The flaming golem charged forward with a deafening roar, each step sending shockwaves through the molten ground. Teo stood his ground, the ground trembling beneath his feet; his katana was held loosely at his side. He tilted his head slightly, observing the lumbering mass of flame and stone with a calm curiosity.

"You're a big one, aren't you?" he said, his voice barely audible over the chaos.

The golem responded with a massive swing of its fiery arm, the molten stone leaving a blazing arc in its wake. Teo's smirk didn't falter. In a blur of motion, he sidestepped the strike, the oppressive heat grazing his cheek. His katana flashed as he moved, carving a streak of silver through the fiery arm.

The result was underwhelming. The blade cut cleanly, but the severed chunks of molten rock simply reformed, the creature's core pulsing brighter as if mocking his efforts.

"Ah, self-healing. Of course," Teo muttered, twirling the sword in his hand. "Guess you're not just some oversized campfire."

In the monitoring room, Selene and the others were watching Teo; Ashura burst out laughing at Teo's remark. "He really doesn't change, huh? This fire golem is an A+ ranked monster, and he's basically toying with it."

Selene silently shook her head. "I should really educate him better; this attitude is gonna be the end of him." Seeing Selene like that, Valena tapped her on the shoulder and said, "Don't worry about it too much; he has been through a lot; this is just his way of dealing with that."

Selene nodded, but she still felt uneasy about it. Why did he not talk to her about it? She felt like she had not done enough for him. Turning around, she steeled her resolve. "After this is over, I'll try even harder to make him feel at home in the association," she muttered while clasping her hands in front of her.

Back on the battlefield, Teo was dancing around the golem's relentless attacks. As he kept slashing the golem everywhere except its weak point, the big red core in the middle of his torso.

Dodging all the golems attacks as they kept getting closer and closer, yet his expression remained indifferent, almost bored. "I'm losing interest; it was nice in the beginning, but it's just a huge pile of rocks that can't even touch me." Teo said to no one in particular, the next moment the katana flashed in a swift horizontal stroke, cutting cleanly through the core.

As the core was cut in half, the golem just fell forward like a huge stone that lost its strings. Landing right in front of Teo.

“Very handy indeed,” Teo muttered, glancing at the halved core. He gave the blade a small shake. “Guess you’re not just for show.”

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Sorazaki’s voice rang in his mind, sharp and haughty. “Hmph, of course I’m not. Do you have any idea how rare it is to find a sword familiar of my caliber? Consider yourself lucky, master.”

"Onto the next enemy." Teo said dryly, walking toward the huge volcano in the center.

"Next enemy? Or next victim?" Sorazaki's voice bristled with pride. "With me in hand, you could take down even a dragon without breaking a sweat."

"A dragon, huh?" Teo’s smirk widened as he firmly grabbed the katana. "Is that a promise, or just you running your mouth?" Without waiting for a reply, he tossed Sorazaki into the subspace with a flick of his wrist.

Inside the subspace, Sorazaki tumbled through the air before landing on the ground. "Hah!" A deep, rumbling laugh echoed as Atlas Ursus slapped a massive paw on the ground. "Got thrown out like trash, did you?"

"That’s what you get for running your mouth, Sora," Yuurei added with a sharp tone, folding his wings. Nearby, Somniroth stretched lazily on the grass, his voice a low murmur. "Maybe buttering up the master isn’t your strong suit. Try silence for once."

Sorazaki seethed but stayed silent, his blade gleaming faintly as if sulking.

Meanwhile, Teo glanced into the subspace, observing the endless greenery within. Lush trees, sparkling lakes, and—his eye twitched—a shabby storage shed stood awkwardly to one side. He pinched the bridge of his nose. "Didn't I tell you all to build a proper house? What the hell is that thing? Ugh, whatever. I’ll deal with it after this trial is over," he muttered.

Shaking his head, Teo turned back to the task at hand. "Yuurei, Somniroth, you’re up." His tone was calm but commanding. "As much as I’d like to handle this solo, it’s a rank-up exam. I’ll help Selene out and show off a little."

Teo's smirk deepened as he turned his back to the subspace. And then right after him, Yuurei and Somniroth appeared next to him.

Yuurei stretched her wings confidently, and Somniroth just stood next to Teo yawning, like he would rather just laze around in the subspace.

"Alright, what's next?" Somniroth asked while yawning. Teo just looked at him with a smile. "Well, of course I will be standing on your back while you fly full speed ahead to that huge volcano." Without waiting for a reply, he just jumped on Somniroth's back and lay down, supporting his head with his arms.

Yuurei looked at Somniroth and then immediately jumped on his back. sitting cross-legged close to where Teo's head was lying. "I'll stay with master here. You do the transporting, Somni."

Somniroth could only loudly sigh as he took off flying towards the huge volcano.

"Take notes, Corvus. He has at least 4 familiars. And they seem rather high-ranking ones as well." Said Selene as she paced around the room in a frenzy to keep everything operating smoothly.

Ashura, who was monitoring Teo's movements closely, heard Selene pace around the room like a maniac. "Chill out, Selene; he's already seventeen years old, and he knows it's a test; he acts carefree, yeah. But he's showing more familiars to make our job easier, so chill out, please!"

Stopping in her tracks, Selene sat down at her spot. "You're right, Ash, my bad. I'll try to tone it down, but still, why is he still acting like that? Ugh, I would really like to give him a proper beating right now!" she exclaimed in pure frustration.