Morning came quietly.
Kaelion awoke before the bell rang, as usual. But today, his Core pulsed stronger—fuller. Every breath he took resonated deeper in his chest.
> [Primordial Core Progress: 29% → 30% Reached.]
[New Ability Awakened: Core Sense – Range 12 meters.]
[System Upgrade Unlocked: Combat Memory Slot 1 Active.]
He rose from his slab, the stone warm beneath his bare feet.
Today wouldn't be like the others.
There was movement in the air. Tension in the halls.
And when he stepped outside, the summons was already waiting.
A courier, dressed in blue robes embroidered with gold, bowed before handing him a sealed scroll—heavy with wax and glyphs.
> Kaelion Draythorne,
You are hereby selected for public demonstration under the Academy's First Stage Protocol.
Your performance will be witnessed by noble observers, councilmembers, and ranked students from Classes D and above.
Trial Format: Open Combat Scenario – Team Format.
Objective: Demonstrate core mastery, leadership, and combat control.
Failure is permanent. Honor or fade.
—Council Chair Soral Valen
Kaelion stared at the scroll for a moment longer.
They were trying to expose him.
Test him.
Or break him.
Good.
He was tired of shadows anyway.
---
Two hours later…
The Sunsteel Arena towered above the inner Academy garden. A monument of light and enchantment, its platforms floated in a spiral, each ring representing a different stage of battle.
Today, only the first ring was lit.
Already, the stands were packed.
Noble families. House officials. Students of every rank, many wearing polished insignias and family emblems.
Kaelion stood at the base platform, dressed in dark combat attire, Core glowing faintly beneath his chestplate. Around him, four other F-Class students stood—his "team," handpicked by the council.
None of them knew him.
One girl, tall with a gleaming halberd, nodded in distant respect. The others barely glanced at him.
He didn't mind.
He hadn't come for allies.
He'd come to show them what the Corebreaker meant.
---
Above the arena, in the viewing spire, Headmaster Veyros stood with crossed arms.
"He accepted," Sora Vaelis murmured beside him. "Without hesitation."
Velra Aurelian stood at the back of the room, her arms folded.
"He's not playing their game," she said.
Veyros didn't look away from the ring.
"He's playing his own."
---
A loud chime echoed.
The battle ring shimmered.
A voice rang across the arena, amplified by ancient magic:
> "F-Class Team Four—Enter Combat Simulation Phase One."
"Enemies: Tier-3 Constructs. Number: Twelve."
"Begin."
The first wave hit fast.
Six spectral warriors—light-forged and fast as lightning—rushed in.
Kaelion's team scrambled. One boy shouted commands no one listened to. Another panicked and blocked without countering. The halberd girl managed to hold one off, barely.
Kaelion stood still.
His eyes watched everything.
Where they moved.
Where they didn't.
Where the enemies left gaps.
Then—
He vanished.
Void Pulse Step.
He reappeared mid-air above one construct, striking downward with a blow so precise, its core shattered in a single motion.
He flowed to the next.
And the next.
Three down in under six seconds.
His team stared as the rest of the constructs paused—reacting to his overwhelming burst of motion.
"Pull left," Kael said calmly.
The halberd girl blinked. "What?"
"NOW."
She obeyed, and the constructs followed. Kael baited them into a curve, used Echo Trace to flank, then Rift Stepped past the last two.
By the time the rest of the team recovered, only Kaelion was left standing in the center of the ring—dust swirling around his boots, five broken enemies at his feet.
> [Phase One Complete. Efficiency: 92%.]
[System Comment: Leadership potential unlocked.]
---
The crowd was silent.
Then murmurs rose—uneasy, uncertain.
From the high seat, one noblewoman leaned forward. Her eyes, violet and sharp, narrowed on Kaelion.
Syrienne of House Nyvahl.
"We may have a real one this year," she whispered.
Her son sat beside her—silver-haired, blade resting against his leg.
The boy Kaelion had already bested, masked, in the dead of night.
And his eyes burned with recognition.