---
The training hall was filled with quiet murmurs, the air thick with anticipation. Rows of students sat shoulder to shoulder, backs straight, fists clenched, waiting for what they already knew would be a defining moment.
The internal rankings update wasn't just a formality—it was a declaration of status. It determined respect, partnerships, and, most importantly, one's future. In the academy, there was no room for the weak. If you weren't growing, you were falling behind.
At the front of the room, Instructor Vaughn stood like a sentinel, his sharp gaze sweeping over them. His face, as always, was unreadable, but his presence alone was enough to keep everyone in check. Vaughn wasn't the type to tolerate arrogance, but he also wouldn't sugarcoat the truth. The rankings spoke for themselves.
He pressed a button.
The screen behind him flickered to life, casting a glow over the assembled students.
And then—the murmurs stopped.
The names and levels appeared one by one, cascading down the list like a judgment written in stone.
Kyle Corvayn – Level 5
Vivian Marchand – Level 3
A ripple of shock spread through the hall, quiet but unmistakable.
For a long moment, no one spoke.
Then, the whispers began.
"What the hell…?"
"Marchand's a Level 3?"
"That's a mistake, right?"
Vivian's breath caught in her throat. She knew she had improved. She had felt it in her core after the fight with Kyle, in the way her mana had surged. But to jump an entire level in such a short time?
She swallowed hard, hands clenching beneath the table.
No. She had earned this.
And yet—there was doubt in the air. She could feel it pressing down on her, thick as smoke.
Someone let out a low chuckle. "Bet it's a fluke. She probably just got lucky in a spar and got bumped up. No way she belongs there."
A voice from the back scoffed. "She was at the bottom for months. What, now we're supposed to believe she's competition?"
A few others nodded in agreement, their gazes flickering between the screen and where she sat.
But while Vivian could feel the weight of their judgment, it was nothing compared to the stunned silence surrounding Kyle's ranking.
Kyle had not just risen—he had skyrocketed.
His name sat at Level 5, standing equal to the strongest first-years in the academy.
"Wait… that can't be right."
"Kyle was Level 4. He wasn't even that high before."
"How did he—?"
No one had seen it coming.
Darius Holt and Lena Voss—two of the academy's strongest—were both Level 5. Their positions had always been uncontested. They had trained for it, fought for it.
But Kyle?
Kyle had jumped to their level.
Eyes turned toward him. Even Darius and Lena were watching now, their usual composed expressions tight with something between curiosity and unease.
Kyle remained still.
No reaction. No acknowledgment.
Like none of this mattered.
Vivian studied his face, searching for **something—**surprise, pride, confusion—anything. But all she saw was the same quiet, unreadable expression he had worn since the moment they entered the hall.
Vaughn's voice cut through the growing tension.
"These results are final. If you have doubts—prove otherwise in combat."
A simple challenge. One that no one in the academy would take lightly.
And just like that, any complaints died in their throats.
---
Aftermath
The rankings continued, more names scrolling across the screen.
Darius Holt – Level 5
Lena Voss – Level 5
Jace torren–level 4.25
Markus Drex – Level 4
Soren Vale – Level 4
Theo Rhyne – Level 3.75
Rael Stroud – Level 3.5
On and on the list went, but the weight of the earlier revelations still lingered. The real focus wasn't on the usual top ranks.
It was on Kyle. And Vivian.
The students exchanged glances, their earlier whispers growing into something bigger.
Speculation. Doubt. Challenge.
It was only a matter of time before someone acted on it.
Vivian knew it was coming.
She could feel the way eyes lingered on her. Not with respect, not with admiration—with scrutiny.
As if they were waiting for her to slip.
But the real concern wasn't them.
It was Kyle.
He had risen to Level 5, but he hadn't reacted. No sign of surprise. No quiet satisfaction. Nothing.
Vivian turned toward him again.
"Kyle," she murmured under her breath.
He didn't look at her.
Didn't even acknowledge her presence.
And for some reason—that cut deeper than all the judgment surrounding her.
Not long ago, she had fought him with everything she had. That battle had changed her. Strengthened her.
And yet—to him, it was as if it had never happened.
She clenched her fists.
She had grown stronger. But somehow, he had distanced himself even further.
Why?
What was happening inside his head?
A sharp voice interrupted her thoughts.
"Marchand."
She turned—and found herself staring at Soren Vale.
His expression was unreadable, but his narrowed eyes told her everything.
"You leveled up fast," he said, his tone calm—but beneath it, there was an edge. "I wonder if you can prove you belong there."
A challenge.
Vivian exhaled slowly, bracing herself.
It was already starting.
---
Unanswered Questions
As students began filing out of the hall, the whispers continued. Some were already making plans—new alliances, new rivalries.
But Kyle?
Kyle said nothing.
He rose from his seat, his movements fluid but detached.
And without a word—without so much as a glance toward **anyone—**he walked out of the hall.
Vivian watched him go, a strange weight settling in her chest.
She had climbed higher. She had fought back.
But the one person whose opinion mattered most hadn't reacted at all.
And she didn't know what to make of that.
-
After the Ranking Announcement
Kyle rose from his seat.
The murmurs still filled the hall, rippling through the gathered students like a tide that refused to settle. Disbelief. Speculation. Whispers of challenge and quiet unease.
But he didn't care.
None of this mattered.
Without a word, he turned toward the exit.
Not looking at Vivian.
Not looking at Darius.
Not looking at anyone.
He already knew what they didn't.
And the truth was—he wasn't sure if that was a good thing.
Each step he took felt heavier than it should, the weight not just physical but something deeper, something lodged within him. Inside his core.
The moment he stepped beyond the doors of the ranking hall, the noise faded, swallowed by the stillness of the academy's empty corridors. He exhaled, but the pressure in his chest didn't ease.
Because no matter how much distance he put between himself and the others…
The thing inside him wasn't something he could outrun.
---
Flashback: The Night After the Fight
The training hall was dark, its vast space silent save for the faint hum of mana stones embedded in the walls. Their glow cast elongated shadows across the floor, distorting the room into something more cavernous, more hollow.
Kyle sat in the center, cross-legged, breathing steady despite the storm raging inside him.
Pain clung to his muscles, the dull ache from his fight with Vivian still present. But it was distant. Secondary.
Because something else was happening.
Something wrong.
Or maybe—something inevitable.
He could feel it, curling inside him like a slow-burning ember. A pulse of energy, subtle but deliberate, like something waking up.
He tried to ignore it. Tried to breathe past it.
But it didn't fade.
Kyle felt a presence,a dark presence that had always been there. And yet, tonight, it felt different.
Kyle exhaled, pressing his fingers to his temple. Mana was supposed to recover gradually. A slow, steady tide returning to shore. But what he felt now?
This wasn't recovery.
It was something else.
His fingers curled into his palms.
At first, he had thought it was exhaustion, the natural backlash of pushing himself too hard. But now, in the silence of the hall, with no battle to distract him, he could feel it.
This wasn't a normal level-up.
His fight with Vivian had triggered it.
Not just the battle itself—but the moment she hit him.
Kyle closed his eyes. He could still see it. The way she had moved, the fire in her eyes as she refused to back down. The moment her backfist had connected, the force of the strike snapping his head to the side.
He hadn't felt pain.
Not in the way he should have.
Instead, something had stirred beneath his skin. Not just a reaction—an absorption.
Like his body had taken that hit and used it.
Stored it.
Kyle frowned, focusing inward. He reached for his core, searching, pulling at the threads of mana that ran through his veins.
And then—
A pulse.
Sharp.
Dark.
Curling deep within him.
His breath hitched.
This wasn't just his power.
This was Boneclaw's.
Kyle's eyes flickered open.
Across from him, Boneclaw's sockets glowed faintly in the dark.
Not with the usual dull flicker of passive mana, but with something else.
Something aware.
Kyle's pulse quickened.
He had always known that Boneclaw was different. Stronger than the familiars of his peers. More instinctive, more responsive, more dangerous.
But this—this was new.
He had leveled up. That much was clear. But it wasn't just his own strength that had increased.
Boneclaw had changed.
And it had dragged Kyle along with it.
He clenched his fists.
This wasn't an accident.
This wasn't natural.
Kyle exhaled slowly, trying to steady his thoughts. He should feel stronger, but instead, there was a tension inside him. A quiet, creeping realization that whatever had happened tonight… wasn't entirely under his control.
He thought of his Boneclaw.
It hadn't moved. Hadn't spoken. But Kyle could feel it.
A quiet understanding, an unspoken truth passing between them.
This wasn't just a bond.
This was something deeper.
And it wasn't done yet.
---
Returning to Present: Walking Away from the Ranking Hall
Kyle tightened his jaw, pushing the memory aside.
The whispers of the students in the ranking hall still clung to the air behind him, but he ignored them.
He didn't need to hear their disbelief.
He already knew the truth.
His level-up hadn't been natural.
And if anyone ever found out what had really happened…
It wouldn't just be fear that followed him.
It would be something worse.
Something he wouldn't be able to stop.
---