The notice arrived at dusk.
Not by messenger. Not by scroll.
It appeared directly on Shen Tian's wristband with a soft chime that sounded far too gentle for the words it carried.
—SELECTED—
RESTRICTED T3 TRAINING ZONE
ASSEMBLY: MIDNIGHT
Shen Tian stared at the glowing text for a full ten seconds.
Then he slowly lay back on his dorm bed and covered his face with both hands.
"…I knew it," he muttered. "This is how it starts. First day I break a crystal, next day I'm sent somewhere people die."
The silver fox sat at the foot of the bed, tail swaying lazily.
'People don't usually die,' it said after a pause.
Shen Tian peeked through his fingers. "That pause was not comforting."
The fox hopped closer, silver fur catching the lamplight like liquid moonlight.
'T3 is restricted because it accelerates evolution,' it continued. 'Most bodies can't handle it. Some collapse. Some go mad.'
Shen Tian dropped his hands. "You're really bad at reassurance."
The fox's eyes softened slightly.
'But you won't.'
That made Shen Tian pause.
Not because of confidence. Not because of arrogance.
But because the fox said it as if stating a fact—like gravity, or death, or inevitability.
"…You're sure?" Shen Tian asked quietly.
The fox tilted its head, studying him for a long moment.
'Your body adapts,' it said. 'Your soul endures. And your luck—'
It glanced upward, where only Shen Tian could faintly feel the pressure of that invisible, inky halo.
'—is no longer purely misfortune.'
Midnight came too fast.
The T3 gates stood at the far end of the academy grounds, towering slabs of black alloy etched with warning sigils. Red lights pulsed slowly, like a giant heart beating in the dark.
Only twelve students stood before them.
Twelve out of hundreds.
They were quiet—not out of camaraderie, but calculation. Each one radiated strength, danger, or something worse.
A tall boy with burning veins stared openly at Shen Tian.
A girl with crystalline pupils frowned, clearly confused.
"Why is he here?" someone whispered, not bothering to lower their voice.
"Rank 1, right? Adaptive human?"
"Must be a mistake."
Shen Tian pretended not to hear.
The fox, however, heard everything.
It sat on Shen Tian's shoulder, tail flicking with barely restrained irritation.
'Say the word,' it murmured. 'I can make one of them faint.'
"Please don't," Shen Tian hissed. "I'm trying to survive, not start a legend."
The gates groaned open.
Cold air poured out, thick with metallic scent and something ancient—like old blood and thunder.
A voice echoed from within.
"Enter if you accept the risks."
No one moved.
Then the girl with crystalline eyes stepped forward.
One by one, the rest followed.
Shen Tian hesitated at the threshold.
For just a heartbeat, his chest tightened. The world beyond those gates felt wrong—as if it rejected weakness by instinct.
The fox pressed its forehead lightly against his neck.
'I'm here,' it said. 'Even if things go badly.'
Shen Tian exhaled.
"…Then let's go badly together."
The moment he crossed the threshold, the gates slammed shut behind them.
Darkness swallowed the group.
Then the lights came on.
The T3 zone was not a training ground.
It was a graveyard.
Broken terrain stretched endlessly—craters, shattered constructs, skeletal remains of massive beasts half-fused into the earth. The air buzzed with unstable energy, prickling Shen Tian's skin.
A system prompt flashed before his eyes.
[WARNING: HIGH-DENSITY EVOLUTION FIELD]
[Passive Adaptation Forced]
[Pain Suppression: DISABLED]
"…Of course it is," Shen Tian whispered.
The ground trembled.
From the ruins ahead, something moved.
A low, distorted roar echoed—too deep, too layered to belong to a single throat.
Several students stiffened.
The fox stood, fur bristling, eyes sharp.
'First wave,' it said calmly. 'Survive this, and they'll stop underestimating you.'
The creature emerged fully then—a malformed beast, all bone plating and exposed muscle, evolution run rampant and uncontrolled.
The instructor's voice echoed distantly.
"Training begins now."
The beast charged.
Shen Tian didn't have time to think.
He moved.
Not gracefully. Not heroically.
But instinctively.
The moment the creature's presence pressed down on him, his body responded—muscles tightening, breathing adjusting, blood burning like it remembered something old.
[Adaptive Pressure Response: ACTIVE]
[Evolution Resistance Increased]
The fox leapt from his shoulder, landing beside him.
Silver light flared.
For the briefest instant, Shen Tian saw something impossible—
A human silhouette overlapping the fox's form.
Tall. Slender. Silver-haired.
Then it vanished.
The beast lunged.
Shen Tian raised his arm.
And for the first time since arriving in this world—
He didn't feel unlucky.
He felt ready.