After training in Wren's training area for a while, they soon called it a night. Everyone headed to bed, but something Riven couldn't get out of his mind was what Jordan had said. Jordan wanted more people involved in the system. But the thing was, after Harkel's and Joey's warnings, Riven truthfully didn't want to tell anybody about the system—scared for his own safety.
Still, when the topic came up again, two people were mentioned as possible candidates to learn about it and help them more: Nico and Tessa's brother.
Everyone immediately shut down that idea. No one really knew Tessa's brother, and honestly, no one wanted Tessa herself to learn about the system anyway. Tessa only knew because of Wren.
But Riven didn't completely disagree. He wanted the him to come to Wren's training area after classes were out, so they could get a good feel for who he really was.
⸻
The next day, everyone followed the same routine. But when they got to their homeroom, something was different.
Mr. Sable wasn't at the front of the class as he usually was. Still, everyone sat down and began talking. A moment later, Tessa walked in with a boy who had dreadlocks.
"This is my brother, Leo," she said, introducing him.
"Yo," Leo nodded. "I heard you guys were looking for a seventh member in your group. What is this, a boy band?"
Harkel chuckled. "Oh yeah, we're going along quite nicely," he said with a smile.
As Leo started getting to know the others, Mr. Sable entered the classroom. Something was off. Sweat was dripping from his forehead. He looked like he was either nervous or had just gotten in trouble for questioning something.
"Okay class, take your seats," Mr. Sable said.
Leo sat closer to the group than he ever had before—right behind Joey.
"We've got a big announcement today. In three weeks' time, you'll have your first assessment… and your first outing."
A student raised their hand. "What's an outing?"
Mr. Sable sighed. "Truthfully, you weren't even supposed to have one this year. Your assessment was just going to be a test to see how much you've improved. But for some reason, they've turned it into a full outing.
"An outing is when a class—sometimes an entire school—travels to a different world or planet."
There were murmurs of disbelief across the room.
"Before I continue," Sable said firmly, "there's something you need to understand. You're not allowed to tell anyone about this. Not the internet. Not your parents. Not your family. If you do, and I promise you trust me, just know this—they have ways of finding out. You will be punished,and I don't know how. But it's not going to be good. For you, or your family."
The room went completely silent.
"In these other worlds—just like Earth—there are magical creatures. Beasts. Some of you might not even know they exist because you're Wallborns. Ever wondered why your families stayed behind walls? It's because they knew about the beasts. They knew they couldn't protect themselves or their loved ones without help. So they paid taxes and stayed inside."
He paused.
"Your family doesn't know about the other worlds unless they've gone to Sigil Gate. And if they did, they never told you. That was by design."
"Beasts have levels," Sable continued. "When you kill one and dig into where its heart would be, you'll find a gemstone. These stones are engraved with a number—usually from 1 to 10. But honestly, I don't think 10 is the max. There might be stronger beasts out there."
Riven raised a brow. "I remember hearing about beasts on the internet. Some say they're the reason for the walls, but others think it's because of a war between the Four Families and the military or Sigil Gate Academy. But I've never heard anything about other worlds."
"Same," Joey said. Then he raised his hand.
Mr. Sable nodded.
"Can these beasts be turned into weapons?" Joey asked remembering when he used the lock on skill back in the venue place and the weapon class.
"Yes," Mr. Sable said. "Using the gemstone in their heart. Humans tested all kinds of things with it. Turns out, the stones are practically unbreakable—unless you melt them down. One day, someone forged a weapon with it. When they held the weapon, they felt stronger, faster… sometimes even tougher."
He continued, "The gemstone still lives inside the weapon. If the beast was high-level enough, the weapon might even develop a special trait—like catching fire, even if you don't have a fire-based evolution. Some weapons with the same level can have traits, while others don't. No one really knows why. Maybe the beast was too weak. Maybe the forger failed. Those are the theories, anyway. Any other questions?"
No one raised their hand.
"Good. In three weeks, we're going to a place called Aurex. Now, hand over your unit cards."
Each student walked up and handed over their card. Mr. Sable scanned them all and returned them one by one.
"I've given you 2,000 units. Go to the city. Buy a weapon. You should be able to afford at least a level-two type. I want to give you the best chance of survival. I won't have any students dying on my watch."
"Dying?"
The way he said it made everyone silently gulp.
⸻
When class was dismissed, the day was over. As the group walked out, they saw a wave of first-years pouring into the city—no doubt trying to grab the best weapons they could find.
"Shouldn't we be heading to the city right now?" Leo asked. "Before they take all the good stuff? You know some of these kids are rich—they're probably gonna buy out half the shops."
But Riven smiled. "I have a better idea."
⸻
Meanwhile, in the assembly hall—
"This is insane," Mr. Sable said. "Second-years were only allowed to visit other worlds because most of them were already Awakened. Nearly all of the freshmen haven't even reached their first Awakening. The only ones who have are those six"
"Then the others should stick with them," said a silver-haired man, his voice commanding. Every teacher in the room instinctively backed off.
"They need to see what the universe is really like. Not just Earth. Besides—our powers come when we're backed into a corner. This is the push they need."
He turned to leave.
"Now clean this place out."
As he walked away, Mr. Knox, Mr. Kain, and the other teachers who had objected lay unconscious on the ground.
Sable clenched his fists. "Yes, sir… Darius."
⸻
Back in Wren's training room, Leo waited outside the door. The others had told him to wait. Before going in, Riven had asked him one odd question:
"What type of weapon do you use?"
"A greatsword," Leo replied.
Riven nodded and stepped inside.
He pulled up the system and transferred all the money from his card into it.
[System: 3,000 System Points]
"Alright, 3,000 points," Riven said as he opened the weapons tab. As he scrolled, he could see the names of weapons and their levels—but one thing stood out.
"These weapons are really cheap."
"Okay, so I wasn't the only one thinking that," Harkel said.
"Yeah," Joey added, "the vendors in the city were charging way more than this."
Suddenly, everyone heard a ding. They turned toward Riven, who now had two greenish-black gauntlets on his hands.
[System: Black Verdant Gauntlets have been purchased –1000 System Points]
The gauntlets were Level 3.
Black Verdant Gauntlets
Strength: +12
Speed: +5
Durability: +8
"Special ability: Has a 20% chance to poison any person or creature it touches."
Everyone was about to buy their own weapon—until Riven purchased a Level 3 greatsword, then two Level 2 weapons, and five Level 1 weapons.
He looked at Joey.
"It's time to start our own shop," Riven said with a smile.
Since they were going on what they called "an outing," and the way Mr. Sable was talking made it sound like he wasn't even sure they'd all make it back, Riven wanted to do one last thing—something for Joey.
"Why don't you let the rest of us get our own weapons?" Harkel asked.
"I mean, you have 2,000 units yourself, don't you? Convert them into system points and buy your own weapon," Riven said as he took the greatsword outside and handed it to Leo. Leo asked if he could come in yet, but Riven denied him, and Leo sat back down against the wall.
When Riven reentered the room, he saw all of them equipped with a level three beast weapon.
Wren had a spear, Harkel a longsword, Jordan a sword, Joey a wand, and Tessa a shield. Most likely, all of them gave around the same stats as Riven's gauntlet, with some differences and probably their own unique abilities.
"Okay… I have an idea how we're going to sell these weapons. Does anyone still have 1,000 system points left?" he asked.
They all raised their hands. Each had only bought a level three weapon, meaning they still had at least 1,000 points remaining.
"Good," Riven said.
Unlike everyone else's system, Riven's let him see everyone's combined point total. He then used 2,000 points to buy two cloaks called Phantom Cowl. When he pulled one out and put it on, everyone could immediately tell—they couldn't see his face anymore.
"Here's the plan. Me and Leo will be going to the city with these cloaks. Thanks to Damien's teleportation evolution, I should be able to get us there while staying relatively unnoticed."
"Okay, yes, but Riven… why Leo?" Joey asked.
"Well, I'll need a guard. And when people see a big guy with a giant greatsword, they'll think twice before trying anything," Riven replied.
Riven then walked out of the blue training room. As he did, he tossed Leo the second cloak.
"Look, not to be mean or anything, but I need you to do something. And it requires one thing: no questions. Don't ask me anything, and don't question anything that goes on over the next five hours, okay? If you do that, and everything goes to plan, I'll get you an armor set to go with that greatsword."
Leo looked at Riven strangely. Then Riven pulled back his hood to reveal his face briefly and told Leo all he needed to know. Leo nodded and put on the cloak. Before they could leave, Riven told him to place his hand on his back.
Leo thought it was weird at first, but when he did, both of them suddenly appeared at the city entrance.
"Teleportation? But I thought he had a gravity evolution…" Leo thought.
"That's asking questions," Riven said telepathically.
Leo was shocked but stopped himself from saying anything more. They wandered through various venues, checking the crowds until they found an empty spot.
"Okay," Riven thought. "I need you to get behind me and just look tough with that greatsword."
Leo nodded. As Riven sat down, he dug into his cloak and pulled out a cover, then laid out the seven weapons on the ground. Leo stood behind him, arms folded, leaning against the wall.
An hour passed before anyone showed up. Eventually, a well-dressed boy approached their stall. Judging by his accessories, he was somewhat wealthy. He examined the assortment of weapons and pulled out a device to scan them. His eyes widened in surprise.
"These are actual beast weapons… not fakes. How much are you selling them for?" the boy asked.
"The level one weapons are all going for 600 units, while the level twos are going for 1,000 units," Riven said in a deep, mysterious voice.
"Okay. I'll buy them," the boy replied, holding out his card.
Riven swiped his own card over it, and the boy tapped a few things. Riven watched as 5,000 units entered his personal account, which Wren had helped him set up.
He nodded at Leo, who wrapped the weapons in the blanket and handed it over to the boy. The boy walked off.
"This is good," Riven thought. "That guy will probably tell his friends, and they'll come looking for us."
Riven opened his system and converted the units into system points. Since Leo was now a bonded party member, he could see the system as well. But when Leo started to speak, Riven reminded him of the deal—no questions.
"I get that you don't want me asking questions," Leo said through the telepathic link, "but if I'm looking at this right, you could sell those level three weapons. And sure, you don't know me or any of the people you're selling to… but you have to realize, we're talking about human lives. The way Mr. Sable put it, some people could die."
Riven stopped himself from buying anything. Leo's words hit hard. He'd been so focused on strategy that he had overlooked the human cost. If not for Leo, he would've made a huge mistake—some of his classmates, maybe even more people from the school, might've died. Just because he didn't know them didn't mean their lives weren't worth saving.
"Hey Leo… thanks for making me realize what I was doing wrong," Riven said.
"No problem. Just make sure you protect my sister, alright?" Leo replied.
Riven nodded.
He pulled another small blanket from his cloak, laid it on the ground, and placed more weapons on it. After ten minutes, five people showed up—a mix of boys and girls. They scanned the weapons and, like the boy before them, were surprised.
"How much are the level three weapons?" one girl asked.
"2,000 units," Riven replied.
"That low?" a boy commented.
They all picked up the three level threes and two level twos and walked off, excited.
"Okay, last batch of the night," Riven said, counting 6,600 units earned.
He converted half of that into system points and used it to buy three more level three weapons.
Not long after, another group of five showed up. Riven immediately recognized them—Nico, Jude, Skye, Luka, and the healing girl Riven had copied from to help Joey. She turned out to be Luka's sister.
After seeing how well they worked together, Nico had asked the other three to form a group with her. Luka agreed only on the condition that his sister could join too.
"Nico…" Riven thought.
"Awww, your girlfriend's here," Harkel teased through the link, his voice childish.
Riven could even hear Leo chuckling behind him but quickly stifling it as the group approached.
"I heard you were selling level three weapons. Is that true?" Nico asked.
Riven nodded.
She scanned the weapons with her device.
"Good," she said.
"How much are you selling them for?" Jude asked.
"Level one weapons cost 600 units, level two cost 1,000 units, and level three cost 2,000 units," Riven answered.
Nico placed her hand on her chin, clearly thinking.
"We'll buy all of them," she said.
Luka hesitated. "Is that really a good idea?"
"Most of our classmates probably won't be able to buy any weapons if people keep buying them up. The stores will likely raise prices to make bigger profits. We can't let people die just because they couldn't afford a weapon." Jude responded
Nico nodded. "You're right. We're not just buying these for ourselves. We're going to make sure they get into the hands of people who actually need them."
Riven felt a pang of guilt. He had been making a profit off people who only wanted to survive the outing. Before Leo could wrap the weapons, Riven stopped him. He turned away, pulled out a wand, and when he turned back, placed it with the rest.
"Here. Take this one on the house. It's a level four wand. Make good use of it."
Leo then wrapped up the weapons and handed them to the group.
Nico started to say thank you, but before she could finish, the two vanished.
They teleported back to Wren's training room. Riven tossed his card to Wren.
"That should have 6,700 units on it. Make sure it gets to Joey's mom."
Wren nodded and walked away while dialing her phone.
"I'm sorry I don't have enough to get you that armor set," Riven said to Leo. "But I'll make it up to you."
Before Leo could respond, they heard soft sobbing.
"Thank you," Joey whispered, crying on the floor. "Thank you."
Tessa hugged him and led him outside to get some air.
"When did those two get close?" Harkel wondered silently. But nobody heard—Riven had turned off both the telepathic and system links.
He smiled as Joey and Tessa walked off together. Then, with the last 1,000 system points he had, Riven purchased a potion filled with a white liquid and handed it to Leo.
"Before you drink that, I have to do something first."
He transferred the pink-haired man's evolution to Leo, who was already level 7. Riven felt they might need it on this outing.
"Okay. Now drink it."
Leo didn't ask any questions—if Riven wanted to hurt him, he wouldn't have given him the greatsword.
When Leo drank the potion, everyone could feel the air around him change.
In that moment, everyone in the room could tell—
Leo had awakened.