---
The air within the sparring hall crackled with anticipation. Students of varying classes—mages, warriors, archers, elementalists—lined the walls, eyes gleaming with excitement and hunger. The first-year combat trials had arrived. And standing at the center of it all, with the calm of a storm before it breaks, was Kael Umbros.
Across from him stood a smirking second-year, clad in red-lined armor and wielding twin curved blades.
"Look at you," the older student sneered, "you look like a noble's discarded pet. I'm surprised they even let half-breeds in here."
Kael didn't respond. His black-and-silver hair flowed past his shoulders, catching the flickering light. One red eye met the boy's gaze with quiet indifference; the other, that eerie violet, glowed faintly with latent power.
Selene leaned forward from where she stood by the viewing seats, her expression unreadable. She wasn't worried—but there was tension in her jaw, as if she were daring someone to speak ill again.
"Begin!" barked the instructor.
The second-year rushed forward, blades a blur of steel. He aimed to humiliate, not defeat—his strikes designed to tear clothing, draw shallow blood, and embarrass. But he never reached Kael.
The younger boy shifted sideways, so smoothly it was almost lazy. His hand caught the attacker's wrist mid-swing. In one motion, he twisted and slammed the older student into the ground, cracking the tile floor.
Gasps echoed through the hall.
Kael didn't follow up. He simply turned, letting the stunned student groan behind him.
"What the hell was that…" someone whispered.
"I told you he was weird," muttered another.
Selene grinned.
Now they're starting to understand.
The rest of the trial blurred into a rhythm of rapid defeats. Kael never went overboard—no broken bones, no blood spilled. Just clear, precise takedowns. He fought with the instincts of a beast, the sharp grace of a predator that knew how to kill but chose not to.
Even the instructors began exchanging glances.
By the end of it, Kael stood alone in the ring, untouched.
A brief pause.
Then the lead examiner walked forward. "You're not registered with a class. You haven't chosen a path, haven't bound your stats or skills to the system's class parameters. Why?"
Kael looked up. "Because I haven't decided who I want to be yet."
The examiner frowned. "That's reckless. You'll lag behind—"
"I don't think I will," Kael said, voice calm. "The world is bigger than the classes you've given it."
A stir swept through the crowd. Arrogant? Perhaps. But something in his tone—controlled, cold, sure—made it hard to laugh.
Selene stepped forward next, and though less flashy, her performance was brilliant. Her arrows never missed, not once. Each was coated in shimmering wind mana, weaving around obstacles like serpents. She dismantled shield-users, grounded aerial spellcasters, and even snatched a few instructors' attention with her precision.
But where Kael's presence was wild and threatening, hers was clean and devastating—like a force of nature honed to surgical purpose.
And yet, no one knew their greatest advantage.
They could fly.
They hadn't shown it. Not yet. Not here.
Because they were watching. The ones from the capital. The ones that made them outcasts.
Later that night, back in the dorms, Kael leaned against the window, watching clouds drift beneath the academy's floating platform. His shirt was off, revealing scars and firm muscle. Selene sat nearby, brushing her hair in silence.
"You held back again," she said.
"So did you," Kael replied.
She smiled faintly. "You looked good out there."
"I always do."
They both chuckled softly. In here, there was peace. Understanding. A fragile sanctuary.
But it wouldn't last.
The academy was crawling with noble spies, rival bloodlines, and whispering eyes. Already, rumors swirled—about the Umbros twins, about their powers, their unknown class, their dangerous potential.
And they hadn't even transformed yet.
Kael closed his eyes, fingers twitching. He could feel it, deep in his veins—the pull of the moon, the whisper of claws beneath skin, the hunger for blood, for war, for something more.
Soon.
Their time was coming.
And the world would not be ready.
---
[Status Preview – Intermission: Chapter 5]
Name: Kael Umbros
Race: Hybrid (Half-Vampire / Half-Beast)
Gender: Male
Age: 15
Class: [None – Bloodline Bound]
Title(s): Outcast, Twin of the Eclipse, Potential Sovereign
Stats:
Strength: 42
Agility: 39
Stamina: 40
Vitality: 38
Intelligence: 27
Mana: 46
Energy: 54
Luck: 12
Charisma: 25
Bloodline Traits:
Vampiric Predation (Passive)
Beast King's Aura (Passive)
Half Transformation (Active)
Full Lycan Form (Locked)
Night Vision (Passive)
Blood Manipulation (Active)
Aura Claws (Active)
System Features:
Observe
Soulbound Inventory [Infinite]
Two-Page Display
Evolution Tracker
Gift System (Linked to Harem Members)
---
Name: Selene Umbros
Race: Hybrid (Half-Vampire / Half-Beast)
Gender: Female
Age: 15
Class: [None – Bloodline Bound]
Title(s): Twin of the Eclipse, Hidden Flame
Stats:
Strength: 28
Agility: 41
Stamina: 35
Vitality: 33
Intelligence: 47
Mana: 52
Energy: 49
Luck: 17
Charisma: 34
Bloodline Traits:
Vampiric Precision (Passive)
Beast Queen's Grace (Passive)
Half Transformation (Active)
Elemental Arrowcraft (Active)
Bloodline Recall (Passive)
Aura Wings (Active – Concealed)
System Features:
Observe
Shared Inventory (Through Kael)
Two-Page Display
Bloodline Skill Tree
---