Riven walked down the hallway as the day finally came to an end.
"You know," he muttered, wiping a bit of blood from his hand, "for people who believe Wallborn are weak, you'd think they'd be a little stronger."
He opened his system screen with a flick of his wrist.
Maybe it would've been smarter to convert that item into XP instead…
Even after completing two quests, he was still stuck at Level Six. It was too late to change anything now.
With a sigh, Riven switched tabs.
⸻
[System: Pet Tab]
Every time the user kills or defeats a beast, that beast can be registered into the system.
Registered beasts may be stored in the Pet Tab and summoned when conditions are met.
⸻
"This'll be useful later," Riven said quietly, swiping the screen away, "but right now it's basically useless."
He pushed open the door to his dorm—
—and immediately got nailed in the face by a pillow.
Laughter exploded around the room.
"Geez, learn how to dodge!" Harkel shouted, launching another pillow.
Jordan ducked, grabbed it with a strand of ink, stretched it back like a slingshot—
—and fired it straight into Harkel's face.
Riven glanced over at Joey and Luka, noticing the large red marks on their cheeks.
"What happened to you two?" Riven asked.
"He did," Joey said flatly, pointing at Leo.
Leo scratched the back of his head. "Sorry… I didn't mean to go that hard."
"How are you this strong with an unranked wolf?" Luka snapped. "Your strength is insane!"
Pillows continued flying across the room. One nearly clipped Riven's head.
He picked up the pillow that had hit him earlier, shrugged—
—and threw it straight at Leo.
⸻
An hour later, all six boys were fast asleep, snoring without a care in the world.
⸻
Elsewhere in the academy halls, men in dark uniforms patrolled quietly, watching for students trying to sneak around. It happened often enough that security never relaxed.
Damien walked down one of the corridors. After reaching a certain point, his form blurred—
—and vanished.
He reappeared inside a dark room, illuminated only by a massive blue hologram hovering at the center.
"All students have been accounted for," Damien reported. "However, a few are still missing. We know they weren't taken in by any faction. I've sent more of our best men to track them down. They should be recovered soon."
"Good," a woman said calmly.
She stood before the hologram—Vice Principal Maddie Fallow.
"This means we're leaving most of it to you," she continued. "Some military sergeants will assist with lessons, but otherwise… we'll be largely uninvolved."
Damien smirked.
"Don't play me for a fool," Maddie said sharply. "I know you're busy with another project. That's why you're stepping back—unlike last year."
"Heh," was all Damien said before disappearing again.
"This is just great," Maddie sighed. "Running an academy alone, and now the Voss Clan is playing their stupid games…"
She tapped a few commands.
The room shifted.
On one wall, a live camera feed appeared, showing a girl with dark purple hair—shorter than Maddie's, but unmistakably similar.
"You know," Maddie murmured with a small smile, "training this hard before the first day even begins…"
⸻
A deafening bell suddenly rang through the academy like a siren.
"AH—!" Leo yelled, clutching his ears.
When the ringing finally stopped, everyone stumbled upright.
"What the hell?!" Harkel snapped, rushing over. "Are they trying to break your hearing?!"
"Oh yeah," Riven added dryly, "your enhanced hearing probably didn't help."
Leo straightened, giving a thumbs-up. "I'm good."
"You sure?" Luka asked nervously. "We could take you to the nurse."
"Nah," Leo said with a grin. "If we do that, we'll miss breakfast—and our first class on the first day."
The others smiled. He wasn't wrong.
They quickly brushed their teeth, washed up, and put on their uniforms.
Even after the entrance exam, students were still required to wear uniforms that clearly marked whether they were Wallborn or not.
It pissed Riven off more than he liked to admit.
Profiling, plain and simple.
The six of them headed toward the cafeteria together.
⸻
"Hey, Harkel," Luka said. "I've got a question."
"Yeah?"
"Unlike Jordan, Joey, and Riven, I already decided to follow you—try to make you king or whatever. But… how does this game actually work?"
"That's a good question," Leo said, stroking his chin thoughtfully.
"Wait," Joey said, shocked. "You're telling me you agreed to this without even knowing the rules?"
Leo stuck a finger in his ear. "Sorry—my eardrums might still be ruptured from earlier."
Joey couldn't tell if he was being a smartass—or genuinely serious
"Oh yeah, I guess I should've told you guys earlier—before it actually got you interested," Harkel began as they entered the cafeteria.
"This is how the game works. After two weeks of academy training, we get sent to a different planet along with a lot of teachers and military personnel. They do this so we can get a feel for what beasts really look like—and what that pressure feels like when you're standing in front of one."
They continued walking as students gathered food around them.
"But those who are part of the game can go after just one week. That's why I'm advising you guys to join us. You can gain a lot of XP if you fight beasts on other worlds."
They eventually stopped in front of a large square engraved into the wall. Surrounding it were smaller squares, each labeled with simple instructions:
Insert wristwatch.
One by one, they did as instructed.
The moment their watches connected, holographic screens flared to life. Numbers flashed—rankings from the entrance exam—and instantly determined what they received.
Luka stared down at his tray in disbelief. What sat in front of him barely resembled food. It looked like gray slop.
Meanwhile, Leo blinked twice as a full gourmet meal appeared on his tray—perfectly cooked meat, sides, and even dessert.
"…So the rankings actually matter," Luka muttered.
"More than one thing," Harkel said with a shrug.
They moved to an empty table and sat down, setting their trays in front of them as Harkel continued explaining.
"After you go on a trip without the academy supervising directly, you can't go again for two weeks. But here's the important part—it doesn't count toward the academy's official assessments."
Jordan leaned forward. "So we could go out, come back, do the academy assessment… and then head right back out again?"
"Exactly."
Before anyone else could respond—
"We're in."
Riven's voice cut through the conversation.
No one looked surprised.
The existence of other worlds wasn't shocking anymore. The news talked about it constantly—factions fighting over planets, unexplored territories, rumors of intelligent life beyond Earth. Nothing had ever been fully confirmed, but everyone knew it was real.
"…We're in?" Joey repeated, looking at Riven.
"Yeah." Riven nodded.
He wasn't thinking about the danger.
All he could see was the XP.
The growth.
The evolution.
The possibility of getting stronger—fast.
To him, it felt like a game.
"Sweet," Harkel said, his cheeks stuffed with food. "Hopefully after we do this together, we can become bonded party members too."
Riven had already explained how the system worked—that the only way they could truly grow stronger together was by becoming bonded party members. But he'd only just met the three of them. That kind of trust didn't happen instantly.
Still…
Something had happened last night.
⸻
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
Joey Cross has been a party member for over four months.
Would you like to make them a Bonded Party Member?
YES / NO
Riven froze.
Four months.
Because Joey had been with him that long, the system automatically recognized him as eligible for bonding.
Which meant something else too.
Whether through a major event…
or simply time passing…
Joey was becoming permanent.
And now—
He had stats.
⸻
[SYSTEM STATUS WINDOW]
Name: Joey Cross
Level: 15 (0 / 2000 XP)
Race: Human
Awakening Level: 3
Ability: Light
Strength: 40 (-20)
Speed: 40 (-20)
Durability: 40 (-20)
When Riven first saw the stats, he was immediately shocked.
Not only was Joey already Level 15, but his numbers were insane—far higher than both him and Jordan. And yet, every single stat had a –20 modifier attached to it.
That made no sense.
Did that mean Joey was subconsciously nerfing himself without even realizing it?
Or were these his natural stats when he wasn't actively using his ability?
When Riven mentioned it to the others later that night, none of them had an answer—not even Joey himself. Because of that, it was never fully discussed… but the thought lingered quietly in the back of all their minds.
⸻
"So how exactly does the point system work?" Jordan asked.
"Oh yeah," Harkel replied casually. "Every time we kill a beast, there'll be a gemstone inside it. You can tell the beast's level—and strength—by the number on the gemstone."
He held up a finger.
"Level one is the weakest. Level ten is the highest."
Luka stiffened. "Level ten…?"
"Yeah, but trust me," Harkel added quickly. "We don't ever want to run into a level ten. The strength of each beast increases massively with every level. Just because you can beat a level one doesn't mean you stand a chance against a level two."
He continued, "We turn in the gemstones for points. Level one gives ten points, level two gives twenty, level three gives thirty. Basically, it's the number multiplied by ten."
Jordan nodded. "Makes sense."
"But," Harkel said, lowering his voice slightly, "it's also smart if we keep some of the gemstones for ourselves."
"For what?" Jordan asked.
"To make beast weapons."
Jordan's eyes lit up. "Beast weapons?"
"Yeah," Harkel said. "Weapons forged using beast gemstones. Instead of turning them in, we can use them to create weaponry that boosts strength, speed, agility, or defense—depending on the weapon."
He smirked. "That's why I think for our first run, we should aim to get the best weapon possible for our fighting styles. So… don't piss off your instructors too much. If they don't like you, they might not approve it."
Jordan went quiet.
The sword he had used against Canin flashed through his mind.
The way it felt.
The way it responded.
It sounded eerily similar to how Harkel described beast weapons.
⸻
The six of them stood up and exited the cafeteria, heading toward the main academy building. As they crossed the open field, a group of six boys stepped directly into their path.
All male.
One of them had short blue hair—similar in color to Harkel's long blue hair.
"Harkel… is that you?" the boy said smugly. "And this is your group? They look pathetic."
"Cousin Kyle," Harkel replied coldly, glancing at one boy in the group who looked visibly roughed up. "You really wanna talk when one of your guys already got beaten?"
Riven recognized him immediately.
The boy who had tried him in the hallway.
Riven gave him a slow, unsettling smile.
The boy instinctively looked away.
"Hey, big guy," Kyle said, ignoring Harkel as he turned to Leo. "Come join us. Get into the Voss Clan. Help me become king. When I do, you'll live a great life and—"
"I'm with Harkel," Leo interrupted flatly. "And that's final."
Kyle sneered. "Your funeral."
He turned to walk away, then glanced back at Luka and laughed loudly—long enough to make sure everyone heard him.
⸻
"How many people from the Voss Clan are here anyway?" Riven asked.
"About twelve," Harkel answered. "First-years, second-years, and third-years. Twelve's a staple number for the clan."
Luka froze. "Wait… second and third years are participating too?"
He had expected competition from other first-years—not upperclassmen.
"Don't worry," Harkel said with a chuckle. "If we keep our heads down, we'll be fine."
They entered the main school building and checked their wristwatches for homeroom assignments.
Most of them were different.
"Alright," Leo said, waving as he turned away. "See you guys."
The others followed suit, splitting off.
Only Luka and Harkel remained.
"Hey, Harkel," Luka called, scratching the back of his head. "One thing."
"Yeah? What's up?"
"The way your cousin talked earlier… what did he mean by 'your funeral'?"
Harkel froze.
His eyes widened slightly.
He hadn't wanted anyone to ask that.
"…Long story short," Harkel said quietly, "the Voss Clan doesn't care if we live or die."
He hesitated, then added—
"Not even its own members who are participating."