The torn-eared goblin remained crouched beside the dying fire, dragging a charred stick through the mud. Around him, the tribe celebrated its first victory with shrill cries, raised clubs, and reckless laughter, but he paid them little attention. His gaze moved between the rough drawing, the broken stakes, and the dark forest where the surviving predators had disappeared.
He added another row of marks behind the first.
Noah watched from above the valley, his awareness stretched across the newborn world. The goblin’s plan was crude, but the intention behind it was unmistakable. He was not thinking only about the danger that had passed. He was preparing for its return.
That alone placed him far above the others.
Noah wanted to continue observing, but the strain of maintaining his divine projection had begun to weigh upon his consciousness. The edges of the forest blurred whenever he tried to widen his perception, and a faint pressure pulsed through his mind.
The connection was warning him.
The goblins had food from the slain predator, a defensible location between the river and the rocky slope, and at least one member capable of recognizing future threats. They would have to survive without him for now.
Noah withdrew his attention from the valley.
The forest receded beneath him. The river became a thin silver line, the goblins shrank into moving specks, and the entire continent curved beneath the clouds. For a brief moment, Noah perceived the planet as a complete world filled with countless dangers he had not yet discovered.
Then his awareness was pulled upward.
The newborn planet disappeared.
Noah opened his eyes inside the awakening hall and inhaled sharply. His fingers trembled beneath the dark-green Planet Seed hovering above his palm. Only a short time had passed in the academy, but his mind felt as though he had spent an entire day watching the first goblin tribe struggle for survival.
Around him, students were returning from their own worlds.
One boy laughed loudly as he described his horned warriors bringing down a massive beast. A girl near the wall stared silently at her Planet Seed with a pale face, perhaps having witnessed the death of several members of her starting population. Other students spoke over one another, comparing environments, races, natural resources, and early settlements.
Noah closed his hand, allowing the Planet Seed to sink back into his body.
"Completely sever your active observation," Instructor Elara said from the front of the hall. "Do not attempt to remain connected merely because you are curious. Your souls have only recently established divine links. Excessive observation will weaken you without providing meaningful benefits."
Her voice cut through the noise, though not enough to stop every conversation.
A student beside Noah leaned closer. "What did your goblins do?"
"They found a place near a river," Noah answered. "They survived an attack from wild beasts."
"That is all?"
The student lost interest almost immediately.
Noah had expected that reaction. To most of the class, goblins were a disappointing starting race. They were associated with dirty camps, crude weapons, internal fighting, and civilizations that often collapsed before developing anything significant.
No one would imagine that one of them had already organized a defensive position during the tribe’s first night.
Noah preferred it that way.
He would not reveal One Percent Genius, nor would he mention the torn-eared goblin until he understood the characteristic better. If one unusually intelligent goblin appeared among the first two hundred, the result might be coincidence. If similar minds continued to emerge in every generation, hiding the truth would become more difficult.
A burst of laughter rose from the opposite side of the hall.
Cassian Valeborne stood at the center of a small crowd, speaking as though the awakening had already confirmed his superiority.
"My Sunscale Draconians required no divine assistance," Cassian declared. "Three of them killed a scaled marsh hunter with stone spears. The creature was twice their size."
Several students reacted with open admiration.
A starting race capable of defeating powerful predators on its first day possessed an obvious advantage. The Draconians would develop stronger warriors, hunt more dangerous prey, and secure territory more easily than Noah’s goblins.
Cassian’s gaze briefly moved across the hall and passed over Noah without recognition. He had no reason to pay attention to the quiet student with no surname and had an unimpressive race.
Noah did not wear the Aelwyn crest. He did not publicly use the family name, and no academy student knew that he belonged to one of the great houses.
To Cassian, Noah was merely another commoner who had awakened goblins.
Instructor Elara raised her hand.
The remaining conversations stopped.
"Your first observation has shown you the condition of your worlds," she said. "Some of you are pleased. Some of you are disappointed. Neither of it truly matters."
The miniature planets above the awakening platforms faded as the hall’s formations slowly deactivated.
"A powerful starting species can still be ruined by an incompetent god. A weak species can become dangerous under proper guidance. You will have one month to prove which kind of god you intend to become."
A heavy silence settled over the hall.
Instructor Elara turned, and a vast projection appeared behind her. It showed a circular battlefield divided into forests, plains, ruins, and rocky hills. Small armies moved across the terrain while enormous creatures waited beyond the edges.
"Your first monthly assessment will be conducted through battle."
Excitement immediately spread among the students.
Cassian is elated.
Instructor Elara allowed the reaction to continue for several breaths before silencing the class once more.
"The assessment will consist of consecutive battle rounds. Each of you will select a force from your civilization and transport it into an academy-controlled battlefield."
The image behind her changed. Warriors entered a glowing formation and emerged inside a foreign land.
"Any follower who dies during the assessment will remain dead. You will not receive replacements between rounds. Injuries, exhaustion, damaged equipment, and lost supplies will carry over."
The excitement in the room became more restrained.
Noah listened carefully.
"The conditions will change every round," Instructor Elara continued. "You may be required to endure attacks from beasts, hostile civilizations, constructed soldiers, or other dangers prepared by the academy. Some rounds will favor direct combat. Others will punish it."
A student near the front raised his hand.
"How will the academy calculate our scores?"
"There is no calculations."
The answer caused confusion.
Instructor Elara looked across the hall.
"There is only one criterion."
The projection behind her vanished. In its place appeared a single line of glowing words.
Total Rounds Survived
"A student who survives six rounds will rank above a student who survives five," Instructor Elara said. "Nothing else matters."
Several students glanced at one another.
"What about enemies defeated?" someone asked.
"It is Irrelevant."
"Remaining soldiers?"
"As long as one species survives."
"What if someone wins every battle but loses most of their force?"
"If that student remains capable of entering the next round, the student continues. If not, the assessment ends."
The simplicity of the rule made it more dangerous.
"The survival of each army in the battlefield after each wave is the key" Instructor Elara explained.
Noah’s thoughts immediately returned to the goblins.
They did not need to defeat the strongest armies. They only needed to outlast them.
A force of Sunscale Draconians might dominate the first several rounds through raw strength. But if they exhausted themselves, accumulated injuries, or refused to retreat from unnecessary battles, they could collapse later.
Goblins possessed none of their power, yet they were adaptable, willing to hide, and unlikely to care about honorable combat. With proper preparation, they could use traps, ambushes, concealed shelters, expendable equipment, and unfamiliar terrain.
The torn-eared goblin had already shown that instinct.
Noah’s greatest problem was time.
The tribe had fewer than two hundred members. Their weapons consisted of sharpened stones, crude clubs, and wooden stakes. They possessed no formal leadership, no military training, and almost no preserved food.
One month in the God Civilization was not enough to transform them naturally.
"Students may issue limited divine commands during the assessment," Instructor Elara said. "However, you may not attack, defend, heal, or transport your followers through direct divine power. The civilization must survive through what it has developed before entering the battlefield."
A few confident expressions disappeared.
"You may use any legal resources available to you before the assessment. Time acceleration chambers, planetary materials, development cards, inherited artifacts, and family support are permitted. The academy does not pretend that every god begins equally."
That statement caused the noble-born students to relax.
Cassian crossed his arms.
"How many rounds will there be?" he asked.
Instructor Elara looked at him.
"As many as necessary."
A few students laughed nervously.
"The battles will continue until every force but the final survivors has been eliminated. The number of rounds reached will determine your rank. Your rank will determine the class you enter and the resources the academy will make available to you."
The elite class would receive the best instructors, facilities, and planetary knowledge. The lowest class would be given only enough resources to prevent complete failure.
For Noah, entering the elite class was important. His goblin civilization would need knowledge far more than naturally powerful races. Better guidance could prevent decades of wasteful development.
Yet placing too high might draw attention.
He needed to survive enough rounds to be recognized as capable without revealing the true potential of his planet.
Cassian looked around at the class with open confidence.
"My Draconians will reach the final round," he said. "Anyone who enters the same battlefield should stay out of their path."
No one challenged him.
Instructor Elara dismissed the students soon afterward, ordering them to begin preparations immediately.
Noah left through one of the quieter academy corridors. Students moved around him in excited groups, already discussing weapons, training methods, and resources their families might provide.
No one approached him.
He crossed the outer courtyard and passed through a side gate used by students living beyond the academy grounds. The afternoon sun hung low above the city, reflecting from towers covered in divine formations.
An unmarked black car waited across the road.
At first, Noah assumed it belonged to another student’s family. Then the man standing beside it looked directly at him.
The stranger wore a dark formal coat without a crest. His posture was too precise for an ordinary driver, and he remained completely still while crowds passed nearby.
Noah slowed his walking.
The man waited until the nearest students had moved farther down the road before approaching.
"Young sir," he said quietly.
He did not use Noah’s surname.
From within his coat, he produced a thin silver seal. Its surface appeared blank until Noah focused divine perception upon it. A pale tree surrounded by seven stars emerged for a fraction of a second.
The private mark of House Aelwyn.
Noah’s caution sharpened.
"I have been assigned to manage certain matters during your parents’ absence," the man said. "You may call me Steward Halren."
Noah glanced at the carriage. "Why are you here?"
"News of your successful awakening reached the family this morning."
"That was fast."
"House Aelwyn constantly monitors the awakening of one of its descendants."
Halren opened the carriage door.
Noah hesitated before entering. Privacy formations activated as soon as the door closed, covering the windows with a faint gray veil.
Halren sat opposite him.
"The family’s approach to your upbringing has not changed," he said. "You are expected to live independently, solve your own problems, and avoid using the Aelwyn name for personal convenience."
"Then I assume you did not come to congratulate me."
"A correct assumption."
The carriage began moving.
Halren placed a small metal tablet on the table between them. The object displayed an image of a vast chamber lined with shelves, sealed cases, floating crystals, and unfamiliar artifacts.
"By successfully awakening a viable planet, you have earned the right to select one item from a family treasury."
Noah studied the projection.
"One item?"
"Any item within the section opened to you. Planetary cards, environmental treasures, military resources, species materials, and development artifacts are available."
Even a restricted Aelwyn treasury would contain objects beyond the reach of ordinary students.
Halren continued before Noah could respond.
"You will also receive free access to one of the family’s private time acceleration chambers until the monthly assessment."
Noah’s eyes narrowed.
A time acceleration chamber could allow years to pass within his goblin world while only days passed outside. With enough accelerated time, the first tribe could increase its population, develop permanent shelters, improve its weapons, and prepare a force for the battle rounds.
The opportunity was exactly what he needed.
That made it suspicious.
"My parents left enough money for my daily expenses," Noah said. "They deliberately gave me nothing more. Why would the family suddenly offer unrestricted access to a chamber and an item from the treasury?"
Halren’s expression did not change, but the silence that followed confirmed Noah’s concern.
House Aelwyn did not give away valuable resources without reason.
"The item is yours to choose," Halren said at last. "The chamber is also yours to use freely until the assessment."
He paused.
"However, Young Master, there is a catch."
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