Chapter 19: A New Friend

"The cores you have will be collected by the academy officials to test their authenticity and calculate your points," Agor announced as a dozen academy staff members moved among the awakeners, collecting the cores.

The awakeners displayed a range of emotions. 

Some sighed with dissatisfaction, while others, like Sam, Yuki, and Isabelle, appeared confident.

A few, like Yami, looked so furious their eyes seemed ready to pop out.

After a few minutes, the academy staff processed the cores. Agor floated towards the gathered awakeners, a scroll hovering beside him. 

He glanced at the scroll for a moment, noting the names of the awakeners and their points in descending order.

He hesitated briefly before sighing, as if compromising on something. "I have your results right here. All your sorry-assess passed the exam, except for the brats who had to be rescued because they couldn't continue the hunt."

"Thank God, I was worried for nothing."

"I told you we did well."

The awakeners expressed joy and relief at passing. 

What they didn't know was that the principal had to compromise with the noble clan leaders to pass them due to the exceptional difficulty of this year's entrance exam.

Compared to last year's results, almost all of them did better; even the weakest among them had enough points to gain entry to the academy. 

However, Principal Agor rejected those who had to be saved because they couldn't continue the hunt and nearly got eliminated.

"Don't get too excited. Other than a few dozen of you, most of you barely made it. So if you think you're great, you're not. You're just weak shits."

"Somebody go stop him from running his mouth," the Hero King sighed.

"Like I said before, Your Majesty, he wouldn't be himself if he didn't speak his mind," Alden replied from behind, smiling bitterly.

Agor snorted at the awakeners before glancing at the scroll again. "Before we take you to the academy, I believe it's appropriate to announce the names of the top ten awakeners who passed with outstanding results, unlike you fools."

Almost everyone turned their eyes toward Sam, as if it was obvious he had scored the highest.

"Sam Tatsuya. His scores were on another level, making the rest of you look like useless garbage," Agor said, openly pointing at Sam and continuing to criticize the others.

The crowd's focus shifted, murmurs of acknowledgment and jealousy spreading through the ranks as they absorbed the information.

"I see, you even acknowledge that he would get the highest score before I even said his name. It shows just how little confidence you have in yourselves." 

"You're pathetic." 

"You should be better suited for cleaning toilets, so why don't you stop pretending to be martial artists and come clean my toilets instead?" Agor's taunting words cut deep, making the Awakeners feel more ashamed than angry.

"That's enough, Principal. Get to the point," the hero king interrupted, halting Agor's further attempts to demoralize and traumatize the Awakeners.

"Fine, have it your way" Agor rolled his eyes, clearly annoyed. 

"I will now announce the top ten highest scorers, starting from the top."

"Sam Tatsuya," he declared. 

It was obvious; with the system favoring him and granting all kinds of rewards, of course, he would be first. 

Even without the system's help, his strength alone would have secured him the top place.

"From second place to tenth place, the names are as follows:"

"Isabelle Lancaster"

"Yuki Asuna"

"Alaric Dawnsworn"

"Lissa Fulmina"

"Cedric Wardrad"

"Ria Shimura"

"Isaac Oldton"

"Koro Zoronoa"

"Yami Kusanagi"

Isabelle and Yuki both simultaneously glanced at Sam, their reactions inscrutable, but one thing was certain: they were very impressed by the man who kept appearing in their thoughts.

Yuki also felt a tinge of disappointment. 

She knew she couldn't surpass Sam, but she had expected to at least achieve the next best score. 

What she didn't anticipate was Isabelle outperforming her. 

Glancing at Isabelle, who returned her gaze, they both simultaneously thought, 'That bitch needs to be monitored.'

Meanwhile, Sam wore a bitter smile, sensing the attention he was receiving, before a system notification appeared in his field of vision.

[Congratulations on attaining first place in the Academy entrance exam. You deserve a reward.]

[Reward 1: +5 Free Attribute Points]

[Reward 2: +1 Master-Spirit Soul Contract]

'A soul bind contract? Like the one mages use to form a contract with beasts...' Sam mused, focusing his gaze on the second reward.

[Name: Master-Spirit Soul Contract]

[Description: Allows the user to form a soul-binding contract with a soul. The master will forge a spiritual connection with a soul, and the contracted soul will evolve alongside the master. The stronger and greater the evolution of the master, the stronger the evolution of the beast will be.]

"Mm," Sam narrowed his eyes, pondering for a moment.

He had harbored a desire to acquire a pet beast, and as if reading his mind, the system granted him a contract that he could use to form a bond with a single beast.

'This contract is entirely different from the ones mages usually create,' Sam wondered.

'Typically, those contracts only compel the beast to submit to a master. However, this contract forms a soul bond between the user and the target beast, making the beast's evolution dependent on the user.'

'What kind of beast should I contract with?' Sam pondered silently, though he already had a perfect candidate in mind.

'I still remember the spot where I saw that beast. I hope it's still alive,' he thought, his gaze drifting toward the direction where he had encountered the rare creature during his previous beast hunt.

...

The beast hunt was over, and the Awakeners had two hours to prepare before being taken to the academy.

Sam entrusted his older sisters, Tasha and Sasha, with handling all the preparations. 

They almost cried because their brother was going away for a long time.

After consoling them for at least half an hour, Sam left and ventured into the forest. 

He clearly remembered the place where he had spotted that particular beast.

After sprinting at full speed for about forty minutes, he arrived at the spot. "I don't see it anywhere. Where did it go?"

He began to look around but found nothing. "Did a wild beast get to it? Am I too late?"

This particular beast was an invasive species and could grow incredibly strong if left unchecked, but it had a significant weakness in its initial phase. 

Until it began devouring other beasts to evolve, it would be utterly vulnerable.

"It's not here..." He closed his eyes and spread his senses as far as possible. "Found you."

He arrived at the entrance of a six-foot-wide cave opening at the base of a mountain. The cave led directly into the mountain.

Inside was a beast in the form of a five-foot-tall ant—an Ant Queen, to be precise.

[Name: Beast Ant Queen (Infant Stage)]

[Description: The queen of an invasive ant colony, it has the potential to create an army incorporating a variety of ant beasts in different shapes, sizes, and abilities. The more the Beast Ant Queen devours other beasts, the more it evolves. The more the Beast Ant Queen evolves, the stronger and fiercer her ant army will be.]

"Krrrrr," the Beast Ant Queen screeched fearfully, looking at the intruder.

It was still in its infant stage, not very strong, and had yet to give birth to soldiers to protect her. 

It was already in hiding because it was scared of the wild beasts.

The other beasts would not let her live because she was an invasive species. 

If she were allowed to live, she would bring this forest under her control within years.

The beasts had intelligence; they would not let a threat grow knowing it could be easily killed right now.

"Don't be scared," Sam said, taking a step forward and activating his charm. 

An almost invisible pink energy spread from him, covering the entire cave, and the beast stopped screeching.

When Sam got near, he placed his hand over its head and invoked the Master-Spirit Soul Contract.

He first poured a drop of his blood on its head before a scroll appeared in front of him, floating with a blue aura surrounding it.

The drop of blood glowed faintly before being absorbed into its head. 

The scroll shattered into pieces of light, forming threads of energy that created a connection between him and the Beast Ant Queen.

[Forming a soul bond between you and the Beast Ant Queen]

[Establishing a spiritual exchange between you and the Beast Ant Queen]

[As part of the contract, you are to name your contracted beast]

"Name, huh?" Sam pondered for a moment.

He placed his hand over her head, and the Beast Ant Queen lowered her head, allowing him to place his palm.

"Anthra," Sam smiled. "You shall be called Anthra."

[Connection successful]

[Contracted Beast: Anthra (Beast Ant Queen)]

[A/N: If you like this chapter, don't forget to donate some POWER STONES. Your Support mean a lot to me. Thank You]