Auron stepped out of the abandoned hall, the night air biting at his skin. His thoughts hadn''t yet settled—failure, frustration, and now… a spark of possibility.


    Auron exhaled. Strength through killing? It sounded crazy—but if it worked, who cared?


    "Maybe it''s not such a terrible thing," he muttered to himself, hands shoved in his pockets. The weight of his failure still hung over him, but now, a sliver of hope had cracked through the gloom. Maybe there was another way, maybe there was a chance for him to grow strong without having to become some beast-tamer.


    His footsteps slowed as he entered a quieter part of the academy grounds, a small alleyway he often took as a shortcut. The darkened corner seemed like the perfect place for his thoughts to wander. But just as he took a deep breath, a scurrying sound caught his attention.


    A rat.


    Auron''s eyes squinted. It was small, gray, and ran across the cobblestones, unaware of the person watching from the shadows. His gaze flickered back to the path ahead, but for some reason, he couldn''t tear his eyes away from the rat.


    Should I?


    .


    A crazy idea struck him. If the system was real, why not test it?


    Without thinking twice, Auron kicked a small stone toward the rat, startling it. The creature froze, turning its beady eyes to him for a brief second before it darted toward the shadows.


    "Not so fast," Auron muttered to himself, a grin forming at the corners of his mouth. His fingers twitched, and before he knew it, he grabbed a small rock from the ground and tossed it toward the rat with surprising precision. The rat yelped, its tiny body tumbling as it collapsed onto the cobblestone.


    Auron''s heart raced as he stared at the dead rat. Nothing happened immediately, but then—a notification.


    You have successfully killed a beast. You have gained 1 Attribute Point.


    Auron blinked. What?


    His pulse quickened as the familiar, robotic voice echoed in his head. That wasn''t a fluke, right? His hands began to shake, excitement flooding his veins.


    A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.


    "Wait, does this mean...?"


    An attribute point! The realization hit him like a ton of bricks. This was it. This was his ticket to power. The system was real—he wasn''t insane.


    Auron let out a short, breathless laugh. One rat, and he was stronger? This was insane.


    Reveling in the absurdity of it all.Wasn''t this a bit too good to be true. He could just keep killing things—anything. Maybe even beasts! Hell, he might be able to take on a bear at this rate—at least, that''s what his imagination told him.


    He ran a hand through his hair, breathless. This was real. One rat, and he was stronger.. "I''m actually doing this," he muttered, still chuckling. "This is happening."


    A voice cut through the night, dry and unimpressed.


    "Well, well, well," the voice purred. "Here I was wondering what someone does when they fail to form a contract with a beast. Didn''t know I''d turn them into a perverted rat killer."


    Auron froze mid-laugh. He turned sharply toward the voice, his stomach dropping. There, stepping out from the shadows, was a girl—no, a woman—with an aura of grace and power that made her seem almost otherworldly. She was dressed in the academy''s standard garb, but even in the low light, it was clear she held herself with an undeniable air of authority.


    Her eyes, sharp and calculating, fixed on him. Her long, dark hair framed a face that could stop traffic. But it was the smug little smirk on her lips that made Auron''s heart skip.


    "I—uh," he stammered, his face burning hot. His brain, suddenly fried from the rush of the system''s reward, couldn''t form a coherent thought.


    She tilted her head, her smirk widening. "You''re not just failing at beast taming; you''re going full-on rat-hunter, huh? What''s next? "


    Auron''s mind raced to come up with something witty, something that would stop this from being the most embarrassing moment of his life, but nothing came. "It''s not like that... I mean, I wasn''t... I wasn''t actually—"


    "Sure," she interrupted, voice dripping with sarcasm. "Sure, you weren''t. I can see how killing innocent rats is totally normal. Really impressive."


    Auron''s face went redder, blushing. "I wasn''t—no, I mean, I was just testing something, and—"


    "Right." She crossed her arms, clearly amused by his struggle to explain himself. "Testing something, huh? You know, I didn''t think I''d see the day when someone who couldn''t even form a contract with a beast decided to take up rat murder as a hobby."


    Out of all the failures here, you might be my favorite."


    She took a step forward, her heels clicking softly on the stone, her blue eyes never leaving his face. "But hey, whatever works for you. It''s not like you''re going to get far with that kind of power."


    Auron swallowed hard, his mind racing for a retort, but it wasn''t coming. He had no idea how to respond. This was no random student. This was someone important—someone who definitely didn''t belong in the same class as him. Elora Greyson, unlike him, had formed a contract with a steel wolf from a golden bloodline. It wouldn''t be too far-fetched to say she was a heavenly prodigy, assured to at least reach the Gold realm. She looked far too refined, too polished to be mingling with the likes of him.


    "Well," she said, giving him one last, piercing glance, "I hope your special hobby gives you the thrill of what you want. But I doubt it."


    And with that, she turned sharply on her heel, walking away with the same grace and confidence she had displayed upon entering.


    Auron stood there, staring at the spot where she had been, the laughter from earlier dying in his throat.


    "Great," he thought bitterly. "Now I look like a total idiot."


    He rubbed his hands over his face, sighing deeply. The sting of embarrassment still clung to him as he turned away and started to head back to his room. But his mind didn''t wander long before it was once again consumed by thoughts of the system.


    If the system had really just given him an attribute point from killing a rat, what else could it do? He''d have to test it more. Maybe next time, he could go for something bigger. A few more kills, a few more points. There had to be more to this system than he realized.


    But for now, he needed some time to think. Auron hurried to his room, the world around him blurring as he tried to make sense of everything.