After everyone had rested for a brief moment, the instructor barked that they should all stand up quickly. They stood up unwillingly, their joints popping in the quiet, echoing hall. Instructor Robin looked at them with a cold, piercing gaze that seemed to cut through their fatigue. "Look at you guys. If you act like this outside of the city, you will be eaten by a fierce beast before you can even scream," he growled. "Stop whining and start running."
The instructor began to pace the perimeter as they ran, the heavy thud of his boots rhythmically hitting the polished floor as he continued his vicious training. The air in the hall grew thick with the smell of sweat and the humid heat of dozens of struggling students. Nova kept up his acting as usual, his face pale and his breathing forced into a ragged, desperate sound to blend in with the rest. After three hours of these grueling drills, Instructor Robin finally called an end to the class and left the room. Nova could hear the faint, muttered curses from the other students as they slumped over, but he knew this was for the best.
By pushing them like this, the school was forcing them to practice their movement speed as if their lives depended on it. When these students eventually encounter a fierce beast in the wilderness, they will need to maintain their pace despite the paralyzing smell of blood and the cold grip of fear. The school's main goal was to ensure students didn't die easily during their first true test. Instructor Robin was there to teach them survival tricks from his own years of hard-earned experience. During the college entrance exams, students have to hunt beasts in the wild, and despite the protection of supervisors, many die every year for various reasons. For students in a low-tier city like this, where resources are scarce, survival is the only thing that truly matters.
Now, it was time for the self-study period. The training facilities stayed open all night under the dim hum of the overhead lights, and those who stayed late could get a dinner full of rich aura to help their recovery. The two beauties, from the Miller and Walker families, left immediately, their elegant figures disappearing through the large oak doors. Even though their families had warriors far stronger than Instructor Robin, those family guards spent most of their lives inside the safe city walls. Robin and other warriors like him earned their living by hunting beasts and gathering spiritual materials in the dangerous wilderness. They had far more practical experience in the dirt and blood of the outside world, which is exactly why the girls were here to learn his specific, gritty tricks.
Others, whose families weren't as rich, stayed behind to practice their stances and wait for the aura-filled meal. Nova planned to leave sneakily a bit later on. He realized that if he left right after the girls, it would be like saying, "Look at me, I am awesome," and his shadow would be seen trailing right behind them. Nova got chills just thinking about the misunderstanding; he could already feel the burning, jealous eyes of the other boys on the back of his neck. If he tried to leave then, it would look like he was stalking the girls, and he might be beaten to death by a crowd of angry classmates before he could reach the gates. He couldn't exactly tell them, "You misunderstood me! I have a system, so I don't need to practice—I just upgrade using points while I sleep."
After an hour, the school provided some aura-rich snacks. They weren't as good as a full meal, but the faint, sweet scent of the energy-filled food helped everyone regain some of their drained strength. After resting, the group dispersed into different sections of the facility. Some sat in quiet corners to meditate and refine their aura, while others filled the room with the sounds of rhythmic boxing or the sharp whistling of wooden swords cutting through the air. After a few more minutes, Nova finally decided it was his time to slip away. Since everyone was focused intensely on their own cultivation, no one cared what he was doing. He was able to walk toward the exit, moving swaggeringly without attracting any unwanted attention, finally leaving the stuffy hall for the cool night air.
Nova took a deep breath of the cool night air, letting the chill settle his restless thoughts. He took the bus home, ate a quiet dinner, and fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
The next morning, he woke with a renewed sense of purpose. After a quick breakfast, he prepared his gear for the hunt. Taking the bus to the city gates, he stepped into the dense, shadowed forest. It didn't take long to find his targets: Rank 3 Gray Wolves. Drawing his blade, Nova used his skilled Wind Swordsmanship to cut through them. He moved with practiced ease, taking on two or three wolves at a time without breaking a sweat.
After slaying twenty wolves, he checked his system interface. He had earned 2,000 points. Without hesitation, he used the points to upgrade his cultivation from Rank 3 to Rank 4 of the Awaken Realm. Feeling the new strength surging through his veins, he pushed deeper into the woods.
Suddenly, the forest went silent. A massive shadow emerged from the thick underbrush, its eyes glowing with a predatory amber light. It was a Gray Wolf King, three times larger than its pack mates, with fur as coarse as iron wire and fangs that dripped with foul saliva.
Nova felt a surge of adrenaline but did not flinch. As the beast lunged with a bone-shattering roar, Nova activated Phantom Steps. His body blurred, leaving an afterimage behind as the wolf's claws tore through empty air, shattering a nearby tree trunk instead.
He countered instantly. Channeled through his blade, his Wind Swordsmanship whistled through the air like a localized hurricane. He delivered a flurry of rapid strikes, aiming for the beast's joints. The Wolf King was fast, however, snapping its jaws inches from Nova's throat and forcing him to roll across the jagged forest floor.
Blood trickled from a shallow gash on Nova's arm where a claw had grazed him, but he used the pain to sharpen his focus. He waited for the beast to leap again. Just as the Wolf King reached the peak of its jump, Nova slid beneath it, his sword moving in a blur of pure speed. With a powerful upward thrust, he sliced through the beast's soft underbelly.
The giant wolf crashed to the ground, skidding through the dirt before falling still. Nova stood over it, chest heaving, his blade stained with dark blood. He took a moment to rest, eating an energy bar and drinking water before finishing his hunt by taking down several Big Horn Pigs.
Glancing at his watch, he realized the special class was about to start. He also noticed a catch in the system: killing monsters below his own level provided almost no points. There would be no easy cheating by hunting weaklings in the future.
He returned to the city and headed straight to a shop to sell his materials, earning 300,000 Alliance coins. Afterward, he used a public bathroom to wash away the blood, dirt, and sweat. He avoided going home because he didn't want his parents worrying about his daily hunts. In fact, he hadn't even told them he could cultivate yet; the news would be too shocking.
His plan was simple: use the system to get into the top academy for humanity. Once he was accepted into Starrise Academy, his parents would be so focused on his success that they wouldn't press him too hard on how he suddenly gained his powers. He knew he would have to lie eventually, but if he timed it right, he could minimize their suspicion.
While lost in thought, Nova boarded the bus and arrived at school just in time. He grabbed a tray in the canteen and sat next to Albert.
"Hey, how's it going?" Albert asked, looking up from his meal.
Nova reminded him that he had permission to skip regular classes, so he wouldn't be around during normal hours. After a quick lunch, Nova headed to the training grounds.
Instructor Robin arrived shortly after and began the usual brutal routine of chasing and beating the students. Nova kept up his act, pretending to struggle like everyone else. As the class ended, he lay on the ground gasping for breath, blending in with the other "weaklings."
After the students had rested for only a brief moment, the instructor's voice barked through the air, ordering them to stand up. They rose unwillingly, the sound of their popping joints echoing through the quiet hall. Instructor Robin scanned them with a cold, piercing gaze that seemed to cut right through their fatigue.
"Look at yourselves," he growled. "If you act like this outside the city walls, a fierce beast will eat you before you can even scream. Stop whining and start running!"
Nova noted with satisfaction that no one realized his cultivation had increased. In the Awaken Realm, one only strengthens the physical body; an aura only begins to radiate once a warrior reaches the Warrior Realm and opens their dantian to store energy. As long as he held back his physical strength, no one would know his true power unless they used an advanced biological scanner.