The tail of the beast was made up of strong but flexible bones. Currently, due to the beast being dead, there was no mana circulating inside it, causing the bones, ligaments and tendons to be weakened.
However, it was by no means easy to cut through.
Although Mor did it easily, it would not be easy for everyone. He wanted to see his new students fail. That was exactly why he asked to step forward and slice them.
Soon, all of the recruits walked up to the beast's carcass.
They closely observed the tail lying on the floor and chopped with all their might, infusing mana into their weapons.
"Ting"
"Thuck"
"Shh"
Other than generating weird sounds, their knife didn't pierce through one-fifth of the tail.
Mor smirked seeing this. It was the outcome he was expecting, so he was not surprised.
However, while he was scanning his eyes across, he noticed Oliver standing over to the furthest end of the tail and peeling off the skin from it.
Unlike the rest, he was not chopping down on it.
'What was he doing?' Mor thought.
He walked closer to get a better look.
Meanwhile, Oliver concentrated on the mana beast corpse before him and slid the knife under the skin.
Unlike the rest, who were trying to chop tail through its cross-section, he was trying something different.
Oliver's limitations were glaringly obvious. Unlike the others, who effortlessly empowered their weapons with mana, he couldn't even manage the basic feat of infusing his muscles. So, how could he emulate the same action?
Instead, he decided to use his brain this time.
Using the knife, he swiftly moved the sharp edges along the surface of the skin. His purpose was twofold in doing so.
First, he wanted to reach the blood.
Second, he wanted to expose where the bones were.
The sole purpose of his coming to the mana beast processing plant was for blood. To improve his ability, he had to store and consume blood in his blood sac.
However, he didn't want to seem uninterested in learning, so he thought that he should follow the teaching while also using his ideas.
That was why he skinned the tail.
The tail of the mana beast was so smooth, and it was difficult to identify the separation of the bones from the surface. By skinning it, he could look into the flesh and find the connection between the vertebrae.
Instead of cutting the bones, his focus was cutting the ligaments connecting them.
From his understanding, it was the exact thing Mor had done.
Although he showed off grandously, the cut he made was calculated and precise.
Once the skin was peeled off, Oliver absorbed the minuscule amount of blood that was flowing out.
It seems like the tail was an organ with fewer blood vessels. So, he didn't get much from peeling a small portion of the skin.
'In my situation, even mosquito meat is meat.' Oliver said to himself and continued.
Meanwhile, Mr Mor had reached just behind him. He closely observed Oliver's actions. The rest of the recruits also turned to look at him.
Oliver sensed the attention he was getting but didn't try to avoid them.
He promptly pushed his finger into the flesh and pressed to find the ligaments connecting the bones. His experience from his past life helped him greatly at finding the right place to cut.
Once his fingers found the gap in between bones, he slid his knife through it.
*Swish*
It cut through the flesh easily.
*Crrr*
But when it reached the ligaments, the knife slowed down.
The ligaments of the tail were made from extremely hard and flexible tissue, so he had trouble cutting through them.
"You made the right decision to cut the ligaments. But it won't be easy."
A voice came from behind Oliver. It was none other than Mr Mor.
"I didn't think it would be easy. As you can see, I can't use mana yet." Oliver replied, keeping his eyes focused on the tail.
"What are you going to do now?"
"Why do you think I chose this end of the tail?" Oliver asked back.
Without pausing, he stood up from his crouching position and flipped the tail. His knife soon cut all the tissue around the joint.
The tail of the mana beast was huge. At the base connecting to its body, it was more than a foot wide.
Oliver had no chance of cutting that part in two. He knew that and chose the other end.
The tail was tapering off to the end, with about less than half its girth. It was easier to move, and there was much less tissue he had to cut on this part.
Mr Mor realised that all his actions were calculated from the start to ensure his success. He smiled, realizing that he was a promising student.
"Nice job," Mor said, seeing Oliver twist the end of the tail.
By twisting, he stressed the ligaments, decreasing their flexibility. Now, his knife can easily cut through them.
Soon, the end of the tail was cut.
Oliver held the separated piece with a victorious smile.
"I did it."
"Yes, you did. You passed the first test."
'This was a test?' The rest of the recruits looked at each other with the same thought.
Mr Mor turned to look at his confused students and began to speak, "The first rule of working here is to always use your brain. The steps I show are to be followed, but not without thinking. While dealing with a mana beast carcass, you would encounter unexpected problems. You need to actively use your mind to recognise and solve these problems. Let this remind you to do better in the future."
His speech woke up the recruits from their stupor. Most of them seemed to have taken the lesson seriously.
But even then, some were disgruntled.
Some of them couldn't swallow the fact that a kid who couldn't use mana beat them. They glared at Oliver to show their dissatisfaction and to intimidate him.
'Ha, I feel like I would have a pleasant time working here.' Oliver thought as his gaze collided with theirs.
–
The rest of the lessons were simple. Mr Mor quickly taught the anatomy of the silver-tailed cow and how to skin and butcher it.
The intestines and stomach were the only parts that needed consideration when they were butchering. Spilling the gut and its content was a mistake with grave consequences.
Consequences included polluting the meat and the horrible stench that could not be washed off.
The class ended in the evening, and Oliver returned to his hostel room after bathing.
During the day, he had already filled his entire blood sac. So, he was thrilled to go back and do his thing.