Arena.
Laughter everywhere.
"Slime's done for!"
"Alex is finished!"
"What a joke!"
Rex laughed so hard tears came out.
"I knew it!"
"Total fraud!"
Class 9 students—some sitting on the ground.
Some covering their faces.
Ms. Chen's hands shook.
Bob just stared.
Couldn't believe it.
Five contract beasts still pounding away.
Slime buried underneath.
Then—
Alex smiled.
The panic on his face vanished.
Just like that.
Gone.
Replaced by a grin.
He raised his hand.
Snap!
Crisp sound.
Everyone froze.
Slime's eyes shot open.
Yellow pupils glowing.
Then—
WOOOOOSH!
The slime expanded.
Fast.
So damn fast.
Half a meter.
One meter.
One and a half meters.
TWO METERS!
A massive yellow ball.
The expansion force—
BOOM!
All five contract beasts got launched.
[Blazing Lion]—flew backward, crashed into the wall.
[Wind Shadow Wolf]—sent tumbling across the ground.
[Thunder Hawk]—shot into the air, spiraling.
[Frost Fox]—slammed into the arena floor.
[Rock Armored Bear]—flipped over, landed with a thud.
All five scattered.
Collapsed.
Dead silence.
One second.
Two.
Three.
Then—
Chaos.
"WHAT?!"
"IT GOT BIGGER?!"
"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT?!"
Rex's laugh froze.
Mouth still open.
But no sound.
Ethan stumbled back.
"That..."
Lucas fell on his ass.
Staring.
Emma's hand flew to her mouth.
Michael just stood there.
Eyes wide as plates.
Class 9 students—jaws dropped.
Someone's phone hit the ground.
Ms. Chen shot to her feet.
"How..."
Bob grabbed the person next to him.
"Did you see that?!"
"Did you SEE that?!"
Principal took a step back.
"That's..."
Mr. Zhang's eyes went huge.
Glasses almost fell off.
"Gigantification?!"
Voice cracked.
"Second-tier Gigantification?!"
He stepped forward.
Stared at the slime.
"That's... that's a skill only B-rank and above can awaken!"
Pointed at the slime.
Hand shaking.
"How is this possible?!"
"A slime—"
"An F-rank slime—"
"How?!"
Crowd exploded.
"Second-tier Gigantification?!"
"That's a B-rank skill!"
"Slimes can't learn that!"
"What the hell is going on?!"
Wilson's eyes gleamed.
Smile wider now.
"Interesting."
Voice soft.
"Very interesting."
Arena center.
The slime stood there.
Two meters tall.
Two meters wide.
Massive yellow sphere.
Surface rippling.
Boing... boing...
Each bounce shook the arena.
Five contract beasts struggled to get up.
[Blazing Lion] shook its head.
Dazed.
[Wind Shadow Wolf] limped.
One leg injured.
[Thunder Hawk] circled above.
Wings unsteady.
[Frost Fox] backed away.
Fear in its eyes.
[Rock Armored Bear] roared.
But didn't charge.
Ethan's face went pale.
"This..."
"This can't be real..."
Lucas's voice shook.
"Second-tier Gigantification..."
"That means..."
Emma finished his sentence.
"The slime's combat power just jumped..."
David swallowed.
"By at least three grades..."
Mr. Zhang pushed his glasses.
Hands trembling.
"F-rank with Second-tier Gigantification..."
He did the math in his head.
Face got even paler.
"That's equivalent to..."
Stopped.
Couldn't say it.
Someone in the crowd shouted:
"B-rank combat power!"
"The slime just became B-rank!"
Another voice:
"No way!"
"That's impossible!"
But everyone saw it.
The massive yellow ball.
Still bouncing.
Still glowing.
Rex's face turned white.
Then green.
"This..."
He grabbed the person next to him.
"Tell me I'm seeing things!"
"Tell me!"
Class 9 students started standing up.
Hope flickering back.
"Alex..."
"He..."
One girl wiped her tears.
"He planned this?"
Bob's mouth hung open.
Then he started laughing.
"I knew it!"
"I knew he had a plan!"
Slapped his thigh.
"That bastard!"
"He was acting the whole time!"
Ms. Chen covered her mouth.
Tears in her eyes.
But different tears now.
This child...
He...
Arena.
Alex stood at the edge.
Arms crossed.
Still smiling.
Looked at Ethan.
"So."
Paused.
"Still wanna fight?"
Arena.
Five contract beasts struggled up.
Dusty.
Battered.
Ethan pulled out a vial.
Red liquid.
"Drink!"
Shoved it into [Blazing Lion]'s mouth.
Lucas did the same.
Emma, Michael, David—all feeding their beasts recovery potions.
Few seconds passed.
[Wind Shadow Wolf] stood straighter.
[Thunder Hawk] stopped wobbling.
[Frost Fox] eyes cleared up.
[Rock Armored Bear] roared again—stronger this time.
Not peak condition.
But could still fight.
Ethan's face dark.
"This time..."
Gritted his teeth.
"We won't give it any chance to get close!"
Lucas nodded.
"We'll wear it down!"
"From a distance!"
Michael commanded [Thunder Hawk].
"Stay in the air!"
"Hit from above!"
Emma's [Frost Fox] backed away further.
"Ranged attacks only!"
David clenched his fists.
"We'll exhaust it to death!"
Class 9 students' hearts sank again.
"Oh no..."
"They're right..."
"That one hit was powerful but..."
"It's still one versus five..."
Ms. Chen bit her lip.
That attack was impressive.
But it only worked because of surprise.
Now they're prepared...
Mr. Zhang sneered.
Pushed his glasses.
"Don't think one fancy skill makes you a genius!"
Voice dripping with disdain.
"Real talent isn't about tricks!"
"It's about sustained combat power!"
Principal let out a breath too.
"Good."
Nodded.
"Class 1's reputation won't fall here."
Crowd turned back to the arena.
Murmurs everywhere.
"Yeah, one hit doesn't mean victory."
"They can still win this."
"Alex got cocky too soon."
Arena center.
Five contract beasts circled the massive slime.
Keeping distance.
Eyes fierce.
[Blazing Lion] growled.
[Wind Shadow Wolf] bared fangs.
[Thunder Hawk] screeched above.
[Frost Fox] and [Rock Armored Bear] flanked the sides.
Perfect formation.
Ethan pointed at Alex.
"Don't get cocky!"
"We're just getting started!"
Lucas laughed.
"You think one trick is enough?!"
"Dream on!"
Emma's voice cold.
"We'll tear that slime apart!"
"Slowly!"
Then—
Alex yawned.
Covered his mouth.
"I already won."
Dead silence.
One second.
Two.
Then—
Explosion of voices.
"What?!"
"Already won?!"
"Is he insane?!"
Rex shouted from the crowd.
"The contract beasts are still standing!"
"What the hell is he talking about?!"
Ethan's face twisted.
"You—"
Lucas stepped forward.
"Delusional!"
"We haven't even—"
Then—
Bob's eyes went wide.
Wait.
He spun around.
Looked at the arena boundaries.
The principal...
He reduced the combat area!
Height AND range!
He looked at where the contract beasts landed.
They got blasted out...
His mouth dropped open.
"Out of bounds!"
Shouted.
"THEY'RE OUT OF BOUNDS!"
Silence.
Everyone froze.
Stared at the arena.
The five contract beasts—
[Blazing Lion] by the wall.
[Wind Shadow Wolf] near the edge.
[Thunder Hawk] circling outside the boundary.
[Frost Fox] past the line.
[Rock Armored Bear] completely off the platform.
All outside.
All.
Of.
Them.
Crowd went insane.
"WHAT?!"
"OUT OF BOUNDS?!"
"THEY LOST?!"
"ALL FIVE?!"
Class 9 students jumped up.
"WE WON?!"
"WE WON!"
Ms. Chen's hands flew to her face.
Tears streaming down.
Bob started laughing like crazy.
"I KNEW IT!"
"THAT GENIUS BASTARD!"
Rex's face went completely white.
Stumbled back.
"No..."
"No no no no..."
Ethan spun around.
Looked at where [Blazing Lion] stood.
Definitely outside.
"This..."
Lucas shook his head frantically.
"Wait wait wait!"
"This doesn't count!"
"We didn't—"
Emma pointed at the principal.
"The rule just changed!"
"We didn't have time to—"
David grabbed Mr. Zhang's arm.
"Teacher!"
"This isn't fair!"
Mr. Zhang pushed his glasses.
Face dark.
Stepped forward.
"Principal!"
Voice sharp.
"This match doesn't count!"
"The rule change was too sudden!"
"They didn't have time to adjust!"
Pointed at the slime.
"And that attack—it was clearly just a defensive reflex!"
"Not a strategic move!"
"The match should continue!"
Principal frowned.
Opened his mouth.
Then—
Clap. Clap. Clap.
Slow applause.
Wilson walked forward.
Still clapping.
Laughing.
"Well done!"
Big smile.
"Well done, kid!"
Walked right up to the arena.
Looked at Alex.
"That was brilliant."
Turned to Mr. Zhang.
Still smiling.
"The match is over."
Voice firm.
"They lost."
Mr. Zhang's face twisted.
"But—"
"No buts."
Wilson's eyes sharp now.
"Rules are rules."
"Class 1 loses."
"Fair and square."