Emily and Hugo gripped the railing tightly as the monster Krovane was about to face prepared to appear.

  Krovane stood in the center of the arena, his fists clenched hard. On his back, secured with dark leather straps, his hammer rested firmly in place.

  “Even though there is a list of monsters we might face here, the problem is that we have never actually fought them directly,” Emily said.

  “Rogan said all of them are basically the same, and a stage one monster will not be a problem, especially for me,” Hugo replied casually.

  “At least make sure you remember all the lessons I taught you about the monsters on the list we might face, including their weaknesses and traits. That is very important. We cannot jump into a fight without knowing who our enemy is,” Emily said firmly.

  A large door on one of the arena walls, directly across from where Krovane stood, slowly opened. Something began to emerge from the darkness inside.

  At the same moment, Emily straightened up, her face filled with shock.

  “What is that, Emily? That looks like Davon’s cow,” Hugo said.

  “That is a Shaggorn, the same creature Davon uses to pull his carriage.”

  “I think this will be easy,” Hugo replied.

  “No,” Emily said as she jumped to her feet, drawing the attention of everyone around them. “That monster should not be on the list. Krovane is not ready to fight something like this.”

  “Look at those kids, they are panicking, haha,” a voice shouted from somewhere nearby.

  “Maybe they will wet themselves and run home crying for help.”

  “Emily,” Hugo said as he also stood, watching as the girl hurried down the rows of seats toward one of the arena officials at the side.

  The man standing there quickly turned his head toward them.

  “What do you want?” the man said flatly, clearly not amused by the two youngsters.

  Emily stood her ground and pointed toward the arena. “Why is a Shaggorn coming out? This should not be on the list. A Shaggorn is a brute-type monster. Its body is covered in thick hide, its charge can crush stone barriers, and once it starts running, it does not stop until its target is broken. This is not a monster meant for a trial like this.”

  “There is nothing wrong with it. It is a stage one monster,” the man replied calmly. “Someone who has trained their combat skills properly should not have a problem dealing with it.”

  Emily did not look convinced at all. “You know very well that there are differences even among stage one monsters. This is not a monster meant to be fought alone. That thing is several times larger than Krovane. One mistake, one direct hit, and he will be crushed,” she snapped angrily.

  The man began to show clear impatience. “Your friend registered as a Striker. If he truly has speed, then facing a Shaggorn is not that difficult. Do you think in the wild you can choose what monster you face?”

  “Emily,” Hugo tried to stop her, but it did not look like she planned to back down.

  “Return to your seats, or the three of you will be removed from this place immediately,” the man said firmly.

  Without listening to any more of Emily’s complaints, the man turned his back and walked away.

  “Wait!” Emily said sharply. “If anything happens to our friend, you will face consequences. I promise you will not walk away from this!”

  She clenched both fists, her whole body shaking with anger.

  “Emily, it is just an oversized cow,” Hugo said afterward. “This will be easy. Krovane can handle it.”

  The two of them turned their focus back to the arena, where the monster now stood in full view. The Shaggorn towered over the field, its massive body easily several times larger than Krovane, who at twelve years old looked small and fragile in comparison.

  **

  Krovane stood there, frozen in place for a brief moment. He quickly reached for the hammer on his back and gripped it tightly with his right hand. His left hand was also ready, prepared to morph if needed to add extra damage against this monster.

  But how was he supposed to fight something like this? Its body was massive, and Krovane knew how strong this kind of monster was. They had ridden a carriage pulled by a creature like this before, and its strength had been terrifying.

  Even its height alone made Krovane look like nothing more than a small obstacle in its path. If he was hit directly, he would be in serious trouble.

  So how should he fight it? Should he break its legs first so it could not move properly, then attack its head afterward?

  The monster scraped the ground with its right hoof and snorted loudly. Its eyes burned with rage, clearly ready to charge straight at Krovane at any second.

  Krovane tightened his grip on the hammer. He had to find a way to deal damage while avoiding a fatal blow.

  But how? The monster would charge, and it would be fast. Maybe he needed to dodge first?

  The monster suddenly burst forward, sprinting straight toward him at full speed.

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  And at that moment, Krovane felt his body freeze.

  **

  Emily, who was seated among the spectators, screamed at the top of her lungs when she saw what was happening.

  “Krovane! Run! Run! Dodge! Move! Krovane!” she shouted desperately.

  On the other side, Hugo clenched his fists in anger as laughter echoed from nearby seats.

  “Look at that kid, he is scared. He froze in fear.”

  “Someone save him, he is going to faint while standing.”

  Hugo slammed his fist into the railing, his teeth grinding hard.

  “Krovane! You can do it! Hit its head! Do not just stand there!” Hugo yelled as loudly as he could.

  Emily’s face slowly turned pale as she watched. Krovane did not look like he was trying to dodge at all.

  “Krovane! Move! Krovane!”

  At the same moment, several arena officials began to move, ready to jump into the arena after realizing that the twelve-year-old boy showed no sign of escaping the monster’s charge.

  If he took that hit, Krovane’s body could be shattered by the impact. At that moment, Emily herself looked like she was about to leap down into the arena as well.

  Krovane stood upright, gripping the hammer tightly. He planted his feet firmly, taking a grounded fighting stance he had learned before with Rogan. Hugo recognized that posture instantly.

  The monster rushed toward him, fast, far too fast. In just a fraction of a second, the collision was about to happen.

  All eyes widened, mouths hanging open as everyone watched what would unfold.

  “Krovane!” Emily screamed.

  But at the very last moment, Krovane suddenly slammed his left foot into the ground. With both hands on the hammer, he swung with all his strength. He stepped slightly to the side, and the hammer arced upward, crashing straight into the monster’s snout.

  It happened so fast that the entire arena seemed to hold its breath. The officials were already charging toward the field, ready for the worst.

  However, everyone froze in shock when Krovane was thrown hard backward from the impact. At the same time, the monster halted abruptly, its massive body wobbling as if it had lost its sense of balance. Its head swayed, clearly dazed.

  Before anyone could react, Krovane pushed himself up and dashed forward again. He gripped the hammer with both hands and slammed it into the monster’s front leg with brutal force.

  Everything happened in the blink of an eye, leaving the crowd stunned.

  The monster lost its footing and collapsed forward. In that opening, Krovane twisted his body and delivered another powerful strike, smashing the hammer into the side of the monster’s head.

  A deep, thunderous impact echoed through the arena. The hammer slipped from Krovane’s hands, and he was thrown sideways by the recoil.

  But the massive monster also fell, its huge body crashing down onto the ground with a heavy, bone-shaking sound.

  A loud signal horn blared across the arena, echoing again and again. It was a clear sign that the battle was over.

  Krovane had done it.

  Three clean hits. A precise counter. A decisive finish.

  The monster lay motionless, defeated, while Krovane struggled to rise nearby, breathing heavily. For a moment, the entire arena was silent, stunned by what they had just witnessed.

  “The fight is over. Victory confirmed,” one of the officials shouted.

  Everyone else remained frozen, jaws hanging open as they tried to process what they had just witnessed.

  Emily, however, had already jumped down into the arena, with Hugo close behind her.

  The officials moved quickly to secure the monster, as it slowly began to regain consciousness and struggled weakly while being dragged away.

  Emily slid to Krovane’s side and grabbed his shoulders. Her face was full of panic, her eyes red, caught between anger and fear.

  “Krovane, why did you stand right in the monster’s path?” she scolded loudly. “You should have moved aside, let it crash into the edge first. You could have created an opening without risking your body like that.”

  She clenched her teeth, clearly upset. “You were in serious danger. If your strike had missed, you would have been hit head-on. Your body could have been crushed. You cannot take reckless actions like that.”

  “You were lucky this time. You cannot rely on luck every time,” she continued, her voice shaking as she lectured him.

  Krovane stayed silent, looking up at Emily as she spoke. Nearby, Hugo stood with a wide grin, giving Krovane a thumbs-up.

  “You were cool, weirdo,” Hugo said.

  Krovane simply nodded.

  “I knew the monster would charge,” Krovane said calmly. “So I used its momentum to create a stronger impact by meeting it with the hammer.”

  “But if it hit you instead, you could have been seriously injured,” Emily replied immediately.

  Krovane let out a small laugh, brushing it off. Soon after, the two of them stood up properly.

  Hugo patted Krovane’s shoulder and pointed toward the spectator seats.

  “Now you all stay quiet and do not say anything,” Hugo shouted toward them. “Watch how I fight my monster next. I am stronger than my friend.”

  “Can you stop showing off?” Emily shot back. “Do you think this is easy? Are you planning to smash that empty head of yours against a monster’s head too?”

  Hugo only laughed after hearing Emily’s warning.

  Some time later, Krovane and Emily returned to their seats as it was Hugo’s turn to stand in the center of the arena and prepare for his own battle.

  Only then did Krovane hear the mocking voices from nearby spectators. He merely glanced in that direction and said nothing.

  “Just ignore them. They are foolish people who failed at life. They are already in their twenties and only now trying to register at the adventurers’ guild,” Emily said quietly.

  Krovane nodded at her words.

  Soon after, Hugo’s test began. The same type of monster emerged once again. Emily looked completely drained, especially since it seemed like there were no longer any real rules about the types of monsters allowed in the test.

  The monster charged forward, and Hugo stood ready to attack, a greatsword firmly gripped in his hands. When it got close, he dodged swiftly, his speed clearly on display.

  He immediately chased after the monster as it crashed into the edge of the arena, then slashed repeatedly at its hind legs with his sword.

  The monster roared in anger and charged at Hugo again. Hugo continued to evade, striking whenever an opening appeared.

  Hugo was clearly using the method Emily had taught them. And even though he had bragged about beating Krovane’s record, in the end he still won, but it took him longer to finish the fight.

  Krovane and Hugo both completed their tests with satisfying results. They then watched the other applicants step into the arena and face their own battles. Several different types of monsters appeared, many of them clearly easier than what Krovane and Hugo had faced.

  Then it was Emily’s turn.

  The girl stood in the center of the arena, positioned on a raised platform above the field. Since she had registered as a Caster, she would not be taking direct attacks. Her test was to prove whether she could use magic to fight the monster effectively.

  Normally, Casters were only tested after reaching the Apprentice rank, because that was when they could truly cast magic outside their own bodies. Emily, however, was a clear exception.

  She stood there calmly as doors along the arena walls opened at the same time.

  Both Krovane and Hugo’s eyes widened when dozens of Windtails burst out, charging and sprinting wildly across the entire arena.