Leveling From Hell

Tension in one of the large rooms of the colosseum skyrocketed as it was Arzael's turn. All the proctors and examinees conducting the orb and affinity tests nearby fell silent, holding their breath, as if waiting for something unexpected.

"Huh? Why is his aura suddenly so cold?" asked a beastkin anxiously.

"Hey, hey, look at that guy," one of the examinees replied, eyes sharp on Arzael.

"Do you feel an unusual aura from him?"

Arzael's aura was indeed terrifying. In his mind, he wondered, 'Is my aura really that terrifying?'

"Place your hand, kid, don't waste time. There are still many others waiting to be tested," said a hero proctor overseeing Arzael's line. The proctor was human, but his dwarf ears were clearly visible.

Arzael placed his hand on the magical orb. Instantly—

Nothing happened. Everyone was stunned. Some laughed, mocking him.

"Heh? I thought he would shock everyone," one examinee commented.

"What a joke," another said, sneering.

Arzael's teammates who had already passed the test made their own remarks.

"What? He doesn't have a mana core?" Lena asked, confused.

"Impossible. Someone as strong as Arzael should be able to destroy that crystal orb," Alicia said. She knew exactly how powerful Arzael was, having been in the same party with him, she had witnessed him slay a dragon in the Crystalline Spires with a single strike and dominate a Guild Master in the Valiant guild.

Princess Chitara's reaction was pure confusion.

Seraphina, meanwhile, remained expressionless. Puff, hiding in Seraphina's hair, muttered in confusion, "Eh?... What's happening..."

The proctor immediately spoke, "Sorry kid, you're eliminated." He gestured for the examinees behind Arzael to step forward.

'As I suspected', Arzael thought. 'I haven't trained magic all this time because I don't have a mana core.'

However, he calmly replied to the proctor, "Wait a moment, sir. I can prove that I can use magic."

The proctor looked slightly irritated but still allowed it. "Hurry. You're not the only one waiting to be tested."

Arzael bit his thumb. Blood dripped from it—'Blood Manifest,' one of his skills.

Instantly, the blood solidified into a small chain swirling around his finger. As the blood hardened, a terrifying aura emanated, causing reactions from the surrounding examinees.

"Ah, what is that...?" one muttered, face pale.

"His aura… it's terrifying," whispered another, trembling.

In the proctor's mind, 'How is this possible? He has no mana core, yet he can use magic? And the aura from this blood is so terrifying…'

"Now? Do you believe me?" Arzael asked.

The proctor paused for a few seconds before replying, "I doubt it. Moreover, the magic you're using is forbidden one. Now place your hand on the rune stone."

Arzael placed his hand on the rune stone. The result—

Just like the crystal orb earlier, the rune stone did not react at all.

"He doesn't even have a magical affinity?" asked one of the examinees behind him.

"Forget that. His blood magic feels incredibly intimidating," another replied, awestruck.

In the proctor's mind, a mutter 'What is this…? In all my years as a proctor, I've never seen someone without a mana core or affinity. Even children have cores, albeit weak ones…'

Finally, the proctor spoke, "...Hm… You are very strange. I will pass you for this first test, but I will report this to the Association. From now on, you will be monitored more closely." He even seemed to make a note of Arzael's number.

Arzael considered the possibilities and responded immediately, "Very well. I understand."

He was allowed to proceed and walked to his teammates ahead.

The examinees began talking about Arzael again.

"they let him pass?"

"This isn't fair!"

Puff, emerging from Seraphina's hair, jumped onto her shoulder. "Boss, good thing the proctor passed you! I couldn't imagine if we had been separated!" She exclaimed dramatically.

Alicia looked at Arzael curiously. "I know you're very strong… but how can you not have a mana core? What's your secret? I thought you were a specialist type…"

"I don't have any secret," Arzael answered briefly.

Alicia sighed. "Are you sure? You're really strange."

Hearing her boss called strange, Puff immediately retorted, "Watch your mouth, kid! Do you know who you're talking to?!"

They bickered again, as usual.

Princess Chitara smiled faintly at the chaos, while Lena remained stoic, though her face softened slightly.

Princess Chitara turned to Seraphina and asked, "Are they always like this when they meet?"

Seraphina merely nodded slightly. Chitara chuckled softly, while the bickering continued.

Inside the coliseum, they continued their walk.

As they moved down the large corridor toward the next stage, Puff whispered, "Looks like you're the only guy here, Boss."

"What can I do?" Arzael replied flatly.

Suddenly, a male elf collided with Arzael from behind. The elf fell, while Arzael remained standing tall, unshaken.

The elf quickly grabbed his spellbook and apologized, "Sorry, I was in a hurry—"

He looked up at Arzael. He seemed frightened, intimidated; understandably so, Arzael's clothing was all black, his crimson eyes were menacing, and his aura exuded sheer intimidation.

"E-eh… s-sorry… I…" he stammered.

Arzael immediately commanded, "Stand." His voice was short and firm.

The elf was startled but slowly rose. "I-I didn't mean to. Please forgive me."

"No problem, but next time I'll break your bones," Arzael said, coldly.

The elf paled again. He wore green clothing, glasses, and held a spellbook. His number: 453. Green hair, height about 165 cm, up to Arzael's neck.

He turned to look at Arzael's companions, eyes landing on Princess Chitara, and recognized her.

"Your Highness, Princess! So you're here," said the elf.

Princess Chitara replied, "You… one of Valiant's citizens?"

"Exactly! Seeing you this close feels like a dream!" The elf beamed, but Princess Chitara merely turned and continued, followed by Lena.

Alicia commented lightly, "Looks like what you said earlier came true." She smiled slyly at Puff, then followed Chitara, along with Seraphina and Arzael, leaving the elf behind.

"Eh?" The elf followed, walking beside Arzael.

Puff emerged from Seraphina's hair. "Boss, we just talked about that, and suddenly you get a male companion from who knows where! Do you think it's a coincidence, Boss?"

'No' thought Arzael. He opened his status, only visible to him, and glanced at one of his stats:

LUK: 32

'Because of this.'

Hearing the talking rabbit, the elf looked both happy and curious.

"Oh, a magic rabbit, huh?" he said.

"Exactly!" Puff cheerfully replied. "I'm Puff, this is Seraphina, next to you is Arzael, that's Lena, and the short one is 'lost kid'!" Puff pointed at Alicia with her small paw.

"Ohh… I see. My name is Shinji. Nice to meet you," the elf replied, friendly but still slightly intimidated by Arzael.

"Shinji? That's a strange name. Are you sure you're from Valiant?" Arzael raised an eyebrow.

Shinji suddenly got nervous, "E-eh? Of course…"

Arzael only sighed.

They reached the large corridor leading to the arena. Examinees were waiting to enter.

Shinji, beside Arzael, said, "They say this year's exams have more participants than usual…"

Finally, they exited the massive corridor on the south side and gazed at the vast arena, diameter about 800 meters, encircled by towering grand stands carved from pristine white stone, etched with intricate runes that shimmered faintly in the magical light. High-ranking heroes sat in special tribunes adorned with gilded banners, while hundreds of thousands of spectators from across Illumina and beyond cheered from the general stands. In the center, about 3,000 examinees were already present, their movements magnified by giant magical panels above, which cast a radiant glow across the arena, illuminating every white marble column and crystalline detail in perfect clarity. More examinees continued to arrive from each open corridor, their presence adding to the awe-inspiring spectacle.

Princess Chitara, Lena, and Alicia were slightly surprised by the arena's size. Seraphina remained expressionless. Puff whispered from behind her hair, "...What is this..."

Arzael stayed silent, unimpressed. Shinji muttered softly, "This place looks more like a kaiju battleground than a hero academy exam..."

Arzael heard it and said, "Kaiju? What do you mean?"

Shinji was immediately shocked. "Ah… no, no. You must have misheard," scratching his head nervously.

Arzael only sighed. 'This guy is strange.'

They simply gazed at the vast arena. After a moment, a voice from the hero tribune boomed using magical amplification.

"While waiting for other examinees, let me briefly explain the second test. Participants will slay magical hologram monsters created later. Each kill earns points. The small number plates you wear will change color based on points: green means pass, yellow 50% pass/fail, and red means fail. The top 20 examinees with the highest points will be displayed on the magical screen above you."

'So it's an individual test' Arzael thought.

Over time, more examinees arrived from the large corridors, increasing from 3,000 to 4,000, 4,000 to 5,000, and so on.

Arzael's eyes scanned the thousands of people, as if fate would soon bring him to someone he had been searching for all this time.