'How...? How is he so strong? I lost...'The wind mage lay unmoving in a shallow crater after crashing into the ground. His clothes were torn, his body covered in injuries and dirt.Such a sight would’ve been unthinkable to him thirty minutes ago.Talor strolled toward him, arriving within seconds and staring down with an impassive expression."Weren’t you going to take our limbs? Look at you now. I hate people who can’t back up their claims. And for that, I’ll be taking your right arm."Talor raised his claws to strike when Taylor's voice came from behind."Stop! We already won! You don’t have to go this far!"Talor frowned slightly as he turned around to see the exhausted Taylor. He looked paler than before, with sweat running down his forehead. He clung to a tree for support."Why do you look so tired? I haven’t even gone all out," Talor said in disappointment. "I’ve told you again and again to train harder so we can use our attribute much better.""And I’ve done just that! You don

A contestant dressed in muted blues, gripping a staff with both hands, cautiously stepped out from behind the twisted bark of a hollowed tree. Mana hummed faintly around her, like a veil of warning.This was undoubtedly Ellie.After her encounter with Clautilda, she chose to move with extreme caution, limiting how far and how fast she traveled.But now, she wasn’t so sure if venturing out had been the right call.She paused at the edge of a clearing, eyes narrowing. Her breath caught.Two contestants lay sprawled on the ground.Unconscious.Their bodies were bruised and battered—no fatal wounds, but the damage was deliberate: pressure points, joints, soft tissue. Whoever had done this wasn’t just strong… they were precise.Her fingers tightened around her staff.These weren’t the first ones she’d come across.Earlier, she had stumbled upon two other contestants at separate locations—one with a broken leg, the other with a deep stab wound along the ribs.Now four in total.And each sce

*Grin*‘So that’s the finish line?’ The lean, spiky-haired boy with the speed attribute muttered. The pleased look on his face showed just how glad he was that this stage was finally nearing its end. He hadn’t managed to get a red ribbon, but he did obtain a blue one—with barely enough beast kills to pass.With his speed, maneuvering through the forest and avoiding other participants had been easy. He changed locations over fifty times while also hoping to either stumble upon a red ribbon or find an easy target to steal from—but things hadn’t worked out so well.Knowing that heading toward the light would be the riskiest part of the test—as those lacking points would likely ambush others to steal ribbons—he needed to move fast before the real chaos began.Shimmering energy, like molten light, coiled around him, warping the air in a radiant haze. The atmosphere trembled as a low hum surged around the speedster. Dust spiraled at his feet, caught in the sudden pressure shift. His eyes n

*Sigh*'I almost went overboard. I need to learn to control this better.' Art thought walking towards the beam of light with her following a meter behind him.Earlier, he only wanted to intimidate her a little as she was beginning to get cocky. But he released too much of the mask's power. So far, they had yet to encounter anybody, but they knew that it would only be a matter of time. The once relatively quiet forest now had many echoes and reverberations of sounds, probably being made by people crashing elsewhere. Her gaze kept drifting around from tree to tree anxiously. The silence between them made things even more tense for her.She mustered up the courage to talk to him again. This time, being very picky with her words."I'm sorry, I didn't get to introduce myself. My name is Rena. Do you have a name or anything I can call you by?"-Silence-"Are you from around here?"-Silence-'He's ignoring me.' She sighed internally. 'It's best if I remain quiet as well.'Just then, he sp

Viera's boots crunched softly over the leaf-strewn path, the beam of light clearly visible ahead. This part of the forest was relatively quiet compared to others. She kept her pace steady, her blood-red hair swaying with each step, with her senses sharp as ever.A red ribbon was tied to each of her wrists.She had a few tears on her clothes, which came as a result of fighting 3 C-rank beasts. It was more of a one-sided fight, but she didn’t come out unscathed. Or, rather, her clothes, as there wasn't a single bruise or blood stain on her skin.On her shoulder was the number '4' displayed. Being the daughter of the current family head immediately translates to superior genes and attribute affinity. So among her peers, she was a class above. Already able to easily handle C-rank beasts at just nineteen. She stared at the beam of light, only about five minutes away at her current pace.It seemed that this part of the test was already over for her, but then all of a sudden, she stopped