CHAPTER 47: EX 47. SECOND DAY

Leon stared at the list still floating in front of him, the soft hum of system energy fading into the background.

"Second place is Adrian... understandable,"

A faint smirk played at his lips.

"And third—Elizabeth. She’s probably too busy building her undead army to worry about points."

But as his eyes landed on the fourth name, the smirk vanished.

Replaced by silence.

And followed by a sudden, cold flare of killing intent that rippled through the surrounding clearing like a pressure wave.

[04. Eden Feran – 1,520 points]

Leon’s pupils narrowed, his jaw tightening.

Even though it vanished almost instantly, the air still felt heavy—like the echo of a predator’s growl.

The Ferans.

Of course one of them would show up.

Today’s selection was meant for cadets of the East Sector, so Eden’s presence on the list wasn’t a surprise.

But knowing who his family was... it stirred something darker in Leon.

The Feran family had been the most likely culprits behind his arrest after the demon incident.

They’d tarnished his name, smeared his reputation and nearly destroyed his chances of ever becoming a Trial Taker.

He hadn’t forgotten.

"Not yet," Leon thought, his fingers slowly unclenching.

"I won’t move without proof... but I’ll be watching."

His gaze dropped to the rest of the names.

Most were nobles and a few scattered non-nobles who had clawed their way into the top through sheer grit or tactical advantage.

Leon committed each one to memory.

Before, he wouldn’t have bothered.

But ever since Adrian Peer, he’d started to see the value in remembering names—especially the ones who refused to stay in his shadow.

"You never know who might surprise you."

With that, he dismissed the screen in a flicker of light and walked toward the shade of a tall, thick-rooted tree at the edge of the clearing.

He sat down, back resting lazily against the trunk, and closed his eyes.

To an outsider, it might have looked reckless.

Foolish even.

In the Selection, where every minute was a fight for survival, no one in their right mind would sleep—especially not in the open.

But this was Leon Kael.

Anyone—or anything—that dared approach him in this state would be eliminated before they even understood what killed them.

To Leon, rest was a luxury.

To everyone else, it was a death sentence.

And so, as the night deepened and cold wind rustled through bloodied leaves, Leon dozed off in perfect stillness.

While all across the forest, cadets bled, hunted, and ran for their lives, sacrificing sleep just for a sliver of hope that they’d see the next sunrise...

Leon simply slept like a king on his throne of corpses.

****

As the first light of dawn broke over the vast selection zone, golden rays pierced through the misty forest canopy, casting long, shifting shadows across bloodstained foliage and upturned soil.

Cadets who had spent the night hiding, curled beneath roots or buried under leaves, exhaled in relief. The darkness had been a terror—filled with unseen predators, both beast and human. The rising sun felt like hope... or at least a temporary reprieve.

Meanwhile, those who had spent the night hunting—cold-eyed and relentless—retreated into the shadows. They weren’t done. No, they had only just begun. The dawn simply made it easier to see their prey.

But in one silent clearing, surrounded by the cooling corpses of over a dozen demonic beasts, Leon Kael slowly stirred.

Still seated with his back against the thick trunk of a tree, he stretched with a yawn, spine cracking as he sat up.

Around him, the signs of a massacre remained fresh—charred soil, shattered trees, and beasts of various sizes, all clearly D-rank, lay still in the silence.

One had tried to claw at his chest while he slept. Another had nearly crushed him underfoot.

They were all dead now. None had lasted longer than a breath.

Leon rubbed his eyes, then looked around at the carnage.

"I’m trying to take it easy," he said dryly, "but it’s like the points just keep offering themselves to me."

He shook his head.

Over the course of the night, several cadets had made the same mistake: seeing the sleeping figure and thinking he was an easy target without finding out who he was had gotten them eliminated instantly.

Leon stood up fully now, rolling his shoulders before letting out a long sigh.

"Well... time to gather my points."

Of course, what he meant were his Attack Points—earned from attacking enemies and beasts. Points that could be distributed to raise his already absurd stats even further.

He cracked a grin.

"And since I can only attack cadets or beasts..."

"I guess I’ll just have to get points from them."

The sarcasm was thick. There were other ways—smashing trees or punching rocks—but Leon didn’t care.

He was simply giving himself an excuse to go wild again.

More selection points. More chaos. More fun.

He bent his knees slightly, hamstrings tightening as raw power coiled beneath his limbs.

Then, with a sudden burst, he pushed himself into the air—like a cannon fired straight into the sky.

Wind howled past his face as he ascended briefly above the canopy.

Below him, the forest stretched for miles—dense with life, blood and prey.

His smile widened.

"Let’s go find the next target."

****

The second day of the Selection passed with a strange stillness in the air—one that almost felt unnatural after the blood-soaked frenzy of the first.

It was calmer, far calmer than anyone could have anticipated. Not because the environment had become any less dangerous, but because the cadets themselves had changed.

Their mindsets had shifted, hardened by fear, experience... and the undeniable shadow cast by one name: Leon Kael.

Three clear reasons defined this eerie peace:

First, the sheer number of eliminations that had occurred on the first day left vast areas of the forest empty. Countless cadets had been taken out early—by demonic beasts, by ambushes, or worse... by Leon.

His rampage had left destroyed clearings and shattered morale in his wake.

And many had survived by nothing but sheer luck.

Second, those who remained had wised up. The initial greed for selection points had dulled into a singular instinct: survive. The smarter cadets had learned that there was no shame in hiding and making it to the third day intact. Because one wrong step, one wrong opponent and they could lose everything.

Third, the number of beasts had dwindled dramatically. While the forest had once teemed with danger, now even the predators seemed hesitant to roam.

Many had been slain—by desperate cadets, by ambitious hunters, and again... mostly by Leon. His presence had disrupted the natural order, and now only the strongest beasts remained, hidden deep in the woods.

For most, the day was spent in shadows, behind barriers, under roots and illusions. There were fewer skirmishes, fewer screams—just the sound of rustling leaves, distant growls, and the ever-looming uncertainty of who, or what, was out there.

It was almost peaceful.

Almost.

Because as the second day began to wind down, and the final day of the Selection loomed on the horizon, something changed.

A sudden shockwave rolled through the forest—a pulse of dark aura rippled through the trees like thunder.

CHAOS erupted.