A long row of chairs lined both sides of the hall, and as Tave stepped forward, nearly every pair of eyes turned toward him. He could feel the weight of their gazes. Not with respect or curiosity, but with a kind of bored judgment.
They knew who he was.
The son of one of the city's Knight Commanders. The "disappointment" older brother of a prodigy. The one who failed to live up to a name.
Some of them even looked away almost immediately, like he was just another filler in the story, someone who'd be crying or passed out by the end of it, just like when he struggled through his breakthrough into Gaia Apprentice.
He took the seat nearest the center calmly, ignoring the murmur that followed.
"Hey, are you a beast tamer?" a voice asked.
Tave looked up.
The man across from him had a confident grin and wore a sharp white outfit, interwoven with light armor. Judging by his build and gear, he was probably a close-combat martial fighter, the kind who preferred knuckles and impact over magic or blades.
"No," Tave replied casually.
The man's eyes shifted to Fang, the silent wolf seated beside him.
"I found this wolf in the forest," Tave said flatly. "Decided to adopt it."
The man gave a tight, mocking smile. "So you spent all your time training a wolf… even though you're not a beast tamer?"
It was a jab. Subtle, but meant to sting.
And from the smirks passing between the others on both sides of the hall, they caught the insult too. They were already writing him off.
Someone else chuckled from further down the row. "A Tier 2 monster won't help you much against a Tier 3, you know."
A few more laughs followed.
Fuck off!
Tave muttered under his breath, jaw clenched tight as his knuckles whitened against the armrest.
Every smug face in the room, every dismissive glance, they were daring him to break.
The tension in his chest burned like coals, and for a moment he seriously considered charging into the test arena right now, just to shut every single one of them up.
Another sharp buzz pierced the room, slicing through the tense air like a knife.
Another failure.
And then another.
And another still.
Twelve participants so far, only two had passed, and both of them were Gaia Guardians. The rest, all Gaia Apprentices, had failed. Collapsing. Screaming. A few barely managed to crawl out of the arena with their pride shattered.
To the crowd, it was just entertainment. A parade of overconfident rookies getting broken apart.
"Hah, you Gaia Apprentices are just dumbasses!" a voice barked from across the room.
Tave turned, and his eyes landed on a man in his late thirties, thick-shouldered and sneering, with a massive axe strapped across his back. If he was really strong, he'd have climbed higher than Guardian rank by now. Probably still stuck there because of that oversized ego.
Then… beep. His name lit up on the display.
TAVE – Next up.
He stood without a word. He gave a subtle signal, and Fang rose silently beside him, step for step.
"Let's see another Gaia Apprentice piss himself on the arena floor!" the man with the axe jeered, his voice rising in cruel laughter.
Tave's fist twitched at his side.
Like hell. He seriously wanted to walk over and smack that bastard in the face before the test even began.
Too many loud mouths. Too many idiots with inflated egos and zero restraint.
Just a little longer. Let the arena do the talking.
Tave clenched his teeth, jaw tight with focus as he stepped forward, passing through the threshold and into the arena. The sudden shift from shadow to light hit his eyes hard. The midday sun cast a harsh glare across the open space, forcing him to squint briefly.
He scanned the surroundings immediately.
Tall stone pillars circled the arena, casting slanted shadows across parts of the ground. They weren't deep enough to provide cover, but they were just dark enough to be useful. If he needed a Dark Element boost, they'd do.
Fang moved beside him in silence. They both stopped at the center, standing side by side as they waited.
Waited for what kind of monster would be summoned this time.
Above them, the stands were filled. Observers leaning forward in their seats, some with amused smirks, others with tired, half-lidded expressions. To them, this was just another spectacle, another Gaia Apprentice about to flail, cry, and collapse.
Maybe some of them even knew who he was.
The kid who just barely broke through to Gaia Apprentice. Level 11. The bottom of the food chain.
Someone who, statistically, had no business standing in this arena. Certainly no business facing a tier 3 monster.
Tave could see a few of the selection officials shifting already, likely preparing to cast a protective shield, the same ones they used the moment things got ugly. Just in case. Just to clean up the mess.
He raised both hands slowly, loosening his fingers. A breath passed through his lips.
And he smiled.
Not because he believed he'd ace this. He hadn't even fought a tier 3 monster before. Not properly.
But he didn't come here to be mocked. He came here to prove something.
"Like hell," he thought. "Come on, come at me! Don't think just because I'm an author, someone who spent his life in front of a laptop, I don't have the guts to face you head-on!"
The countdown began. Three. Two. One.
The gate before him groaned open.
And from the shadowed hall beyond, a towering figure stepped into the light. A bull-like monster, thick-muscled and brutish, its eyes burning with primal rage.
Tave narrowed his gaze. "Perfect," he thought. "Same one as earlier. Tricky bastard. Hard to break."
But only for someone who didn't know its weaknesses.
The Seismhorn lowered its massive body, its thick muscles tensing, and the twin horns on its head began to glow, pulsing red, almost molten, like they were about to detonate. The heat shimmered around them, and the ground beneath its hooves cracked with pressure.
That was the true terror of this monster.
Every charge it made didn't just rely on brute force, it exploded on impact.
Anyone below Gaia Guardian who got hit head-on? They didn't walk away.
Tave narrowed his eyes, planting his feet, his hand tightening around the hilt of his Tier 3 sword. Beside him, Fang crouched low, muscles coiled, lips curled in a silent growl. Ready. Focused.
Across the arena, the beast scratched at the ground with its front hoof, letting out a deep, rumbling snarl that vibrated through the air.
Then came the noise from above.
"Raise the shield already! Hahaha! Another failure coming up!"
"Seriously, from all the monsters, they gave this one to a brand new Gaia Apprentice?"
"Let's see what kind of pathetic 'I give up' line he uses!"
Even the staff were moving now. They were stepping closer to the edges of the arena, hands hovering over their casting tools, ready to intercept.
They didn't believe he could do it. They didn't believe he'd even survive the first charge.
And why would they?
Seismhorns were terrifying. They were thick-skinned, blindingly fast, overwhelmingly strong, and every impact caused a concussive explosion. It was practically suicide for anyone to face one head-on.
But Tave? He gritted his teeth. Because there was a way to take it down!
A real hunter didn't fight like the rest.
And these fools…? They wouldn't understand until it was too late.
"Surrender! Surrender already!!" Laughter echoed again from the seats.
The earth trembled. With a snarl and a burst of heat, the Seismhorn charged, kicking up shards of stone as it tore across the arena like a freight train.
Tave stepped forward, sword low and ready, eyes calm, adrenaline sharp.
"Fang…" he whispered through gritted teeth, "Let's shut their mouths. Sync up. Hunt mode."
"Woof!" Fang growled back, ears pinned, eyes locked forward, his entire body vibrating with feral tension.
And just like that, the two stood ready.
Tave and Fang, the hunter and his wolf!