Saltwind Tidal Academy did not operate on brute strength alone.
It operated on influence.
Morning mist coiled around the ranking obelisk as whispers moved faster than tide currents.
Jeather Vale.
Rank 9,901.
A jump of ninety-seven placements in a single duel.
Normally insignificant.
But not when the duel exposed something… abnormal.
By midday, three different faction couriers had already delivered quiet inquiries.
Training alliances.
Resource exchanges.
Mentorship offers.
And veiled warnings.
Jeather stood on a coral-arched balcony overlooking the lower basin courtyards, reading through a crystalline projection message.
"Rank 412 offers sponsorship under Tidal Mantle."
He flicked it away.
Another.
"Rank 233 seeks sparring arrangement."
Gone.
Another.
"Rank 88 suggests partnership for rapid climb."
He snorted.
"Now they care."
Below, students gathered in circles, discussing him openly.
"He phased through an impact."
"No, he compressed space."
"It looked like distortion magic."
"Is that even allowed?"
Instructor Maelor's words echoed from the day before:
The academy does not care what you sealed.
It cares what you survive.
Jeather leaned against the stone railing.
He didn't want alliances.
He wanted information.
And beasts.
High above the public courtyards, in a chamber carved into a spiraled sea pillar, five members of the Top 10 convened.
Rank 3 — Mirelle Kaith, commander of the Azure Spiral faction.
Rank 5 — Vorn Halcyon, leader of Ironwake Syndicate.
Rank 7 — Darius Vell, tactician of the Deep Current Accord.
Rank 9 — Selvaris Noct, independent.
Rank 10 — Kaelum Rhys, neutral merchant-aligned.
Rank 1 and Rank 2 were absent.
That alone said enough.
Mirelle spoke first.
"He used spatial compression. Not elemental."
Vorn crossed his arms.
"That wasn't Silver-tier output."
Darius remained calm.
"His beast is mutating. That makes it unpredictable."
Selvaris leaned back.
"Or valuable."
Silence.
Political tension thickened.
Vorn's jaw tightened.
"If he rises quickly, lower-rank sponsorship structures destabilize. Resource allocation shifts."
Kaelum added mildly,
"And new blood always chooses sides eventually."
Mirelle's eyes hardened.
"Then we ensure he chooses correctly."
Darius's voice was softer.
"Or we force him into a position where neutrality is impossible."
The sea beyond the chamber windows churned violently against cliff edges.
A storm was brewing.
And not just outside.
Jeather did not wait for storms.
He moved first.
He stood once more before the ranking obelisk.
Current rank: 9,901.
Challenge range extended upward.
He scanned.
9,850
9,800
9,760
His eyes stopped at:
Rank 9,750 — Lyran Solcrest.
Four wins.
No losses.
Elemental water manipulation specialist.
Aggressive defensive style.
Perfect counter test.
He pressed confirm.
The board flared.
Gasps rippled.
"Again?!"
"He's not even resting."
"Does he think stamina doesn't matter?"
A notification chimed.
Challenge accepted.
Arena scheduled: Immediate.
Jeather rolled his shoulders.
"Good."
The basin filled deeper this time.
Chest-high water.
Mana density slightly increased.
Testing adaptability.
Lyran Solcrest entered silently.
Lean build. Focused eyes.
No grin.
No arrogance.
Just control.
"You distort space," Lyran said calmly.
Jeather tilted his head.
"You drown people."
"Correct."
Maelor's voice echoed.
"Begin."
The water exploded upward instantly.
Lyran raised both hands.
The entire basin rotated into a spiraling vortex.
Students staggered in the terraces.
Jeather cursed under his breath.
"Already?"
The Mutated Rifthound manifested beside him.
The vortex tightened.
Water pressure increased sharply.
Not blunt force—
Compression.
Lyran was trying to overwhelm structural distortion with density.
Smart.
Jeather grinned.
"Okay. You're smarter."
The vortex intensified.
Water blades formed within the spiral.
The Rifthound lunged—
But the vortex redirected its momentum sideways.
Lyran's beast emerged from beneath the current.
A Silver-tier Abyss Striker Serpent.
Sleek. Narrow. Built for piercing.
It shot upward like a harpoon.
Jeather barely twisted aside.
The serpent grazed his ribs.
Pain flared.
"Shit!"
The vortex slammed him into the basin wall.
He felt air leave his lungs.
The Rifthound snarled.
Lyran maintained absolute focus.
"You rely on reaction. I control environment."
The vortex tightened further.
Jeather's boots lost traction.
Water pressure crushed inward.
His vision blurred slightly.
Inside the Beast Realm, Velkaria's voice echoed softly:
"Water is pressure. Pressure is weight. Weight can be redirected."
Jeather's eyes sharpened.
"Redirect."
He slammed his palm into the basin floor.
"Distortion — Anchor."
The Rifthound drove its claws into the stone.
Instead of pushing outward—
It compressed space beneath itself.
The vortex's pull warped sideways.
The spiral destabilized.
Students gasped.
Lyran's eyes widened slightly.
The serpent lunged again—
The Rifthound twisted mid-motion and phased half its body.
The serpent pierced through warped space—
And overshot.
Jeather seized the opening.
"Collapse line — left flank!"
The Rifthound's eyes flared violet.
A narrow distortion seam formed along the serpent's midsection.
Lyran reacted instantly.
"Pressure shield!"
Water condensed around the serpent.
The distortion seam struck—
Water compressed against warped space.
For a moment—
Everything stalled.
Then—
The compression imploded inward.
Not violently.
But precisely.
The serpent slammed into the basin floor, winded.
The vortex collapsed.
Water crashed back in chaotic waves.
Jeather staggered but stayed upright.
Lyran dropped to one knee.
Breathing hard.
"You adapt quickly."
"You drown slowly," Jeather replied.
Silence.
Lyran exhaled once.
"Yield."
The board shimmered.
Rank 9,750 — Jeather Vale.
A jump of 151 ranks.
Students erupted.
Not laughter this time.
Recognition.
As the basin drained, Jeather felt it again.
The Rifthound stood taller.
Distortion currents now formed layered rings around its forelimbs.
It spoke inside the realm.
"I can fold."
Jeather blinked.
"Fold what?"
"Space between two points."
His pulse quickened.
"Short-distance blink?"
"Limited."
He grinned.
"Don't test that without telling me first."
In the terraces, several Top 10 members had arrived to watch.
Darius Vell narrowed his eyes.
"It's evolving too fast."
Mirelle remained silent.
Vorn turned away.
"Pressure him."
Selvaris smirked faintly.
"Or recruit him."
Saltwind's political tide shifted again.
That evening, Jeather found a message
waiting in his dormitory chamber.
No signature.
Just a sigil.
A spiral broken by three vertical lines.
Top 5 faction marker.
Message:
Climbing quickly creates enemies faster than allies.
He stared at it for several seconds.
Then laughed softly.
"Good."
He crushed the message crystal in his hand.
Inside the Beast Realm, the otter popped up.
"More fights?"
"Definitely."
Astrael's flames burned brighter.
"The academy trembles."
Velkaria's current flowed smoothly.
"You are being measured."
The Rifthound's distortion deepened.
"Let them measure."
Jeather looked toward the distant horizon of the Beast Realm.
Something else stirred there.
A faint fracture pulse.
Stronger than before.
As if higher ranks carried weight beyond simple numbers.
Outside, the ranking obelisk shimmered again.
Three new challenge requests.
All from within the top 1,000.
The climb had accelerated.
And the Top 10 were no longer merely watching.
They were positioning.
The sea did not rage without reason.
It gathered.
It calculated.
And when it struck—
It erased.
Jeather cracked his knuckles.
"Let's see who comes first."