The Second Zone had become a graveyard.

Judas didn't rush to leave. He treated this area as a resource to be utterly consumed. The monsters here, mostly elite goblins and lower-tier Ogres, were no longer a threat to his group. They were simply moving targets for their practice.

His blade hummed, cutting through the stagnant air of the canyon.

Lightning Sword Slash.

The skill had reached Level 20. This milestone triggered its third evolution, unlocking a terrifying new property. It wasn't just raw damage anymore; it was a conceptual lock.

If he hit three enemies consecutively, his next three strikes were guaranteed to find their mark. It didn't matter if the target dodged, blocked, or fled a hundred meters away. The blade would bend reality to connect.

Usually, such buff effects were the domain of the Apprentice rank. To manipulate cause and effect required a denser soul foundation. Yet, Judas, with his Rare skill, had achieved this feat while still an Initiate.

He moved like a phantom.

Dash had reached Level 10, evolving into Wind Dash. Stealth had mirrored it, becoming Shadow Walk. By incorporating these two evolved skills, he could jump through the air, stepping from shadow to shadow as if they were solid platforms.

His attributes had all stabilized at fifteen. But he wasn't the only one growing.

To his right, the temperature dropped sharply.

Ezra charged a group of Hobgoblins. Her Sword Slash had hit Level 10.

She had chosen Ice as her attunement. It was a strategic choice. Since her Agility was lower than his, she needed crowd control.

She swung her blade. Frost coated the steel. Upon impact, the Hobgoblin didn't just bleed; it froze. Ice crystals spread rapidly from the wound, locking the monster's joints and shattering its weapon.

It was only after her skill reached Level 5 that Judas had awakened her Agility attribute. She had been purely Strength-focused before that.

Now, she boasted 10 Strength and 5 Agility. With her Dash and Stealth both at Level 5, she was becoming a terrifying attacker who could slow the entire battlefield.

Behind her, a storm of arrows rained down.

Luna stood perched on a tree branch. She didn't look like a novice anymore. Her eyes glowed with the light of her attributes—10 Intelligence and 10 Agility.

The volume of arrows she could produce was absurd.

Arrow Split.

One arrow became five.

Burst Arrow.

They struck the ground, exploding in a synchronized wave of mana that shredded the remaining goblin reinforcements.

With all her skills at Level 10 and tuned to Wind and Fire, she was a mobile artillery unit. She didn't miss. She didn't let them get close.

Then there was Nina.

The petite girl stood in the center of the formation, her hands clasped in prayer. She was the anomaly of the team.

Her Intelligence had hit 20.

Judas had poured points into her intentionally. The next zone would be dire. The chances of severe injury would skyrocket as they neared the core. Nina's healing output had to be absolute.

Like Judas, all her skills were at Level 10. Yet, she refused to show her attunement. The girl shamelessly hid it, claiming it was a "surprise" for when he needed it most.

His Appraisal couldn't pierce her veil. She used her superior Intelligence attribute to cloak her status screen from him.

However, Judas simply chuckled. He didn't need a skill to see her. Through the Couple Bond, he had already seen everything.

Her choice of elements was… interesting. He wondered how exactly she planned to incorporate that specific element into healing. It was unorthodox, perhaps even dangerous, but potentially revolutionary.

Finally, there was Summer.

Her growth hadn't been an explosion like the others because she started high. Her Blood attribute had moved from 15 to 17. Her three Blood skills were nearing Level 20.

Initially, she had been lazy. She was content to let the "newbies" do the work while she filed her nails. But as she watched Ezra freeze enemies solid and Luna turn the battlefield into a crater, panic set in.

They were catching up.

Now, she was the one constantly nagging Judas to go deeper. She didn't have enough strong monsters here to test her limits.

"This is the fourth group of weaklings we have seen today," Summer grumbled.

She was currently sitting on Judas's thigh, her legs curled tightly around his waist. They were resting against the trunk of a tree. Her sharp teeth were buried in his neck, drinking directly from the vein.

Judas didn't push her away. He traced his fingers down her spine, lost in thought.

This Rift wasn't right.

The classification was wrong. At first he thought it as a Faint Rift. But the monsters in the Second Zone were already middle-stage Initiates.

Earlier, they had fought an Ogre with nearly 30 Strength. That shouldn't exist here.

A Rift operated on a hierarchy. It dispatched monsters from the core outward. Weak monsters filled the budding zones. Stronger monsters held the center.

However, if the outer zones were cleared too quickly, the Rift would panic. It would pull monsters from the deeper zones to plug the gap.

In a normal Faint Rift, the First Zone—the core—would house a few monsters nearing the Apprentice stage and a single Apprentice boss.

But they were meeting near-Apprentice monsters here, in the Second Zone.

This implied the First Zone was densely packed with true Apprentices. The core might even hold something approaching the Adept rank.

This was a Minor Rift. Maybe even Greater.

The Wastelands were noisy with rumors. If word got out that a high-grade Rift had opened here, the major powers would descend like vultures.

That also made him confuse further. The major powers were in the Waste lands because of the Minor rift opened in northern mountain range.

'Is a Minor Rift truly this important?' Judas frowned, staring at the grey sky. 'Why would the Great Academies choose this specific location for their assessment?'

It didn't mix. Hunting monsters here was great for Initiates, sure. But for the elite academies of the central kingdoms? This place was a backwater. The resources were scarce.

A Minor Rift shouldn't move the world to this extent. There was something more. A secret hidden beneath the rift geometry that peasants like him were unaware of.

Curiosity piqued in his chest.

"Waah… Finally."

A voice broke his concentration.

Nina walked over, her face set in a pout. She pushed Summer's shoulder.

"Move over. At this rate, you will dry Husband's blood completely."

Summer hissed, detaching her fangs with a wet pop. Her lips were stained crimson. She glared at the healer but begrudgingly moved to his left shoulder.

Nina took her place immediately. She leaned in, her tongue darting out to lick the two puncture wounds on his neck.

Green light flared. Flesh Knit. The holes closed instantly, leaving flawless skin.

"Hmph."

Luna dropped from the branches above. The elf had found a way to fight without getting her white silk dress dirty—she simply stayed in the trees. She landed softly and claimed his right side, leaning her head against his shoulder.

Ezra joined them a moment later, wiping frost from her blade. She sat at his feet, resting her back against his legs.

Judas looked at them.

They were exhausted. Their chests heaved with exertion. Dirt smudged their cheeks.

They were tired from fighting.

Judas didn't like it.

He preferred them tired from him.

A dangerous smirk played on his lips. The plan formed instantly.

Before any of them could sense the shift in his emotions, he triggered the anchor in his soul.

The grey world of the Rift vanished.

The stench of blood was replaced by the scent of lavender. The hard ground became soft sand.

They blinked, finding themselves standing in the warm, enclosed reality of the Couple Space.

Nina was the first to snap out of her stupor. Her eyes went wide as she realized what this meant.

"Wait! Not before a bath!" she shouted, trying to scramble away.

"Too late," Judas laughed.

He lunged.

The space filled with the yelps and shouts of four surprised women as the real exercise began.

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