As Rhys continued along the hardest trail, the mental exhaustion began to catch up with him.His body was tired, but his mind felt even worse.Every step forward came with the fear of what might be waiting around the next corner.The first enemy had been a Hypnosis Python.The second had been a druid.Neither of those monsters should have been opponents for someone who had only just reached Tier One.The only reason he was still alive was because of everything he had learned at the university.Without the lessons his professors had drilled into him over the past year, he would have died twice already.At that moment, Rhys genuinely felt like going back to the academy just to thank every one of them.If they were standing in front of him right now, he would have happily kissed each of them on the forehead.Everything they had taught him had become the difference between life and death.With that thought in mind, Rhys pressed onward.He had no idea what kind of sentient beast would appea

Maeve was training alone in the swordsmanship hall when Kael walked in, fresh from passing his Tier Two Promotion Test.He had come looking for Rhys.His eyes swept across the hall, searching for his friend, but after checking every corner, it became obvious that Rhys wasn’t there.Instead, his attention settled on Maeve.She was practising by herself, repeating the same sword techniques over and over.Kael watched quietly for a while.Ever since he had started joining Rhys on Floor Raids, he had seen Rhys fight often enough to understand what truly good swordsmanship looked like.The more he watched Maeve swing her sword, the more he found himself comparing her to Rhys.The difference was impossible to ignore.Rhys’ movements were clean, efficient and almost effortless.Maeve’s attacks, on the other hand, were rough and full of unnecessary mistakes.Watching her only made Kael admire Rhys even more.“Could you stop staring at me?” Maeve finally said, lowering her sword with an annoyed

Maeve’s expression hardened as she launched another barrage of sword slashes from a distance.This time, Kael couldn’t rely on [Reflective Barrier].The spell was still on cooldown.Without hesitating, he switched to the only other defensive spell he knew.[Magic Barrier]Small transparent barriers appeared one after another in front of him.Instead of creating one large shield, Kael carefully placed each barrier exactly where the incoming attacks would land.Block!Block!Block!Block!Every sword slash was intercepted just before it could reach him.Although he was being forced backwards by the constant pressure, Kael calmly defended himself while quietly preparing another spell.Across from him, Maeve refused to slow down.She ignored the blood still flowing from the wound on her stomach and continued attacking without giving herself a chance to recover.She only needed one opening.One mistake.If she could overwhelm Kael even for a second, the fight would swing back in her favour.

Rhys wasn’t fearless.Far from it.Standing before the enormous polar bear, every instinct in his body screamed at him to run.The Transforming Ice Bunny wasn’t a monster anyone could fight casually, especially not a fully grown one. It was an apex predator, one of the Eight Primordial Beast Races, and this one was as large as a small dragon.If a real fight broke out, Rhys knew exactly how it would end.He would die.Not once.Not twice.Every single time.The only reason he was still standing was because he had one thing the mother couldn’t afford to lose.Her son.So, despite the fear churning inside him, Rhys forced himself to look calm. He couldn’t let even the slightest hint of fear show on his face. If the mother sensed weakness, the little leverage he had would disappear.Meanwhile, Chun looked around in complete confusion.“Huh?”“I was just under Mommy a second ago.”“How did I suddenly end up back in your hands, smelly human?”The little rabbit tilted his head innocently.“A

“Think about it, Mama Chun,” Rhys said. “Do you really want to leave your cute little Chun alone with an evil human like me? What if one day I get hungry and start craving rabbit meat?”The moment he finished speaking, Rhys instinctively raised both arms to protect his face.He had already learned that saying the wrong thing around Mama Chun usually earned him a slap.This time, however, she surprised him.Instead of aiming for his cheeks, her tiny paw shot straight into his stomach.Thump!“Cough!”Rhys doubled over immediately.The punch drove the air right out of his lungs, leaving him gasping for breath. He coughed a few times before slowly straightening himself, wiping away the tears that had formed in the corners of his eyes.Mama Chun hugged little Chun tightly against her chest as though protecting him from a terrifying monster.“Boohoo… you evil human!” she cried. “Are you really planning to turn my precious little Chun into rabbit stew? Didn’t you just promise to take care of