"Next person, chop chop!" the instructor called for the next student to step up.

  Ashbane walked onto the stage, already drooling as he stared at the caged Rank 1 beast, eyeing it like food. He took a boxer’s stance, his weapon of choice: a spiked brass knuckle.

  The Rhyhound was released and immediately lunged at Ashbane in an attempt to pounce on him.

  Instead of dodging, Ashbane went for the catch, causing the Rhyhound to snap its jaws at him.

  He struck its jaw just as it was about to close, grabbing its tongue and ripping it out of the Rhyhound’s mouth.

  The Rhyhound retaliated by swinging its paws, trying to bisect the audacious being that dared take its tongue.

  Ashbane let the attack land, sending him sliding back several meters. The claw marks left on him were just flesh wounds.

  He then started devouring the Rhyhound's tongue, charging at it, tackling it down, and ripping into its fur and flesh, exposing its intestines. The Rhyhound desperately tried to swat him away, but Ashbane caught its paw and began gnawing on its flesh.

  After playing with the Rhyhound and consuming some of its meat, Ashbane cornered the core, which had been trying to escape.

  Using his skill Devouring Ice, Ashbane froze and shattered the core in one hit, causing the Rhyhound’s body to explode beneath him into ice particles, blood, and intestines, coating him in the mess.

  He began devouring the intestines before approaching the instructor.

  "Very good, very good, Ashbane," the instructor praised. "But I must say, you need to finish a fight faster. You already have the capability; yet, you played with it. I’m disappointed, Ashbane."

  Ashbane replied, "It’s just a mere Rank 1 beast. It’s food for my kind. Hmph."

  He turned and joined the rest of the students, casually munching on the remains of the Rhyhound, covered in blood, much like the ogre student nearby.

  "Next student!"

  Kaeris got on stage, looking at his opponent with disdain.

  "Heh, what a small fry. I'll finish this battle in an instant," he smirked, arrogance clear on his face.

  The Rhyhound was released, and Kaeris waved his wand, freezing the floor. Then, he created stone spikes that pierced the Rhyhound's body multiple times.

  While that spell was still active, he conjured a large fireball and hurled it at the Rhyhound, causing a massive explosion.

  "Too easy. Such a weak beast, hmph," he scoffed, turning around carelessly and heading toward the instructor.

  But the Rhyhound was still alive its core merely cracked. It rushed at Kaeris while he arrogantly walked away, and just as it was about to tear a hole through his back, the instructor appeared, holding a massive sword.

  With a single swing, the instructor turned the Rhyhound's body and its core into minced meat. A small crater appeared beneath their feet, the ground sinking slightly from the sword’s sheer weight.

  "YOU IDIOT! YOU ONLY CASTED A FEW SPELLS AND DIDN’T EVEN BOTHER TO CHECK IF YOU BROKE THE CORE! IF THIS WERE A REAL LIFE OR DEATH SITUATION, YOU'D BE DEAD!"

  The instructor berated him harshly for his arrogance and ego, then gave him a grade of zero.

  "If you don't fix that arrogant attitude of yours, you're sure to die in the future. Go back with your classmates."

  Kaeris was speechless. He looked down in shame and quietly joined the other students, his ego and arrogance nowhere to be seen.

  “Jesus, I can’t believe we got a student like that… Anyway, last student come on up to the stage.”

  “Hai haii~!” Aiko casually jumped onto the platform, her fox tails swinging lazily behind her.

  The Rhyhound was released, but before it could react, Aiko snapped her whip. “Binding Whip!” she called, locking the beast’s legs in place. Without missing a beat, she swapped to her bow.

  She smirked. “Let’s cause a little mischief~”

  Her first shot Mischief Shot exploded into a burst of itching powder and blinding light. The second arrow, however, was all business.

  The story has been illicitly taken; should you find it on Amazon, report the infringement.

  “Overload!”

  The arrow flew straight into the Rhyhound’s eye, piercing deep into its body. A moment later, it detonated. Compressed foxfire exploded violently inside, shattering the arrowhead into molten shrapnel. The resulting blast tore through the creature’s core, burning it from the inside out.

  In seconds, all that remained was a scorched pile of black ash.

  Aiko spun around with a flourish and scratched the back of her head sheepishly.

  “Tee hee I think I went a bit overboard…”

  She skipped over to the instructor.

  “I have nothing to say,” the instructor muttered, eyes half-lidded. “I’d prefer if you didn’t prank your enemies and just ended them cleanly… but your Apprentice Rank is already showing signs of Rank 2 maybe even close to Rank 3. I can’t properly evaluate you right now, you silly girl. Now shoo. I need to announce the scores.”

  “Okayy~!” Aiko giggled and skipped back to the group, plopping herself down.

  Bennett watched all of it, stunned.

  “God damn… she took less than five seconds. Everyone else took thirty seconds to a full minute. Sigh…”

  The instructor stepped forward.

  “Alright. Scores are as follows:

  Aiko Perfect score, 10. I’ll need a higher-ranked beast to properly evaluate you.

  Bennett Score: 7. Your decision-making needs refining. There were moments you could’ve ended it early, but hesitated.

  Ayaka Score: 7. Similar to Bennett. Improve your spatial awareness and timing.

  Ironfang Score: 7. Brutal and efficient, but too reliant on force. Strategy matters—brute strength won’t carry you forever.

  Ashbound Score: 5. Don’t toy with your opponent. Even when dominating, hesitation gives them a chance to strike back.

  Kaeris Score: 0. An absolute disgrace. You had every advantage and let your pride blind you. Out there, pride gets you killed.”

  “That concludes today’s combat drill. Tomorrow, we’ll move on to a new test. Until then, you’re all dismissed.”

  Back in his room, Bennett opened his rune book and studied the third symbol.

  Analyze.

  A rune that allows the user to scan a living opponent’s body identifying strengths, weaknesses, and age by sending a shockwave through them. Once activated, the rune transmits the information straight into the user’s mind. Must be applied to a staff.

  “Ohh, this is so useful. I better apply it now.”

  It took him a few tries, but Bennett eventually succeeded in crafting the Analyze rune and etched it onto his staff. Then he made two more, applying them to his other quarterstaffs.

  “Now… what’s the fourth rune?”

  Stamina.

  Grants extra stamina for bedroom activities. Can be activated anytime and applied in any way.

  “Oi, oi, oi what the fuck?! Why is this kind of rune in here?! Was the author a pervert?! Why couldn’t it just be a normal stamina rune for battle endurance?! Not this kind of endurance ugh!”

  Still, despite his disgust, Bennett learned the rune. Knowledge was knowledge… even if it was cursed.

  Then he headed to the training hall to continue working on his High Advanced Body Enhancement. After a few intense hours of training, he could feel it he was finally getting close to reaching Master Body Enhancement.

  That small victory pushed him to tackle the next skill in his martial art: Savage Cinder Style.

  He already held Absolute Mastery over the first two skills, and Full Mastery over Revolving Cinder. Now, it was time to learn the fourth technique:

  Savage Shatter.

  “A single, high-impact strike that sends destructive vibrations through whatever it hits... Designed to shatter the target.”

  The mana cost was about the same as Savage Swipe, but all the power was packed into one massive blow.

  Bennett practiced the movement without mana first, striking at a training dummy over and over. Once confident in the form, he channeled mana into the attack.

  The result?

  Immediate pain.

  The moment he struck, the staff vibrated violently in his grip. He dropped it instantly, his fingers tingling in agony.

  “Holy shit… this skill is way stronger than I expected. If I wasn’t prepared, I could’ve shattered my own hands!”

  Determined, he kept practicing. Over and over until his staffs ran out of mana.

  On the final try, it clicked.

  His staff hit the target dead on. A burst of force rippled out from the point of impact. The surface shattered, and spiderweb-like cracks radiated across the training dummy.

  “Ahh… That was way more intense than I thought. Wow.”

  He wiped the sweat from his brow and grinned.

  “I really hope that didn’t break anything important. I better head back.”

  Returning to his room, Bennett sat down and began recharging his staffs.

  The Next Day

  The group returned to the same arena. All the previous damage had been repaired.

  “Instructor,” Bennett asked, “what’s today’s lesson?”

  “Simple,” she said, a dangerous grin spreading across her face. “Each of you will step onto the stage… and survive. That’s it.”

  She then lifted her heavy blade and slammed it into the ground. The platform cracked slightly beneath it.

  “This sword weighs 5,000 kilos. Get hit, and you die. Sounds fun, right? Hahaha!”

  Bennett blinked. “Holy crap… This is insane, isn’t it?”

  Ironfang grinned wide. “Insane? This is exactly what I signed up for! Hahaha!”

  Ashbound shrugged. “As long as I get to eat meat, I don’t care what I have to fight.”

  Kaeris stood silently, still haunted by the shame from the day before.

  Ayaka smiled gently, but said nothing.

  And Aiko?

  “Oh hell yea~! I wonder if I can prank the instructor~?”

  Her mischievous grin practically sparkled.

  "Let’s start the ‘spar’ with whoever went first yesterday. Alright, Ayaka, you’re up."

  Ayaka nodded and stepped onto the stage. Just as she prepared to cast her illusion skill Mist of Confusion, the instructor suddenly appeared in front of her. The massive heavy sword was already at her neck, and the wind from the swing rushed past her face as she froze in place.

  "You failed~"

  Gasps erupted from the others. It had ended so quickly. Ayaka hadn’t even gotten the chance to activate her skill.

  Grumbling about "dumb instructors not holding back," Ayaka stepped off the stage with an irritated pout.

  "Alrighty, next person please~" the instructor said cheerfully, returning to her original position.

  Ironfang stepped onto the stage and charged straight at her. She swung her heavy sword again this time turning it so the flat side faced him. He raised his gauntlets to block, but it was pointless. The blow sent him flying off the stage, leaving a shallow crater where he landed.

  He groaned, glancing at his now cracked gauntlets and fractured arms. With a grimace, he used his mana to rapidly regenerate and restore himself to peak condition.

  "Ironfang, you failed too~ Next up, Bennett!"

  Ironfang returned to his seat, frowning anger burning in his eyes at how powerless he’d felt.

  Bennett stepped forward, activating Revolving Cinder and pushing his body enhancement to the limit. He launched forward with Savage Swipe, but just like the others, he didn’t even reach her. The instructor’s sword struck the floor just in front of his feet, shattering it and sending out a shockwave that blasted him clean out of the arena.

  "Aww, you could’ve done better~ But you failed too! Next!"

  Ashbane was next. Even as a Wendigo, he looked visibly unnerved.

  "Hehe~ You scared of me, Ashbane?" the instructor teased with a smirk.

  Snarling, he lunged. She went for a swipe like before, and while he tried to dodge, the gust of wind alone was enough to send him flying from the arena.

  "Aww, why’d you dodge and leave the arena? I guess that’s a fail too~ Sad!"

  "Alright, next student!"

  Aiko casually stepped onto the stage. Her whip lashed out with Binding Strike but it struck an afterimage. The instructor wasn’t even there.

  Not missing a beat, Aiko slammed her magic charged palm into the floor, causing a blinding flash to light up the arena in an attempt to disrupt the instructor's senses.

  Then she felt it the cold blade at the back of her neck.

  "You did the best, Aiko~ Too bad a little flashbang won’t stop me from finding you. Now go join your little group."

  Aiko sighed, pouting. "Aww, I failed to prank you... Fine."

  She walked back to the seating area, sulking.

  The instructor stepped forward, now addressing them all.

  "You all performed just as I expected. Now, as for what this 'sparring match' was really for it was a mental test."

  "You all knew you weren’t strong enough to actually spar with me. Yet you still tried. And while that shows bravery, it also shows stupidity."

  Her voice hardened.

  "If you know you're completely outclassed with no possible way to win, then you must and I mean must learn to strategically retreat. In this case, not accepting the challenge in the first place would’ve been the wiser choice."

  She paused, letting her words sink in.

  "That’s all for today. You’re all free to go."

  Chapter 7 End