Absolute Beast Dominion

By now, the commotion had drawn the attention of nearly everyone present. Those who had already finished distributing books and completing registrations could only sigh as they watched from the side.

"She's at it again…"

"That boy really got himself into trouble."

Leo took in their reactions and quickly reached a conclusion—this girl clearly picked fights on a regular basis. Judging by the aura she was giving off, she was no more than a mid–2-star, perhaps a high–2-star at best. No real danger to either him or Lily.

It also became apparent that these people weren't staff but students—most likely second-term students. Which meant they had already been in the academy for at least five years.

That realization confused Leo.

What the hell? Five years in the academy and still only a high 2-star?

He couldn't help but question it.

He himself had arrived in this world barely two months ago and already possessed the strength of a pseudo 4-star. Even if his outward aura only showed a mid–3-star, that was still absurdly high. And while his own growth could be partially excused due to the system, Lily had begun ranking up around the same time and was already a low 3-star.

So this is where talent comes in…

But talent alone wasn't the deciding factor.

Leaving Leo aside, Lily already possessed a rare soul that had advanced into super rare territory, along with an 8-star talent. Zolton had a 4-star talent paired with a super rare soul, while Alric had a similar talent level but only a rare soul. In contrast, the average individual in this world possessed nothing more than a common soul, coupled with a talent rating of two to three stars.

From that perspective, Kendru was truly a blessed place. It had produced five to six notable talents—Leo, Lily, Miho, Alric, Zolton, and even that guy with the Iron Body talent.

And above talent, the most critical factor of all was the soul.

A high-ranked soul was considered a natural vessel for power. Even a rare soul was already classified as high-tier, granting a natural strength gain of around 30 percent per star rank.

For example—

If a person was ranked at 3-star, their ceiling stat would be 500. Someone with a Rare Soul (Soul Number 3, equating to 30%) would naturally gain thirty percent of that—150 points of personal strength—in a very short period of time, without any external support such as treasures or items.

Similarly, a Super Rare Soul (Soul Number 4, equating to 40%) would naturally gain 200 points, and so on.

Not only did Leo and Lily possess high-ranking souls, but Leo had also made sure to force-feed Lily treasures, accelerating her growth even further. The same applied to Alric and Zolton—being nobles, they naturally had access to expensive items and resources.

Even so, Zolton and Alric's talent levels were comparatively lower, allowing Leo and Lily to surpass them in under two months.

Clearly, being force-fed alone didn't determine strength growth.

A naturally gifted individual would always hold the advantage.

Miho was no exception. Although her soul rank remained unknown, after digesting the Elasian Bloom petal, she had at least reached an uncommon soul. With effort, she could already defeat a low 2-star opponent on her own, albeit with difficulty. Under Lily's guidance, she was steadily catching up.

Meanwhile, the girl who had raised her voice at Leo stormed toward him, her expression twisted with anger, clearly intent on teaching him a lesson. Standing before him, she was at least three heads shorter, but that didn't deter her in the slightest.

She reached out, grabbed Leo by the collar, and tried to yank him down.

The height difference made the scene almost comical—but she paid it no mind, fully confident in her strength.

Leo didn't budge.

Not even an inch.

Instead, his attention drifted to something else entirely—the quality of the clothes Brant had given him. Even under the force of a high 2-star, the fabric didn't tear in the slightest.

A flicker of confusion crossed the girl's face. Gritting her teeth, she applied force once again.

But this time—

"MOVE AWAY FROM LEO!"

Lily exploded in rage.

She grabbed the girl by the hair from behind and yanked hard. With Lily's strength, the girl was violently flung aside, her scream piercing the air as her body crashed to the ground.

She skidded across the dirt, her once-neat uniform soiled, and the pain from having her hair pulled sent tears streaming down her face.

"You—you—you—!" the girl cried as she scrambled up, pointing at Lily with trembling fingers. "Do you know who I am?! I'm a second-term student! I can destroy your life in this academy!"

Seeing this, the other second-term students grew furious.

So what if their term mate was rude? They wouldn't tolerate her being bullied by juniors.

With that mindset, they charged toward Leo, who had already stepped forward, prepared to intercept them.

So what if he was a fresher? That didn't mean he could be looked down upon.

But then—

"Stop."

The single word rang out from behind, crystal clear and heavy with authority. Every second-term student froze mid-motion and immediately bowed.

"We greet Professor Brant!"

Of course, none of them wanted this petty squabble to escalate. They had taken this registration task merely for Academy credits and had no intention of drawing a professor's ire.

They hurriedly began explaining what had happened. Leo observed silently from a distance, but he didn't miss the faint, almost imperceptible smile playing on Brant's lips.

Instead of scolding Leo or Lily, Brant walked straight up to the girl and reprimanded her harshly for her rude behavior toward a fresher, stating that such conduct disgraced the academy and lowered its standards.

The girl could only grit her teeth and endure the scolding, her eyes burning with resentment as she silently vowed to get back at Lily.

Leo mused inwardly.

So… this is how it feels to have backing.

All the while, he failed to notice someone else—a figure among the fresher crowd, watching the spectacle from afar, glaring venomous daggers at him.