Suddenly, Lily spotted an unusual beast.

A bear.

Nearly six meters tall, it loomed over the battlefield, its whitish-blue fur shimmering like frostbitten steel. Its claws and fangs looked as though they had been carved straight out of frozen icicles, sharp and cruel.

Without a doubt, it was a pseudo–3-star beast, or perhaps even a low 3-star.

With a single swipe of its massive claws, a wave of biting frost burst outward, forcing nearby beasts—and even Candidates—to retreat. The air crackled with cold as the wave passed. The moment the bear paused, people scrambled away in blind panic. The fear only deepened when it was seen chewing through a low 2-star boar, tearing flesh and bone apart and finishing it within seconds.

The Master of the boar let out a choked cry, vomiting blood as the backlash of his beast's death ripped through him.

But Lily saw none of that as a warning.

She saw opportunity.

For the sake of motivation, the scoreboard had been made visible through a massive holographic screen hovering above the city as it updated in real time. Right now, Lily stood in second position, nearly 15,000 points behind first.

"Just who is this GHi001?" Lily muttered through clenched teeth. Then her gaze snapped back to the bear.

"If I kill this, my points will directly shoot up by fifty thousand. This is my chance!"

With those words, Lily charged toward the rampaging bear.

"S-sister, wait for me!" Miho called out, hurrying after her. She didn't try to stop Lily—she knew better. Once Lily decided on something, nothing could hold her back.

After instructing Miho to maintain a safe distance and fire her offensive skills using the fire beast core she possessed, Lily drew her sword and surged forward.

From afar, Lu observed the situation with growing interest—especially Miho's flames.

"I've been watching that girl," Lu said thoughtfully to Brant. "She's been using all sorts of fire. Is that her talent? She even seems to be juggling between different beast cores as the fire changes."

"That girl?" Brant replied, glancing over. "I recall her having a 5-star spirit talent as well. But I don't know the specifics. Must be related to beast cores."

"Two high-ranked spirit talents from the same place?" Lu raised a brow. "Did they kidnap some elf or what?"

"Maybe. Who knows?" Brant shrugged.

Elves had a deep connection with spirits, making spirit-related talents common among their race—though, in rare cases, humans awakened such talents as well.

By now, Lily had already engaged the bear, and she began to struggle from the very start.

The bear's reach was enormous, making it nearly impossible for her to close the distance. Even so, she avoided getting hit with relative ease, thanks to Miho's constant barrage of fireballs exploding against the bear's icy hide. At one point, Miho noticed that flames drawn from a specific core burned hotter and dealt more damage than the others.

Lu watched the exchange with clear amusement.

"Ice is weak against magma," he mused. "That core must belong to a beast with magma-related skills. So she can use beast abilities through their cores… quite a versatile and impressive talent." His eyes narrowed slightly. "Should I try to take her in?"

Brant scoffed immediately.

"No girl would become the student of someone known as the Pyro Pervert. And forget that—even that girl is coming with me. I already made a promise."

Lu's face darkened instantly.

"Do you think I'm so low that I'd prey on little girls?" he snapped, steam practically rising from him.

Brant simply stared back blankly, as if that were exactly the case.

"Arghh, fucker," Lu cursed. "If you take any more seedlings, there won't be anyone worse off than me."

"Keep dreaming," Brant replied flatly.

Just then, Lily took a sharp step back and raised her hand.

"Look," Brant said suddenly, his tone sharpening. "The girl summoned something."

That alone was enough to draw even Lu's full attention.

"It better be something good," Lu muttered. "Or you're giving me back double next year."

Lily had been relentlessly trying to close the distance. Once, she even succeeded—but the moment she struck with her sword, the blade snapped the instant it hit the bear's fur. The fur itself was as hard as solid ice. A numbing cold surged through her arms, forcing her to retreat.

Gritting her teeth and unable to endure the chill any longer, Lily summoned her spirit.

A hulking ten-meter-tall figure erupted into existence, instantly dwarfing the bear. The sudden presence stunned the beast, making it hesitate for a moment.

"Bind it, Treant!" Lily commanded.

At once, thick brown vines erupted from the ground, bursting through soil and stone as they surged straight toward the bear. They coiled around its massive limbs and torso, trying to pin it to the ground. Frost immediately spread from the bear's body as it activated some kind of freezing skill. The vines stiffened, turning pale and glassy as ice crept over their surface. With a single violent pull, the bear shattered them into brittle fragments that scattered across the ground.

But the Treant wasn't finished.

More vines sprouted relentlessly, thicker and denser than before, while Lily herself joined in, forcing additional growth through her own copied skill.

"Miho!" Lily called out sharply. "Shoot some fire—that'll help slow the frost!"

Miho nodded quickly, her movements hurried, and unleashed another barrage of fire.

Technically, wood should have been highly vulnerable to fire. But the extreme frost prevented the flames from reaching the point of ignition. Instead of burning, the heat countered the freezing effect, keeping the vines from turning completely brittle under the intense cold. Even so, that didn't mean they were winning. Constantly shifting between scorching heat and biting cold strained the vines, and they only lasted a few seconds longer than before before being torn apart once again.

"Unn…" Lily exhaled slowly, narrowing her eyes. "I guess there's no helping it. I need the black lightning."

But she hesitated, recalling Brant and Leo's word for being careful.

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