After the whole incident, Michael lost his appetite, so Nick and Michael decided to go to bed early, since tomorrow was Sunday and they were free from academic activities. Students were allowed to leave the academy premises but were to return before midnight. No one knew the punishment given to anyone who didn't obey this rule, as everyone tried their best to obey the academy. Tomorrow, the class rankings would be announced, and finally, the main activity would begin. Michael was kind of nervous as he didn't want his ranking to be low; he planned on being the best and ascending.
Before Michael knew it, he was already fast asleep, worn out from the dungeon. Soon Michael woke up to an early morning, the kind of early when the whole world feels soft and quiet. Pale golden sunlight seeped into the room, casting gentle patterns on the wooden floor, making even dust motes look magical as they drifted lazily. Outside, the academy was still half-asleep—a distant noise whistle echoed, mingling with the soft cries of swallows darting through the crisp air. The breeze carried a hint of blooming jasmine and warm earth, brushing past thin curtains that fluttered every so slightly.
Michael had already planned what to do with his free day but later changed it. His main focus now was to get stronger, so he was planning to absorb all the cores he had with him. Michael collected 11 cores from the desert worms and three from the serpent, and an extra one from the Fiend Wolf, making his total tally 15, and plus the extra 35 that Nick gave him, granting him 45 cores in total. Till now, Michael couldn't find out how Nick was able to kill so many creatures, but at least he benefited from it.
"System," Michael called out, and immediately a screen manifested in front of him.
Name: Michael Arden
Class: Shadow Monarch
Affinity: Divine Shadow & Lightning
Innate Talent: Lineage of the Shadow God
Strength: 1.07»1.18
Agility: 1.50» 1.55
Endurance: 2.01»2.50
Speed: 1.55 » 1.65
Dexterity: 2.05
Essence Capacity: 2.05 » 2.90
Intelligence: 2.50 » 2.53
Luck: 0.5 » 0.9
Familiar Bonds: Fiend Wolf
Echoes of memory: obsidian blade fang, Celestial Star bow, Blackcoil Armor
[Warning: Core system still evolving. Further functions will unlock as the system evolves.]
[Dungeon boss reward: skill:Aura of Ashura received]
[Shadow: 1/100]
Michael was very happy seeing some of his attributes had increased, which meant that the fights he wasn't through weren't all for nothing. But when Michael's eyes rested on familiar, he felt even greater joy; he managed to get a familiar from his first dungeon, and it was also a boss type. Everyone knew how rare familiars were; even top powerhouses had only a few of them. If Michael was ever planning on selling it, he would fetch a nice price for it, not that he was planning to sell it, though.
Michael immediately focused on the Fiend Wolf, summoning the familiar's description.
[Fiend Wolf: Rank: Tier One
Type: Familiar
Description: Once revered as the fearless alpha of a powerful wolf pack, the Fiend Wolf ruled the Barrens and was its protector. During the rise of the demons, forced to pick a side, it defied an ancient nightmare entity to protect its kin but paid a terrible price. Cursed for its defiance, it was driven mad by what it defied, losing what it fought to protect in the first place and forced to roam in eternal solitude, doomed to haunt the wastelands and condemned to rule in solitude.]
Michael couldn't believe that the Fiend Wolf had such a story. Whatever it was, it seemed to have placed a curse on the Fiend Wolf for its defiance. These were questions he had, but he had no way of finding any answers to them.
"Aura of Ashura," Michael called out, and before he knew it, a load of information filled his head. The Aura of Ashura was an aura buff technique that improved one's general attributes, and the best part of it was it was fit for Michael. One thing was for sure: he couldn't overuse it, or he would be injured from it.
Michael was quite happy with the reward he got from the desert dungeon, but he wasn't done yet. Bringing out all the cores he had received, he was planning to absorb all of them.
[Core absorbed, you grow stronger]
[Core absorbed, you grow stronger]
[Core absorbed, you grow stronger]
...
Michael kept crushing those cores one after the order as the system announcement kept playing in his head.
Michael kept crushing those cores until he was done with all 45 of them and got one core point from each of them.
"System," Michael summoned his system again, ready to see how much he had improved.
Name: Michael Arden
Class: Shadow Monarch
Affinity: Divine Shadow & Lightning
Innate Talent: Lineage of the Shadow God
Strength: 1.07 » 1.18
Agility: 1.50» 1.55
Endurance: 2.01»2.50
Speed: 1.55 » 1.65
Dexterity: 2.05
Essence Capacity: 2.05 » 2.90
Intelligence: 2.50 » 2.53
Luck: 0.5 » 0.9
Familiar Bonds: Fiend Wolf
Echoes of memory: obsidian blade fang, Celestial Star bow, Blackcoil Armor
[Warning: Core system still evolving. Further functions will unlock as the system evolves.]
[Dungeon boss reward: skill:Aura of Ashura received]
[Shadow: 1/100]
[Cores: 45/500]
When Michael saw the number of cores he needed to saturate his soul with, he almost lost his will to stand. Michael couldn't understand why normal awakenings needed about 100 cores to saturate their souls, but he needed 500 instead. How was he going to get more cores? The only reason he was able to get this huge number of cores he just absorbed was because of Nick, and he couldn't even understand why he needed that many cores.
Was this system trying to rob him, or was it just plain greedy? Michael couldn't decide which one, but the system was asking for a lot of cores, and Michael didn't even know that the Shadow was or how he was able to obtain one.
Michael couldn't spend the rest of the day thinking about the system, so he decided to hit the training room. He stepped into the training room, its polished floors and gleaming machines waiting silently. He started on the treadmill, steadily pushing the speed higher until every muscle in his body screamed for relief, but he kept going, sweat running down his skin.
Moving to the free weights, his arms trembled as he powered through each set, refusing to cheat himself with sloppy form, focusing on the burn as proof of his effort. When he faced the digital boxing dummy, the dummy's patterns changed unpredictably, forcing him to react faster, strike more precisely, and move more strategically with each round.
The machine was relentless, but so was Michael; he adapted until every punch landed true and every dodge was perfectly timed. The final challenge—the squat rack and bench press—left his limbs heavy, but he gritted his teeth, bracing through the last reps, refusing to give up until the weights were back in place.
By the time Michael finally slumped down, breathless but exhilarated, he felt like he'd chipped away another layer of his old self. Michael knew he had to get stronger and faster. Before he knew it, he was almost out of breath, and it was already getting late.
In a few minutes, the ranking would be out, and Michael could finally see where he stood on the leaderboard.
Felt very exhausted after his training so he planned on getting something to eat, just as he was about to head out, his wrist watch beeped.
Chime echoed inside the whole academy .
When Michael saw the notification he caught his breath, and all over the academy every students and candidates just received the same text.
And the text was actually simple but held so much value.
Academy ranking completed
Head to home room
All students ranking have now been finalized. Your efforts and handwork has been recognized. See where you stand among the rest.
When Michael was done reading the information he didn't know if he was to head out first or grab something to eat, he could hear the footsteps of other students rushing out each of them eager to know the ranking on the leaderboard and could you blame them, being on the top ranking in one of the most prestigious academy in the whole world.
Michael decided to grab his stuff, rushing out heading towards his room to change his clothes.
Michael through in what ever he found in his closet and started heading out with nick.
It was finally time, in just a few seconds his fate would be revealed and he would he be able to see if he could stand at the top, to finally know if his strength enough, was he even strong enough while this was his chance to find out we're he stands in a school filled with elites.