“Phew… that was satisfying!”
“That was incredible!
Absolutely incredible!”
“As expected of Kael!
He’s amazing!”
“Watching that fight is getting my blood pumping.
I almost want to grab a spear and try it myself!”
The students watching the live broadcast erupted with excitement.
The moment the Blade-Armed Tiger King collapsed, the entire battle came to an end.
The students stared at the screen with the satisfied expressions of people who had just watched an unforgettable performance.
But then something even more shocking happened.
Kael’s ranking suddenly changed.
The screen refreshed.
6th Place — Kael Veyron — 796 Points
Rivergate Second High School
“What?!”
“How did Senior Kael jump all the way to sixth place?”
“His score was only 634 a moment ago!
That’s an increase of nearly 160 points!”
“How could he possibly gain that many points from one battle?”
The students exchanged confused looks.
The increase was simply too large.
Even if the group contained several Low-Tier One Ferocious Beasts, the score still shouldn’t have risen by that much.
Then someone suddenly shouted from the crowd.
“Wait!
Look at the map!”
Everyone immediately turned toward the large virtual display.
A red section of the map surrounded Kael’s current location.
Someone gasped.
“He’s not in the Middle Region anymore…”
“He entered the Core Region!”
The realization swept through the spectators.
So that was it.
Kael hadn’t been fighting a group of ordinary peak unranked beasts.
Those Blade-Armed Tigers were Low-Tier One Ferocious Beasts.
And the massive Tiger King at the center of the group had been a Mid-Tier One Ferocious Beast.
The students finally understood what they had just witnessed.
“I knew those Blade-Armed Tigers looked unusually large!”
“They were Tier One beasts!”
“Then Senior Kael just killed an entire group of Tier One Ferocious Beasts by himself?”
“And one of them was Mid-Tier One!”
“That’s insane!”
“Killing Tier One beasts like they’re nothing more than weeds…”
The excitement grew even louder.
They had originally assumed Kael was still somewhere in the Middle Region, where peak unranked beasts and Low-Tier One beasts were common.
Nobody had realized that he had already crossed into the Core Region.
More importantly, nobody had expected him to immediately challenge a group of powerful beasts after entering it.
Now everything made sense.
Kael hadn’t been wasting time.
He had deliberately pushed toward the Core Region.
And once he arrived, he had immediately begun hunting.
A student suddenly remembered something.
“Even Ethan Blake, who’s currently ranked first, has to keep moving and use his speed when dealing with groups of Tier One beasts.”
“Exactly!”
“But Kael didn’t even run!”
“He stood there and fought all of them head-on!”
The students instinctively compared Kael with Ethan Blake, the current star candidate and the strongest student in Rivergate City.
The comparison left them speechless.
Ethan was already a B-rank ability user with exceptional combat talent.
Yet the sheer dominance Kael had displayed against that group of beasts was something they had never seen from him.
For the first time, many students began wondering whether the supposedly ordinary E-rank student from Rivergate Second High School might actually be stronger than the city’s most famous candidate.
Outside Grayridge Town, inside the military observation area, the atmosphere was equally intense.
The teachers and school administrators had been watching the live feeds carefully.
When Kael jumped down from the bus and found himself surrounded by ten Blade-Armed Tigers, several teachers immediately became nervous.
“Is he going to fight them?”
“He should retreat.”
“That group is too dangerous.”
“Even a Tier One Awakener shouldn’t recklessly challenge so many beasts at once.”
Nobody expected Kael to stand his ground.
And when the battle actually began, every teacher watching the screen fell silent.
The spinning spear.
The precise movements.
The terrifying speed.
The complete lack of hesitation.
Kael had turned what should have been a desperate battle into a one-sided slaughter.
When the Mid-Tier One Tiger King finally fell, the silence in the observation area became almost surreal.
Then…
“What combat power!”
One teacher couldn’t help exclaiming.
“Ten Blade-Armed Tigers alone, including a Mid-Tier One Tiger King…”
“His combat strength is probably even higher than Ethan Blake’s!”
“Which instructor taught that boy?”
“More importantly, how did an E-rank student become this strong?”
The teachers were stunned.
But one person was more excited than anyone else.
Daniel Carter.
Kael’s head teacher stood staring at the screen, his normally composed face flushed with excitement.
That was his student.
His class.
His name was now appearing among the best candidates in the entire city.
Daniel couldn’t help feeling proud.
“So… this is how strong Kael really is.”
Even Martin Cole, the usually calm principal of Rivergate Second High School, had widened his eyes.
He had known Kael’s results were impressive.
But he had never imagined they would reach this level.
“He’s only eighteen…”
Martin stared at the screen.
“How could he have developed combat ability like this?”
Victor Mason, director of the Redhaven City Education Department, was equally shocked.
But unlike the others, his attention was fixed almost entirely on Kael’s spear.
“Those thrusts…”
Victor’s eyes narrowed.
“They’re fast, direct, and incredibly precise.”
Then his expression changed.
“That’s Advanced Spearmanship.”
The teachers around him immediately looked over.
“Advanced?”
“You’re certain?”
Victor nodded.
“Absolutely.”
His voice carried both excitement and disbelief.
“His control over distance, timing, angle, and force is far beyond Intermediate Spearmanship.
That level of weapon mastery can only be Advanced.”
The teachers fell silent again.
Advanced weapon proficiency at eighteen years old was already astonishing.
For an ordinary person, reaching Intermediate proficiency could take decades of dedicated practice.
Advanced proficiency was an entirely different level.
It required extraordinary talent, comprehension, discipline, and combat experience.
Yet Kael was only eighteen.
“How is that possible?”
“Even the elite students from the provincial capital may not reach Advanced Spearmanship at his age.”
“That boy’s comprehension is frightening.”
Daniel listened to the discussion with a mixture of pride and disbelief.
He had known Kael trained with a spear.
He had never realized just how far that training had gone.
Victor suddenly sighed.
“What a shame…”
The excitement in his eyes faded slightly.
Everyone knew what he meant.
Kael’s combat ability was already astonishing.
After that battle, it was clear that his direct combat strength had surpassed Ethan Blake’s.
If Kael possessed even a moderately powerful ability, his future would be almost limitless.
But he had an E-rank ability.
That single fact placed a ceiling over his future.
“With this level of combat power,” Victor said quietly, “if Kael had even a C-rank ability, he might have had a chance to break Redhaven City’s long-standing record and enter the top fifty in Westhaven Province.”
A few teachers nodded.
It was difficult not to feel regret.
Kael had the physique.
He had the combat instincts.
He had Advanced Spearmanship.
He had the courage to fight Tier One beasts head-on.
Everything about him suggested an extraordinary future.
Except his ability rank.
That E-rank ability could eventually become the greatest limitation on his path.
Daniel didn’t respond.
His eyes remained fixed on the screen.
For some reason, however, he couldn’t bring himself to believe that Kael’s story would end there.
Victor’s earlier words caused another wave of discussion among the teachers.
“Advanced Spearmanship at eighteen…”
“That’s absurd.”
“Even some of the best students in the province wouldn’t reach that level before entering university.”
“What kind of talent does this boy have?”
The conversation eventually reached the principals.
Richard Harris, principal of Rivergate First High School, glanced toward Martin.
“Principal Cole, congratulations.”
Martin looked at him.
Richard smiled.
“It seems Rivergate’s top position this year will belong to your school.”
The words were polite, but everyone understood their meaning.
Rivergate First High School had always been the strongest high school in the city.
It possessed the best educational resources and attracted outstanding students from across Redhaven City.
Every year after ability awakening, some talented students from Rivergate Second transferred to Rivergate First because of its superior facilities and generous training resources.
As a result, Rivergate Second had spent years living under the shadow of its rival.
Martin had naturally disliked that situation.
But there was nothing he could do.
Rivergate First was simply too strong.
This year, however, things were different.
Kael Veyron had appeared out of nowhere.
And now he was tearing through the Combat Examination.
Martin smiled modestly.
“The examination isn’t over yet.
There are still several hours remaining, so it’s too early to say who will finish first.”
Richard laughed.
“Fair enough.”
Victor Mason, who had regained his composure, looked at Martin.
“Regardless of the final ranking, Rivergate Second has performed exceptionally well this year.”
He paused.
“And Kael Veyron deserves special recognition.”
Martin’s expression became serious.
Victor continued.
“If he maintains this performance, I intend to recommend that the city recognize Rivergate Second High School for its achievement after the examination.”
Martin’s eyes immediately brightened.
“Thank you, Director Mason.”
A commendation from the Education Department was far from meaningless.
It could bring additional funding, training resources, equipment, and opportunities for the school.
And for Martin himself, it could also improve his standing within the city’s education system.
If things went well, perhaps he could eventually move into a higher administrative position.
Martin looked back at Kael’s image on the screen.
He couldn’t help feeling emotional.
Who would have thought?
Rivergate Second High School had finally produced a student capable of standing at the very top of the city.
“Kael Veyron…”
Martin smiled.
“You really did give me the biggest surprise of my career.”
Inside Grayridge Town, Kael knew nothing about the discussions happening outside.
He had already left the battlefield.
The corpses of the Blade-Armed Tigers remained scattered across the abandoned square behind him.
The Obsidian Spear rested naturally in his hand.
His expression was calm.
There was no arrogance.
No excitement.
To Kael, that battle had simply been another step forward.
And the rewards had been excellent.
106 Ability Points.
Kael’s harvest had been far better than expected.
He had already begun thinking about where to hunt next.
Meanwhile, his ranking continued to climb.
Sixth place.
Then fifth.
Then fourth.
The distance between him and the students above him disappeared at an astonishing speed.
The spectators outside Grayridge watched the ranking board refresh again and again.
“What?!
He’s already fifth!”
“He’s still gaining points!”
“Look at his score!”
“It’s climbing too quickly!”
Kael’s score rose like a rocket.
Within less than an hour, he had overtaken one candidate after another.
And finally…
1st Place — Kael Veyron
Rivergate Second High School
The entire observation area erupted.
Kael Veyron had taken first place.
The student everyone had initially dismissed because of his E-rank ability was now standing above every other candidate in the city.
Even Ethan Blake had been surpassed.
Daniel Carter stared at the ranking screen for several seconds before finally laughing.
“We actually did it…”
Martin Cole’s expression was equally complicated.
Pride.
Surprise.
Excitement.
All of it appeared on his face.
But Kael’s victory was far from final.
The clock continued moving.
3:00 p.m.
The Combat Examination would end at 9:00 p.m.
Only six hours remained.
And Kael Veyron was now sitting at the very top.
The real battle had only just begun.