"Good. Just don't piss yourself when the time comes."
Alex gave a cold laugh. He yanked the wriggling slime off his head and started the contract ritual.
The principal fixed his wig and coughed.
"Ahem. A bet's fine, but don't go betting lives. You're classmates, not enemies. Dial it back a little."
If Rex actually died in his school, he'd be done as principal.
If Alex died, that was bad too. After all, he's the one who triggered the X-rank portal.
Even if it ended weird as hell, the principal could still tell Alex wasn't ordinary.
That kind of confidence—who else could awaken an F-rank slime and still walk around like a king?
"Why not change the bet? Like, use cultivation resources instead?"
Rex snorted. "Fine. 1000 spirit stones! You in or what?"
The whole hall exploded.
"1000 spirit stones?! That's ten grand each! That's three families' entire savings!"
"For Rex's family, that's pocket change. But for Alex..."
"If he loses, his life's over. Ten years of debt!"
Bob wiped his forehead again. "Alex, man... why not wait till you're stronger?"
But Alex just chuckled. "1000 spirit stones? Who do you think I am, some beggar?"
Rex's face went dark. "Then YOU name it. What's the bet?"
Alex held the slime. He could feel the connection between them growing stronger.
"10,000 spirit stones. And also... post a video online. Winner gets called 'Dad.' Forever."
"And make it public. Everywhere."
The hall went dead silent. Jaws dropped. Bob's eyes bulged. Teachers started shaking. The principal's wig almost flew off again.
"10,000 spirit stones—that's more than what a Rank 8 Beast Master makes in half a lifetime! Not even counting beast healing costs!"
"Even a big family would feel that."
"This guy's... insane." "And that video? If he loses, he's socially destroyed forever."
The principal sighed, shaking his head.
Too reckless. This kind of person won't last long.
His gaze toward Alex turned colder.
If Alex lost, he'd be finished for life. Why throw everything away for pride?
Rex's lips trembled. From the stands, voices started chanting again—"Coward! Coward!"
He could feel it—girls, teachers, lackeys—everyone watching.
If he backed down, he'd be a joke. Scared of a damn slime.
But if he lost... his position in the family would take a hit, and his father... no way he could let him down!
Still, he had an A-rank beast. A genius among thousands. A-rank versus F-rank. It wasn't even close. He could crush ten, a hundred slimes.
No, the one who should be scared... was Alex.
Rex sneered. "Fine. Bet's on, trash."
Alex smiled. "Hope you can still call me Daddy with that same energy."
"Hmph!"
The principal raised both hands, swearing as witness.
The bet was sealed.
Alex put the slime away and walked down from the stage, chest out. Still proud. Still like the genius who summoned the X-rank portal.
Students stared. Was this really just a slime user?
"That guy's got balls," the cool girl laughed. "Rest of high school won't be boring."
Her friend nodded. "Alex is super confident. Didn't even flinch back there."
"But confidence doesn't win fights... How's he gonna reach Rank 10 with only a slime? Slimes can't even attack."
The cool girl narrowed her eyes. "Show me then, Alex."
Right then, on Rex's signal, a teacher spoke up.
"Alex, you'll need to work twice as hard. If you want to enter the school's official Beast Master program, you must reach Rank 10 before senior year."
"Otherwise, you won't even qualify for proper training, and you won't get any cultivation resources from the school either."
The students finally snapped back to reality.
"Yeah, no matter how badly he wants to get stronger, he needs resources first. If he can't even get into the Beast Master program, where's he gonna get resources from?"
Rex's lackeys jumped in, jeering.
"You're not even worthy of being Young Master Rex's opponent!"
"With a slime's pathetic cultivation speed, how are you gonna advance?"
"Just give up now! Save yourself from getting your ass beat—and losing your slime too, hahaha!"
Bob's face turned grim. "Yeah... F-rank doesn't just mean weak in battle. Cultivation speed is terrible too, and hunting monsters will be even worse..."
The principal froze, turning to look at Alex. Yeah, Alex had to find a way past this.
During sophomore year, every student's spirit stone supply was super limited.
With a slime dragging him down, doubt he'd even hit Rank 10 by 18.
The mocking laughter rang out again, everyone ridiculing Alex's stupid ambition. How could someone like him hope to beat Rex?
Rex lowered his head and planted a kiss on some girl's lips. His hand slid down, grabbing her round ass hard.
The girl just let out a soft moan, didn't resist at all.
Rex laughed, loud and wild.
"All that confidence—I almost forgot you're just F-rank trash!"
"By the time you're still struggling to hit Rank 10, I'll already have offers from top universities!"
He hugged the girl in his arms and pointed at the floor.
"But I can be generous. Kneel down right now, lick my shoes in front of everyone, and I won't take your spirit stones. How about that?"
"Hell, maybe I'll even toss you a few extra stones. What do you say, broke loser?"
"Hahaha! Young Master Rex is the man!"
"Rex is legit! That's a real genius! Put this trash in his place!"
Laughter flooded the entire hall.
Bob tried to turn things around, but he got drowned out—spit flying at his face from every direction.
Alex turned his head and smiled.
He summoned the slime again.
After finishing the contract ritual, its body swelled up—now a full three decimeters tall! A giant blob, like an oversized piece of poop!
Thanks to his previous choice reward, Alex had already broken through to Rank 10.
"Massive amount of spiritual energy" wasn't a joke.
The slime wiggled its round body, releasing its aura.
The whole place went silent again.
For a full half minute.
A student swallowed hard—the sound weirdly loud in the quiet.
"...Rank 10? On awakening day? No way..." his voice was shaking.
"That slime... it was so tiny just now!" Another student stumbled back, knocked over a chair.
Everyone who'd been mocking before froze, mouths hanging open, not making a sound.
"Shit... how'd he do that?" Rex's lackeys stared at each other in disbelief.
Someone rubbed his eyes over and over, mumbling, "Not an illusion... not an illusion..."
The principal leaned forward, gripping the desk so hard his knuckles went white, breathing heavy.
And Rex—the smile on his face froze solid.
The girl in his arms felt something was off, tried to speak, but Rex shoved her aside.
"Rank 10?!" Rex's voice cracked, rough and sharp.
The cool girl who'd been leaning against the wall with her arms crossed suddenly straightened up.
Her arms dropped, eyes locked on the slime, didn't say a word.
A vein bulged on the principal's forehead. He coughed hard but couldn't hide the tremor in his voice:
"This... impossible. Absolutely impossible..."
Bob's eyes lit up. He slapped his thigh and jumped to his feet.
"I told you Alex wasn't trash! You idiots, now you see it?! Rank 10! Hahaha!"
His laughter cut through the silence, echoing through the hall.
At Alex's feet, the slime bounced up and down, body pulsing with the aura of a Rank 10 beast.