The gates of the Northern Hunter Academy felt different today. Yesterday, I crawled out of here like a beaten dog, clutching my useless F-rank certificate. Today, every step I took felt heavy with the power of the Dragon-Blood Physique.
As I walked through the main hall, the whispers started immediately.
"Look, isn't that Han? The scavenger kid?"
"I heard Elena dumped him right after the ceremony. Poor guy looks like he hasn't slept."
I ignored them. My target was the Strength Testing Room. To enter the upcoming City Tournament, I needed an official stat update.
"Well, well, if it isn't the trash of the year."
A familiar, irritating voice rang out. It was Instructor Miller, a man who took pride in weeding out "weaklings." He stood by the massive black testing pillar, his arms crossed. "Coming back for seconds, Han? The machine doesn't lie. You're an F-rank. You'll always be an F-rank."
A crowd of students gathered, sensing a show.
"I'm here for a re-test," I said, my voice flat.
Miller laughed, a dry, mocking sound. "Fine. Waste my time. Step up. Let's see if you've gained even a single point of strength by picking up garbage."
I stepped up to the pillar. This machine was designed to measure up to B-rank power—roughly 3,000 points.
I didn't use any fancy techniques. I just breathed, feeling the golden mana from the Iron-Hide Boar extraction circulating in my veins. I tightened my fist. The air around my arm seemed to vibrate.
Boom!
The impact sounded like a cannon blast. The entire room shook. Dust fell from the ceiling as the shockwave sent several nearby students stumbling back.
Miller's smirk vanished. He stared at the digital display on top of the pillar.
[Calculating...]
[999...]
[1,800...]
[2,500...]
[ERROR: LIMIT EXCEEDED]
A high-pitched whine emitted from the machine. Then, with a sickening crack, a spiderweb of fractures raced across the reinforced black stone. The display flickered wildly before turning pitch black.
Silence. The kind of silence that happens when people forget how to breathe.
"The... the pillar broke?" someone whispered in horror.
I pulled my fist back, unaffected. The 'Iron-Hide' passive had completely absorbed the recoil. My hand didn't even have a scratch.
"My apologies, Instructor," I said, looking Miller dead in the eye. He was trembling, his face as white as a sheet. "I think your machine might be as outdated as your teaching methods."
I turned and walked away, leaving the entire hall in a state of absolute chaos. My system interface flickered in front of me.
[Ding! Hidden Objective Complete: Shock the Academy.]
[Reward: +200 Abyss Coins, Skill Upgrade: 'Dragon's Pressure' (Active).]
My path to the Sovereign had just truly begun.
The silence in the hall was broken only by the mechanical sparking of the broken pillar. As I turned to leave, a shadow blocked my path.
It was Elena. Her perfect makeup was slightly ruined by the look of pure, unadulterated shock on her face. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish out of water.
"Han... you... how?" she stammered, her voice trembling. "That's impossible. Your awakening was only F-rank. The instructors said you were a dud!"
I didn't stop walking. I didn't even slow down. I simply walked past her, the wind from my movement fluttering her expensive silk dress. "The instructors said a lot of things, Elena," I replied without looking back. "They also said you were a genius. It seems everyone was wrong yesterday."
I could feel her eyes burning into my back—a mix of regret, confusion, and something that looked suspiciously like fear.
Far above the hall, in the VIP observation balcony, a man in a sharp black suit watched the entire scene through a pair of high-tech binoculars. He tapped a communication device on his ear.
"Director, we have an anomaly," the man whispered. "A student named Han just shattered a reinforced testing pillar with a single unassisted strike. No mana signatures detected prior to the hit. It was pure physical density."
A gravelly voice responded through the earpiece. "Follow him. If he's a late-bloomer with a hidden bloodline, the Crimson Fang Guild must have him before the Academy tries to hide him away."
[Ding! New Skill Triggered: 'Dragon's Pressure' (Level 1).]
[Effect: Passive aura that makes enemies with lower willpower feel 10% more fatigue.]
The system notification rang in my head, but I was already focused on the next step. Shattering a pillar was just a warm-up. The real test would be the Underground Hunter Arena tonight. I needed to test my 'Iron-Hide' against something that could actually bite back.
"Keep watching," I thought, looking up at the darkening sky. "I'm just getting started."