The saltwater still clung to Jeather's skin as he stepped out of the shattered evaluation basin.
Behind him, the arena was already repairing itself.
Stone reformed.
Runes re-lit.
Water retreated back into containment channels like nothing had happened.
But the memory stayed.
Ten thousand students watching.
His rank frozen at the bottom.
9,998.
Laughter still echoed faintly from the terraces.
Not cruel anymore.
Just… curious.
Like they were watching something unpredictable finally move.
Jeather exhaled through his nose.
"Yeah," he muttered. "Keep laughing. I'll charge admission soon."
Astrael's voice surfaced calmly in his mind.
They underestimate you.
Jeather smirked slightly.
"They should."
Velkaria added softly.
Underestimation is opportunity.
Saxum bounced in his Beast Realm space.
"Jett strong! Jett climb!"
Jeather rolled his shoulder.
"Yeah. Yeah. We climb."
But then—
A shadow dropped beside him.
A student.
Tall. Calm. Wearing academy-blue with silver trim.
Rank insignia visible on his chest:
Rank 842.
The student looked Jeather up and down.
"So you're the outsider."
Jeather glanced at him.
"And you're in my way."
The student blinked.
Then smiled slightly.
"No. I'm your introduction."
Jeather sighed.
"I hate introductions."
First Challenge – Academy Reality
The student tilted his head.
"I'm Corven Mirestride. Rank 842."
Jeather scratched his cheek.
"Okay Corven 842. What do you want?"
Corven raised a hand.
A summoning glyph flickered.
A Silver-tier beast emerged.
A Wavecoil Serpent, long and armored with shifting water scales.
Gasps came from nearby students.
"Silver-tier already?"
"He's challenging the new outsider immediately?"
Corven smiled.
"In Saltwind, we don't wait for climbing. We accelerate it."
Jeather stared at the serpent.
Then at Corven.
"…So you're basically speedrunning bullying."
Corven didn't answer.
The serpent lunged.
Jeather didn't summon immediately.
Instead—
Astrael stepped forward on instinct.
Bronze aura flared.
Vines erupted beneath the ground and water channels around them, anchoring the battlefield instantly.
The serpent struck—
but Astrael redirected it sideways.
Velkaria appeared mid-motion.
Her blade flicked once.
Not enough to kill.
But enough to redirect bone alignment in the serpent's movement.
Saxum clanked forward excitedly.
"Jett! I hit?"
"Yeah. Hit it."
Saxum shifted to metal form and slammed into the serpent mid-turn.
BOOM.
The serpent crashed into the arena edge.
Corven's eyes widened slightly.
Jeather walked forward slowly.
"You done?"
Corven frowned.
"That wasn't—"
Jeather punched him.
Not with full force.
But enough.
Corven staggered back.
Jeather exhaled.
"I don't have time for tutorial fights."
Silence.
Then the ranking board flickered.
9,998 → 9,931
A small jump.
Jeather blinked.
"…That's it?"
Corven coughed.
"You're not normal."
Jeather nodded.
"Yeah. I noticed."
He turned away.
The System Responds
As Jeather walked, the system chimed again.
[SYSTEM NOTICE]
Progress Detected.
Rank Movement: Active.
Condition: Continuous Challenge Required.
Hint: Higher-ranked targets yield accelerated progression.
Jeather sighed.
"So basically… I need to keep punching people."
Astrael replied softly.
That is a crude interpretation.
Velkaria added.
But not incorrect.
Saxum bounced.
"Punch more!"
Jeather pointed ahead.
"Yeah. I figured."
Far above, in the highest academy terraces—
The Top 10 students were watching.
Not casually anymore.
Closely.
Rank 1 leaned forward slightly.
Rank 3 frowned.
Rank 5 narrowed their eyes.
Lysara smiled.
"He's climbing faster than expected."
The beach girl stretched.
"I still think he's going to annoy someone important."
Lysara tilted her head.
"Good."
Second Challenge – Pressure Increases
Jeather didn't even get ten steps before—
another presence blocked him.
This time—
Rank 317.
A girl.
Sharp eyes.
Cold expression.
Silver-tier aura leaking slightly.
She didn't speak.
Just summoned.
A Twin Fang Abyss Fish erupted from a glyph.
Two-headed. Black-scaled. Violently fast.
Jeather exhaled.
"Okay. This is getting less funny."
The fish shot forward instantly.
Too fast.
Jeather barely reacted—
Velkaria intercepted.
Blade vs fang collision.
Astrael anchored ground currents.
Saxum got knocked back immediately.
"Jett—pain!"
"I see it!"
Jeather moved.
This time, no hesitation.
He stepped into the attack.
Took a grazing bite across his shoulder.
"—Tch!"
Then grabbed the fish's jaw mid-motion.
And slammed it into the ground.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
The fish struggled.
Velkaria finished the control bind.
Astrael suppressed movement.
Saxum crushed its flank.
Silence.
Rank board flickered again.
9,931 → 9,880
Jeather stared at it.
"…Okay. That's more like it."
He shook his hand.
"That one actually hurt."
Jeather noticed something now.
The fights weren't random.
They were increasing in intensity based on his progression.
Like the academy was responding.
Testing.
Adjusting.
He exhaled.
"So this place is alive."
Astrael responded.
Or controlled.
Velkaria added softly.
Both are possible.
Saxum tilted his head.
"Jett climb big mountain!"
Jeather smirked.
"Yeah."
He looked up at the towering ranking board.
9,880.
Still too far.
But no longer impossible.
Closing Moment – Interest Spreads
As Jeather walked deeper into the academy grounds— whispers followed him.
Not mockery now.
Curiosity.
"He defeated Rank 317 already?"
"In seconds?"
"He didn't even summon everything…"
At the edge of the courtyard, Lysara stood, watching him disappear into the training corridors.
She smiled.
"He's not climbing like everyone else."
The beach girl yawned.
"Yeah?"
Lysara nodded.
"He's breaking steps instead of walking them."
A pause.
Then she added—
"I want to see how far he breaks before he changes direction."
Jeather stopped briefly at the corridor entrance.
Looked at his reflection in a polished stone wall.
Bruised.
Wet.
Still standing.
He exhaled.
"9,880…"
He cracked his neck.
"…9,879 people to go."