On the academy's central sports field, the crowd had descended into utter chaos at the arrival of the monster.
The teachers were systematically evacuating the students who had failed to awaken. As for those who hadn't even had their turn yet, they could only wait for a later testing date. Gradually, the field was emptied of everyone except the successful candidates, the TPC staff stationed at the school, and Ye Feng, who remained on the high platform, still glowing with light.
"Student Ye Feng! Stop the awakening! We need to leave, now! The monster is about to surface!"
Seeing that Ye Feng still hadn't withdrawn his hand, the proctor's voice rose in a mix of irritation and panic. To him, it didn't matter if the awakening was incomplete; there was no rule saying one couldn't have a second attempt. More importantly, the changes occurring in Ye Feng were bizarre; his power would clearly be beyond imagination. A talent like this absolutely could not be allowed to come to harm!
"I... I want to, but it's like my hand is being held by something! I can't pull it back!"
The proctor was anxious, but did he really think Ye Feng wasn't?
For heaven's sake, a monster was coming! A monster at least forty meters tall and weighing tens of thousands of tons! If he didn't run now, was he supposed to stay and wait for death? But the problem was his hand—it felt as if it were coated in superglue. No matter how much strength he exerted, he couldn't pull it out!
Even as the sensation of power within him grew stronger, he couldn't bring himself to be happy about it. The monster was almost here. He wasn't some novel protagonist who could suddenly go berserk or "power up" on command; he was just an ordinary transmigrator!
"You can't pull it out? How is that possible!"
The proctor clearly didn't believe him. He reached out to assist Ye Feng, but the moment he made contact, a blast of scorching air erupted. The force sent the proctor flying backward.
"Hot! Hot! It's burning me!"
After being blown back, the proctor tumbled down the steps, writhing in pain on the ground. Ye Feng watched him, dumbfounded.
Crap! Proctor, aren't you being a bit dramatic? I'm just a regular student; I can't afford to be blamed for your 'accidental' injury!
Of course, that was just his internal monologue. Judging by the proctor's reaction, the power within him was anything but simple. Seeing their comrade's plight, the other TPC personnel rushed over. Fortunately, nothing serious had happened; the scorching energy seemed purely defensive, meant only to protect Ye Feng. The proctor recovered quickly.
The commotion around Ye Feng naturally drew everyone's attention, especially that of the middle-aged TPC official, whose eyes shimmered with a strange light. Just as he moved to take a closer look, the earth trembled. He stumbled, nearly falling to the ground.
Aside from Ye Feng, who stood rooted to the spot on the platform as if held by lightning, everyone was caught off guard by the tremors.
RUMBLE—!
The sound of a massive weight shifting echoed through the air. It felt as though, at any second, a gargantuan creature would burst from the soil beneath them.
Soon, a sixty-meter-tall monster, clad in rocky, scale-like armor and sporting a singular horn, lunged out of the earth.
"ROAR!!!"
As the monster appeared, it let out a long, piercing shriek, as if announcing its arrival to all of humanity.
"Gadi!"
Seeing the giant beast, Ye Feng immediately recognized its name. It was the Barrier Monster, Gadi. However, this Gadi differed from the one in his memories. Its eyes were a dark, predatory red, and its scales looked like terrifying, molten volcanic rock—disturbingly similar to the appearance of an EX Red King.
"ROAR!!!"
The anomalous Gadi turned its gaze toward the high school, as if sensing a delectable morsel. Trails of thick slime dripped from its maw as it began to stomp toward the school buildings.
"Dammit! Don't you dare come over here!"
Seeing Gadi's movement, Ye Feng panicked. He threw his entire weight backward, trying to forcefully wrench his hand free.
The ring, still pulsing with red and blue energy, seemed to sense his desperation and began to yield. Ninety percent of the red-blue power surged into Ye Feng's body, while the remaining ten percent condensed into a card that fell into his hand.
Without time to look at it, the momentum of his own pull sent Ye Feng tumbling backward down the stairs.
"Ouch... dammit, that hurts."
Fortunately, the platform was only about five or six meters high. But falling unexpectedly still left him bruised and aching.
"ROAR!!"
The monster's roar came again. Ye Feng saw Gadi nearly upon him and scrambled backward in terror. But how could a human body outrun a titan? Gadi lashed out with its whip-like tentacles, targeting the fleeing Ye Feng.
As danger closed in, Ye Feng felt a sharp tightening in his chest—it was as if an instinctual alarm was blaring in his mind. He turned his head just in time to see a tentacle coursing with molten veins lashing toward him, sealing off any path of escape.
'Am I going to die?'
With the whip inches away, the shadow of death loomed over his mind. Simultaneously, unnoticed by Ye Feng, the card in his hand began to pulse with a brilliant blue light. It grew more dazzling by the second, like a tiger about to be unleashed from its cage.
Ye Feng didn't notice. As the whip was about to strike, he instinctively raised his arms to shield himself. In the next instant...
BOOM!!!
THUD—
Just as he braced for the end, a massive collision echoed in his ears. The ground beneath him shook violently, as if a colossal weight had been slammed into the earth from high above.
"What happened?"
The expected pain never came. As the question flashed through his mind, Ye Feng lowered his arms and looked at the giant entity standing before him.
"Lithra?!"
"SCREECH!!"
As if in response, Lithra let out a sharp cry and began to advance toward the downed Gadi.
The mutated Gadi scrambled back to its feet. Seeing the culprit who had knocked it aside, it let out an angry howl and swung its whips at the opponent.
CRACK! SNAP!
"SCREE—!"
Gadi's whips carried immense force. After taking two heavy hits, Lithra was forced back, letting out a pained cry.
"Get moving!"
While Ye Feng stood there dazed, a deep, commanding voice came from behind him. He turned to see the middle-aged official in the blue uniform. The man's pupils contracted slightly when he caught a glimpse of the card in Ye Feng's hand, but he quickly grabbed the boy's arm and pulled him toward safety.
"Don't just stand there staring! That girl is undergoing her first fusion; if you stay here, you're just going to get in her way." The man didn't care what Ye Feng thought; he dragged him toward the shelters with an iron grip.
"Wait, what's going on? What do you mean 'first fusion'?"
Once he found his footing, Ye Feng immediately zeroed in on the key phrase. The middle-aged man seemed surprisingly patient. Even while retreating, he explained:
"That girl, Qin Yuxin, has a natural talent for direct gigantification. When she saw you were being targeted, she immediately used her Monster Ring to materialize."
In this world, the test was a two-part process. Once a Monster or Alien card was awakened, the TPC would use an energy meter to measure the latent energy within the student. The energy levels were ranked as E, D, C, B, A, S, and SS.
As long as a student's energy reached Level B, they could undergo direct gigantification. During the ceremony, the TPC had already tested twenty successful candidates. Only Qin Yuxin had reached Level B. The others were scattered between E and D; not a single Level C had appeared. One could only imagine how difficult it was to reach Level B.
"So that's it... Qin Yuxin's talent is actually that high."
Ye Feng's face showed his surprise. Energy levels were essentially a measure of raw potential. In most major cities, only one or two people would reach Level B upon their first awakening, and she was one of them.
"Indeed, her talent is remarkable. However..." The man looked at the card in Ye Feng's hand and smiled. "You don't seem to be lacking, either."
"Me?"
Following the man's gaze, Ye Feng finally realized he was clutching a card.
"How is this possible...?"
Looking down at the card, Ye Feng couldn't believe his eyes. He never expected to receive this specific card.
"SCREECH—!"
"ROAR!!"
As he stood in shock, the combined cries of Lithra's pain and Gadi's fury echoed throughout the district.
"Qin Yuxin!"
"The girl is still too green," the man noted with a hint of regret as they reached the safe zone. "Especially for a first fusion; she hasn't learned how to master a monster's power yet."
"Commander, the students have been settled. It's our turn to move in!" A TPC operative ran up to report.
"Understood. Exercise extreme caution; this Gadi is far from ordinary."
The timing of Gadi's appearance was too perfect. A sense of foreboding settled in his chest, prompting him to give a stern warning.
"Don't worry, sir. Our squad might not be the elite of the elite, but we have more than enough to handle a Gadi."
The operative smirked and pulled out a Monster Ring (a Dark Ring) from his gear. He slotted in a Gudon card and sprinted toward the battlefield. Four more TPC operatives followed suit, each brandishing their own Monster or Alien cards.
'The Monster Ring... it really is the Dark Ring...'
Seeing the rings in their hands, Ye Feng's suspicions were confirmed, yet seeing the physical objects in person still left him stunned.