Charles found himself in a wide-open area, surrounded by an endless expanse of primeval forest. There were no signs of battle, not even a single person in sight.
The Ferocious Beast Mountain Range spanned thousands of kilometers, and the group of over 1,000 trainees was like a few grains of rice scattered into the ocean.
Charles sighed and checked his phone for messages. The most recent message in the group chat for the 7th squad was from Fletcher.
August 1st, 07:56 [Fletcher]:
“I’m leaving today. The next month of training will be up to you all. Be careful in everything you do. I’ll be waiting for good news from you at Lsengard.”
At this moment, all the members of the 7th squad were offline. Charles tried sending a few messages, but no one responded.
However, Charles didn’t want to jump to conclusions. The Ferocious Beast Mountain Range was vast, and many areas had electromagnetic interference. Even if someone lost contact, it didn’t necessarily mean something bad had happened.
He then opened the “Trial Group Chat,” where messages were flooding in nonstop.
“When I returned to the camp today, everyone was gone. There were bloodstains all over the ground. Is there anyone from the 3rd squad who can tell me what happened?”
“Seriously? Don’t scare me… I can barely manage to hunt ferocious beasts below Lv10. When I encounter a tougher one, I just hide!”
“I heard from those who’ve participated in previous trials that, besides hunting ferocious beasts, killing other trainees can also earn points. Is that true?”
“What?! Is that even allowed? How is this any different from—?”
“I’m Bill from the 8th squad. If any big shot wants my points, I’ll hand over my points card—just don’t kill me!”
“Yesterday, I hid in the bushes and saw Robert from the 1st squad kill a classmate and take their trial points!”
“What? You saw Robert from the missing 1st squad? Could it be that he killed the rest of his team?”
“What kind of trial is this? I just want to go home! If someone can get me out of here, I’ll give them 5 gold coins when we’re back at Lsengard!”
“…”
The group chat was filled with gloom, with nothing but despairing and negative messages. More and more people were realizing that killing their fellow trainees was a shortcut to earning trial points.
It was like the “dark forest theory” in action.
Once suspicion took root, trust between people evaporated. Even couples who were once close were breaking up and choosing to go their separate ways during the trial.
Charles also noticed something alarming: all the teachers, including the representatives from the Beast Master Guild, had left the chat group.
“Damn it, turning a blind eye, huh? Do they think that by leaving the chat, they can just ignore all this killing?” Charles muttered angrily.
He could understand that Lsengard’s intention might be to expose these fledgling Beast Masters to the harsh and bloody reality of the Beast Mastery world.
However, as a modern person who has transmigrated, Charles cannot accept such inhumane practices no matter what.
“While I, Charles, won’t kill without reason, if anyone tries to take my points, they’d better not blame me for being ruthless.”
Charles glanced at his status panel. After nearly a month of grueling training, his progress had been remarkable.
Max was now at Lv15, Mousie at Lv14, and his own combat strength was roughly equivalent to Lv15, making him one of the top students in the group.
But he knew he couldn’t afford to be complacent. Ferocious beasts, though terrifying, were generally straightforward in their attacks. Humans, however, were a different story—they could set traps, use poison, strike while you sleep, or even manipulate emotions. The range of dirty tactics was endless.
He checked the points leaderboard.
————————————
[Ferocious Beast Mountain Range Training Points Leaderboard]
1st: Grace [3562 points]
2nd: Robert [2328 points]
3rd: Thomas [2109 points]
…
515th: Charles [614 points]
…
————————————
The same names dominated the top of the leaderboard. Grace held first place with an overwhelming lead, while Robert had amassed over 2,000 points. Who knew how many lives had been lost at his hands?
Charles’s points hadn’t changed much, but his rank had climbed by over 100 places. He suspected that many of those ahead of him had simply disappeared.
As he scrolled further down the leaderboard, a particular name caught his eye, and excitement surged through him.
618th: Daniel [489 points]
“Daniel! You’re still alive!” Charles exclaimed in relief.
Seeing Daniel’s points move up was one of the few pieces of good news Charles had come across that day.
In this world, aside from his parents and Lily, Daniel was the only person Charles had a close relationship with. If something had happened to Daniel, Charles feared he’d have no one left among his peers to talk to.
With a mix of joy and determination, Charles pocketed his phone and tightened his grip on the Ice and Fire Supreme Spear.
He looked up at the towering peaks of the Kentish Mountains before him. “It’s the last month. No matter what, it’s time I truly take action.”
Taking a deep breath, Charles set off at full speed toward the Kentish Mountains.
…
Three weeks flew by in the blink of an eye.
In the treacherous cliffs of the Kentish Mountains, a Salt Snake lay coiled in the underbrush, its forked tongue flicking out as it waited for prey to stumble into its trap.
But before the snake could react, the sound of something cutting through the air reached it, and a spear pierced its body, sending blood spraying everywhere.
The intense pain enraged the Salt Snake. It reared back, and upon seeing that its attacker was merely a human boy, it bared its fangs and lunged to bite him.
“Max, Mousie, get it!”
Before the Salt Snake could reach the boy, its path was blocked by a strange, three-tailed wolf. And beside the wolf, a massive, 10-meter-long crocodile appeared out of thin air!
The sudden turn of events left the Salt Snake stunned. It abruptly halted, attempting to flee.
But the crocodile was incredibly fast, surging forward to clamp down on the snake. After a vicious death roll, the Salt Snake was torn into several pieces, lifeless on the ground.
[Ding! You have defeated the ferocious beast [Salt Snake] (Lv20, Silver Quality)!]
[Mystical beast Max (Lv.17) Loyalty +0! Experience +600!]
[Mystical beast Mousie (Lv.16) Loyalty +1! Experience +700! Your pet Mousie has leveled up!]
As the system notifications flashed before his eyes, Charles extended his hand, and the Ice and Fire Supreme Spear, which had been embedded in the ground, shot back into his grasp.
The past three weeks of training in the Kentish Peaks had given him a healthy bronze tan, and his body had grown noticeably stronger. The defined muscles beneath his clothes were now more apparent.
Charles inspected the defeated Salt Snake, feeling quite satisfied with his progress during this time.
He recalled the first time he used [Puncture Thorn]; he had been so exhausted afterward that he fell unconscious for three days and nights. Now, however, he felt only a slight breathlessness, with no significant aftereffects.
Even more gratifying was the rapid progress Max and Mousie had made through relentless day-and-night training. Both had reached Lv17, and it wouldn’t be long before they advanced to second-tier mystical beasts!
When they leveled up, there was always a chance of triggering a critical evolution, and Charles now possessed a purple-quality miracle drug, the [Spirit Essence Pill], which guaranteed a 100% success rate in evolution!
After easily defeating this Lv20 ferocious beast, Charles had a clear understanding of his current strength.
A month ago, when he faced the third-tier Beast Master Bradley, he had only managed a draw by relying on the element of surprise with [Darkness Cloak]. But now, Charles was confident that he could outright defeat Bradley in a direct confrontation.
“Bradley, Robert. The atrocities you’ve committed—I, Charles, will repay a hundredfold!” Charles clenched his fist, his gaze fixed on the base of the Kentish Mountains.
The training was nearing its end, and now was the time for revenge.
He summoned the Cloud Leopard from his mount space and began his descent down the mountain.
…
On a moonless, windy night, Charles sped through the forest on his Cloud Leopard, the scenery around him blurring as they raced along.
During these three weeks of intense training, Charles had ventured deep into the Kentish Mountains to catch up with the top tier on the points leaderboard. Even after a full day of running at full speed, the Cloud Leopard had only reached two-thirds of the way to the mountain’s edge.
Noticing that the Cloud Leopard was now panting heavily from exhaustion, Charles decided to stop. He found a flat, sheltered spot where they could set up camp and rest.
Sizzle, sizzle…
Charles set up the campfire and placed the grill on top. The delicious aroma of roasted beast meat soon filled the air, with grease sizzling as it cooked.
After taking a big bite of the beast meat and washing it down with some beast blood, the fatigue from a day of grueling training was instantly swept away.
With just one week left, this brutal trial in the Ferocious Beast Mountain was coming to an end. He could no longer remember how many people’s scores had become permanently stagnant on the leaderboard; they might have already vanished.
It had been a month since he last spoke to anyone, and Charles felt like he was about to go insane. He was eager to return to Lsengard and tell Lily that he was now capable of being admitted to Nolan Academy, or even to one of the three major academies in the Imperial Capital.
He also hoped that when he returned to his rented room, his parents—who had been out of contact for two months—would be home to witness his growth into a true Beast Master!
As Charles enjoyed his roasted meat, he suddenly heard the sound of rustling footsteps outside the camp, followed by a voice saying, “That smells so good! There seems to be a camp up ahead.”
Upon hearing the voices, Charles instinctively tightened his grip on his spear and cautiously watched the direction of the newcomers.
“Hey there! Are you training here from Lsengard too? No need to be tense!” Two boys approached Charles’s camp, evidently startled by his alert stance.
Charles glanced over them; both wore the emblem of the Lsengard Beast Master Guild, which meant they were likely in the same situation as him, preparing to return to Lsengard after the trial. He relaxed his grip on the spear but remained vigilant.
“Do you need something?” Charles’s voice was cold.
The two boys exchanged glances and then casually sat down by the campfire. “We just had a ferocious beast attack our camp. We lost our tent while fleeing.”
“Would you mind if we rested here for the night? It would be safer if we formed a temporary team.”