Rooley, still leaning against a pillar for support, blood caked on his face and his back screaming in agony, met those gold eyes and spoke through the summoning link.

"Don’t hit him head on. His absorption works on direct kinetic force. Grab him. Pin him. Then crush. Slow pressure. No impact. No shockwave. Just gradual force that his ability can’t register as an attack."

The fox held his gaze for a moment. Then it turned back to the student.

The Astral Zenith student’s grin faltered. Something about the way the fox was looking at him had changed. Less like a predator eyeing prey. More like a craftsman examining a problem.

The fox moved.

It simply stepped forward and placed one paw on the student’s shoulder gently. Almost delicate.

The student laughed nervously. "What’s that going to—"

The paw closed.

A slow, inexorable increase in pressure. The fox’s claws dug into the student’s shoulder, and then it squeezed. Gradually. Continuously. Like a vise tightening one millimeter at a time.

The impact absorption didn’t trigger. There was no shockwave. No sudden force to absorb. Just a steadily increasing compression that crawled past the ability’s activation threshold like water seeping through cracks.

The student’s eyes bulged.

His shoulder collapsed inward with a wet crunch. Then his collarbone. Then his ribs on that side, caving like wet cardboard under the fox’s patient, grinding pressure.

"AHHHH—"

He screamed in genuine agony. He tried to pull away, but the fox’s other paw had already closed around his opposite arm, pinning him in place.

The compression continued.

The student’s screaming stopped when his chest caved in completely.

The fox released the body. It crumpled to the ground like a puppet with cut strings.

[1,050 → 1,250 PTS]

Two hundred points from the Mana Heart Rank 2 Astral Zenith student.

The massive starlit form shrank. The eight-meter cosmic terror compressed, folded, and condensed until a small fox the size of a house cat sat on the bloody concrete, its midnight blue fur immaculate, its golden eyes half-lidded with exhaustion.

A complete contrast to the beast that had just killed a Mana Heart Rank 3 criminal and dismantled a rank 2 cultivator like he was made of paper.

Soft starlight emanated from the little fox’s body, pale and warm, washing over Rooley in gentle waves. The light sank into his skin, and the pain in his back dulled from white-hot agony to a manageable throb. Cracked bones knit. Torn muscles soothed. Bruises faded from purple to yellow to nothing.

It wasn’t full healing. The fox was too drained for that. But it was enough to keep Rooley functional.

He looked down at the little fox. It looked up at him with those ancient gold eyes, yawned, and then flopped onto its side like it was nap time.

Rooley let out a breath that turned into a ragged cough. His vision was blurring. His mana was hovering at eleven percent. The summoning link to the fox was a thin thread that would snap if he pushed it any further.

He checked his bracelet one final time.

[1,250 PTS]

Then his legs gave out and he fainted face-first onto the bloody concrete.

Two hours had passed since the forty-two participants entered the abandoned city of Valdris.

The massive holographic display above the stadium flickered and updated, drawing murmurs from the hundreds of thousands of spectators. Eight students had already been eliminated, their bodies materializing on the stage in various states of injury before being carried off by medical staff. Afterall, the ressurection could not do everything. It was the power of runes and formations along with a mysterious person’s powers.

Two from Iron Nexus. Three from Sylvan Star. One from Astral Zenith. And two from Neon Abyss Academy, a result that had drawn sharp gasps from the crowd given their reputation as the favorites of many analysts.

The academy ranking system was straightforward. Total points earned by all active students from each academy were summed together. Killing beasts, killing criminals, killing each other. Every point contributed to the team total.

The Commentator’s voice echoed through the colosseum as the rankings materialized in luminous script above the arena floor.

"Let’s take a look at where our academies stand after two hours of carnage, shall we?"

Empyrean Celestial Academy sat in first place with 7,600 points, a lead built on efficient beast hunting and two student kills credited to their captain and vice captain.

Heaven’s Gate Academy followed closely in second with 7,450 points, just 150 points behind the leaders. A remarkable position given they had started the round with two members at only one hundred points each.

Iron Nexus Academy was third at 6,200 points, reeling from the loss of two students early in the round.

Neon Abyss Academy sat fourth at 5,900 points despite losing two members, their remaining five clearly performing at a high level.

Astral Zenith Academy held fifth at 5,200 points, though the loss of one student had hurt their total potential output.

Sylvan Star Academy rounded out the bottom at 4,700 points, their three eliminations putting them in a precarious position.

"Now for the individual rankings," the Commentator continued, his tone shifting to something more dramatic. "And this is where things get interesting."

Michael Weston from Empyrean Celestial Academy held the number one spot at 2,500 points. Their captain, a man who had apparently been hunting beasts with mechanical efficiency since the moment he arrived.

Kael Cassian Vorn from Heaven’s Gate sat at second with 2,050 points. The crowd murmured at his name. His performance in the previous rounds had already made him a crowd favorite.

Karacus Drakemore, also from Heaven’s Gate, occupied third at 1,800 points. The dragon-kin’s raw power translating directly into kill efficiency.

Ryan Durant from Neon Abyss held fourth at 1,450 points.

Ravenna Silva, Empyrean Celestial’s vice captain, sat at fifth with 1,400 points.

Dean Hawthorne from Astral Zenith and Gareth Ganesha from Iron Nexus were tied at sixth with 1,350 points each. The Commentator noted that Gareth was the captain of Iron Nexus and a member of the Royal Divine Elephant beast clan, making him a significant threat in direct combat and Dean as the Vice Captain of Astral Zenith.

Rooley Slanders from Heaven’s Gate and Elara Amastacia from Sylvan Star were tied at eighth with 1,250 points each.

The Commentator leaned forward in his booth, a grin spreading across his face.

"Two hours down. Six hours to go. The gap between first and last academy is less than three thousand points. Anything can happen. Anyone can rise. Anyone can fall." He paused, letting the tension build. "But I have to say, watching that little summoner from Heaven’s Gate call forth that starlight fox was the single most impressive thing I’ve seen in this tournament so far. Rooley Slanders, ladies and gentlemen. Remember that name."