At first, this was just an ordinary entrance assessment. Teachers and students gathered in Saint Rose Square, all here to observe the new students' potential.
But now, the hearts of every male student in the square had shattered completely, sounds of broken hearts seemed to ring out one after another. Female students were equally stunned, unable to speak.
No one could deny that Avelia Selis's extraordinary talent and stunning beauty had long been the dream of countless boys.
Yet now, no one could understand why the jewel of Saint Laurent Contract Academy had actually become Kylen's contracted creature.
This made no sense. Everyone else was contracting beasts. Why were you the only one who got to contract a goddess?
The entire square erupted into chaos. Seraphina Ling couldn't control the commotion at all.
Finally, a gentle breeze blew, dazzling everyone's eyes. The air wove into a transparent path, and a middle-aged man descended into the square, his wings made of pure wind elements, fluttering.
It was Orion Hawthorne, Principal of Saint Laurent Contract Academy, who commanded the rare contracted creature, the Wind Whisperer.
Seraphina stepped forward anxiously. "Principal, regarding Avelia…"
Orion pressed his right hand down slightly. His voice was gentle yet full of authority. "Please remain quiet, everyone."
At the sight of the principal's arrival, the noise gradually died down. Everyone looked at Orion expectantly, waiting for a reasonable explanation.
Orion spoke slowly. "Avelia's true form is a Vampiric Slime. I admitted her as a special student because I admired her talent. She went missing while on a mission in the rift area the other day. She must have encountered an accident, which led to her accidentally forming a contract with this new student."
Vampiric Slimes, Sequence No. 99, are powerful entities of the high-tier sequence.
But Orion skillfully avoided specific details about the Vampiric Slime Queen and the Crimson Goo Throne.
The students suddenly understood.
"What? Senior Avelia is actually a Vampiric Slime?!"
"No wonder! I was wondering why Senior's strength dropped so much. Slimes with depleted life essence really do fall in the realm!"
"I'm so jealous! Why can't I get lucky like this? I want to form a contract with Senior Avelia, too!"
"Damn it! Why does this new student get all the good luck? I refuse to accept this! Come out and duel me if you dare!"
Before Kylen had even officially enrolled, he had already become the public enemy of every male student in the academy.
Seraphina sent a message to Orion via a soul link. "Principal, Dean Baron seems to have…"
Orion cut her off before she could finish. "After discovering some abnormal operations last night, I personally reset the Simulation Field's parameters. So…"
Seraphina's eyes widened suddenly.
This meant the Simulation Field system had judged Kylen's true strength and decided he was qualified to take on the S-rank mission.
Even without any manual interference, the system had still assigned him an S-rank mission. But his talent assessment report clearly stated 'no awakening'!
Seraphina stared intently at every move Kylen made on the glowing screen. What secrets was this new student hiding? The principal had come in person—surely it was because of him?
Inside the Simulation Field, within Graystone Gorge.
Kylen and Avelia followed the map's directions toward Redrock Fortress while studying information about abyssal creatures.
"Blood-Eating Ants: roughly human-sized, ferocious creatures that hunt for blood. They have an instinct to keep hunting until they've drained every drop of blood available."
"Got it."
A meaningful smile curved Kylen's lips.
Avelia saw Kylen's confident look and thought to herself.
Let me see, how will you handle such a tight spot? If you really have what it takes… maybe you're the hope for the continuation of my kind…
Avelia pressed a gentle kiss on Kylen's cheek.
"Hm?"
"Nothing, just a little pre-battle encouragement. I can sense they're nearby."
This small gesture drove the boys watching completely insane.
"Aaaaah! That bastard! I've chased her for a whole year and couldn't even get her contact info, but he dares to do that!"
"William! Take Kylen down!"
"What's the point of living anymore!"
Seraphina rubbed her temples in helplessness. This batch of students was truly hopeless.
She had never imagined that Avelia, who was usually so cold and noble, could be so affectionate. The way they held hands tightly, so intimate, no wonder the boys were losing their minds.
Finally, under everyone's gaze, William and his group appeared on the only path from Graystone Gorge to Redrock Fortress, blocking Kylen's way.
Withered leaves drifted down. On the bluestone path, William stood on a high slope, his face dark with fury. Dozens of students stood ready for battle, prepared to summon their contracted creatures at any moment.
Seeing Kylen walk over calmly, William felt a faint, familiar pain in his lower body. He snarled viciously. "Kylen, your luck ends here!"
Kylen narrowed his eyes. "What do you mean?"
William laughed angrily. "What do I mean? Don't you realize your situation yet? Do you really think you and that woman of yours can take on a hundred of us? How arrogant!"
"I won't be satisfied until I break your spine and make you kneel before me like a stray dog, begging for mercy!"
Kylen's gaze swept over the others. "Are you all going to help him do this injustice?"
Cedric, a student who stood behind William like a lackey, stepped forward. "Kylen, William only wanted to persuade you to stay away from his girlfriend, but you responded with violence that's gone too far!
Besides, William even offered to buy your contracted creature for a large sum, yet you maliciously attacked him and put him in the hospital. Someone like you doesn't deserve to enter Saint Laurent Academy!"
Felix, another lackey, chimed in, "That's right. Do you think you can get away with this? You have two choices: give up and leave now, or stay here and die."
Kylen shook his head gently.
How typical to accuse the victim. They all knew who had struck first.
But Kylen had no intention of wasting words on explanations. His gaze swept over the other students calmly. "And you?"
Several female students spoke softly. "My mission is to stop you. I don't want to give up my chance to enroll.
"Honestly, I don't agree with this, but they offered me too much money…"
When their own interests were at stake, how many people were willing to stand up for justice?
Kylen finally looked at Jessica.
Jessica clenched her fists tightly. "Kylen, no matter what happened before, you were wrong to attack someone first! Apologize to William now!"
William cut her off impatiently. "Apologize? Why waste words on him! Attack!"
In the end, about seventy students chose to summon their contracted creatures. The remaining thirty stood by and watched, planning to stay out of it and wait for the result.
In an instant, all kinds of strange, contracted creatures appeared on the slope: a giant Sun wheel Flower over seven meters tall, a lion wreathed in flames, a skeletal golem covered in dirt.
Seeing Kylen still calm, William's anger flared even hotter.
"Kylen, you're about to die, and you still act tough?"
At the same time, a twisted thought crossed his mind.
"How about this? If you hand over your contracted creature to me, I'll spare your life. We can forget all our grudges, what do you say?"
Kylen's voice turned cold. "Who's the one about to die here? How ridiculous you frogs in a well think you can win just by outnumbering me? And you, William, you're not even a real man anymore, yet your thoughts are still so filthy! It seems you won't stop until you see your own coffin. Avelia, move!"
Everyone was shocked. Did Kylen really plan to take on all of them alone?
And the way he acted… They felt the humiliation of being looked down on.
"Arrogant! Charge!"
"Be careful! His contracted creature is probably a high-tier Vampiric Slime, watch out for her tentacles and special abilities!"
"Plant-type and Undead-type teams take the front! Beast-type teams cover the flanks!"
Following their pre-planned strategy targeting the Slime's weaknesses, a dozen plant-type contracted creatures launched the first attack.
A golden Sun wheel Flower focused scorching sunlight onto Avelia. They tried to use the intense heat to harm the Slime's gelatinous form.
But she was the heir to the Crimson Goo Throne, the monarch of all Vampiric Slimes. Her essence had long transcended ordinary physical properties. How could she fear such a trivial amount of heat?
Under everyone's shocked gaze, Avelia showed no sign of discomfort in the sunlight. She only stood quietly in place, a mysterious smile curving at the corner of her lips.
She lifted her hand gracefully, and deep crimson energy ripples began to emit around her body.
As she moved, the surrounding air started to grow thick and sticky, and the sand and gravel on the ground trembled slightly.
Starting from beneath her feet, a dark crimson gelatinous domain spread rapidly, like a living thing, and covered a hundred-meter radius in the blink of an eye.
Activate! Primordial Assimilation!