Professor Vex tapped her pointer against the massive chalkboard, creating a cloud of chalk dust that made the front row sneeze.
"Pay attention, maggots!" she screeched. "This could save your miserable lives."
On the board was a drawing of a beast. It looked like a wolf, but with scales and a tail that ended in a scorpion stinger.
"This is the Venom-Stalker," Vex lectured, looking self-important. "It is a Tier 2 monster found in the swamp regions. Its primary attribute is Poison. Its weakness is Fire. If you encounter one, aim for the legs to slow it down."
The students scribbled furiously in their notebooks.
"Legs... Fire... Poison..." Gorn muttered next to Sunny, clutching his pencil like a dagger. "Got it."
Sunny leaned back in his chair, feet on the desk, looking bored out of his mind.
"System," he thought. "Scan the diagram."
[Ding!]
[Database Match Found.]
[Monster: Venom-Stalker (Swamp Variant)]
[Primary Attribute: Water / Poison]
[Weakness: Lightning (Critical). Fire is inefficient due to swamp coating.]
[Fatal Weakness: The third vertebra on the neck is unarmored.]
Sunny scoffed aloud. "Fire? Really?"
The room went silent. Vex turned slowly, her eyes narrowing behind her glasses.
"Something to share, Cadet Sunny?" she asked, her voice dripping with venom. "Or are you just making noise to cover up the emptiness in your skull?"
"Just checking your facts," Sunny shrugged. "You said Fire is the weakness. But the Stalker lives in swamps. It coats its scales in wet mud. Fire would just steam it. You'd need Lightning to conduct through the wet mud and fry its nervous system."
The class gasped. Correcting a professor?
Vex turned red. "That is... advanced theory! First-years are taught to use Fire because it evaporates the poison mist! Lightning is too unstable for novices!"
"So you're teaching us the wrong way because you think we're stupid," Sunny concluded. "Got it."
"Detention!" Vex roared. "One week of cleaning the stables!"
Sunny smirked. "Joke's on you, I used to live in a stable."
He tuned her out. The Academy was supposed to be the pinnacle of knowledge, but compared to his [System Database], they were teaching from children's books.
[System Intelligence is 50 years ahead of current Academy curriculum.]
"I'm literally cheating at school." Sunny thought.
Vex wiped the board angrily.
She drew a massive, winged lizard.
"Dragons."
"Dragons are the ultimate beings," Vex said, her voice dropping to a reverent whisper. "Immune to magic. Scales harder than diamond. Breath that can melt cities. If you see a Dragon... You pray."
"So cool..." Gorn whispered. "Imagine taming one."
Sunny rolled his eyes so hard it hurt.
Please, he thought. I played Skyrim. I watched Game of Thrones. I know what a dragon is.
[System Note: Dragon (High Species)]
[Analysis: Just a big lizard with a mana organ in its throat and an ego problem.]
[Weakness: Underbelly scales. Anti-Dragon weaponry. Fusion materials.]
....
One Month Later.
The Starfall Academy Grand Arena was packed.
Not the dirty dirt pit where they had their entrance exam. This was the main stadium. Fifty thousand seats, all filled. The banners of the Academy waved in the wind.
Sunny stood in the center of the arena with the other first-year students. He looked different.
He was taller. His uniform was tight around his shoulders. His eyes were sharp, scanning the crowd.
[Status Check]
Name: Sunny
Level: 12 (E-Rank Tamer)
Class: Chimera Lord (Tier 1)
Strength: 18
Agility: 15
Endurance: 16
Mana: 40/40
Next to him, Gorn looked nervous. "Look at the upperclassmen, Sunny. They look like they want to eat us."
A trumpet blasted, shaking the stadium.
General Korg walked onto the center stage. He was wearing a formal military uniform, dripping with medals.
"SHUT UP!" Korg roared into the magical microphone.
The stadium went dead silent instantly.
"It's been one month!" Korg shouted. "You've learned! You've bled!"
"Now," Korg grinned. "It's time to see who is trash and who is treasure."
He pointed to a massive holographic screen floating above the arena.
[THE CONTINENTAL TOURNAMENT]
"Every five years, the four Great Academies of the Continent gather to beat the shit out of each other," Korg announced. "It is the biggest event in the world. Kings watch it. Emperors watch it. If you win there, you are set for life."
A murmur of excitement rippled through the students.
"Starfall Academy has five slots," Korg held up five thick fingers. "Five representatives for the Rookie Division."
"Only five?"
"There are a thousand of us!"
"That's right!" Korg laughed. "So we are going to have a little culling."
[Ding!]
[Quest Updated: Path to Glory]
[Objective: Place in the Top 5 of the Academy Tournament.]
[Reward: Ticket to the Continental Tournament + Fusion Level 3 Unlock.]
[Bonus Reward: 5000 Credits.]
Sunny's eyes lit up at "Fusion Level 3". That was the level that allowed biological/elemental fusion. That was the key to fusing Nova with the Beetle!
"I need that slot," Sunny whispered.
"The rules are simple!" Korg continued. "1v1 duels. No killing... intentionally. If your opponent surrenders, you stop. If they pass out, you stop. If they die... well, oops."
He looked at the sea of students.
"We have seeded the bracket based on your performance over the last month."
The holographic screen changed. It showed a massive tournament tree.
[Rank 1 Seed: Kael (S-Class)]
[Rank 2 Seed: Prince Valerian (S-Class)]
[Rank 3 Seed: Lyra (A-Class)]
...
[Rank 56: Sunny (B-Class - Generalist)]
"Rank 56?" Sunny scoffed. "They're still underestimating me."
"Sunny! Look!" Gorn pointed at the screen. "You're fighting in the first round!"
Sunny looked at his match-up.
[Match 12: Sunny (Generalist) vs. Jett (A-Class)]
Jett. The guy with the Wind-Blade Tiger. One of Prince Valerian's lackeys.
Across the arena, Jett saw his name. He looked at Sunny and made a throat-slitting gesture. He laughed, high-fiving his friends.
"He thinks he got a free win," Sunny noted, his face devoid of emotion.
"He's A-Class, Sunny," Gorn warned. "Wind attribute beats your Beetle. And Nova is slow."
Sunny cracked his neck. A satisfying pop echoed.
"Gorn," Sunny said, patting his friend on the shoulder. "You're thinking about the old Sunny."
He tapped his chest, where the Chimera Heart pumped enhanced blood through his veins.
"I have an 99% chance of victory."
"What about the 1%?"
"That's the chance I accidentally kill him."
Korg raised his fist.
"THE TOURNAMENT BEGINS NOW! FIRST MATCH!"
The crowd roared. The dopamine was already spiking.
Sunny stood there, hands in his pockets, watching the first two students get mauled by each other's beasts.
"Show me your best." Sunny thought, looking at the VIP box where Prince Valerian sat, sipping wine.