Michael breathes a sigh of relief as he makes his way to the door from the dark training room with blue lines in some places, though he still couldn't make out the full size of the space—it felt endless even after the exit. As he neared the door, a small platform rose. On it was a card stating his name and rank: C.
He couldn't help but smile. Ranked. Officially. It wasn't the end—just the beginning—but it felt good.
He picked up the card, saw a notification instructing him to wear it as a badge, clipped it on, and stepped through the door—
Only to enter a much larger hall packed with recruits. Many he recognized from earlier, but many more he didn't. Unlike before, no chairs—just people standing around.
As Michael walked forward, whispers began.
"How is a weakling like him C-rank?"
"He must've pulled strings."
"He definitely begged his way up."
Michael clenched his jaw, ready to confront them—until Thomas rushed up.
"Hey!"
"Oh, hey. You're already done?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. How'd it go?" Thomas said.
"It was fine. Those spiders got stronger midway, but nothing too bad."
"Wow, dude, seriously? I expected you to get D-rank or even fail—but you actually scored C. AND your monsters scaled up? That's wild. I got a giant bear with iron claws—one swipe can destroy a bus, imagine that."
Michael blinked. "Wait—why did you think I'd fail?"
"Uh… because your energy is weak?" Thomas said bluntly.
Right. People could see his energy strength. That explained the whispers.
"Well, I trained," Michael said—and then noticed Thomas's badge. "Wait. You got B-rank?"
Thomas grinned smugly.
Michael instinctively checked Thomas's energy—only to find it looked near awakening but not there yet… and weak. Then he noticed others. Same thing. Weak, incomplete energies.
"Why does your energy look weak?" Michael asked.
Thomas sighed. "Because yours is weak."
"Huh?"
"You checked, right? Saw mine as barely awakened? Same for others?" Thomas continued. "That's because the stronger someone's energy is, the easier they can hide it. And the higher your own energy level, the more you can see through others hiding theirs. Everyone here is hiding their energy from weaker people—which is why everyone can see yours, and you can't see theirs."
Smith never told him that.
"Can I hide mine?" Michael asked.
"Nope. Especially not Green. Also, everyone here is stronger than you," Thomas shrugged.
"Only… Green, right?" Michael said.
"Well yeah, that's the only color you have," Thomas replied.
Good. He couldn't see the Blue.
Then another realization hit Michael. The reader only detected the green energy.
"Can the reader sense two energies?" he asked.
"Of course. It reads every type someone has," Thomas said.
So how is the Blue still hidden?
Michael shoved the thought aside.
"What's with the weird questions?" Thomas frowned.
"It's nothing."
"Can you see the strongest one here?" Michael asked.
"No. I'm like 43%. I can't see most people. But I heard someone got an A-rank over there."
Michael's eyes sharpened. "Let's go."
They started walking, but someone bumped into him hard.
"Watch it, cheater," the guy said.
Michael turned. Red hair. Arrogant expression. Badge reading Andrew Homs.
"What do you mean cheater? You bumped into me," Michael said.
Andrew scoffed. "A weakling like you being C-rank? Obviously cheated. You've got the weakest energy here—D-ranks included. Explain that."
"I didn't cheat. I used skill to make up for my lack of energy. You should be embarrassed that someone like me got this far while you're just one rank higher."
Andrew's expression sharpened. "Say that again."
Thomas panicked. "Michael, stop—"
Andrew mocked him. "Oh look, a B-minus. Guess we have two cheaters."
"Don't talk to him like that," Michael said, stepping forward.
"What did you say?" Andrew raised his fist.
"Enough."
A hand landed on Michael's shoulder. Gideon.
"Don't fight before the next phase," Gideon warned. "You'll get removed."
Andrew clicked his tongue and walked off.
"Thanks," Michael said. "Gideon—wait, what are you doing here?"
Michael looked at Gideon's badge—
A+ rank.
"What?!" Michael blurted.
"Well, you guys ditched me, so I got bored of what to do after this," Gideon shrugged. "Didn't expect you to take the test this early. So is that green your limit for now?"
"Well… yeah. You knew I was awakened?"
"Obviously. Your energy was always leaking around you. And thanks to that, I got stronger."
"What?"
"Unawakened people near awakening get boosted if they spend lots of time with an awakened person. You basically helped me awaken earlier."
Thomas jumped in. "What monster did you fight?"
"A black wolf with red eyes. Beat it in one punch. They scale monsters based on energy. The weakest ones were spiders."
Great, Michael thought. I got the weakest monsters.
Then a voice boomed from the stage ahead. A group of Guardians stood there.
One stepped forward with a mic.
Michael recognized him instantly.
It was Smith.
"Hello new recruits. I am Smith Jova, vice commander of the Southern Riftguard, S-rank Guardian," he announced. "I was assigned to train you… but I don't feel like it. So I'll hand you to someone else."
Michael face-palmed.
Thomas blinked.
Gideon laughed.
"I'll still supervise if any of you interest me," Smith added. "Now, your main trainer—the youngest S-rank in the Southern Riftguard—welcome Lucy Meril!"
Michael's head snapped up.
Lucy, their classmate.
Applause thundered. Thomas leaned forward.
"Wow… she's our age. And kinda pretty."
Michael and Gideon stared at him.
Lucy stepped forward, calm and steady, her expression unreadable.
"You already know my name," Lucy said. "I'll be in charge of your training until you're ready to become official Guardians. I have full authority to reduce or increase your ranks based on performance. Most of you will drop. Some will rise. Some will fail entirely."
She let the room quiet down.
"And one more thing—don't rely too much on the memory experience. Yes, it helps. Yes, it gives you techniques and instincts from those who came before you. But don't let it make you arrogant. Don't think it guarantees strength. People get deranked all the time even with memory experience, because they depend on it instead of building their own skills."
Her gaze swept across the hall—
and for a moment, she gave Michael and Gideon a cold, sharp look
before continuing.
"Training begins next week Monday. Don't be late."
Lucy turned and walked off the stage.
---
"Well… that was unexpected," Gideon said.
"Yeah," Michael agreed.
"I knew she was strong—but S-rank?!" Gideon said. "I thought she was just awakened."
"I didn't expect it at all," Michael muttered.
Then he remembered something she said. "What did she mean by memory experience?"
Thomas answered, "They are the memories from your energy according to what I've heard."
Gideon added, "They're memories from strong people who had the same energy as you. People above 75% leave behind memories of their battles and techniques. Most people copy them—like Andrew. Some don't, and form their own. And sometimes, people remember personal memories. Past lives. Reincarnations. Not everyone is a reincarnation, some just take the memories of the strong ones."
"So people with over 50% have an advantage?" Thomas asked.
"Exactly," Gideon said.
"What about you?" Michael asked. "Did you remember your past self?"
Gideon's face darkened briefly before a smirk formed.
"Find out when you reach that point. Come on, let's go. We have to get ready for next week."
Michael glanced at Gideon.
It feels like he's hiding something… but he'll tell me another time.
Well… at least he wasn't alone. He had people to train with.
Let's hope the next days go smoothly.