Chapter 21: The Crucible of ChoicesSeven days later, a heavy silence blanketed the classroom as Dan fixed his gaze on the assembled students. His expression bore the weight of what was about to unfold—this was no ordinary lesson; it was a test of survival and cunning.“Everyone has pushed themselves to their limits these past seven days,” Dan began, his voice steady but carrying an unmistakable edge of gravity. “But all of it was merely a prelude—a warm-up before the real challenge.”He swept his arm toward a freshly mounted poster behind him, the edges curling slightly from the damp morning air.“For the coming seven days, you will be plunged into the heart of the Tevlan Forest itself. Your sole mission is clear and uncompromising: amass as many points as humanly possible. The scoring system is straightforward—take a close look at this.”He tapped the list etched in bold ink:Survive: 1,000 points.Slay a Proto-class creature: 10 points.Kill a Juvenile-class beast: 100 points.“The

Chapter 23: The Whispering Veil of Tevlan’s Shadow“This year?” The mere two words triggered a cascade of realization within Ryan’s mind. Dan told us every year the location changes, yet a gnawing doubt clawed at him. What if it’s all bullshit? What if the academy’s so-called ‘changing venue’ is just smoke and mirrors—same cursed place under a different name?A tight gulp escaped his throat. “They call it the Tevlan Forest.”The village matron chuckled softly, a knowing glint in her eyes. “Ha! It’s rare as hell for a single student to make the trek here three years running. Must mean that Kuma Academy’s standards are climbing.”“Three years straight?” Ryan blinked, surprised.“Damn right. Last year, there was some asshole named Tina Perez, swinging her hammer around. Year before that? A fierce lass called Chaollete Ashley. We don’t mind, though—the academy throws a bit of coin our way every year for hosting this godforsaken event.”Ryan’s gaze dropped, thoughtful. No wonder no undercl

Chapter 25: The Crucible of Mortal ResolveAs the enigmatic sphinx had forewarned, many of the academy’s fledgling summoners found themselves faltering, caught off-guard by the relentless might of a single one of the alien entities roaming the wilds.“Scree!” The guttural cry echoed as a goblin hefted a crude, spiked club, smashing it down upon the strange creature’s malformed skull with bone-jarring force.A victorious shout burst from the summoner’s lips as he clenched his fists triumphantly, convinced the battle was already his.But the illusion of triumph shattered instantly—the alien’s sinewy, writhing tentacle-like tails lashed out with astonishing speed and precision, snaring the goblin’s flailing limbs like iron shackles. The beast staggered to its feet with predatory intent, delivering a brutal uppercut to the goblin’s abdomen. The sickening sound of ribs cracking was followed by a spray of crimson that splattered onto the trampled earth.The goblin’s body flew backward like

Chapter 27: Elegy Beneath a Crimson Sky – Duel with the Twin Aberrations“Fffuck—!” Ryan staggered back to his feet, his knuckles bleeding and skull pounding like a war drum. Pain radiated through his limbs, but the fight was far from over. If the alien bastards had been even a notch stronger, he’d be a mangled corpse twitching in the dirt. It was no goddamn mystery why Sphinx had chosen this wasteland to push him.The twin monstrosities—a bestial alien bristling with chitin and muscle, and its humanoid counterpart with wiry limbs and blank, obsidian eyes—charged at him, not offering even a moment to breathe.Ryan gritted his teeth. He’d fumbled hard. His misstep had nearly cost him the battle, and that was enough to drill a savage calm into him. If there was any clarity in combat, it came with pain.The beast-like alien lunged, its movements feral and rapid. It aimed to body-slam him again, claws extended. But Ryan wasn’t the same idiot from a moment ago. He invoked Dioki—his core ma

Chapter 29: The Shadow Howls Beneath Hollow Roots“Fuckin’ hell… where’s that damned juvenile-class creature we’ve been chasing?” Ryan muttered, his boots crunching dead leaves beneath him as he glared at the forest’s edge. “We’ve been crawling through this wilderness for two days now, and not a trace of the little bastard.”“It’s not the end of the world,” Sphinx replied coolly, his feline eyes reflecting the amber light of the setting sun as he gazed toward the horizon. “We’ve still got four days to locate it. But we’re pushing it. We’ve strayed too far from the others. We should double back before darkness turns this forest into a death trap.”Ryan sighed and dragged a hand through his sweat-matted hair. He was getting antsy. After all, he’d made a promise to that tavern aunt back in the outer district—he’d bring back the core of a juvenile-class beast.“We’ve put down a whole pack of dioki-fused abominations already,” he said, scratching the back of his neck.“Yeah,” Sphinx mused.