Because of the war between humans and Primals, every student was required to undergo two years of training at the Soldier Academy.
Even though this was currently a time of peace, no one could say when war might erupt again.
Primals viewed humans like ants and constantly planned to steal their resources. Did anyone truly believe they wanted peace?
That so-called peace agreement was nothing more than preparation for another war.
I walked outside with them.As soon as sunlight fell on my body, I felt a slight weakness.Suddenly, system messages appeared.
[HP: 6500 → 5200]
[Strength: 65 → 52]
[Agility: 65 → 52]
[Stamina: 65 → 52]
Seeing this, I realized my stats had dropped by 20%, yet I didn't feel serious discomfort. My recovery ability was still active.
Inside the vehicle, my stats gradually returned to normal.
Around me, students were chatting noisily.
"Bro, which element are you going to awaken?"
"Sis, how many boyfriends do you have?"
"I have four."
"Everyone, shut up!"
Colonel Pandey's powerful voice echoed through the bus. "Rule number one of being a soldier—no unnecessary noise!"
At once, all the students fell silent and waited for the vehicle to start.
"Driver, start the bus. It's time to head to the Soldier Academy," Colonel Pandey said while looking forward.
Vrooom—!
The bus started moving.Under Colonel Pandey's strict presence, no one dared to make a sound.
I leaned against the window, enjoying the sunlight and the warm breeze.
"If life could always be like this—peaceful and enjoyable," I thought with a sigh.
"But in this world, such moments never last."
If another vampire saw me like this, they would go mad with jealousy and rush to kill me without caring about their own life.
The bus continued for about ten minutes.
Suddenly, a warning message appeared.
[Host, an unconsciousness-inducing powder has been released into the air.]
[Do you wish to fall unconscious or resist?]
I chose to fall unconscious.
I understood the meaning behind this—transporting us directly to the academy while unconscious, without unnecessary information leaks.
After all, humanity's greatest enemy wasn't Primals, but humans themselves. Traitors—humans who served Primals—could exist in any form: students, soldiers, anyone.
And history proved that traitors were most commonly found among students. When a human had nothing to lose and no path forward, they were the ones most likely to betray their own kind.
Not everyone became a traitor—but those with no future often did.Because of that, such heavy security measures were normal.
"System," I said in my mind, "don't stop me from passing out."
Without system interference—
Thud.
I lost consciousness."Have all the children fainted properly?" Colonel Pandey asked a masked soldier who was checking everyone.
"Yes, sir. All unconscious. Some fainted quickly, others after a short delay," the soldier replied.
"Hm." Colonel Pandey nodded.
After some time, the vehicle arrived at the academy.Soldiers carried the students out one by one and waited.
"3… 2… 1…"
Colonel Pandey checked his timer. He knew the effect of the powder was about to wear off.
"Wake them up with water," he ordered.
Splash!
Cold water hit my face.I opened my eyes and found myself in an unfamiliar place.
Then I saw it—
Three massive glass towers, each nearly sixty feet tall.I froze in shock.For a moment, I thought I had arrived at a movie studio. But I knew this was real.
This was the Soldier Academy.
Machines were operating automatically everywhere, with barely any humans in sight. I wasn't the only one staring in awe—nearly 500 new students were doing the same.
The students were divided into groups of five.My team consisted of three boys and two girls, including me.
I was stunned by how advanced human technology had become. Then I noticed something on my wrist—a black smartwatch-like device, similar to those from my previous life.
"Children," Colonel Pandey's voice echoed,
"From today onward, this is your new academy. You will live and train here for the next two years."
"This smartwatch is now your lifeline. It represents your identity as academy students."
"You will receive points displayed on it. These points can be used to buy necessities available inside the academy."
Everyone checked their watches—but none of them turned on.The students looked toward Colonel Pandey.
"They're currently locked," he said calmly.
"They'll activate once you enter the academy. No need to worry."
"Now, we will assess your levels. Everyone, line up."
He smiled—but that smile on his stern face felt terrifying.
During the war, people with special powers appeared. To save humanity, they shared their power with others.
No one knew how, but these powers were recorded into books—later known as Skill Books.
It was soon discovered that skills varied in strength. Scientists created devices to measure them, resulting in skill levels from 1 to 9.
Skill users were divided into two types:
Origin Power—inherited through bloodlines.
Learned Power—acquired by normal humans.
After the war, free distribution of skill books stopped.
The authorities allowed only Level 1–5 books to be public.
Level 6–9 books were kept by those in power.
All of this information was written on the walls, and I read it silently.
"No wonder Aditya never awakened any power," I thought.
"He was poor—and didn't belong to any origin family."
Suddenly—
[Host's power has decreased by 20%.]
I felt a slight weakness.
"What happened?" a student beside me asked.
"Nothing," I replied calmly.
"I have a condition. I feel weak under sunlight."
A clean, white lie.
"That's a strange illness," he said. "I've never heard of it. By the way, my name is Jeevan. What's yours?"
"Aditya," I replied.
[Host, a copy-type skill was used on you.]
[Since the host has no active skills, the copy attempt failed.]
Hearing the system message, I glanced around. Only Jeevan was nearby.
"So his skill is related to copying," I thought.
"What's your power?" Jeevan asked curiously.
"I don't have any skills," I said.
He didn't look surprised—just nodded.
"Next group: Aditya, Jeevan, Dev, Barsha, and Gayatri. Step forward for the exam!"
At Colonel Pandey's command, we moved ahead.
Dev looked extremely nervous, constantly glancing around. His height was similar to Aditya's—about five feet.
But after awakening the Origin Blood Tribe, my height had increased to nearly six feet, only slightly shorter than Jeevan.
Barsha had short brown hair and carried a bow. From Aditya's memories, I knew there was a group that rejected skills entirely and relied only on weapons.
The last was Gayatri.
She was beautiful—well-proportioned, neither too thin nor too heavy. Long, silky golden hair.
Everyone except me and Jeevan was clearly fascinated by her.
Suddenly—
[Daily Mission]
[Remain under sunlight for 5 hours and prove that even a vampire can endure it.]
[Reward: 200 XP]
Seeing this mission, I froze for a moment.
Then I accepted it silently.Jeevan suddenly reached out and touched Gayatri. I knew he was trying to copy her skill.
But Gayatri reacted instantly.
Crack—!
She froze Jeevan's arm with ice.
"I just came to ask how you were," Jeevan said calmly, shattering the ice with a single movement.
"There was no need to react so violently."
Everyone instantly understood the level of both Jeevan and Gayatri.
"Save your energy for the exam," Colonel Pandey said coldly."No need to waste it here."
At that moment, a strange man appeared.
"Teleport them," Colonel Pandey ordered.
The man nodded, placed his hand on the ground—
Whumm—!
A glowing formation appeared beneath us, and the five of us vanished.The next moment, we found ourselves on open, barren land.
A masked man and a woman stood there.
The woman stepped forward.
"My name is Kabita," she said. She called Dev first. Dev walked forward trembling.
"What is your skill?" Kabita asked.
"I… I don't have any skill," Dev replied softly.
At that moment, we all understood why Dev was so frightened.Not having a skill wasn't abnormal.
Because of the war, many children became orphans. Dev was one of them.And without money, he could never afford a skill book.
---