"Adrian Cole! Step forward!"
A tall boy with blonde hair walked into the arena. His hand went to his mark. Light flashed.
A Fire Wolf materialized. Red fur. Burning eyes. Level six.
The crowd murmured.
Instructor Vance nodded.
"Level six. You'll face a level six opponent. Begin!"
A cage opened on the far side of the arena. A Stone Bear lumbered out.
The fight was brief. The Fire Wolf was fast. Agile. It dodged the bear's attacks and burned it down. Three minutes. Victory.
"Pass. Next!"
The line moved. More applicants. More fights. Most passed. A few failed. Then someone interesting stepped forward.
"Marcus Fell!"
A boy walked into the arena. Rich clothes. Expensive jewelry. Arrogant smile. He raised his hand. His mark glowed bright red. Mist poured out. The temperature rose.
Something massive emerged. A dragon.
Not a full dragon. A Drake. A lesser dragon. But still. Red scales. Wings. Claws like swords. Fire dripping from its mouth.
[FLAME DRAKE DETECTED!]
[LEVEL: 15]
[DANGER: HIGH]
The crowd gasped. Level fifteen. That was Silver Rank. Far above everyone else. The Drake roared. The sound shook the arena. Several applicants stepped back.
But then something happened. The Drake turned toward Marcus. Snarled. Fire gathered in its throat.
Marcus's face went pale. "Wait! Stop! I command you to—"
The Drake didn't listen. It lunged at its own master.
Marcus dove to the side. Barely avoided the flames. The Drake's claws raked the ground where he'd been standing.
"Help! I can't control it!"
Instructor Vance moved. His hand raised.
The Azure Leviathan descended. Its massive body positioned between Marcus and the Drake. The whale let out a low rumble.
The Drake froze. Its instincts recognized something far more powerful. It lowered its head. Submitted.
Vance looked at Marcus. His expression cold. "Your Beast is too strong for you. You can't control it. You fail."
"But—but my father! He's Grandmaster Fell! He gave me this Drake! I'm supposed to—"
"I don't care who your father is." Vance's voice was ice. "A Tamer who can't control their Beast is worse than useless. They're dangerous. You fail. Get out."
Marcus's face flushed red. Anger. Embarrassment. But he returned the Drake and left. The crowd parted for him. No one said a word. Sunny watched carefully. So even rich kids with powerful connections could fail. The academy didn't care about status.
Good to know.
But more interesting was the fact that Vance let Marcus summon the Drake at all. He knew the boy couldn't control it. He let it happen anyway.
A test? A lesson? Both?
The line continued. More fights. More passes and failures. Then Instructor Vance raised his hand. The fights stopped.
"Listen up! Before we continue, I have an announcement."
The crowd went silent.
"This year is special. We're introducing a new system. The Ranking Duels."
Vance gestured to the arena. Three stone pillars rose from the ground. Each had a crystal embedded in it. Bronze. Silver. Gold.
"Every applicant will fight in the Bronze Duel. That's the standard entrance exam. Pass that, you're accepted as a student."
He pointed to the silver crystal. "But if you want, you can challenge the Silver Duel. Fight a Silver Rank opponent. Level fifteen Beast. If you win, you get extra rewards. Better dorm. Better training resources. Priority access to the academy's Taming Grounds."
Then he pointed to the gold crystal. "And for the truly ambitious, there's the Gold Duel. Level thirty opponent. Gold Rank. If you win, you get a scholarship. Full tuition. Access to the forbidden library. And a personal training session with the Headmaster himself."
The crowd erupted. Everyone talking at once.
"Level thirty? That's insane!"
"Only Gold Rank Tamers could beat that!"
"The rewards though. The forbidden library!"
Sunny's mind raced. Level thirty. That was far above him. His Sky Gecko was level four. His hidden Void Wing was level seven. No chance. Impossible.
But the rewards. Access to the forbidden library. That meant rare knowledge. Secret techniques. Information about Beasts no one else knew about. That was worth dying for.
No. Not dying. Winning. But how?
Instructor Vance continued. "You don't have to choose now. Complete your Bronze Duel first. If you pass, then you can challenge the higher ranks. But be warned. If you fail the Silver or Gold Duels, you don't get a second chance. You're stuck with whatever rewards you earned."
Made sense. High risk. High reward. Most students would play it safe. Pass the Bronze Duel. Take the normal student path.
But not everyone. Some would be greedy. Some would take the risk. Sunny smiled. He was definitely greedy.
"Now then. Back to the Bronze Duels. Next name!" Vance checked his list.
"Kai Storm!"
Sunny's heart skipped. His turn already.
He stepped forward. Into the arena. All eyes on him. Instructor Vance looked him over.
"Beast level?"
"Four."
"You'll face a level five opponent. Summon your Beast."
Sunny raised his hand. The mark on his ankle glowed. Green and gray mist poured out. The Sky Gecko materialized. Small. Winged lizard. Lazy eyes. It yawned.
The crowd laughed. A few people made comments.
"That's his Beast? It looks half-asleep."
"Level four? He's barely qualified."
"He's going to lose."
Sunny ignored them. Let them underestimate him. Better that way. A cage opened. His opponent emerged. A wolf. Black fur. Yellow eyes. Muscles rippling under its coat.
[SHADOW WOLF DETECTED!]
[LEVEL: 5]
[DANGER: LOW]
Level five. One level above his Sky Gecko. Fair fight by academy standards. But Sunny had experience. Twenty years of fighting in his past life.
"Begin!"
The Shadow Wolf charged.
Sunny didn't panic.
"Sky Gecko. Dodge. Use Camouflage."
The gecko's body shimmered. Its scales changed color. Matching the arena floor. It became nearly invisible.
The wolf skidded to a stop. Confused. Sniffing the air.
"Now. Wind Cutter."
The gecko's wings flapped. A blade of compressed air shot forward. Hit the wolf's side. Cut through fur. Drew blood.
The wolf yelped. Turned. Searching.
"Again."
Another Wind Cutter. Another hit. The wolf was bleeding. Getting weaker. It tried to attack. Randomly. Desperately. But it couldn't see its target.
Three more Wind Cutters. The wolf collapsed. Victory.
The entire fight lasted ninety seconds. The crowd went silent. Then murmurs started.
"He won. He actually won."
"That Camouflage ability. I didn't see it coming."
Instructor Vance nodded. "Pass. Well done."
Sunny returned his Sky Gecko. Turned to leave the arena. Then Vance spoke again.
"Kai Storm. Will you challenge the Silver or Gold Duels?"
The crowd's attention snapped back to him. Waiting.
Sunny paused. Thought about it. His Sky Gecko was level four. No way it could beat a level fifteen or level thirty opponent. Not in a fair fight. But he still had the Void Wing. Level seven.
Could it beat a level fifteen opponent? Maybe. With the right tactics. Mana Drain. Toxic Body. Flight advantage. Possible. But risky.
And level thirty? No chance. Even with the Void Wing. The gap was too large.
Unless...
Unless he fused again. Right now. Before the duel.
He had three slots. Sky Gecko occupied one. Void Wing occupied another. One slot was empty. If he could catch another Beast. Fuse it with the Void Wing. Level it up.
Maybe. Just maybe.
But where would he find a Beast right now?
Sunny's eyes scanned the arena. The cages. The defeated Beasts being returned.
Then he saw it. The Shadow Wolf he'd just beaten. Bleeding. Being carried away by academy staff.
Wild Beasts. Owned by the academy. Used for testing.
Technically, no one owned them.
Technically, they were free to tame.
Sunny made his decision.
"I'll challenge the Gold Duel."
The crowd exploded. Shock. Disbelief. Laughter.
"Is he insane?"
"Level four Beast against level thirty? He'll die!"
"What a waste."
Even Instructor Vance raised an eyebrow. "You sure? Level thirty is no joke. Even experienced Tamers struggle."
"I'm sure."
Vance shrugged. "Your funeral. You have one hour to prepare. The Gold Duel arena will be ready then. Use that time wisely."
Sunny nodded. Turned. Walked out of the arena.