Dawn arrived heavy and gray.
It wasn't raining, but the clouds hung low like the sky itself was watching—waiting.
Lin Fang stood in the training yard long before the students gathered, coat billowing in the cold wind. His system pinged quietly in the background.
[Splinter Protocol Countdown: 6 Hours 14 Minutes]
Current Class Cohesion: 41%
Required for Override: 45%
Status: CRITICAL
He closed the panel. It was time.
The students trickled in, each with different energy.
Carlos arrived bruised but ready—eyes sharp, steps heavy.
Ember followed, fire runes still smoldering on her gloves. She looked… excited. Unhinged, maybe. But loyal.
Zeke came last, walking like a prisoner on his way to sentencing.
Lira didn't walk. She just appeared. Like she had always been there, waiting for the others to notice.
Lin Fang didn't speak at first.
He held a bag.
Then dropped it.
A dozen spirit-stones, training scrolls, and a sealed golden badge fell out.
Carlos whistled. "That's... Academy-grade loot."
"These are for the next team leader," Lin Fang said.
Zeke blinked. "Wait—team leader?"
"You're going to fight for it," Lin Fang said. "Not to win. To prove something."
He pointed to Carlos.
"Power."
Then Ember.
"Passion."
Then Zeke.
"Fear."
Then Lira.
"Control."
He turned away and walked toward the edge of the field.
"Only one of you gets to lead Class V into Apex South. The rest will follow. Or leave."
[System Alert: Internal Tournament Initialized]
Format: Free-for-All
Restrictions: No killing (unless unavoidable)
Objective: Dominate or Submit
Bonus Trigger: If winner reaches over 50% class approval, cohesion instantly restored.
Carlos cracked his neck. "You sure about this?"
"I'm sure about one thing," Lin Fang said. "Only unity forged in fire will survive Apex."
Ember smiled, flames dancing between her fingers. "So... who wants to go first?"
Lira stepped forward without a word.
Zeke didn't move.
Not yet.
Carlos stepped forward first.
He didn't waste words. His aura flared—earth-heavy and muscle-thick. He charged Ember like a cannonball, the ground cracking beneath each step.
Ember spun, fire licking around her as she dodged.
"You always lead with your fists," she teased.
Carlos didn't answer. He slammed a fist toward her shoulder.
She ducked—and countered with a burst of flame at point-blank.
The explosion rocked the yard, sending both of them flying in opposite directions.
Zeke flinched, then slowly backed away.
"I don't want this…" he muttered.
"You already chose," Lira said quietly behind him.
Zeke spun around.
She didn't attack.
She just looked at him.
Like she saw something behind his eyes he didn't even know was there.
Zeke snapped.
He lunged at her, swinging with panic-strength and desperation.
She raised a finger.
He froze midair again, just like before.
But this time, she didn't drop him.
She spoke softly.
"I don't want to be leader."
She turned toward Lin Fang.
"But I also don't want to follow someone I can break with one spell."
[System Alert]
Combat Evaluation in Progress...
Carlos: 78% power output, loyalty +2
Ember: 92% passion output, loyalty +3
Zeke: unstable. cohesion -1
Lira: emotional threshold triggered
Warning: Lira is reaching Control Breakpoint.
Zeke fell to the ground, unconscious again.
Carlos stood, bruised and panting.
"I'm not done."
Ember walked back, hair singed, grinning.
"Good. I'm bored."
The two of them clashed again—fist and flame colliding in a blaze of dust and light.
Lin Fang didn't speak.
He simply watched.
Until the system pinged once more.
[Splinter Protocol: Aborted]
Current Cohesion: 46%
Class Core Stabilized.
New Trait Unlocked: "Forged Loyalty"
Bonus Mission Triggered:
"Select Your Vanguard: Appoint a Second-in-Command Before Departure."
Lin Fang looked over the four bodies—burned, bloodied, broken, but still standing (well, except Zeke).
He smiled faintly.
"Now," he said. "We're finally a class worth fearing."
The dust settled. Carlos and Ember sat on the ground, breathing hard, arms bruised but eyes sharp.
Even Zeke, slowly regaining consciousness, groaned, "Did I... win?"
"No," Lin Fang said. "But you survived. That counts for something."
He stepped into the circle.
"I've seen enough," he said. "No one wins today. That wasn't the point."
He held up a single black band—the symbol of team leadership in inter-academy combat.
He tossed it to Carlos.
Carlos caught it, wide-eyed. "Me?"
"You bleed first, fight hardest, and speak last," Lin Fang said. "That's what this team needs."
Carlos looked at the others.
Zeke gave a weak thumbs up. Ember shrugged. Lira said nothing, but she didn't object.
Carlos nodded. "Then I'll lead us into hell."
[System Update]
Vanguard Assigned: Carlos Reyes
Secondary Mission Unlocked:
"Lead the First Clash"
Objective: Defeat Apex South's vanguard in pre-match skirmish
Time Limit: 48 Hours
Reward: Class-Wide Buff – "Underworld Endurance"
Hidden Trigger: If Class V wins without casualties, unlock "Villain Legacy" title.
That night, the sky turned crimson.
A foreign aura settled over Liberty High like a storm cloud ready to burst.
And at the main gate, a silver-haired figure stood silently.
Her eyes were closed. Her blade still sheathed.
She didn't need to draw it.
The guards dropped to their knees from the pressure alone.
The figure opened her eyes.
"We're here," she whispered. "Let's see if Class V is worth killing."
The pressure from the gate spread like wildfire.
Even students several courtyards away felt it—a suffocating weight pressing on their lungs, bending their knees, silencing their thoughts.
Inside Class V's dorm, Carlos jolted upright from his cot.
"Something's here," he said.
Ember was already at the window, flames dancing around her fists.
Zeke muttered, "This feels like… war."
Lira? She simply stared through the wall.
"She's early," Lin Fang said calmly, stepping into the room.
He looked at his students, one by one.
"This isn't the exam."
He picked up his coat, slipped it on.
"This is the preview."
[System Alert]
Inter-Academy Vanguard Arrival Confirmed
Name: Elara Lyn, Sword of Apex
Rank: S-Class Duelist
Objective: Psychological disruption
Countermeasure: Optional – Greet the enemy early
Reward (Hidden): ???
Lin Fang smiled coldly.
"Let's give her a welcome she'll remember."