"Yo, Miren, when the fuck are we getting out of this shithole?"

A tanned, broad-shouldered youth stepped out of a room, stretching his arms and yawning as if he'd slept half the day away.

"How the hell am I supposed to know that, you musclehead?!" Miren shot back, glaring.

"Hey, don't get mad at me. I'm just as annoyed as you," Halden sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

"Tsk. They said the trials would start once the last batch arrived. How many more do they need? There are already thousands here—and that's not counting the other trial sites!"

The camera zoomed out, revealing a vast, bustling settlement capable of housing tens of thousands. Wooden, stone, and brick houses sprawled in organized chaos. Training fields, washing zones, food stalls—all thrummed with youthful energy. Every corner burned with ambition and impatience.

This was the city of Thalor, a once-tier 5 city, which broke down due to a beast tide. The Emperor had ordered to rebuild this place and repurpose it for holding the applicants who tried for the academy selection. Previously, this was not needed, but after realising that there were other combat talents other than Beast Taming that are equal but not inferior to it, they needed a place to hold such a large crowd of people who would come to apply after discovering their talents.

Since this was the first such mass selection in which people other than Beast Masters would come, they needed to expand the place where they would hold people. Before this, only 30 to 40 thousand or so applicants would appear after awakening their beast-taming talent throughout the empire(including the people who reapplied), but now the population had even crossed a 2 hundred thousand, making the Emperor reclaim the lost territories and repurpose them for the selection process

"Ahh, fuck!" Halden growled, scratching his head so hard that his black hair turned into a bird's nest.

"I'm gonna go bald from all this waiting. The nobles hog all the good baths, and we're stuck with muddy ponds. Just wait till I get into an academy—I'll make those snobs regret it."

"Heh. Keep dreaming, idiot," Miren chuckled, though bitterness crept into his tone. "Those nobles you're cursing are already peak 1-stars—some even low 2-stars. And us? Mid and low 1-stars. Pathetic."

"So what? Once we get real resources, we'll catch up fast. Those noble brats are just stuffed full of their parents' soul crystals. No skill—only brute force."

"Yeah," Miren muttered, shaking his head, "In front of absolute strength, no skill matters."

"Tsk. You're no fun," Halden grumbled.

"I'm just stating facts—Oi, look!" Miren suddenly shouted, pointing toward the sky.

Halden followed his gaze, then grinned widely."Finally! The last batch. Our time to shine has come!"

This final group was Kendru City's batch.

They had flown for more than four hours—crossing over fifty thousand kilometres at nearly Mach 10.

By now, most passengers were awake and somewhat accustomed to the ride. Lily sat beside Leo, animatedly chatting while he reclined with his hands behind his head.

"A moving mountain? And it was a beast? No way! I missed something that interesting?!" she groaned. "Why didn't you wake me up?"

"Don't worry," Leo said with a faint smile. "We've got plenty of time ahead to see more of this world's marvels."

Her eyes lit up instantly. "Yes!"

"Hey, look—a city!" someone up front shouted.

"Whoa! It's massive! It's at least three times bigger than Kendru!" another exclaimed.

All around them, awestruck murmurs spread. For many, it was their first time seeing another city—one rebuilt from ruin.

Then came a voice that ruined the moment.

"Pathetic commoners," Alric sneered. "Why don't you just kneel and worship it?"

Zolton was no different; he sat on another eagle, smirking. Both enjoyed flaunting their superiority.As nobles, they'd already travelled between cities with spatial mages for meetings—privileges no commoner could imagine.

No one bothered to respond. The others were too busy admiring the breathtaking view. Lily was no exception, excitedly nudging Leo every few seconds to look at something new.

At last, the eagles descended onto a vast landing ground. Dust swirled as the great beasts touched down, letting the riders disembark.

Leo noticed the exhaustion in their movements, especially the leading eagle—its breathing was ragged, but it still carried itself with regal pride.

Then Hasker's voice rang out across the crowd.

"Alright! You're free to move around and settle wherever you can. If you've got money, enjoy luxury. If not, don't worry—we'll provide food and shelter until the next announcement.

"But make sure to head to that building over there and get your plates updated. Otherwise, don't come crying when the guards throw you out!"

With that, the instructors vanished one by one—off to file reports, no doubt.

At the registration hall, a woman took their plates, inscribed something using faint golden magic, and handed them back.

Now, the numbers read: KEo-311 and KEo-312.

"Hm… KE for Kendru, and 'o' for outskirts, maybe?" Leo murmured.

"But wouldn't that just create division... discrimination?"

Leo's brow furrowed. "Is it intentional?"

Lily stayed quiet, walking beside him as he scanned the bustling streets. Her gaze softened.

He's really become dependable, she thought, biting her lip. Ahh, why does it feel so strange? I just want to pounce on him and keep him all to myself…

Her fingers dug lightly into her shoulders, nails pressing into skin. A faint shiver ran through her body as a dreamy, dangerous pink glint flickered in her eyes—quickly masked before anyone noticed.

Moments later, voices erupted nearby.

"Huh? 'O'? You mean they made us wait all this time just for some extra country bumbkins?"

Leo turned to see a brown haired fair boy wearing a simple yet elegant light green dress, which complemented his look. His badge read ASi102.

His tone seemed to have offended a certain squeaky rat person who lashed out.

"Who are you calling country bumbkins, sucker?" Alric scowled. Beside him, the doll-like girl fidgeted nervously.

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