The trial ring was finally clearing out. The sun hung low over the rooftops, casting long, stretching shadows across the trampled dirt of the village square.
"All candidates who successfully awakened a beast, remain behind!" the Elder's assistant shouted over the dispersing crowd. "Trial rewards and announcements will be distributed in the pavilion."
Lily turned to Revvyn. She was practically vibrating with nervous energy. The shock of the trial had completely worn off, replaced by excitement.
"I'm going ahead," she said, her voice breathless. "I have to tell your parents. Your dad... Revvyn, he needs to hear this right now."
Revvyn couldn't help the grin spreading across his face. "Tell them I'll be right behind you."
"Don't take too long!" She took a few steps backward, waved, and then turned and vanished into the stream of villagers heading toward the farming district.
Revvyn watched her go, a warm, solid feeling settling in his chest. He looked down at his feet. The blue slime sat quietly, making a faint wet sound as it shifted against the stone. It was bigger than before, about the size of a small buckler, and its surface looked thicker and tougher.
"Alright, buddy," Revvyn muttered. "Let's go get our payout."
He turned toward the pavilion and stopped.
Lucien Baltimore stood near the edge of the platform. His C-rank Shadow Wolf was sitting right beside him. Lucien wasn't talking to anyone. He was just staring at Revvyn. The arrogant smirk from earlier was completely gone, replaced by a flat calculating glare.
Revvyn stared back he kept his jaw tight. He waited for Lucien to say something, to throw another insult, but the older boy just turned on his heel and walked away toward the wealthy district, his wolf padding silently behind him.
Revvyn let out a breath and headed for the tent.
Inside, the pavilion was dim, lit by a single oil lamp on a heavy oak table. The Elder sat behind it, looking exhausted. He gestured to a wooden stool.
Revvyn sat down. The slime squelched into the tent behind him and settled next to his boot.
The Elder didn't waste time with pleasantries. He reached under the table and slid a heavy, dark leather pouch across the wood. It hit the table with a muffled, metallic thud.
"Standard reward for an evolution witnessed during the Trial," the Elder said, his voice flat. "Five hundred silver coins."
Revvyn's breath hitched. Five hundred silver.
He knew exactly what that meant. A loaf of bread was a copper. A decent meal was five. His family's crushing debt to the Baltimores was three hundred silver.
He rested his hand on the pouch. It was heavy and real. The debt was gone. He could buy his father medicine. His mother would finally be able to sleep past dawn.
"That is the standard amount for a combat evolution," the Elder continued, leaning back in his chair. "I've been the Elder here for forty years. I have seen P-rank summons before. Mana-poor children who pull the absolute dregs of the world. Those beasts always die in the combat test."
The Elder leaned forward, the lamplight catching the deep wrinkles around his eyes. "Yours didn't die. It went from P-rank to E-rank in a single encounter. I have no explanation for that."
Revvyn kept his face neutral. He didn't have an explanation either, aside from the strange blue screens only he could see.
The Elder reached into his robes and slid two more items across the table: a heavy bronze token stamped with a roaring lion, and a folded parchment sealed with red wax.
"This token proves you passed the Awakening Trial," the Elder said. "And that letter is your provisional admission to the Regional Beast Tamer Academy."
Revvyn stared at the wax seal. The Academy. That was where the real tamers went. Nobles, prodigies, kids with actual futures.
"Provisional?" Revvyn asked.
"The Academy opens in exactly four weeks," the Elder explained. "They require a minimum of a D-rank beast for entry. Your slime is an E-rank. You have four weeks to bridge that gap. If you show up on the first of the month with an E-rank, they will turn you away at the gates."
Four weeks. To go from E to D.
Revvyn nodded slowly. He picked up the pouch, the token, and the letter. "I understand. Thank you, Elder."
♦♦♦
By the time Revvyn left the village square, the sun had completely set. The sky was a deep blue purple, and the dirt path leading back to his farm was swallowed by heavy shadows.
The air was cool as he walked. The sounds of the village faded behind him, replaced by the chirping of crickets and the rustle of wind through the pine trees.
Revvyn walked in silence, letting the reality of the day settle over him. The crushing shame on the platform. The adrenaline of the boar fight. The weight of the silver at his hip.
He glanced down. The slime was keeping pace easily, sliding over the dirt and roots without making much noise.
"Status," Revvyn whispered.
A pale blue screen flickered to life in the dark air in front of him.
[LIMITLESS SLIME EVOLUTION SYSTEM]
Host: Revvyn
Beast:Thorn Slime
Current Rank: E
Evolution Progress:28% toward D-rank
Abilities: [Tough Hide (Minor)]
Revvyn read the glowing text as he walked. Twenty-eight percent. It gained that much just by draining one F-rank boar. If they spent the next four weeks hunting in the outer woods, reaching D-rank was definitely possible.
"I need to give you a name," Revvyn said aloud, waving the system screen away. "I can't just keep calling you 'slime' if we're going to the Academy."
The slime made a soft bloop sound, almost like a chirp.
Revvyn thought about it. "Syll," he said, testing the word. "It fits. Short. Easy to yell if I need you to dodge something."
The slime pulsed once. A vibrant blue light hummed from its core.
[SYSTEM UPDATE]
Beast Name Registered: Syll
Bond Level:** 18% → 22%
Revvyn grinned. He reached down and patted the top of the beast. It felt like firm, cool rubber. "Four weeks, Syll. We're going to have to hunt every day to get you to D-Rank."
Syll chirped again.
They reached the edge of the forest where the path narrowed. The trees here were thick, their roots twisting across the trail. The moonlight barely pierced the canopy.
Revvyn kept walking, his mind was focused on his father's reaction to the silver, when he saw the silhouette.
Someone was standing dead in the middle of the dirt path ahead.
Revvyn stopped. His hand dropped instinctively to the heavy pouch at his belt. Syll stopped beside his boot, flattening slightly against the ground.
The moon shifted out from behind a cloud, casting a pale light through the branches.
It was Lucien Baltimore.
He stood with his hands tucked casually into his pockets. He was completely alone, he didn't have his minions.
And strangely, no Shadow Wolf.
A tamer who just pulled a C-rank beast would normally keep it by their side at all times, especially in the woods at night. But Lucien had kept the wolf away. He was standing in the dark, waiting on the path leading to Revvyn's farm.
Revvyn's grip tightened on the silver pouch. His heart beat was a steady, heavy rhythm against his ribs.
What is he doing here?
Lucien stepped forward, boots crunching on the dirt. His voice was low, calm, almost friendly.
"Five hundred silver," he said. "Not bad for a slime tamer."
Revvyn didn't answer.
Lucien stopped a few paces away. "I have an offer for you."
Revvyn stayed silent.
"Leave Lily alone," Lucien said. "Walk away. Take your little family and your slime and disappear. I'll give you two thousand silver. Cash. Right now. Enough to pay off your debt, buy medicine for your father, and live comfortably somewhere far away from here."
Revvyn's jaw tightened.
Lucien smiled thinly. "Two thousand silver. More money than your family has seen in a decade. All you have to do is leave her to me."
Revvyn looked at him for a long moment.
"No," he said quietly.
Lucien's smile faded.
"You sure about that?" he asked.
Revvyn met his eyes. "I'm sure."
Lucien exhaled through his nose. He looked almost disappointed.
"Then you've forced my hand," he said.
He turned and walked back into the shadows without another word.
Revvyn stood there until Lucien's footsteps faded completely.
Syll chirped once, softly.
Revvyn looked down at the slime.
"Yeah," he muttered. "I know."
He started walking again.
A few minutes later, the path curved around a thick stand of pines. The wind picked up, rustling the bushes on either side of the trail. Revvyn's ears pricked at the sound—it was too loud, too deliberate for just the breeze.
He slowed. Syll flattened against the ground, its surface was rippling like it sensed something too.
The rustling grew louder. Something heavy moved in the dark.
The bushes parted.