[Location: Student Council Room - Private Quarters]
[Time: 08:00 PM]
Leo Sterling sat in his golden chair, staring at the wall.
He held a glass of expensive wine, but his hand was shaking so much that the liquid spilled onto his white uniform.
He had lost.
To a clown. To a beggar. To F-Class trash.
His phone buzzed on the table.
[Message from Ryan: "Tick tock, Goldilocks. 1 Million Credits. Or SpookTube gets the exclusive remix of your scream."]
Leo crushed the wine glass in his hand. Shards cut his skin, but he didn't care.
He opened his banking app.
[Transfer: 1,000,000 Credits to User 'Ryan'.]
[Sent.]
"Enjoy it while you can," Leo whispered, his eyes burning with hatred. "You didn't just beat me. You humiliated the 'Sterling Family'. My father won't let this slide."
He picked up a secure burner phone and dialed a number.
"Hello? Shadow Hand Guild? ...Yes. I have a job. The Necromancer. I want him dead. Tonight."
[Location: Dorm Room 666]
[Time: 09:00 PM]
Inside the run-down dorm room, the mood was festive.
Ryan sat on his bed, surrounded by holographic screens.
[System Notification: Tournament Round 1 Reward.]
[Fear Points: +50,000]
[Current Balance: 62,000 Points.]
[Bank Notification: You received 1,000,000 Credits.]
"We are rich, boys!" Ryan cheered, throwing a bag of premium snacks to Grog.
Grog caught the bag, tearing it open with his teeth. "Boss is King! Boss is God!"
Annabelle was sitting in the corner, sharpening her knife on a whetstone. Scrape. Scrape.
Ryan looked at his massive point balance.
"System, Upgrade Shop to Level 2."
[Ding! 10,000 Points deducted.]
[Shop Level 2 Unlocked.]
[New Items Available: Rare Skills, Trap Items, Territory Management.]
Ryan scrolled through the new list. His eyes landed on a specific skill book.
[Skill: 'Shadow Exchange' (Level 1)]
Rank: B
Cost: 20,000 Points.
Description: You can instantly swap places with any of your Shadow Soldiers within a 1km radius. Cooldown: 10 minutes.
"Buy it," Ryan ordered. This was the ultimate survival skill.
[Ding! Skill Learned.]
Next, he looked at his stats. He was still physically weak compared to real Warriors.
"System, put 10,000 Points into stats."
[Strength: 8 -> 20]
[Agility: 15 -> 25]
[Spirit: 20 -> 40]
Ryan felt his muscles knit together. His vision became sharper. He felt lighter.
He wasn't just a summoner anymore. He could punch through a brick wall now.
"Saving the rest for emergencies," Ryan muttered.
Suddenly, his phone buzzed. It wasn't a bank notification. It was a notification from the "Dark Web Hunter Forum".
[New Bounty Posted!]
[Target: Ryan (The Necromancer Student)]
[Price: 50,000,000 Credits.]
[Status: Dead or Alive.]
Ryan stared at the screen.
50 Million.
That was enough money to buy a small island.
"Wow," Ryan whistled. "I'm worth more than I thought."
Suddenly, the lights in the dorm room flickered.
The shadows in the corners of the room stopped moving.
The air grew unnaturally still.
Annabelle stopped sharpening her knife. She tilted her head towards the window.
"Papa... bad men are outside."
Ryan's expression shifted from playful to cold.
His [True Sight] activated.
He looked through the wall.
Outside, in the dark forest surrounding Building F, five figures were moving. They wore stealth suits that blended with the night. They held poisoned daggers and silenced crossbows.
[System Warning: Enemies Detected.]
[Faction: The Shadow Hand Guild (Assassins).]
[Level: Average Level 15.]
Ryan sighed. He stood up and stretched his neck.
"They sent Assassins? On a school night?"
He looked at Grog. "Grog, continue eating. Don't open the door."
He looked at Annabelle. "Annie, stay here and guard Grog."
"But Boss!" Grog stood up. "They are strong!"
"No," Ryan walked to the window. "They are... customers."
Ryan opened the window and jumped out.
He didn't fall. He landed silently on the grass, his [Agility: 25] allowing him to move like a cat.
The Forest Outside Dorm F.
Assassin Leader (Code Name: Viper 2) signaled his team.
"Target is in Room 666. Breach in 3... 2..."
"Looking for someone?"
A voice whispered right next to the Leader's ear.
The Leader spun around, slashing his dagger.
Swish.
He hit nothing but air.
Ryan stood five meters away, leaning against a tree, holding his Soul Shatterer gun.
"You guys are terrible at stealth," Ryan critiqued. "I could hear your breathing from inside. Do you have asthma?"
"Kill him!" The Leader commanded.
Two assassins charged from the left and right.
Ryan didn't move. He smiled.
"Shadow Exchange."
ZOOM.
Ryan vanished instantly.
In his place, a massive, headless monster appeared.
The Shadow Butcher.
The two assassins couldn't stop their momentum. They ran straight into the Butcher.
Slash!
The Butcher swung his axe horizontally.
Both assassins were sent flying into trees, their ribs shattered.
Ryan appeared on a tree branch above the Leader.
"Surprise!"
He fired his gun.
BANG!
He didn't aim to kill. He aimed for the Leader's leg.
The spirit bullet exploded on impact, shattering the Leader's kneecap.
"ARGH!" The Leader fell, screaming silently.
The remaining two assassins panicked. "He's a monster! Retreat!"
They turned to run.
"Did I say you could leave?" Ryan snapped his fingers.
From the shadows of the trees, hundreds of skeletal hands rose up.
[Shadow Army: Skeleton Infantry]
They grabbed the assassins' ankles, pulling them down into the dirt.
Within 30 seconds, the elite assassin squad was defeated.
Two unconscious. Two captured by skeletons. One leader with a broken leg.
Ryan jumped down from the tree and walked over to the Leader.
He crouched down, pressing the cold barrel of his gun against the Leader's forehead.
"50 Million Credits," Ryan tsked. "Is that all I'm worth? I'm insulted."
The Leader glared at him through his mask. "Go to hell... The Shadow Hand never fails. More will come."
"Let them come," Ryan grinned. "I need the Exp."
He reached into the Leader's pocket and pulled out his phone.
"Unlock it."
"Never."
"Bob," Ryan called.
The Shadow Butcher stepped forward and raised his axe over the Leader's other leg.
"Okay! Okay! Face ID!" The Leader screamed.
Ryan unlocked the phone. He found the bounty listing.
He took a selfie with the beaten, crying Assassin Leader.
Then he posted the photo directly to the Hunter Forum under the bounty thread.
[User: Ryan_The_Streamer]
[Comment: "Delivery rejected. Send stronger guys next time. Also, thanks for the loot."]
He hit send.
The forum exploded.
"WTF? He soloed a hit squad?"
"Is he really a student?"
"Do not take this bounty! It's a trap!"
Ryan stood up.
"Bob, tie them up and leave them at the front gate of the Academy with a note: 'Lost Property'."
He looked at the moon.
Leo Sterling thought he could buy Ryan's death.
Instead, he just gave Ryan a free reputation boost.
"Volume 3 isn't just about the Academy anymore," Ryan whispered to the night. "It's about taking over the underworld."
[System Notification: Hidden Mission Complete - 'Survive the First Assassination'.]
[Reward: Information Broker Contact Unlocked.]
Ryan smiled.
"Time to go shopping for secrets."