Evan's eyes narrowed as he considered his thoughts.
Zachary, with his formidable Gold nine-star Roaring Lion, was one of the most powerful figures in Blue River City. If he hadn't sacrificed himself in the Beast Tide, he might have even broken through to the Eternal level.
Yet, someone was able to suppress a Beastmaster of his caliber in a small place like Blue River City?
"Interesting," Evan mused, glancing at the front of the class where Zachary stood, his gaze cold as he addressed the students:
"Everyone, being here as a part of the Beastmaster ranks does not mark your first success."
"It marks your first failure!"
At this, many students' faces shifted in shock. Zachary's voice continued, sharp as a blade. "Do you know why?"
"Talent! A D-grade Beastmaster Talent condemns you to inferiority. Among Beastmasters of the same level, others don't even have to lift a finger, and their beasts will still overpower yours by a mile!"
"You'll never get the best resources. Those ordinary people might look up to you, but in the world of Beastmasters, no one expects anything from you. Do you know what they call this class? They call it the 'Reject Class'—a group of worthless rejects."
"Do you know what kind of beasts you were allowed to pick yesterday? Do you know what beasts were given to the Advanced and Honors classes? Elite-class beasts that can grow to Silver, maybe even Gold."
A murmur rippled through the class.
Elite-class beasts typically cost hundreds of thousands—even millions. Owning one could almost guarantee advancement to the Silver level, the level that secured a ticket to college.
The mention of this affected many students, and one girl in the front row, a delicate-looking young woman, stood up. "Teacher, if talent determines everything, then why are we even here?"
"Good question." Zachary's reply was immediate as he looked at her, asking, "What's your name?"
"Winona," she replied.
"Winona. I'll remember your name." Zachary nodded, tapping the desk before surveying the room. "Today, I'll be explaining what you can actually achieve in these next three years."
"To start, I'll be taking you into one of the school's low-level mystic realms each month for practical training."
Mystic realms! Hearing this, the previously disheartened students perked up in excitement.
Unlike Evan, who knew a lot, mystic realms were rare and mysterious treasures to them, even the low-level ones.
"Sounds good, doesn't it?" Zachary continued, observing the students' reactions before nodding. "However, there are limited slots. The school has only given me ten per month."
"If you want to enter, you'll need to earn it. On the tenth of each month, there will be a monthly test. Beast combat. Only the top ten will earn a place in the mystic realm."
"It's already the 2nd today, which means that in eight days, you'll have your first monthly test—and the first chance to enter a mystic realm."
Excitement filled the room as the students discussed the news in whispers.
"Quiet!" Zachary called out, and the room fell silent again.
"Feeling a bit proud now, are we? Thinking that having access to a mystic realm means you'll quickly catch up to everyone else?" His gaze turned cold once more. "Let me tell you something else. For the Advanced and Honors classes, they can enter the mystic realms twice per month—and they don't have a slot limit!"
Another wave of disappointment hit the students as Zachary continued, "Even those ten slots only exist because I fought for them. Otherwise, with your D-grade talents, you wouldn't even be considered."
"Over these three years, you'll need to train with everything you have, earn your way into the mystic realms, and make one trip worth as much as their two. Only then will you have a chance to prove that you aren't just rejects."
"Do you understand?"
Zachary's question was met with silence, broken only by a few half-hearted murmurs of "yes."
"YES!" Among them, Yates shouted with conviction, catching Zachary's attention. He glanced briefly at Yates but lingered on Evan, who had remained silent throughout.
In the end, Zachary simply shook his head, gathered his notes, and said, "I know that many of you don't have the confidence to answer that question, but I'll be asking it every week."
"When you graduate in three years, I don't want you to answer so feebly."
"Now, go train your beasts. I'll observe your training sessions. If you have any questions or issues, come find me."
With that, he dismissed them, and the students filed out of the classroom. This was the routine at Beastmaster High. Aside from the weekly checks, teachers rarely interfered with students' activities.
Of course, this rule applied to regular students. Those with higher talent received personalized guidance from top instructors, as well as escorted trips into mystic realms where their safety was guaranteed.
Geniuses led lives that were vastly different from the rest, but ordinary people could still rise above them—and that was the first lesson Zachary aimed to impart.
As Evan stood up to leave, Yates quickly asked, "Aren't you going to train your beast?"
"I am," Evan replied, shaking his head with a slight smile. "But in my view, the best training for a beast is through battle."
"Battle?" Yates blinked in surprise. "Where are we going to battle?"
"North of the city. Silvermoon Forest," Evan answered calmly.
Yates's face turned pale. "Silvermoon Forest? There are dangerous beasts everywhere there—some might even be above the Gold level! We could get killed!"
"That's only in the forest's core. The outskirts mostly have Black Iron-level beasts." Evan shook his head. "Want to come?"
Yates hesitated, recalling the forest's fearsome reputation. But seeing Evan's steady gaze, he clenched his fists and nodded.
"Let's do it!"
"That's more like it." Evan smiled, motioning for Yates to follow him as he headed for the school gate.
Back in the classroom, Zachary looked thoughtfully toward the door.
"So, Evan… I thought he would be discouraged after being assigned a D-grade talent, but he's bold. Two new Beastmasters daring to venture into the beast forest?"
Shaking his head, Zachary chuckled to himself. "They don't know what they're in for. Let them suffer a bit, and they'll realize that wild beasts aren't as tame as the ones they're used to…"
After muttering this, Zachary's gaze drifted to the window, where other students were training with their beasts.
A look of quiet resolve crossed his face.
"Everyone claims my success is because I had good students. They think it's impossible to bring out the best in a regular class. But three years from now, when they graduate, I'm going to prove them all wrong. Let's see what they say then!"
---
Meanwhile, outside the school gates, Evan and Yates had barely set foot outside when a group of men surrounded them.
"Uh-oh, Dean must have sent them to block us," Yates murmured, tugging on Evan's sleeve to retreat back inside.
But Evan stood firm, not moving an inch. As Yates started to panic, Evan merely shook his head.
"You're the one called Evan, right?" the lead, a skinny man, ignored Yates' nervousness and focused on Evan.
"That's right," Evan replied, narrowing his eyes at the group.
"Perfect." The skinny man's tone softened abruptly. Turning to his men, he instructed, "Come on, greet Evan properly."
In unison, the men called out, "Hello, Evan!"
Yates was stunned.
Weren't they here to cause trouble? Why were they greeting Evan with such respect?
A suspicion formed in his mind as he glanced at his friend. Could it be that Evan had also joined a gang?
As Yates wrestled with this new idea, Evan spoke up, a hint of displeasure in his voice. "Who sent you?"
Without waiting for an answer, he added, "Don't tell me Ice Rain put you up to this."