The sun was scorching hot. Beating down on the training grounds of Northwood Academy like it had a personal vendetta against the students. that usually pumped Jace Rolan up. But today? It just felt like pure, unadulterated failure.
Jace stood at the very edge of the field.
Gripping the metal railing until his knuckles gripped thight.
Before him the Third Year Senior Class performed their evolutions with casual brutality. Flame Wolves howled. Wind Hawks carved arcs through the haze. Rock Badgers churned the earth into furrows. Each display landed somewhere between spectacle and insult.
And then there was Jace's beast.
At his feet sat a creature the size of a dinner plate. It was gray. Fuzzy. And completely motionless. It didn't look like a beast of war. It looked like a ball of lint that had rolled out from under a dirty sofa.
It was a Gray Dust Mite. An F-Rank beast.
The absolute bottom of the barrel.
"Look at it," a voice sneered from behind him. "It's actually eating the dirt! I think that's the most action it's seen all year!"
Jace didn't bother turning around. He knew exactly who that voice belonged to. Just another lackey of the class elite. Another face in the crowd that found his misery entertaining.
"Hey, Jace! Today's the deadline, isn't it? If you don't hit Awakened Realm Level 2, the Academy kicks you out! Saves them the embarrassment, right?"
Jace remained silent. But his jaw tightened.
Three years. He had been stuck at this academy for three years. Stagnant at Awakened Realm Level 1. In a world where strength was everything he had absolutely none.
His soul space was incredibly small. The only creature he could contract was this Dust Mite.
Its only ability was [Clean]. Which allowed it to eat dust. Zero combat power. Zero defense. It was basically a glorified vacuum cleaner.
"Dismissed!"
Instructor Horgen's voice boomed across the field like thunder. He was a massive man.
Built like he wrestled bears for breakfast.
"Jace Rolan, stay behind."
The other students filed out. Snickering as they passed him. Some whispered "good riddance." Others just looked at him with pity.
Which was somehow ten times worse.
Jace walked over to the instructor. Horgen sighed. Looking down at Jace and the pathetic mite trailing behind him.
"Jace," Horgen said. His voice surprisingly soft for such a scary man. "You know the rules. The assessment is at sunset. If that Mite hasn't evolved, or if you haven't broken through… I can't protect you anymore. The board wants you gone."
"I know, sir." Jace's voice was steady. Even though his insides were doing backflips.
"You have potential as a theorist, Jace. Your written scores are perfect. But this is a Tamer academy. We need fighters!" Horgen clapped a heavy hand on Jace's shoulder. "Go. Try one last time."
Jace nodded. He scooped up his Dust Mite.
"Come on, Dusty."
He walked away from the training grounds.
Heading toward the secluded area behind the dorms. It was a small, wooded patch where the failures usually went to cry their eyes out.
But Jace wasn't going there to cry. He was going there to gamble.
He sat down on a mossy rock. Placing the Dust Mite on his knee. The creature wiggled its antennae. Looking up at him with simple, bead-like black eyes.
"I'm sorry, little guy," Jace whispered. "If you had a better Tamer maybe you wouldn't be F-Rank trash."
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, glass vial. Inside was a single, murky green pill.
The Basic Nutrient Pill.
It cost 500 Credits…his entire savings from working part-time in the cafeteria for six months. It was a low-grade resource. Meant to give a small boost of energy to E-Rank beasts. For an F-Rank beast like the Dust Mite it was incredibly risky. The energy might be too much. It could literally explode the creature.
But expulsion was a death sentence anyway.
Without the Academy's license Jace would be a civilian. And civilians died in the first wave of any Beast Tide.
"Eat up." Jace crushed the pill and offered the powder to the mite.
The Dust Mite chirped. A sound like dry leaves rubbing together. And began to consume the powder.
Jace watched. His heart pounding in his chest. 'Please work. Please just evolve. Even into a Giant Dust Mite. Anything.'
The Mite finished the powder. It froze.
One second passed. Two seconds.
Then the creature began to shake violently. Its gray fur stood on end. Jace felt a spike of panic. Had he poisoned it?
"No, no, hold on!" Jace reached out.
Just as his finger brushed the Mite a sound rang out. Not a sound from the world around him. A crisp, mechanical chime that echoed directly inside his skull.
"Ding!"
Jace froze. He looked around frantically. No one was there.
[System Compatibility Check… 100%.]
[Welcome, Host. The 10,000x Beast Evolution System has been activated.]
Jace's eyes went wide. A semi-transparent blue screen materialized in the air before him.
Hovering just above the trembling Dust Mite.
"A System?" Jace breathed. He had read about these in old legends. About heroes who awakened ancient powers. But those were stories. This was reality.
[System Bound. Passive Effect Activated.]
[Effect: All Beast Evolution speeds, Experience gain, and Skill Proficiency increased by 10,000x.]
Jace stared at the number. Ten thousand times. That wasn't just a boost. That was breaking the laws of physics.
Before he could even process the absurdity of the notification another message popped up.
[Item Detected: Basic Nutrient Pill (Low Quality).]
[Absorbing…]
[10,000x Efficiency Triggered.]
[Energy Overload Imminent.]
The Dust Mite on his knee didn't just shake anymore. It began to glow. The murky green energy of the cheap pill turned into a blinding, emerald torrent. The Mite let out a squeak that sounded less like a bug and more like a jet engine spinning up.
"Dusty!" Jace yelled. Shielding his eyes.
The energy didn't kill the beast. It was absorbed instantly. The 10,000x multiplier took the meager energy of the pill and compounded it. Turning a drop of water into a tsunami of power.
[Evolution Criteria Met.]
[Beginning Mutation.]
"Whirrrrrr!"
A thick, metallic silk erupted from the Mite's mouth. It wasn't the slow, soft thread of a normal insect. It shot out like a bullet.
Wrapping around the creature in the blink of an eye.
In less than three seconds the gray fluff ball was gone. In its place sat a cocoon. Not made of silk. It looked like it was made of spun steel. Gleaming coldly in the twilight.
Jace sat back. His heart hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird. The System interface floated calmly next to the metallic egg.
[Status: Evolving.]
[Time Remaining: 00:00:05]
"Five seconds?" Jace choked out. "Evolution usually takes days!"
[10,000x Speed Applied.]
The System answered his rhetorical question with cold logic.
Jace looked at the countdown. 3… 2… 1…
Crack.
A spiderweb fracture appeared on the surface of the steel cocoon. A dark, heavy aura began to leak out. Nothing like the harmless dust mite he had held moments ago. This aura was heavy!
Jace swallowed hard. His hands trembling.
He had wanted a change. He had wanted a chance.
The cocoon shattered.