"Who's next?"
The question hung in the morning air, heavy and suffocating. Leo stood in the center of the sparring ring, his chest heaving slightly, staring down the line of stunned students. Brock, the Level 3 Fire User who had terrorized the lower ranks for years, was still gasping on the mat, clutching his bruised side.
For a long, stretched moment, no one moved. The hierarchy of the academy—the unwritten rule that said High Tiers were gods and Zeros were dirt—had just been shattered by a single, brutal liver punch.
Then, a slow, solitary clap broke the silence.
Instructor Harrow stepped forward, his mechanical arm whirring softly as he adjusted the sleeve of his uniform. He looked at Brock, then at Leo, his expression unreadable.
"That's enough, Thorne," Harrow said, his voice cutting through the tension like a knife. "We're here to train soldiers, not stage executions."
Leo didn't flinch. He lowered his fists but kept his eyes on the instructor. The Rage Meter in his peripheral vision was slowly ticking down, but the adrenaline was still pumping through his veins, making his senses hyper-aware. He could hear the whispers starting among the students.
"Did you see that speed?" "Brock was holding back, right?" "No way a Zero moves like that."
Harrow signaled to the medical bot hovering on the sidelines. "Get Brock to the infirmary. Cracked rib, likely. Ego bruised beyond repair."
As the bot lifted the groaning fire user onto a stretcher, Harrow turned his full attention to Leo. He walked closer, towering over the boy. Up close, Leo could smell the oil and ozone coming from the instructor's cybernetic limb.
"You've been hiding claws, haven't you, boy?" Harrow murmured, low enough that only Leo could hear.
Leo stiffened. "I just got tired of being a punching bag, sir."
Harrow hummed, a rough sound in his throat. "Everyone gets tired. Not everyone fights back. And fewer still win." He stepped back, addressing the class. "Assessment over! Thorne wins. The rest of you, stop gawking and hit the showers. If I see anyone slacking off because they're 'shocked,' I'll have you running laps until your lungs collapse."
The students scattered, but the dynamic had changed. As Leo walked toward the locker rooms, the crowd parted. Shoulders that would have normally bumped into him pulled away. Eyes that used to look through him now watched him with a mix of fear and curiosity.
He was no longer invisible. He was a threat.
Leo grabbed his bag and skipped the showers. He needed to be alone. He needed to check the System.
He found a secluded spot behind the old equipment shed near the athletic fields. It was a blind spot in the security camera network—a trick he had learned during his days as a porter when he needed a place to hide from bullies.
He sat on a rusted bench and exhaled, letting the tension drain out of his shoulders.
[Rage Meter Stabilized: 15%] [Status: Fatigue setting in. Consumes BP]
Leo ignored the fatigue. He focused on the notification that had popped up right after Brock hit the ground.
[Inventory] [Item: Basic Skill Book (Randomized)] [Description: A data crystal containing the neural imprint of a low-tier combat skill. Compatible with the Shifter System.]
"Open Inventory," Leo whispered.
A small, dimensional rift opened in the holographic interface—a grid of empty boxes. In the first box sat a glowing white book. It wasn't a physical book made of paper; it looked more like a translucent tablet made of light.
"How do I use it?"
[Instruction: Focus your will on the item to materialize it. To learn the skill, physical contact is required.]
Leo concentrated. The book shimmered and materialized in his hands. It was warm to the touch and hummed with faint energy. On the cover, the text shifted and swirled before settling into legible English.
[Skill Book: Phantom Step]
Leo raised an eyebrow. "Phantom Step?"
[Analysis: Phantom Step (Agility Type)] [Effect: Allows the user to perform a short-range burst of movement that leaves a visual afterimage. Useful for dodging or closing distance.] [Range: 3 Meters.] [Cost: 2 BP per use.]
Leo frowned. "2 BP? I barely have enough BP to keep my heart beating."
[System Note: Skills are investments. Learning this skill increases your combat versatility in Human Form. Additionally, due to your Dominant Form (Wolf), this skill has high affinity.]
[Affinity Bonus Detected: Wolf Form prioritizes speed and burst damage. Learning this skill will grant +1 Proficiency immediately.]
It was a gamble. Everything with this System was a gamble. But Leo remembered the feeling of dodging Brock's fireball. He had been fast, but mostly because he had anticipated the attack. Against a faster opponent—or a beast—anticipation wouldn't be enough. He needed raw speed.
"Learn," Leo said.
He placed his hand on the cover. The book shattered into particles of light that shot up his arm and into his chest.
A sharp headache spiked behind his eyes, followed by a rush of information. Muscle memory that wasn't his own flooded his nervous system. He saw himself moving, stepping, sliding through shadows. He felt the specific twitch in his calves required to trigger the burst.
[Skill Learned: Phantom Step (Level 1)] [Proficiency: 5% (Beginner)] [Current BP: 40/55]
Leo stood up. He wanted to test it.
He looked at the tree about ten feet away. He focused on the sensation the book had implanted in his brain—the coil of energy in his legs.
Move.
He pushed off the ground.
Whoosh.
The world blurred for a fraction of a second. Leo felt a tug in his gut, and suddenly, he was standing next to the tree. He stumbled, his balance thrown off by the sudden displacement, and slammed his shoulder into the bark.
He looked back at the bench. A faint, blurry outline of himself was just fading away in the air.
"Whoa," Leo breathed, rubbing his shoulder. "That... that was fast."
[BP Consumed: 2] [Current BP: 38/55]
It was incredible. With this, he could close the gap on ranged users before they could even aim. But the cost was steep. Twenty uses and he'd be starving again.
A rustle in the bushes made Leo spin around, his fists coming up instinctively.
"Who's there?" he snapped.
A figure emerged from the foliage. It wasn't a student. It was a girl, dressed in the grey jumpsuit of the academy's technical staff, but customized with patches and oil stains. She had messy auburn hair tied back with a piece of wire and goggles resting on her forehead.
She held up her hands, grinning. She didn't look scared. She looked impressed.
"Easy, tiger," she said. "Or should I say, wolf?"
Leo froze. His blood ran cold. "What did you say?"
The girl walked closer, chewing on a piece of gum. She looked to be about his age, maybe a year younger. "I saw the fight. Nice punch. But I'm talking about the way you move. Humans don't move like that. Beasts do."
Leo's heart hammered. Did she know? Did she see me shift last night?
[System Alert: Potential Threat Detected. Pulse Rate Elevated.]
"I don't know what you're talking about," Leo said, stepping back. "I'm just fast."
"Sure," the girl said, stopping a few feet away. She extended a hand. "I'm Rian. I fix the training bots. Which means I see all the data. Your stats... they're weird, Leo Thorne."
Leo didn't shake her hand. "Weird how?"
"Yesterday, your file said your agility was a 4. Today, based on the velocity of that punch and that little teleport trick you just did? You're spiking way higher. And your bio-readings..." She tapped the side of her goggles. "You're running hot. Like, furnace hot."
Leo narrowed his eyes. "Are you going to report me?"
Rian laughed, blowing a bubble and popping it. "Report you? To who? The military? Screw them. They pay me peanuts to fix their junk." She looked him up and down, her expression turning serious. "Look, I don't care what kind of steroid you're taking or what illegal thing you found. But Brock isn't going to let this slide. He's a petty little prince."
"I can handle Brock," Leo said.
"Maybe," Rian shrugged. "But Brock has friends. High-tier friends. And you? You have a rusted bench." She reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, metallic chip. She tossed it to him.
Leo caught it reflexively. "What's this?"
"Access key to the scrap yard," Rian said. "Old Sector 4. It's off-limits to students, so no cameras. If you want to practice that flashy step of yours without Harrow breathing down your neck, that's the place. Plus..." She grinned again, a sharp, knowing look in her eyes. "There's plenty of rats down there. Big ones."
Leo stared at her. She knows. She might not know about the System, but she knew he was hunting.
"Why help me?" Leo asked.
Rian turned to leave, waving over her shoulder. "Because watching a Zero beat up Brock was the highlight of my year. Don't die, Thorne. You're finally getting interesting."
She disappeared back into the bushes, leaving Leo alone with the chip in his hand.
[Quest Generated: The Ally?] [Objective: Investigate Old Sector 4.] [Hidden Reward: ???]
Leo pocketed the chip. Rian was an unknown variable, but she was right about one thing—he needed a place to train. The dorms were too crowded, and the training grounds were too public. If he was going to master his Wolf form and this new Phantom Step, he needed shadows.
But first, he had classes.
The rest of the day was a blur of whispers and side-glances. In his Theory of Beast Biology class, Leo sat in the back, trying to stay invisible, but he could feel the eyes boring into him.
When the lunch bell rang, Leo's stomach gave a familiar, painful lurch.
[Hunger State: Rising.] [Current BP: 37/55]
He had burned BP using Phantom Step and just existing. The protein bars he had eaten earlier were long gone. He needed meat.
He walked into the cafeteria. Usually, he would grab a nutrient paste packet and eat outside, but today, he felt bold. He walked to the serving line.
"Steak," Leo said to the drone server. "Rare."
The drone beeped and slapped a slab of synthetic meat onto his tray. It wasn't real beast meat, but it was better than paste.
Leo turned to find a table. The cafeteria was crowded. The Low Tiers sat near the door, the Mid Tiers in the middle, and the High Tiers near the windows with the view.
Leo scanned the room. There were empty seats near the Zeros, but as he walked toward them, a foot shot out to trip him.
It was automatic. [Feral Senses] picked up the movement before his eyes did.
Leo stepped over the foot without breaking stride. He didn't even look down.
The owner of the foot—a Level 2 lackey of Vance—blinked in surprise.
Leo sat down at an empty table in the center of the room. It was a Mid Tier zone. He put his tray down and started cutting his steak.
The chatter in the cafeteria died down.
"Is he sitting there?" "Does he think he's a Level 4 now?"
Leo took a bite. It tasted like salted rubber, but his System accepted it.
[BP +0.5]
Suddenly, a shadow fell over his table.
Leo didn't look up. "If you're here to ask for an autograph, I'm eating."
"You're sitting in my seat, Zero."
The voice was cold, smooth, and dangerous.
Leo stopped chewing. He looked up.
Standing there was a boy with pale skin, silver hair, and eyes that looked like shattered glass. He wore the modified uniform of the Student Council Disciplinary Committee.
Silas. Level 4. Wind User.
And next to him, grinning with a split lip and a bruised cheek, was Brock.
"He's all yours, Silas," Brock said, crossing his arms. "Teach him his place."
Leo put his fork down.
[Threat Detected: High.] [Analysis: Silas (Level 4).] [Attribute Difference: Extreme.] [Chance of Victory in Human Form: 5%.]
"This seat doesn't have a name on it," Leo said calmly, though his heart was racing.
Silas smiled, but it didn't reach his eyes. "It doesn't need a name. It needs power. And you, Leo Thorne, are a glitch. A glitch that needs to be patched."
Silas raised a finger. The air around the table began to swirl. The napkins on the tray fluttered violently. The pressure dropped, popping Leo's ears.
"Get up," Silas commanded, his voice amplified by the wind. "Or I'll break every bone in your body without even touching you."
Leo gripped the table. 5% chance.
[Rage Meter: 40%] [Predator's Window: Available. 1/3]
He could Shift. He could rip Silas's throat out in one second.
But there were cameras. There were hundreds of witnesses. If he shifted here, he was dead.
"System," Leo thought frantically. "Options?"
[Option A: Submit. Survival Guaranteed. Ego Damaged.] [Option B: Fight. High probability of severe injury. Reveal Skill: Phantom Step.] [Option C: Run.]
Leo looked at Silas. He looked at Brock's smug face.
He picked up his steak knife. It was dull, plastic, and useless.
"I'm not moving," Leo said.
Silas's eyes narrowed. "Wrong answer."
He flicked his finger.
A blade of compressed air, invisible but sharp as a razor, shot toward Leo's shoulder.
Whoosh.
Leo triggered [Phantom Step].
He vanished from the chair an instant before the wind blade sliced the plastic seat in half.
He reappeared three meters away, standing on top of another table, crouching low.
The cafeteria erupted into chaos.
"He teleported!" "Did you see that?"
Silas stared at the sliced chair, then slowly turned to look at Leo. The boredom in his eyes was gone, replaced by a shark-like interest.
"So," Silas said, the wind swirling around him growing stronger, lifting his hair. "You aren't a Zero after all. What are you, Thorne?"
Leo stood up on the table, holding his ground. He was exhausted. He had used another 2 BP. He was down to 35.
"I'm the guy trying to eat his lunch," Leo said, his voice hard. "And you're ruining my appetite."
Silas laughed. A genuine, chilling laugh.
"Good," Silas said. "I was getting bored of this school. Brock, you were right. He is fun."
Silas dissipated the wind. He turned and walked away, dismissing Leo as if he were a toy to be played with later.
"Keep the seat," Silas called back. "For now."
Brock looked furious that Silas wasn't killing him, but he followed his leader like a whipped dog.
Leo stood on the table, the center of attention. He felt the weight of the school's gaze. He had survived Brock. He had survived Silas.
But he knew this was just the beginning. He had just painted a massive target on his back.
[Quest Generated: The Climbing War] [Objective: Reach Level 5 to survive the attention of the High Tiers.] [Time Limit: Unknown.]
Leo hopped down from the table. He sat back in the sliced chair, grabbed his steak with his bare hand, and took a bite.
He needed to get to Sector 4. He needed to get stronger.
And he needed to do it fast.