Ren sat up suddenly, his chest rising and falling as if something had just slipped through his memory."The pendant…"His eyes darted around the room. It was gone. He checked the desk, his bag, under his pillow—nowhere. Panic flared. That pendant was no ordinary stone. He could feel it.
Just then, something pulsed deep in his mind—a flicker of energy. Ren closed his eyes… and the world around him vanished.
When he opened them, he found himself standing in a strange, glowing space—a vast, starless void that shimmered with soft blue light.
Floating in the center was the pendant, shining more brightly than ever.
"It's like… it's inside my consciousness," Ren whispered.
He reached out, trying to touch the stone, hoping it would pull him back to that ruined city from before—but nothing happened.
"Why isn't it working?"
As he stared at the stone, he noticed it was slowly absorbing energy—its glow intensifying, turning deeper blue.
"It's charging… once it's full, maybe I can go back again."
And just like that, reality snapped back. Ren was sitting in his room again. The hum of the city returned.
Without wasting time, he crossed his legs and sat in a meditation pose, steadying his breath and focusing inward.
This time, he slipped into the mysterious space more easily.
"So… I can enter this place if I focus long enough."
But before he could explore further, a familiar voice pierced the quiet.
"Ren! Get ready for school!"
His mother.
Ren sighed and stood up. "Coming!"
He quickly wrapped everything up, grabbed his bag, and ran out the door."I'm leaving!" he shouted as he sprinted down the street.
Ren walked into the campus and headed straight to his usual seat in class. The room was buzzing with excitement and stress about the upcoming entrance exam.
"My dad got me evolution medicine. I'll crush the first stage!""I'm aiming for middle-level academy at least."
The Academy System was divided into three tiers:
Top-Level Academy – elite, rare, with access to the best resources and training
Middle-Level Academy – respectable, with decent facilities
Lower-Level Academy – basic, often overcrowded, with minimal support
Ren sat quietly, trying to tune it out, until a sneering voice cut through the noise.
"Garbage like you should stop dreaming about the middle-level academy."
Ren looked up.
Standing at the door was Reiji Kurogane—son of the wealthiest man in Luoyan City, and younger brother to Fang Ruihao, the same man who had broken Ren's older brother's legs.
Reiji strutted over, followed by his arrogant clique.
"Even those rats over there are better than you," he sneered."Someone like you doesn't even deserve to lick our boots."
Ren remained silent, enduring it. He clenched his fists but didn't move.
"You should be like your brother," Reiji smirked, "Crawling around in a damn wheelchair under other people's feet."
Snap.
Ren's fist moved before his thoughts could catch up.A crack echoed through the room.Reiji hit the ground hard.
Gasps filled the air.
"How dare you—!" Reiji growled, stunned."Lowly scum like you—"
Ren stepped forward, eyes blazing.
"Say what you want about me. But if you talk about my family again… I'll shut that mouth for good."
For the first time, Reiji looked afraid.Even the other students were shocked.Reiji—with a body strengthened to lift 100 pounds easily—had been knocked down in one punch.By Ren.
Just then, the teacher stormed in.
"What's going on here?! Everyone, back to your seats!"
The class scrambled to obey. The teacher's stern gaze swept across them.
"In four days, you'll take your entrance exam. It will be divided into two parts:
Physical Ability
Mental Strength
Your performance will determine which academy you're placed into. Until then—no classes. Go home and prepare."
The room emptied quickly. Everyone was whispering, throwing sideways glances at Ren as they left
As Ren walked home that evening, the streets of Luoyan City buzzed with talk of the entrance exams. Flyers, holograms, and broadcasts displayed images of proud students standing in front of the grand academy gates.
One name kept appearing—louder, brighter, and more repeated than the rest.
"Fang Ruihao — Top-Level Academy Admit."
There he was, plastered on a massive digital billboard:Wearing a silver academy uniform, arms crossed, smirking like he owned the entire world.
"Fang Ruihao... again," Ren muttered, eyes narrowing.
The same guy who had shattered his brother's legs during last year's trials. The academy had called it "a sparring accident." Fang Ruihao had called it "a lesson."
"If your brother was too weak to fight, he shouldn't have dared to dream," Ruihao once said with a grin.
Now, he was being praised as a future hero, a monster genius, and the hope of Luoyan.
Ren turned away from the billboard and clenched his fists.
"No matter what, I'll make it into that academy. I'll face him one day. For my brother... for myself."
Ren returned home exhausted. Ren lay on his bed, eyes closed, thoughts spiraling.
"Just from absorbing the energy of one monster... I became strong enough to defeat Reiji so easily."
The memory of that punch replayed in his mind — Reiji, the arrogant heir of the Kurogane family, knocked to the ground in front of everyone.
"If one monster gave me that much strength... what if I defeat them all?""What happens then? Do I become... some kind of god?"
A chill ran through him — not from fear, but anticipation.
He focused again, and the world around him shifted.
Blue light enveloped him. He stood once more in the pendant space — quiet, vast, and mysterious.
As he stared at the floating pendant, a soft, unfamiliar voice echoed through the space.
It was the voice of a young woman. Calm, ethereal… powerful.
"It seems you've been chosen."
Ren's eyes widened.
"Who's there?"
"You've been selected as the successor… to my master."
"But before you can truly inherit that title, you must prove yourself."
"To become the real successor, you must enter the Dark Place... and destroy every monster within it."
The words echoed like a prophecy, heavy and final.
Ren stepped closer to the pendant.
"Who are you? What is this pendant? What even is the Dark Place?"
A pause. The voice softened.
"Clear the Dark Place. Defeat every monster that lurks within it.""When you do... all your questions will be answered."
The light began to fade. The space dissolved.
Ren's eyes snapped open.
His room was quiet. Night still clung to the edges of the city.
But something had changed.
"The Dark Place…""So this pendant is more than just power. It's a test."
He stared at the ceiling, breathing deeply.
Whatever this path was, there was no turning back now.