’The inside is bigger and grander than I expected.’

Ren swept his gaze around.

The arena was built in a circular shape with countless tiered seats surrounding it. A high-backed chair was placed on each of the north and south sides, in front of the rows of seats.

Anyone who saw those chairs would understand immediately that they were prepared for representatives of the Elemental and Beast Transformation organizations as this was their test.

While Ren was chatting with Elara, twenty people entered the audience area. Half of them headed toward the west, while the rest went to the east.

The Beast Transformation representatives were led by a woman with scarlet hair and red eyes, while the Elemental side was under the leadership of a woman with long blue hair and grey eyes.

The volume of chatter in the arena rose drastically when the participants saw the leaders of each organization’s representatives.

They were well-known figures whose names had already spread throughout the Lunaris municipality, so seeing them filled the crowd with excitement.

Ravenna Valeheart and Cassandra Everglen!

Ravenna was famous for destroying a nest of hobgoblins and wiping them out with a single magic, while Cassandra was known for her wild personality and love for fighting.

There was even a time when Cassandra went to an organization and challenged its members just to kill some time.

People said she would choose a fight over a date with a handsome man without thinking twice.

Of course, she had heard that rumor countless times, but she didn’t care about it, as strength was everything in this world.

Once Ravenna and Cassandra sat on their chairs, the blue-haired man stepped forward and gave an opening speech.

"Welcome to the test for the Pillar Organizations, participants. I’m Alden, and I will be overseeing this examination." Alden introduced himself. "This year’s trial is different from previous years because there will be only one test."

He then continued, "If you pass, you will be accepted into the Pillar Organizations. Isn’t that easy?"

Happy chatter filled the air.

Normally, the Pillar Organizations always held three stages of testing, so they were pleasantly surprised by the news.

After all, their chances of being accepted increased drastically if there was only a single test.

"Since most of you seem to be curious, I won’t say much and will tell you about the trial immediately," Alden spoke and paused for a second before he continued, "The test for this year is to face two magical creatures at the same rank and kill them."

The moment Alden announced the test, their smiles froze, and complaints filled the air.

"What?! Fight two magical creatures at once?"

"We became awakeners three weeks ago, and you want us to face two magical creatures? Do you want to kill us?"

"I knew it! I knew the Pillar Organizations would never give an easy test!"

"What should I do? Should I give up?"

Even though they had sparred many times, they had never faced magical creatures before.

No!

Let alone fighting them.

They had never even met them before, so suddenly asking them to face two of them was too much in their eyes.

Cassandra was disappointed with their behavior and immediately roared angrily. "Shut up!"

The participants instantly stopped complaining and turned to her.

"We are a branch of the Pillar Organizations. Did you expect us to give you an easy test?" Cassandra rose to her feet and continued yelling at them. "If you are so terrified of magical creatures, then get out of here now! There is no place in our factions for cowards like you."

"So disappointing!" Ravenna looked at them with disappointment.

More than half of the participants withdrew from the test right away after Alden said they could lose their lives.

Now the number of participants remaining in the arena was only forty people.

Lucas’ lips curled up into a grin when he found out that Ren and Elara had chosen to stay because it was a good opportunity to show them how strong he was.

’I will show you in this test how foolish it was to pick a fight with me.’

He had faced magical creatures twice before, so the test didn’t scare him.

Ren, who was talking with Elara, noticed his smirk, but he showed no reaction and shifted his gaze immediately.

"I will give you one last chance to change your mind." Alden’s voice reverberated in the entire area.

Despite being given another chance, none of the participants moved from their places. Their dream was to be powerful awakeners.

If they were scared of the magical creatures, they would never achieve it for the rest of their lives.

Cassandra’s lips curled up into a grin as she saw the determination in their eyes. "At least some of you have guts!"

Alden was also satisfied with their bravery. "Since you have made up your mind, let’s start the test immediately."

The moment those words left his mouth, a young lady stepped forward and stopped in front of the participants.

Alden told them to pick a ball from the box, and the number inside it would determine their order in the test.

After the lady left, Alden ordered participant number one to stay in the arena and the rest to wait for their turn in the west audience seating area.

"There will be a guardian on standby, but he won’t save you unless you surrender," Alden explained. "Remember! Don’t push yourself too hard, or else you could lose your life."

"Understood." Participant number one, whose name was Vael, replied politely.

Alden turned to the two awakeners who stood by the passage and ordered them to bring two magical creatures into the arena.

As Alden was heading to the audience area, Vael tightened his grip on his staff.

His heart beat uncontrollably as he waited for his opponents to appear.

It would be a lie if he said he didn’t feel fear, because this was going to be his first time seeing magical creatures and facing them.

A moment later, two magical beasts stepped into the arena.

The puma let out a low snarl and showed its sharp fangs while the tiger walked silently with its eyes locked on him.

Even though they were only at 1-star, their aura was enough to intimidate Vael, especially the tiger’s.

"Screeeech!" The puma rushed toward Vael with the intention of killing him.

His hatred toward humans was so deep because they had captured him just to use him for training or as something to face in tests.

As Vael was struggling to face the puma, the golden tiger walked around the arena while looking at the fight intently.

He showed no sign of wanting to attack Vael as if he were a king who was watching his two subjects entertaining him.

"What’s wrong with that tiger? Why didn’t it attack him like the puma?" The blue-haired participant touched his chin with a curious expression.

"Maybe, it’s waiting for the right moment to launch a deadly strike." The young man beside him voiced out his guess.

Ren, who heard their conversation, glanced at them briefly before returning his attention to the arena.

’No! You are wrong. The tiger won’t attack him unless he manages to kill the puma.’

As someone who awakened the White Tiger beast, he could more or less understand the golden tiger’s behavior.

He even could tell that the tiger didn’t see Vael as an opponent because Vael was too weak for it.

"What a disappointment!" Previously, Ravenna had high hopes for Vael, but her hopes turned to disappointment as soon as the test started.

He could only defend himself without being able to counterattack, so he was a failure in her eyes.

"Based on his mistakes, I believe he has never fought a magical beast before." Lena, the green-haired woman on Ravenna’s right, commented.

"Useless!" Ravenna stated.

"Aagghhh!" his staff slipped from his hand as he was thrown into the air.

As soon as his body crashed into the ground, the puma jumped at him and landed on his chest.

Vael was terrified and immediately screamed, "I sur- "

But before he had finished his words, the puma’s sharp fangs pierced into his neck.

The puma would not give him a chance to surrender, as it would kill all of its opponents as a consequence of being turned into a tool for tests.

"He...died?" The participants showed different kinds of expressions when they saw Vael’s lifeless body.

They knew that they could lose their lives in the test, but seeing someone being killed by a magical beast directly was a different story.

Some of them began to rethink their decision because the sight of his corpse broke their previous courage into pieces.

’Should we give up like the people before us?’

They exchanged glances with each other.

Alden, who noticed it, immediately turned to them. "Do you regret your decision now?"