For several moments, the clearing was silent. Broken trees surrounded the battlefield, their splintered trunks leaning at angles. Dust still lingered in the air, slowly settling over the clearing.

Everyone stood there, breathing heavily. The adrenaline that had carried them through the fight was fading, replaced with exhaustion.

The Corrupted lion’s body lay split cleanly in two, its shattered jewel scattered across the dirt. The sheer size of it made the entire clearing feel smaller.

No one spoke.

Yudo slowly lowered his hand as the last fragments of Dead Man’s Bulwark crumbled into dust. The energy faded from his arms, leaving behind a lingering ache that spread through his body. His fingers twitched slightly as the strain finally caught up to him.

Ryukai let out a huge sigh beside him. “Okay,” he said, running a hand through his sweat-drenched blue hair. “I think it's safe to say that was the craziest entrance exam I’ve ever heard of.”

Yudo didn’t respond immediately. His eyes were still on the battlefield. The scene felt similar to some of the drills he was forced to do at the laboratory.

Renki brushed dirt from his arms, the remaining lightning around him slowly fading away. “That Beast shouldn’t have been there.” His tone was calm but confused.

Lillie was already kneeling beside several injured applicants, desperately trying to treat their wounds. Her hands moved quickly, but carefully.

“Look at all these injured applicants,” she said urgently. She turned toward the group. “Help me treat some of the wounds!”

Yudo’s gaze shifted toward the fallen students scattered across the clearing. There's a chance some might not make it. Some didn’t move at all.

The smell of burnt trees and blood lingered in the air. Soft groans echoed from the wounded as others struggled to stay conscious.

Yudo held his gaze there for a moment longer than he should have. Something about the entire situation feels wrong.

The way it fought, moved, and controlled the cubs didn’t feel natural, like it didn’t belong here.

Clap…

A slow clap echoed from the edge of the clearing.

Clap… clap… clap…

The sound didn’t match the scene, like whoever it belonged to wasn’t worried at all.

Everyone turned. A man stepped out from the trees, completely relaxed. Tall. Broad shoulders. His purple hair shifted lightly in the wind as he continued clapping.

“Well,” the man said casually. He gave a thumbs up. “That was really impressive."

Yudo sighed.“…Shujiro.”

The others stood frozen in place.

“Wait…” Ryukai muttered. “The Unbreakable?!!”

The group stared as Shujiro casually walked toward the lion’s corpse and looked down at it. He gave a low whistle. “A Corrupted Alpha controlling cubs during an entrance exam.”

He crouched slightly, examining the cracked flesh of the beast. His fingers hovered just above the surface, not touching it. He examined the corpse carefully. For just a brief moment his expression shifted, like he was thinking about something deeper.

He straightened back up like nothing had happened. He nudged the shattered jewel with the tip of his shoe.

“Someone is gonna have a bad time reporting this.” Shujiro paused. “But it ain’t gonna be me.”

Elaina crossed her arms. “You were watching?”

Shujiro shrugged. “From a distance.”

His eyes swept across the clearing, studying each of them one by one. Then they stopped on Yudo. A small smirk appeared on his face.

“Well done, kid.”

Yudo nodded slightly. “Thanks Shujiro.”

Ryukai leaned closer to him. “Bro… do you personally know him?”

Yudo muttered back, “Kinda.”

Shujiro stretched slightly before continuing. “This exam is officially over.”

Several of the applicants looked confused.

“Over?” Renki asked.

Shujiro nodded. “I actually had the other instructors move all the remaining applicants out of the forest.”

“Why?” Elaina asked.

“There were plenty of students that showed tremendous ability,” Shujiro responded. “But with the presence of this Corrupted Beast, we removed everyone up to this point.”

He gestured toward the lion’s corpse. “As you probably figured out, this thing wasn’t part of the exam.”

Virsen approached Shujiro.

“How could such a prestigious school miss something of this magnitude? And why didn’t you help us? How did it have a jewel?”

Shujiro was silent for a moment. “This is how real life goes. Sometimes the unexpected comes and you have to deal with it on the fly.” He paused. “And besides, this kind of experience is something that books can’t teach.” He shrugged. “It’s not like you guys were the only ones fighting hard fights, there was a bunch of other applicants trying to prove themselves, so it wouldn’t have been fair to them if we ended things abruptly.”

Ryukai slowly raised his hand. “So… did we pass?”

“Nope.”

All the students yelled in sync.

“ARE YOU SERIOUS?!”

Shujiro burst out laughing. The sound echoed through the clearing.

“I’m just kidding.” He waved his hand dismissively. “You six passed with flying colors.”

The group let out a collective sigh of relief.

Ryukai dropped his shoulders. “Man, don’t play with me like that…”

“You all survived,” Shujiro added. “That’s usually a good sign.”

Yudo exhaled quietly. But his eyes drifted back to the corpse again. Something wasn’t adding up.

“Grab the injured and start moving.” Shujiro motioned for them to follow. “We’re heading back to the school building.”

The group immediately began gathering the wounded applicants. Elaina and Renki helped lift the majority of the injured students. Lillie continued stabilizing those who could still be saved. Virsen silently sheathed his blade before walking toward the forest exit. The metallic click of the blade sliding into its sheath echoed softly.

Behind them, the corpse of the Corrupted lion remained motionless. Its presence still weighed on the clearing.

“I didn’t know that The Unbreakable’s personality was like that,” Ryukai whispered.

Yudo shrugged. “You get used to it fast.”

The group continued walking through the forest. The injured were supported on both sides. 

The clearing faded behind them, but the feeling didn’t.

The entrance exam was over.

But Yudo couldn’t shake it. The weight of it lingered.

Because that monster…

Was something he had never seen at the laboratory.