Morning broke over the hunting grounds with an unnatural stillness.
The forest no longer felt like a neutral battlefield. The mana density had increased overnight, thickening the air until even breathing felt heavier. Leaves glistened with residual energy, and the ground pulsed faintly beneath every step, as if the land itself were aware that something had changed.
Cael noticed it immediately.
"This isn't natural," he murmured.
Crimson threads extended from his heart, spreading silently through the terrain. They brushed against roots, insects, buried bones, and lingering monster corpses. What they revealed made his gaze sharpen.
The battlefield had been altered deliberately.
Someone—no, multiple parties—had tampered with the environment. Mana veins had been redirected. Monster nests had been relocated. Traps far beyond the tournament's original scope had been embedded deep beneath the soil.
The Top Ten Families had stopped pretending.
They were no longer observers.
They were participants.
Whispers Among the Competitors
Around him, representatives from the various academies gathered at the temporary assembly zone. Students whispered among themselves, their expressions ranging from excitement to fear.
"This mana pressure… it's way higher than yesterday."
"I heard a whole team from the Western Academy vanished overnight."
"They say the noble families are personally watching now."
Cael stood apart, his presence calm but oppressive. Even senior students instinctively avoided standing too close to him. After yesterday's display, rumors had spread like wildfire.
A junior.
Unranked.
Unknown bloodline.
Yet he had dominated monsters meant to wipe out squads.
Some looked at him with curiosity.
Others with fear.
A few with poorly concealed hostility.
And then—she arrived.
The Frostveil Heiress Appears
The Frostveil Lineage announced their presence without words.
A drop in temperature rippled across the clearing. Frost crept along the ground in delicate patterns, and pale blue mist followed in her wake. The Frostveil heiress stepped forward, her silver-white hair tied neatly behind her, ice sigils rotating slowly around her wrists.
Conversations died instantly.
"She's here…"
"The Frostveil Lineage sent her?"
"She's engaged already, right? To the Crimson Order's heir?"
Her expression was calm, composed, practiced—but her eyes moved immediately.
They found Cael.
He felt the gaze and turned slightly, crimson eyes meeting frost-blue ones for the briefest moment.
Then he looked away.
No nod.
No interest.
No reaction.
Her breath caught.
He ignored me… again.
Most competitors would have rushed to greet her, bowed, or at least acknowledged her status. Cael did none of that. He simply returned his attention to the mana flow beneath his feet, as if she were no different from the air around him.
That indifference pierced deeper than any insult.
Announcement of the Next Phase
An amplified voice echoed across the clearing.
"Attention, competitors. The second phase of the inter-academy tournament will now begin."
A massive projection formed above them, displaying a map of the region.
"This phase will be divided into two segments," the voice continued. "First: advanced monster eradication. Second: inter-school confrontation zones."
Murmurs erupted instantly.
"Combat against other schools already?"
"This early?"
"The difficulty rating is way too high!"
The voice did not pause.
"Be advised. The monsters released in this phase exceed previous classifications. Survival is not guaranteed. Points will be awarded based on kills, efficiency, and tactical dominance."
Cael's lips curved faintly.
So they want blood.
Good.
The First True Interference
The moment the teams dispersed, the interference began.
A mana surge erupted to Cael's left. A massive beast tore itself from the earth—an armored basilisk, its scales etched with artificial runes. This wasn't a natural monster.
It had been enhanced.
"RUN!" someone screamed.
The basilisk's gaze petrified two students instantly, turning them into stone statues mid-step.
Cael did not move.
Crimson threads lashed outward, slipping through microscopic gaps in the monster's scales. He seized its blood flow, twisted it sharply, and ruptured the creature from the inside.
The basilisk collapsed in seconds, its body imploding silently.
The watching students froze.
"That… that was an elite-tier monster…"
"He killed it instantly…"
Far above, hidden eyes narrowed.
The Crimson Order Makes Its Move
From another sector of the forest, the descendant of the Crimson Order clenched his fists.
"So it's true," he muttered. "That blood… it's not imitation. It's real."
His followers surrounded him, uneasy.
"You shouldn't confront him yet," one whispered. "The elders said—"
"I don't care what they said," he snapped. "That thing is an insult to our lineage."
The irony burned him alive.
His family claimed blood supremacy—yet Cael wielded it with terrifying purity. No rituals. No artificial enhancement. No borrowed power.
Just dominance.
"And the Frostveil woman…" his voice darkened. "She keeps looking at him."
That was unforgivable.
A Calculated Rescue
Chaos erupted near a ravine.
A pack of shadow-warped beasts ambushed a group of students, tearing through defenses effortlessly. Among them—
The Frostveil heiress.
Her ice barriers shattered one after another under relentless assault. She fought with skill and precision, but the monsters were coordinated, attacking from blind spots designed to overwhelm her.
She stumbled.
Just once.
That was enough.
A beast lunged from behind, jaws wide—
And stopped.
Crimson threads wrapped around its heart, crushing it mid-leap. Another monster twisted unnaturally, smashing into its own ally. A third was ripped apart by internal pressure before it could react.
The battlefield went silent.
Cael stood between her and the monsters, cloak stained faintly red.
"You should retreat," he said flatly. "Your positioning is inefficient."
She stared at him, heart pounding.
"You… saved me."
"I removed an obstacle," he replied, already turning away. "Don't misinterpret it."
Yet he didn't leave until the area was secure.
She watched him go, frost trembling around her fingers.
He doesn't care… and yet he always arrives.
Her interest had crossed into something deeper.
Something dangerous.
The Families Decide
Far from the battlefield, within sealed observation chambers, the Top Ten Families convened through projections and sealed channels.
"He's beyond junior classification," Stormveil House admitted grimly.
"The boy's power growth is abnormal," Ironheart Union agreed.
"And his blood…" the Gravewind Sect murmured. "It's ancient."
The Crimson Order's representative spoke last, voice cold.
"He must be erased."
Silence followed.
Then Helior Dynasty nodded once.
"Very well," they said. "Increase pressure. Remove restraints."
That decision sealed it.
The tournament was no longer a test.
It was a purge.
Cael's Realization
As the sun dipped lower, Cael paused atop a ridge overlooking the forest. Crimson threads pulsed outward, mapping hundreds of hostile presences.
Not just monsters.
People.
Elite agents.
Hidden enforcers.
Assassins masked as competitors.
He exhaled slowly.
"So that's how you want to play," he murmured.
For the first time since his rebirth, a familiar sensation stirred within him.
Not rage.
Not hatred.
Purpose.
"If you want blood," Cael whispered, eyes glowing brighter, "then I'll remind you who it truly belongs to."
Far below, the Frostveil heiress felt a chill that had nothing to do with ice.
The storm had begun.