The ranking board shimmered at dawn.
Mist coiled between the towers of Saltwind Tidal Academy, turning the rising sun into fractured gold through ocean haze. Students gathered earlier than usual.
Something had shifted overnight.
Jeather stood beneath the towering ranking obelisk.
Rank 9,998 — Jeather Vale.
Still near the bottom.
Still insignificant.
At least on paper.
He placed his palm against the cold stone pedestal.
"I'm done waiting."
The academy system pulsed in response.
A translucent interface formed before him.
Ranking Challenge Protocol
Current Rank: 9,998
You may challenge up to 100 ranks above your current placement.
Defeat = Rank exchange.
Draw = No change.
Severe injury = Disciplinary review.
Jeather scanned upward.
9,897
9,903
9,950
His eyes stopped at Rank 9,901.
Name: Corvin Halbrecht.
Silver-tier contracted beast.
Two wins.
One loss.
Aggressive style.
Perfect.
Jeather pressed confirm.
The board flashed.
A ripple surged through the terraces.
Official Challenge Registered
Murmurs exploded.
"Already?"
"He hasn't even recovered from evaluation."
"Rank 9,998 challenging 9,901?"
Some laughed.
Others leaned forward.
Word spread quickly.
Even the Top 10 would hear.
The basin refilled — not for survival this time.
For combat.
Corvin Halbrecht stepped into the arena with a grin that showed too many teeth.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Confidence bordering arrogance.
"So you're the bottom feeder that made noise," Corvin said, rolling his neck.
Jeather stretched casually.
"You talk a lot for someone barely out of the mud."
A few snickers echoed.
Corvin's eyes sharpened.
"You won't be laughing after this."
"Probably not," Jeather replied. "I'll be too busy climbing."
Instructor Maelor Draine observed from the elevated platform.
"Official ranking duel. Begin."
The water surged waist-high.
Corvin moved first.
"Manifest — Ironmaw Barraclaw!"
A massive Silver-tier aquatic beast erupted beside him.
Scaled body. Metallic jaws. Serrated fins.
Its roar vibrated through the basin.
Jeather exhaled slowly.
Silver-tier.
Good.
Not overwhelming.
He raised his hand.
"Manifest."
The Mutated Abyssal Rifthound stepped from shadow.
Students went quiet immediately.
It looked different.
The distortions around its body were more stable now — less chaotic, more deliberate.
Dark currents bent slightly toward it.
Corvin frowned.
"That thing looks unstable."
"It was," Jeather said calmly. "It's learning."
The bell chimed.
Combat began.
The Barraclaw lunged with brutal speed.
Metallic jaws snapped toward the Rifthound's throat.
Jeather barked:
"Left!"
The Rifthound twisted unnaturally — not dodging, but partially phasing.
Its body blurred.
The Barraclaw's bite passed through distorted space.
A shockwave rippled outward.
Gasps erupted from the terraces.
Corvin's grin faltered.
"What the hell was that?"
Jeather felt it too.
Something new.
The Rifthound had not fully phased.
It had bent the space around the impact point.
Distortion Compression.
It countered instantly.
Claws struck.
Not just physical.
The strike carried compressed spatial fracture energy.
The Barraclaw's metallic scales dented inward violently.
Corvin staggered backward.
"Reinforce!"
The Barraclaw roared and released a high-pressure water blast.
Jeather swore under his breath.
"Shit— guard!"
The Rifthound twisted its forelimbs outward.
Dark distortion spread like a thin dome.
The water blast hit—
And warped sideways.
Not deflected.
Redirected.
It slammed into the basin wall instead.
Stone cracked.
Silence fell.
Maelor's eyes narrowed slightly.
Jeather grinned.
"So that's what you learned."
Inside the Beast Realm, the Rifthound's voice echoed clearer than before.
"I do not only tear. I bend."
Jeather's pulse quickened.
"Oh, you're evolving."
Corvin snarled.
"Stop playing around!"
The Barraclaw surged forward again, jaws glowing with compressed mana.
Full charge.
No testing.
Jeather's tone dropped.
"Break it."
The Rifthound met the charge head-on.
Claw collided with jaw.
This time the distortion didn't deflect.
It condensed.
The space between impact points compressed violently—
And released.
A concussive implosion detonated at point-blank range.
The Barraclaw screamed.
Its jaw armor cracked.
Corvin staggered as backlash tore through his contract link.
Jeather stepped forward slowly.
"Yield."
"Never!"
The Barraclaw tried to rise—
The Rifthound's eyes glowed deeper violet.
New ability triggered.
A narrow fracture line formed beneath the beast's chest.
Not visible to most.
But fatal in structure.
Jeather felt it instinctively.
"Collapse."
The distortion line snapped inward.
The Barraclaw slammed into the basin floor as if gravity had multiplied.
It could not rise.
Pinned.
Not by weight.
By warped space.
Silence.
Maelor raised a hand.
"Rank 9,901 unable to continue. Victory — Jeather Vale."
The board shimmered.
Rank 9,901 — Jeather Vale.
A jump of ninety-seven ranks.
Not massive.
But earned.
Corvin stared up from the basin floor,
breathing hard.
Jeather looked down at him.
"Climbing."
He turned and exited the arena.
No celebration.
No arrogance.
Just movement.
High above the terraces, several figures observed from a private balcony carved from sea-glass stone.
Rank 3 — Mirelle Kaith.
Rank 5 — Vorn Halcyon.
Rank 7 — Darius Vell.
And two others hidden in shadow.
Mirelle crossed her arms.
"That beast isn't Silver."
"No," Darius replied calmly. "It's mutating beyond classification."
Vorn's expression darkened.
"If he climbs quickly, lower ranks destabilize."
"Only if we let it."
Political tension lingered unspoken.
Saltwind's Top 10 was not unified.
Each controlled influence networks.
Training halls.
Supply routes.
Mentorship pipelines.
A fast climber threatened those balances.
Darius watched Jeather leave the arena.
"He's not challenging recklessly."
"That makes him worse," Mirelle said quietly.
Jeather entered the Beast Realm that night.
The Rifthound stood taller now.
Distortion currents moved in controlled spirals around it.
"You evolved mid-combat."
"I refined."
"You nearly crushed that thing flat."
"It was necessary."
Astrael approached, flames low but steady.
"Your pack grows stronger."
Velkaria's waters swirled gently.
"The academy has noticed."
The otter popped onto a floating shard.
"That was fun! Do it again!"
Jeather chuckled.
"Soon."
But his gaze shifted toward the horizon of the Beast Realm.
Something in the distance pulsed faintly.
A deeper fracture.
A sign of growth.
Or something responding.
Outside—
Saltwind Tidal Academy did not sleep peacefully that night.
The ranking board shimmered again.
Several challenge requests lit up.
Jeather had moved.
Now others would move in response.
And above them all—
The Top 10 began repositioning.
The sea did not welcome newcomers.
It tested them.
And now—
It had begun to stir.