The lecture hall was already half full when Zael, Lily, and Zane slipped into their row.
Ahead of them, two students were whispering animatedly.
One was tall and lanky, a dagger hanging loosely at his waist — an assassin-type professional. The other was plump, with oily cheeks and a perpetually curious expression.
"Guess what I heard," the lanky one whispered as he dropped into his seat with a grin that promised trouble. "Name's Damien, by the way."
"What?" the plumper boy — Felix — leaned in eagerly.
"Apparently, our Awakener Theory professor is one of the hottest teachers on campus. Rumor says she's got the best figure, looks insanely sexy, and half the seniors are in love with her. Even some professors."
Felix's eyes widened. "No way."
Damien snorted softly. "Way. Imagine a woman like that falling for you. I'd give up ten years of my life just to spend one night with her—"
He was so lost in his fantasy that he didn't notice the sudden silence spreading around them.
Nor the way Felix began clearing his throat urgently.
Nor the shadow that fell across his desk.
"Wow," a sweet voice said, dripping with danger, "I didn't know Mr. Trielle had such… profound knowledge of me."
Damien froze.
Slowly, stiffly, he turned around.
All the color drained from his face.
"Pro… profes… Professor Avery," he croaked.
The woman standing there was tall, with silver hair tied neatly behind her head and sharp, penetrating eyes. She wore a fitted black instructor's coat, and despite its simplicity, her presence pressed down on the room like gravity.
Professor Avery was a legend at Supreme Star University.
Once, she had stood on the front lines of the Gods and Demons Battlefield. It was said she had personally slain over a hundred fourth-class demons and survived an ambush by two fifth-class and ten fourth-class demons — an injury from that battle being the reason she now taught instead of fought.
She was in her early thirties and married to one of the Human Federation's War Gods — a title only given to fifth-class, level 1000 awakeners who had awakened bloodline power.
Even injured, she was still ranked among the top three fighters in the entire university.
Talking behind her back was dangerous enough.
Being caught?
Damien's soul nearly left his body.
Professor Avery smiled pleasantly. "Since you seem so interested in me, Mr. Trielle, why don't you stand up and introduce yourself?"
Damien rose on shaking legs.
"I— I'm Damien Trielle. First-year assassin-type professional."
"And your friend?"
"Felix… Felix Dorn. Support-type."
Professor Avery nodded. "Good. You may sit."
They collapsed back into their chairs as if spared execution.
She turned and walked to the front of the hall.
"Settle down," she said calmly.
The room obeyed instantly.
"This lecture exists for one purpose," Professor Avery continued, her voice carrying easily. "To ensure that none of you die due to ignorance."
She tapped the air, and a projection appeared behind her.
[AWAKENER FUNDAMENTALS]
"First," she said, "talents."
Every student leaned forward.
"As publicly known, the maximum possible level for an awakener is Level 1000. That is the threshold of the fifth class change."
Murmurs spread through the room.
"At Level 1000," she continued, "an awakener may possess up to twelve talents."
She raised a finger.
"Before Level 100, you awaken a new talent every ten levels. Level 10, 20, 30, and so on."
Zael's eyes flickered slightly.
"After Level 100," she said, "that stops. You do not awaken talents naturally anymore. Only during a class change do you have a chance to awaken a new talent."
"Chance?" someone asked.
"Yes. Chance. Not certainty. Many awakeners go through class changes without gaining anything new."
She let that sink in.
"Which brings us to talent grades."
The projection shifted.
[TALENT GRADES: Common → Uncommon → Rare → Epic → Legendary → Mythical]
"The grade of your first talent is the most important talent you will ever awaken."
Zael's gaze sharpened.
"Why?" a student asked.
"Because all subsequent talents you awaken," Professor Avery said, "can only be two grades higher or lower than your first."
A ripple of shock ran through the hall.
"If your first talent is Common," she said calmly, "your best possible talent will be Rare."
A few students visibly paled.
"If your first talent is Legendary," she went on, "your future talents may reach Mythical."
She folded her arms. "This is why lineage, luck, and initial awakening are so heavily valued."
After answering a few questions about class change probability and talent saturation, she waved her hand again.
"Now. World rules."
The projection changed.
[DROPS & MATERIALS]
"In the wild," she said, "equipment and skill drops can only come from boss-level monsters."
Someone frowned. "What about normal beasts?"
"Normal monsters do not drop usable equipment or skill cores unless you are inside a special dungeon with altered rules," she replied. "What they drop instead are…"
The slide shifted again.
[MATERIALS REQUIREMENTS]
"…materials," she continued, "which cannot be harvested unless you possess the appropriate harvest-type skill."
"So you can't just cut out a core?" Felix blurted.
Professor Avery glanced at him. "You can try. And you will likely destroy it."
A few chuckles spread through the room.
"Beast hides, blood crystals, bone fragments — all require corresponding extraction skills. Without them, you are just butchering resources."
She let the image fade.
"These are not suggestions. These are rules that govern survival."
Her eyes swept the hall.
"Talents define your ceiling. Class changes define your chances. Drops define your growth. And ignorance defines your death."
Silence followed.
Zael sat very still.
Every sentence was clicking into place — talent banks, thresholds, evolution limits, the artificial wall at Level 100.
So that's why Level 20 mattered.
That's why the system waited.
Professor Avery clasped her hands behind her back.
"After the break, we will discuss class change failures."
A collective groan rippled through the hall.
She smiled faintly. "You may leave."
Chairs scraped back.
Damien slumped forward. "I'm never talking again."
Felix nodded solemnly. "Same."
Zael stood with Lily and Zane, mind racing.
The world wasn't chaos.
It was structured.
And somewhere inside that structure…
He was already breaking the rules.