The academy changed overnight.
It was not announced. There were no banners, no official declarations. But everyone could feel it. The air was heavier. Instructors stood straighter. Guards doubled at the gates. Even the sky above the central towers seemed darker, as if something vast had settled over the academy.
Visitors had arrived.
Not parents.
Not sponsors.
Clans.
The kind that did not walk into places quietly.
Phael noticed it the moment he stepped into the main hall. Students whispered in low voices. Groups clustered together, eyes darting toward the upper balconies where figures in fine robes and armor now stood, watching the academy like owners inspecting property.
Ryn muttered, "They're really here."
Soren's expression was calm, but his jaw was tight. "Not for us."
Darian glanced toward the shadows. "They're here for him."
Phael said nothing.
But he knew it was true.
The first notice appeared before noon.
Not on the public mission board.
On the ranking pillar.
A massive crystal structure stood at the center of the academy grounds, displaying the current standing of every student based on performance, growth, and evaluation. Rankings were updated weekly.
But today… it shifted.
Names rearranged.
Gasps rippled through the courtyard.
"Did you see that?"
"He moved again…"
"From lower ranks straight into the top…"
Rielle grabbed Phael's sleeve. "Look."
His name glowed on the crystal.
Phael – Rank 112 → Rank 27
Silence spread like a shockwave.
That kind of jump did not happen.
Not without months of achievements.
Not without public tournaments.
Not without the academy deciding something very clearly.
Aeris whispered, "They made it official…"
Ryn stared at the ranking, stunned. "Top thirty… already?"
Soren's voice was low. "They're announcing him."
Not as a student.
As a resource.
The summons came in the afternoon.
Phael did not go alone.
Instructor Vale escorted him, her presence cold and unreadable. They walked through a corridor that only high-ranking personnel were allowed to use, past doors etched with ancient runes, into a hall far above the academy grounds.
Three groups waited inside.
Each dressed differently.
Each radiating power.
Clans.
The kind that shaped nations.
The first representative stepped forward, a tall man with silver hair and a cloak embroidered with a beast sigil.
"I am Lord Vaelis of the Ironblood Clan," he said smoothly. "We represent a lineage of physical dominion. Warriors. Conquerors. Your… unique power has caught our attention."
His eyes swept over Phael like one would study a weapon.
"We offer protection, resources, elite beast cores, and direct sponsorship. In return, you will bear our name."
The words were polite.
But the meaning was clear.
Belong to us.
Before Phael could respond, another voice spoke.
A woman in deep blue robes stepped forward, runes glowing faintly along her sleeves.
"Lady Serith of the Aether Covenant," she said. "Unlike brute clans, we value refinement. Control. Intelligence. Your ability to merge physical force with magic… is rare. With us, you will learn to master what others merely wield."
Her gaze was sharper than Vaelis's.
"We do not ask for ownership. We offer guidance. A path to the Upper World."
The room grew quiet.
Then a third figure moved.
Dressed in black, his face hidden behind a half-mask of dark crystal.
"We do not offer protection," he said. "We offer survival."
Even Instructor Vale stiffened.
"The Obsidian Order," he continued. "We remove obstacles. Those who threaten what is… valuable."
His masked eyes fixed on Phael.
"If you walk alone, you will be targeted. If you walk with us… your enemies will disappear."
No promise.
Just certainty.
Phael finally spoke.
"What if I refuse all of you?"
The air changed.
Not violently.
But coldly.
Vaelis's smile tightened. "Then you will walk without backing."
Lady Serith's eyes softened slightly. "Which is… unwise."
The Obsidian representative said nothing.
But the silence itself felt like a warning.
Instructor Vale stepped forward.
"He is still a student of this academy."
"Students become assets," Vaelis replied. "And assets are never left unclaimed."
Phael clenched his fists.
Not in fear.
In control.
"I will not belong to any clan," he said calmly.
The words fell like stone into water.
Ripples spread through the room.
Lady Serith studied him carefully. "Then you choose danger."
"I choose myself."
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then the Obsidian representative turned away.
"So be it."
Vaelis exhaled slowly. "This is not the end of this conversation."
They left.
One by one.
But their eyes did not leave him until the doors closed.
Word spread through the academy like wildfire.
"Phael refused three major clans."
"He's insane."
"Or fearless…"
"Or dead."
Students looked at him differently now.
Not just with curiosity.
But with distance.
As if standing too close to him might draw unwanted attention.
Ryn confronted him that evening. "You could've had everything. Cores. Protection. Power."
Phael met his gaze. "And chains."
Aeris whispered, "They won't let this go."
"I know," he said.
Darian leaned against the wall. "Refusing power is more dangerous than accepting it."
Rielle stood quietly beside Phael.
"You're not wrong," she said. "But you're not alone."
He looked at her.
Something steady passed between them.
Not romance.
Not yet.
Just trust.
The academy made its next move the following morning.
The ranking pillar flared again.
Names shifted.
Gasps echoed across the courtyard.
"Another update?!"
"Already?!"
Phael's name rose once more.
Rank 27 → Rank 14
The message was clear.
If the clans would not claim him…
The academy would elevate him.
Force the world to see him.
Instructor Vale watched from the balcony.
"They're pushing him into the light," she murmured.
"And if he burns?" an elder asked.
"Then he was never meant to rise."
That night, Phael stood at the edge of the training grounds, the glow of the ranking pillar reflecting faintly in his eyes.
Top fourteen.
In less than two weeks.
Not because he wanted attention.
But because he refused control.
Behind him, Rielle stepped closer.
"They're trying to corner you," she said softly.
"I know."
She hesitated. "Do you regret it?"
He thought of the offers.
The protection.
The power.
Then he thought of chains.
"No," he said. "If I accept a path chosen by others… I'll never reach the one I want."
She studied him.
Then smiled faintly.
"Then… we'll walk yours."
For the first time since the clans had arrived, something in his chest eased.
Not because the danger was gone.
But because he did not face it alone.
Far above the academy, in a chamber hidden from students and instructors alike, a figure watched through a veil of light.
"So," the voice said softly. "The boy refuses to kneel."
Another replied, "And yet he climbs faster than anyone predicted."
Silence.
Then—
"Let him climb."
"And when he reaches too high?"
The first voice darkened.
"We will see whether he can stand without a world beneath his feet."
Phael did not know it yet.
But the game had changed.
Not because he grew stronger.
But because he chose to remain free.
And in a world ruled by power…
That was the most dangerous choice of all.