Time seemed to slow as Kael descended.
The rogue with the knife—the one threatening the girl—was slow. Pitifully slow. His Keen Hearing tracked the man's heartbeat, spiking in adrenaline. His Dark Adaptation highlighted the sweat on the man's brow.
But the most important read came from the system.
TARGET: ROGUE A
LEVEL: 18
RANK: E
THREAT: LOW
Level 18. Weaker than me.
Kael didn't use lightning. It was too loud. He used gravity.
TELEKINESIS: PULL
He didn't pull the man; he pulled the knife.
The weapon ripped out of the rogue's grip, flying backward into the darkness of the trees.
CLANG.
The rogue blinked, staring at his empty hand. "What the—?"
Kael landed.
He didn't land gracefully. He landed like a meteor, using Strength Enhancement to drive his boots into the man's chest.
CRACK.
Ribs shattered. The rogue slammed into the dirt, gasping for air, blood spraying from his mouth.
"R-Ren!" the other rogue shouted. He was bigger, holding a rusted axe. He was Level 22. E-Rank Peak.
"Get off him, you freak!"
The big rogue swung the axe horizontally, aiming to cleave Kael in half.
Kael didn't dodge. He caught the axe blade.
SCREECH.
Metal ground against Kael's palm. It cut deep—SLASH—but the blade stopped inches from his neck.
The rogue's eyes went wide. "How...?"
Kael grinned. Blood dripped from his hand, sizzling.
"Too slow."
LIGHTNING MANIPULATION: DISCHARGE
BZZZZZT!
Electricity arced from Kael's hand, racing up the iron axe and into the rogue's body. The man convulsed, his muscles seizing, his eyes rolling back. He dropped like a sack of potatoes, smoking.
CRITICAL HIT.
Kael stood over the two bodies. The first rogue was unconscious, drowning in his own blood. The second was twitching, paralyzed.
He turned to the girl.
She was curled up against the rock wall, clutching her torn uniform jacket. Her face was pale, streaked with tears and dirt.
"Th-thank you," she stammered, her voice trembling. "They... they were going to..."
Kael ignored her gratitude. He looked down at his bleeding hand.
REGENERATION: ACTIVE
The gash on his palm knitted together, the skin smoothing over until only a smear of blood remained.
He needed to clean this up. No bodies. No evidence.
He grabbed the first rogue (Ren) by the throat.
"Wait!" the girl screamed. "What are you doing? They're down! You don't have to—"
Kael met her eyes. His gaze was flat. Dead.
"If I leave them, they tell their friends. If I kill them normally, the scavengers eat the bodies and scatter traces. The mana signature lingers."
He tightened his grip.
"I prefer a clean slate."
DEVOUR INITIATED
The rogue, still barely alive, let out a wet gurgle as his body began to unravel. His physical mass dissolved into motes of pale blue light, spiraling into Kael's chest.
The girl watched, her scream dying in her throat, replaced by a choked sound of absolute horror.
"Wh-what... what are you?"
CONSUMPTION COMPLETE
MANA ABSORBED: 60
XP GAINED: 80
ABILITY ROLL: 30%ROLLING...
ROLL FAILED.
Kael sighed, dropping the dust that remained. He turned to the second rogue. The big one was still twitching from the lightning.
He placed a hand on the man's chest.
DEVOUR INITIATED
This one had more mana. A denser, earthy energy.
CONSUMPTION COMPLETE
MANA ABSORBED: 95
XP GAINED: 120
ABILITY ROLL: 30%ROLLING...
ROLL SUCCESS!
ABILITY ACQUIRED: HARDENED SKIN (GRADE: F)
DESCRIPTION: YOUR SKIN BECOMES SLIGHTLY MORE RESISTANT TO PHYSICAL CUTS.
Kael flexed his fingers. He felt a subtle toughness settle over his epidermis, like a thin layer of callous made of steel. Not a game-changer, but useful.
But the best part was the rush of leveling.
SYSTEM NOTIFICATION
LEVEL UP!
LEVEL 19 → 20
RANK EVOLUTION: E-RANK → D-RANK
A shockwave blasted out from Kael's body. His bones popped and realigned. His muscle fibers densified. His mana pool, previously a small pond, suddenly felt like a lake.
F rank was from level 1-9
E rank was from level 10-19
D rank was from level 20-39
The pressure in the air changed. The girl felt it—a heavy, suffocating weight pressing down on her chest. It was the natural aura of a D-Rank.
Kael exhaled a long breath, steam rising from his lips.
D-Rank. It had taken him five years of torture to be discarded as trash, and only one night of freedom to climb the ladder.
MANA RESERVES: 650/650 (INCREASED)
He looked at the girl again. She was staring at him with wide, terrified eyes. She had seen his face. She had seen him eat people.
"Y-you're... a monster," she whispered, trembling.
Kael took a step toward her. His boots crunched on the dry leaves.
He stopped in front of her. He looked down at her trembling form. She squeezed her eyes shut, waiting for death.
"If you scream," Kael said, his voice low, "I'll eat you too."
She froze, nodding frantically. Tears leaked from her eyes.
"What is your name?" he asked.
"S-S-Sophia," she stammered. "Sophia Vane."
Kael paused.
Vane?
He searched his memory. The bully from the hallway. The blonde boy who had burned his jacket.
Julius Vane.
"You are Julius's sister?" Kael asked, an amused tilt to his head.
Sophia nodded, shaking. "Y-yes. Please, don't kill me. I won't tell anyone. I swear! I swear on my life!"
Kael stared at her. He saw the resemblance now. The blonde hair, the soft features. But where Julius was arrogance, she was weakness.
Killing her would be easy. It would hurt Julius, which was a bonus.
But...
A dead noble's daughter in the forest would bring an investigation. Hunters. Trackers. It would disrupt his infiltration.
A live witness was a risk. But a terrified puppet?
"If you speak of this," Kael said, leaning down to whisper in her ear, "if you tell Julius, or the teachers, or anyone... I will find you. And I will not be quick."
"I won't! I promise!" she sobbed.
Kael straightened. "Go."
She scrambled to her feet, tripping over herself in her haste to escape. She didn't look back, sprinting through the trees toward the academy lights, clutching her torn clothes.
Kael watched her go.
Sophia Vane.
He had a thread into Julius's family now. A thread of fear.
He looked at his hands. The blood was gone. The evidence was gone.
HOST STATUS: D-RANK
LEVEL: 20
MANA: 650/650
CLASS: UNLOCKED AT LEVEL 40
He felt strong. For the first time in his life, he didn't feel like the prey.
He began the walk back to the dorms. He needed to wash the smell of ozone and fear off his skin. He needed to be the broken boy, Kael, when the sun rose.
He passed the academy gates just as the sky began to turn purple with the dawn. The guards were yawning, distracted.
He slipped into his room.
He stripped off his dirty clothes and stepped into the small shower unit. The hot water sluiced over him, turning pink as it washed away the traces of the night.
He looked at his reflection in the mirror. Water dripped from his white-and-black hair.
E-Rank.
It was a good start. But Silas was B-Rank. Level 185.
He had a mountain to climb.
And he had a date with Lyra Lockwood in a few hours.
He turned off the water.
"System," he thought. "What is the fastest way to level up now?"
SYSTEM RESPONSE:D-RANK REQUIRES SIGNIFICANTLY MORE XP.
OPTION 1: DUNGEON RAIDING (RISK: MODERATE)
OPTION 2: CONSUMPTION OF HIGHER LIFE FORMS (RISK: HIGH)
OPTION 3: ACADEMY TOURNAMENTS (REWARD: XP CRYSTALS)
Tournaments.
He remembered the brochure Lyra gave him. The "Freshman Assessment" was in one week. The top ten students would receive resources and XP crystals.
He toweled off and lay on his bed. He closed his eyes, but he didn't sleep. He planned.
Julius would be in that tournament. Lyra would be in that tournament.
And Kael would be there too.
He would tear them apart in the ring, and they would thank him for the lesson.
The wolf was inside the gates. And the sheep had no idea what was coming.