Back at the training grounds, Ian looked around, seeing a multitude of other students. All of them look just as confused as Ian. Ian counted about 40 students.

  “These must be the remaining survivors,” Ian thought to himself.

  “And that concludes the final exam. Congrats on lasting to the very end,” a booming voice spoke.

  All of the students turned to see who was speaking. On the arena, Sett stood proudly as he looked at everyone.

  “I’m sure you’re all confused, so let me explain. The test has come to its end, so you were all teleported out. It’s easier this way. Beats having to wait for y’all or going in looking for you,” Sett said, sounding casual.

  He paused for a moment, looking at the remaining students before continuing, “Seems like less than half of the students lasted. How disappointing. Regardless, I will collect all of the bands you’ve collected and add them to your overall scores. Please, gather in your groups, or your remaining groups, and come up. I’ll have your final grades ready by the end of the week alongside your test scores. Once you’ve given me your bands, you may return to your dorms.”

  No one argued with Sett. Everyone did as he said, lining up. Each group slowly went up to Sett, giving him their bands. Sett looked at all the bands given to him, counting them internally. Afterwards, he would tie them together with a piece of string, labeling them with the group's name.

  While each group went up to Sett, Ian stayed behind. He was examining himself, realizing his injuries were gone. He thought it was weird, but eventually chalked it up to the bracelet healing him when he got teleported.

  After a sigh of relief, Ian finally lined up at the end. Everyone looked at him with confused looks. He was the only person by himself.

  Students whispered to one another. They all wondered how Ian managed to survive. Most thought he would’ve been eliminated in the beginning.

  Ian tried to ignore the stares. Though his injuries were healed, he was still exhausted. He didn’t have the energy to pay them any mind. With his gauntlets nearly depleted, it would take him a while before he could do anything demanding.

  A few minutes later, it was Ian’s turn to give Sett the bands he collected. Ian walked up to the arena. His clothes were battered and messy. He reached into the bag on his waist, pulling out a bundle of bands. All the students looked at the handful of bands with wide eyes.

  Sett himself was surprised by the sheer amount. There were all types of colors. Sett slowly separated each band, making mental notes. After counting a few, his eyes caught sight of something remarkable. Within the bunched-up bands, a red one stuck out.

  He carefully removed the red band, holding it up. Everyone was able to get a clear view of the red band, their eyes opening wide.

  “You surprise me, Ian. I wasn’t expecting you to collect one of these red bands. Then again, a member from one of the groups that were eliminated early mentioned how you managed to kill the Earth Tortoise. Even though it was badly injured. Now I see she wasn’t lying.” Sett continued counting the bands.

  After a few seconds, Sett’s eyes widened. From the bundle of bands, he pulled out another red band. His face went from shock to amazement.

  All of the students who decided to stick around were also shocked. Many of them were in disbelief. They couldn’t understand how a copper rank like Ian managed to kill two red-banded creatures. However, the shock didn’t end there.

  A second later, Sett pulled out another red band. His amazement was now replaced with confusion. He looked at the band, then at Ian, trying to figure out how he managed to get three.

  Ian could tell what Sett was thinking, but he just shrugged his shoulders. He was too tired to comment on anything.

  Sett now had a worried look. He continued counting the bands slowly, adding them up in his head. After getting through 40 bands, Sett once again was left speechless. In the remaining 15 bands, there was another red band sticking out.

  He quickly counted the other 14 bands, adding them up, leaving only the red band in his hand. He gently lifted it up so everyone could see it.

  The students were beyond shocked. All of the minds raced with questions. Soon, whispers started echoing among them.

  “How is this even possible?”

  “He’s only copper rank.”

  “Even we couldn’t compete with one of those creatures. We lost two people trying to beat one.”

  “I knew he was skilled, but this is unreal.”

  “Only a top-class silver rank should’ve been able to beat those creatures.”

  “Those gauntlets must’ve helped him.”

  “No. Those daggers are probably why he managed to do so.”

  “This isn’t fair.”

  “Life isn’t fair.”

  The whispers and talking continued as Sett looked at the bands Ian had given him, making sure he didn’t miss count. He then turned to Ian and said, “You’re just full of surprises, aren’t you? I knew I made the right choice switching you to my classes.”

  Ian didn’t say anything. He was eyeing everyone talking, feeling anxious as they continued staring.

  Sett could see his discomfort. He cleared his throat to gather everyone’s attention before saying, “You’re all free to go. You’ve all had a long time. Now go and rest. Enjoy your summer break.”

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

  Hearing this, Ian started to walk away before quickly turning back to return the daggers he borrowed. After giving them back to Set, he made his way off the arena. He knew people wanted to talk to him and question him about everything, but he was tired. He just wanted to sleep on his bed and have a nice meal.

  Many students watched Ian walk away. Most of them wanted to chase after him, yet none did. They all just watched in amazement and confusion.

  Once Ian got far enough from the other students, he made a beeline for the cafeteria. After three whole days of jerky and poorly seasoned meat, he wanted to have a proper meal. However, his meal was anything but proper.

  In the cafeteria, Ian was seated at his usual table. In front of him, there was a tray with two burgers, an order of loaded fries, a well-seasoned steak, chicken strips, a large milkshake, and three different desserts. One was an extra chocolatey piece of cake, the second was a slice of wild berry pie, and the last one was a parfait.

  Ian was like a wild beast devouring his meal. He didn’t use any cutlery; instead, he used his bare hands to grab everything.

  The few students in the cafeteria were staring at him in shock and disgust. They had never seen someone eat in such a manner. Even the cafeteria staff were shocked.

  Each burger took him three bites to eat. The loaded fries were consumed in four messy handfuls. It took a bit more to get through the steak. The chicken tenders, however, took one bite to eat each. In between bites, Ian would take a sip of his milkshake.

  Finally, he stuffed the pie in his face like someone was going to take it. It took him a bit to eat the cake since it was very dense and kept sticking to the roof of his mouth.

  Once he finished everything, he turned his attention to the parfait. He wanted to eat it as well, but shook his head against it. He instead stood up to wash his hands before returning to take the parfait.

  Ian left the cafeteria feeling satisfied. He ignored the gazes everyone was giving him and decided to head over to Ellie’s dorm.

  While he walked, Ian went through everything that had happened during the test. He replayed every event in his head.

  Eventually, Ian realized something. He stopped in his tracks as he thought about the pelts he left behind. They had fallen off while he was fighting the purple monkey and forgot to pick them up again. He was in such a daze that he didn’t remember to do so.

  Ian was annoyed with himself. He lost potential value and support. Regardless, there was no way for him to get them back now. He just accepted his loss and continued towards Ellie’s room.

  Once Ian reached the girls' dorm, he instantly gathered some attention. Many of the girls stared with curious looks. They saw him carrying the parfait as he entered the building. Some of them started whispering to each other, wondering why he was there. A few speculated that he was going to see Annie or Amanda. However, they all changed their minds once Ian walked up to Ellie’s room.

  Ian didn’t even need to knock before the door opened. As soon as it did, a small black fur ball slammed into his chest.

  In his semi-exhausted state, Ian wasn’t ready for the sudden impact. He was caught so off guard, it sent him backwards into the wall. At the same time, the parfait flew out of his hand. Thankfully, Ellie was able to catch it,

  “God dammit. I missed you, too, Lucky.” Lucky was furiously licking Ian’s face.

  “You’ve made quite a ruckus, Ian.” Ellie didn’t even ask if the parfait was for her. She just started eating it the moment she caught it.

  “Well, I had to pick up Lucky. I don’t mean to attract attention.” Ian looked up from petting Lucky.

  “That’s not what I meant. I’ve already accepted that wherever you go, eyes seem to follow.” Ellie took another spoonful from the parfait.

  “You're starting to sound like a master swordsman, or should I say master swords-woman.”

  ‘Watch yourself. You still owe me a proper rematch. But besides that, I was referring to the news of you outperforming during your final test.”

  “What do you mean? I just finished my test today. How could you have heard anything yet?”

  Ellie ate another spoonful of her parfait, smiling happily as she savored the flavor. “One of the girls came back to the dorms blabbering about you while in the bathhouse. She went on about how you killed a high-class creature or something. I could care less. Regardless, for someone who doesn’t like a lot of attention, you sure have made quite a name for yourself.”

  “Thanks, I need to hear that from you.” Ian picked up Lucky as he stood up.

  “Anyways, I’ll be heading out now. I was coming to give you the parfait as thanks for taking care of Lucky. Now, I’m going to shower and sleep for a whole day.”

  As Ian started to walk away, Ellie called out, “You’re giving me a proper fight this summer break. I won’t let you off the hook until then.”

  “Yeah, yeah, whatever you say. Hell, maybe you’ll even rank up before the end of the summer.” Ian waved his hand as he continued walking away.

  Back in his dorm room, Ian was on the verge of collapsing. He placed Lucky on the ground while staring at his bed.

  “Damn, I’m exhausted. I just want to sleep, but I know I can't just yet.” Ian whined to himself, “If I go to sleep like this, I’m going to stink up my bed. *Sigh* what a pain.”

  Ian lazily walks around his room, grabbing random pieces of clothes and his towel before heading to the men's bathhouse. His body was heavy with exhaustion. Even so, Ian over-exaggerated how tired he was. He wasn’t even taking half steps; he only slid his feet across the floor towards the bathhouse. Lucky followed next to him.

  In the bathhouse, Ian stripped, placing his clothes in a locker. He wrapped a towel around his waist, covering his glory. He looked at himself in the full-length mirror, slouched over.

  His tired eyes observed his physique. Normally, he would look over his body and identify the changes, but today was not one of those days.

  He turned away from the mirror after a few seconds, walking into the main area. Not many people were inside; only a handful could be seen.

  Ian walked past all of them, making his way to the large hot bath. He tested the water with his foot, feeling the temperature. Seeing it wasn’t too hot, Ian stepped into it, sinking all the way until only his head remained above the water. Lucky joined him soon after, enjoying the bath just as much.

  The two of them stayed in the hot bath for a few minutes, letting the soreness melt away. After some relaxing, they moved on to a jet pool. They sat down comfortably in the pool, loving the massaging feeling of the jet streams.

  Ian was in pure bliss. His sore body was recovering quickly. However, he could relax too much, or else he risks falling asleep.

  Once his time was up in the jet pool, Ian and Lucky moved to a shower stall to wash up. Ian used soap he bought not too long ago that left a mild scent of bourbon and maple on him.

  After rinsing off, the pair went to a large, refreshing bath that had a slight citrusy scent. They relaxed there for a short while before finally calling it a night and heading out.

  Ian walked back to the locker room, putting on a clean set of clothes. He gathered his belongings and headed back to his room.

  He entered his room feeling refreshed but still tired. Lucky, on the other hand, was both refreshed and energized.

  Ian just wanted to lie down on his bed and drift off to sleep. However, that wasn’t going to be good enough. He needed the perfect sleep.

  Ian stepped in front of his air conditioner and changed the temperature, setting it to around 45°F. He then got two blankets and stacked them on top of the bed, creating a thick weighted cover.

  With everything set up, Ian pulled back the blankets, getting underneath them. He patted the spot next to him, calling Lucky over. Lucky didn’t think twice before jumping up and getting comfortable.

  Once they were both in bed, Ian pulled the blankets over themselves. The two blankets were like a weighted blanket, sealing in the heat they generated and keeping the cold air out. It was perfect.

  The cold air hitting his face, combined with the warm cocoon that was his bed, plus the refreshing effects from the bathhouse, all came together to create the ideal sleeping environment.

  Ian was finally able to sleep. He allowed the exhaustion to take over his body, pulling him into a deep slumber unlike any other. He would sleep for the next 20 hours.