The transition wasn't subtle. One moment, the high school hallway was filled with the mundane chatter of students complaining about midterms; the next, the air curdled with the smell of sulfur and wet earth.
[The Tutorial Scenario has arrived.]
[Mission: Survive the First Wave.]
[Enemy: Goblin Scouts (Rank E)]
Green-skinned creatures, barely three feet tall but rippling with corded muscle and jagged teeth, tore through the space between the lockers. Screams erupted, echoing off the linoleum floors.
In the center of the chaos stood Leon. Even at level 1, he looked like a statue carved from marble. His snow-white hair caught the flickering fluorescent lights, and his golden eyes remained unnervingly calm as students fled past him in a panic.
Beside him, Elena, a girl with striking violet hair tied back in a high ponytail, gripped the hilt of her practice wooden sword. Her knuckles were white. As the second-ranked student in the academy, she was used to being the best—except when it came to Leon. For three years, she had chased his back, losing every duel, every exam, and every trial to his effortless genius.
That rivalry had long ago curdled into a secret, burning admiration she refused to voice.
"Leon, look out!" Elena cried, stepping forward. A goblin lunged from atop a locker, its rusted dagger aimed for Leon's throat.
Before she could swing, Leon's hand moved. It was a blur—faster than any level 1 should be capable of. He didn't even look at the creature. He simply caught its wrist mid-air, and with a sickening crack, the bone snapped.
High above the clouds, in the celestial realm, the Gods leaned forward on their thrones. They weren't looking at the school.
"Look at this one," Malakor, the God of Iron Will, rumbled, pointing to a giant screen displaying a different city. "A human with an S-Rank 'Sovereign Knight' class. He's already slaughtered ten goblins."
"And this girl," Xylia added, her eyes fixed on a European " She has potential."
The System, operating under a hidden directive, flickered. It deliberately blurred the feed coming from Leon's location.
[Status Window]
Name: Leon
Class: [Not Awakened]
Level: 1
Strength: 85
Agility: 92
Note: Stats are abnormally high for current Rank.
"Give me that," Leon said calmly, his voice cutting through Elena's panic.He reached out and took the wooden training sword from her trembling hand. The moment his fingers closed around the grip, the atmosphere changed. The "wooden" sword seemed to hum, infused with a pressure that made the air heavy.
"Leon? You can't fight them with wood!" Elena shouted, reaching for him. "We have to find the others! We have to find Lucas—he's our friend, he might be—"
"He's fine," Leon interrupted. He could feel Lucas's signature nearby; the boy was fighting with a desperate, frantic energy. But Leon didn't have time for desperation.
Three goblins charged at once. Leon stepped forward, a single, fluid motion.
Swish.
The wooden sword didn't blunt-force the monsters; it cut through them as if it were made of tempered steel. Three heads rolled across the floor in perfect synchronization.
Elena froze. Her heart hammered against her ribs—not from the monsters, but from the sight of Leon's back. He moved with a grace that was beautiful and terrifying. Every time she lost to him in the gym, she felt this: a magnetic pull toward the man who seemed to belong to a different world.
"How..." she whispered, her violet eyes wide. "Your stats... they shouldn't be able to do that."
Leon wiped a drop of green blood from his cheek, his golden eyes cold. "The System is a lie, Elena. Don't trust the ranks it gives you."
Around the corner, Lucas came skidding into view. He was covered in blood, his blue eyes frantic. He had just finished his first fight, his mind screaming with the memories of the future. He was looking for Leon—the man he thought had died to save him.
Lucas stopped dead when he saw the hallway. It wasn't a battlefield; it was a slaughterhouse.
He saw Elena staring at Leon with a mix of awe and longing. And he saw Leon standing over the corpses of a dozen goblins, holding a simple wooden stick as if it were the scepter of a king.
Wait, Lucas thought, his heart stopping. In the last timeline, Leon didn't awaken his powers. Why is he already...
Leon turned his head, his golden eyes meeting Lucas's blue ones. For a split second, a flash of recognition sparked in Leon's gaze—a look of ancient, regal authority—before it vanished behind a mask of indifference.
"You're late, Lucas," Leon said