The phone buzzed against the wooden nightstand. Cale reached for it without opening his eyes, his fingers fumbling across the screen.
"Yeah."
"You sound half dead."
Aldus's voice was rough with age but clear enough. Cale sat up, rubbing his face. "It's still early."
"It's past eight. You're supposed to be training, not sleeping."
Cale looked at the window. Light seeped through the thin curtains. He'd slept longer than he meant to. The first night at the academy and he was already oversleeping. It looked like his father was right — he'd always be useless. But the silence and peace of not having to think about anyone had let his body take advantage.
"I'm up," he said.
"Good. But I didn't call just to wake you."
There was a pause on the line. "Your tuition. How did you think you were going to pay?"
Cale went still. "What?"
"You heard me. The fees, the room, everything. Did you think it was all free? Or were you not thinking when you told your father to cut you off?"
"Oh… I wasn't really thinking straight."
Aldus let out a breath. "Because you told your father you'd go without the Ashford name. I figured you meant it." A creak of a chair sounded as the old man settled somewhere. "So now you can. Do whatever you want. I paid the tuition and everything else — anonymously, so you don't have to worry about it. For now, you're just a boy with a system."
Cale's throat tightened. "I don't know what to say."
"Say you'll use it well. That's all I ask."
"I will."
"Good. Then stop wasting daylight. I hear the academy throws its new students into the woods on day one. You'll want to be ready."
The line went dead. Cale sat on the edge of the bed, the phone warm in his hand, and let the words settle.
"What? Did he just say they throw their students into the woods?" He must have heard wrong. Maybe it was a joke. He wasn't ready for that kind of thing.
In that moment of panic, he pulled up his system
screen.
```
User: Cale Ashford
Status: Awakened
Rank: E
Sign: Scorpio
Stage: Awakened
Aspect: — (pending)
Element: Water/Ice
Affinities: 1 (Scorpio)
Special Powers: Frostbite, Regenesis, Death Sense, Scorpion's Grip
Mauri: 84/100
Experience: 100/200
Memory: Ogreian Dagger
Echo: —
Flaw: —
Seals: 12 (1 active)
PA: Active (Upgrade: 12/200)
```
He clicked on the Special Powers to check their descriptions.
```
Frostbite
Generation and manipulation of water and ice.
Current output: Low. Can freeze small objects, create ice shards, and chill surroundings.
Mauri cost: Low to moderate. Sustained use drains reserves.
Upgrade potential: Increased output, area control, frozen constructs.
Regenesis
Passive regenerative ability.
Minor wounds close within minutes. Broken bones heal within days. Resistance to common poisons and toxins.
Accelerated when Mauri levels are high.
Limitation: Cannot regenerate lost limbs (at current stage).
Death Sense
Intuition for danger, weakness, and death.
Detects killing intent. Perceives vulnerable points on enemies. Senses the presence of the dying or recently deceased.
Potential Evolution: After second seal unlock – perceive life force of living beings, glimpse moment of death in a target.
Warning: Overuse may cause sensory fatigue.
Scorpion's Grip
Enhanced gripping strength and grappling ability.
Once you latch onto a surface, weapon, or enemy, it is extremely difficult to dislodge you.
Improves climbing, grappling, and weapon retention.
Limitation: Does not enhance striking power.
```
This wasn't bad, but it felt incredibly weak for the task ahead. For instance, his Frostbite could only slow low-ranked Fallen beasts and create sharp ice shards for attacks. It couldn't deal much damage. Regenesis, which was the best one he had, took time to heal and could only work on him. Death Sense had great potential, but right now it felt useless without strong attacking abilities. Scorpion's Grip was cool for keeping hold of weapons, meaning he wouldn't lose one in a fight as long as it was in his hands. Even though it was useful, it still wasn't nearly enough.
He dismissed the screen, stood up, and dressed. He strapped the sword across his back, pocketed his phone, and walked out the door.
The main hall was already crowded when he arrived.
Four hundred students filled the benches — the entire incoming class, according to the whispers circulating through the aisles. Their voices rose off the stone walls in a constant hum. Cale found a spot near the back, in the Anómalos section, and sat.
He scanned the crowd without meaning to. He found her near the middle — the girl with the worn jacket. Her dark hair was pulled back, her hands in her pockets. She was watching the stage with the same stillness as yesterday, her face unreadable.
He looked away before she could catch him staring.
A woman in dark robes stepped onto the stage. It was the Vice Chancellor from orientation, her voice carrying without effort.
"Welcome to your first graded exercise."
The chatter died.
"Behind this building lies the Hunting Wood. It stretches for miles — large enough to be a city on its own. Inside, you will find Fallen Constellations. Some are weak. Some are not. These Constellations came through a portal. The Astral Wardens cornered them and left them there for the students to be tested on." She let the words hang. "Your task is to hunt Cyclops of Stargazer tier. There are enough of them in the woods for every group — each team will track and defeat their own."
A murmur ran through the crowd. Stargazer tier. Cale had killed an ogre of the same rank, but that had been one on one with Aldus watching. This was different. Ogres were practically stupid and lacked intelligence. Cyclops, on the other hand, were very intelligent, and some from the higher tiers could even mimic human speech. In summary, it was going to be hard — depending on the team he got matched with.
"You will form teams of three to five," the Vice Chancellor continued. "Each team will be ranked according to performance — speed, efficiency, teamwork, and individual contribution. Your ranks will determine your initial placement on the academy board."
She gestured, and assistants moved through the aisles, handing out slim devices. Cale took his. It looked like a smartwatch, its face dark, its band flexible.
"These gauntlets will track your vitals, your Mauri levels, and your experience gains. When you form your team, you will use them to connect your group. They will also allow communication between team members during the exercise. Try not to lose them."
Cale strapped it on. For a moment he was scared it would reveal his strange system. The screen flickered, then displayed only his basic information:
````
Cale Ashford
Rank: E
Stage: Awakened
Mauri: 84/100
````
Nothing about his seals, his affinities, or his PA. He let out a quiet breath. Thank the gods, he thought.
"You have thirty minutes to form your teams," the Vice Chancellor said. "After that, you will be deployed at the edge of the Hunting Wood. Good luck."
She stepped off the stage, and the hall erupted.
Cale stood, watching the chaos unfold. Groups formed almost instantly — nobles gravitating toward nobles like magnets, students from the same factions clustering together. The Aethel students were already marking territory, their voices confident, their teams filling quickly. The Koinos followed suit, more orderly and practical.
The Anómalos were scattered. Some stood uncertain, waiting to be chosen. Since no one from the other factions wanted to pick them, they began forming groups among themselves. Others drifted toward the edges, already resigned.
Cale stayed where he was.
He didn't know anyone here. He had no reputation, no allies, no reason for anyone to pick him. His rank was E — probably the lowest in the room. He was just in the Awakened stage. On paper, he was useless.
"You're not useless," Iris said quietly.
"They don't know that. I don't even know that."
"Remember you had a bet with your father. You have to be useful."
He didn't answer. He watched the room, counting the minutes. He wondered how things were back at the house, how his mother was doing, and how his sisters and Leo were.
A boy near the front caught his eye. He was standing alone, his arms crossed, his expression calm. He was built solid, with the look of someone who had done physical work, not the lean frame of a noble trained in a courtyard. His jacket was plain, his shoes worn. Middle class, maybe. Or lower.
He wasn't moving toward anyone. He wasn't looking for a group. He was waiting.
Cale's gaze moved across the room.
The girl in the worn jacket was still sitting, her hands in her pockets, her eyes fixed on the stage as if it might tell her something. She hadn't moved since the Vice Chancellor left. She wasn't talking to anyone. No one was talking to her.
She was alone. It was as if she didn't care about forming a team.
Cale looked at the boy, then at the girl. Two people standing apart, the same way he was.
The thirty minutes were almost up.
He made a decision.
He started walking.
He didn't go to either of them. Not yet. He moved to the center of the hall, where the crowd was thinning, and stopped. He turned slowly and let his eyes find the boy first, then the girl.
The boy noticed him first. Their eyes met across the room — a flicker of recognition, the silent acknowledgment of two people who understood they were both standing outside.
Then the girl looked up. Her gaze sharpened, wary and assessing. She didn't smile. She didn't nod. She just watched.
Cale held her gaze for a moment, then looked away. He walked toward the edge of the hall, where the assistants were preparing to guide the teams to the wood. He didn't look back.
But he felt them watching.
The clock on the wall ticked down. Two minutes.
Behind him, footsteps. Steady, unhurried.
He didn't turn.
The boy with the plain jacket appeared at his side, his arms still crossed. He didn't say anything. He just stood there, his presence solid, waiting.
Then more footsteps. Lighter, faster.
The girl with the worn jacket stopped on his other side. Her hands were still in her pockets. Her face was unreadable. She didn't look at Cale. She looked at the door leading to the Hunting Wood.
"Three," she said.
It wasn't a question.
Cale looked at the clock. Thirty seconds.
He raised his gauntlet. A prompt appeared: Connect Team? He selected it, then held the device toward the boy.
The boy raised his own wrist. A soft chime sounded, and their screens flickered.
Connected.
The girl raised hers without being asked. Another chime.
Team Connected. Members: 3.
"Three," Cale said.
The boy let out a quiet breath that might have been a laugh. "Good enough."
The doors opened.
The Vice Chancellor's voice rang out across the hall. "Teams. To the woods. Now."
They moved together, the three of them, falling into step without a word. Cale could feel the weight of the sword across his back, the dagger waiting in his system, and the quiet presence of Iris in his mind.
He didn't know what they would find in the wood. He didn't know if three strangers with nothing in common could work together. He didn't even know if they were powerful enough to fight a Cyclops.
But as they walked through the doors and into the shadow of the trees, he knew one thing for certain.
They were about to find out.