The forest was silent again. The birds had fled miles away.

  Amari sat next to the massive, cooling corpse of the Alpha. His chest heaved with every breath, sending sharp spikes of pain through his cracked ribs. His left arm was a mess of bloody bandages, and his right hand—though the fingers were reset—was swollen and purple.

  But he was alive.

  [SYSTEM ALERT]

  The blue window flickered in front of his face again. This time, he didn't mute it.

  [Hidden Boss Defeated: Silver-Back Alpha] [Contribution Analysis: Amari Malik (92%), Elara Vance (8%)] [Rating: SSS]

  Amari scoffed. "Now you rate me?"

  The window shifted.

  [Loot Distribution]

  A small, glowing orb of light materialized above the Alpha’s corpse. It solidified and dropped into Amari’s lap.

  It was a ring. It wasn't made of gold or silver, but of polished white bone—likely a tooth from the Alpha itself.

  [Item: Ring of the Pack] [Rank: C-Grade] [Type: Spatial Storage] [Capacity: 10 Cubic Meters] [Passive Effect: Food stored inside does not spoil.]

  Amari’s eyes lit up. This was better than a weapon. A weapon he could build. But a refrigerator that fit on his finger? That solved his biggest problem: Logistics. He could store hundreds of pounds of monster meat without dragging a bloody sack around campus.

  He slipped the bone ring onto his left index finger. It resized instantly to fit him.

  [System Processing Hidden Reward...] [Criteria Met: Defeated a Boss Monster with 0 Mana.]

  The text turned gold.

  [Title Acquired: "Apex Predator"] [Description: You have killed the King of the Forest. Lesser beasts now recognize your scent as a threat.] [Effect: Low-level Beast Constructs will flee from you instead of attacking.] [Stat Bonus: +10% Damage to Non-Human Enemies.]

  [System Action: Claiming Title Authority...] [Error: Target has no Mana Core.] [System Response: "Void Vessel" flagged — PRIORITY ESCALATION.]

  Amari felt a strange warmth wash over his skin. It wasn't mana. It felt like... presence. He looked at a squirrel watching him from a nearby tree. The squirrel squeaked in terror and fell off the branch.

  "Useful," Amari muttered.

  He stood up, wincing. He walked over to Elara.

  She was stirring. Her eyelids fluttered open, revealing groggy eyes.

  "Did... did we die?" she whispered.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  "No," Amari said, offering his good hand to pull her up. "We won."

  Elara looked past him. She saw the Alpha. Its throat was crushed, its massive body limp. Her eyes widened.

  "You killed it," she breathed. "With your hands."

  "We killed it," Amari corrected. "Your fire softened the hide. I just finished the job."

  He walked back to the carcass. He touched the ring.

  Store.

  A ripple of space distorted the air. The massive three-ton wolf vanished instantly, sucked into the bone ring.

  Elara’s jaw dropped. "A Spatial Ring? Those cost millions of credits!"

  "Loot drop," Amari said simply. "Now, let's go. The carcass is gone, but the blood smell is still here. The vultures will be coming."

  "Vultures?"

  "The Hero Class," Amari said. "They'll want to claim the kill."

  The Finish Line

  An hour later, the fog began to lift.

  Amari and Elara walked out of the tree line. They looked like they had been through a war. Amari’s uniform was shredded, covered in mud and dried blood. Elara was pale, leaning on him for support.

  Ahead of them stood the Red Flag.

  Around the flag, the Hero Class was already celebrating. They had set up a camp with magical tents. Some were drinking champagne. They looked pristine—their armor shining, not a speck of dirt on them.

  When Amari and Elara walked into the clearing, the music stopped.

  Hundreds of students turned to stare. They stared at the blood. The bandages. The sheer exhaustion radiating off the two F-Class nobodies.

  A tall boy with blonde hair and golden armor stepped forward. It was Prince Caelum, the top-ranked student in the freshman class.

  He wrinkled his nose. "Ugh. Look at them. Did you guys fall down a hill?"

  The Hero Class laughed.

  "Where were you, F-Class?" Caelum sneered. "We killed all the goblins on the main road. The forest was empty."

  Amari didn't stop walking. He walked right past Caelum, ignoring him completely.

  "Hey!" Caelum snapped. "I'm talking to you, bait."

  Amari stopped. He slowly turned his head.

  The Apex Predator title was active.

  Amari didn't say a word. He just looked at Caelum. His eyes were dark, cold, and filled with the memory of crushing a throat with his bare hands.

  For a split second, Caelum flinched. The Golden Prince took a step back, his hand instinctively going to his sword hilt. He felt... preyed upon.

  The laughter died instantly. The entire clearing went silent.

  Amari turned back around. He walked up to the Red Flag. His watch was broken, so he tapped the manual sensor on the pole.

  BEEP.

  [Cadet Amari Malik: PASSED.] [Cadet Elara Vance: PASSED.]

  [Contribution Points Earned: +750 CP] [Academy Exam Credit: CONFIRMED] [Registry Entry: Practical Exam Boss Event Logged]

  Dean Vance’s hologram flickered above the flag.

  "The Exam is Concluded. Shuttle buses will arrive in ten minutes."

  Amari let out a long breath. He sat down on the grass, away from the Heroes.

  Elara sat next to him. She looked at Caelum, who was still staring at Amari with a confused, fearful expression.

  "You scared him," Elara whispered, a grin forming on her face. "You didn't even touch him, and you scared him."

  Amari closed his eyes, resting his head on his knees.

  "He's just a boy in a costume," Amari murmured. "He hasn't seen a real monster yet."

  Amari touched the bone ring on his finger. Inside, he had three tons of Alpha meat.

  Let them have their champagne, Amari thought, feeling the hunger rise in his belly again. I have a feast to cook.

  Then a red line of light swept across his chest.

  [VANGUARD SECURITY SCAN: UNREGISTERED BIO-MASS DETECTED.] [REPORTING TO COMMAND...]