The infirmary was quiet, but the air was thick with the scent of ozone and the metallic tang of drying blood. Nikolas sat on his cot, eyes closed, mentally organizing the [Lunar Cache]. Inside the void-space of the System, the Essence of Malphas pulsed with a rhythmic, heavy throb.
He didn't look like a killer. He looked like a tired ten-year-old in a borrowed tunic. His human muscles, braided like steel cables beneath his skin, were hidden by the "compressed density" of his Level 8 stats. To a casual observer, he was still the "Runt" who had barely survived a cave-in.
"Niko," Kael whispered, leaning over from the adjacent bed. "The guards are moving. Something's happening at the Great Iron Gate."
Nikolas opened his eyes. His [Hunter's Heartrate] remained a steady, calm 50 beats per minute, even as he felt a massive, familiar pressure approaching the Academy's outer wards. It was an aura of pure, unadulterated dominance—a High-Class Salvatore signature.
"My brother is here," Nikolas said.
"Marcus?" Jax asked, sitting up so fast his cracked goggles fell off his lap. "But he's a Knight-Captain! He's not allowed inside the student sectors unless there's an emergency."
"The 'Shadow-General' spike in the mines was the emergency," Nikolas replied, his voice flat. "And he's not here for the General. He's here to see if the family embarrassment is dead yet."
The Iron Gate
The World Academy was a fortress. No one—not even a noble—could simply walk inside. But Marcus Salvatore was more than a noble; he was a Level 15 Knight of the Realm.
Standing at the black iron gates, Marcus looked like a statue carved from obsidian. He was nineteen years old, nearly seven feet tall in his human form, with shoulders so broad he seemed to block the sun. His eyes were cold, predatory slits of gold, and his presence made the Silver-rank gate guards bow their heads in genuine fear.
"I am here on behalf of the Patriarch," Marcus's voice boomed, vibrating in the chests of everyone nearby. "To inspect the 'Gold-Rank' anomaly reported in Sector 9. Step aside."
"Sir," the lead guard stammered, checking the parchment. "Knight-Inquisitor Vora is already conducting the inquiry. Only students and—"
Marcus didn't wait. He released a fraction of his pressure. The ground beneath the guard's boots cracked. "I am a Salvatore. I am the inquiry."
The gates groaned open.
The Courtyard Encounter
Nikolas had told the squad to stay in the infirmary, but Mina wouldn't listen. She knew the reputation of the Salvatore brothers. She knew that in their family, "correction" often meant a broken rib or a crushed spirit.
She stood in the central courtyard, her iron-skin scales partially flickered over her knuckles, pretending to sharpen a practice blade when Marcus marched through.
Marcus stopped. He looked down at the "Ground-Dragon" girl with a look of profound boredom. "You. The Runt's lapdog. Where is Nikolas?"
Mina didn't flinch. "He's in the infirmary, Knight-Captain. Recovering from the 'luck' that saved our lives while your family stayed in their warm beds."
The air went cold. Marcus's hand blurred. He didn't shift, but his human strength was already at the "High-Class" ceiling. He grabbed Mina by the throat, lifting her several inches off the ground.
"Luck is for the weak," Marcus hissed. "A Salvatore lives by strength. If he survived the mines, it means he hid while others died. Tell me, Runt-Girl... did he scream when the ceiling fell?"
"He didn't scream," Mina choked out, her face turning a deep shade of red as she clawed at his iron-grip. "He... he led us out. He's ten times the leader you'll ever be."
Marcus's eyes flared with a lethal light. "Then I shall see how much of that 'leadership' remains when I snap your neck."
"Put her down, Marcus."
The voice was quiet, but it cut through Marcus's aura like a silver blade.
Nikolas stood at the edge of the courtyard. He looked small. He looked fragile. He wore his standard Academy clothes, and his hands were shoved into his pockets. He didn't look like he had just leveled up to 8. He looked like the same boy Marcus had smashed into a crater six months ago.
Marcus dropped Mina. She collapsed to the stones, gasping for air, as Jax and Toby rushed from the shadows to pull her away.
"You look well for a corpse, little brother," Marcus said, stepping toward Nikolas. Each step he took felt like a hammer blow to the earth. "I heard a rumor. A rumor that you defeated a Dragon Heir. A rumor that you survived a Shadow-General."
"It was a cave-in, Marcus," Nikolas said, his [Rank Masking] dialed to its maximum. "The Dragon was overconfident, and the General was a fluke of the shadows. I'm just lucky. You know that."
Marcus stopped three feet from Nikolas. The height difference was comical. Marcus was a mountain; Nikolas was a sapling.
"I don't believe in luck," Marcus said. He leaned down, his face inches from Nikolas's. "And I don't believe in runts who suddenly become Gold-ranks. Father thinks you're hiding a stolen relic. He thinks you've cheated the bloodline."
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
[TARGET DETECTED: MARCUS SALVATORE]
[LEVEL: 15]
[THREAT ASSESSMENT]: EXTREME (In Human Form).
[WARNING]: Direct confrontation will result in 90% chance of 'System Exposure'. Maintain the mask.
"I have nothing but what Mother gave me," Nikolas lied, his voice trembling slightly—a perfect performance. "And the training you gave me in the crater. I haven't forgotten the lessons of pain, brother."
Marcus's lip curled in a sneer. "Good. Because I'm here to give you another."
Without warning, Marcus lunged. He didn't transform, but his fist carried the "Life-Force" of a Level 15 Knight. It was a strike meant to shatter the "runt's" shoulder and end his training for a year.
Nikolas saw it in slow motion. His [Vanguard's Reflex] screamed at him to dodge, to counter, to rip Marcus's throat out with the [Partial Shift].
But he didn't.
He allowed the blow to land. He used [Physical Density] at the very last micro-second, localizing all his stats into his shoulder to prevent a permanent break, but he let the force of the hit send him flying across the courtyard.
He slammed into a stone pillar, a loud crack echoing through the hall. He slumped to the ground, coughing.
"Niko!" Jax screamed, trying to run forward, but Toby held him back.
Marcus stood over his brother, his fist smoking with spent aura. "Still soft. Still a human shell. You survived the mines because the shadows found you too pathetic to eat."
Marcus turned to the gathered students, his voice booming. "Let this be a reminder! A Salvatore name is earned, not given! If this runt survives another year, perhaps I'll return to see if he's grown an inch of fur."
He marched out of the courtyard, his cape snapping in the wind. He didn't look back. He had seen what he wanted to see: a weak, broken boy who couldn't even dodge a basic human strike.
As soon as the iron gates slammed shut behind Marcus, the "Runt Squad" swarmed Nikolas.
"Your shoulder!" Sora cried, her hands glowing with a faint, green light as she tried to heal him. "Niko, why didn't you move? You could have dodged that! We saw you move in the mines!"
Nikolas sat up, his face pale, but he gently pushed Sora's hands away. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small, jagged piece of metal.
It was a piece of Marcus's armor—a silver-crest button he had plucked from Marcus's chest at the exact moment the punch landed.
"If I dodged, he would have known," Nikolas whispered, his voice cold and devoid of the "weakness" he had just shown. "He would have realized I have the speed of a Level 10. He would have told Father."
He stood up, his shoulder clicking back into place. His [Rapid Cellular Repair] was already knitting the bruised tissue together.
"He thinks he's the predator," Nikolas said, looking at the gates. "He thinks he's Level 15 and I'm Level 1. He thinks the gap is a mountain."
He looked at the piece of Marcus's armor in his hand, then crushed it into a ball of scrap metal with one hand.
"Let him think that for two more years," Nikolas said, his eyes flashing with a hidden, crimson fire. "When the Tournament starts, and I'm standing at Rank 1... I want to see the look on his face when the 'Runt' looks down on him."
Jax looked at the crushed metal in Nikolas's hand. He looked at the way Nikolas was standing—no longer slouching, no longer trembling.
"Niko," Jax whispered. "How much are you actually hiding from us?"
Nikolas looked at his friend, then toward the high tower where the Master was watching.
"Everything, Jax," Nikolas said. "I'm hiding everything. Because if the world knew what I was becoming... they wouldn't just send my brother. They'd send an army."
He turned toward the training grounds. "Toby, get the silver-dust. Jax, I need those jammers finished by tonight. We aren't just training to survive anymore.