The Zeta Dormitory reeked of sweat, rust, and lost ambition.
As Kael stepped through the narrow corridor, eyes darted to him—some lazy, some hostile, most indifferent. No one welcomed new blood in Zeta. Everyone here had either failed to awaken properly, flunked out of higher classes, or been dumped for "attitude problems."
It wasn't a class.
It was a graveyard.
Kael walked past a boy with one cybernetic leg doing push-ups in the hallway. Past two girls arguing over a shattered beast crystal. Past a pale student twitching uncontrollably in the corner, talking to himself.
> These are the outcasts... and I'm one of them now.
He didn't mind. He'd been an outcast his whole life.
But now he had teeth.
---
"New meat."
A hand slammed against Kael's locker the moment he reached his bunk.
The speaker was tall, muscular, and wore a red bandana over cropped black hair. Tattoos of beast fangs curled around his arms like vines.
Griff Tark, Zeta's so-called king.
He grinned.
"You're the nobody they dumped in after the feeder list overflowed. Got a death wish showing up here, pretty boy?"
Kael didn't answer. He was focused on Griff's neck—how the vein throbbed slightly with each word. How his pulse pounded like war drums.
He blinked and forced himself to look away.
"I'm here to rise," Kael said quietly. "Not to play with dogs."
The hallway froze.
Several students turned. One girl whistled low.
Griff's smile vanished.
> Quest Triggered: Establish Dominance
Target 1 of 3 Identified: Griff Tark
[Begin Duel? Y/N]
Kael accepted without hesitation.
---
Training Pit — Zeta Level
The sanctioned duel area was barely more than a rusted metal platform surrounded by sensor pillars and dim lights. It hummed to life as Kael and Griff stepped onto opposite ends.
Griff rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. "You picked the wrong class to be a smartass in, newbie. I don't hold back."
The examiner on standby nodded. "Combat until knockout or yield. No lethal strikes."
> Unless they're hidden, Kael thought.
The moment the match started, Griff charged like a boulder, essence coating his fists in Beast Bone Skin—a mid-tier ability that turned his forearms into hardened, jagged stone.
Kael barely dodged the first swing. The shockwave from the blow dented the ground where he'd stood.
He rolled, came up low, and focused.
> [Blood Pulse – Lv. 1 Activated]
A crimson thrum exploded from his heart, shooting through his limbs. Time slowed slightly. The world sharpened.
Kael weaved through Griff's next three punches and stepped in.
His palm slammed into Griff's gut—not a hard hit, but targeted.
> [Blood Siphon – Lv. 1]
Target essence drain: 12%
Griff staggered back, coughing violently.
"You... what the hell did you—"
Kael didn't let him finish. He grabbed Griff's arm, twisted, and sent him crashing into the wall. Before he could rise, Kael's knee came down hard on his chest.
"Yield."
Griff's eyes widened. He looked around at the stunned crowd, then growled.
"I—YIELD!"
---
[Duel Complete]
> Victory: Kael Draven
BP Gained: +120
Bloodline Progress: +2%
[Target 1/3 Defeated]
A voice in Kael's mind hissed with satisfaction.
> "Good. Feed without mercy. Rise without fear."
Kael stepped back, ignoring the murmurs around him.
He wasn't here to make friends.
He was here to grow strong enough to protect his sister… and survive whatever this system had cursed him with.
---
Later That Night…
Kael sat on the rooftop of the dorm, staring at the night sky.
The blood moon still hung low—faint now, but watching.
His hands still trembled. Not from fear.
From restraint.
He hadn't needed to feed on Griff's full essence. He could've taken more.
> You wanted to, didn't you?
You liked the taste of his fear.
Kael closed his eyes.
He would control this. He had to.
Just then, the door creaked open behind him.
A voice: soft, clipped, suspicious.
"You fought well for someone with no essence core."
Kael turned.
It was Lyra Voss.
Silver-blonde hair. Ice-blue eyes. Dressed in a sleek combat uniform that shimmered with the light of a faint healing aura.
One of the top-ranked students, sent down to Zeta "for attitude problems."
She stared at him like she already knew his secrets.
"Kael Draven, right?" she asked.
He nodded.
"I'm watching you," she said, narrowing her eyes. "People like you don't rise that fast without hiding something."
Then she was gone, leaving only silence and suspicion in her wake.
---
End of Chapter 3