Sunny stepped inside, flashing his B-Rank student ID. The librarian, a withered old woman with a monocle, glared at him but let him pass.
"System," Sunny whispered, hiding behind a shelf in the 'Forbidden Geography' section.
"Do your thing."
[Ding!]
[Connection Established with Starfall Great Library.]
[Downloading World Database...]
A progress bar appeared in his vision.
[10%... 45%... 89%... 100%.]
[Download Complete.]
[World Map Updated.]
[Monster Bestiary Updated.]
[System Shop: Fully Unlocked.]
Sunny grinned. His head throbbed slightly as gigabytes of information were shoved directly into his cortex, but the pain was worth it.
"Open Shop."
[System Shop]
Healing Potions (Tier 1): 50 Credits
Mana Crystals (Small): 100 Credits
Skill Book: Fireball (Common): 500 Credits
Skill Book: Stealth (Common): 600 Credits
Fusion Catalyst (Tier 1): 1000 Credits
"Prices are a rip-off," Sunny muttered. "But at least I can buy skills now."
He didn't have Credits (he was broke after the exam potions), but he had the Fusion Level 2 ability: [Skill Fusion].
He pulled a dusty book off the shelf titled Basic Mana Manipulation for Dummies.
[Ding!]
[Skill Book Detected: 'Mana Control (Basic)']
[Would you like to learn?]
"Learn."
[Skill Learned: Mana Control (Level 1)]
Effect: Allows rudimentary movement of mana within the body. Reduces mana waste by 1%.
"Trash," Sunny assessed. "But trash is my specialty."
He grabbed another book. Breathing Techniques of the West.
[Skill Learned: Deep Breath (Level 1)]
Effect: Increases Stamina recovery by 1% when standing still.
"Fusion."
[Target: Mana Control (Common) + Deep Breath (Common)]
[Compatibility: 75%]
[Fusion Cost: 10 Mana.]
Sunny sat on the floor, cross-legged. He closed his eyes and activated the skill. Inside his mind, two runic circles smashed together.
[Ding!]
[Fusion Successful!]
[New Skill Created: Mana Respiration (Uncommon)]
Effect: Passively recovers 1 Mana Point every minute. Increases Mana Control efficiency by 10%.
"Passive mana regen?" Sunny clenched his fist. "Yes! That's what I needed."
With his mana issues slightly alleviated, he turned to the map database. He needed to find Tier 2 monsters. His Obsidian Spike-Stag was strong, but it was just one unit. He needed a squad.
He pulled up the holographic map.
[Zone: The Wailing Caverns (Level 10-15)]
[Inhabitants: Giant Bats, Rock Slimes, Deep-Earth Worms.]
[Distance: 5km North of Academy.]
"Deep-Earth Worms..." Sunny tapped his chin. "If I fuse a worm with my stag... could I make a flying drill? Or maybe something that attacks from underground?"
He bookmarked the location.
"Time to refuel. My stomach is eating itself."
The Academy Cafeteria was grand enough to serve a king, but the atmosphere was toxic.
As soon as Sunny walked in with his tray of roasted mystery meat and potatoes, the noise level dropped.
Hundreds of eyes fixed on him.
Sunny ignored them. He walked to an empty table in the corner and sat down. He took a bite of the meat. It was dry.
"Is that him?" a whisper drifted over.
"Yeah, the suicidal B-Rank. The one who yelled at Prince Valerian."
"He's dead. He's actually dead walking. I bet the Prince's assassins will visit him tonight."
"Tonight? I heard the Prince ordered his room to be burned down while he sleeps."
"What a fool. Imagine surviving the Boss only to suicide by politics."
Sunny chewed slowly. Fuck them, he thought. Sheep. All of them.
They thought Valerian was some god who would strike down lightning the moment he was insulted. But Sunny knew types like Valerian.
Valerian was a narcissist. To him, Sunny wasn't a threat; he was a bug that buzzed too loud. You don't mobilize an army to kill a bug. You wait until you step on it by accident.
"Mind if I sit?"
A shadow fell over the table.
It was Gorn. The big guy was wearing a fresh Academy uniform that looked two sizes too small for his muscles. He had a bandage on his cheek.
"Free country," Sunny mumbled, shoveling potatoes into his mouth.
Gorn sat down, his tray groaning under the weight of five steaks.
"People are taking bets on your time of death," Gorn said, tearing into a steak with his bare hands. "Odds are 3-to-1 you don't make it to breakfast."
"I'll take that bet," Sunny smirked. "Put ten silver on me surviving."
Gorn laughed, spraying crumbs everywhere. "You got balls, Sunny. I like that. But seriously... did the Prince do anything?"
"Not yet."
"Watch your back. The Royals play dirty."
Night fell over the Academy.
The B-Rank dorms were decent. Two students per room, separate beds, a private bathroom. Luxury compared to the stable.
Sunny lay in his bed, staring at the ceiling.
Across the room, Gorn was snoring. It sounded like a chainsaw fighting a bear.
Sunny couldn't sleep. He held his Balanced Iron Shiv under his pillow. Every creak of the floorboards made him tense up.
He waited.
Midnight passed.
1:00 AM passed.
3:00 AM passed.
Nothing. No assassins. No fire. No shadows creeping under the door.
Sunny let out a breath he had been holding for hours.
"He really doesn't care," Sunny realized, feeling a mix of relief and insult. "He thinks I'm so beneath him that I'm not even worth the effort of killing."
The disrespect burned, but it was useful. It gave him time.
"Sleep," Sunny commanded himself. "Tomorrow, we grind."
[Ding!]
[Daily Quest: Wake Up, Maggot.]
[Reward: Not being expelled.]
Sunny woke up to a magical alarm screaming in his ear.
"Fuck off," he slammed his hand on the nightstand.
He kicked Gorn's bed. "Get up, big guy. We're late."
They rushed to the Grand Hall. The D-Class students were already there, looking tired and bruised. The B-Class students stood in front, looking slightly more arrogant.
In the center of the hall, rows of tables were set up. On the tables sat hundreds of Monster Eggs.
They were all different sizes and colors. Some were red and hot to the touch. Some were slimy. Some were vibrating.
A new instructor stood on the stage. She was a tall woman with glasses and a whip on her belt. Instructor Vex.
"Welcome to the Beast Hall!" Vex announced, her voice sharp. "For those of you who lost your beasts in the exam... or for those of you whose beasts are trash... the Academy provides."
She gestured to the eggs. "These are unhatched monster eggs collected from the Wildlands. Most are Tier 1. Some might be Tier 2. It is a lottery."
A murmur of excitement went through the crowd. A free monster?
"However," Vex smiled cruelly. "You cannot touch them. You cannot use mana to scan them. You must choose based on instinct alone. One egg per student."
"Bullshit," Sunny whispered. "Instinct? That's just gambling."
"Go!" Vex shouted.
The students rushed forward like a stampede.
"I want that red one! It looks like a Dragon egg!"
"No, the blue one! It's definitely a water serpent!"
They fought over the flashy-looking eggs.
Sunny walked calmly toward the tables, Gorn trailing behind him.
"Sunny, that big green one looks sturdy," Gorn pointed.
"Don't look with your eyes, Gorn. Look with the data."
Sunny narrowed his eyes.
"System, Scan."
[Ding!]
[Scanning...]
A sea of blue screens popped up over the eggs.
[Egg: Fire Lizard (Common)] - Potential: Low.
[Egg: Wind Sparrow (Common)] - Potential: Low.
[Egg: Slime (Common)] - Potential: Trash.
[Egg: Rabid Dog (Common)] - Potential: Low.
"Garbage. All garbage," Sunny muttered, walking past the eggs that people were fighting over. The "Dragon" egg was actually just a Red Salamander. The "Serpent" egg was a Water Leech.
He reached the back of the room. There, on a dusty table, sat a small, ugly egg. It was grey, rough like a stone, and had no distinctive markings. It looked like a fossilized potato.
Sunny focused on it.
[Ding!]
[Scanning...]
[Egg: ???]
[Shell density too high.]
[Retrying with Deep Scan...]
Sunny felt a sharp drain on his mana.
[Result Found.]
[Egg: Iron-Eater Ant Queen (Variant)]
[Grade: Rare (Growth Potential: High)]
[Description: A mutated queen ant. Has the potential to create a colony. Needs metal to hatch.]
Sunny's heart skipped a beat.
An Ant Queen? A Colony type monster?
In System novels, "Swarm" type beasts were broken. One ant was weak. Ten thousand ants were a calamity.
"Found you," Sunny whispered.
He reached out and grabbed the ugly grey egg.
"Hey!"
A voice sneered from behind him. It was a student from the B-Class, a guy with slicked-back hair and a smug face. Ren.
"Look at the 'Hero' of the exam," Ren laughed, loud enough for everyone to hear. "Picking a rock? Did the fear of the Prince make you brain-dead?"
The students nearby laughed.
"That's not even an egg, it's a paperweight!"
Ren stepped closer, eyeing the egg in Sunny's hand. "Tell you what, charity case. Put it down. That egg is too good for you. I think I'll take it to juggle with."
Sunny looked at Ren. He looked at the "rock" in his hand.
He smiled.
"You want it?" Sunny tossed the egg in the air and caught it. "Come and take it."
Ren's face darkened. "You think because you survived one boss you're tough? Let's see how tough you are without your tank friend."
Instructor Vex watched from the stage, her arms crossed. She didn't intervene. At Starfall Academy, might made right.
"System," Sunny whispered. "Check Ren's stats."
[Name: Ren]
[Level: 5]
[Beast: Wind Hawk (Tier 1)]
"Easy," Sunny thought.
"I challenge you," Ren declared, reaching for the Pokeball-like sphere on his belt. "Right here. Duel for the egg."
Sunny put the egg in his pocket.
"You're on."
The cafeteria went silent. A duel on the first day? And involving the guy everyone thought was dead?
"Prepare to get wrecked, peasant!" Ren threw his capsule.
A Wind Hawk materialized, screeching. It was fast, sleek, and sharp.
Sunny didn't summon his Stag immediately. He just stood there, hands in his pockets.
"Are you scared to summon?" Ren mocked.
"Hawk! Wind Blade!"
The hawk flapped its wings. A blade of compressed air shot toward Sunny.
Sunny didn't move.
"Step."
He activated the passive effect of his Shadow-Step Vest. Agility +2.
He sidestepped. The wind blade sliced the air where his head was a millisecond ago.
"What?" Ren blinked.
Sunny was already moving. He wasn't running away. He was running at Ren.
"Hawk! Attack him!"
The Hawk dove.
"Now," Sunny whispered.
"Obsidian Spike-Stag!"
The black streak shot out of Sunny's ring, not at the Hawk, but at Ren.
"Wait, you're attacking the Tamer?!" Ren shrieked. "That's dirty!"
"It's efficient!" Sunny roared.
The Stag headbutted Ren in the stomach.
Ren folded like a lawn chair. He collapsed to his knees, vomiting his breakfast.
The Wind Hawk, sensing its master was down, hesitated.
Sunny stood over Ren, looking down. He tapped Ren's cheek with his foot.
"I win."
He looked around the room at the stunned students.
"Anyone else want the rock?"
Sunny turned to Gorn. "Let's go, Gorn. I need to feed this thing some iron."
[Ding!]
[Respect +5]