At exactly 9 p.m., a soft knock echoed through the dorm hallway.
A small crate sat in front of their door, still steaming with condensation. Inside, four narrow glass tubes glowed faint blue, capped tightly. Alongside them was a folded note stamped with the Awakener Academy seal.
> "Drink one vial before sleep. Every night. Supplies are for one month. This will assist with internal stabilization."
Brayk held one up and turned it toward the light. "Looks like melted mana crystal."
Kael sniffed it. "Smells like raw energy."
Without further question, they drank. The liquid was thick and cold. It slid down their throats with a pulse that hummed through their bones. Then came silence. A heavy drowsiness fell over the room. They spoke only a little that night. Small talk. Laughter. A moment of peace.
Sleep came fast.
...
The alarm was not kind.
At 6 a.m., a blaring siren tore through the halls, loud enough to rattle the windows. Kael bolted upright. Liora groaned and rolled off her bed. Brayk cursed something about mornings being evil. Rin was already halfway dressed.
The screen on the wall blinked.
> "Wake Up Protocol. Eat. Dress. Ready by 8 a.m."
They scrambled. The canteen was packed by the time they arrived. Everyone looked half-awake. Third-layer kids were sluggish. First and second-layer students moved with practiced rhythm. Some from the five great families sat apart. Clean uniforms. Perfect posture. They didn't talk. They observed.
By 8 a.m., drills began. From running laps around the massive building to strength tests and stamina training, their bodies were pushed to the limit.
9 a.m. to 10 was a strange hour. Everyone was scanned, poked, and tested. The staff checked their muscle density, mana circulation, blood pressure, and energy response. Kael hated this part. It cost points, not much, maybe twenty or fifty each time, but it added up fast. The academy gave nothing for free.
From 10 to noon, they were expected to focus. Cultivation sessions. Some meditated. Some stood still in intense concentration. A few from the higher layers already knew what they were doing. Especially the top families. They channeled mana into their bodies with ease.
The rest struggled.
Third-layer students like Kael and the others learned by failure. The teachers didn't explain. You had to figure it out or fall behind.
Liora, for instance, couldn't use magic. Not yet. She relied on the artifact that acted for her, casting spells based on her intent. She watched others shape fire or light with their hands and clenched her fists in frustration.
But she kept going.
After lunch, they were required to enter the dungeon. At least one hour each day. More if they wanted better rewards. Then sharp cultivation again from 3 to 4. Rest from 4 to 5. More tests at 5 to 6.
After that, freedom.
Or whatever passed for it here.
Every day was strict. Monday to Friday, this routine repeated like clockwork.
---
Two weeks passed.
They had survived. Barely.
Then the news came.
It started as a whisper in the dining hall. A headline scrolling across the central screen. A smuggler caught. A group from the third layer arrested for stealing dungeon artifacts and selling them on the black market.
Kael didn't care at first.
Until he saw the location.
The name of the district.
The warehouse his brother worked in.
The broadcast continued with shaky footage of police dragging people away. Among them was a thin young man with gray eyes and dirt-stained clothes. His wrists were cuffed. His head down.
Kael froze.
His spoon dropped from his hand and clattered to the tray.
That was his brother.
Calen.
No... that couldn't be right. His brother was sick. He could barely stand some days. He wouldn't—he couldn't—
"He didn't do it," Kael whispered.
The broadcast said nothing about evidence. The real culprits were part of a second-layer gang. Kael knew how those things worked. Wrong place, wrong time. Calen must have been there to pick something up. He must have been helping someone. Or resting.
But now he was gone.
And his mother...
Kael felt his heart twist. She was home. Alone. Waiting.
He rushed to the exit, but the guards blocked him.
"No departures allowed until Saturday," they said.
Kael begged. They didn't budge.
"To leave mid-week costs 1,000 points per hour. The train is 5,000 per ride."
It was Thursday.
Kael waited.
Friday dragged on like hell. He barely ate. He barely spoke. When the clock struck Saturday, he spent every point he had and ran.
He reached the third layer late in the day.
Too late.
His mother had passed the night before. Alone in their broken home. No one to bring her water. No one to feed her. No one to hold her hand.
Kael fell to his knees.
He cried. He screamed until his throat went raw. Neighbors watched in silence. Some offered him food. Others turned away.
The next day, he returned to the academy, hollow-eyed.
He didn't speak to anyone.
Not even when the system screen blinked and showed his account balance.
Negative ten thousand.
The penalties were severe. His absence had cost him more than he could repay.
But he didn't care.
He sat in the hallway outside their room, holding a small bag of cheap snacks. He couldn't even remember buying them.
Tears streamed down his face.
Then the door opened.
Rin stood there, holding a warm meal in her hands.
She paused when she saw him.
"Kael?" she asked.
He didn't answer.
She knelt beside him.
"Kael, what happened?"
He clenched his fists. His voice cracked as he shouted, "My mother died!"
Rin flinched.
She set the food down and wrapped her arms around him without a word. Kael trembled. He spoke through gasps and sobs. He told her everything. About Calen. About the arrest. About how helpless he had been.
Rin listened.
She said nothing about her real identity, even though a single call from her family could have helped. Could have fixed it all. But she was here to hide. To be normal. To escape that life.
So she just held him.
And when he finally cried himself to sleep, she laid him on her lap, her hand gently stroking his hair.
Her heart pounded.
Why did she feel this way?
Why did it hurt so much to see him broken?
---
The next morning in the dungeon, something inside Kael snapped.
He moved like a storm unleashed.
Every enemy he faced was torn apart. His power surged far beyond what his level allowed. His strikes cracked walls. His aura bent the air. The testing device exploded when he touched it.
By the end of the session, his maximum strength had reached 20,000.
He hadn't noticed.
But the testers had.
They stared at the results in disbelief and immediately contacted the main office.
Within the hour, Kael was summoned.
He stood in the company director's office, still bruised, still exhausted, and answered every question with brutal honesty.
He told them about his brother.
His mother.
Her death.
The man across from him—a stern middle-aged director with gray eyes—leaned back in his chair and sighed.
"I see," he said quietly. "So this is what pain can do."
Kael said nothing.
The director studied him.
"Your numbers are abnormal. But not impossible. It seems your grief has forced your soul to awaken faster than most. Emotional triggers can shape power. And yours is... deeply rooted."
Kael lowered his eyes.
"This won't bring her back," the director said gently. "But it might help you protect what remains."
Kael clenched his jaw and nodded.
"I'll never let it happen again."
The director offered a faint smile.
"Good. Then prove it."
The days moved again, caught in rhythm.
Training, dungeon runs, healing bruises, calculating points. Then again. And again. Four more weeks passed in the blink of a tired breath.
Kael fell back into the routine like someone drowning in purpose. He didn't ask questions anymore. He didn't chase comfort. He worked. Pushed. Endured.
So did the rest.
Brayk's strength had exploded. His punches cracked stone with ease. His armor took hit after hit, and he barely flinched. Liora spent her nights studying ancient formations, whispering spells to the artifact on her wrist. Rin grew quieter, more cautious. She watched Kael when she thought he wasn't looking. She never mentioned that night again.
And now it was time.
The System Evaluation.
One of the few days the entire academy looked forward to and feared in equal measure. Students gathered early that morning, packed shoulder to shoulder inside the arena tower. Giant screens hovered in the air above, flickering to life as the test chambers opened.
A staff member stood at the front, voice loud and practiced.
"You will be separated based on channeling level. Single. Double. Triple. Quadruple. Rare cases will attempt higher. Pentuple to Octuple are advanced paths only reached by a handful. Those attempting above triple must sign personal waiver."
A long silence followed.
Kael stared at the columns of stone beyond the gate, each glowing with a different intensity. They were doors to power. But also judgment. Each level would expose exactly what someone was worth—what they had awakened.
And who would want them after.
Above them, banners of the Ten Guilds slowly descended, floating on streams of mana. All eyes turned to them.
Guild Rankings:
1. Azure Crown
2. Ironhowl Dominion
3. Sable Arc
4. Lanceward Hall
5. Ghostveil
6. Duskmire Pact
7. Scarblade
8. Starshard Bloom
9. Thorn Legion
10. Oathforge
These were the elite forces of the Awakener world. Titans that raised heroes. Corporations that crafted legends. Each one held the power to change a life with a single offer.
Brayk let out a low whistle. "I'll take number two," he said with a grin.
Liora rolled her eyes. "You haven't even passed the test yet."
"Details."
Kael wasn't listening.
He felt it already. A chill in his bones. His numbers hadn't changed much since that day in the director's office. His punches now landed around five thousand power. His healing peaked at one hundred per burst. That was his limit for now.
It didn't feel like enough.
When the tests began, they were called one by one.
Brayk stepped forward first.
He slammed his fists into the column marked Quadruple Channel. Light roared across its surface, surging up into the air like thunder made flesh. A reading blinked across the screen.
10,000 Strength. 56,000 Defense. Class: Epic.
Gasps echoed. Even the guilds leaned forward.
The announcer's voice rang clear.
"Candidate Brayk Thorne. Artifact Tier: Epic. Strength Tier: Maxed. Defense Tier: Outstanding. Offers from Guilds Nine through Two."
Brayk turned back to his team, smug as sin. "Told you."
He walked to the Ironhowl Dominion table, his grin never fading.
Then came Liora.
The test shimmered the moment she touched it. Her artifact pulsed, reacting to her will. The readings went wild.
Magic Power: 90,000. Mana Capacity: 11,000. Buff Potential: Unclassified.
But when she tried to cast, the spell burned out halfway. Her mana dropped like water from a cracked bottle. She stepped back, biting her lip.
Still, the voice spoke with surprise.
"Candidate Liora Vess. Magical Output: Extreme. Capacity: Underdeveloped. Potential: Rare. Qualified by All Ten Guilds."
Whispers spread like fire.
She barely hesitated before walking to the Azure Crown table. Her eyes never left Kael's.
Then it was his turn.
Kael stepped forward.
He placed both hands on the stone and felt it scan him, like something crawling under his skin. Light flickered.
Physical Output: 5,000. Healing Output: 100. Channel Grade: Triple. No Specialty Detected.
The room was quiet.
The voice hesitated.
"Candidate Kael Vire. Qualified for non-ranking guilds. May apply as unaffiliated hunter or initiate personal formation."
The stone dimmed.
Kael stepped back.
He kept his head up, but his chest felt hollow. Rin reached for him, but he didn't see her.
Others moved past. Cheers and cries followed the top scorers. Some wept when no guilds accepted them. Some left in silence.
Rin waited until the very end.
When her name was called, she stepped forward.
The moment she touched the test, the room froze.
Light exploded across the panel. An aura unlike anything before surged from her body. But then… the system locked.
A red warning appeared in the air above her head.
Unauthorized Registration. Grey-level Authority Detected. Clearance Required. Test Cancelled.
Silence fell like stone.
The guilds shifted uncomfortably.
A representative from Azure Crown stood.
"She didn't disclose her identity," he said.
Others nodded. Agreement spread. Judgment, too.
Kael turned sharply. "What does that mean?"
No one answered.
Rin stepped back from the pillar. Her hands were shaking.
"I wasn't trying to hide anything," she said softly.
"You're grey," someone hissed. "You're not supposed to be here."
"I'm here like everyone else."
"No, you're not."
Rin turned and walked away without another word.
Kael watched her leave.
Something burned behind his ribs.
He wanted to speak. Wanted to stop her. But he didn't.
Because right now, she didn't want help. Not even from him.
And maybe… he understood that too well.
...
That night, the team returned to their room quietly.
Brayk tried to lighten the mood, but no one laughed. Liora stared out the window, hands clenched. Kael sat on the floor, his back to the wall. Rin hadn't returned yet.