POV: Kael DarkflameLocation: Arena C-7, Ironbrand Monster Gauntlet Grounds
"You've got twenty minutes," the instructor said, pointing to the iron doors ahead. "Each of you will enter a randomized Monster Chamber. Ten beasts. Ten cores. No help. No tools beyond your own."
Kael stood among twenty candidates lined up outside the arena wing. His eyes drifted from the instructor to the massive stone gate. The mark of the Academy Trials shimmered across it — red, gold, and black.
His fingers brushed Broodfang's hilt. The scythe pulsed faintly in its sheath.
"Harvest ten cores. Extract them without breaking the integrity. Bonus points if you absorb one."
Kael's red eyes gleamed.
"Sounds simple enough."
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POV: Viewing Gallery – Noble Tier
Astra sat beside two veiled nobles and a hooded archivist, all peering down through layered wards.
"That boy again," one of the nobles muttered. "He's dangerous."
Astra didn't reply.
She only leaned forward as Kael entered his chamber.
Let's see what you really are.
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POV: Arena C-7 (Kael's Chamber)
As soon as the gate closed behind him, the air changed.
The room was circular, stone-carved, thick with layered enchantments to contain even Class-C monsters. Torchlight flickered from magical sconces, and at the far end, a grated gate shuddered open.
A beast emerged.
Its eyes glowed blue.
System Scan: Initiating…
Name: Bristlebeak Hound
Type: Beast – Core Class C-Affinity: Wind
Traits: Piercing Jaws, Pack Tactics, Core-Stabilized
Threat Level: Moderate
Kael drew Broodfang.
Time to test this Reaper edge.
The hound snarled and leapt — a blur of claws and velocity. Kael didn't move until the last possible second.
Then—
A flicker.
A shadow pulse.
Kael side-stepped mid-blink, appearing at the beast's flank.
He swung Broodfang once — a wide crescent arc.
The blade sliced the air, clean and silent.
The hound's leap turned into a spin, then a twitch, then a fall.
It hit the ground in two halves.
"One."
System Notification
Target Eliminated Extracting Core…
➤ Core Intact ➤ Wind Beast Core (C-) acquired
He bent down, retrieving the glowing crystal from the beast's chest.
It pulsed once in his palm — and then vanished into his storage field.
One down. Nine to go.
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POV: Parallel Arena – Candidate Tyen Lark
Tyen screamed as his second beast — a Lava Fang — clamped onto his leg. His blade swung wildly, missing.
"Why isn't this thing dying?!"
His system stuttered.
Unlike Kael… Tyen was not ready.
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POV: Arena C-7 (Kael)
Beast after beast came.
A Thornhide Gator, a Mist Serpent, a Razor-Spined Wolf.
Kael flowed through them like water — each movement more precise, more silent. With each kill, his aura darkened slightly. Not malevolent. But heavier.
By the sixth beast, he no longer even breathed hard.
Selene watched from a private observer room, her fingers clenched around the hilt of her curved blade.
"He's starting to sync with it," she whispered.
"The Reaper's rhythm."
System Log – Kael Darkflame
Beast Cores Collected: 6/10
Shadow Core Integrity: 84% Shadow Reaper Trait: Partial Consumption Unlocked
➤ Skill: Core Siphon (Passive – Rank E)Description: Small portion of devoured monster core absorbed as growth energy.
Effect: +1 to all base attributes (per 5 cores absorbed)
Kael's eyes glowed briefly.
He didn't need more skills.
He needed control.
Ninth Beast: Chain-Tusk Warden
Type: Demi-Construct Rank: C Trait: Regeneration, Metal-hide Skin, Aggression Tier 3
Kael actually grinned.
"This one might be fun."
The Warden charged like a beast tank, tusks covered in jagged iron, tail swinging like a flail.
Kael dropped into a low stance.
His shadow split beneath him — multiple tendrils forming glyphs around his boots.
"Let's try that thing Astra mentioned…"
He activated a pulse.
Shadow Bind: Glyph Style – Crescent Collapse
The beast's legs locked mid-charge.
Kael surged forward, Broodfang spinning once.
The blade kissed metal, then bone.
The beast collapsed, screaming.
And then went still.
System Update
Core Extracted: Chain-Tusk Warden Core (C)➤ Stability: Excellent
Core Siphon Effect: +1 to Strength, +1 to Endurance
He breathed slowly.
"One more."
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POV: Elsewhere – High Realm, Golden Veil Sanctum
A young girl, barely eleven, stirred from her trance.
Her white dress glowed softly in the moonlight. Her hair — raven black. Her eyes — red like a dying star.
A voice echoed in her mind.
"Brother…"
"You awakened."
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POV: Kael
The tenth beast didn't arrive.
Instead…
A silence.
Then the ceiling cracked.
A roar unlike the others tore through the arena.
And something else dropped in.
Twice the size. No scanner.
"That's not part of the trial," Kael muttered.
The instructors above screamed. Systems flared.
The beast wasn't a normal one.
It was a mutation — a failed hybrid, fused by corrupted cores. Red eyes. Shadow-twisted spine.
System Emergency Notice
Mutation Detected: Abnormal Core Construct Rank: B (Suppressed) Origin: Unknown
Threat Level: High Recommendation: Retreat Immediately
Kael smiled for the first time.
"Now this is worth my time."
He gripped Broodfang tighter.
And ran toward the monster.
End of Chapter 21