As Riven walked into his homeroom class, he immediately noticed it followed the same layout as Harkel's and Luka's classrooms. The difference was that he didn't care. He liked sitting in the back anyway.
As he made his way down the rows of desks, whispers followed him.
"Hey, isn't that the guy who shares a dorm with Harkel?"
"Yeah. I saw him on the field when Kyle confronted them."
"Man, this sucks. If I were in Harkel's dorm, I'd be a way better asset than this guy."
Riven ignored the comments. He'd been talked about almost his entire life. After a year or two, you got used to it.
When Riven finally took a seat in the back of the classroom, he felt someone watching him. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed a girl staring in his direction. He recognized her immediately—it was the same girl he had copied the lightning skill from. Wren.
Geez, will she ever let that go? Riven thought.
He turned his gaze directly toward her, making it clear that he had noticed. The girl stiffened before quickly turning forward, pretending to focus on anything but him.
Moments later, the door to the classroom opened.
A man stepped inside.
He wore a uniform that looked like a hybrid between formal civilian wear and military attire, sharp and authoritative in equal measure. The room fell silent almost instantly.
He wore a uniform that sat somewhere between military authority and formal civilian wear. The base was a deep charcoal black, tailored close to his frame, giving it a sharp, disciplined silhouette. Structured shoulder plates hinted at armor without fully committing to it, their matte finish broken only by thin metallic seams that caught the light.
A high collar wrapped around his neck, fastened by a single silver clasp etched with an unfamiliar insignia. The sleeves were long and fitted, marked by subtle rank lines along the cuffs—clean, precise, and unmistakably intentional. Across his chest ran a diagonal strap, more ceremonial than practical, holding a small emblem that pulsed faintly with a muted glow.
Riven noted that many of the teachers wore uniforms similar to the one from earlier. Maybe, just like the students, they were required to wear a certain type of attire as well.
"Hello, and welcome, all of you, to Sigil Gate Academy," the man said casually. "Or military base—call it whatever you want. I don't care."
A few students exchanged glances.
"My name is Mr. Hartfield," he continued. "I'll be your homeroom teacher for the rest of the year. And before any of you ask—this class isn't really important."
The man went on to explain that homeroom was more of an informational class than anything else. A warning class, really. Its entire purpose was to prepare them for things that might happen in the future.
"So honestly," Hartfield said, shrugging, "I don't care if you skip this class or not. If I were you, I would skip it. But since you're our future—and some of you will be working together—I think it's smart if we all introduce ourselves."
He pointed toward the front row.
"You. Name, where you're from, and your ability."
The boy stood up.
"My name is Ren Sato. I'm from Kyoto—born and raised—and my evolved ability is—"
"Wait," a student interrupted. "You're from Japan?"
Ren frowned slightly. "Yeah. Is there a problem with that?"
"No, no!" the girl said quickly, waving her hands. "It's just… I can't speak or understand Japanese. How am I supposed to understand you?"
At that, the class collectively froze.
That's when it hit them—most of the students here came from different regions. Different backgrounds. Different planets, even. And yet, they all understood one another perfectly.
"Oh, that's because of the chip in your brains," Mr. Hartfield said casually, tapping the side of his forehead.
"A chip?!"
The room erupted instantly.
"Take it out!"
"What do you mean, a chip?!"
"Are you serious?!"
"Enough," Hartfield barked.
The room fell silent.
He sighed and rubbed his temple. "Relax. The chip doesn't damage your brain. It's connected near your ear, not inside your head. It translates what you hear into your native language. No harmful effects."
"Behind the ear…" Riven noted silently, scratching the back of his own ear.
There's no way it's just a translator, he thought. It's probably a tracker too.
Still, he had no intention of leaving the academy. If he ran, he'd be caught eventually—and the punishment would be far worse.
"Now that that's settled," Hartfield said, "let's continue."
More students stood and introduced themselves.
"My name is Wren Fallow," a girl said confidently. "I'm from Military Planet Eight."
The room buzzed with shock.
Military planets were worlds reclaimed and controlled by the factions after wiping out the majority of the beasts. Most people born there ended up joining the faction that governed the planet.
"My evolved ability is lightning."
That one didn't surprise anyone. They'd all seen her fight during the combat portion.
After a few more introductions, it was Riven's turn.
He stood.
"Hello. My name is Riven Harlow. I'm from the Dawn Walls, and—"
Snickering cut him off.
"No wonder he's so weak."
"Right? And he tried to copy Wren."
"I wonder how much of a bum his parents had to be to raise a failure like that."
"What did you expect? His parents are Wallborn."
The laughter stopped abruptly.
Riven was standing directly in front of them.
"You can talk about me all you want," he said calmly, eyes locked onto theirs. "But you don't talk about my parents."
His voice dropped.
"Say something about them again, and I'll put your face into the ground."
"Oh yeah?" one of the boys sneered. "I'd like to see you try, Wallborn."
"Enough!" Mr. Hartfield shouted.
The room went dead silent.
"If you want to throw down," Hartfield said coldly, "do it in combat class. I'll personally make sure you two are placed in the same one. Got it?"
Riven held their gaze for another second before turning away and sitting back down, no longer interested in continuing.
Soon after, the bell rang.
Homeroom was over.
Everyone's schedules were nearly identical—homeroom, combat class, and two specialized courses.
Elemental classes were for students who wielded elemental abilities like fire, water, earth, lightning, or nature.
Fiction classes were for those whose abilities were based on fictional characters or worlds, where they studied and analyzed their powers to better understand and strengthen them.
Since Riven's evolved ability was lightning, his next class was Elemental Studies, followed by combat training.
As he walked through the hallway, someone grabbed his shoulder.
"Man, wait up!"
Riven turned to see Luka, breathing heavily.
"Oh—sorry. What's up?"
"I figured I'd walk with you," Luka said. "We're headed to the same type of class."
"You have an elemental ability?" Riven asked.
"Yeah. Nature control—mostly vines. That's what I focus on."
"That's cool," Riven said.
They headed toward a quieter section of the academy, eventually entering a hallway lined with nine different doors.
Riven glanced at his wrist device.
Room Six.
As he walked, he noticed Luka following closely.
"Wait," Riven said. "You're in Room Six too?"
Luka nodded.
"Well, at least I won't be alone," Riven said. "Hey—is that Harkel?"
He spotted the blue-haired boy entering another room down the hall.
"Yeah," Luka said. "We were talking earlier, but a staff member pulled him aside. He told me to head to class when the bell rang and not wait for him. You were knocked out at the time—during the combat exam, when we saw him fight."
"What's his ability?" Riven asked.
"Air."
"Hm."
The two walked into the room—or at least, they thought it was a classroom.
Instead, what greeted them was a massive open space, completely empty, with more than enough room to spare.
"Ah—welcome, my students, to your elemental class."
A man stood at the center of the room, a small fireball spinning lazily in his palm. With a flick of his wrist, it whooshed out of existence just as Riven and Luka entered. More students followed behind them, filing in one by one.
Riven's eyes scanned the room—until he spotted someone familiar.
"Nico?" Riven asked.
The blue-eyed boy glanced over and sighed.
"Oh… Riven. I was kind of hoping we wouldn't have the same class."
"What? Why not?" Riven asked.
"You're kind of annoying."
Riven felt personally attacked, but before he could respond, the instructor clapped his hands together, commanding the room's attention.
"Welcome, one and all, to your elemental class," the man said. "This class will be different from your homeroom and your combat classes. Here, we'll be focusing primarily on you—your ability, your element, and how to improve it."
He paced slowly as he spoke.
"Now, obviously, with all of you being here, I assume you already know how to use your elemental abilities."
The class responded with nods.
"Good. Today, we will be—"
The man stopped mid-sentence as two armed guards entered the room, followed by a blue-haired boy.
"Excuse me, Mr. Nileoke," one of the guards said.
"That's me," Nileoke replied casually, whistling.
"We need two students from your class."
"Alright. Names?"
"Riven Harlow and Luka Thomas."
Neither boy looked surprised. Standing between the guards was none other than Harkel.
As Riven and Luka stepped forward, unease crept into their chests. Whatever this was, it definitely wasn't normal.
They followed the guards out of the classroom, with Harkel walking beside them.
"So," Riven said quietly, "what did you do?"
"The Voss Clan donates a heavy amount of units on the first day of the academy because of the games," Harkel replied casually. "With that money, I paid off a few guards."
"For what?" Luka asked.
"You'll see."
They gathered the rest of their dorm members, and soon after, the guards escorted them outside the academy—down into the city, toward a massive block-like building separated from everything else.
Once inside, the guards stayed behind, leaving the group alone.
"So… where are we?" Joey asked.
Suddenly, the lights flickered on.
Everyone froze.
A fox-like beast stood in the center of the room, its glowing eyes locked onto them. It didn't growl. It didn't hesitate.
It lunged.
Instincts kicked in.
The group scattered instantly.
"What the hell is that?!" Leo shouted.
He spotted a weapon mounted on the wall and grabbed it without hesitation. The others followed suit, arming themselves as they surrounded the creature.
Jordan charged forward, slashing at its legs—
—but his blade passed straight through.
He stumbled forward, barely catching himself.
"Hahahaha!" Harkel burst out laughing.
"What the hell, Harkel?!" Riven yelled. "We thought it was real!"
"I know, I know," Harkel said, wiping tears from his eyes. "That was the whole point."
"But the pressure felt real," Leo said, swallowing hard. "Like we were actually facing one."
"Exactly," Harkel replied.
He tapped the wall.
The fox vanished, the room shifting into a glowing blue space.
"This place can change terrain and replicate beasts that are recorded in its database," Harkel explained. "It recreates their presence, pressure, and combat patterns almost perfectly."
He turned to face them.
"The academy's moving too slow. In a week, we're going on our first expedition. We need to get stronger—fast. And this is how we do it."
Luka frowned. "But what about combat class and elemental class? We need those too."
"Already handled," Harkel said. "I paid for personal trainers as well. But this only lasts a week—I spent nearly everything."
He grinned.
"So… are you guys in?"
Riven stepped forward, grabbing a gauntlet from the wall.
"I'm in," he said, clashing his fists together.