Chapter 7: Are You Okay Again?
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The [Moonveil Academy Class of 12-A] group chat was normally quiet this late in the evening, filled with the occasional meme, someone asking about homework, or reminders from the homeroom teacher.
But tonight, it exploded into chaos.
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James Stonefang:
@Michael, someone with an E-level talent like you is simply not qualified to attend this class reunion.
James Stonefang:
Besides, I'm not just referring to you. I don't welcome anyone below C-rank.
James Stonefang:
We are no longer from the same world, so there's no need for us to have too much contact.
James Stonefang:
Dragons don't live with snakes. Remember this! I'm going to Eclipse Academy. You're just ants in the future who won't even be able to see the soles of my feet!
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The message bubble hung in the chat, smug and venomous.
Almost instantly, reactions rolled in—angry emojis, question marks, fire icons.
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Jack Smith:
James, you're just looking down on others! Everyone knew what a nobody you were before. Don't act like you're suddenly a god just because of one awakening!
Ren Wu:
Right! @Michael, what's wrong with being less talented? At least Brother Michael crushed you in grades, combat drills, everything, before Awakening Day!
James Stonefang:
Hahaha! Another clown popped up!
Ren Wu:
You—! ****!
James Stonefang:
Go ahead and keep yelling, clown. I'm better than you in every way.
Oh wait—
@Michael, I almost forgot. You're the ugliest of the ugly.
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Michael, who had been half-leaning against his desk while comparing herb prices on his computer, finally looked down at the chat. His lips curved upward in the faintest of smirks.
"Oh."
He typed one sentence, nothing more.
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Michael:
Well, you're right. But judging by appearance alone… seems like you're uglier than me.
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Silence. Then—
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Jack Smith:
HAHAHAHA! Did you guys see that?
Leo Das:
I'm crying 😂😂😂
"Ugliest of the ugly," James, you literally got checkmated in one line.
Random Classmate:
Bruh, someone screenshot this, this is gold.
Ren Wu:
James, you lost. Just log off.
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The group chat was suddenly filled with laughing stickers, gifs of monkeys rolling, memes flooding in.
James's typing bubble flickered on screen for a full minute… then vanished.
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Michael chuckled softly, shaking his head.
Still the same insecure boy. So easy to topple with one sentence.
He leaned back, fingers tapping against his mouse.
This wasn't the first time he'd seen someone climb high and fast, only to stumble even faster. In his previous life, he had watched dozens of "geniuses" vanish into obscurity after entering the true battlefield of dungeons.
Talent was only the starting point.
Effort, knowledge, and luck… those decided who lived and who died.
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Yet for his classmates, that small comeback meant something different.
Private messages started to trickle into his inbox.
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[Private Chat: Jack Smith → Michael]
Brother, don't let him get to you. You've always been the one I respected. E-rank or not, you're still our Michael.
[Private Chat: Ren Wu → Michael]
Ignore that dog. He's just drunk on his own awakening. We'll always have your back.
[Private Chat: Leo Das → Michael]
You're chill as hell, bro. One sentence and James blew up 🤣. Respect.
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Michael replied to each with his usual calmness.
Michael:
It's okay. I don't mind.
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But those words carried different weight for everyone.
For his classmates, especially those with D and E talents, Michael's quiet composure became a kind of anchor.
To them, it felt like he was refusing to be shaken, carrying himself with dignity despite being "left behind."
For Michael himself… it was simply disinterest.
Why waste time on barking dogs, when tomorrow's dungeon could swallow you whole?
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He clicked away from the chat and opened his research notes on herbal compounds.
Yet even as he compared the volatile properties of Frostleaf and Sunstone Ginseng, his mind drifted—
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The Awakening Divide
Awakening Day had split their generation in two.
Those with C-rank talents and above—warriors, mages, healers were courted by guilds, given subsidies, sometimes even poached by academies in other provinces.
Those with D and E ranks… became background characters. Cannon fodder for dungeon expeditions, assistants in alchemy labs, warehouse clerks in guild outposts.
It was brutal. Transparent. Everyone knew it.
That was why reunions like this had suddenly turned poisonous. Once-equal classmates were now split into "dragons" and "snakes."
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Let James enjoy his moment. The higher the tower, the louder the crash.
Michael's eyes glinted coldly as he adjusted the proportions in his notes.
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The group chat continued to simmer until a new message dropped, carrying the unmistakable authority of a teacher.
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Somiya Daven (Homeroom Teacher):
Alright, enough. Everyone, shut up.
James Stonefang, what nonsense are you spouting? This is a class gathering, not your personal guild recruitment.
Somiya Daven:
I'll decide the location. The whole class must come. That's settled. Silence.
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The group went dead. No one dared type another word.
Michael exhaled, setting his phone aside. Good. That's over.
He turned his focus back to his computer. The online herb market was vast—different vendors, shifting prices, hidden gems. If he could find the right suppliers, he could refine his improved potions at half the market cost.
That was survival.
That was growth.
Not petty squabbles.
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World Note: The College Entrance Dungeon Exam
Every student in Avalora dreamed of the Eclipse Academy exam.
Not because of the test itself—but because it wasn't just a test.
It was a dungeon.
Once a year, nationwide, specially constructed dungeons opened for graduating students. The monsters inside were real. The risks, real. The rewards, also real.
Clear speed, kill count, teamwork—all were graded and ranked.
The top one hundred entered Eclipse Academy, Avalora's pinnacle institution.
The rest… scattered into lesser academies or guild apprenticeship programs.
It wasn't just an exam. It was destiny.
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Michael's cursor hovered over a listing of Azure Moss, one of the base components for spirit-enhancing tonics.
If I can refine thirty improved potions before the exam… my strength might push past what they expect from even B-ranks.
He was calculating efficiency curves when his phone buzzed again.
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Aurelia Frost:
Are you there, Michael?
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The notification flashed across the screen.
Michael didn't notice. His phone was on silent mode, set aside.
Five minutes later—
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Aurelia Frost:
…
Aurelia Frost:
Michael?
Aurelia Frost poked you.
Aurelia Frost pats your back.
Aurelia Frost:
…I have something to ask you. If you see this, please reply.
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Half an hour passed. Still nothing.
On the other side of the city, Aurelia Frost lay sprawled on her canopy bed, her long hair spilling across silken pillows. The faint glow of her phone screen reflected in her icy blue eyes.
Her slender fingers drummed restlessly against the stuffed bear in her lap.
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He still hasn't replied?
Her lips pressed into a thin line.
She, Aurelia Frost—the campus beauty, the Frost family's genius, Avalora's rising S-rank mage—was being ignored.
Ignored!
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Her pride prickled. She dug her nails into the bear's plush face.
"Not answering… not replying… ignoring me, Michael? Is my message so unworthy that you can't even glance at it?"
She squeezed harder, her voice turning into a hiss.
"What takes you an hour to do? Training? Research? Or are you just… sulking?"
Her chest rose and fell rapidly, but under the anger was something else an ache.
Because deep down, she remembered.
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Before Awakening Day, Michael had always been the one just ahead of her.
The boy who aced theory exams, who sparred evenly with instructors, who explained mana flow to classmates in patient detail.
She had admired him. Competed with him.
Sometimes, even… looked up to him.
But then the Awakening Ceremony shattered that.
She awakened S-rank Flame Sovereignty.
He awakened… E-rank Strength Amplification.
Their fates diverged in an instant.
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Aurelia's grip slackened. The stuffed bear fell limply onto her stomach.
Is this really all it takes to break you, Michael? To make you stop replying to me?
She whispered into the quiet room, voice trembling faintly.
"Maybe… we're really not from the same world anymore. Michael, I've caught up to you. No… I've surpassed you. Now it's you who can't keep up with me."
Her eyes dimmed.
Yet even as she spoke those words, something twisted in her chest. A reluctance. A grief she didn't want to name.
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"Never mind."
She exhaled and lay back, her short silk pajamas slipping to reveal pale shoulders.
To the outside world she was a flawless ice queen. Alone, she was just a girl grappling with feelings she didn't understand.
Her phone buzzed.
She glanced down.
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Michael:
Sorry, I was busy just now and didn't see it.
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Aurelia froze.
Her heart, traitorously, leapt.
Then she bit her lip, furious at herself, furious at him, furious at this entire mess.
"…Busy, huh?" she whispered, staring at the single glowing sentence.
The stuffed bear suffered another strangling squeeze.
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To be continued…