The sound wasn't a squelch of flesh. It was the shattering of glass.
Bhy Khay's metal pole didn't just pierce the Hellhound's chest; it deleted it.
The moment the rusted tip struck the glowing red [GLITCH] spot he saw, the massive beast froze mid-air. Cracks of neon blue light spiderwebbed across its obsidian skin. Then, with a digital screech that hurt everyone's ears, the monster exploded into a shower of blue pixels.
[CRITICAL HIT!]
[FATAL ERROR EXPLOITED.]
[YOU HAVE SLAIN: HELLHOUND RUNT (LVL 2)]
[EXPERIENCE GAINED: +50]
[LEVEL UP! (1 -> 2)]
Bhy Khay stood amidst the fading data particles, breathing hard. His hands shook, not from fear, but from the rush of adrenaline coursing through his veins.
A small, glowing white orb dropped where the beast had been.
[LOOT DROPPED: LESSER BEAST CORE]
He bent down and picked it up. It was warm, pulsing like a heart.
The courtyard was dead silent. The rain had started again, washing away the mud but not the shock.
Every eye was on him. The scholarship student. The nobody. The guy who fixed laptops. He had just one-shot a monster that looked like it walked out of a nightmare.
"You..."
The voice was trembling. Bhy Khay turned.
Elara Vance was still on the ground, her expensive uniform ruined by the wet grass. Her silver hair was plastered to her face, and her blue eyes were wide, staring at him as if seeing him for the first time.
"You killed it," she whispered. Her hands were still raised, frozen in a failed attempt to cast a spell she didn't understand.
Bhy Khay didn't offer her a hand. He looked at the metal pole in his grip—now slightly bent—and then back at her. The golden text of his [Sovereign Eyes] faded, leaving his vision normal again.
"Get up," he said. His voice was rough, unfamiliar to his own ears.
"I..." Elara blinked, trying to regain her composure. She scrambled to her feet, wiping mud from her skirt. The "Ice Queen" mask was gone, replaced by the terrified look of a girl who realized her daddy's money couldn't buy safety here. "Thank you. Bhy Khay, I—"
"Don't thank me," he cut her off. He pointed the metal pole at the spot where Viktor was standing.
Viktor, the Senator's son, was pale. He had pushed Elara toward the beast to save himself. Now, realizing the danger was gone, his ego was trying to reboot.
"That was... lucky," Viktor stammered, straightening his blazer. He forced a laugh, looking around at the other students for validation. "Did you see that? The thing was probably bugged. I was about to hit it with my [Warrior's Strike], but you got in the way."
Bhy Khay looked at Viktor. A translucent screen appeared next to Viktor's head.
[PLAYER: Viktor Adebayo]
[CLASS: WARRIOR (Common)]
[STATUS: FEAR (Debuff) - Strength reduced by 20%]
[CURRENT THOUGHT: "How did the loser do that? I need to take the core."]
Bhy Khay almost laughed. The System didn't just show stats; it showed intent.
"Give me that," Viktor said, stepping forward and holding out his hand. He pointed at the glowing white orb in Bhy Khay's palm. "It dropped from the monster. Since I'm the party leader—"
"Party leader?" Bhy Khay raised an eyebrow. "I didn't see you invite me. I saw you use your girlfriend as a human shield."
A gasp went through the crowd.
Elara flinched. She looked at Viktor, her eyes hardening. "He's right, Viktor. You pushed me."
"I did not!" Viktor's face flushed red. "I was trying to get a better angle! Look, give me the Core, Bhy Khay. You're a support class or something, right? You got lucky. Warriors need the resources to protect everyone."
Viktor lunged for the orb.
It was a mistake.
Bhy Khay didn't move fast. He moved efficiently. He saw the trajectory of Viktor's grab before it happened—a red line in the air.
Bhy Khay simply stepped to the side and swept his leg.
THUD.
Viktor hit the mud face-first.
"Stay down," Bhy Khay said quietly.
"You—!" Viktor scrambled up, his hand glowing with a faint red aura. [Skill: Heavy Strike]. He swung a fist at Bhy Khay's face.
Bhy Khay didn't dodge. He raised his left hand.
[SYSTEM INTERVENTION: ADMIN PRIVILEGE ACTIVATED.]
[TARGET: Viktor Adebayo.]
[ACTION: CANCEL SKILL.]
BZRT.
The red glow on Viktor's hand fizzled out like a wet candle. Viktor's punch landed on Bhy Khay's palm with a pathetic slap. It had no force behind it.
Viktor froze, staring at his hand in horror. "My... my skill? Why didn't it work?"
Bhy Khay tightened his grip on Viktor's fist, twisting it until Viktor yelped and dropped to his knees.
"Because the System doesn't listen to you," Bhy Khay whispered, leaning down so only Viktor could hear. "It listens to me."
He shoved Viktor away. The muscular boy sprawled into the mud again, looking up at Bhy Khay with pure terror.
Bhy Khay turned his back on him and looked at Elara. She was staring at him with a mix of fear and awe. The dynamic had shifted. The hierarchy of St. Ivory's Academy—Money, Influence, Family Name—had been deleted.
"The tutorial isn't over," Bhy Khay said, looking up at the sky. The red countdown clock was still ticking.
[WAVE 1 COMPLETE.]
[SAFE ZONE GENERATING...]
[WARNING: SAFE ZONE CAPACITY - 100/500 STUDENTS.]
"Only one hundred people can enter the safe zone," Bhy Khay read aloud.
Panic rippled through the crowd. There were easily four hundred students in the courtyard.
"What do we do?" Elara asked, stepping closer to him. Instinctively, she positioned herself behind him, seeking protection. "Bhy Khay, you know what's happening. Help us."
Bhy Khay looked at her. He remembered the letter in the mud. He remembered her sigh. Stick to fixing laptops.
"Help you?" Bhy Khay asked.
He held up the glowing Beast Core.
"Ten minutes ago, I was invisible to you. Now you want me to be your savior?"
Elara bit her lip. She looked at the terrified students, then at Viktor cowering in the mud, and finally at the red countdown in the sky.
"I can pay you," she said quickly. "My father—"
"Your father's money is paper," Bhy Khay said coldly. "The banks are gone, Elara. This is the currency now." He tossed the Beast Core in the air and caught it.
"Then what do you want?" she asked, her voice trembling.
Bhy Khay looked at the Safe Zone timer. [04:59].
"I'm going to the Safe Zone," he said, turning to walk toward the library building where a green beacon had just appeared. "I have space for one person in my party."
He stopped and looked back over his shoulder.
"You can come. But from this moment on, you're not the Campus Queen. You're my support. You carry the loot. You watch my back. And you do exactly what I say."
He extended a hand—not to help her up, but to seal a deal.
"Do we have a contract?"
Elara looked at his hand. She looked at the monsters clawing at the barrier of the school gates, trying to get in for the second wave.
She swallowed her pride. She reached out and took his hand. Her skin was ice cold; his was burning hot.
"Contract accepted," she whispered.
[SYSTEM ALERT: PARTY FORMED.]
[LEADER: Bhy Khay (Sovereign)]
[MEMBER: Elara Vance (Ice Mage)]
Bhy Khay smirked.
"Good. Now pick up that metal pole. We have work to do."