The academy did not return to normal after the cafeteria incident.
By evening, sealed barriers covered half the campus. Patrol instructors moved in pairs. Healing wards glowed faintly in the corridors. Whispers followed every step I took.
"An Outside entity appeared…"
"It targeted Blackthorn…"
"The Hero fought it…"
"The Saint interfered…"
Every version of the rumor was wrong in a different way.
Rex and I were escorted back to our room by two nervous-looking guards who absolutely did not want to be anywhere near me.
The moment the door closed, Rex collapsed onto the floor.
"…I survived my first cosmic horror," he muttered. "Is this what noble life is like?"
"No," I said. "This is what my life is like."
He stared at the ceiling.
"…I want a refund."
I sat on the bed and exhaled slowly.
My body still felt heavy from the pressure of the entity.
Not injured.
Just… tired.
[CURRENT STATUS – KYLE VON BLACKTHORN]
Strength: 29
Agility: 29
Endurance: 33
Intelligence: 19
Charm: 36
Luck: 25
Embarrassment Resistance: 53/100
Passive Titles:
Cringe Armor (Lv1)
Tone Breaker (Lv1)
Special Flags:
Marked as Miswritten
Watched by Outside Fate
Under Hero Suspicion
Under Saint Observation
Execution Countdown:1 Year, 363 Days
"System," I asked quietly, "did today change my fate?"
[ANSWER: YES.]
[DIRECTION: UNKNOWN.]
That was not comforting.
---
Less than an hour later, every student in the academy was summoned to the central coliseum.
Thousands gathered in tense silence.
Instructors lined the arena edges.
At the highest platform stood the Academy Headmaster.
An old man with white hair, eyes hidden behind a veil of glowing sigils.
The air itself felt restrained around him.
"The academy suffered an unprecedented spatial intrusion today," the Headmaster announced. "No student deaths occurred. This is fortunate."
A ripple of relieved murmurs passed through the crowd.
"However," he continued calmly, "this incident confirms that the balance of fate surrounding this year's intake is… abnormal."
My spine stiffened.
"Therefore," the Headmaster said, "the Entrance Exam will proceed immediately—under a modified format."
The murmurs turned into shock.
"So the rumors are true…"
"They're accelerating the trial?"
"That never happens…"
Rex grabbed my sleeve.
"Why do I feel like this is about you?"
"Because it probably is."
The Headmaster raised a hand.
"This will be the Fate Trial."
The name alone made my system flicker.
[EVENT DETECTED: MAJOR ARC – FATE TRIAL]
"Unlike past examinations," the Headmaster continued, "this trial will not simply measure strength. It will measure compatibility with the world itself."
That sentence made my blood run cold.
"You will be placed into temporary teams," he said.
"Your survival, progress, and outcomes inside the trial zone will determine your ranking."
A wave of light swept across the coliseum.
Glowing sigils began forming in the air above our heads.
Team assignments.
Rex squinted up.
"…Kyle."
"Don't say it," I warned.
"My sigil is glowing red."
"So is mine."
We slowly looked at each other.
"That seems bad," Rex whispered.
---
Names began to appear in the air, grouped into clusters of four.
Shouts erupted as friends were separated and rivals were shoved together.
Then I saw mine.
TEAM 7 – FATE TRIAL
Kyle von Blackthorn Aether Vale Seraphina Dawncrest Rex Calder
The arena went silent.
Not dramatically.
Uncomfortably.
Then the noise exploded.
"THAT'S RIGGED!"
"What kind of team is that?"
"You put the Hero, the Saint, and the Villain together?!"
Rex stared at the glowing names.
"…This is either a blessing," he said slowly,
"or the academy is trying to murder us efficiently."
Aether turned toward me from across the arena.
His eyes narrowed slightly.
Seraphina stood on my other side.
Close enough that I could feel the cold from her aura.
She read the team list once.
Twice.
Then looked at me.
"You again," she said quietly.
"I didn't pick this either," I replied.
Rex raised a hand.
"I would like to formally request reassignment to a normal death-team instead of whatever this is."
Ignored.
The Headmaster's voice rang out:
"Teams are absolute. Refusal is equivalent to withdrawal from the academy."
No one withdrew.
---
"The Fate Trial will take place within a sealed dimensional zone," the Headmaster said.
"It contains monsters, fractured terrain, and unstable fate nodes."
Unstable fate nodes.
That sounded tailored for my destruction.
"Each team is given three objectives," he continued.
Stabilize a Fate Node Retrieve a Core Relic Ensure at least two members exit alive
Rex raised his hand.
"Only two?"
The Headmaster gave him a neutral look.
"Yes."
Rex slowly lowered his hand.
"…I don't like that phrasing."
"Time limit," the Headmaster said, "is 72 hours inside the zone."
Aether's grip tightened.
Seraphina remained motionless.
I felt my system light up like a warning siren.
[SPECIAL NOTICE:]
[YOUR FATE LINE WILL BE DIRECTLY TESTED INSIDE THE TRIAL]
[SURVIVAL DIFFICULTY MULTIPLIER: x3]
"Of course it will," I muttered.
---
Teams were given one hour to prepare before transfer.
We gathered near a quiet outer platform.
No one spoke for a few seconds.
The silence was heavy.
Aether finally broke it.
"I won't pretend this team is stable," he said. "But inside the trial, fighting each other will get us killed."
"Agreed," I said.
His eyes flickered.
"You avoided answering my questions earlier."
"You avoided killing me," I replied. "We both made compromises."
Rex looked between us.
"Is this what top-tier teamwork looks like? Because I'm uncomfortable."
Seraphina spoke without looking at either of us.
"The entity did not target the Hero," she said.
"It did not target me."
Her golden eyes finally turned toward me.
"It targeted you."
Thanks.
"I noticed."
That was not an accusation in her tone.
It was a statement of interest.
"You create deviations," she continued. "The trial will react to you more strongly than to any of us."
Aether's jaw tightened.
"You're saying he's a danger to the team."
"I am saying he is a variable," Seraphina corrected calmly.
All eyes turned to me.
Rex slung an arm around my shoulders.
"Well, the variable makes killer bread jokes and sings to demons. We'll adapt."
No one laughed.
I swallowed.
"I'll do my best not to get us wiped," I said honestly.
Aether's gaze hardened.
"You'd better," he replied. "Because if this trial turns into another massacre, I won't hesitate inside it."
"I wouldn't expect you to."
Seraphina tilted her head slightly.
"This will be… informative."
That was somehow more unsettling than hostility.
---
A massive magic formation ignited beneath the arena.
The air warped.
Space twisted.
Students vanished in columns of light as teams were transferred one by one.
"Team 7," the Headmaster called. "Prepare for transfer."
Rex grabbed my sleeve again.
"I just want it on record," he whispered,
"that I did not agree to any destiny-related nonsense."
Aether activated his sword aura.
Seraphina's mana crystallized faintly around her.
The magic circle beneath us flared.
[DIMENSIONAL TRANSFER INITIATED]
[FATE TRIAL ZONE – ENTRY POINT 14]
The world folded.
---
We landed on cracked black stone under a violet sky.
The air hummed with unstable mana.
In the distance:
Floating ruins.
Shattered mountains.
And massive glowing fractures in the sky like scars across reality.
My system reeled.
[TRIAL ENVIRONMENT CONFIRMED]
[FATE INSTABILITY: SEVERE]
[OUTSIDE OBSERVATION: POSSIBLE]
Rex swallowed.
"…Why does the sky look like it's been punched."
Aether scanned the terrain.
"Hostile zone," he said. "Stay alert."
Seraphina closed her eyes briefly.
"There are Watcher traces here," she said.
"Old ones. Dormant."
Old.
Dormant.
Great combination.
I felt it then.
The pressure.
Different from before.
Not focused on me directly.
But everywhere.
As if the world here was already partly under correction.
[WARNING: YOU ARE INSIDE A HIGH-RISK FATE INTERFERENCE FIELD]
Then, without warning—
The cracked stone beneath us shifted.
Black mist poured from between the fractures.
Something rose from the ground.
Not one.
Not two.
A whole pack.
Tall, skeletal creatures made of warped shadow and frozen script.
Their empty eye sockets glowed faintly blue as they turned toward us in unison.
[ENEMY TYPE IDENTIFIED: FATE WRAITH – LOW TIER]
[THREAT RATING: MODERATE (SCALE: TRIAL-WIDE)]
Rex slowly drew his fire focus.
"…Kyle."
"Yes?"
"Please tell me your 'cringe powers' also work on monster packs."
"I have never tested that."
"…Fantastic."
Aether stepped forward, sword blazing.
Seraphina raised one pale hand.
I took a shaky breath.
"Team 7," Aether said firmly,
"Formation."
The Wraiths shrieked in static unison and charged.
The Fate Trial had officially begun