The announcement echoed through the entire academy.
"ALL STUDENTS, PLEASE PROCEED TO THE GRAND TRAINING ZONE. THE ELITE CLASSES ENTRANCE EXAM WILL BEGIN IN 30 MINUTES."
The words alone were enough to make the air feel heavier.
In every hallway, classroom, and courtyard, students froze.
Some laughed nervously.
Some swallowed dry saliva.
Some clenched their fists in excitement.
And some… felt genuine fear.
---
Class 1-C stood together near the main gates.
Goru leaned against a pillar, arms crossed, eyes half-lidded but sharp.
Daizen was pacing back and forth like a caged beast.
Hiko stood quietly, hands in his pockets, staring at the massive portal that led to the training zone.
Rex broke the silence first.
"So… this is it, huh?"
Mira nodded slowly. "The Elite Classes… only five percent of the entire school…"
Selene whispered, "That's… like… less than fifty people in the whole academy."
Yuna looked at Hiko, Goru, and Daizen. "You three… you're definitely going to try, right?"
Daizen grinned. "Try? I'm passing."
Goru spoke calmly. "We'd be idiots not to."
All eyes slowly turned to Hiko.
Hiko didn't say anything at first.
Inside his mind, the devil stirred.
"…Elite Classes. Heh. A place where monsters gather. Sounds fun."
Hiko exhaled slowly. "…Yeah. I'm going."
Hinata smiled softly. "I knew it…"
Dain clenched his fists. "Then… show them what Class 1-C is made of."
---
### The Exam Rules
The Grand Training Zone was enormous.
It was like an artificial continent.
Floating islands.
Crumbling ruins.
Forests made of crystal trees.
Lakes that glowed with mana.
Mountains split in half by ancient battles.
Above them, hundreds of giant screens activated.
Fujiwara Tenko, the principal, appeared.
"Welcome, students. This is the Elite Classes Entrance Exam."
The entire zone went silent.
"Your task is simple."
A massive hologram appeared behind him.
A grotesque creature.
Four arms.
Bone armor.
Red glowing eyes.
A mouth filled with rotating fangs.
"Defeat a **Rank Semi-1 Beast**."
Gasps erupted everywhere.
"Semi-1!?"
"That's almost Rank 1!"
"Isn't that already near disaster level!?"
Fujiwara continued calmly.
"You will be placed individually in isolated zones."
"No teachers will interfere."
"No external help."
"No rescue."
"If you survive and defeat it, you pass."
"If you fail… you will be forcibly extracted."
Daizen laughed. "This is insane. I love it."
Goru narrowed his eyes. "So it's a real fight."
Hiko felt his heartbeat slow.
Inside his mind, the devil smiled.
"…Good. Finally, something worth punching."
---
### The Teleport
Light engulfed the three of them.
Space warped.
And then—
Hiko landed on cracked stone.
Ruins surrounded him.
Broken pillars.
Collapsed temples.
A blood-red sky.
The air was thick.
Heavy.
Oppressive.
A deep growl echoed.
From the shadows, something massive moved.
The Rank Semi-1 Beast emerged.
It was even worse up close.
Its body looked like a fusion of demon and machine.
Black bone plates covered its torso.
Veins of red mana pulsed under its skin.
Its four arms ended in claws that dragged across the ground, carving deep scars into the stone.
Its eyes locked onto Hiko.
And it smiled.
Not instinct.
Not hunger.
It smiled with intelligence.
Hiko swallowed.
"…So this is Semi-1."
Inside his mind, the devil whispered:
"…Careful. This one could actually kill you."
For the first time, Hiko felt it.
Real danger.
Not training.
Not sparring.
Not controlled battles.
This thing wanted him dead.
The beast roared.
The sound alone shattered nearby pillars.
Hiko's cursed flame ignited around his hands.
Black-red fire spiraled around his fists.
"…Alright."
He stepped forward.
"Let's go."
---
### First Clash
The beast moved first.
It vanished.
Not fast.
Not teleport.
It simply erased distance.
One moment it was twenty meters away.
The next—
Its claw slammed into Hiko's side.
Hiko flew.
He crashed through three stone walls and skidded across the ground, coughing blood.
"Gh—!"
Inside his mind, the devil snapped:
"…I told you. This one's real."
Hiko forced himself up.
His ribs screamed.
His lungs burned.
"…So fast…"
The beast didn't wait.
It charged again.
Hiko blocked with his arms.
The impact created a shockwave that split the ground in half.
Hiko slid back, boots carving trenches.
His cursed flame flared brighter.
The beast recoiled slightly.
It noticed.
It tilted its head.
And then it laughed.
A deep, metallic, distorted laugh.
It raised all four arms.
Red mana condensed.
And fired.
Four beams of destruction tore through the ruins.
Hiko dodged one.
Blocked one.
The other two clipped him.
His shoulder burned.
His leg nearly gave out.
He dropped to one knee.
Breathing heavily.
"…So this is Semi-1…"
Inside his mind, the devil spoke quietly now.
"…If you hold back, you die."
"…If you hesitate, you die."
"…If you lose control… you might live."
Hiko clenched his fists.
"…I don't need full control."
Cursed flame exploded outward.
The ground melted.
The air warped.
The beast paused.
For the first time…
It sensed something wrong.
---
### The Five Punches
Hiko stepped forward.
Slowly.
Each step made the ground crack.
The beast roared and rushed him again.
This time—
Hiko didn't dodge.
He punched.
First punch.
The cursed flame collided with the beast's chest.
The impact created a black-red explosion that vaporized everything in a ten-meter radius.
The beast flew back, crashing into a ruined tower.
It stood up again.
Damaged.
But not dead.
Hiko's arm trembled.
His muscles screamed.
"…Only four more."
The beast charged again, enraged.
Second punch.
This one hit its jaw.
The cursed flame twisted reality itself, burning through bone, mana, and defense at the same time.
The beast's head snapped sideways.
Third punch.
Directly into its core.
The flame acted like a curse, not fire.
It didn't just burn flesh.
It erased existence.
The beast howled in pain.
Fourth punch.
Hiko appeared in front of it.
The blow shattered its entire upper body.
Only the lower half remained, twitching.
Hiko stood there, breathing heavily.
Blood dripping from his mouth.
His vision blurred.
The beast still moved.
Barely.
Its core flickered.
Hiko raised his trembling fist one last time.
"…This is it."
Fifth punch.
The cursed flame didn't explode.
It condensed.
And then—
The beast simply vanished.
No corpse.
No remains.
Erased.
---
Hiko collapsed to his knees.
Breathing.
Shaking.
Sweating.
Alive.
Inside his mind, the devil laughed softly.
"…Five punches."
"…You're becoming interesting, Hiko Shinoegami."
Above him, a giant screen flashed:
**PASS – ELITE CLASS QUALIFIED**
Hiko looked up.
"…I did it."
Far away, in their own zones…
Goru stood over a sliced dimensional corpse.
Daizen stood over a shattered mountain of stone and blood.
All three.
From Class 1-C.
Passed.