The cave's guardian beast, an Aegishorn—a Level 3 Drakeshell—awakens, trapping a student inside. Observers panic: her bound beast is a flea and she seems doomed while rivals jockey to harvest the beast's blood. Qyren, mocked as 'just a beastling,' sends his small bound creature into battle; it grows, withstands the Aegishorn and shifts the fight. Enemy clones swarm and sting, and a Hive Blast unexpectedly topples the guardian. A detection alarm announces 'Lifeblood Detected,' leaving everyone staring at the fallen Drakeshell and the immediate scramble unresolved.