Time flowed on, and two full hours had slipped by.
Within the council hall of the White Tower Academy in the Starfall Kingdom, three figures sat around a long table forged from star-forged meteorite iron.
At the head of the table sat the Grand Chancellor—a venerable elder with hair and beard as white as snow, yet eyes as sharp and penetrating as an eagle's. With unhurried grace, he brewed a pot of Moon Spring Tea, a rare delicacy sourced from the frozen reaches of the far north.
To his right was a middle-aged instructor draped in a robe traced with black-gold patterns.
And before them stood a strikingly beautiful female tutor, her expression caught somewhere between disbelief and shock.
"My lord… are you saying… our Combat Arts Class has produced a Triple-Crown Saint-Talent?"
Her voice trembled slightly, as though the very idea of such a legendary being emerging from her class was beyond her comprehension.
The Grand Chancellor smiled faintly, pouring her a cup of tea with his own hands.
"To be precise… a dual-affinity talent. But Alex's first affinity is unremarkable—hardly worth mentioning."
Her name was Janice, a senior instructor of the Kingdom's Advanced Combat Arts Class—and more importantly, the one who had guided Alex since his transfer.
She accepted the tea, her gaze still filled with disbelief.
"Alex…? The one who awakened the Triple-Crown Saint-Talent… is Alex?"
In her memory, the boy who had transferred midway from another branch was quiet, almost withdrawn. Neither the sort of prodigy who made teachers take notice, nor the troublemaker who drew constant reprimand.
His only real friend, it seemed, was the towering, mountain-like Gregory.
A student like that… was the easiest to overlook in the whole academy.
And yet—this silent pebble, under the light of the Saint-Talent's awakening, now gleamed with a brilliance that outshone gold.
"Congratulations, Instructor Janice. This year's Crown of the Saint-Tier Instructor will no doubt be yours."
The Grand Chancellor stroked his beard with a knowing smile, his words layered with meaning.
Janice returned a faint smile, showing little interest in the honor itself—she was not native to the White Tower, and had come here with another purpose entirely.
Even so, Alex's awakening had undeniably stirred something deep in her heart.
Somehow… she had the feeling this boy would make this year's final trials far more dazzling than anyone could imagine.
"The only thing we still don't know… is which branch Alex's Saint-Talent belongs to."
The Grand Chancellor gazed into the swirling surface of his tea, his tone carrying a sigh.
"If it's of the Combat lineage… then our kingdom may gain yet another Supreme capable of guarding the realm for generations."
A flicker of envy passed through the middle-aged instructor's eyes.
"A Triple-Crown Saint-Talent—and unique at that. Such a one is never weak. Even if he's not Combat-type, his future will still reach the absolute summit."
"Perhaps… the 'Shadowed Forest' trial will give us the answer."
His voice was low, yet edged with anticipation.
In the thousand-year history of the kingdom, there had been prodigies whose gifts shone like stars—yet without courage, without the will to seize destiny, they had faded into the endless crowd.
For a true Saint-Talent genius, entering a secret realm trial for the first time, to gain five levels within two hours was considered the mark of a qualified heir to greatness.
"Alex seems more steady than most his age. Reaching five levels shouldn't be hard."
Janice sat with poised elegance, her voice calm and refined.
"I think so too," the instructor agreed. "Aside from the core overlord and the beast in the Frozen Pool, the other monsters in the Shadowed Forest aren't particularly troublesome."
But the Grand Chancellor only shook his head, certainty gleaming in his eyes.
"Three levels—if he can climb three levels in there, he'll already shock the realm."
The two stared at him in surprise. The middle-aged instructor frowned.
"Surely you underestimate him?"
The Grand Chancellor gave a faint smile, refilling their cups with unhurried grace.
"You forget—when a Saint-Talent enters a secret realm, every monster's attributes double.
For a genius to face such shackles on his first trial… to gain three levels in this state already marks one as Heaven's Chosen."
The words shifted the air in the chamber, but Janice only curved her lips into a smile.
"Then as his instructor… I'll wager he'll climb four."
"Half an hour from now, the secret realm will close."
The Grand Chancellor's gaze drifted to the tall windows, where far above the sky, the massive gateway to the realm hung suspended, slowly rotating—its glow deep and unreadable.
Meanwhile—
At the very heart of the Shadowed Forest, the air boiled with blood mist, killing intent surging like a tidal wave.
Three figures tore through the endless beast tide, their paths carving arcs of death—blades, thunder, and shadow weaving together into a grim shroud.
They fought to grow stronger, each kill feeding their ascent. With every level gained, fatigue was burned away, wounds mended, and their momentum only grew more ferocious.
Mountains of monster corpses piled high, and rivers of blood snaked outward from the forest's core.
[Congratulations! You have reached LV10!]
A blinding arc of lightning ripped across the battlefield. Alex stood at its center, his body of flesh and blood tempered like steel—within a hundred meters of his boots, not a single living creature remained.
Planting his Extreme Blade · Thunder Calamity into the earth, he traced a finger through the air, summoning his personal status panel.
"Allocate points—max out all four stats."
In an instant, Strength, Agility, Spirit, and Vitality all surged upward. Muscles coiled like steel cables beneath his blood-hued armor, his gaze sinking into the depths of a predator's abyss.
Name: Alex
Level: LV10 (3%)
Strength: 5200 (+47)
Agility: 5200 (+97)
Spirit: 5200 (+102)
Vitality: 5200
Skills: Bone Breaker LV1
Equipment: Starfall Pendant (Epic), Extreme Blade · Thunder Calamity (Mythic)
Talents: Triple-Crown Saint-Talent · Reallocation, Triple-Crown Saint-Talent · Infinite Ascension (Unique)
Alex's lips curled into the faintest of grins as he stared at those numbers—
Single stats breaking the 5,000 mark… total attributes pushing the edge of twenty thousand!
Even the legendary God-Kings, in their youth, could not stand shoulder to shoulder with him at the same level.