit with her, if not for her identity. “Even if she is a genius, she would be someone selected by the Blue Ocean University to represent us, and will only be a warrior under Blue Dragon’s command.”

“Maybe not. She’s human, after all…”

The rankings on the screen flickered.

The room suddenly grew unnervingly quiet, everyone’s gaze fixed on the screen, assessing this unparalleled genius.

Name: Ani – Student ID XXX51
Rank: 9
Scores: Culture 96, Skills 99, Combat 94, Physical Fitness 97
Rating: S

The red letters representing the F Department were now adorned with an S-grade golden border. She had silently, yet explosively, appeared into the sight of many.

And made the silent world stir for her.