The Primal Exam by Dale Manwaring
English | 2026 | Sci-Fi & Fantasy
The Exam wasn’t designed to test his skills. It was designed to end his life.
Imagine standing on a precipice where the ground floats a mile above the earth and the wind screams like a dying god. You have no safety net, no resources, and a target painted on your back by the most powerful family in the city. This isn’t a classroom; it’s a kill box. Feel the searing heat of an obsidian goblin, the cold dread of a toxic swamp, and the adrenaline of a freefall into the unknown. Ronan Cross is done hiding in the shadows. It’s time to show the elites that in the Badlands, the only grade that matters is survival.
Ronan Cross just wanted a place to call home. Instead, he got an eviction notice delivered by a cannon. With his warehouse reduced to ash and his resources drained, the Scavenger has no choice but to enter the Regional Field Exams—a brutal, three-stage gauntlet designed to weed out the weak. But for Ronan, the stakes are higher than a simple grade. His rival, Damian Saint-Cloud, has rigged the game, filling the zones with ruthless mercenaries and illegal bio-weapons. To win the prize that could save his future, Ronan must navigate floating islands, survive acid-drenched fens, and hack through a sentient jungle that wants to eat him alive.
He can’t do it alone. The Covenant must grow. From the skies above to the sludge below, Ronan hunts for new power, taming fierce new allies and resurrecting an ancient giant to act as his shield. But as the exam spirals into chaos, a terrifying truth emerges: the final boss isn’t a simulation. It’s a ticking time bomb fueled by void magic, threatening to obliterate everything Ronan has fought to build. He has to prove that a scholarship student with a team of “trash” monsters can take down a god.
The bell has rung. Class is in session.
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