> "You're the anomaly," she said as we faced each other. "Let's see if you bleed like the rest of us."
Laevin raised a hand and cast Glyph Lock, sealing our Protocols at [Level 1]. No cheats. No relics. Pure sync and instinct.
> "This is a live sync evaluation. System monitoring is active. The duel ends at incapacitation or submission. Begin."
The floor hummed as the simulation field activated—replicating an arena from the Third Tower: jagged rocks, mana spikes, erratic pulses. It favored neither of us.
But that wasn't the point.
They weren't looking for balance. They were looking for what I'd do under pressure.
> Would I snap again?
Nira drew her blade with a fluid whisper of steel. Her mana laced around it like ivy—lightning aspect. Her Protocols bloomed into action.
I took a breath.
The System responded—faintly, like it remembered me. Like it feared me.
And then she charged.
Nira's first strike was blinding.
Her blade surged with volts of silver lightning—Thunder Vein Protocol, Level 1. She closed the distance with a snap of air, aiming for my throat.
I barely dodged, instinct screaming louder than thought.
The arena lit up from the clash. Students gasped as arcs of lightning snapped against the stone where I'd been a second before.
> "She's not holding back…" Mira murmured from the sidelines.
I wasn't surprised. This wasn't a test. This was a message.
I staggered back, forcing my breathing to steady. I had no flashy protocols, no enchanted weapon—just a basic academy blade and a stat sheet barely awakened.
But something stirred inside me.
A subtle hum.
The System was watching.
---
Duel Protocol Analysis – Live Feed (Visible to Faculty Only):
[Combatant: Kael Vale]
Protocol Alignment: Incompatible/Unknown
Core Affinity: Dormant
Stability Index: 47% (Unstable)
Threat Projection: ???
---
Nira came again, this time from the side. Her footwork was textbook-perfect, her attacks laced with minor feints. I managed a parry, but her power still pushed me back.
> "You're slow," she muttered. "They think you're special. You're just lucky."
> "Then stop talking," I growled, stepping in.
I wasn't trying to win.
I was trying to wake it up.
> "System," I whispered internally. Give me something. Anything.
A sharp flash.
A red glyph flickered in my left eye, too fast to register. My perception twisted—I could suddenly see the mana paths in her form. I knew when she'd strike before she even shifted her weight.
> Instinct Protocol Activated – "Death Sense (Unstable)"
She lunged.
I sidestepped—barely—and struck her ribs with the hilt of my sword. She gasped, shocked. The audience murmured. No one had ever landed a clean hit on her like that.
> "That wasn't a school technique," Laevin muttered under his breath. "Where the hell did he learn Death Sense?"
---
Nira's frustration ignited.
She unleashed her advanced move—Volt Cascade—a flurry of strikes laced with chain lightning. The temperature dropped. Sparks flew.
I grit my teeth, bleeding mana and adrenaline.
> "You only grow stronger when you're about to die."
The glyph returned.
Time slowed.
Each of her strikes—mapped, predicted, outpaced. I moved like a phantom, dodging through lightning, eyes glazed with glowing sigils.
> "What the hell—" she began.
I caught her wrist and twisted.
She went down.
Sword to her throat.
Silence.
---
System Alert
> Protocol Synchronization Detected.
Classification: Deathbound Instinct Tier
Status: LOCKED [Stage 1: Triggered via Near-Fatal Stress]
Unique Skill Acquired: "Reckoner's Edge" – Strength increases as death nears.
Passive Trait: "Tenacity - Refuse Death Once per Day"
Risk Level: HIGH
---
Professor Laevin stood slowly. "The duel is over. Kael wins."
> "That's not… possible," Nira said, trembling.
She looked at me—wide-eyed, not with anger… but fear.
> "You weren't supposed to survive that simulation. No one was."
I looked at my shaking hands.
My system had awakened.
The arena lights dimmed, and silence stretched longer than it should have.
The moment the barrier fell and the duel ended, everything felt louder—the buzz of mana stabilizing, the whispering gasps, the low murmur of disbelief.
> "He beat Nira."
"That can't be right."
"She's ranked fourth in the entire year…"
I didn't move. Not yet.
Nira was already standing—barely—and staring at me like I'd grown horns. Her mouth opened, then closed. She walked away without a word.
No taunt. No complaint. Just… silence.
That was louder than anything.
---
[Observation Deck – Students]
Ryn crossed his arms, gaze unreadable. He was a tactician—he didn't believe in luck.
> "He shouldn't have survived the simulation," he muttered. "And now he takes down Nira? No formal protocols? No relic support? Something's wrong."
> "Or something's awakened," said Mira, who was gripping the rail tightly.
She glanced toward the professors still conversing quietly in the corner, casting Kael side glances like he was a live spell about to explode.
> "You saw his eyes, didn't you?" she whispered.
> "Red glyphs," Ryn nodded. "That's not school-grade magic."
---
[Arena Floor – Kael]
I tried to walk off the field, but the looks held me in place. Not hate. Not awe. A strange mix of wariness and curiosity.
Some stepped away as I passed. Others leaned in to whisper, their System interfaces blinking as they likely ran searches on me.
> "Who is Kael Vale?"
"He doesn't even belong to a guild faction…"
"What year is he again?"
I didn't answer any of it.
---
Scene: Common Room – Later That Night
The dorm buzzed.
The duel was already all over the school's intra-net. Slow-motion replays. Frame-by-frame analyses. Theories. Speculation. Some said I hacked the system. Some claimed I was a Tower-born hybrid. A few said I cheated death. Again.
I sat alone by the window.
> "You know you're trending across three guild channels, right?" Mira said, dropping into the seat beside me. She handed me a flask of focus tea. "You've officially pissed off people who have never been pissed off before."
I took the flask silently. "I didn't ask for any of this."
> "Yeah, well… this place doesn't care what you ask for."
Across the room, Ryn stood with a group of guild-affiliated students. His eyes never left me.
---
System Notification – Private (Unseen by Others)
> New Title Acquired: "First to Fall, Last to Rise"
Description: You survived what should have killed you. Twice.
Effect: +10% Willpower, +10% System Response under Fatal Conditions.
Hidden Effect: Title visibility locked. Classifiers alerted.
---
Kael Vale had officially become someone worth watching. And in Ashenvale.