Waving his arms energetically, he called out, "Senior Travis!!!"
The buzz-cut boy sprinted over and, gasping for breath with his hands on his knees, exclaimed, "Where did you go? I've been searching everywhere for you!"
"Professor Grimmer and the others are almost here. If they find you hanging around here instead of scouting the new candidates, they're going to chew you out again!"
"Ah, relax~" Travis replied nonchalantly, brushing off the scolding.
He casually threw an arm around the buzz-cut boy's shoulders as the latter stood upright again.
With a playful grin, he teased, "What's the rush, Laz? It's only the third day. Watching a bunch of rookies peck at each other is hardly entertaining."
"But…"
"No buts."
"Professor Grimmer—"
"We'll deal with him when he shows up."
"The scouting—"
"Let's go!"
As the two continued bickering, a deep, resonant dragon's roar suddenly echoed above the Duel Stadium City.
"Look! What's that?" someone in the crowd exclaimed.
All eyes turned skyward as two massive dragons, one white and one blue, with wingspans exceeding five meters, descended through the clouds, captivating everyone below.
"Those belong to the Genova University!" The buzz-cut boy instantly recognized the dragons' affiliation with a single glance.
Travis, too, glanced up at the two dragons hovering above the city.
Letting out a low whistle, he smirked.
"It's quite the spectacle… Did they really borrow Timothée Hart's Spirit Beasts? Or could it be that he's come here personally?"
"Seriously? That's unlikely, right?"
The buzz-cut boy's eyes widened in disbelief as he looked at Travis.
"Isn't Timothée Hart the captain of the Genova University team? Why would he leave the Cryora region to come all the way to our Verdantia region?"
"Who knows?" Travis replied with a yawn, losing interest in the descending dragons.
He released the buzz-cut boy's shoulder and began walking away, waving lazily over his shoulder.
"Laz, if you're not hungry, I'm going to grab something to eat by myself. Later~"
"Wait, what?"
The buzz-cut boy was stunned for a moment before realizing Travis had already put considerable distance between them.
Panicking, he called out while chasing after him, "Hold up, Senior Travis!!!"
...
It was the third day of the Beast Master Practical Exam.
In order to recruit new team members for next year's collegiate league, all prestigious universities had dispatched representatives to the various Duel Stadiums across the nation.
The second day, still at Arena 21 in Zone D.
"Tidibrush, use—"
"Bang!"
"Beep—!"
"Tidibrush is unable to continue the fight. Candidate 31143, Ash Bloom, wins!"
The familiar scene played out once again in the same arena.
The referee, unfazed by the repeated outcome, skillfully returned the updated number plate to Ash.
His gaze was shifted to the unusually large Larvanine perched on her shoulder, its size exceeding the norm by a noticeable margin.
He chuckled and remarked, "Your Larvanine is really well-trained."
Initially, everyone assumed that this young girl with a Larvanine would be among the first batch of candidates that were eliminated.
However, to their surprise, she emerged as the dark horse of this year's practical exams.
Had the candidates' phones not been confiscated before the exams, Ash's performance would undoubtedly have become an online sensation.
After all, in the long history of the practical exams, this marked the first time someone had achieved an 18-win streak using a Larvanine… no, now it was a 19-win streak.
The referee glanced at Ash's face as she humbly smiled while stroking the Larvanine on her shoulder.
A sudden premonition struck him—this year's practical exams were bound to be far more exciting than in previous years.
...
Back at the candidates' dormitory.
Ash barely stepped into her room before collapsing face-first onto the bed, burying her face into the blanket.
The overwhelming fatigue, as if her energy had been entirely drained, prompted a long, deep sigh.
Despite her victories seeming effortless, the truth was that with each successive win, Ash had to channel increasingly more spiritual energy into her Larvanine through her soul mark.
From the initial one-third of her energy to more than half, and now to the point where her entire body's reserves were nearly depleted…
Ash was incredibly grateful that she hadn't given up on her rigorous overexertion training during the past six months, no matter how grueling it had been.
Without that preparation, she might not have lasted even a few rounds in the arena—her Spirit Beast might have remained standing, but she, as its Beast Master, would have collapsed first.
"Larvanine~"
After gently closing the door, the Larvanine climbed onto the bed.
It cautiously approached the utterly exhausted Ash and lightly nudging her hair with its head.
If only it were stronger, Ash wouldn't have to drain so much of her own spiritual energy every match just to keep it in the fight.
If only it could be just a little bit more powerful… then it could bring Ash victories on its own, like the other Spirit Beasts.
But Larvanine knew that wasn't realistic.
It was still too weak!
Even after six months of grueling training, it couldn't overcome the inherent limitations of its species.
"Larvanine~"
Larvanine lowered its antennae, feeling a pang of guilt.
The moment Ash felt the low mood of the Spirit Beast beside her, she lifted her head slightly, glancing at the worried Larvanine at her side.
She reached out and gently stroked its head, saying softly, "I'm fine. I just need a little rest."
"You should rest too. This afternoon, we have one last tough battle to fight. I'll be counting on you then."
Ash wasn't lying.
Her physical aptitude was rated at F.
Even though there were 2–3 hours left to rest and recover her energy, her F-grade recovery speed couldn't compare to that of candidates with better talents.
She also lacked the financial means to buy items that could help humans regain spiritual energy.
This meant that the support she could provide to Larvanine in the afternoon would be severely limited.
But there was nothing she could do about it.