It was the middle of the night, yet turmoil continued to ripple across the Heartland Nation Preliminary Training Camp as trainees busily prepared themselves for the upcoming exam.
A few of them had already contacted their parents, requesting expensive gear and rare resources to increase their chances of success.
All around the camp, wealthy trainees were frantically buying resources like EXP Orbs for more than twice the normal price from anyone willing to sell, desperate for any advantage that could raise their levels before dawn. Aether Crystals and rare stat-boosting items such as Strength Stones and Agility Stones had completely sold out.
Even though it was the middle of the night — a time meant for rest — no one could calm their nerves enough to sleep.
Of course, there was one exception — the camp's anomaly, Marlon.
He lay sprawled on his bed, hands tucked behind his head, calmly chewing on a handful of peanuts he'd bought earlier, his gaze fixed on the shimmering blue screen before him.
━━〔 BASIC INFORMATION 〕━━━
Name: Marlon Ashleigh
Talent: Absolute Attack (EX)
Power Level: 12 (96%)
Power Rank: FF
Health Points: 170/170
Health Regen: 1 HP/min
Aether Points: 100/100
Aether Regen: 1 AP/min
━━━〔 STATS 〕━━━
Strength: 76 | Agility: 75
Vitality: 17 | Intelligence: 70
Free Points: 8
━━━〔 ATTRIBUTES 〕━━━
Physical Attack: 190 | Magical Attack: 188
Physical Defense: 10% | Magical Defense: 5%
━━━〔 SKILLS 〕━━━
Passive: Drain (D), Night Instinct (F), Rock Body (F)
Active: Punch of Iron (D), Punch of Judgment (B)
[ INVENTORY (5/5) ]
×3 Skill Book
×34 FF-Grade Monster Core
×8 F-Grade Monster Core
×5 Low-Grade EXP Orb
×2 Low-Grade Aether Crystal
…
Despite his impressive inventory and solid stats, the grin on his face remained unchanged.
"This much should be enough to pass the entrance exam with flying colors," he muttered lazily. "At least for the combat and survival parts. The written test, though… that'll be a pain in the ass."
He let out a small chuckle, rolling one of the peanuts between his fingers. "Still, if I want to steal the spotlight tomorrow and catch the eyes of the big shots, I'll need a bit more than this."
With that thought, he summoned all the EXP Orbs in his possession.
Five cherry-sized blue orbs appeared in his open palm, gleaming softly in the dim light of the room.
Marlon sat up and admired the glowing orbs for a few seconds before consuming one.
[ You've consumed a Low-Grade EXP Orb. +1,000 EXP ]
[ Level Up ]
[ New Level: 13 ]
A grin spread across his face as he began consuming the remaining orbs one after another.
[ You've consumed a Low-Grade EXP Orb. +1,000 EXP ]
[ You've consumed a Low-Grade EXP Orb. +1,000 EXP ]
…
[ You've consumed a Low-Grade EXP Orb. +1,000 EXP ]
When the final light faded, he leaned back with a sigh. Even with all five orbs, and a total of 5,000 experience points, he hadn't reached the next level.
He shrugged lightly. It was understandable.
"It's only because there were a lot of mid-rank Sand Raiders and Sand Serpents in those last two danger zones that I even made it to level twelve," he thought aloud.
If there had been more low-rank monsters among them, he probably would've been close to reaching level fourteen by now.
"Well, that's that," he said, glancing at the glowing crystals beside him. "Now it's time for the Aether Crystals."
Unlike EXP Orbs, which worked instantly, Aether Crystals had to be absorbed slowly through meditation. Some skills could drastically improve absorption speed — but for now, Marlon didn't have any of those.
He summoned one of the crystals, studying its faint white glow before nodding to himself.
"If this doesn't work," he muttered, "I'll just sell all the FF-grade monster cores and buy a decent meditation skill book."
Crossing his legs into a lotus position, he closed his eyes and began to meditate, focusing intently on the crystal before him.
Soft threads of ethereal light drifted from the Aether Crystal, swirling slowly in the air before forming a gentle orbit around him.
He continued like that for the rest of the night.
Meanwhile, elsewhere in the camp, tension brewed.
At another tent, Selena stood across from her younger sister, Lyra, her tone sharp and urgent.
"Lyra, you're the only one who spoke to that mysterious person. If you know who he is, please — tell me."
The two sisters stood facing each other. Selena wore neatly pressed black pants and a fitted shirt that accentuated her graceful figure, her long white hair cascading over her shoulders as her ocean-blue eyes glared intensely at her sister.
Lyra, in contrast, wore fitted shorts and a loose black hoodie that did little to hide her toned form. She folded her arms across her chest, her expression stubborn.
"I've already told you," Lyra said with a scoff. "He didn't tell me who he was."
Selena exhaled heavily, rubbing her temples. With the exam so close, her search for the mysterious figure from last night's battlefield had become desperate.
"You don't understand how important this is," she said, her voice softening. "If we get him on our team, it could make all the difference tomorrow. It'll help us — and it'll raise our family's name. So please, Lyra, if you know anything at all, tell me."
Lyra's frown deepened. Family?
The same family that had ignored her for years? When she'd awakened her Assassin talent, instead of celebrating, their parents had looked disappointed. They'd wished she could awaken again — into something flashier, rarer, like Selena's talent.
They had refused to train her in combat, instead sending her through countless tests and labs, hoping for a second awakening. When they finally gave up, they turned all their attention and resources to Selena — and left her behind.
Now they wanted her to fight for that family's honor? Not a chance.
"I'm done living under your shadow, Selena," Lyra said coldly. "Form your own team. Take the exam however you want."
She turned to leave, but Selena raised her hand. A vine sprouted from her palm, snapping across the doorway to block the exit.
"Lyra," she said, her voice trembling slightly, "I know you hate Mother and Father — but now isn't the time to act on that anger. We can do so much more if we work together. The Whitlock sisters, united, could accomplish anything."
Her tone softened, pleading — but Lyra's gaze only hardened.
She didn't hate her sister; she hated how easily Selena played along with their parents' schemes.
Without hesitation, Lyra drew a dagger from her inventory, slicing cleanly through the vine.
"I've made my choice," she said, and walked past her.
Selena stood there for a long moment, silent, staring at the empty doorway where her sister had vanished.
....
Sorry for the late update guys.