On the ground, towering world trees rose, each trunk thousands of meters thick, their crowns soaring over a hundred thousand meters into the clouds and spreading across hundreds of kilometers like floating islands.

Around one such world tree, millions of humans had gathered, building a vast, thriving city. In the city's southern district, where forests, rivers, and mountains were enclosed within its grounds, the Valkyrie Academy's Illusory God Division was holding a summoning ritual.

At the edge of a high platform stood a striking woman who appeared to be in her thirties. Long red hair draped over her shoulders, and she was clad in ornate crimson crystal battle armor. Her expression was stern as she gazed down at the crowd.

There, more than a hundred Valkyrie trainees were spread across the plaza. The youngest looked fourteen or fifteen, the oldest past twenty, each one beautiful. Some had delicate features and fair, flawless skin; others carried more striking, elegant airs, tall and well-built. Their hair came in different shades: black, blue, purple.

Perhaps because they were all women, their attire carried a clear sense of vanity and pursuit of beauty. Even their academy uniforms had been cut and tailored to fit closely, sleek and stylish, accentuating every curve. Many wore shorts cut at the thigh, revealing long legs clad in white stockings.

Even their armor was styled with bold, revealing cuts. Some had thin arm guards but bare shoulders and collarbones, the very spots most in need of protection. Though armored across the chest, some trainees left their waists or backs bare.

At the hips, armored plates gave way to folded skirts like those of a princess, exposing their thighs, with silken tails trailing behind them like swallow feathers. Below the knees, their armored battle boots still took the form of high heels, as though designed to make them appear taller, their legs even longer and straighter.

Behind those in their twenties, who wore the ornate battle armor, stood colossal beasts, each dozens of meters long, some surpassing a hundred. These beasts were unlike the colossal creatures of the mythical world. They bore not heavy scales, but armor-like plates, condensed like keratin. Beneath them, their bodies glowed faintly in white and blue, as though their flesh was condensed energy.

"This year, there are seven in our academy who are qualified for summoning. Next, when your names are called, step forward one by one to the altar," the red-haired woman, Fiorina, said solemnly. "Remember, the illusory beasts are your friends, your comrades, your kin, not your slaves. When you awaken the altar with the power of the heavenly gift, and resonate with the beast destined to answer your call, you must move it with the sincerity of your heart. Otherwise, if the beast refuses, a wound to your spirit is minor, but you may need three months of recovery before you can summon again. By then, you may miss the best chance to awaken your Valkyrie power."

Fiorina's words made the seven girls at the front nervous.

"The first, Elinfrey. Step forward."

"Yes."

A beautiful girl with green hair and a petite frame walked out. Before the gazes of all her peers in the Illusory God Division, she climbed the altar hundreds of meters tall, where eight towering stone pillars surrounded the center.

There she pressed her palms together, silently reciting in her heart.Clear skies, great seas, ancient land of the underworld, Elinfrey offers her prayer to you...

Her mind gradually stilled, and at last her spirit spread outward.

Boom!

In an instant, a vast and surging spiritual force erupted from her body, resonating with the altar. It started to shake, the thirty-two-star array etched on it flaring with dazzling light. A stream of illusory radiance soared into the heavens, vanishing into the endless void beyond the sky.

"It's begun."

"You can do it, Elinfrey!"

On the square, whether it was the students who had already awakened their Valkyrie powers or the fourteen- and fifteen-year-old newcomers, everyone cheered for Elinfrey.

For the students of the Illusory God Division, success or failure in summoning an illusory beast and forming a contract with it was of paramount importance. Success meant awakening the power of the Valkyrie and becoming a mighty Valkyrie warrior. Failure meant only becoming an ordinary adventurer, or dropping out and returning home.

One step to heaven, one step to hell.

Yet while those below grew tense, Elinfrey's expression gradually turned surprised. Through the altar's strength, her blurred spiritual perception stretched into the starry outer space, where she easily sensed a powerful illusory beast that resonated with her. Without her even needing to sincerely call out, that beast impatiently answered her request.

Boom!

The altar blazed with light. Before Elinfrey appeared a colossal beast twenty meters long, its body covered in blue crystalline armor, shaped like a tiger but bearing three tails. At the same time, six of the altar's eight stone pillars lit up.

"Elinfrey has succeeded!"

"Six heavenly pillars shine. It's a king-level illusory beast!"

The students below burst into commotion, and even Fiorina on the platform was startled. She hadn't expected Elinfrey to succeed so quickly, much less to summon a beast with the potential of the king level.

In past years, any student who could summon such a beast had always been among the most gifted of their generation. However, in Elinfrey's earlier tests, both her heavenly gift power and spirit level had been only above average. She was one whole level below last year's student who had summoned a king-level beast.

Roar!

On the altar, the massive Heavenly Three-Tailed Tiger bellowed. Though only twenty meters long, the aura it emanated rivaled that of a level 9 colossal beast from the Blue Planet.

The green-haired girl turned back to the red-haired woman, dazed. "Ms. Fiorina, I... succeeded?"

Fiorina's lips curved into a smile. "Well done. Step down for now."

When the green-haired girl descended with the blue tiger, Fiorina continued, "Next, Liana. Do not be nervous. You can do it."

"Yes." The beautiful eighteen-year-old with a curvaceous figure took a deep breath and stepped onto the altar.

Hum!

The altar activated, and the thirty-two-star array once again blazed as light shot skyward. Before everyone's gaze, a radiant white streak descended. A flying colossal beast spread its forty-meter wings, feathers shimmering like light itself, as it appeared. Six of the stone pillars flared brilliantly.

"It's another king-level beast. A second king-level beast!"

The students below erupted in astonishment. Two king-level beasts summoned in succession! Was the long-declining Illusory God Division on the verge of resurgence?

What is going on this year?Even Fiorina was baffled.

"Next, Yuria..."

Roar!

Upon the altar, a red-armored Rampage Ape twenty-seven meters tall roared, the force of its presence shaking the ground faintly.

"King level, and with potential close to emperor level!"

"Next, Tiana..."

Before the stunned gazes of their peers, the girls succeeded one after another. Six consecutive summoners, and every illusory beast contracted was of king-level potential.

Especially the sixth, Isabelle, who contracted a beast that already spanned forty meters in its initial form, emanating the terrifying potential of an emperor-level beast.

"Isabelle. Isabelle!"

"Ah, teacher?"

Fiorina frowned slightly, noticing the golden-haired girl standing motionless upon the altar. "Isabelle, what is it?"

"N-Nothing." The girl shook her head.

Fiorina nodded. "You did exceptionally well. To summon such a rare beast with emperor-level potential, you may even become a nine-star Valkyrie before graduation. For now, step down and rest. Later, I will teach you all how to merge with your beasts and awaken your Valkyrie powers."

"Yes." The golden-haired girl nodded, descending slowly with her enormous black bear, whose back bristled with a line of sharp bone spikes.

Fiorina then turned to the last student, a breathtaking girl with long purple hair whose serene presence calmed all who looked at her. "Amitya, it's your turn. Do your best."

"Mhm." The girl nodded lightly.

However, as she stepped up to the altar, passing by the golden-haired one, a flicker of unwillingness flashed in the latter's eyes. In a very soft voice, she said, "Amitya, don't choose the beast that merely resonates with you.

"Remember, no matter what, push forward. Find it. Find the divine beast, the one that terrifies and awes all king- and emperor-level beasts, the one that makes them desperate to flee the beast world. Form a contract with it."

Amitya's steps faltered, her eyes widening in surprise. "A divine beast... Such a lifeform really exists?"

"Yes." The golden-haired girl's tone was firm.

"Then why did you not form a contract with it?"

"I was rejected." A trace of bitterness showed on the golden-haired girl's face. "Though I dislike you, I must admit your talent surpasses mine, if only slightly. You may yet gain its recognition. And this year, you alone still have the chance."

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