The Sector 7 Academy Stadium was a coliseum of steel and glass, built to seat fifty thousand spectators. Today, every seat was filled.
Drone cameras buzzed overhead like swarms of angry hornets, beaming the feed to the giant holographic screens floating above the arena. Banners of the major Guilds—Storm Vanguard, Iron Blood, Black Tower—draped from the VIP boxes.
This wasn't just a graduation exam. It was a meat market. The Guilds were here to buy the best livestock.
Lin stood in the staging area on the arena floor, surrounded by two thousand nervous students. He wore a simple grey hoodie and black tactical cargo pants—the standard issue gear he'd bought from Old Jack.
Compared to the others, he looked invisible.
To his left, a student wore full plate armor polished to a mirror sheen. To his right, a girl held a staff tipped with a sapphire worth more than Lin's entire apartment building.
"Look at the crowd," a student whispered, shaking. "That's the Vice-Captain of Iron Blood up there. If I mess up..."
"Just don't trip," another muttered.
Lin ignored them. He was calibrating his senses. With 82 Agility, the noise of the crowd wasn't a roar; it was a layered tapestry of individual sounds. He could hear the scouts whispering in the stands. He could track the flight path of every drone.
"Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."
The voice cut through the noise. It was loud, confident, and dripping with disdain.
The crowd of students parted like the Red Sea.
Walking down the center of the aisle was a young man with golden hair, wearing custom-made crimson leather armor. A longsword with a ruby hilt hung at his hip.
[ Character Identified: Kael ]
[ Class: Flame Swordsman ]
[ Rank: A (Prodigy) ]
Kael. The top student of Sector 7. The heir to the Blaze Family. And the person who had made Lin's life hell for the past three years.
Kael stopped in front of Lin, looking him up and down.
"I heard you died in a dungeon," Kael smiled, but his eyes were cold. "Vane's squad disappeared. Rumor was they wiped. I assumed you were the first to go."
"I got lucky," Lin said calmly.
"Lucky?" Kael scoffed. He stepped closer, looming over Lin. "Luck doesn't pass the Assessment, trash. This is the real world. Why are you even here? To embarrass the Academy?"
Lin looked at Kael.
He saw the expensive armor. The arrogant posture.
But mostly, he saw the red bar floating over Kael's head.
[ HP: 1,200 / 1,200 ]
Rank A. Level 8. 1,200 HP.
It was impressive for a student.
But Lin had 3,350 HP.
If Lin wanted to, he could snap Kael's neck before the prodigy could even draw his sword.
But that wasn't the plan. Not yet.
"I need the credits," Lin said, casting his eyes down, playing the role of the beaten dog.
Kael laughed. He patted Lin's cheek—a sharp, stinging slap. "Pathetic. Try not to die in the first round. I'd hate to miss the show."
Kael turned and walked away, his entourage trailing behind him.
"Candidates! Attention!"
The voice of the Chief Instructor boomed over the PA system.
"Phase One: Physical Evaluation. Strength and Agility. You must pass the D-Rank threshold to qualify for the Combat Phase."
A row of massive machines rose from the arena floor. They were Force Gauges—heavy punching pads designed to measure impact kinetic energy.
"Line up!"
The testing began.
One by one, students stepped up.
"300 kg! Pass!"
"450 kg! Pass!"
"150 kg... Fail. Go home."
Then it was Kael's turn.
The stadium screens zoomed in on his face. Kael smirked. He didn't just punch. He drew his fist back, channeling mana. Flames wreathed his gauntlet.
"Hah!"
BOOM.
The machine shook violently. The digital readout skyrocketed.
[ Force: 2,450 kg ]
The crowd erupted.
"Two tons!"
"That's Warrior-class strength!"
"S-Rank potential!"
The Iron Blood scout in the VIP box nodded, typing something onto his tablet.
Kael soaked in the applause, waving to the crowd.
"Next! Lin!"
The applause died down. A few boos echoed from the student section. Everyone knew the "F-Rank Invalid".
Lin stepped up to the machine.
He looked at the pad.
If he used his Agility (82) to generate torque, or if he channeled his True Damage through a punch (like he did with the Acid King), he could probably destroy the machine.
But why?
If he showed power now, the Guilds would target him. Kael would be on guard.
He needed to be underestimated. He needed to be the underdog in the betting pools.
He checked his stats.
[ Strength: 8 ]
It was his only single-digit stat. It was barely better than a child's.
Lin took a breath. He threw a standard, unenhanced punch.
Thud.
It was a pathetic sound. The pad barely moved.
The numbers ticked up slowly. Painfully.
[ Force: 85 kg ]
Silence fell over the arena. Then, laughter.
"85?" The Instructor stared at the readout. "Kid, my grandmother hits harder than that. You need 200 kg to pass as a Warrior. Failed."
"Wait," Lin said. His voice was quiet, amplified by the collar microphone. "I'm not a Warrior. I'm an Archer."
"So?" The Instructor scowled. "Archers need draw weight strength."
"I request the Agility Test," Lin said. "Academy Rule 44: Candidates may choose their primary attribute for qualification."
The Instructor paused. He checked his tablet. "Fine. But you need a score of 400 on the Reaction Wall to pass. That's D-Rank standard."
"Understood."
Lin moved to the second machine. It was a wall of holes. Small rubber balls would be fired at high velocity. He had to dodge or catch them.
"Begin!"
Zip. Zip. Zip.
The balls fired. They moved at 100 kilometers per hour. To a normal person, they were blurs.
To Lin, they were floating bubbles.
He stood in the center of the circle. He didn't dance around. He moved efficiently.
A ball aimed at his head? A slight tilt of the neck.
A ball at his knee? A small pivot of the foot.
He wasn't showing off. He wasn't moving like a blur. He was moving just enough.
Dodge. Dodge. Catch. Dodge.
He kept his movements sloppy on purpose. He flailed his arms a few times, acting like he barely saw it coming. He panted heavily, wiping fake sweat from his brow.
[ Score: 402 ]
[ Score: 405 ]
"Stop!" Lin shouted, stumbling out of the circle as the timer ended.
The scoreboard flashed.
[ Agility Score: 410 ]
[ Rank: D- (Low Pass) ]
"He passed?" The Instructor looked surprised. "Barely."
The crowd murmured. It wasn't impressive. It was a scrape. A lucky pass by a desperate kid.
Kael, watching from the sidelines, rolled his eyes. "A rat is fast, I suppose. He'll die in the Combat Phase."
Lin walked off the stage, clutching his chest, pretending to be winded.
[ Acting Skill: Amateur ]
Inside, his heart rate hadn't even risen.
He had achieved exactly what he wanted. He was qualified. He was the lowest seed. The betting odds against him would be astronomical.
And in the Combat Phase, when live weapons were authorized...
Lin touched the bone bow in his inventory.
Strength doesn't matter, he thought, glancing at Kael's back. When I hit you, your armor won't save you.
"Phase Two begins in one hour!" The announcer shouted. "Battle Royale Mode!"
Lin sat on the bench, pulled his hood down, and smiled.
The real assessment was about to begin.