Jean's voice had sounded like he'd swallowed a bucket of stress.
Shunya arrived at the city branch a few minutes later, slightly out of breath. "Alright, I'm here. Tell me the bad news before I start imagining giant death crabs in the combat arena."
Jean was pacing, arms crossed, brow furrowed so deep it could hide coins.
"It's not death crabs," he said flatly. "It's worse."
Shunya froze. "…Please tell me you mean 'worse' in an overdramatic mentor way, and not in the actual way."
Jean glanced at him, clearly not in the mood for jokes. "Tomorrow's combat test has been… modified. Headquarters decided that instead of standard one-on-one duels, you'll be in a multi-participant free-for-all."
Shunya tilted his head. "Like… battle royale?"
"Exactly. And," Jean's tone sharpened, "they've thrown in a few beasts into the mix."
Naomi, leaning against the wall, folded her arms. "Well, that's going to be messy."
Vikoria, who had quietly followed Shunya in, frowned. "That's dangerous for Hard-level beginners. What are they thinking?"
Jean sighed. "Politics. Some high-ranking official wants to 'test adaptability under pressure.'"
Shunya rubbed the back of his neck. "So… instead of one person trying to hit me, it'll be twenty people and a couple of angry beasts?"
Jean gave a tired nod. "Pretty much."
Shunya stared at the ceiling. "Cool. Great. Wonderful. I didn't need inner peace anyway."
Naomi smirked. "You'll live. Probably."
"Gee, thanks for the confidence boost," Shunya muttered.
But despite the looming chaos, there was a small flicker of excitement in his chest. A free-for-all meant unpredictability… and unpredictability meant opportunities.
He had no idea that tomorrow's "test" was going to drag him into something much bigger than an exam.