Another interesting thing was that no one would die under normal circumstances.

You could be trapped, beaten, or pushed to the very verge of death—but not actually die. Upon arrival, everyone would be given a bracelet. The moment its wearer was about to kick the bucket, the bracelet would activate, teleporting them directly to the Aurelius Temple, where they would be healed.

Of course, such life-saving measures came at a hefty price.

Each teleportation cost 100,000 AC.

The bracelet could also be used on one's beasts to ensure their survivability. Every student received one personal bracelet for free, but any additional bracelet—whether for beasts or otherwise—cost 10,000 AC each.

Leo listened to all of this with widened eyes.

This essentially meant he could act recklessly without worrying about death.

Still, one phrase lingered sharply in his mind—under normal circumstances. That alone meant death was still very much possible.

The Academy, it seemed, was designed to teach people how to survive in the real world while forging capable individuals who could one day lead humanity forward.

It was also mentioned that the academy's territory was so vast that it contained countless treasures and opportunities for the brave—and equally countless dangers for the foolish. The instructor even joked that the Principal had hidden several 5-tier beasts as special encounters, and defeating them would grant tremendous rewards.

Cold sweat trickled down Leo's back at that.

He had personally seen what a 5-tier being was capable of.

"Alright! Now I will tell you where you stand," the instructor said, clapping his hands together.

The rules were simple.

The amount of Aurelius Credits each candidate possessed would be equal to their Trial Score. Meanwhile, the amount of land they could claim under their name would be 1,000 hectares divided by their Trial Rank.

Leo digested this in stunned silence.

He had scored 390,600 points, which meant he had 390,600 AC.

And since he was ranked first—

Did that mean he could directly own 1,000 hectares of land?

His lips twitched as he grimaced slightly. If the metal plate hadn't been destroyed, he could have had even more AC. But what he heard next instantly lifted his mood.

The exchange rates of Aurelius Credits.

Anything valuable obtained from beasts was priced as follows:

Low 1-star — 1 AC

Mid 1-star — 4 AC

High 1-star — 50 AC

Peak 1-star — 200 AC

Low 2-star — 1,000 AC

Mid 2-star — 2,000 AC

High 2-star — 4,000 AC

Peak 2-star — 6,000 AC

Pseudo 3-star — 8,000 AC

Low 3-star — 10,000 AC

Mid 3-star — 20,000 AC

High 3-star — 30,000 AC

Peak 3-star — 40,000 AC

Pseudo 4-star — 50,000 AC

Low 4-star — 60,000 AC

Mid 4-star — 70,000 AC

High 4-star — 80,000 AC

Peak 4-star — 90,000 AC

Pseudo 5-star — 100,000 AC

{That's right—it was equal to the amount of XP Leo gains from killing beasts of the same rank.}

"Anything valuable" referred mainly to one of three things: Soul Crystals, Mana Crystals, and Beast Cores.

For beast masters, Soul Crystals and Beast Cores were valuable, while Mana Crystals were often traded away. For other combat professions, Soul Crystals and some amount of Mana Crystals were prized, making Beast Cores expendable. For non-combat professions, Mana Crystals and Beast Cores held the most value.

Other than that, Beast corpses could also be sold, and Ac would be granted accordingly.

This naturally created a balanced economic cycle within the academy territory.

Metal coins were not circulated within the academy for a reason. A student could leave—or even flee—the academy at any time, which would disrupt the economy if coins were freely used. Hence, the credit system.

This didn't mean metal coins were useless. AC could be exchanged for coins—but coins could never be exchanged back into AC.

This rule existed because students often needed to venture into other territories for missions, where metal coins were still the primary currency.

Leo was elated.

He could easily defeat 3-star beasts, meaning he could earn massive amounts of AC and exchange them for whatever he desired. Since the academy claimed it could provide anything in the world, that included Elemental Crystals and countless rare resources.

And then, finally, the instructor announced the most important matter of all.

"Student Ranking! That is the most important thing in this academy," he declared. "The higher your rank, the more opportunities you will have to grow stronger!"

"On the first day of next month, all of you will participate in a competition. This will decide your ranking for the First Term."

"This ranking can be challenged," he continued. "A lower-ranked student may challenge a higher-ranked one. The battle may be delayed—but it cannot be refused. HOWEVER!" His voice sharpened. "A higher-ranked candidate can never challenge a lower-ranked one. I'm sure you understand why."

"Outside of ranking battles, there are friendly bouts and—" His tone suddenly grew grave.

"Death Matches."

Every candidate sucked in a cold breath.

"These require the consent of both parties," the instructor said firmly. "They are supervised by an instructor, elder, or professor. No one can force you to participate."

"And that is because a Death Match—as the name suggests—is a death match. One party is guaranteed to die if the other shows no mercy."

"No action will be taken against the killer," he added calmly. "Both participants consented."

"That's all. The rest, you will learn once you arrive at the academy. Good luck."

With that, the instructor leapt back onto the leading eagle, leaving the candidates behind to discuss everything in hushed, anxious voices.

By now, their travel time had exceeded five hours. At nearly Mach 9, they had covered an astonishing distance of almost 60,000 kilometers.

It made Leo realize just how far apart human territories truly were.

Throughout the entire journey, he had barely spotted four or five walled cities on the ground.

At some point, people began pointing ahead.

In the distance stood a colossal structure—triangular in shape, piercing the sky like a spear aimed at the heavens.

Leo narrowed his eyes.

That had to be their destination.

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