Ten minutes passed.
The Trial Grounds' alarm horn blared, echoing across the ruins.
"Trial complete! All students, return to the gate!"
Aren lowered his bow. The mist faded. The scattered wolves dissolved into particles of mana. Students limped across broken ground—some bleeding, some trembling, some carried out by soldiers.
Aren walked calmly.
Not a scratch on him.
The moment he stepped out of the gate, dozens of eyes locked onto him.
Whispers spread instantly.
"He came out… alive."
"But he was next to that giant Reaver!"
"I saw the explosion—that wasn't normal!"
Kale stepped forward, arms crossed, golden aura still faint around him.
"You got lucky," he said coldly. "Beginner's luck won't save you next time."
Aren didn't bother replying.
Kale's jaw tightened.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
At the center of the plaza, the instructors gathered around the Evaluation Crystal—a floating sphere that recorded every student's performance through the trial's mana field.
As each student approached, their score appeared in bright letters.
Ingrid:
Survival: 7 min
Kills: 3
Combat Efficiency: 41%
Overall Rank: C
Darin:
Survival: 10 min
Kills: 11
Efficiency: 57%
Overall Rank: B
Students clapped.
Mila:
Survival: 6 min
Kills: 1
Efficiency: 22%
Overall Rank: D
She looked disappointed, but her friends comforted her.
Then—
"Kale, step forward."
Kale smirked.
The Crystal pulsed with gold.
Survival: 10 min
Kills: 23
Efficiency: 78%
Overall Rank: S-
Students gasped.
"Amazing!"
"What a monster!"
"He's definitely joining the elite class!"
Kale turned, eyes scanning the crowd until he found Aren.
He grinned mockingly.
"Try to beat that."
"Next—Aren."
Silence fell.
Students leaned forward. Instructors watched closely. Even soldiers turned their heads.
Aren stepped up.
The Evaluation Crystal glowed.
Then flickered.
Then surged violently, white light bursting across the plaza—strong enough to make everyone shield their eyes.
"What the—?"
"Is it breaking again?!"
"That's not normal!"
Kane stepped forward immediately.
"Stand by."
The Crystal stabilized…
…and displayed the results.
The plaza froze.
SURVIVAL: 10 min
KILLS: 47
COMBAT EFFICIENCY: 99%
OVERALL RANK: —
A blank rank.
The entire place erupted.
"Forty-seven kills?!"
"He killed more than double Kale?!"
"How is his efficiency 99 percent?!"
"Why is the rank empty?!"
Even Kale took a step back, expression cracking.
"What… what is this?"
But the crystal wasn't done.
The sphere flashed again—and another line appeared beneath Aren's score:
Rank Unable to Be Calculated.
Classification: Forbidden Tier.
The plaza went silent.
Dead silent.
Someone whispered:
"Forbidden Tier…? That's above SSS."
An instructor's face went pale.
"T-The Evaluation Crystal only uses that term when the system can't classify someone within human limits…"
Another murmured:
"Only ancient records mention it… and those were disasters, not individuals."
The air felt colder.
Even the soldiers stiffened.
Finally, Kane stepped forward, voice calm but heavy.
"Students. This does not mean Aren is stronger than everyone here."
A few people exhaled in relief.
Kane continued:
"It means the system does not understand him."
Silence again.
Aren frowned. He didn't like attention—but the weight in the air felt like everyone's stares were needles.
Kane turned to the instructors.
"Move him to the Elite Class."
Kale snapped, "WHAT?! He—he's a Unique rank! That's trash! You can't put him above an S-rank!"
Kane's eyes sharpened.
"I can. And I will."
"But he—!"
"Do you want to challenge my evaluation?"
Kale froze. No one challenged Kane. Not even Commanders did.
Kane continued:
"The Academy's Elite Class begins tomorrow. Aren, report at dawn."
He looked Aren directly in the eyes.
"And be prepared. Your awakening has already attracted unwanted attention."
Aren nodded slowly.
Unwanted attention?
Before he could ask—
A deep rumble shook the ground beneath the plaza.
A faint violet crack slithered across the dirt.
Kane's face changed instantly.
"…Damn it."
Aren felt the air distort around his feet—the same strange pressure he felt during his awakening.
Hidden. Ancient. Watching.
Kane barked orders.
"Soldiers! Secure the plaza! Students, return to quarters immediately!"
Kale frowned.
"What was that?"
Aren didn't answer.
He stared at the crack slowly fading back into stone.
He didn't know why…
…but something underground had reacted to him again.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Far below, in the forgotten chambers beneath the city, the chained dragon opened its eye fully—glowing like a violet sun.
"Forbidden Tier…"
The cavern trembled.
"So the system cannot classify you."
The dragon chuckled, deep and ancient.
"Good. Very good."
Its chains strained.
"My release… may come sooner than I thought."