Chapter 3:
Ranks Are Not Given — They Are Taken
Morning in Greyhook arrived without sunlight.
The fog lifted just enough to reveal the same decay it always hid—collapsed rooftops, hanging laundry stiff with grime, and people already moving despite the cold. Survival here did not wait for dawn.
Kairo opened his eyes as the simulation ended.
[Training Cycle Complete]
Time Elapsed (External): 11 hours, 43 minutes
Time Elapsed (Internal): 497 Days
Physical Synchronization: Partial
Cognitive Retention: High
His body ached.
Not from injury—but growth.
Muscle fibers trembled faintly as mana pathways settled into newly reinforced routes. His breathing was steady, but deeper than before. He stood slowly, testing balance, then clenched his fist.
The sensation was different now.
Controlled.
Measured.
"CIEL," he thought, "define ranking structure."
[Response:]
Power Ranking System — Common Continental Standard
F-Rank: Untrained, basic blessing use
E-Rank: Combat-capable, minor enhancement
D-Rank: Trained fighters, stable mana control
C-Rank: Elite civilians, academy graduates
B-Rank: Regional assets
A-Rank: National-level forces
S-Rank: Strategic deterrents
Note: Rank reflects combat threat, not social status.
Kairo nodded.
"Current estimate?"
[Self-Assessment:]
Physical Capability: E+
Blessing Efficiency: D-
Tactical Processing: C
Overall Threat Rating: D
Reasonable.
For a child's body in a slum, D-rank was already abnormal.
He descended from the rooftop and blended back into the morning flow. People watched him now—more openly. Word had spread overnight. Fights always did.
A group of older youths blocked a street ahead, marks carved into their arms, crude but deliberate. Not random scavengers.
A gang.
The largest one in this section of Greyhook.
The Ash Knuckles.
Their leader stepped forward, cracking his neck. Thick arms, scars like tally marks, blessing aura faint but constant.
"You're the kid," the man said. "The quiet one."
Kairo stopped.
"I am," he replied.
"You took down three of mine last night."
"They initiated combat," Kairo said. "They lost."
The man laughed. "You don't talk like slum trash."
"I wasn't raised here," Kairo answered truthfully.
That drew a pause.
"Name's Rask," the man said. "D-rank. Blessing's "Iron Pulse"."
[Blessing Detected: "Iron Pulse" – High]
Type: Reinforcement / Shock Transfer
Rask rolled his shoulders. "We don't care what you are. Greyhook runs on rules. You fight us, you join us—or you disappear."
The gang shifted behind him.
Six of them.
Two with knives. One with claws—Beastkin. One with faint flame licking his fingers. All E-rank. One D.
Kairo assessed them instantly.
He smiled.
Not outwardly.
Internally.
"This is acceptable," he said.
Rask raised a brow. "You accepting us?"
"No," Kairo replied. "I'm accepting the test."
They fought in the open street.
That alone drew a crowd.
Slums were entertainment-starved.
The flame-user attacked first, hurling a short burst of fire.
Kairo sidestepped, activating Adaptive Guard. Heat dispersed, redirected into the stone beneath his feet, leaving scorch marks but no burns.
He closed the distance.
A palm strike to the sternum dropped the boy instantly.
The Beastkin lunged next—fast, claws extended.
Kairo copied mid-motion.
[Blessing Detected: "Predatory Lunge" – Minor]
Copy Successful.
Kairo mirrored the movement better, twisting mid-air and driving a heel into the Beastkin's shoulder. Bone cracked. The Beastkin screamed.
The knives came together.
This time, Kairo activated Quick Cut, but not as it was.
CIEL adjusted the execution.
Speed compressed.
Movement sharpened.
Two precise strikes disarmed both attackers without lethal force.
Then Rask moved.
The ground boomed.
His fist slammed forward, mana pulsing outward like a shockwave.
Kairo didn't dodge.
He stepped into it.
[Simulation Overlay: Critical Timing Window]
Adaptive Guard flared, kinetic force redirected upward and sideways. The street fractured, but Kairo slid back only a step.
Rask's eyes widened.
"Not E-rank," he muttered.
Kairo struck.
Not with power.
With precision.
A strike to the ribs, timed between mana pulses. Another to the knee. A final palm to the jaw.
Rask collapsed.
Silence followed.
Then murmurs.
"D-rank…"
"That kid just—"
Kairo looked down at Rask.
"Greyhook's rule," Kairo said calmly. "You challenge power. Power decides."
He turned away.
No one stopped him.
Behind him, Rask laughed weakly.
"Kid," he called. "You aiming for the Academy?"
Kairo paused.
"Yes."
Rask grinned through blood. "Then you won't last here long."
"Good," Kairo said. "This place is inefficient."
From a broken tower nearby, the Beastkin woman from before watched again.
Her tail stilled.
"That growth rate…" she whispered.
Beside her, a cloaked man marked a ledger.
Academy Observer Log:
Subject: Unknown Slum-Origin Male
Estimated Rank: Low D
Blessing Interaction: Abnormal
Recommendation: Monitor
Far below, Kairo entered an abandoned building.
Inside, shadows stretched unnaturally.
They moved when he did not.
He paused.
"CIEL," he thought. "Explain."
[Response:]
Side Effect Detected: Shadow Synchronization
Possible Origin: Copy Blessing resonance
Compatibility: High
Kairo watched the shadows ripple.
An idea formed.
Not yet.
Soon.
The slum had tested him.
Next, the world would.