A/N: Mass release tomorrow! {22nd Dec}

Please help me complete the win-win goal of this month by unlocking privilege chapters.

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Thank You!

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It had been five days since all surviving candidates were summoned back to their respective cities and informed of the abrupt termination of the trial. At first, the announcement sparked chaos—shouting, protests, disbelief—but the noise slowly died down when the reality set in.

Only thirty percent were still alive.

The once-crowded city now felt hollow. Public bathhouses that once forced people to wait in long, steamy lines were suddenly spacious, their tiled floors echoing with footsteps. Shops no longer ran out of stock; shelves stayed full, and there was no waiting for supplies. Everything felt calm.

They were also informed that a beast tide would soon occur, triggered by the same "unknown" reason that had ended the trial.

Instead of panic, the academies seized the opportunity.

They announced that all previously accumulated points would remain intact, and during the upcoming beast tide, candidates would be able to earn even more. This time, instructors would actively monitor the battlefield—preventing the influx of higher-grade monsters and allowing only a limited number of low-level 3-star beasts to enter as challenges.

That, however, did not mean deaths would be prevented.

Candidates were clearly warned: their lives were their own responsibility. If they lacked courage, they should not participate. But opting out meant automatic disqualification from academy admission. Since non-combatants had already been transported elsewhere for evaluation, the city was now filled exclusively with those capable of fighting—aside from local natives running shops and facilities. Anyone slacking off would be immediately exposed and debarred.

The warning proved meaningless.

Those who had survived had already tasted blood and battle. The thought of an approaching beast tide didn't instill fear—it ignited passion. Their thoughts burned with the same questions.

How many beasts would come?

Five hundred? A thousand? Two thousand?

There are almost three thousand of us.

We're not losing. We're not dying.

The only real question was—who would score the most points and claim the top.

The beast tide was projected to arrive in ten to fifteen days, granting the candidates some much-needed breathing room after twenty brutal days of survival.

It was on the fifth day that the instructors made the scoreboard public.

And when they did—

Silence fell like a suffocating blanket.

"Who the fuck…"

"D-damn… but no worries. He's dead."

"He was actually from the outskirts? That's impossible…"

As eyes scanned the rankings, disbelief spread like wildfire.

KEo311 – 390,200

Where most candidates hovered between two to four thousand points, this name sat so high it felt unreal—almost invisible in its absurdity.

"See? Even if he died, the second place is still impressive—and alive."

GHi001 – 45,800

"Even the third!"

KEo312 – 30,600

"First and third are from the same place! The outskirts, too!"

"Who the fuck are these monsters?! Thankfully, the first guy's dead. Otherwise…"

The speaker glanced down at his own score.

1020.

"…Damn."

The fourth-ranked candidate sat at 8000 points and was rumoured to be from a high noble family, possessing Peak 2-star strength.

They couldn't even begin to imagine such power.

The second-ranked candidate was, of course, Dale.

He had been fortunate—Leo hadn't harvested every monster after the treasure hunt, allowing Dale and his team to rack up points of their own. As usual, Dale spent his days and nights indulging himself with the girls. After commissioning the Heartstones for processing, his strength and stamina had surged, letting him enjoy himself for even longer stretches.

But the release of the scoreboard shattered that indulgence.

"Leo is dead…? How…" Dale muttered, his voice trailing off. He lay frozen over the bed as he thought of the score, the girls beside him equally silent. His mind shifted back to the rankings, recalling how both the first and third were from the same place.

"B-both of them are monsters," he whispered.

He knew he had cheated his way to those points. Leo's score, however, was undeniably genuine—and Lily's couldn't possibly be fake either. He still remembered the icy chill that crawled up his spine the day her gaze met his.

"But what do we do now…?" He chewed at his nails, frustration gnawing at him. Zeira had already called him several times. He had ignored every call, intent on teaching her a lesson for throwing him into the fire.

But now Leo was supposedly dead.

And the girl was single again.

Dale suddenly shook his head violently.

"No fucking way that guy's dead. He fought a mid-3-star beast and won. He's not dying to some random shit." His eyes sharpened. "According to Ravel, only the variant low 3-star invaded. That means the metal plates must be wrong. I can feel he's alive."

His expression hardened.

"And I should never try approaching that girl again. I might actually die."

He could clearly recall what Leo said before leaving with the Elk.

'Don't ever approach my girl. Not even for casual talk.'

Leo had said it with a smile, as if joking lightly hearted since he had a harem—but those dark eyes had left fear carved into Dale's bones.

Shoving the thoughts aside, he pulled Lyss and Enra closer. Both were unconscious, murmuring incoherent words as they clung and snuggled to his neck. Their naked bodies pressed against him from either side, warmth seeping into his skin. He inhaled the faint scent of their hair, kissing them one after the other, while waiting for Rys and Nyra to return from shopping.

He pulled a blanket over them just as Lyss's thigh brushed against his member.

Within seconds, it hardened like stone.

"Fuck… you people really are the best," he muttered, squeezing their asses as they squirmed faintly in their sleep. "Rys… Nyra… hurry back."

He clenched his jaw, suppressing the urge to knock them in unconscious state itself.

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"Leo… dead?" Lily muttered, staring at the scoreboard. "What in the world is this thing even saying?"

It made no sense. She could feel him—alive, steady, unbothered. Not to mention how strangely cheerful he had been after the 5th day.

"Just what is he doing to even fool the metal plate?" She frowned deeply. "And that score…"

Once again, she cursed the fact that she hadn't been able to harvest the Rock Ox corpse.

"I would've been second. And with him…" Her eyes narrowed. "Just who is this GHi001?"

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A/N: A Super Gift mentioning Dale and his party, and I will specifically create a lemons scene of theirs in the near future(¯▿¯)

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