Chapter 146
The crimson, ash-laden portal of the advanced Tier 3 evaluation map slowly closed, and Ayla’s translucent blue form materialized back onto the central silver transit pad of the academy pavilion. The heavy, sulfur-choked atmosphere of the Ashen Crucible was instantly replaced by the clean, filtered air of the grand plaza.
Ayla floated quietly in the center of the platform, letting out a soft, rhythmic ripple. Beneath her smooth and glossy blue surface, her Apocalypse Gold Metal Core was throbbing with an incredibly dense, pressurized golden light.
The two half-step Crown master cores she had violently ripped from the Student Senate vanguard captains were now completely digested, their highly refined planetary essence smoothly merging with her own. Her internal gold foundation was humming at an absolute state of maximized overload, completely solidifying her position at the absolute peak of the first-year progression track.
A loud, clear system announcement automatically boomed across the entire transit area, its mechanical frequency vibrating through the high marble pillars.
[ System Notice: First-Year Vanguard Leader Ayla has successfully completed the Tier 3 Ashen Crucible Sector mission. ]
[ Total Execution Time: Nine minutes and thirty-four seconds. ]
[ Joint Parameters Concluded. Performance Evaluation: SSS Rank. ]
[ Final Leaderboard Points Allocated. Master Database Updated. ]
The moment the loud announcement finished echoing, a very heavy, suffocating silence blanketed the surrounding plaza. Thousands of second-year and third-year senior students who were currently preparing their own mission supplies on the adjacent transit pads instantly stopped what they were doing. They stood perfectly frozen in place, their eyes wide with a deep, unadulterated shock as they stared at the tiny blue slime rolling off the teleportation pad.
"Nine minutes?" a third-year senior with a heavy broadsword stammered, his voice cracking slightly with emotion as he looked at his interface screen. "The Tier 3 volcanic core zone takes a standard five-man vanguard squad at least twenty-four hours to carefully clear. She went in with the Senate’s elite squad and completely wiped out the entire layout before the morning orientation crowd even finished dispersing!"
"Look at her core energy density," another older student whispered, his hands tightening into tight fists as a visible wave of panic rippled through his companions. "Her gold aura is not flickering at all. It feels completely stable, vast, and heavy. And where is Captain Kaelen? Where are the other four members of the Senate vanguard?"
"They—they haven’t returned to the plaza," a low-ranking member of the Eternal Sword Faction stuttered, his face turning completely pale as he pulled up the academy’s real-time medical bay logs. "The global database shows that their score counters were reset to absolute zero, and their soul containers are currently undergoing emergency formatting rehabilitation. She didn’t just beat them. She literally stripped them of their core frameworks!"
Ayla ignored their frantic murmurs entirely, treating the older students like invisible pieces of dirt as she rolled calmly across the white marble floorboards. She did not look proud about her SSS-rank performance, and she did not look excited about breaking another academy speed record. To her, clearing the volcanic cavern and harvesting the one hundred Crown-grade Spark Crystals had been just as satisfying as wiping out the mechanical robots the day before, which meant it was entirely boring.
"Nexus, the rewards from these standard academy assignments are getting smaller and smaller," Ayla communicated through the mind link, her multi-layered mental voice carrying a heavy tone of supreme boredom. "The Spark Crystals were hot, but the elemental mana inside was completely artificial. It does not taste as rich or deep as the real cosmic entities in the deep-sea frozen ocean world."
"Well, that is because the academy simulation maps use synthesized data to protect the students’ soul containers, little monster!" Nexus’s voice giggled loudly inside her head, a small digital interface window flashing her current progress charts over Ayla’s right holographic lens. "But do not be too disappointed. By securing another perfect SSS-rank solo completion, you have officially bypassed the advanced freshman block requirements. Look at the administrative progression logs."
Ayla blinked her golden eyes, and a large, glowing purple notification window instantly expanded in front of her face, displaying her updated academic status.
[ Academic Progression Update: Vanguard Leader Advancement ]
[ Due to your consecutive record-shattering achievements, you have been officially promoted out of the First-Year Primary Sector Block. ]
[ Advanced Status Granted: High-Tier Elite Ranker. ]
[ Access Parameters Unlocked: The Crown Council Assembly Grounds — Tier 4. ]
[ Next Core Target Required: The Elimination of the Student Senate Leadership Faction. ]
Ayla’s golden-ringed pupils expanded slightly as she read through the updated progression logs. A small, pleasant ripple traveled through her blue fluid mass as she realized she was moving closer to the absolute boundary zones where the highest student authorities were located.
"The Crown Council Assembly Grounds," Ayla murmured inside her mind. "Are the targets inside that tier going to be more satisfying to eat?"
"The Tier 4 assembly maps are heavily occupied by the absolute rulers of the academy’s student hierarchy," Nexus explained, her digital tone dropping into a highly amused, conspiratorial whisper. "That is the exact territory where the Crown Council and the Student Senate manage their private resource vaults. By stepping into that sector tomorrow, you are literally rolling straight into their private office to steal their wealth."
"If they try to block my path, I will just cut their heads off like the other captain," Ayla responded simply, her five pitch-black claws extending from her front mass for a brief millisecond with a sharp metallic click.
She did not care about their private offices, their student senates, or their collective political authority. In her mind, everything inside this academy was just a temporary stepping stone meant to fuel her continuous biological evolution toward the absolute pinnacle of the world laws.
As Ayla resumed her slow, lazy rolling motion toward the exit corridor of the transit pavilion, a towering figure suddenly stepped out from behind a massive crystalline pillar, blocking her path completely.
The person who had blocked her way was none other than Instructor Argenta, her dark green-haired homeroom teacher. She stood perfectly upright in her crisp, midnight-black military uniform, her long hair resting smoothly against her shoulders. Her silver, pupil-less eyes carried a cold, unreadable expression as she looked down at the small blue slime floating on the marble floorboards.
"Instructor Argenta," Ayla communicated, her mental voice flat and direct. "Are you here to deliver another bone fragment?"
Argenta let out a very brief, dry chuckle, clearly entertained by the small slime’s absolute lack of hesitation or fear. She adjusted her cap, her sharp voice echoing clearly in the quiet corridor.
"I do not have any more primordial bones for you today, little monster," Argenta said smoothly, leaning her back against the marble pillar. "But I did come here to deliver an official warning from the Grand Dean’s office. Your nine-minute solo completion of the Ashen Crucible has officially triggered an absolute state of emergency within the Crown Council."
Ayla bobbled her round body indifferently. "They write too many words on the screens. They are very pathetic."
"They are pathetic compared to your growth speed, yes," Argenta agreed, her silver eyes narrowing slightly as she scanned Ayla’s maximized Peak Gold core density. "But the Student Senate is led by a true Crown Rank genius named Sylas, who possesses a high-tier silver elf lineage framework. He has already secured a temporary administrative pass to lock down the Tier 4 Crown Council Assembly Grounds at the exact same time as you tomorrow morning."
Ayla tilted her mass upward, a slight spark of genuine interest rising in her golden pupils. "Does Sylas have a real core inside his body, or is it fake like the robots?"
"He carries a genuine, refined Crown-ranked Master Core that is backed by the biological essence of the elder infinite races," Argenta explained, her expression turning serious as she looked at the slime. "He is much stronger than Kaelen, and his senate vanguard leaders will attempt to activate the global campus formation the moment the map parameters open tomorrow. They want to completely format your progression line to protect their senior dignity."
"They cannot format me," Ayla stated flatly, her multi-layered mental voice vibrating with a quiet, terrifying confidence. "I will just eat the formation and his silver core together if he stays in my way."
"I expected nothing less from my Class One vanguard leader," Argenta replied, a very faint, amused smile curling her pale lips as she stepped aside to clear the path. "Go back to your residential suite and rest well tonight, Ayla. Tomorrow morning, the entire academy will be watching to see if your pitch-black claws can slice through a true Crown Ranker’s soul container."
Ayla did not say another word. She rolled right past her homeroom teacher, her translucent blue body bouncing softly with every lazy step as she exited the grand pavilion and headed straight toward the residential blocks.
The thousands of freshmen who were sitting in the common hallways frantically scrambled backward the moment they saw her approach, clearing a massive path for her without a single drop of hesitation. Ayla treated them like invisible pieces of trash, rolling smoothly into her reinforced private suite and letting the heavy silver doors slide shut behind her mass with a soft, pressurized click.
The quietness inside her room returned instantly. Ayla floated toward the center of the plush training rug, letting her round blue body expand completely as she relaxed her internal muscles. Her Apocalypse Gold Metal Core began to throb with a deep, majestic rhythm, smoothly processing the remaining traces of the master cores she had swallowed in the Ashen Crucible.
"Nexus, let’s look at the achievement tokens while we wait for tomorrow," Ayla whispered inside her mind, her golden eyes glowing in the dim light of the suite. "We still have several hours before the academy sector opens."
"Oh, you want to plan your next real cosmic hunt?" Nexus’s voice giggled happily, instantly expanding a large, glowing purple achievement panel across her vision. "The Map Cleanser token operates on a monthly cooldown parameter, but because you successfully conquered the entire frozen ocean of Niflheim yesterday, the mainframe has already begun calculating your future unlock coordinates. The next primitive world is going to be a Tier 4 Void Ruin world filled with ancient, unmanaged stellar entities."
Ayla’s golden-ringed pupils expanded to their absolute maximum width as she read the descriptions of the void primitive world. A wild, uncontrollable wave of primal hunger and manic joy instantly bubbled up from her golden core, causing her blue jelly surface to ripple violently with a terrifying velocity.
An unmanaged void ruin world. Ancient stellar entities. Real, unrefined cosmic cores.
That was the exact environment where her monstrous appetite could truly run wild without any safety restrictions or annoying professors monitoring her movements through crystalline screens. The main academy sectors were acceptable for a quick morning snack, but her true home was out in the wild, untamed corners of the outer universe where the food was massive and raw.
"We will clear the assembly grounds and defeat the silver-haired president tomorrow morning," Ayla whispered into the quiet suite, her five pitch-black claws slowly extending back out with a sharp, synchronized metallic click. "And then, we will go catch a real stellar beast for lunch."
"That is the spirit, little monster!" Nexus laughed hysterically, waving the interface screens away into fine digital dust. "Let’s get some rest now. The student senate has no idea what kind of prehistoric predator is heading their way tomorrow morning."
Ayla let out a slow, compliant ripple, gradually calming her wild aura pressure down. She contracted her blue fluid mass into a tight, perfect ball of jelly, resting comfortably on the soft training rug as the brilliant golden light inside her core slowly faded into a quiet, peaceful hum. The advanced mission day of the Ascendant Academy was officially completed. She had thoroughly dominated the high-tier block, upgraded her academic status, and laid the perfect golden foundation for her upcoming clash against the absolute pinnacle of the senior student hierarchy.