Inside the Beast Slayer Association's registration office, Steve and Luxe sat across a long table with a holographic display floating above it.
Both of them took turns signing the glowing digital form labeled "Guild Verification Form."
"With this, Guild Veyrath is officially registered under the Association. Congratulations—and thank you for your cooperation."
The Association officer smiled and shook their hands.
Steve clenched his fist in excitement.
"Yosh! Finally done!" he exclaimed, then leaned closer to Luxe with a mischievous grin.
"Hei, Luxe... now that we're official, how about showing off your Beast a little?"
Luxe smiled faintly.
"Don't be ridiculous. I'm not going to summon them carelessly. This only makes me a bit safer—not immune to the rules."
Steve chuckled. "Yeah, yeah... always the cautious one."
Luxe glanced around.
"By the way, where are Jug and the others? I saw you whispering to them before we came in, and then they disappeared."
"Oh, that." Steve snapped his fingers.
"I told them to queue up for the Guild Tournament registration. Come on, let's catch up."
They left the office and entered the elevator heading to the ground floor—where the tournament registration area was located.
Ding.
The elevator doors slid open.
Standing right in front of them was Ivy, graceful and cold as ice.
Her silver hair glimmered under the light, her sharp gaze alone enough to make nearby Slayers fall silent.
Whispers rippled through the crowd behind her, awe and disbelief in their voices.
Steve froze for a moment, then stepped out awkwardly. Luxe followed calmly, unfazed.
For a split second, their eyes met—Luxe's and Ivy's—and the air seemed to tighten between them.
"Luxe… that's Ivy," Steve whispered quickly, eyes sparkling.
"Up close, she's even more stunning! This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance to see an S-Rank Beast Slayer! If she joined our guild, Veyrath would shoot straight to the Top 10! Hahaha!"
Luxe exhaled lightly.
"Stop daydreaming, Steve. Why would she bother joining a brand-new guild like ours? She's probably already in one."
Steve shook his head eagerly.
"Nope. She's not part of any guild. She and Moore work directly under the Association."
"Oh," Luxe glanced at him. "So those who serve directly under the Association can't join or form a guild?"
"Exactly," Steve said, pointing ahead. "Ah—there they are! Jug and the others!"
They approached the registration counter, where Jug, Sai, and Yoori were waiting.
"How did it go? Finished signing up?" Steve asked.
Jug nodded and handed them two holographic cards.
"Master Steve, Master Luxe—here are your Guild Tournament participant cards. Allow me to explain the rules briefly."
He spoke calmly and clearly:
"First, since our guild doesn't have a ranking yet, we'll compete in the preliminary rounds with seven other new guilds.
Second, the format is guild-versus-guild—one-on-one matches with a quota of five participants. The first to win two rounds secures victory for their guild. For example, if I win the first round, I can either continue fighting or let another member take the next match.
Third, each participant may summon only one Beast. If someone uses a Living Equipment, it counts as one Beast as well."
And finally," Jug looked between them, "only two guilds—the first and second place—will advance to the main tournament. The qualifiers begin tomorrow morning at nine."
Luxe frowned slightly.
"Tomorrow? Steve, didn't you say the tournament was still days away?"
Steve blinked, clutching his head in shock.
"What?! Tomorrow?! I thought registration was still open for a few more days! Good thing we came now—I thought we'd be signing up for the main bracket already!"
Jug smiled politely.
"The registration you mentioned is for ranked guilds, Master Steve. For new guilds like us, the deadline is today."
Steve leaned forward eagerly.
"Oh, right—so, do we know who we're up against tomorrow?"
Jug shook his head.
"Not yet, Master Steve. Opponents will be drawn by lottery at the venue tomorrow morning. All we need to do now is prepare."
Steve grinned, eyes gleaming.
"Hmm… how about a sparring session? Consider it our warm-up for tomorrow!"
"Good idea," Luxe said calmly. "I'll just watch."
"If that's your wish, Master Steve, we'll accompany you," Jug replied, glancing back at Sai and Yoori, who both nodded.
"Alright then—let's head back to the headquarters. Time to test our training ground!" Steve declared enthusiastically.
They left for the Veyrath Guild building.
Behind them, Yoori cast a disdainful look at Luxe and muttered under her breath,
"Why does the Young Master go this far for a mere F-Rank? I don't see anything special about him."
---
A few minutes later, they stood in Veyrath's training ground.
Each of them changed into their combat armor, the Veyrath emblem gleaming proudly on every chestplate.
Luxe stood by the sidelines with Sai and Yoori, while Steve and Jug prepared at the center of the arena.
Steve twirled his hammer and grinned.
"Alright, Jug. Let's duel."
Jug nodded calmly.
"Very well, Master Steve. But let's limit our strength—I wouldn't want you injured before tomorrow's match."
"Heh, fine by me. Summon—Tigrix Rex!"
ROAAAR!
The ground trembled as the massive Beast emerged. Golden-black aura radiated from its body, each roar sending gusts of wind rippling through the arena.
Jug smiled faintly.
"You seem quite fired up, Master Steve."
He clenched his fists as heavy black gauntlets materialized over his forearms.
"In that case… I'll give my best as well."
He raised one hand—
"Summon—Gravemane Direwolf!"
From a ripple of essence, a massive dark-gray wolf appeared, standing upright with twin fang-like blades in its hands, wrapped in brown aura.
A Lord-tier Beast—still in Juvenile Form, yet clearly formidable.
"Please, make your move, Master Steve," Jug said evenly, lowering his stance.
Steve charged first, hammer swinging with explosive force.
BAAAM!
The impact cracked the floor under Jug's feet, forcing him to slide back several steps.
Jug chuckled. "You've gotten stronger, Master Steve. But now—it's my turn."
He threw a punch forward—
GRRM!
A surge of hardened mud erupted from the ground, sweeping toward Steve like a wave. Steve leapt aside, barely avoiding it.
Tigrix Rex roared and lunged forward, its claws smashing through the mud wave, scattering it into shards.
But Jug wasn't finished.
"Direwolf—combination!"
The wolf leapt into the air, slashing its twin fang blades in a crimson cross, sending two sharp energy waves toward Steve.
Jug followed up immediately, slamming his gauntlet to launch another burst of compacted mud—combining both attacks into a deadly sequence.
Steve spun, smashing one crimson slash apart with his hammer, but the mud burst struck his shoulder, numbing his left arm.
"Ugh—!"
Tigrix Rex pounced forward, its golden-black claws forming a wide arc at Jug, but the Direwolf intercepted—its twin blades clashing against Tigrix's claws, sparks flying as the two Beasts grappled.
Steve grit his teeth, charging again despite his injury.
He leapt from Tigrix's back—
"Seismic Crash!"
He slammed his hammer down, shaking the entire arena.
Jug slid backward, but his fists struck the ground—turning the floor beneath his feet to hardened stone, stabilizing his stance.
The Direwolf howled, unleashing a brown shockwave that slowed Tigrix's movements—a gravitational debuff.
"Enough, Master Steve," Jug said calmly, though clearly in control. "You should stop here."
Steve exhaled, smiling tiredly. "Heh… you're as strong as ever, Jug."
Jug dismissed his gauntlets and recalled his Direwolf.
From the sidelines, Sai whistled. "Wow. You've grown a lot, Master Steve."
Yoori crossed her arms, then turned toward Luxe.
"How about you, Master Luxe? Care to spar? I can tell you want to."
Luxe nodded lightly. "Alright. Let's spar."
They stepped into the center of the arena.
Luxe stood relaxed, spinning his black scythe once. Shadows rippled beneath his feet—
and from them, Miravore emerged: a small Black Wolf with shimmering purple-black fur and glowing violet eyes.
Steve, Jug, and Sai watched eagerly from the sidelines.
On the opposite side, Yoori focused, her expression cool.
She raised her right hand. "I hope you won't regret not wearing any armor, Master Luxe."
"Summon—Aqualyn!"
SHWAA—
From a circle of water, a Mermaid-type Beast, Elite-tier, emerged.
Her hair gleamed blue, her eyes cold as the deep sea, surrounded by swirling water.
Without warning, Yoori commanded:
"Aqualyn—Bubble Burst!"
BOOM-BOOM-BOOM!
Hundreds of high-pressure water bubbles shot toward Luxe and Miravore, exploding like bullets on impact.
But Luxe merely sidestepped lightly, his scythe slicing through the air to deflect the blasts.
Miravore darted aside, leaving trails of violet essence behind.
When the barrage stopped, Yoori raised her hand again.
"Aqualyn, Water Shard!"
Dozens of razor-sharp water blades fired in unison.
Miravore dashed through them, claws flashing purple, slicing several apart while Luxe weaved gracefully between the rest.
Without expression, Luxe looked straight at Yoori—and vanished.
SHFF—
He reappeared behind her in an instant.
"Wha—?! How?!" Sai shouted from the sidelines.
Yoori stepped back, gritting her teeth.
"Fine, then… let's see you dodge this."
Her ring glowed green.
"Verdant Rod!"
A staff of crystal and vines appeared in her hand. She struck the ground—
"Vine Snare!"
Sharp roots burst upward, encircling Luxe—
but his body dissolved into ash and rematerialized at her side.
When Yoori turned—
the scythe was already at her neck.
She froze.
Even Aqualyn stopped moving, her eyes widening.
But the Mermaid suddenly lifted her arms, water swirling violently around her.
"Hydro Beam!"
A concentrated jet of water shot straight toward Miravore.
The wolf stepped forward, eyes glowing.
Purple aura pulsed across its body, and dark light gathered in its jaws.
"Miravore—stop!" Luxe shouted.
Too late.
WHUUUUMMM!
A beam of violet-black energy burst out—
obliterating Aqualyn's Hydro Beam completely.
The water stream vanished in an instant, vaporized by the sheer force.
But the laser didn't stop—continuing forward, straight toward the defenseless Mermaid.
"—Tch!"
Luxe vanished into ash, reappearing in front of Aqualyn.
He raised his scythe—
CLAAANG!
A blinding flash filled the arena as Luxe blocked Miravore's laser head-on.
A storm of purple-black energy exploded outward.
BOOOOOOM!
When the light faded, Luxe stood in front of Aqualyn, his scythe still trembling from the impact.
Miravore remained several meters away, breathing heavily, faint traces of essence flickering around him.
Aqualyn trembled, her eyes wide with fear—status: Fear activated instinctively.
Yoori stood frozen, her face pale.
"What kind of Beast is that… and how did you stop your own attack?" she whispered.
Luxe lowered his scythe, his gaze calm but sharp.
"Miravore. You went too far."
The wolf bowed its head low, silent, almost guilty.
From the sidelines, Jug and Sai exchanged shocked looks.
"Master… where did you even find that thing?" Jug muttered.
Steve just smirked, arms crossed.
"Told you he's strong, didn't I? Tomorrow—Veyrath's gonna shake that arena!"