The examiner's voice echoed across the trial grounds once more: "You must work together to defeat beasts and collect trial badges. Remember, time is limited. Begin!"
Rein remained still. He stood amidst the crowd, his gaze fixed on the Shadow Wolf. The arrogant beast lay lazily on the ground, appearing utterly uninterested in the task.
Other students had already started moving, and the tension in the trial grounds was mounting. A blazing Red Lion led its Tamer toward a badge, while a Whitewing Eagle scouted from the skies. Each contract beast demonstrated its abilities, except for Rein and the Shadow Wolf, who seemed entirely out of place.
"How much longer will you waste?" The Shadow Wolf's cold voice echoed in Rein's mind. "If you fail, you'll lose everything."
"You will too," Rein replied calmly. "Don't forget, our fates are tied together."
The Shadow Wolf's eyes flickered slightly before it finally rose, though its reluctance was evident.
Rein quickly identified the closest badge. He knew that with the Shadow Wolf's speed and strength, they could potentially secure two badges at once if it cooperated fully.
"Dash southeast! Target the badge!" Rein commanded.
The Shadow Wolf glanced at him, its blue eyes glinting with mockery. It didn't move immediately, pausing deliberately as if testing Rein's limits.
In that brief hesitation, another student and his contract beast—a swift Wind Fox—dashed toward the same badge.
Rein gritted his teeth and muttered, "Are you trying to make me fail?"
The Shadow Wolf flicked its tail and finally sprang into action. Like a black bolt of lightning, it tore through the low shrubs of the trial grounds. Just as the Wind Fox was about to grab the badge, the Shadow Wolf let out a growl, spreading its dark mist and forcing the opponent to retreat.
"Good," Rein murmured, quickly stepping forward to claim the badge.
However, as soon as he took the badge, the Wind Fox's Tamer stormed over. The tall student's face was flushed with anger.
"That badge was ours first!" the tall student snapped. "You're breaking the trial rules!"
Rein glanced at him coolly. "Rules are enforced by strength. If your Wind Fox couldn't take it, that's your problem."
"You—!" The tall student's anger flared.
Rein ignored him and pocketed the badge. He understood that the competition in the trial grounds went far beyond what was happening here. The Cult of the Nether Pact's interference and the Shadow Wolf's resistance made things infinitely more complicated.
The Shadow Wolf chuckled softly. "Not bad. Seems you're not naive."
As Rein and the Shadow Wolf finished their task, a violent tremor suddenly came from the depths of the trial grounds. The other students stopped in their tracks, looking toward the source of the sound.
The examiner's voice rang out again: "Attention! Certain areas of the trial grounds contain dangerous beasts. All students, remain vigilant."
Rein realized this was no ordinary danger. He could feel a familiar presence saturating the air—it was the oppressive aura of a higher-tier beast.
"Shadow Wolf," Rein said quietly, "do you feel it?"
The Shadow Wolf's ears twitched slightly as it let out a low growl. "Something is approaching, but… it feels wrong."
Before Rein could analyze further, three adolescent beasts burst out of the forest, their eyes filled with wild chaos, as if they had completely lost their minds.
"The battle has begun," Rein muttered.
The three beasts charged at Rein simultaneously, their deafening roars echoing. The other students backed away, clearly unwilling to interfere.
"Go!" Rein ordered. The Shadow Wolf darted out like a black shadow, its speed dizzying as its claws tore open the abdomen of one beast in an instant.
The second beast lunged at Rein, but he dodged with swift movements and stabbed its weak spot with his short blade. The Shadow Wolf followed up, enveloping the remaining beast in its dark mist and completely consuming it.
The fight ended quickly, but Rein felt something was off. He inspected the beasts' corpses and noticed that, despite their ferocity, their movements had been uncoordinated.
"They were… controlled?" Rein frowned.
Rein's thoughts were interrupted by another roar. This time, it was deeper, closer, and even made the ground tremble slightly.
The Shadow Wolf raised its head, a dangerous glint flashing in its blue eyes.
"It's here," the Shadow Wolf said softly. "The real prey."
Rein clenched his fist, his gaze fixed on the depths of the trial grounds. He knew the next battle would be far more than just part of the trial.