Fascinated by the surge of power coursing through him, Auron couldn't help but look at the system in a new light. Were there any new functions he had yet to unlock?

  "Wait!"

  A realization hit him like a ton of bricks. What if this wasn't a new function, but one that had been there all along?

  He just hadn’t met the criteria to unlock it yet. After all, it had taken finding a beast core compatible with his stone skin to be able to funnel it's energy to skill progression.

  Didn’t that mean all he had to do was fulfill certain criteria to become one overpowered bastard?

  ***

  Unable to resist the urge anymore, Auron looked at his modified system panel again.

  SYSTEM INTERFACE

  Name: Auron Raventor

  Title:Peak Iron Rank Hunter

  Race: Human

  Class: None (Yet)

  Beast Contracts: 0

  Attributes:

  Strength: ? 34

  (Your fists are now wrecking balls. Try not to punch walls… or people. Or both.)

  Agility: ? 28

  (You're too fast for your own good. Literally.)

  Intelligence: ? 10 (Big brain, but still dumb decisions incoming.)

  Charisma: ? 6 (You're slightly less terrifying. Slightly.)

  Endurance: ? 8 (You can actually take a hit now. Progress?)

  Luck: ? 12 (At this rate, the universe is actively favoring you.)

  Unallocated Attribute Points: (0)

  Skills.

  Stone Skin: Skill progression

  <85.6>

  Analysing his panel again he noticed a few subtle changes, such as...his title, it seemed to have changed, ranking him using a metric of beasts he slayed.

  His other stats were the same as before, which now sparked another question in his mind,

  if he didn't follow the conventional beast taming method, then how was he going to track his development, using his stats?

  Also what was the dividing

  line of the max stats of iron ranked beasts and the beginner stats of bronze ranked beasts.

  He was almost tempted to rush over to the edge of Glaivemire academy to start a murder spree that would answer all his questions, he was addicted to power and now that he had a taste of it, it was going to be impossible for him to give it up now, but he had to be rational.

  Considering that Instructor Lena had already announced that all training started tomorrow, before the official preliminaries in three weeks to pick the top ten who would represent Glaivemire academy against rival institutions to vie for entry to the secret Realm.

  He couldn't afford to skip class, again. Although he doubted she would hunt him down from the wastelands, I mean what are the odds... right?

  But he quickly discarded those thoughts.

  Maybe class wasn't all that bad. He still had time in the future but first he redirected his thoughts on the cause of all this, the emergence of a new secret realm.

  Secret Realms were mythical lands teeming with treasures and legendary artifacts yet interlaced with danger at every turn.

  If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Their origin? Some were formed from spatial fractures that revealed dimensions separate from Ignea’s.

  Others left behind by powerhouses looking to pass on their will and inheritance to the next generation or even find successors to carry on their arts.

  Whatever the reason was for their formation all had one thing in common: treasures—and heaps of more fucking treasures.

  Though, some of them did have an entrance requirement fixed on them like age or either their spatial energy supporting their entrance was too weak thus could not enable entry of powerhouses, This was where the younger generation come to play.

  Just thinking about it made the Secret Realm feel like a golden opportunity. If he could somehow secure entrance, he could level up his strength up a notch.

  After all, who in their right mind turned down treasures?”

  But before that he had to confirm one last thing that had been bugging him all this time. What made the system term certain beast cores suitable for skill progression, or were all beast cores suitable?

  After all he had only come across two so far, ever since the system awakened.

  One from the Ember wolf that granted him the skill: Iron Skin which had now evolved to stone skin and the one he acquired after killing the procan python.

  He had a rough idea of how it worked in his head but it wouldn't hurt to confirm.

  Walking out of his room, he headed down the hallway, his footsteps echoing, purposeful and sharp.

  He needed to verify—his theory about beast cores and their compatibility. But there was one little problem.

  He was broke.

  Not just broke—emotionally and cosmically broke. If there was a way to owe money to the universe, he'd probably have done it by now.

  Which affirmed another weird thought he had at the back of his mind. Why had he not yet stumbled upon a chest full of gold to solve all his problems? Clearly his luck stat wasn't high enough, at least not yet.

  Still, theory took priority over poverty.

  He reached the Pavilion entrance labeled INVENTORY, a modest building nestled into the base of the academy. Inside, it resembled a mix between a vault and a luxury shop—rows of sealed display cases containing beast cores, rare minerals, enchanted relics, Weapons and more.

  Auron stepped inside. Scanning the front desk he noticed the receptionist, an old man with greying eyebrows that resembled resting caterpillars and a white beard, didn't bother to look up. Good. That meant fewer questions.

  Auron moved toward the beast core section, keeping a low profile. He wasn't here to buy, just to observe—and maybe touch.

  Still he couldn't help but sigh helplessly," If only the beast cores he absorbed skills from or used their energy to funnel towards skill progression didn't disintegrate, he would have long found a way to have absorbed all their skills.

  Most display cores were locked in crystal enclosures... that is except for the few iron ranked beast cores, categorized by beast type and rank. Auron's fingers hovered over a case labeled Speed type.

  Wild Hare (Iron-Rank). His system hadn't reacted yet.

  He moved down a row.

  Blood Wolf (Peak Iron-Rank, Speed-Type)

  Nothing.

  Apart from the usual notification screen asking whether to absorb the skills from the beast cores.

  He furrowed his brows, then paused at a case labeled Darkhide Armadron – Iron Rank, Defensive-Type. As soon as his hand hovered above the blue shimmering crystal.

  The familiar system prompt popped up.

  [You have acquired a compatible beast core. Would you like to allocate its energy toward skill progression?]

  Auron's eyes gleamed at the system prompt.

  Bingo.

  So defensive-type beast cores could be directly funneled into his Stone Skin skill. That meant compatibility had something to do with type alignment—maybe affinity or resonance? That gave him a system to work with. He'd have to test more cores later, but for now, this was good progress.

  He lingered a little longer, pretending to weigh his options like someone who could actually afford anything behind the display cases. His hands casually drifted over the next few cores while he glanced around to make sure nobody was paying him much mind.

  About to leave the inventory his theory halfway confirmed he was about to turn back before he heard something

  behind him, the soft chime of the inventory door opening echoing through the quiet hall.

  He instinctively turned his head, prepared to walk away and continue scheming elsewhere—when he heard her.

  “Omigosh, it’s really you!”

  Auron blinked. Huh?

  A blur of copper-brown hair and enthusiastic energy practically bounced toward him. She was petite, but her steps were confident and her eyes sparkled like someone who just got top grades and a free pastry. A step behind her was a taller girl with dark raven hair and the steady presence of someone who didn't talk much, but noticed everything.

  “I can’t believe we ran into you here,” the first girl continued, grinning up at him with the pure, radiant joy of someone who didn’t know what awkwardness was. “We’ve been meaning to thank you!”

  “Uh...” Auron straightened up. “You have?”

  “Of course! You saved our asses out there in the wastelands! Remember, pointing us back to the academy?

  She beamed at him, and Auron froze.

  Ah.

  He hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Just survival.

  “Wait, you’ve got the wrong guy,” he said, lifting his hands. “I didn’t—”

  “No, we definitely don’t,” she cut in. “Tall, black hair, that sharp look in your eyes like you're always planning someone's funeral? Yeah. That was you.”

  The quiet girl next to her coughed softly. “Calla, maybe tone it down?”

  “Oh, right!” Calla laughed sheepishly, then clasped her hands behind her back. “Anyway, thanks again, mystery guy. We’ve been looking out for you ever since! You kind of vanished after that.”

  Auron opened his mouth, then closed it. Mystery guy? They didn’t even know his name?

  ...He could work with that.

  “I appreciate it,” he said at last, folding his arms in a way that he hoped looked casual and not defensive.

  Calla took a step closer, then paused to look at the beast core cases. Her eyes widened. “Wait, you’re in here to shop for beast cores? That’s amazing! You must be, like... super high rank. Maybe even a Silver rank?”

  She glanced at his clothes, which, to be fair, did look better than most students'. That was mostly thanks to his physique catching up with his appearance now. His skin had a stony sheen under the light, and his lean build had been sharpened after his Stone Skill had grown explosively.

  He scratched the back of his neck. “Not really.”

  “Still, you must have gotten something awesome from the Wastelands Calla continued.

  Elya—the quieter one—narrowed her eyes slightly. She’d noticed his hesitation.

  Calla, of course, didn't.

  “Or maybe...” Her voice dropped to a mock whisper. “You're some secret Genius hiding your true power until the last minute. Ooh! Like a Raventor prodigy or something!”

  Auron’s throat made a sound halfway between a laugh and a cough.

  He looked down at the beast core he couldn’t afford. Then back at the two girls staring at him expectantly.

  The silence stretched.

  Elya tilted her head. “Wait... you’re not actually broke, right?”

  Auron cleared his throat. “I’m, uh... temporarily liquid-less.”

  Calla blinked. “Oh... ohhh.”

  Her gaze flicked back to the core. Her expression shifted—not to pity, but something like realization mixed with mortification. “Wait, we just outed your... sorry, we didn’t mean to make it weird.”

  “You didn’t,” Auron lied.

  “You sure?” she asked.

  “I’m just here to... window shop.”

  “That makes sense!” Calla said quickly. “Totally normal. Happens all the time. I mean, Elya and I have like six coppers between us, so... we just like to stare at expensive things we’ll never own. Builds character.”

  Elya sighed. “You build a lot of character.”

  Calla grinned and looked back at Auron. “Anyway, thanks again. We owe you one.”

  With that, she gave him a little salute that was somehow both awkward and adorable, then turned to leave. Elya gave him one last glance—more curious now than grateful—before following after her friend.

  leaving Auron alone with the beast cores, the hovering system prompt, and a gnawing feeling in his chest.

  He stared at the case in front of him.

  “Raventor, huh?”

  He chuckled to himself.

  “Guess I’m doing a damn good job keeping the family name humble.”