“So that’s the Common-class Abyssal…” Maeve folded her arms as she stared toward the hill. At the top stood the massive creature they had been tracking. The monster’s grotesque body towered above the others, its massive hands gripping a thick tree trunk as if it were nothing more than a simple club. The Abyssal slowly scanned the surroundings, its posture tense as though it already sensed danger. “Yeah,” Rhys said quietly. “That’s the one.” He nodded slightly. “We’ll follow the plan.” The moment he finished speaking, Gaelion slipped away without another word, disappearing behind the thick trees nearby. Rhys, Maeve, and Risa moved together toward the base of the hill. They didn’t bother hiding. Instead, they deliberately stepped into the open clearing. It was the fastest way to draw the monsters’ attention. “!” Several Abyssals immediately lifted their heads. Their twisted faces turned toward the newcomers as if they had detected a new presence in their territory. A few o

“!!!” The sudden screams echoed across the battlefield. Rhys, Maeve, and Risa all heard it at the same time. The Abyssals fighting them began shrieking as well, reacting to the sound like predators sensing reinforcements. That alone told them everything they needed to know. More enemies were coming. “There are three of them!” Risa shouted from the side, her voice sharp with urgency. Rhys didn’t hesitate for even a second. “Maeve, go handle them,” he said immediately. “I’ll hold these four off by myself.” “But—” “Just go!” Rhys snapped. “Kill them as fast as you can and come back to help me!” Maeve clenched her teeth. Arguing now would only waste precious time and make the situation worse. Rhys was right. If anyone had the speed to eliminate those three incoming Abyssals quickly, it was her. Without another word, she turned and sprinted toward the direction of the approaching enemies. The two Abyssals closest to her instantly tried to follow. But before they could move

Gaelion moved like a storm through the remaining Abyssals. The monstrous wolf didn’t hesitate or slow down for even a moment. His claws, tail, and fangs worked together in a seamless rhythm of destruction. Watching him fight made one thing obvious. The title monstrous wolf wasn’t just a nickname. Against creatures like Lesser-class Abyssals, Gaelion was nothing short of a natural disaster. They were simply trampled beneath his strength. Within minutes, the battlefield had fallen silent. Bodies of Abyssals were scattered across the ground, their movements finally stilled. Several minutes later, after making sure there were no more enemies nearby, Rhys finally spoke. “So… what are we supposed to do about the cores?” he asked, glancing at Maeve. Maeve shook her head without hesitation. “We didn’t do much,” she said. “You should take all of them.” Rhys frowned. “What are you talking about?” he replied. “If it weren’t for you and Risa helping with the distractions, we

Varyn pinned a large poster onto the board at the front of the hall. The paper displayed the rankings of every student who had participated in the expedition. At a glance, the results were brutal. A large portion of the list was filled with students who had scored zero points. But at the very top, several names stood out with impressive scores. Seth Thalveris – 5100 points Cade Valentin – 4585 points Rhys – 4351 points Maeve Talen – 4328 points David Leivester – 3780 points The moment the numbers were revealed, whispers immediately spread through the hall. “As expected of Prince Seth. He’s number one again.” “He crushed the entire challenge with that score.” “Cade did really well too… but he still fell short.” “But wait… look at the third place…” “Rhys?” “That farmer?” “That’s impossible!” The murmurs grew louder. “How could he reach third place?” “What exactly did he do out there?” “He even beat Maeve…” Students stared at the ranking board in disbelief. Many of t

Gaelion stood outside the window, his sharp eyes fixed on the small handkerchief tied neatly to the handle. The cloth swayed gently in the night breeze. He let out a long, irritated sigh. “To think… the great Gaelion has been reduced to something like this.” A courier. A middleman. A swindler, even. It didn’t take much thought to understand what had happened. Rhys had planned this from the very beginning. If he managed to win his bet against Maeve, then Gaelion would become the perfect excuse to bridge the gap between them. “Tsk.” Clicking his tongue in annoyance, Gaelion crouched slightly before leaping up. He slipped through the open window with ease. Inside the room, Maeve and Risa were already waiting. Maeve had even dragged a table closer to the window, clearly preparing a place for him to land. The moment Gaelion entered, she leaned forward, eyes locked onto him with barely contained excitement. “...” For a brief second, Gaelion said nothing. Then he stepped ont