The sun had barely risen over the horizon casting long pale shadows across the Northwood Academy campus but Jace Rolan was already wide awake!
In fact, he hadn't slept. His detour to the academy's scrap yard the previous evening had been fruitful though exhausting. He had spent hours digging through rusted engine blocks and discarded mech parts until the System finally pinged identifying a chunk of high grade raw iron ore hidden inside a corroded generator.
He had the material. He had the beast. Now he just needed to survive the day.
Jace walked into the lecture hall for the third year Theory of Beast Taming class. The room was tiered with rows of desks looking down at a central podium. Usually Jace would keep his head down shuffle to the back and try to become invisible. It was a survival mechanism he had perfected over three years of mediocrity.
But today his head was high. The mana coursing through his newly widened channels thanks to his breakthrough to Awakened Realm Level 2 buzzed beneath his skin like a live wire.
He didn't feel like the Dust Mite Kid anymore!
However, the rest of the class didn't know that yet.
"Well look who decided to show up for his last day" a voice sneered from the center of the room.
Jace didn't need to look to know who it was.
Kaelen Thorne. The scion of the Thorne merchant family a group known for selling low grade beast equipment at high grade markups. Kaelen sat with his feet up on the desk surrounded by his usual sycophants.
Jace ignored him moving toward his seat but the path was blocked. Kaelen had kicked a chair into the aisle trapping a smaller trembling student against the wall. It was Simon a first year with a weak Rodent type beast who had likely stumbled into the wrong classroom or had been dragged there for Kaelen's amusement.
"I told you" Kaelen said leaning forward and poking Simon in the chest. "My Gale Hawk needs high quality feed. You're going to give me your lunch credits or I'm going to have my hawk practice its dive bombing on your rat."
Simon was shaking clutching his datapad to his chest. "P-please Kaelen. I need the credits for textbooks."
"And I need my hawk to be happy" Kaelen laughed grabbing the datapad.
The class watched in silence. Some smirked enjoying the show others looked away grateful it wasn't them. In the past Jace would have been one of the ones looking away. He had no power no backing and a trash beast.
Intervening would have been suicide!
But the Jace standing there today remembered the feeling of Tank crushing a granite dummy. He remembered the cold dismissal in Elara Vance's eyes not malice but the indifference of the strong toward the weak. He was done being weak!
Jace stepped forward and kicked the chair blocking the aisle.
"BAM!"
It skittered across the floor with a loud screech slamming into Kaelen's desk.
The room went dead silent!
Kaelen froze his hand still gripping Simon's datapad. He turned slowly his eyes narrowing in disbelief. "Did you just kick my chair Rolan?"
"I think you dropped something" Jace said his voice calm. He nodded at the datapad. "Give it back to him."
Kaelen stood up slowly. He was tall with slicked back blond hair and a uniform that cost more than Jace's life savings. "You've got a lot of nerve for someone who's getting expelled at sunset. Did you finally crack under the pressure? Or did your Dust Mite eat your brain?"
"I'm not getting expelled" Jace said. "And Simon isn't giving you his credits."
Kaelen laughed a harsh barking sound. "Oh this is rich! The F Rank trash is playing hero.
You think because you've survived this long by eating dirt that you're actually a Tamer?"
A screech echoed through the room. A green glow materialized on Kaelen's shoulder coalescing into a bird of prey with sleek emerald feathers and razor sharp talons. The Gale Hawk. A C Rank beast! It stared at Jace with predatory intelligence its beak clicking menacingly.
"My hawk is hungry Jace" Kaelen whispered.
"Maybe it wants a snack. Does your mite even have enough meat on it to be a snack?"
"Let's find out" Jace challenged.
The tension in the room was suffocating.
Kaelen's face twisted into a scowl. He couldn't just attack Jace in the classroom the Academy rules forbade unsanctioned combat but he couldn't let a nobody talk down to him in front of his crew.
"Fine" Kaelen spat. "You want to be a hero?
Let's make it official. I challenge you to a Duel. Today. Noon. The Sector 4 Arena."
"And the stakes?" Jace asked.
"If I win" Kaelen grinned "you drop out immediately. You sign the papers and leave Northwood City. I don't want to see your pathetic face again."
"And if I win?"
The class erupted in laughter! The idea of Jace winning against a Level 3 Awakener with a C Rank beast was the funniest joke they had heard all year. Even Simon looked at Jace with terrified pity.
"If you win?" Kaelen wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "If you beat my Gale Hawk with your Dust Mite? I'll give you 10,000 Credits. Cash."
10,000 Credits! That was enough to buy high grade evolution materials. It was enough to rent a proper training room for a month. It was a fortune!
"Deal" Jace said instantly.
Kaelen blinked surprised by the speed of the acceptance but he quickly recovered his sneer. "Prepare your withdrawal papers Rolan. You're going to need them."
Kaelen shoved past Jace his posse trailing behind him leaving Simon clutching his retrieved datapad.
"Y-you shouldn't have done that" Simon whispered looking at Jace with wide eyes.
"He's Level 3. His hawk knows Wind Blade. It can cut through steel mesh!"
"Don't worry about it" Jace said patting the younger student on the shoulder.
He sat down at his desk ignoring the whispers and stares burning into his back. Let them laugh he thought. He closed his eyes and focused inward entering his Soul Space.
Inside the nebulous blue void of his mind the Iron Jaw Beetle Tank was resting. The beast sensed Jace's attention and clicked its mandibles in greeting.
It was strong yes.
D Rank was impressive compared to an F Rank mite. But a C Rank Gale Hawk was agile aerial and had ranged attacks. Tank was a ground based melee fighter. If the Hawk stayed in the air and rained down wind blades Tank would be a sitting duck!
Jace opened the System interface.
[Status: Iron-Jaw Beetle (Tank)]
↳ Level: Awakened Realm Level 1
↳ Rank: D
↳ Evolution Criteria: Mutation Possible.
↳ Required Material: 1x Iron Ore (In Inventory).
↳ Condition: Beast must consume metal to harden carapace.
↳ 10,000x Speed Boost Available.
Jace felt the heavy chunk of ore in his pocket.
He had planned to save it to refine it properly but Kaelen had forced his hand. He needed more than just a big beetle. He needed a fortress!
"System" Jace subvocalized. "If I feed him the ore now how long for the mutation?"
[Calculation: With 10,000x Evolution Speed... Assimilation time: 10 minutes.]
Jace checked the clock. He had two hours until noon.
A cold smile touched his lips. Kaelen thought he was fighting a Dust Mite. At worst he thought he was fighting a standard beetle. He had no idea that Jace was about to bring a Panzer tank to a knife fight!
"Enjoy your laugh Kaelen" Jace thought gripping the ore in his pocket. "It's going to be the last one you have for a while."