2026-03-25 03:51:48Outside the Secret Realm, the situation had spiraled completely out of control.
The once-orderly examination grounds were now filled with shouting, panic, and despair. Families of the candidates crowded the area, their faces pale as they stared at the sealed portal.
“Why isn’t it opening?!”
“My son is still inside!”
“Do something!”
Examiners rushed back and forth, attempting to stabilize the situation, but the tension only grew heavier with each passing minute.
Then—
A powerful aura descended.
The air itself seemed to tremble.
Everyone instinctively turned toward the sky.
A man stepped forward from the crowd of arriving officials.
He wore a long black coat, his presence calm yet overwhelming.
The moment he appeared, even the arguing examiners fell silent.
“The Grand Beast Master…”
Someone whispered the title with reverence.
He was the nation’s strongest Beast Master.
The final authority in matters like this.
The chief examiner stepped forward immediately.
“Sir, the Secret Realm—”
The Grand Beast Master raised his hand slightly.
“Silence.”
His gaze fixed on the sealed portal.
For a moment, his expression remained calm.
Then—
It changed.
His eyes narrowed sharply.
“…I see.”
The shift in his expression sent a chill through everyone present.
The Imperial examiner frowned.
“What is it?”
The Grand Beast Master spoke slowly.
“This is not an accident.”
The crowd fell silent.
His voice turned heavy.
“It’s an invasion.”
Murmurs spread instantly.
“Invasion?”
“From what?”
The Grand Beast Master’s gaze darkened.
“An Outer Demon.”
The words hit like thunder.
The Holy Mountain examiner’s expression changed drastically.
“An Outer Demon… here?”
The Grand Beast Master nodded.
“A Fog Demon.”
Gasps erupted across the area.
The chief examiner stepped forward urgently.
“What does that mean for the candidates inside?”
The Grand Beast Master looked toward the sealed portal.
His voice was calm—but grim.
“The Fog Demon specializes in creating barriers.”
He continued,
“It seals entire regions with dense fog… and traps everything inside.”
The Imperial examiner clenched his fists.
“And the creatures inside?”
“Clones,” the Grand Beast Master replied. “Fog constructs created by the demon.”
A heavy silence followed.
The chief examiner swallowed.
“…How do we stop it?”
The Grand Beast Master’s voice lowered.
“The core must be destroyed.”
“And if it isn’t?” someone asked nervously.
The answer came without hesitation.
“Then everyone inside…”
He paused.
“…will remain trapped forever.”
The words shattered whatever hope remained.
Cries broke out among the families.
“No… that can’t be…”
“My daughter is in there!”
“They’re just kids!”
Some people collapsed to the ground in despair.
The Imperial examiner’s face turned pale.
“…What level is this Fog Demon?”
The Grand Beast Master answered bluntly.
“Ordinary Fog Demons are equivalent to Level 20 magical beasts.”
The entire area fell silent.
Level 20.
That was far beyond anything the candidates could handle.
“They’re dead…” someone whispered.
“There’s no way they can fight that…”
The Holy Mountain examiner clenched his fists.
“This year’s candidates…”
His voice trembled slightly.
“…are the strongest we’ve seen in decades.”
Many had awakened Legendary beasts.
Many were future pillars of humanity.
And now—
They were trapped.
The Grand Beast Master closed his eyes briefly.
“…A tragic loss.”
Inside the Secret Realm—
The forest had completely transformed.
The deeper Alaric, Kira, and Tristan traveled, the darker and more twisted the environment became.
The air felt heavy.
Every breath was suffocating.
Tristan wiped sweat from his forehead.
“This place… feels wrong.”
Kira nodded.
“We’re definitely inside the Forbidden Zone now.”
The trees around them were massive and gnarled.
Shadows stretched unnaturally across the ground.
A distant roar echoed.
Tristan flinched.
“That didn’t sound like a normal beast.”
Before anyone could respond—
A massive figure burst from the trees.
A towering beast with thick armor-like skin and glowing red eyes.
Alaric glanced at it briefly.
“Level 7.”
Tristan’s face paled.
“Level 7?!”
Kira immediately summoned her Chimera forward.
“Be careful!”
The Chimera roared and charged.
Tristan’s beast followed, attacking from the side.
The battle erupted instantly.
The Level 7 beast fought fiercely, forcing both of them to coordinate carefully.
“Watch out!” Tristan shouted.
Kira dodged a heavy strike.
“Hit its left side!”
Their attacks finally landed together.
After several intense moments—
The beast collapsed.
Both of them stepped back, breathing heavily.
“That… was close,” Tristan muttered.
Kira nodded.
Even with both of them working together, it had been a difficult fight.
But then—
A loud explosion echoed from nearby.
BOOOOM!
They turned instantly.
A few hundred meters away—
Elena stood calmly.
Around her—
The bodies of multiple beasts lay scattered.
Seven.
Eight.
All of them far larger and more dangerous than the one Kira and Tristan had just fought.
Kira’s eyes widened.
“…Those are Level 8 beasts.”
Tristan stared in disbelief.
“She killed all of them… alone?”
Elena rested the massive warhammer on her shoulder.
Her expression remained completely indifferent.
Alaric stood beside her calmly.
As if this was normal.
Tristan swallowed hard.
“What… is she?”
Kira didn’t answer.
Her gaze remained fixed on Elena.
For the first time—
Even her confidence wavered slightly.
Alaric glanced at his system panel.
Points Earned: 3200
The number continued rising rapidly.
Their score had already surpassed anything imaginable.
Far beyond every other participant.
Alaric closed the panel.
“Let’s keep moving.”
Tristan snapped out of his shock.
“…Right.”
But his voice lacked confidence now.
Kira stepped forward again.
Her gaze briefly lingered on Alaric.
“You knew she was this strong?”
Alaric didn’t answer directly.
“She’s reliable.”
Kira frowned slightly.
“That’s not normal strength.”
Tristan let out a dry laugh.
“Yeah… no kidding.”
He shook his head.
“We struggled against one Level 7…”
He looked toward the battlefield behind Elena.
“And she just wiped out half a group of Level 8 monsters like they were nothing.”
His voice dropped.
“That’s not ‘reliable’… that’s terrifying.”
Elena remained silent.
Her eyes showed no emotion.
Alaric continued walking forward.
“The stronger we are,” he said calmly, “the better our chances.”
Kira nodded slowly.
“…You’re right.”
But deep down—
She knew this wasn’t just strength.
This was something far beyond what any normal Beast Tamer should possess.
And as Alaric’s score continued to climb higher and higher—
The gap between him and everyone else in the realm only grew wider.
Unknowingly—
They were getting closer.
Closer to the center.
Closer to the truth.
And closer…
…to the Fog Demon.
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Latest Chapter
Chapter 29: Intent to Kill
"Don't be too surprised, you don’t have time for that in a combat,” Josh said, putting aside his karambit knife as he stretched his hand towards her. “Go again, but with different information this time around. I might believe in balance, but that isn’t what I practice at all. Like I said earlier, sometimes all these decisions depend on the nature of the beast you are in contract with,” he said to all of them, going into another trance. Kira went back to her earlier stance, but this time she didn’t repeat the same mistake of charging in straight on, she was cautious. She closed the gap between herself and Josh so easily. She lunged in for an attack, but Josh easily moved away, dodging the attack with so much ease, but it was a feint, the part that he had moved into was a part of Kira's plan. Seeing that she had successfully manipulated her enemy into moving into the trap she had set for him, she wasted no time in changing her grip on the dagger and then swiping it to slash him. Bu
Chapter 28: Blink and You Miss.
Josh stood outside the classroom where the first years had gone into. He seemed to be staring and speaking to someone who was there but not visible to the naked eyes. He whipped his head to stare at the door for a few seconds before it opened, a little surprised as he saw all three first-years stepping out of the classroom with only one beast with them. Elena. The remaining two had kept their beast compressed. “That was extremely fast. You prodigies just make things look so easy, I wouldn’t blame those that hate you all, because you are the perfect embodiment and reminder of what or who they could have been, who they should be, and who society appreciates and recognizes.” The trio, or rather, the four of them turned to face him. Alaric scoffed at that statement, keeping his reply to himself. “Prodigy, huh?” Tristan asked with a chuckle. “If there are any prodigies, it is these two beside me, although I figured it out that day, but not as fast as these two.” “How did you know a
Chapter 27: Silvery Connection.
“I am pretty sure that all of you can feel it. That subtle mental connection between you and your beast, now, you will gently tug on that connection, and through that connection, you will pass your intent to your beast through that connection.” Professor Finn said, walking away from the podium and heading closer to the students. “Now. That is your own part of the compression, which is like half of it. The remaining half has to do with your beast. They have been engineered, and it is also stated in your contract that their goal is to protect you. Compressing them means that they will have no means of protecting you while they are in that state,” he explained, but he wasn’t done. “You have to find a way of communicating with your beast and making them trust you enough to actually give in to your intent and then let themselves be compressed. You should also know that some of these beasts will take time to be convinced. There is also the part of forcing them to do your will, but that wi
Chapter 26: Compression.
Alaric took one quick glance at the window that didn't lead to the sunlight. Nothing, just dim moss that lights up the room dimly. According to Andressa, there are a lot of rooms meant for them on the upper floors, but this is what they get for being first years.The second years have luminescent moss lighting up their room through the windows, and then the third years have prism-scattered sunlight coming in through the window. For the final years, they are the ones who get to actually get to enjoy direct sunlight, along with the headmaster, professors, and librarians. Those are one way to advance to higher rooms, but that isn't the only way.She said if the students become top performers, arguably on the same level as students in a particular year, then there are chances of them advancing to higher rooms. He adjusted the cloak he was putting on, it stopped at the back of his knee. Stepping out of the room, he moved to join the rest of the first years waiting outside, which were
Chapter 25: The Archives.
Alaric lay on his bed in the dormitory that he had been introduced to as his room. It had a bed that was placed close to the wall, and there was a window built into the mountain. The room didn’t have much in it, just a table and a chair in the corner, obviously for reading. To another corner, there was a wardrobe, the front doors were glass, made to be mirrors. Today was their first day, so nothing much had happened. Andressa had told them to just settle in after showing them a partial tour. That tour included the single training ground that they owned. Thirty years ago, the size of the training ground was beyond standard, given the equipment they had, but right now it is outdated. The tour had also included the archives. Alaric noticed something earlier during the day when they had arrived. He seemed to be the only one with barely sufficient knowledge concerning the academies and generally everything relating to beasts and history like that. With that thought in mind, he pushe
Chapter 24: Prodigies.
The moment Alaric stepped through the gates, he was met by a sight he didn't expect and that nearly drew out a surprised expression from him, but he kept his expression neutral.He had been expecting ruins, a half-damaged academy, but instead, it looked… perfectly fine. “It looks antique,” Kira noted, surprised in her tone. “Yeah,” Tristan muttered under his breath in response. Andrew walked past them, leaving them all to themselves. Josh was a couple of steps ahead of them and it seemed like since he had achieved his goal of being them in, he had no reason to stay among the first-years any more. Looking around, at the huge compound that stretched out, Alaric noticed a couple students busy with one thing or the other. There weren't many; you can probably count them on one hand. “Who the fuck are they? You seemed to know about them,” Andrew demanded the moment he caught up to Josh. The latter spared him a glance. “They are the best students of this year's examination.” Andrew q
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