Thomas stepped into the quiet dark of Unit 112, bolting the heavy oak door securely behind him. The dormitory room was dead silent. Ryan was still recovering down in the campus infirmary under the watchful eyes of Lina and Mina, leaving Thomas completely alone with his thoughts.
He crossed the stone floor, sat cross-legged on the edge of his mattress, and let out a slow, controlled breath. With a sharp mental command, he reached deep into his consciousness to pull up the hidden system interface.
System, access the unsealed integration pool, Thomas commanded.
The ambient moonlight streaming through the window seemed to dim as a deep, crimson mist swirled across his field of vision. The translucent lines of text reassembled themselves into a glowing status layout, vibrating with the raw, law-defying residual energy left behind by his victory over Raymond.
[ SYSTEM STATUS: INTEGRATION POOL ACCESS APPROVED ]
* Action: Absorbing 100% Unsealed Successor Energy...
* Result: Merging localized assassin parameters with host core.
[ UNLOCKED SPECIES HYBRID TRAIT: SHADOW MERIDIAN BYPASS (PASSIVE) ]
* Description: Born from the complete digestion of a Grade A Talent’s anatomical disruption frequencies.
* Mechanic: Your internal mana pathways can no longer be severed, paralyzed, or blocked by piercing weapons or biological pressure point strikes of an enemy below Grade A. If an enemy talent targets a vital nerve cluster, your system will instantly materialize a temporary phantom meridian to keep your energy flowing perfectly.
[ STATUS ATTRIBUTE UPDATE ]
* Physical Vessel Density: (Reinforced Bone/Chitin)
* Mana Channel Purity: (Expanded Circulation)
[ SUCCESSOR INSTRUCTION: Your vessel has evolved.]
Thomas stared at the crimson texts, a surge of absolute, dense power rushing through his veins as his upper pathways vibrated with the newly integrated trait. The mysterious senior girl had just warned him that the next round would feature real killers who would mangle his friends. But looking at his updated status menu, Thomas knew his lesser biology was rapidly turning into something completely untouchable. He closed his eyes, letting the crimson energy settle into his marrow as he prepared for the bloodbath ahead.
The next morning arrived with a suffocating, dense tension that hung over the entire freshman block like a shroud. The ambient chatter that usually filled the arched stone corridors of Class 1-A was entirely gone, replaced by a dead, breathless hush.
Thomas sat in his usual back-row seat, flanked by Mina and a heavily bandaged, pale-faced Ryan. Ryan’s core was visibly empty, his hands slightly trembling against the wooden desk from total mana depletion, but his hazel eyes remained fiercely defiant. True to the senior’s prediction, he couldn’t even form a basic wind blade today, yet he refused to hide in the medical wing.
Thwack!
The sharp, sudden crack of Instructor Cross’s heavy wooden rod striking the front podium shattered the silence. The battle-scarred veteran didn’t offer a single word of congratulations to the survivors of the preliminary filter. He turned his grim, scowling face directly to the slate blackboard behind his desk, his hand moving with a rapid, heavy precision as he funneled a bright spark of chalk onto the board.
"The weak have been systematically cleared out!" Cross barked, his voice echoing off the vaulted stone ceiling. "The administrative block has finalized the Round 2 rosters for the Inter-Class Tournament. If you cannot survive the upcoming pairing, surrender immediately before you stain my arena floor."
With a series of heavy, screeching strokes, the glowing blue chalk drew out the newly condensed tournament grid. Thomas’s right eye subtly tingled beneath his eyelids as he scanned the board. The names flashed into view, and the sheer brutality of the upcoming matchups caused Ryan and Mina to instantly stiffen beside him.
The true predators of the first-year block were officially out for blood.
[ INTER-CLASS TOURNAMENT: ROUND 2 ROSTER ]
* Match 1: Mina (Class 1-A) VS. Garrett of House Nightfall (Class 1-B - Grade A Shadow Rogue)
* Match 2: Ryan (Class 1-A) VS. Sylvia of House Vance (Class 1-B - Grade A Thunder Knight)
* Match 3: Thomas (Class 1-A) VS. Victor of House Saber (Class 1-B - Grade A Trap Assassin)
A collective wave of malicious snickers and quiet scoffs rippled through the front rows of High-blood students. Down at the very front, Julian slowly leaned back in his ornate chair, a cold, elegant smile playing at the edge of his lips as he adjusted his glasses. He didn’t even need to turn his head; he knew Thomas was staring at the board.
The mysterious senior’s warning from the night before had been flawless. The high-born families had deliberately stacked the roster to completely butcher the lesser-blood circle of Class 1-A in a single morning.
Mina was paired against an elite shadow user. Ryan’s broken body was matched against Sylvia, a Grade A Thunder Knight whose lethal, lightning-fast combat talent would effortlessly exploit his empty core. And Thomas was scheduled to face Victor a Grade A Trap Assassin who awakened a completely unique, highly lethal toolset designed to ensnare and bleed targets dry before they could even launch a counter-strike. Victor was coming to claim blood vengeance for Raymond.
Thomas gripped the edge of his leather notebook, his farm-boy mask remaining completely smooth as glass.
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