Two years. Twenty-four months. Seven hundred and thirty days.
That's how long it took me to go from starving orphan to the top student at Valdris Academy.
I stood on the training grounds at dawn, as I did every morning, running through forms Elara had drilled into me. Fire. Water. Steam. Combinations that made other students stare.
Behind me, a crowd had gathered.
It happened every day now. Students coming to watch the commoner train. Some hoping to learn. Some hoping to see me fail.
None of them left satisfied.
I finished the routine. Extinguished my flames. Turned.
Lyra leaned against a post, apple in hand, grinning.
"Show-off."
"Warm-up."
"Same thing with you." She tossed me the apple. I caught it. Bit in. "Rankings come out today. Nervous?"
"No."
"Liar."
"Maybe a little."
She laughed. Fell into step beside me as we walked toward the main hall.
The rankings were posted every month. A list of every student, ranked by performance in classes, exams, and practical demonstrations. For two years, I'd climbed.
Seventh. Fifth. Third. Second.
Never first.
Darian Valerius had held that spot since before I arrived. Ten years of training. Family resources. Private tutors.
Then his family fell. He withdrew.
And the top spot sat empty.
Until today.
---
The hall was packed.
Students crowded around the bulletin board, pushing, shouting, desperate to see their names. I hung back. Let them swarm.
Lyra squeezed through. Disappeared into the mob.
A minute later, she emerged.
Face strange.
"Well?"
She walked toward me. Slow. Deliberate.
Then she grinned so wide it hurt.
"You did it."
The crowd parted. On the board, at the very top, a single line:
#1 – REN (COMMONER) – OVERALL RANK
I stared at it.
Number one.
The old me—the Uber driver, the failure, the nobody—would have cried. Would have disbelieved. Would have waited for someone to say it was a mistake.
The new me just nodded.
"Good. Now the real work starts."
Lyra punched my arm. "Let people be happy, you monster."
"I am happy." I looked at the board again. "I'm also aware that being number one means everyone's aiming for me."
"Let them aim." She hooked her arm through mine. "You've survived worse."
---
Later – Professor Voss's Office
"You've done it." Voss leaned back in his chair, looking at me with something like pride. "Number one. At thirteen. With no formal education before age seven."
"I had help."
"Modest too. Disgusting." He slid a folder across the desk. "Now the real challenge begins."
I opened it.
Inter-Academy Tournament. Tri-Annual. Schools from across the continent. Valdris has not won in forty-three years.
"This is an invitation," Voss said. "To lead our team."
I looked at the papers. Dates. Locations. Rules.
"Who else is going?"
"Three others. We'll hold trials next month. But you're captain. Automatic selection." He leaned forward. "This tournament is how legends are made, Ren. Winners become heroes. They get sponsorships, opportunities, recognition that lasts a lifetime."
"And if we lose?"
"Then you're still number one at Valdris. Which is nothing to dismiss." He paused. "But I don't think you're interested in losing."
I wasn't.
---
That Night – The Memory-Band
I lay in bed, staring at the ceiling.
Number one. Tournament captain. Path ahead clear.
So why did I feel uneasy?
The memory-band hummed. Warmer than usual. Pulling at something.
I closed my eyes. Let it work.
Flash.
Old life. Twenty-five. Driving Uber late night. Passenger was old. Talkative. He'd been an archaeologist once. Told stories about digging up ruins, finding things that shouldn't exist.
"Some places," he said, "are built on top of older places. Cities on cities. Temples on temples. The past doesn't go away. It just waits."
Flash.
Another memory. Younger. Reading a book about ancient civilizations. How they all had flood stories. How they all had gods who came from somewhere else.
"What if they weren't myths?" the book asked. "What if they were history we forgot how to read?"
The memory-band pulsed.
I sat up.
Below the academy—deep below, in places students never went—something pulsed back.
Come find me.
I didn't know whose voice that was.
But I knew one thing.
The tournament grounds were built on ancient ruins.
And something down there knew my name.
---
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION]
New Rank: #1 OVERALL – VALDRIS ACADEMY
· Reward: 2000 EXP + [Title: THE CHAMPION]
· Effect: +30% reputation, +20% intimidation, access to elite opportunities
[NEW QUEST: THE TOURNAMENT AWAITS]
· Objective: Lead Valdris team to victory.
· Timeline: 3 months until competition
· Requirements: Build team, train, prepare for unknown rivals.
[NEW QUEST: WHISPERS BELOW]
· Objective: Investigate the ancient ruins beneath the tournament grounds.
· Warning: Something down there knows you. Find out what before it finds you first.