The forest of Zone 17 fell into a heavy silence.
The enormous monster slowly stepped out from between the trees. Each step crushed the ground beneath its massive claws, leaving deep cracks in the soil.
Its body was covered with thick stone-like armor plates. Dark energy flowed between the gaps in the armor like black smoke. Its head looked like a gigantic reptile, but its glowing red eyes burned with intelligence and rage.
The creature was easily four times larger than the Spike Wolves.
And far more terrifying.
Kai's hands trembled as he stared at it.
"That… that thing is huge."
Milan checked the scanner again, hoping the device was malfunctioning.
But the reading remained the same.
"A-rank… confirmed."
His voice sounded dry.
"This monster should not exist in this zone."
Ryu's confident expression slowly disappeared.
Even he could feel the pressure coming from the creature.
"This isn't training anymore," he said quietly.
Luna stepped forward slightly.
Her violet eyes remained calm, but her voice was serious.
"Everyone fall back slowly."
Kai immediately agreed.
"Yes. Yes. That sounds like a great plan."
The monster suddenly released a deep growl.
The sound vibrated through the trees like thunder.
Leaves shook violently.
Birds flew away in panic.
The creature lowered its massive head slightly.
Its glowing eyes locked directly onto Leo.
Not Luna.
Not Ryu.
Not anyone else.
Leo.
For a brief moment, time felt frozen.
Luna noticed the direction of the monster's gaze.
Her eyes narrowed slightly.
Why was it staring at Leo?
The monster suddenly roared.
Then it charged.
The ground exploded beneath its feet as its enormous body rushed forward.
"MOVE!" Luna shouted.
Everyone jumped in different directions.
The monster's massive claw slammed into the ground where they had been standing.
BOOM.
The impact created a shockwave that knocked Kai onto his back.
"THIS IS NOT C-RANK TRAINING!" he yelled.
Ryu rushed forward with his sword raised.
"If we keep running, it will chase us anyway!"
He leaped toward the monster and slashed across its leg.
CLANG!
The blade struck the armor plates.
But it barely left a mark.
Ryu landed and stared at the monster's leg.
"…Okay."
"That's bad."
The creature swung its enormous tail.
Ryu barely managed to dodge as the tail smashed through three trees behind him.
Wood shattered everywhere.
Luna raised her staff.
A large purple magic circle formed above her head.
"Everyone clear the area!"
Energy gathered rapidly around the spell.
Then she fired.
A powerful beam of violet light shot forward and struck the monster directly in the chest.
The explosion shook the forest.
Smoke and dust filled the air.
Kai quickly stood up.
"Did that work?"
The smoke slowly cleared.
The monster was still standing.
Its armor had cracked slightly where the spell had hit, but it was far from defeated.
Kai stared in horror.
"You're kidding me…"
The monster roared even louder.
Dark energy began flowing through the cracks in its armor.
Milan looked at the scanner again.
"It's absorbing energy from the environment!"
Luna frowned.
"That means it can regenerate."
Kai grabbed his hair.
"WHY DO MONSTERS HAVE CHEAT ABILITIES?!"
The monster charged again.
This time its target was Kai.
"OH NO—"
Before the creature could reach him—
A blur moved.
Leo appeared between Kai and the monster.
His short sword was raised calmly.
The monster's claw came down with enormous force.
Leo stepped forward.
For a moment, everything seemed slow.
The claw passed just above his shoulder.
Leo moved slightly to the side.
Then his sword flashed once.
A thin line appeared across one of the monster's armor plates.
The creature stopped.
Everyone froze.
Then—
CRACK.
The armor plate split apart.
Kai's eyes widened.
"You broke its armor?!"
Even Luna looked surprised.
That armor had resisted her magic.
But Leo had cut through it with a simple strike.
The monster roared in pain and swung its other claw wildly.
Leo jumped back lightly.
The forest ground shook again from the attack.
Luna stared at Leo carefully.
His movements were too smooth.
Too controlled.
Too experienced.
This was not the fighting style of a normal first-year student.
The monster charged again.
But this time it moved even faster.
Ryu shouted.
"Leo!"
The giant claw came crashing down.
Leo stepped back once more.
But suddenly the monster's tail swung from the side.
The attack was perfectly timed.
Even Leo was slightly surprised.
The tail struck him.
BOOM.
Leo was thrown several meters across the forest ground.
Kai shouted.
"LEO!"
Leo rolled across the dirt before stopping near a large tree.
He slowly stood up.
A small scratch appeared on his arm.
The divine blood inside his body pulsed again.
Stronger.
Warmer.
The ancient voice inside him spoke quietly.
"This creature has been corrupted."
Leo looked at the monster again.
Dark energy continued leaking from its armor.
"Yes," Leo thought calmly.
"That's not normal monster energy."
The creature roared and prepared to attack again.
Behind Leo, his teammates were already exhausted.
Kai was breathing heavily.
Ryu's sword arm was shaking.
Even Luna had used a large amount of mana.
If this fight continued…
They would not survive.
Leo closed his eyes for one second.
Just one second.
Inside his chest, the divine blood glowed faintly.
A tiny fraction of divine energy flowed through his body.
Barely noticeable.
Barely visible.
But enough.
Leo opened his eyes again.
For the first time since the battle started…
His expression became serious.
The monster roared and charged once more.
The ground cracked beneath its enormous body.
Kai shouted desperately.
"RUN!"
But Leo did not move.
Instead, he stepped forward.
One step.
Toward the charging A-rank monster.