Zac sprinted across the clearing, boots barely touching the ground as furious hens chasing him with sharp beaks snapping at him from behind.

"Weren’t they supposed to be friendly?!" he barks while ducking as a golden hen’s beak lunges at his head.

[Didn’t you heard what Mr. Stiff Shoulders said, they stole the eggs before the exam and now you appeared in the middle of their nest. To them, you look like a chicken thief.]

"Like hell I am!" Zac veers to the side, narrowly avoiding another peck. "If I wanted chicken, I’d buy it from a meat shop!"

[I know! Why don’t you convince the hens of that?]

[Wait I have an idea. Why don’t we make chicken soup out of them?]

"Yeah, like you could eat."

"Since harming them means losing points and possibly failing, I have no other choice but to keep running."

[Then suit yourself for a marathon.]

Ahead, he sees the open clearing give way to a dense forest. Without slowing down, he dashes toward it, pushing his legs harder.

The moment he crosses into the trees, the hens halt at the edge, watching him... before slowly returning to their nest.

Zac lets out a long breath, placing a hand on his knee. "That was insane..."

[This should be the inner zone. That’s why they didn’t follow you.]

"Good," Zac mutters, straightening up. "I need a breathe..."

A blur shoots toward him. Zac twists aside just as a wolf lunges, its jaws snapping shut where his neck had been a second ago.

He slides back, eyes locking onto the beast. "The inner zone is sure crawling with monsters, huh..."

The wolf growls and springs again, jaws wide. Zac steps in this time with his blade, cutting through the wolf’s neck in one smooth motion.

Silence returns... only to break again.

Zac turns slowly and sees more wolves emerging from the shadows, one after another, forming a circle around him.

He exhales, gripping his sword tighter. "Why is it always wolves..."

[A fair question. Karmic connections maybe.]

***

Fifteen minutes later, Zac wipes the blood from his sword and sheathes it before walking over to a rock and sitting down.

The sliced bodies of the wolves lie scattered around him in a bloody mess.

"Now then...Show me my status."

A faint glow flickered, and the panel opened before his eyes.

⟦ STATUS ⟧

Name: Zac Godson

Level: 26 (D)(+6)

Age: 19

Race: Human

Title: -

Bloodline: Fallen (Unknown)

Traits: Divine Aura, Unmatched Charisma.

Awakened Abilities: System (Unknown), Swordsmanship (SS), Lightning (S)

Technique: Heart Sword (SS)

Skills: Overdrive (D) (Growth type)

Info Points: 100 (+100)

Attributes

Strength: 58 (+10)

Agility: 54 (+10)

Physique: 64 (+10)

Wisdom: 54 (+10)

Un-allotted points: 0 (-40)

[Fallen bloodline concentration increased. Every level up gives 8 free attributes.]

[+100 Bonus for reaching ’D-rank’ and successfully becoming the system’s host.]

Zac’s lips curve into a faint smile as he looks at the result of a month of hard training.

After reaching ’D-rank,’ the concentration of his fallen bloodline increased, and he now receives eight free attribute points with each level up instead of the usual four.

"So you finally accepted me as your host." 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

[What choices do I have, at this point, finding a new host will be really a pain in my ass.]

"Do you even have one?"

[That’s not the point here; you still have a lot to learn.]

"I know but correct me if I’m wrong you are just embarest to say it, right."

[That’s totally wrong.]

"Whatever, the ’Overdrive skill’ also increased a rank. I can now use the 4x multiplier without much strain... and even tap into 8x if the situation calls for it."

[And then what? Become a corpse? Did you forget the strain it puts on your body?]

"Can’t you let me be happy for even a moment?"

After a short banter, he distributes all his unallocated points evenly across his attributes. A faint glow surrounded his body, and once again he felt the familiar, almost addictive surge of strength.

"I don’t know how many times I’ve said this... but I’ll say it again. This is the best feeling ever."

***

As the forest grows thicker, shadows stretching longer between the trees, a sudden cry tears through the silence.

"Help me...!"

Zac stops and changes direction, moving toward the sound. Hiding between the trees, he watched the scene unfolding before him.

A group of students stood scattered with panic in their faces, and above their heads, a massive eagle circled the sky.

Its wings cut through the air with heavy force, with its eyes locked onto the students below, treating them as prey.

Every few seconds, it dives stealthily, snatching a student with its strong talons and carrying them into the sky.

The students’ screams echo clearly before both they and the eagle vanish from sight. The students below may not notice it, but Zac saw it clearly from a distance.

When the eagle carries someone into the sky, it pecks them with its beak again and again, but instead of dying, the student turns into golden light and vanishes from its grasp.

The cycle repeats again and again until the last student disappears. He doesn’t step in to help and only observes from the sidelines.

When the last one vanished, the eagle landed with its talons digging deep into the ground. Its eyes burn with hunger and agitation.

It cannot comprehend why, every time it tries to eat its prey, they disappear before it can satisfy its hunger.

Zac moves like a shadow, his sword cutting through the air. The eagle sensed him at once, shifting its wings just enough to deflect the strike and avoid a fatal blow.

"Tch, I thought I had it."

[It’s only a few steps away from C-rank. Its senses are sharper than yours.]

Sensing Zac’s strength from that single exchange, the eagle beats its wings, trying to take flight again.

"Not on my watch, birdie."

Zac jumped from the ground onto a towering tree to the eagle’s right, then launched himself onto its back. The eagle shrieked, spreading its wings and thrashing wildly as it tried to shake him off.

Zac held on to its feathers and pressed his palm against its body.

Crackling energy surged from him, rushing through his hand. Lightning burned through the eagle’s feathers, locking its muscles rigid from the sudden shock.

The bird screamed and then went still.

Zac doesn’t waste a second; he drives his blade straight into the back of its head, killing the eagle instantly.

[+1 giant eagle killed]

[Collect some of its meat.]

"Why?"

[You’re a variant now so you need to eat monster meat to support your physique.]

"Oh... then that’s a given. I thought you wanted eagle soup this time."

[Trust me, if I had a body, I would’ve eaten everything this world has to offer.]

"Then it’s a good thing you don’t have any."

He then crouches down and picks up the two golden eggs lying on the ground.

"So, I guess when a student disappears, the eggs stay behind."

A faint frown crosses his face. "Isn’t that basically telling students to kill each other for more eggs?"

"Well... not like I care anyways."

He stores the two eggs in his inventory and heads deeper into the forest.

***

As time passes, he saw the same pattern repeating again and again.

He often finds students struggling against beasts; as they get eliminated, he then steps in to kill the creature and collect the golden eggs before moving on.

Along the way, he also finds more eggs hidden in various places or guarded by beasts.

After reaching D-rank and distributing his attribute points, his physical strength and mental abilities increased far beyond what a normal D-rank should have.

In his current state, even fighting a C-rank monster wasn’t difficult for him.

[Aren’t you a little heartless? Watching your fellow students get taken out by monsters and doing nothing, even though you have the power to save them?]

"What do you mean?" Zac replies calmly. "This is called strategy. I’m not the one killing them. And it’s not like they’re actually dying."

***

Zac stood behind the trees, his red eyes burning with anger and killing intent as he watched the person ahead.

"Finally... after half a day of searching, I found you."

The girl staggerd back, her sword barely holding the line as a massive tiger lunges at her again. Its claws carve through the air with brutal force, each strike pushing her closer to collapse.

Her breath comes out ragged, and thin lines of blood trail down her arms.

Her auburn hair is now dishevelled, and her dress is torn in several places; it is a clear sign of how hard she has struggled inside the portal.

She suddenly trips and falls to the ground. The tiger seized the chance and springed forward with its jaws wide open, aiming to tear off her head.

Zac moved in a blur with his blade flashing. The beast was split cleanly into two before it could even land.

The girl freezes, her widened eyes fixed on the fallen corpse. Slowly, her gaze lifted, tracing the figure standing before her.

Zac stands there, calm and unreadable, yet a quiet, commanding presence surrounds him.

She pushed herself to her feet and walked toward him. Her fingers wrap around his hand as her composure breaks. Tears spill freely, soaking his skin.

"Thank you... truly. If you hadn’t come, I would’ve been eliminated." Her voice softened, turning low and pleading.

"I owe you."

Zac watched her for a brief moment, already seeing through her act. Still, he puts on a gentle smile.

"It doesn’t suit someone this beautiful to cry like this," he says softly, brushing his fingers along her cheek. "Come with me. I’ll help you through the exam."

Lily nods without hesitation, her eyes fixed on him as if glued in place.

Together, they move deeper into the inner zone, each carrying their own reason.

And somewhere behind them, hidden among the trees, another pair of eyes has been watching from the very beginning.

The figure slips forward in silence, following the two like a shadow.