Just as Mr. Carter was about to finalize Ethan's ranking, a stern voice interrupted him.
It was the principal of the First Academy.
He had been carefully watching Mr. Carter's expression since Ethan's score was announced. The grim lines on Mr. Carter's face clearly reflected his dissatisfaction. The principal took that as a signal—an opportunity to repay Mr. Carter for his past favors.
"Wait!" the First Academy principal raised his voice. "I don't believe Beast Masters should be evaluated in the same way as the rest."
He stepped forward and swept his arm across the crowd, his voice gaining more strength.
"Right now, we're comparing students based on personal combat power. But Beast Masters can add the power of their summoned beasts. Isn't that unfair to everyone else?"
He paused dramatically.
"If we allow this to stand, then every Beast Master will exploit this loophole. This precedent—Ethan's score—could throw all future rankings into chaos."
Mr. Carter, who had been wrestling internally with this very issue, suddenly lit up with delight.
Yes! Why hadn't he thought of that earlier?
With a serious nod, he turned to the principal of the First Academy. "You make a valid point. I… may have overlooked the nature of the Beast Master class."
"Tell me," he said carefully, "how do you propose we fix it?"
Feeling supported, the First Academy principal stood tall.
"I propose that for Beast Masters like Ethan, we only count the combat power of a single summoned beast," he said confidently.
Of course, this idea was no coincidence.
He was certain that Ethan must have contracted multiple powerful creatures. If only one was counted, his combat power would drop drastically—maybe even out of the top spot.
But Mr. Carter noticed a flaw in this logic.
Earlier, Ethan had mentioned that one of his summoned beasts had just matured, which alone boosted his combat power by more than 70 stars. That meant this single beast had well over 100 star power.
Even without multiple summons, Ethan might still remain first.
So Mr. Carter quickly interjected, trying to shift the argument.
"I think that suggestion still won't help," he said, pretending to think it through. "If someone manages to contract even one Gold-tier summoned beast, they can secure first place easily."
He let that statement hang in the air.
The implication was clear: Ethan's current summoned beast had to be Gold-tier or higher.
The First Academy principal's expression changed slightly—he caught the hint.
"Then…" he replied after a pause, "I suggest we exclude all Gold-tier and above summoned beasts from the evaluation. That would level the field."
Then he looked directly at Ethan.
"Student Ethan," he said solemnly, "I mean no offense. But your current approach to scoring is… questionable."
"Either open the hidden part of your status panel, or summon all your beasts for us to inspect. That way, we can determine if your title of number one is truly justified."
He smiled thinly. "Surely you wouldn't want to win by leaving room for rumors and suspicion, right?"
Ethan narrowed his eyes, but before he could say a word, Fairwind stepped in like a thunderbolt.
"Are you kidding me?!" Fairwind barked, stepping in front of Ethan protectively. "You people seriously can't stand to see someone else win?"
"Ethan managed to control multiple beasts—and that's not unfair. That's his skill, his profession. If the other students can't manage it, that's on them!"
Fairwind was furious.
"Now you're asking him to reveal his panel? Or parade his summons in front of everyone?"
"That's not verification. That's a public execution."
He glared at the crowd.
"You wouldn't ask anyone else to expose their talents. Why Ethan?"
Everyone knew it was true.
Talent information was kept private during career transitions. Even the Sacred Career Stones didn't reveal specifics.
And for a Beast Master, summoned beasts were their trump cards. Showing them all off would reveal critical personal strategy—combat loadouts, hidden abilities, tactical elements.
In other words—exposing everything.
Ethan wasn't just being challenged. He was being cornered.
Mr. Carter smiled, but his eyes gleamed. This was a clean trap.
Either Ethan gave in, or his results could be invalidated.
And if he did comply?
Every secret he had would be on display.
From the stage, several other students chimed in.
"What's the harm in showing one panel?"
"Yeah, we'll sign an NDA or whatever. Just let us take a look."
"Come on, Ethan! Prove it! Or are you hiding something?"
The pressure was growing.
Ethan remained silent, calm, and unmoved.
But deep in the stands, someone else wasn't taking this lightly.
The principal of the Third Academy stood up, fire blazing in his eyes.
"They're ganging up on my student now?!" he hissed.
Without a second thought, he stepped forward, ready to intervene.
But before he could leave the viewing platform, a firm hand landed on his shoulder.
It was his grandmother.
"Relax," she said, her voice low but steady. "You're always bragging about how amazing your grandson is, aren't you?"
"Well then… if he's not panicking, why should you?"
The principal paused, then looked toward Ethan.
She was right.
Ethan didn't look rattled at all.
He stood like a mountain—unbothered by the storm around him.
Grumbling, the Third Academy principal sat back down.
But not without muttering, "If this were twenty years ago, I'd wipe the floor with those geezers."
"Summon a beast? Hah! One sneeze from mine could wipe out half a city block."
His grandmother rolled her eyes. "Oh yeah? Then why are you sitting here coughing like a dusty old chicken?"
"Cough, cough… touché."
—
Meanwhile, Ethan stood alone in the crowd of scrutiny.
Surrounded by pressure.
Mocked by rivals.
Tested by politics.
But he didn't blink.
He had nothing to prove—not to them.
And deep down, they all knew it.
This wasn't about fairness.
This was about trying to bury a prodigy before he could rise.
And from the look in Ethan's eyes, it was already too late.
He had already risen.
---
End of Chapter
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