Riven and Joey were walking back from Sable's office. While walking, Riven held a small white orb in his hand—an Aetherial Orb.
"How can such a small orb hold so much power that I can make an entire portal?" Riven questioned.
"What you should really be asking is how we're going to get 100,000 pieces of pure metal," Joey replied, sweat running down his cheek.
"This is how," Riven said plainly, showing Joey the system shop tab with metal displayed on the screen.
[Pure Metal x5 – Cost: 3 System Points]
"Hmm… if my math is correct, it'll take around 40,000 system points to buy all the required pure metal," Joey deduced. "Hey Riven, did you ever think about the requirements for the other world—like Aurex?"
"No. Truthfully, I don't wanna go over there again… but I'll look into it from time to time. You know—just in case we need to level up faster," Riven responded, opening the door for Joey.
"Fair. So how will we sell stuff when we get there?"
"Well, that depends on how we can set this portal up," Riven replied. As he said this, they entered the training room, where they saw everyone practicing with their Awakening forms.
"Riven!" Jordan yelled as he got in front of the duo. "So what hap—um, what is that?" Jordan cut himself off when he noticed the white glowing orb in Riven's hand.
"This," Riven said with a smile, "is our way to get out of here and back to Earth."
⸻
In a dimly lit room where the only source of light came from a massive TV-like screen, student photos flashed rapidly. Other students were present, but the blackish-purple-haired Vice Principal stood in front of a long table with five chairs—one of which she sat in.
"Okay. After going through all the teachers' reports of the first, second, and third years, and having our own discussion, these are the top ten for each year," Mr. Fallow said as the screen displayed the first-year top ten students:
First Years:
1. Joey Cross
2. Riven Harlow
3. Jordan Harlow
4. Harkel Voss
A sigh of relief was heard in the room—it came from Axle. He didn't have solid confirmation that his brother had made it out of the outing alive, but seeing this list, he knew his brother had survived.
7. Leo Ashvale
6. Wren Fallow
A quiet "Hmm" escaped Ms. Fallow as she read her daughter's name.
"Aren't you proud of her for making it back into the top 10?" Axle asked.
"I'm just glad she's alive," Ms. Fallow muttered under her breath before continuing.
7. Luka Thomas
8. Nico Grey
9. Kira Thomas
10.Tessa Ashvale
"These are the top ten first-years and the most promising we've seen in years. So powerful, in fact, that the Association wants them—especially the top four students who managed to achieve a second awakening… and then a true awakening as well," she said, lowering her head at the last part.
"Hell no!" Axle stood up, glaring at a robed figure in disgust. "I'm not giving my brother to them."
Ms. Fallow waited for Darius to speak, but he remained silent—until finally, he stood.
"We will not give these students to the Dark Association," Darius declared.
"Sir, we shouldn't be saying their name out loud. You know they have spies," said Kacy, the Dean of the Second Years.
Darius gave her a sharp glare, making Kacy quickly back off.
"I'll talk to the Association myself. It's been a long time since I've spoken to those bastards. I'm not as afraid of them as I used to be. Besides, if I'm going to keep this academy on top, we need the first-years." He sat back down, calm as ever.
Ms. Fallow sighed silently in relief. She didn't want her daughter going to those monsters, but she was also afraid of what Darius might do when he did meet them.
Little did the group know, Sable hadn't told them everything about what had happened—like how Riven gained his armor out of nowhere. He also knew what had happened to Ashley and the other wolves, yet chose not to tell them that either. In his mind, there was no point—he believed they were all already dead.
"Now for the top ten students of the Second Years," Ms. Fallow continued:
Second Years:
1 John Carter
2 Emily Brooks
3 Michael Clark
4 Sarah Bennett
5 David Reed
6 Anna Collins
7 James Chi
8 Laura Mitchell
9 Daniel Ross
10 Grace Turner
"These students are no pushovers either. Some of them have reached the third and even fourth awakening. Not all of them achieved a true awakening form, but their progress is still the biggest improvement we've seen in years."
She then moved on to the third years:
Third Years:
1. Matthew Clark
2. Olivia Morgan
3. Samantha Wright
At the sound of her name, Damien let out a relieved sigh. Samantha was his little sister, and hearing her name lifted a weight off his shoulders.
4 Chloe Adams
5 Ryan Scott
6 Lily Thompson
7 Jacob Foster
8 Ethan Parker
9 Nathan Brooks
10 Julia Evan
"These are the top ten for the third years. Their growth wasn't as significant as last year's, but it's still impressive."
Ms. Fallow sat down. Darius stood in front of the screen, a calm smile on his face as he looked at the students' faces.
"These students will go through evaluation. When they do, we'll see who's ready to join the tournament."
⸻
Riven now stood in front of the group of eleven, his system menu open in front of his face. After spending all the system points needed to buy 100,000 units of metal, he had 20,000 points left. Without the system rewards, he likely wouldn't have been able to afford the portal and new weapons.
"Here," Riven said, distributing cloaks identical to the ones he and Leo had used to conceal their identities while selling items. "These cloaks will mask your voice and face. We obviously can't let anyone identify us—since, y'know, we shouldn't even be there. If they find out we have a portal, and how to make one… who knows what they'd do. So this doesn't leave the group. Got it?"
Everyone nodded.
Riven then clicked Craft Portal in the system.
Suddenly, his vision shifted. Instead of seeing the wall in front of him, he saw a town—people walking around, flying cars and trains soaring through the air.
"Where am I?" Riven muttered, looking around. A system prompt appeared in front of him:
[User is at the Grand Capital]
"The Grand Capital?" Riven choked on air.
"I'm sorry—Grand Capital?" Joey repeated, confused.
Wren looked like she was about to answer, but Nico beat her to it.
"The Grand Capital—it's seen as a haven for some, but for others, it's a whole different story. It's a place where people can buy weapons, potions, gear… and it's also where people get scouted for guilds. If you don't know, a guild usually works under one of the Four Families, either as intelligence gatherers or strike teams. Whatever the family needs—they do it, no questions asked."
"So it's a kind of safe haven—for both Wallborn and Beyonders?" Joey summed up.
Nico nodded. "Exactly."
"But the problem is, the Grand Capital isn't easy to enter," Wren said. "It costs around 20,000 units per person just to get past the walls. My mom took me there once. Inside, there were tons of venues… which means if we're gonna sell weapons, we're going to have competition."
"Then let's not just sell weapons," Jude chimed in, the group still staring at Riven's back. "I looked through the system. We don't have to just sell weapons—we could also sell potions. They all have different effects, so we could split them by rarity and still make a killing. Especially those Awakening Potions—they can go for almost a million units. And the 2x Awakening Potions? Two million units."
Everyone paused, clearly considering Jude's point.
"No—not the 2x potions. Re-read the text. It won't work unless the person's already at the first awakening," Jordan said. "And even then, it won't automatically boost them to the next level. So it's pretty much just a waste of 5,000 system points."
"Hmm. Fair," Jude admitted.
Before anyone could say more, a metal gate appeared in front of them. A swirling black portal emerged in its center.
"Well, I figured out how this thing works," Riven announced so everyone could hear. "I'm going to place the portal on the edge of the wall, where there are still trees and bushes, so we can cover it. No one else can see us go through."
He turned to the group.
"So… what do you say? You guys ready to go to the Grand Capital?" he asked with a wide, excited smile.
Everyone nodded.
Riven was the first to walk through the portal. On the other side, he was met by trees and branches—not nearly as big as the ones on Aurex, but still abnormally large for Earth trees. When everyone else came out of the portal, Riven placed the entrance into his System Storage Space.
After doing that, the group walked out of the forest.
Even though they had hoodies on to cover their faces and change their voices, the way they moved said it all—the group was in awe of what they were seeing.
"Whoa…" they said, looking amazed.
The Grand Capital was unlike anything Riven had ever seen—a sprawling metropolis in the sky and on the earth, suspended in motion and ambition. Towering skyscrapers made of silversteel and glimmerglass stretched toward the clouds, their surfaces reflecting the eternal dance of flying cars and trains zipping through layered air lanes. Massive skybridges connected buildings like threads in a spider's web, each bridge wide enough to hold entire markets on its surface.
The streets below pulsed with life. Diverse crowds of Wallborn, Beyonders, merchants, scouts, guild operatives, and awakened travelers weaved between glowing vendor stalls, digital signs, and rune-powered kiosks selling everything from enchanted blades to bottled storms. Neon-colored banners floated midair, advertising potion auctions and beast-hunting contracts.
"Okay, everyone, snap out of it," Wren said—clearly the only one not stunned, since she'd been here before.
The group shook their heads, regaining focus.
"Wren's right. Time to put our plan in motion. We'll split up,"
After getting it together because of how amazing the Grand Capital looked, Riven explained the plan to everyone.
"Okay, we're going to split up into two groups. We need to gain more units this time around to the point where we don't have to even come back here, so we'll split up evenly," Riven said, with everyone agreeing. "Wren, can we sell on both high and low platforms?" Riven asked, looking at the broad towers and skyscrapers.
"Yeah, we can. I can remember some venues being up there, but nowhere near as much as down here," Wren said, answering Riven's question.
The Grand Capital wasn't just a city—it was a marvel of impossible design. Floating above the earth, clusters of small towns hovered in the air, each one made up of silverstone buildings tethered together by skybridges and anti-gravity cores. These airborne districts shimmered like stars during the day, suspended far above the ground yet somehow alive with activity—shops, markets, and even homes functioning midair as if it were normal.
But the sky wasn't the only home to this wonder.
Below, a sprawling town stretched across the land, bustling with people and wrapped in layered walls that spiraled upward—walls that didn't just protect the city, but connected it. These towering, rune-inscribed walls curved high into the sky, branching out and merging with the bases of the floating towns above. It was as if the ground itself had grown arms, holding up entire neighborhoods in the clouds.
The entire Capital functioned like a vertical ecosystem—ground and sky intertwined, streets and skybridges alike lined with merchants, guilds, and travelers from across the earth. It wasn't just a place to live—it was a statement: no dream was too high to reach.
But that made Riven think to himself—what was his own dream? Was it to get stronger? Meet Mom and Dad again? To protect Jordan? Riven didn't know what to do with himself yet. He kept moving, but he stopped his thinking and continued.
"Okay then, like I said, we'll split. Nico, Wren, Jordan, Luka, Skye, Joey—all of you will go up top and start selling items up there, while me, Jude, Leo, Tessa, Harkel, and Kira will all be down here selling items. Any questions?" When Riven said that last part, he didn't actually expect any questions, but people had their hands up like they were in school. "Okay, Skye, what's your question?"
"Can I switch with someone?" Skye asked nervously.
"What, why? You don't like one of your team members? 'Cause if you don't, you're going to have to get over that," Riven said, trying to be a good leader.
"No, it's not that—it's just… I'm afraid of heights," Skye said that last part in a whisper.
"What? I didn't hear you," Riven said.
"I'm afraid of heights!" Skye yelled back.
"Your name's Skye, yet you're afraid of heights?" Harkel retorted.
"Yeah, I am. I have no shame in it," Skye said back.
"On that note, can Kira and Skye swap?" Luka asked with his hand still raised.
"What, you got a problem with me or something?" Skye asked, getting in the boy's face.
"What? No—it's just I'm more comfortable if my sister was with me instead," Luka said truthfully.
"Dude, do you really think we'll do something to your sister when you saved our friend's life?" Leo joined.
"No, but—" Luka tried to argue, but Nico stopped him.
"How about this: Skye swaps out with Leo, and we swap Kira with Joey. End of story," Nico said, getting annoyed with the altercation.
"Okay. That work with you guys?" Everyone agreed, and they did the trade. Tessa didn't like it, but she knew she had to get used to not always being around her brother.
"When they go up the bridge, we don't know if they might check credentials or not," Joey said, putting the thought in everyone's head. They all turned to Nico and Wren, who seemed to be the best people to ask about this place.
"Yeah, you do, but with Riven, we can. We could just teleport. It's a rare evolution, so they won't be prepared for it. We just need to be fast with it," Wren answered.
"Okay, fine. Plan's set," Riven said with a smile.
Nico, Wren, Leo, Kira, Luka, Jordan, and Riven all had their hoods on, walking up the bridge. There were tons of people there as well, covering the group. Riven then, with a touch, sent Luka and Kira up toward one of the sky islands. He sent them behind a building. He then did the same for Leo and Jordan. Luckily, Leo was crouching the entire time, so no one could see the big figure disappear into thin air. He sent the two to the same spot as Kira and Luka. Then lastly, Nico and Wren—both girls got closer to Riven so he could teleport them, and when he did that, he himself immediately teleported back to the ground where his group was at. He'd turned on the telepathic link skill so all 12 of them could stay in contact.
"Okay, now everyone walk toward the venues. Do not walk how you usually walk. Try to walk in a mysterious way—we don't want anybody being able to tell it's us under the hoods," Riven announced in the link.
Then everyone made their way to the venue spots. When the group up top got to their own, Riven and his group on the bottom could hear their reaction of surprise and curiosity. Then when they got to the bottom venue, they could see why—in every corner there was a venue on both sides of the street, leaving the middle park clear for people to walk around and try to buy something. Riven then heard through the telepathic link that Jordan and his group found a place to set up at. Riven then brought items and put them in the system storage space so Jordan's group could have access to it.
Jordan then placed a cover on the ground and put weapons on it. At most, the weapon was at level 4.
"So who's gonna be our salesperson?" Jordan asked.
"Kira should do it," Riven said in the telepathic link.
"What? Why me?" she asked back.
"Because we know why I split you and Joey up—it's because you two are the nicest people out of us, meaning you'll be able to put up with bad customers." When Riven gave the girl her answer, Leo chuckled.
"Yeah, when we first did this at the Sigil Gate City, Riven almost got into it with a student who kept calling his weapons fake, even though he used the scanner."
"Fine," Kira said in a defeated tone.
Back on the bottom, Riven and his group found a spot as well, doing the same Jordan did with Joey sitting in the front of the cover, with the group behind him. The group up top did the same, with Kira being the one sitting in front of the cover.
An hour later
"God, can we invest in some pillows? My butt is cramping," Kira thought so everyone could hear.
"I wouldn't. It looks unprofessional," Harkel said.
"More like she would look more like a witch than a merchant," Leo replied, chuckling in his head.
"Maybe we should. We'd probably get more sales if she looked more like a witch than anything," Luka said, joining in the conversation.
"How's business down there?" Nico asked, getting annoyed with the conversation.
"Nothing. I don't know what we should do," Riven replied back.
"My offer still stands and still makes sense. I mean, look around—these people are buying potions more than buying weapons," Jude said.
"What offer was that?" Riven said. He didn't hear Jude because he was too busy focusing on where to place the portal.
"Jude thinks we should sell not only weapons, but also some of the potions, which, looking around, doesn't seem to be a bad idea," Jordan said, answering his brother.
"Hmm," Riven said as he opened the system.
"Wait," Jude stopped him. "We should try and sell the awakening potions. If you want to sell stuff to the point where you don't want to come back, we should sell the awakening potions. They can go for a lot—like I'm talking around a million—but I don't think anyone here's got that, so I would say around 100,000, maybe more, especially when they take into account there are people out there who couldn't even awaken to the first stage." When Jude said this, no one could disagree that her idea seemed flawless, but there was still one problem.
"How can we get people to trust that we have a potion that can help people awaken?" Joey questioned.
"Easily. Give them a taste test," Riven replied back, and he bought 6 awakening potions, putting three of them in the system storage so Jordan and his group could get them, while giving the other three to Joey to put on the cover he was in. He also brought two 2x Strength and Speed potions, giving one to Jordan's group and the other one to Joey.
After another hour, a group of people would approach their small stall. The group had armor and different weapons on their backs—from swords to wands to even a gun.
"Hello," a man said, with Joey greeting him back. "Hmm, I've never seen these potions before. What are they?"
"These are awakening potions. They help a person reach the first awakening, and if you drink enough, you could also reach the second awakening," Joey said truthfully.
"What, do you think we're stupid? There's no such thing as a potion that allows a person to awaken."
"Fine then. Why don't you try it out for yourself? We'll let one of you try out the potion, and when it shows the results, you're going to be glad you took it," Joey said with confidence.
"Hmm," the man said, then he yelled out, "Riley! Get over here!" When the man yelled out that name, a young man then came in front of the group. "Riley here is going to be drinking the potion, and if anything happens to him, then you and your little group will be enemies of the Storm Guild," the man said with a smirk.