SSS Class Awakening: I Can Forge My Beast Soul Avatars
Chapter 28: Emotional Breakdown

Chapter 28: Emotional Breakdown

The monstrous ram lowered its massive, newly morphed horns, its glowing green eyes locking onto the startled wolverine with absolute, violent intent.

Then, it charged.

Its heavy hooves hammered against the stone, sending reverberations through the entire amphitheater.

Limbus tore across the arena like an unstoppable force, the tips of its enormous horns scraping the floor and carving deep trenches into the white masonry, showering the front rows in stone fragments.

The wolverine didn’t bother trying to stand its ground. Choosing raw survival over pride, Crusher bolted.

The predator darted across the floor as the transformed ram rapidly closed the distance, narrowly dodging two devastating thrusts as it twisted and dived at the last possible second.

Jason’s smug composure shattered into pure panic.

"Crusher! Fall back! Distance! Keep your distance!" he screamed, his voice cracking over the noise of the crowd.

But Limbus refused to give its prey a single second to breathe.

Fueled by the sheer momentum of its berserk evolution, the ram pressed its relentless assault.

Unlike its earlier, calculated charges, it no longer paused to reset its stance or gauge its opponent. It simply overran the ring with terrifying speed.

"That’s it, boy! Grind him into dust!" Rex roared from the sidelines, his chest heaving, his grin widening with every inch of ground his beast reclaimed.

Crusher barely skirted past another lethal headbutt, causing Limbus to plow straight into the perimeter wall for a second time.

The impact shook the structural arches of the arena, but this time, the ram didn’t stagger.

Limbus violently ripped its horns out of the shattered masonry, shook the stone dust from its head, and spun around instantly, its glowing green eyes locking back onto the trembling predator.

Atlas’s eyes widened as he leaned over the iron railing. It didn’t even flinch. The concussive recoil didn’t register at all.

Crusher barely scrambled to its feet before Limbus charged again, driving the wolverine into another desperate, scrambling retreat. With every second that ticked by, Jason’s control over the match crumbled.

"Enough of this!" Jason suddenly shrieked, reaching frantically into his uniform pocket. "Crusher, take the pill and finish this brute!"

He pulled out a small, metallic casing.

Atlas immediately turned to his instructor. "Sir, what does he mean by ’pill’?"

Mr. Crosswell kept his arms folded tightly across his chest, his eyes never leaving the arena. "An evolution catalyst. Most likely a high-grade stimulant designed to forcibly jump-start a beast’s next evolutionary threshold, similar to what Rex’s Limbus just achieved naturally through stress."

Atlas frowned, his brows knitting together. "Isn’t that illegal? The referee explicitly stated no external aids or items."

"Under standard dueling law, external items are banned," Mr. Crosswell explained calmly.

"However, academy regulations make a very specific distinction regarding beast-consumables. An evolution pill doesn’t inject foreign mana into the body — it merely forces the beast’s own dormant genes to accelerate. It unlocks potential the creature could technically reach on its own given time. That’s why it falls within the rules."

"Then what counts as doping?" Atlas asked.

"An enhancement drug," Mr. Crosswell replied, turning his head slightly.

"Enhancement drugs inject synthetic mana to artificially inflate physical output, numb pain receptors, or induce unnatural rage beyond a beast’s biological limits. That warrants immediate disqualification and a permanent ban."

Atlas felt the realization click into place. "So Rex triggered Limbus’s evolution naturally through a racial trait, while Jason is using a legal shortcut. But the end result is the same."

"Precisely," Mr. Crosswell said grimly. "And if Crusher absorbs that catalyst right now, Limbus is going to be in severe danger."

On the arena floor, Jason flicked his wrist, tossing the small pill high into the air.

Crusher’s eyes locked onto the falling object. The wolverine coiled its hind legs and leaped upward, opening its foam-flecked jaws to catch the catalyst mid-flight.

It never got the chance.

Limbus intercepted the predator mid-air, slamming its massive, armored shoulder directly into Crusher’s ribcage.

The pill slipped past the wolverine’s jaws, bouncing harmlessly across the stone floor toward the perimeter. A fraction of a second later, Crusher hit the wall.

A web of deep cracks spiderwebbed across the reinforced barrier as the wolverine was embedded into the stone, coughing up a spray of blood before slumping to the ground.

Meanwhile, the evolution pill rolled to a stop right in front of Limbus.

The ram didn’t hesitate. It raised one massive, iron-shod hoof and brought it down with absolute force.

The expensive catalyst was crushed into fine, useless dust against the white stone.

"YES!" Rex screamed, slamming his fists against the boundary barrier. "Break him! Show him what Class 5E is made of!"

A heavy, suffocating silence fell over the amphitheater. The momentum had shifted so violently that the crowd forgot to cheer.

Crusher struggled onto all fours, its legs trembling violently under its battered frame. Blood dripped from its snout, its small eyes unfocused as it tried to locate the threat.

Across the ring, Limbus lowered its massive head once more.

Its hooves scraped against the floor.

Plumes of scalding white steam began rising from the ram’s skin as raw, compressed mana radiated from its expanded muscles. The air around the beast visually distorted from the sheer heat it was generating.

Atlas’s chest tightened as he watched the energy build. ’It’s compressing all its momentum into a single point. That’s not just a charge anymore... that’s a execution blow.’

Limbus’s muscles locked, acting like a fully drawn ballista waiting to be released.

Atlas swallowed hard. ’If that hits, it’s going to obliterate that wolverine.’

Just as Limbus prepared to launch itself—

"I WITHDRAW!" Jason’s voice tore through the stadium, sharp and frantic.

The sudden shout hung in the air. For a long, stunned second, nobody moved.

"Wait, what?"

"Did he just forfeit?"

"No way..."

Jason scrambled over the boundary line, dropping to his knees beside his broken beast, his voice trembling uncontrollably. "I forfeit! The match is yours! Just... please don’t let it kill Crusher!"

Tears streamed down Jason’s face, dripping onto the blood-stained stone beneath them.

All of his previous arrogance had completely vanished, leaving behind only a terrified boy clutching his injured partner. "Please... he’s all I have."

Atlas stared down from the high section, caught completely off guard by the raw display of vulnerability.

’Woah... I definitely didn’t see that coming.’ Atlas glanced sideways at his teacher, his voice low. "Sir... can beasts actually die in these duels?"

"For tamers without a direct soul-anchor or high-tier summoning space?" Mr. Crosswell answered, his expression solemn. "Yes. Physical trauma can be absolute."

Before Atlas could digest the weight of that truth, the referee stepped into the center ring.

He held up his hand, signaling Limbus — who slowly began to power down as the green light in its eyes faded back to normal — and raised his silver whistle.

"The match is concluded!" the referee’s voice boomed across the silent arena. "By forfeit, the winner of the opening round is Rex of Class 5E!"

For three long seconds, complete silence held the arena.

Then, a single pair of hands began to clap from the upper stands.

Then another joined, then five, then fifty.

Within seconds, a deafening wave of applause and cheers erupted throughout the entire colosseum, washing over the arena floor.

Rex stood frozen, blinking at the scoreboard above, before a massive, blinding grin split across his face.

He threw his arms into the air, roaring along with the crowd as Limbus trotted over and nudged him heavily in the ribs.

"They had done it. Class 5E has secured the opening point."

The only pocket of complete silence belonged to the Class 5D spectator block.

"Tch. What a pathetic embarrassment," one senior student spat, crossing his arms in disgust.

"We actually lost a point to the bottom rankers?" another muttered, staring down in absolute disbelief.

High above the floor, Atlas leaned back against his seat, a small, genuine smile forming on his face as he watched Rex celebrate with his ram.

Their very first victory.

It wasn’t his turn yet. It wasn’t even the decisive match of the day. But looking down at the cheering crowd, the momentum had officially shifted.

"Its still a win nonetheless. One down..." Atlas murmured softly, his eyes narrowing with renewed focus. "My turn next."