Felix followed the trail for ten minutes. Ahead, he could hear voices. Walking straight into the enemy wasn’t the best idea. With his mana and strength, he climbed the trees effortlessly. He rose to the top and looked down.

Around fifty goblins were gathered in a circle, whispering among themselves. The two he had let run were at the centre, kneeling. The goblin warrior was at the centre. It had its leg and axe on each goblin's head.

The bone mask it wore was enough to tell who ruled this area. It held a stone axe like its minions, but bigger and sharper. It shouted and began speaking, while the two goblins joined hands.

They grabbed the warrior's leg and started crying, but the goblin warrior showed no mercy. It crushed and cut off their heads. Their headless bodies slumped, and the other goblins quickly moved to carry them out. Some wiped the blood from the warrior’s leg and axe.

They were killed because of Felix.

The warrior didn’t take revenge for the frail goblin. It was likely the one who had ordered the goblins to bully and kill it. Letting a human, their biggest prey, live and humiliate them, was what angered the warrior.

Felix watched the goblins for a bit. The smaller ones were most likely E-rank, while the warrior was D-rank. It was just a level-up, but it made a world of difference. Felix knew this firsthand—he knew how different he felt when he reached new ranks. Fighting them would be good practice, but not all of them.

He broke the branch next to him. Mana gathered into his arm and then into the stick. As his mana repelled, he threw the branch, aiming away from the goblins to a nearby tree.

It produced a crackle as if lightning had struck. The goblin warrior looked in the direction of the sound and ordered ten of the goblins to check. Felix repeated the trick, throwing branches in different directions.

Until only the goblin warrior and three smaller goblins were left. Felix concluded:

None of the power went to its brain. It’s brain-dead, just like its minions.

Felix was too far away for it to sense his mana. Even veterans couldn’t sense it. That was the only benefit of having cursed mana: being invisible.

But the warrior didn’t look up to check if it was lightning. Felix shot another branch at the warrior. It reacted, blocking it with its axe.

It finally looked up, snarling as it glared at Felix. He dropped down. The two goblins rushed at him. Just like the warrior, he killed them both in a single swipe.

Felix dashed and swung his weapon. The warrior blocked it. The weapons clashed, and the sound roared, echoing through the forest. Sparks flew as the weapons pressed against each other, neither side giving way. The warrior stood proud of its strength. Felix wanted to see how far he could push it.

The loud clash drew the attention of the goblins, and they started to return. They wanted to attack, but the warrior snarled—it was its fight. It gathered mana, making its axe stronger. The power behind it had increased too.

But, as Felix thought, he stood there, bored. Then, the axe started to vibrate. The warrior's whole body felt heavy. It wanted to jump back. Felix held his weapon with only one hand.

That confused the warrior. It could tell, on a physical level, that it was stronger, so how could it not overpower Felix?

Felix grabbed the warrior’s neck. He tapped and its neck quivered. The goblin warrior screamed. Veins popped out of its neck as it tried to call its minions for help. Only a squeak escaped. The goblins were too cowardly to move. What could they do against someone who could easily deal with their chief?

Foam dripped from its mouth. Its eyes bulged as if they would pop out. It kept kicking the air, hoping to hit Felix. It did, but it felt like being hit by a pillow.

After a minute, the warrior stopped struggling. It had suffocated. Its green face turned blue, and Felix let it fall limp to the ground. He glared at the remaining goblins, who ran off without looking back, not even one attempting to fight for revenge. Not that the warrior had been particularly benevolent in the first place.

Felix rolled his shoulder back. The fight had been easier than he expected. But this warrior wasn't the boss of this floor. It wouldn't be this easy.

As he was about to walk away, the air felt heavy. He sensed something. Not a goblin, not a human—just something he couldn’t describe. He turned calmly. Nothing was there, but something was walking straight toward him.

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It wasn't hostile, Felix knew, so he just stood still. The forest had hidden cameras. If anything happened that Felix couldn’t handle, the professors would step in.

Now, whatever it was, it was right in front of his face. He just couldn’t see it. It moved its fingers around his forehead, then his eyes, and slowly down to his chest, to the spot where his heart was.

He waited for pain or a reaction, but nothing happened. Then he noticed—the air was still. The leaves falling had come to a stop, frozen in midair.

It’s just like what Lim said.

He couldn’t move, not even his pupils. Slowly, he felt himself losing control of his body. His heartbeat stopped, and his lungs seemed to forget how to breathe.

Felix wasn’t scared. If there had been hostility, his senses would have told him. He had to figure out what it was, so he waited for it to reveal itself—a glimpse, a sound.

But nothing of that sort happened. It was gone. The air moved again, the leaves fell, and Felix regained control of his body. He looked around. Only the dead body of the goblin warrior remained.

Felix realized that he and Lim had been attacked by this creature inside the academy, not the Morrowraith. And he didn’t know of a single creature that could stop time. Maybe there were more they hadn’t encountered yet.

Felix sighed and rubbed his forehead.

Why can’t things be simpler?

******

Did I make her too overpowered?

Lim thought as he looked at Rose. In a single sweep, she had killed ten giant rats. Her cold blade moved gracefully back into its sheath.

Her control over mana was perfect. No unnecessary movement and each strike was meant to end life.

He wrote her that way—strong and calm. But seeing it firsthand was something else entirely.

Rose turned to Lim and looked at the three dead rats beneath his feet. She smiled.

“How are you not in the top fifty?”

Not just Rose, but his other Circle members, Joyce and Giselle, thought the same.

Lim didn’t reply. He had walked right into Rose’s trap when he intentionally let three rats pass her and attack Giselle. Giselle, too, hadn’t attacked them. She wanted to see what her Circle member was capable of. And to her surprise, he had proven to be a reliable comrade.

She gave him a thumbs-up and smiled. Lim nodded.

Giselle was a mage, specializing in fire and lightning magic—two of the most destructive elements. That had earned her the position of Fifteen Star. Her almond hair and green eyes perfectly complemented the grey robe she wore.

The other member of the Circle was Joyce Thornvale, the Seventh Star. She was the archer of the group and the only one among the ten Stars who relied on a bow. However, she carried no quiver of arrows on her back. At just sixteen, she was already able to create mana arrows.

Her purple hair and eyes were the trademark of the Thornvale family, a rare trait passed through generations. She wore brown pants, practical for the hunt, and the rest of her was hidden beneath a long, black hooded cloak that flowed as she moved.

Joyce hadn’t once looked his way. Lim didn’t know why she didn’t like him. Maybe because he was the only boy in the group, or because a lower-ranked person had joined them.

The three girls walked close together, while Lim trailed behind. They didn’t push him away; he kept his distance by choice. Unlike him, the three girls had known each other for a long time. Giselle had been trained under the Thornvale family, a supporting family of the Ashbourne Duchy—Rose’s family.

Of course, Lim knew more about them than they knew about themselves. But that was as Tanaka, the author—not Lim, their fellow Circle member.

Lim seemed out of place, but he didn’t mind. They weren’t intentionally excluding him. After all, it was human nature to stick close to those you were most familiar with. Rose and Giselle often glanced back to check on him.

The group's dynamic and the changes in other Circles made Lim both fascinated and a bit concerned. Many of the Circle members had changed. Instead of him and Giselle, it was supposed to be Oscar and Stella.

But those two had formed their own Circle. Lim had noticed that other Stars were forming Circles in ways completely different from what he had written.

Should I be worried or happy that these people have their wills and choices?

Probably the latter, but with changes came consequences, ones that could become hurdles later on. Still, he didn’t feel entirely alone. He had a friend.

And his only friend seemed to be the most anti-social person in the world—going into a labyrinth alone. Rumors here spread like wildfire.

The Circle walked on without any trouble. Any giant rat that attacked was killed within seconds. This was far more relaxing than his last trip here. It felt more like a picnic than a battleground. Killing the boss wouldn’t even take minutes.

There were two ways to get to the next floor: kill the boss or find the door leading there. But all of those doors were guarded, so in the end, fighting the boss was the surest bet.

The academy, however, wouldn’t recommend skipping the boss fight. After all, this wasn’t a race but a practice ground for them. Cheating the system meant cheating themselves. Each challenge was a chance to grow, to push past limits.

They were near the boss area. The walls were covered in thick vines, and the mana in the air felt heavier.

Nothing blocked their view, but they couldn’t see the boss. Once they stepped in, the fight would start.

“Get ready,” Rose said, and the rest just nodded. But she didn’t move forward.

“Rose?” Joyce asked softly, touching her shoulder. Rose didn’t respond, but the mana around her did. It grew fiercer and thicker, so much so that Joyce pulled her hand back.

What the-

Lim didn’t know what had happened, but Rose was angry—angry enough that the floor trembled.

She walked in, without waiting for anyone. Joyce looked at Giselle, both shocked and followed. Lim did too.

The next thing he knew, the boss was dead. A creature, about eight feet tall, similar to the giant rat had been pierced through the head. Rose had killed it so fast the creature didn’t even have time to realize someone had entered its territory. It was terrifying. She was terrifying.

Giselle was shaking, and Joyce, who usually didn’t show emotion, looked pale.

Lim looked up. Rose was already climbing the circular stairs to the next floor. The bright red of her eyes had turned dull as if life had drained from them.

“Rose!” Lim shouted, but she didn’t stop. He ran toward her, the others following close behind. Whatever had angered her was about to die.