"Ack!"

Leo clutched his head as a sharp, needle-fine sting lanced straight through his skull.

"Damn—" he hissed, rubbing his temples as the backlash throbbed like a hammer against bone. "It refused violently. Thankfully, it isn't higher level than me, or that could've been way worse."

The pain ebbed by degrees, but something else didn't fade—a simmering, alien fury pressing at the back of his mind.

"It… doesn't feel normal." His brows tightened. "Why does it feel angry?"

A beat later, another realization struck.

"Wait… why did it suddenly appear out of nowhere?"

His thoughts raced, chasing every detail he could recall. The more he pieced together, the more wrong everything felt—like threads of a puzzle being forced to fit.

There was only one conclusion.

"Someone… someone's trying to kill me?"

But even that theory snagged immediately.

"Then how the hell was that other variant—the shadow wolf—there when I wasn't anywhere near that area?" He muttered, racking his brain.

"And that magic circle… that thing looked sinister as fuck."

He sifted through the fragments again and again, but no clear picture formed.

"And both beasts seemed angry too… like they weren't acting naturally. Is someone that hell-bent on killing me? Or—"

His eyes flew open.

"It was never me."

The words punched out of him.

"Someone's targeting the candidates!"

He surged upright, pulse spiking.

"That magic circle must've been some kind of booby trap!"

He didn't waste another second.

"Shyra—stealth. Now."

Shyra's form dissolved instantly, her silhouette melting into the rocky terrain until she—and Leo atop her—vanished along with her. Even the faint pressure of her presence faded.

The Colossus, robbed of its target, slowed its assault. Its massive, stone-rimmed pupils scraped and shifted, scanning the surroundings with grinding, earth-trembling motions, searching for the tiny creature that had abruptly disappeared.

Meanwhile, Leo sat cross-legged atop Shyra's unseen back. Eyes closed, breath steady, he plunged directly into his spiritual space.

Just as he feared—Lily was fighting too. He felt it through their lingering bond: her sharp, rhythmic breaths, her razor-focused intent, and the suffocating coil of bloodlust radiating around her like a storm about to break.

"Shit… I need to help her somehow."

He pulled up her beasts' panels.

Windbreath Hound (Peak 2-star) – Super Bloodline – 23%

Cedar Treant (Pseudo 3-star) – Noble Bloodline – 4%

"What!?" he blurted, eyes widening. "The treant already hit Pseudo 3-star? And the hound's Peak 2-star? What the hell—her growth rivals mine! The only advantage I have is my system…"

He flicked the thought away and summoned her full status panel:

{Her base stats have also increased naturally}

Vitality: 20.1 [50.1] -> 40.1 [70.1]

Strength: 7.3 [37.3] -> 27.3 [57.3]

Agility: 8.4 [38.4] -> 28.4 [58.4]

Stamina: 8.9 [38.9] -> 28.9 [58.9]

Intelligence: 99.6 [129.6] -> 99.7 [129.7]

Mana: 3984 [5188] -> 3988 [5188]

{Stat increase by beasts 50% share, 1st Arrow for the Hound, 2nd for the Treant}

Vitality: 40.1 [70.1 -> 90.1 -> 115.1]

Strength: 27.3 [57.3 -> 77.3 -> 102.3]

Agility: 28.4 [58.4 -> 78.4 -> 103.4]

Stamina: 28.9 [58.9 -> 78.9 -> 103.9]

Intelligence: 99.7 -> 100 !189.7!

[129.7 -> 130 -> 150 -> 175 !264.7!]

- Base stat Limit for Pseudo 3-star reached!

Mana: 3988 -> 4000 !7588!

[5188 -> 6000 -> 7000 !10588!]

Windbreath Hound [Lunaria] (Peak 1-star → Peak 2-star) – Super Bloodline

Cedar Treant (Peak 2-star → Pseudo 3-star) – Noble Bloodline

Seeing her stats, Leo finally exhaled in sheer relief.

"Alright… she's Low 3-star. With the treant backing her, she should be able to deal with most beasts in this trial."

But his eyes drifted to the massive stone head still swivelling left and right, pulverising tree trunks with barely a scrape as it searched.

"But she won't be able to handle this thing… probably not even something like that Shadow Wolf." His frustration simmered hotter. "Shit, what do I do? How do I help her?"

He clenched his teeth, eyes narrowing.

He wouldn't let her be in danger.

Then, like a switch flipping on, a sharp idea flared to life.

Leo closed his eyes again, focusing on his spiritual space.

---

—Zolton's POV—

"Shit! Shit! Shit! Where the fuck did that bear come from?!" Zolton screamed, voice cracking with raw panic.

He clung to the back of a hyena-like beast—an Ashfang Hyena—with yellow-orange stripes that blurred as it sprinted. The creature was barely big enough to hold his weight, its lean muscles trembling under him. Hot, sizzling saliva splattered from its fangs as it ran.

"Run faster, you idiot hyena! How the fuck are you so cowardly? You're a mid 2-star beast!" Zolton snarled, smacking its flank. "Why are you running from something smaller than you? You should've been dominating this damn trial!"

He grit his teeth as the hyena flinched again. Earlier, when they'd been fighting a snake-like creature, the hyena had bolted the moment its eyes glowed, and it hissed sharply—darting back a sudden ten, maybe twenty meters. Zolton had opened his mouth to curse its usual cowardice when the hyena stepped on something.

A magic circle flared beneath its paws.

And the next second—a towering black bear, seven to nine meters tall, materialised with a ground-shaking thud. Now it chased them, its size slowing it as vegetation tore under its weight, but its roars still hammered at Zolton's spine.

"Fuck! How am I supposed to get that pink-haired bitch and kill her brother like this?!" He gritted his teeth, imagining Lily's curves beneath his hands—drool threading down his lip before he wiped it away with the back of his wrist.

He kicked the hyena again.

"Run faster! Will you?!"

The hyena stumbled—then Zolton blinked—

—and a wall appeared right in front of them.

BOOM!

—Alric's POV—

"Fucking hell! What is that?!" Alric choked out, eyes going wide as a massive shadow lunged ahead—and a wolf leapt instinctively into its path.

"No! Jimmy!" His jaw clenched so hard it popped.

His mid-2-star wolf had been faring well against a mouse-like creature moments ago. Alric had stepped forward to retrieve the corpse and the metal plate when a magic circle suddenly ignited under his boots.

Heart lurching, he had dashed to his wolf—just in time to see a twenty-meter snake erupt from the light, its meter-wide body unfurling like a nightmare.

The beast didn't hesitate. It spat a stream of poison that sizzled through the air. Jimmy jumped in front to shield him—and the venom touched fur.

The fur melted.

Then the skin.

Then the muscles.

The moment the stream hissed against exposed bone, Alric's instincts kicked in—he force-unsummoned Jimmy with a gasp, diving aside as the poison continued slicing through the air.

But it still grazed his back.

A burning line tore across his flesh, and Alric hissed in pain—bracing himself for the ground—

—but instead of soft forest soil, his skull cracked against cold brick.

---Lily's POV---

...

---

A/N: Well... Fuck

In short, there was still a mistake in Lily's stat from the start itself.

I will address the rest of the explanation in the coming chapter, or else the price of this chapter will increase.

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.