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[Would you like to claim your daily reward?]
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I pressed yes without hesitation, curious to see what the system would provide on such an important day.
[Congratulations! You have received: Guardian's Last Stand]
[Guardian's Last Stand]
[Grade: Rare]
[Details: Creates an impenetrable barrier that blocks all attacks from Transcendent-rank beings or below for exactly 10 seconds. Once activated, the shield cannot be dismissed early and will automatically disappear after the time limit. Single use only.]
Staring at my reward, I felt a surge of genuine satisfaction. This was a life-saving measure of the highest order! Ten seconds might not sound like much, but in combat situations, those precious moments could mean the difference between life and death.
I could think of countless scenarios where this shield would be invaluable. Against Transcendent-rank threats, Elite-rank awakeners were essentially helpless, but this shield would level the playing field, at least temporarily.
The timing couldn't have been better either. Today was the entrance examination.
Having an emergency escape option hidden in my arsenal provided an extra layer of security that could prove crucial.
More importantly, given my recent encounter with that Transcendent beast in the forest, this shield felt good to have. If whatever was driving high-rank creatures toward the city continued to escalate, I might need exactly this kind of protection sooner than expected.
I carefully stored the shield's activation crystal in my storage ring, making sure to position it where I could access it instantly if needed. Unlike my other equipment, this was purely a defensive emergency measure, not something to rely on regularly, but rather a final trump card for dire situations.
Ten seconds of invulnerability. It was a small window, but in the hands of someone who knew what was coming, it could change everything.
"Take care, sweetie. I know you will do well," My mom said, before giving me a kiss on my forehead.
I nodded, allowing a small smile to cross my face. "Thanks, Mom."
My father extended his arm for what appeared to be a fist bump. "Show them what you've got."
I returned the gesture with the same smile, though inwardly I was thinking something quite different.
Sorry, Dad, but I'll have to pass on showing them what I've got. The last thing I wanted was to stand out or draw unnecessary attention during the academy entrance process.
I climbed into the elegant wagon that would transport me to the academy. The vehicle was pulled by a tamed Elite-rank transportation beast, a creature specifically bred for endurance and speed rather than combat. The interior was luxurious and extremely comfortable, with cushioned seats and crystals that served as air conditioners that would make the long journey pleasant.
The academy was quite far from our estate, approximately three hours by beast-drawn transport. This gave me plenty of time to review my notes about what to expect during the entrance examination and prepare myself for the challenges ahead.
As the wagon began moving, I settled back into the plush seating and watched the familiar sights of Luminara fade into the distance.
...
As the wagon moved steadily along the road toward the academy, I began to recount the events of the past two weeks.
Martha had been providing me with constant updates on Kael, the future Winter Beast. So far, nothing appeared unusual in her reports. His daily routine remained unchanged, the same isolation, the same mistreatment from the other children, the same growing resentment that would eventually fuel his transformation into one of the story's most dangerous antagonists.
His loneliness and building hatred seemed to be progressing exactly as I remembered from the novel. The silver-haired boy continued sitting alone on that broken swing, enduring the whispered taunts about being cursed, slowly accumulating the emotional damage that would make him receptive to Daybreak's ideology.
While I felt genuinely bad for the kid's suffering, it had to be done. He could endure the mistreatment for a while longer. I needed a reliable connection to the Daybreak organization, and Kael represented my best opportunity to gain that access. His future recruitment by the anti-royal faction was too valuable a resource for me to interfere with, out of misplaced sympathy.
For the past two weeks, I hadn't encountered Kyle again after that unexpected forest incident. Nothing had occurred since then that made me particularly worried about timeline disruptions.
However, the upcoming entrance examination would serve as a crucial test. It would reveal whether the story's foundation remained intact or if my actions had caused more significant alterations than I'd realized.
The academy's entrance process was well-documented in the original novel. The specific tests, the notable student performances, the social dynamics that would emerge - all of it had been carefully detailed. If these elements proceeded as expected, it would confirm that the core timeline remained stable despite minor variations.
But if major deviations appeared during the exam, it would mean my interference had created unpredictable ripple effects that could make my future knowledge unreliable.
The examination would determine whether the plot was changing dramatically, how extensive any alterations might be, or if there were any significant changes at all. This assessment was crucial for planning my survival strategy going forward.
I settled back into the comfortable wagon seating and closed my eyes to rest. The three-hour journey would give me time to mentally prepare for whatever awaited me at the academy.
Today would answer many of my questions about how much this world had diverged from the story I thought I knew.
...
I slowly opened my eyes as I felt the wagon stop moving.
"It seems like we arrived" I muttered to myself as I heard the wagon driver's voice.
"Young master, we've arrived at the academy." The driver's voice came as he knocked gently on the luxurious cabin I was staying in.
"Alright," I responded, before organising myself and taking a deep breath.
I stood up and opened the door to the wagon, and the sight before me was nothing short of amazing.