---
Chapter 46: The Predator's Trial
The ground shook under the Pack Leader's charge.
Each of its steps cracked the blackened soil, sending splinters flying.
Its body was thick with muscle, jagged bone armor growing along its back like a natural shield.
Glowing crimson eyes locked onto Ray, filled with hunger and hatred.
[Pack Leader - Blood-Fanged Alpha]
> Rank: E-Rank Beast
Strength: High
Speed: Medium-High
Intelligence: Pack Tactics
Special Skill: Frenzy Howl — boosts nearby beasts' strength for a short time.
---
Ray narrowed his eyes.
This wasn't like the F-Rank wolves.
One mistake... and he would die.
> "Calm, Ray," Seventeen's voice whispered in his mind, steady as ever.
"Read the flow. Every beast moves with instinct. Break that rhythm, and they fall."
Ray slid into a low stance, his iron sword reversed in his grip — a brutal, dirty style meant for killing, not honor.
The Pack Leader didn't hesitate.
It lunged — mouth open, serrated teeth flashing.
BOOM!
Ray twisted sideways, feeling the rush of fetid breath against his face.
The Alpha's claws slashed where his chest had been — barely missing by inches.
Ray retaliated instantly.
A slash aimed at the exposed ribs!
CLANG!
The sword bounced off the beast's hardened bone plates.
Too tough.
Ray's fingers numbed from the impact, but he didn't retreat.
Instead, he grinned wildly.
---
Frenzy Howl!
The Alpha howled, shaking the ruined forest.
From the mist, more wolves emerged — smaller than the Alpha, but bloodthirsty.
Two, four, six... eight in total.
Ray's heart hammered, but he didn't panic.
> "Good," Seventeen said coldly.
"More corpses for your orchard."
Ray slammed the sword into the dirt and spread his hands wide.
Mana surged from his core.
Rise.
From beneath the soil, skeletal hands erupted — grabbing at the incoming wolves.
Two were immediately dragged down, shrieking.
Another three slammed into unseen bone spikes that skewered them mid-sprint.
Ray moved like a ghost, grabbing a broken spear from a fallen corpse and jamming it through a wolf's eye.
---
The battlefield became a blur of motion.
Blood sprayed.
Bones cracked.
Ray fought like a man possessed — weaving between beasts, sacrificing flesh for bone-deep cuts.
A claw raked across his shoulder — pain exploded — but he ignored it, retaliating with a brutal stab into the wolf's throat.
[Beast Core Acquired!]
[Beast Core Acquired!]
[Beast Core Acquired!]
Cores kept piling up.
But the Alpha...
The Alpha watched.
Learning.
Waiting.
---
Ray wiped blood from his mouth and smiled through the pain.
"You're smarter than your pack," he said, voice raw.
"But you're still just a beast."
The Alpha growled low, almost in agreement.
Then it charged again — this time feinting left, then right — faster than before.
Ray read the movement.
He dropped low — not back — and lunged under the Alpha's swipe.
His free hand — now crackling with dark mana — punched the Alpha's exposed belly.
The beast howled in pain.
A shallow wound.
But blood was blood.
---
The Alpha spun wildly, slamming its body against Ray.
Ray was thrown like a ragdoll, crashing into a tree trunk with a sickening crack.
His vision blurred.
Ribs — maybe broken.
Breathing — sharp and painful.
Still, he stood.
Swordless.
Bleeding.
Grinning.
> "Now, Seventeen," he rasped.
> "Trigger Bone Orchard Seed — Emergency Bloom!"
[Emergency Bloom Activated!]
Suddenly, the ground beneath the Alpha twisted.
Roots made of pale bone shot upward, wrapping around its legs, torso, neck.
The beast roared and thrashed, but the more it struggled, the tighter the bone vines squeezed.
Ray staggered forward.
Every step was agony.
But he reached the Alpha's snarling face.
And drove a jagged bone spear straight through its eye.
CRACK!
The beast gave one last defiant shudder.
And died.
---
Silence fell.
The only sound — Ray's ragged breathing.
Notifications blinked across his vision.
> [E-Rank Beast Defeated!]
[Beast Core Acquired!]
[Experience Gained!]
[New Skill: Bone Vines (E)] unlocked!
[New Tree Evolution Option Available!]
Ray fell to his knees, exhausted but triumphant.
The Black Hollow Woods still whispered with danger — but for now, he had survived.
No.
He had conquered.
---
Meanwhile...
Far away, back in the Academy, an Instructor narrowed his eyes at the glowing mission board.
> Mission Status: Success
Solo Completion.
Unknown Skills Detected.
He leaned back, a slow smile creeping across his face.
"So... the little monster awakens."
---
To
---
Chapter 47: Blood, Bones, and Evolution
The battlefield was a wasteland.
Broken bones, shredded corpses, the metallic stench of blood thick in the air.
Ray sat quietly in the middle of it all — surrounded by death, yet utterly alive.
His fingers brushed against the cracked soil, feeling the lingering mana.
> "This is your first true battlefield," Seventeen said, voice strangely soft.
"Remember this feeling. One day, you will command battlefields like this without lifting a hand."
Ray smiled faintly, blood leaking from the corner of his mouth.
Then — the system chimed.
---
[Tree Evolution Available!]
> [Frost Wolf Tree (F) - Current]
Produces 1 Frost Wolf per day (max 10)
Wolf Strength: F-Rank
Elemental Affinity: Ice
Evolution Options:
1. Glacial Fang Tree (E-Rank)
Produces 1 Elite Frost Wolf every 2 days (max 5)
Wolves gain Ice Armor Skill.
Wolves gain Pack Buffs when grouped.
2. Mist Howler Tree (E-Rank)
Produces 2 Mist Wolves per day (max 10)
Wolves have lower strength but can phase through solid objects for short periods.
---
Ray stared at the options.
Both were tempting.
Survivability with Ice Armor...
Stealth and trickery with phasing Mist Wolves.
> "Choose carefully," Seventeen advised.
"The Glacial Fang route will make your army tougher and direct. Mist Howler will make them assassins."
Ray clenched his fists.
He remembered the Pack Leader.
Strength had decided the battle.
"I choose... Glacial Fang Tree."
---
[Evolution Initiated!]
From the blackened soil, the Frost Wolf Tree trembled.
Its pale bark cracked open, glowing with icy blue light.
Bone-like branches thickened.
Frost swirled around its roots.
Tiny wolf pups — spectral and feral — howled silently within the branches.
> [Glacial Fang Tree (E)]
Produces 1 Glacial Wolf every 2 days (max 5)
Wolves possess Ice Armor and Fang Pierce Skills.
Wolves buff each other when fighting in groups.
---
Ray exhaled slowly.
A new army.
A stronger army.
Even as his bones ached and his ribs screamed in pain, he couldn't help but smile.
He was growing.
---
A Message From The Academy
Suddenly, a mechanical voice echoed in his mind.
[Mandatory Academy Notification]
> [Mission Completed: Black Hollow Purge (Solo)]
> Performance: Exceptional (Solo Completion)
Special Skills Detected: Necromancer Traits Bonus Reward Unlocked: 100 Academy Points
> [New Mission Unlocked: Academy Tournament - Selection Trials]
Goal: Qualify for 1st-Year Academy Tournament.
Time Limit: 7 Days.
Rewards:
> National Recognition
High-Grade Weapons
Opportunity to join Special Classes.
---
Ray wiped the blood from his mouth and laughed hoarsely.
"No rest, huh?"
> "Rest is for the dead," Seventeen said simply.
"And you, Ray, are not allowed to die yet."
Ray stood — shaky but determined.
The Academy wanted to see blood?
Fine.
He would show them blood.
And bones.
And domination.
---
Meanwhile, in the Academy Council Hall...
The Instructors sat around a large oval table, watching replay footage of Ray's battle.
Skeletal hands ripping through wolves.
The Bone Orchard devouring enemies alive.
An E-Rank Alpha slaughtered by a half-dead boy.
Silence hung heavy.
Finally, one Instructor — an old man with silver hair and golden eyes — spoke.
"Promote him immediately to the Elite Track," he ordered.
"If we don't..." He paused, voice darkening.
"Someone else will."
---
To be continued in Chapter 48: Bloodied Steps to Glory
---
---
Chapter 48: Bloodied Steps to Glory
The Academy grounds were a sea of chaos.
Thousands of students, each a warrior in the making, rushed around the massive marble plaza. Banners fluttered. Academy guards in enchanted armor directed the crowds. Vendors shouted about magical snacks and mana potions.
Above it all, a giant crystalline screen displayed a single announcement:
> [First-Year Tournament - Selection Trials Begin!]
Ray stood at the edge of the crowd, pulling the hood of his academy robe lower over his eyes.
> "This is it," Seventeen whispered in his mind.
"Your first real stage."
Ray clenched his fists.
His frost wolves circled around him inside his domain, restless.
---
[Tournament Rules]
10,000 Participants.
Only 500 Will Advance.
No External Weapons (Personal Skills Allowed).
No Fatal Attacks (But Injuries Permitted).
Healing Stations Available After Each Round.
---
The giant plaza buzzed with excitement.
Powerful first-years flexed their abilities. Flames, shadows, water currents — the elements clashed even before the battles began.
And among them... predators watched.
Not students.
Not teachers.
Scouts.
Government Army.
Private Clans.
Royal Agencies.
> "They're all watching," Seventeen said. "They are searching for seeds they can grow."
Ray nodded silently.
He had no clan. No backer.
Only his own fists... and his undead army.
---
[First Match: Battle Royale - Survive 20 Minutes]
> [Battlefield: Black Mist Swamp]
[Participants: 200 per field]
[Win Condition: Survive until timer ends.]
Ray's name flashed onto a side panel:
Ray Darkthorn → Zone 7.
The ground rumbled.
Magical circles appeared under his feet.
A heartbeat later — flash — he was teleported away.
---
Zone 7 — Black Mist Swamp
The stench of rot hit immediately.
Thick black fog blanketed the ground.
Rotting trees.
Swamp water bubbling with hidden things.
Ray landed on soft, muddy ground, knees bent, eyes scanning quickly.
All around him, students materialized — 200 warriors, each hungry for glory.
Some instantly launched attacks.
Others formed quick alliances.
Ray did neither.
He closed his eyes briefly, touching his domain.
> "Come."
Five glacial wolves materialized beside him, silent as death.
Their icy blue eyes gleamed in the mist.
---
> "Survive," Seventeen said calmly.
"Survive... and dominate."
A savage grin split Ray's face.
"Let's hunt," he whispered.
The frost wolves howled — a chilling sound that rolled through the swamp.
Nearby students flinched.
Some began backing away.
Some foolish ones charged forward.
Ray welcomed them.
---
[First Blood]
The first attacker was a tall boy wielding twin daggers.
He blurred forward, aiming for Ray's throat.
Ray ducked under the slash and drove his fist into the boy's gut, sending him sprawling.
Before the boy could rise — a glacial wolf lunged.
Its jaws, wrapped in icy mana, snapped shut around the boy's arm, freezing it instantly.
> [Opponent Eliminated - Forced Teleportation to Recovery Zone]
Flash — the boy vanished, frozen and unconscious.
Ray didn't even glance at him.
He was already moving toward the next group.
---
The swamp became a battlefield.
Ray danced through the mist —
Bone Shackles snaring legs,
Glacial Wolves tearing into enemies,
Ice Spikes exploding underfoot.
Blood splattered.
Screams echoed.
More and more students were teleported out.
Ray's frost wolves worked like a unit, freezing groups of students and breaking their weapons with brutal efficiency.
It wasn't just survival anymore.
It was a massacre.
---
10 Minutes Later
200 → 87 Participants Left.
Ray leaned against a tree, breathing hard.
His robe was torn. Blood dripped from shallow cuts on his arms.
But his eyes burned with a fierce light.
He was alive.
He was growing.
Every enemy he faced was a stepping stone.
Every strike was a lesson.
> "Good," Seventeen whispered.
"You're starting to understand. Battle is your true teacher."
---
Final Five Minutes
The survivors had noticed him.
A cluster of 8 strong students approached together — elemental users, weapon masters, one even had a summoned spirit.
Ray cracked his knuckles.
The frost wolves growled.
He summoned Bone Spears into both hands.
No words.
No mercy.
Only war.
---
The Last Dance
The clash was brutal.
Flames roared. Blades flashed. Bones shattered.
Ray fought like a devil — dodging spells, freezing limbs, shattering armor.
The frost wolves dove into enemy ranks, biting, freezing, maiming.
In the end, only Ray stood atop a mound of defeated students, his body shaking but his spirit soaring.
[Battle Royale Complete - Survived!]
[Congratulations: Advanced to Round 2]
---
Outside the Arena
The Academy instructors stared at the crystal screens, faces frozen.
They had seen many battles today.
But none like his.
One old Instructor spoke hoarsely:
"Ray Darkthorn... That boy fights like a monster."
Another, younger Instructor grinned.
"Not a monster," she said.
"A king."
---