Kael's eyes snapped open.
Moonlight had been replaced by the soft, grey light of dawn. His clock read 6:40 AM. One hour had passed. An entire year of hell had been endured.
He rose, and the movement felt alien. There was no stiffness, no grogginess. It was a single, fluid motion, his body humming with a coiled energy that felt like a high-voltage wire. He walked to the full-length mirror and froze. The skinny, wiry student he knew was gone. In his place stood a warrior—shoulders broad, frame honed to lethal perfection. But it was his eyes that were the most different. The weary gaze of a student had been replaced by the cold, unwavering calm of someone who had died a thousand times and gotten back up.
A stranger stared back at him. A profound sadness washed over him, a mourning for the simple young man who had entered the Training Grounds and never come out.
Then, the final window appeared.
[STATUS]
Name: Kael
Title: The Conductor, [Master Combatant]
Stats:
Strength: 95
Agility: 98
Stamina: 102
Willpower: 45
Resonance: 15
The numbers were monstrous. His body was no longer a liability. It was a weapon.
A soft knock came from his door. "Kael? You up? You'll be late for class," his mother's voice called.
Class. The word felt absurd. He took a deep breath, forcing the warrior in the mirror to retreat, pulling the mask of the student back over his face. "Yeah, Mom, I'm up!"
He managed to get through the morning routine on autopilot, his family seemingly oblivious to the stranger in their midst. But as he sat in his room, backpack ready, his mind wasn't on his 9 AM history lecture.
It was on a single word.
Greece.
The World Quest was a global checklist, and he was stuck on the first step. He needed money. A lot of it. And fast. His thoughts immediately went to the single, tangible asset he possessed. He opened his inventory window, focusing on the purple crystal.
[Item: Core of the Ancient Beast] [Option 2: Extract Mundane Value] Estimated Value: Extremely High.
That was his ticket. But who would buy something like this? He couldn't just post it online.
He spent the next hour diving into the deepest corners of the internet, using his student research skills for a new, darker purpose. After filtering through a dozen charlatans, one name kept appearing, always mentioned in hushed, respectful tones.
Dr. Mei Blackwell. A brilliant but controversial historian and physicist, disavowed by the mainstream for her "fringe" theories on mythological energy signatures. A known collector of impossible artifacts.
He found a secure, anonymous email address associated with one of her research papers. His fingers hovered over the keyboard. This was a massive gamble.
He attached a single, heavily compressed photo of the Void Core. He kept the message short and to the point.
Subject: Anomaly for AppraisalBody:I have come into possession of an object I believe may be of interest to your unique field of research. If you are interested in a private acquisition, name a time and a secure, public location in Jakarta.
He hit send, his heart pounding. The reply came in less than sixty seconds.
Subject: RE: Anomaly for AppraisalBody:Today. 2 PM. The Orchid House at the Taman Mini Indonesia Indah. Come alone.
Kael stared at the screen. The speed of the reply was unsettling. The anonymous sender was professional, efficient, and clearly very interested. He had his meeting. Now, he just had to survive until then.
He slung his backpack over his shoulder and headed to campus. It was the perfect alibi.
Walking onto the university grounds was like stepping into a different dimension. His amplified senses were on overdrive. He could hear whispers from fifty feet away.
"Is that Kael Mahendra? Did he join the boxing team or something?" "No way, he was skinny last week…"
He kept his head down, his hood pulled low, but there was no hiding it. He found his seat at the back of the lecture hall, the professor's drone washing over him.
"And that concludes our look at the Sumpah Palapa," the professor announced. "Before you go, I'd like to thank our distinguished guest for sitting in today, a true leader in the field of speculative histories, Dr. Mei Blackwell."
Kael's blood ran cold.
He looked up. Standing near the front, speaking quietly with his professor, was a woman who was, for lack of a better word, a masterpiece. Her features were a stunning blend of East and West. She was dressed in a flawlessly tailored black blazer and a pencil skirt that hugged a physique honed by more than just time in a library. A silk blouse was buttoned just high enough to remain professional, yet it did little to hide a generous curve that was both elegant and profoundly distracting.
Her sharp, impossibly intelligent eyes swept across the room. For a brief, terrifying moment, her gaze locked directly onto his.
There was no flicker of recognition. Instead, her eyes held a look of pure, unadulterated curiosity, an appraising glint that made him feel like he was an artifact she was considering for her private collection.
As he filed out with the rest of the students, she moved with a disarming grace, intercepting him near the doorway.
"Mr. Mahendra, isn't it?" she asked, her voice a captivating mix of academic authority and a low, subtle charm that was impossible to ignore.
"Uh, yeah. That's me," he managed, his mind racing. She knows my name. The meeting… is it a trap?
"My apologies for being forward," she said, her eyes giving him a quick, analytical once-over that lingered just a second too long. "My field is the study of human history, but I have a keen interest in human potential. The change in your physique is, to be frank, extraordinary."
She saw a dedicated athlete, not a super-powered king about to sell a monster's heart. He felt a wave of relief. This was a coincidence. A terrifying, statistically improbable coincidence.
"I, uh… I got a new personal trainer," he lied.
Dr. Blackwell smiled, a knowing, brilliant expression that held a mischievous glint. "He must be a miracle worker," she said, her tone suggesting she knew it was a lie and was enjoying the game. "Well, my apologies for keeping you. It's simply a pleasure to see such dedication in a young scholar."
She gave a slight nod and turned away, leaving Kael standing in the hallway, his heart pounding. He was on her radar, but not for the reason he thought. It was an unforeseen complication. A new variable.
He walked out into the bright sunlight, his mind a whirlwind. He had a meeting in a few hours with a mysterious buyer he now suspected was the same stunning, intimidatingly brilliant woman who had just dissected him with a single glance.
He pulled out his phone, his thumb hovering over the ride-share app.
Destination: Taman Mini Indonesia Indah.
Time to walk into the lion's den.