A quiet tension settled over the entrance of the university as the crowd gathered, forming a loose ring around Kaitlin and Dante. The makeshift barricades, the worn-out faces of survivors waiting for entry, and the cold wind sweeping through the ruins all faded into the background.

  Jason stood off to the side, arms crossed, watching closely. He already knew how this would end. Dante was strong, sure. A First Class user with fire abilities. But he had grown strong in the easy way. Killing monsters near his level, never pushing himself beyond what was necessary.

  Kaitlin had been fighting like him. Struggling against monsters above her level, pushing herself to the limit, growing not just stronger, but smarter. That was the difference. Emma raised a hand. "Alright, this is a test, not a death match. First one to yield or go down loses."

  Dante cracked his knuckles, a smirk curling his lips as flames flickered to life around his hands. "You ready for this?" Kaitlin barely reacted. She raised her staff once, planting her feet. "You talk too much." Luke glanced at Jason. "She doesn't seem worried." Jason’s smirk was barely visible. "She shouldn't be." Emma dropped her hand. "Begin!"

  Dante moved first. A controlled burst of fire surged toward Kaitlin’s feet, meant to force her to react. She sidestepped easily. Jason could already see it. Dante was testing her, trying to bait out an opening. He followed up immediately. A spinning kick, his flames igniting the air around him.

  "Blazing Rush!"

  His speed surged as he closed in, fire trailing behind his movements. He feinted left then shot a fireball directly at Kaitlin’s midsection. She didn’t even flinch.

  "Frost Chains!"

  Ice erupted from the ground just in time, blocking the attack mid-air as the chains lashed out, forcing Dante to leap back. The flames around him flickered as the cold rapidly sapped the heat from the air. Jason saw Dante’s smirk falter for the first time. Kaitlin exhaled sharply, staying focused. Dante was fast, but predictable. He was relying too much on brute force. She could read him already.

  Dante launched another fireball, but she was already moving. She darted left, sidestepping faster than he expected.

  "Shock Burst!"

  Electricity crackled through the air before slamming into Dante’s side. His body seized up, his limbs spasming as the voltage surged through his muscles. He stumbled back, barely staying on his feet. Jason raised a brow. She was controlling her mana flow much better now.

  Dante shook off the paralysis with a growl. His pride was on the line now. Flames surged around him as he summoned a wall of fire, forcing Kaitlin to backpedal.

  "Inferno Strike!"

  Dante lunged forward, his fist engulfed in roaring flames. His movement was faster than before, the heat distorting the air around him. This was his strongest attack. He was going for the knockout. Kaitlin didn’t move. She waited, watching him close the gap. Then, at the last second, she vanished. Dante’s flaming fist swung through empty air. His eyes widened. She was already behind him.

  "Frost Chains."

  The ground exploded with ice. Thick, frozen shackles wrapped around Dante’s ankles, locking him in place. The sudden stop threw him off balance, his flames flickering weakly as the cold overwhelmed him. Kaitlin didn’t hesitate.

  "Verdant Surge!"

  Vines shot up from the ground, coiling around his arms and legs. In an instant, he was completely restrained. Silence. Jason could already see it in Dante’s face. He had lost. Kaitlin stood over him, her staff glowing faintly with residual energy. "Yield," she said, her voice steady. Dante's jaw clenched. He struggled against the bindings, his flames flickering to life again, but the combination of cold and entanglement had drained too much of his energy.

  His pride screamed at him to keep fighting. But reality was reality. After a long moment, he exhaled sharply and nodded. "I yield." The bindings vanished. Kaitlin took a step back as Dante stood, his expression unreadable.

  The heat around him had completely faded. Jason watched carefully. This was the moment that mattered. Not the fight but how Dante reacted to losing. Emma cleared her throat. "The match is over. Kaitlin wins." A murmur ran through the crowd. Jason could hear the whispers.

  "Dante lost?", "That girl, she's strong.", "Did you see that? She barely broke a sweat." Dante took a slow breath, regaining his composure. He glanced at Luke and Emma before finally turning to Kaitlin. She crossed her arms. "Does this mean Jason can join now?" Emma hesitated. She glanced at Dante.

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  Dante studied Jason for a long moment, as if trying to see something that wasn’t there. Jason met his gaze evenly, his face unreadable. Finally, Dante exhaled. "Fine." He looked at Jason again, frowning slightly.

  "You're in. But if you can't keep up with your duties, you'll be removed. "Maybe made a cook instead." Jason didn’t react. He had already seen through Dante.He wasn’t a bad leader. But he wasn’t the strongest anymore. At some point, he would realize that.

  As Jason and Kaitlin stepped past the barricades, the tension in the crowd didn’t fade. Instead, it shifted into something else. A mix of murmurs, side-glances, and hushed conversations that weren’t meant to be overheard. "The only reason he got in was because of his sister.", "Must be nice to have someone fight your battles for you.", "Imagine hiding behind a girl just to get in."

  "I didn’t feel any power from him… is he even strong?"

  Jason ignored the comments, walking with his usual, calm stride. He didn’t have anything to prove to these people. They weren’t worth his energy. Kaitlin, however, was visibly irritated, her grip tightening on her staff.

  Luke, noticing the tension, walked alongside them. "Don’t mind them," he muttered. "Most of them barely made it in here. They’re just looking for someone to talk down to so they can feel better about themselves." Kaitlin scoffed. "Idiots. If they knew the things he’s fought, they wouldn’t say a damn thing."

  Jason chuckled lightly. "Let them talk. It doesn’t change anything." Luke led them further into the faction’s territory. The university had been transformed into a makeshift base, but it was… terrible. Jason’s sharp eyes scanned everything.

  The "barricades" were just stacked tables, chairs, and broken furniture nothing solid, nothing that would hold against a real attack. He could see weaknesses everywhere gaps in coverage, flimsy watchtowers, and a clear lack of organization.

  "This is bad," Jason thought to himself. If a strong enough monster or worse, a rival faction attacks, this place will fall in less than an hour. His gaze flickered to the massive corpses of slain beasts lying around the outer perimeter, discarded and rotting. A waste of resources.

  "If I were in charge, I’d be using the hides of those First Class beasts to reinforce the barricades… bones could be carved into spears, claws used for traps… hell, even the meat should be stored properly. Right now, this place isn’t a faction it’s a disaster waiting to happen."

  He kept his thoughts to himself for now. No need to stir trouble. Not yet. As night fell, Jason and Kaitlin were assigned their first shift as security members. They were stationed with Luke, who had been working patrols since the faction formed.

  "Alright," Luke said, adjusting his grip on his dagger. "Our job is simple. We check the perimeter, deal with anything that gets too close, and if we see anything we can’t handle, we report it. Don’t try to be a hero." Kaitlin smirked. "Jason, you hear that? Don’t try to be a hero."

  Jason rolled his eyes. "Noted." Luke continued. "We’ll be moving in a triangle formation. I scout ahead since my agility based skills help with detection. Kaitlin, you cover mid range. Jason, you take rear guard." Jason nodded. He didn’t mind playing along.

  For the first couple of hours, the patrol was quiet, too quiet. Jason had seen this pattern before. When the weak ones stop showing up, it means something stronger has already claimed the area. That’s when they heard it.

  A low, guttural growl echoed from beyond the barricades. Jason’s mini-map flickered, a red dot closing in. Luke cursed under his breath. "Shit. That’s not a normal monster." The beast stepped into the moonlight, revealing itself.. a Crimson Stalker. The window above it's head identifying it for them to see. Crimson Stalker - Level 24

  "It's a predator type beast specialized in stealth and ambush attacks. It's got high agility and sharp claws that can cut through steel." Luke’s grip on his dagger tightened. "We take it out before it gets inside. Kaitlin, can you trap it?" Kaitlin’s hands already glowed with mana. "On it."

  "Frost Chains!"

  Ice surged from the ground, wrapping around the creature’s legs. The beast let out a shriek, but instead of struggling, it twisted unnaturally and lunged sideways. The chains missed their mark as the Crimson Stalker rebounded off a tree, launching itself toward Luke with terrifying speed.

  Jason didn’t move. He wasn’t worried. Luke barely managed to roll out of the way, his agility kicking in at the last second. "It’s fast!" "Then I’ll slow it down," Kaitlin snapped. "Verdant Surge!" Vines exploded from the earth, ensnaring the beast’s limbs mid air. This time, it couldn’t dodge. The monster let out a distorted hiss, struggling against the entanglement.

  Luke capitalized on the opening. His body blurred as he activated his skill. "Phantom Step!" In an instant, he vanished from sight, appearing behind the beast. His dagger flashed, cutting deep into the monster’s side. Black blood splattered against the ground as the Crimson Stalker shrieked in agony.

  Kaitlin tightened her vines. "Now!" Luke didn’t hesitate. He plunged his dagger into the creature’s neck. The monster let out one final, gurgled sound before collapsing to the ground, lifeless.

  System Notification: You have slain a Level 24 Crimson Stalker

  Luke exhaled sharply, wiping the sweat from his forehead. "That was rough." Jason smirked slightly. "You did fine." Kaitlin let out a breath, inspecting the corpse. "That thing was disgusting." Luke knelt next to the body, his expression serious. "We need to report this. A monster this strong this close to the base? That’s not good."

  Jason nodded but said nothing. This faction wasn’t ready for real threats. And if something stronger showed up, they’d all be wiped out. That night, as the others rested, Jason slipped away. His mind was focused on something else.

  He needed to be stronger. He had strength, endurance, and power, but he lacked something crucial. A stealth skill. Monsters like the Crimson Stalker relied on ambush tactics. If he could replicate that, he would have no weaknesses.

  His mini-map flickered, detecting a lone beast in the distance. A first class creature, isolated, during night time. Jason smirked, "Let's see if you drop anything useful."