The aftermath of the Irregular Gate breach played out exactly as Elias had calculated.
Aria Sterling was hailed as a national hero. The media published front-page stories praising the Sterling family's brilliant young assassin who sacrificed a priceless artifact to save the Academy. Elias, meanwhile, was mentioned only as a footnote—a lucky B-Rank Summoner who managed to stay out of the way.
To the arrogant nobles of the Elite Class, this confirmed their bias. Elias wasn't a monster; he was just a coward who hid behind his summons and let a girl do the heavy lifting.
Leo Valerius, whose pride was still bruised from his humiliating defeat in the sparring ring, was the most vocal about this theory.
[One Week Later]
"Welcome to the Savage Wilds," Instructor Graves announced, his voice amplified across a massive clearing.
The twenty members of the Elite Class stood before a towering, artificial Gate. They were dressed in standardized Academy combat gear, armed only with basic iron weapons provided by the school. Magic rings, artifacts, and outside equipment had been confiscated.
"This is a controlled D-Rank environment," Graves explained. "Your exam is simple. There are fifty silver tokens hidden throughout the forest, and each monster you kill drops a bronze token. You have twenty-four hours to collect as many as possible. But be warned: the instructors will be monitoring you via stealth drones. Murder or permanent crippling of a classmate means instant expulsion and a military trial."
Graves paused, a cruel smile on his scarred face. "However... stealing tokens from each other is highly encouraged. Begin!"
The Elite Class immediately scattered into the thick, overgrown forest.
Elias didn't run. He walked leisurely into the tree line, enjoying the crisp, unpolluted air. The drones buzzing high above couldn't track everything in the dense canopy, which gave him plenty of blind spots to work with.
He didn't care about the silver tokens. He was here to farm experience and test his new abilities in a live environment.
"Come out," Elias murmured.
Five Shadow Knights rose silently from the forest floor. He didn't summon Iron or Blood—that would draw too much attention.
"Fan out. Hunt every monster in a two-mile radius. Bring me the bronze tokens."
The Shadow Knights blurred into the underbrush, moving like silent reapers. Elias found a comfortable spot on a high tree branch, leaned back, and watched the system notifications roll in.
[Your shadow has slain a D-Rank Horned Boar.] [Your shadow has slain a D-Rank Forest Wolf.] [Bronze Token acquired.]
Within two hours, Elias had collected a small mountain of bronze tokens without lifting a finger.
But his peaceful farming session was suddenly interrupted.
Snap.
The sound of a breaking twig echoed from the bushes below. Elias looked down.
Leo Valerius stepped into the clearing, flanked by three other Elite Class students—a heavily armored Tank and two Wind Mages. They had their weapons drawn, and Leo's hands were already crackling with crimson fire.
"Found you, Summoner," Leo sneered, looking up into the tree. "I knew you'd be hiding while the rest of us did the actual work."
Elias sighed, jumping down from the branch and landing softly on the grass. "Leo. I thought I taught you a lesson about playing with fire."
Leo's face twisted in rage. "You got lucky in the sparring ring! And don't think I believe the rumors about the basement. Aria Sterling carried you. Without your summons to hide behind, you're nothing but a B-Rank piece of trash!"
Leo gestured to his team. "There are no shadows here to protect you, Elias. The drones are currently monitoring sector four. We have exactly five minutes before they cycle back to us. Hand over your tokens, or we'll beat you until you can't walk."
The Tank stepped forward, slamming his fists together. The Wind Mages began chanting, creating a pressurized vacuum around the clearing to prevent Elias from escaping.
Elias didn't look scared. In fact, he looked incredibly bored.
"No shadows?" Elias asked softly.
He looked at the shadow cast by the massive tree behind Leo. Then, he channeled fifty mana into the unique Void Core skill he had acquired from the Irregular Boss.
[Skill: Spatial Step activated.]
Elias vanished.
He didn't run. He didn't jump. He simply ceased to exist in his current physical space.
"Where did he go?!" one of the Wind Mages panicked, canceling his chant.
"Behind you!" the Tank roared.
Leo spun around, preparing to unleash a fireball, but he was far too slow. Elias materialized seamlessly out of the tree's shadow directly behind Leo.
Before Leo could even blink, Elias drove a brutal, mana-reinforced kick directly into the back of Leo's knee. The joint gave out with a sickening pop, and Leo crashed to the ground, screaming in agony.
The Tank charged, swinging a massive iron hammer at Elias's head.
Elias ducked smoothly, the hammer whistling inches above his hair. He stepped into the Tank's guard, grabbed the man's armored collar, and used the Tank's own momentum to throw him face-first into the trunk of a massive oak tree. The heavy armor crumpled, and the Tank slumped to the ground, unconscious.
The two Wind Mages completely lost their nerve. They turned to run.
"Spatial Step," Elias whispered.
He vanished into the Tank's shadow, reappearing instantly in front of the fleeing mages. He didn't even use a weapon. He grabbed them both by the back of their collars and slammed their heads together.
Thud.
They collapsed like broken dolls.
The entire ambush had been dismantled in less than ten seconds.
Elias walked slowly back to Leo, who was crawling on the grass, clutching his blown-out knee and sobbing. The arrogant young master looked up, his eyes wide with a terror that cut straight to his soul. He finally realized that Elias wasn't just hiding behind summons. Elias was a monster in his own right.
"P-Please..." Leo begged, holding up a small pouch. "Take the tokens! Take all of them! Just don't kill me!"
Elias took the pouch, weighing it in his hand. It was filled with silver and bronze tokens.
"I'm not going to kill you, Leo," Elias said, his voice cold and devoid of pity. "Killing you would get me expelled. But remember this feeling. The next time you look at me, lower your eyes."
Elias turned and walked away, disappearing into the dense forest just as the mechanical hum of an Academy stealth drone approached the clearing.
When the drone's camera focused on the scene, it saw Leo Valerius and his team beaten into the dirt, their tokens completely gone, and no trace of the attacker.
[You have acquired 15 Silver Tokens.] [You have acquired 40 Bronze Tokens.]
Elias smiled as he checked his Status Window. He was easily in first place. But as he walked deeper into the Savage Wilds, the hairs on the back of his neck suddenly stood up.
A heavy, putrid scent of sulfur rolled through the trees. The forest birds went completely silent.
[Warning: A spatial tear has occurred within the D-Rank Gate.] [An uninvited entity has entered the testing zone.]
Elias stopped, his eyes narrowing as he looked into the dark woods ahead.
"Well," Elias murmured. "It seems the Academy's security is just as pathetic as I remember."