The moment Hiko disappeared from the ruined battlefield, the world shifted again.
Light swallowed him.
Space folded.
And somewhere else—far across the Grand Training Zone—two other battles were already tearing reality apart.
---
## Goru's Trial – The Dimensional Grave
Goru landed on solid ground.
But the moment his boots touched the surface, he realized something was wrong.
There was no sky.
No horizon.
No sun.
Only endless layers of floating platforms, stacked like broken pieces of reality, suspended in a black void filled with slow-moving fragments of shattered space.
Every platform was made of a different material.
Stone.
Crystal.
Metal.
Liquid mana frozen in mid-air.
The entire zone looked like it had been **cut apart by dimensions themselves**.
Goru slowly exhaled.
"…So they gave me this place, huh."
Then the air distorted.
A presence emerged.
The Rank Semi-1 Beast assigned to him didn't roar.
It didn't scream.
It simply **phased into existence**.
Its body was long and skeletal, almost serpent-like, but split into multiple overlapping layers, as if it existed in several dimensions at once.
Its eyes were empty holes that showed other worlds inside them.
Where it moved, reality **glitched**.
Platforms flickered.
Space folded.
Distance became meaningless.
Goru's pupils shrank slightly.
"…A spatial-type beast."
The Glorious Claws on his hands glowed faintly.
This wasn't just strong.
This was his **worst possible matchup**.
The beast moved.
Not forward.
Not sideways.
It simply appeared behind him.
Its tail sliced through space.
Goru reacted instantly, slashing backward.
Dimensional energy collided with dimensional energy.
The impact shattered three floating platforms and created a裂 (crack) in space itself.
Goru was launched across the void, flipping mid-air and barely landing on another platform.
"…So it can cut dimensions too."
The beast tilted its head.
Then it split.
Not clones.
Not illusions.
Its body **divided across layers of reality**, surrounding Goru from every possible angle.
Dozens of overlapping versions.
All real.
All lethal.
Goru clicked his tongue.
"…Annoying."
He raised his claws.
Space around him warped.
He slashed.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The Glorious Claws cut through **twelve layers of space at once**, erasing several versions of the beast simultaneously.
But the remaining ones attacked.
Reality tore.
Goru's shoulder was sliced open.
Blood floated in zero gravity.
He grimaced.
"…So this is Semi-1."
The beast attacked again.
This time, Goru didn't retreat.
He stepped forward.
And cut the **concept of distance** itself.
The world folded inward.
The beast suddenly found itself inside Goru's attack range.
Goru's claws tore through its core.
The creature shrieked for the first time.
Space screamed with it.
The entire zone destabilized.
Platforms collapsed.
Void swallowed fragments of reality.
Goru planted his feet and unleashed everything.
Dimensional slashes overlapped.
Not random.
Perfectly calculated.
Every cut severed another layer of existence.
The beast tried to regenerate.
But it couldn't.
Because it no longer existed in **any single dimension**.
With one final slash, Goru cut through the last anchor holding the beast together.
It didn't explode.
It didn't die.
It simply **fell apart into nothing**.
Silence returned.
Goru stood there, breathing heavily, blood dripping from his shoulder.
"…That was close."
Above him, the screen appeared:
**PASS – ELITE CLASS QUALIFIED**
Goru looked up.
"…Hiko better have survived too."
---
## Daizen's Trial – The Living Mountain
Daizen's battlefield was completely different.
A massive canyon.
Towering stone pillars.
Lava rivers flowing between cliffs.
The air was thick with dust and heat.
The Semi-1 Beast assigned to him looked less like a monster…
And more like a **natural disaster**.
It was enormous.
A living mountain of stone and magma.
Its body was made of layered rock plates, glowing cracks of lava pulsing between them.
Each step it took caused earthquakes.
The ground itself bent around it.
Daizen stared up.
"…Are you kidding me."
The beast slammed its fist into the ground.
The shockwave launched Daizen into the air.
He flipped and landed, skidding across molten rock.
His boots melted slightly.
"…Alright."
He grinned.
"…Let's see whose earth is stronger."
Daizen slammed his hands into the ground.
The entire canyon responded.
Stone pillars rose like spears.
Mountains shifted.
The terrain itself obeyed him.
The beast roared.
Two living tectonic forces collided.
They punched.
The impact created a **magnitude-level earthquake**.
Entire cliffs collapsed.
Lava exploded into the air like rain.
Daizen was thrown back.
His arms cracked.
His bones screamed.
"…So heavy…"
The beast didn't stop.
It grabbed a chunk of the canyon and hurled it like a meteor.
Daizen barely blocked.
His body was buried under tons of stone.
For a moment—silence.
Then—
The ground exploded outward.
Daizen emerged, bloodied, bruised, eyes burning.
"…You're not the only one who's a mountain."
He raised both hands.
The entire canyon lifted.
Not metaphorically.
Literally.
The land itself rose into the air.
The beast froze for a fraction of a second.
Then Daizen slammed everything down.
A continent-sized mass of earth crushed the beast.
The impact created a crater kilometers wide.
Dust filled the sky.
When it cleared…
The beast was gone.
Reduced to nothing but molten fragments.
Daizen collapsed to one knee, panting.
"…That… took everything."
Above him:
**PASS – ELITE CLASS QUALIFIED**
Daizen laughed weakly.
"…We actually did it."
---
## Observation Room – Yogan's Reaction
High above the battlefield, in the observation chamber…
Yogan Riomaru stood inside his mech, watching all three screens.
Hiko's fight.
Goru's fight.
Daizen's fight.
He had been silent the entire time.
Completely still.
The operators around him were sweating.
"…All three passed…"
"…That's impossible…"
"…They're first-years…"
Yogan finally spoke.
His voice was low.
Calm.
But heavy.
"…So that's my team."
He replayed Hiko's final punch.
The cursed flame erasing the Semi-1 Beast.
He replayed Goru cutting through dimensions.
He replayed Daizen crushing a living mountain.
Inside the mech, Yogan smiled.
Not loud.
Not dramatic.
Just a small, genuine smile.
"…Good."
"…You didn't disappoint me."
One of the staff whispered, "Sensei… those three… they're monsters."
Yogan folded his arms.
"…No."
"…They're students."
"…Who will become monsters."
---
## The School Reacts
Back at Tengen High…
The results were being broadcast.
Names flashed across giant screens.
Hundreds of students failed.
Some were unconscious.
Some were hospitalized.
Some were shaking in fear.
Then three names appeared.
**Hiko Shinoegami – PASS**
**Goru – PASS**
**Daizen – PASS**
Class 1-C exploded.
Rex jumped out of his seat. "THEY DID IT!?"
Mira covered her mouth. "All three… passed…"
Hinata's eyes sparkled. "Hiko…"
Dain whispered. "…They're on another level now."
Gold watched the screen silently.
Rougen smirked faintly.
"…Figures."
---
Far away, in three different zones…
Three exhausted first-year students looked up at the same word:
**ELITE CLASS QUALIFIED**
And none of them yet understood…
That this exam was the **last easy thing they would ever face.**