— [Challenge Complete] —
"Hey, everyone, I just got a notification."
"Good thing I figured something else might pop up," one person said.
"I know what you’re thinking," a nearby man replied calmly.
A goblin scratched his head and asked eagerly, "What kind of reward do we get for this?"
"Who knows?" someone shrugged.
A painful scream tore through the air, freezing everyone in place.
Everyone looked around, startled by the agonized cry. One thought crossed all their minds:
This challenge wasn’t over.
At least, that’s what they thought.
But it had ended, just not in the way they’d expected.
"Damn human!" a muscular goblin roared and charged at the man who had slain his comrade.
That man was Haley Wolfe. His face was twisted with a storm of emotions. Maybe even he didn’t know what he was feeling anymore.
He just stood up straight, stiff like a statue, tuning everything out, including the goblin rushing at him in rage.
But then, seconds later...
— [You’ll be sent to your World] —
Just like that, they were all sent back to their own worlds. Their rewards came with them—earned through sweat, blood, and sacrifice.
As for what those rewards were? Only they would ever know.
— [Welcome, You have already arrived in the Elysium World] —
Hector’s blue eyes widened in disbelief as he looked around.
What was once a shattered battlefield was now a massive, ancient castle.
He found himself standing on its vast grounds.
So vast, in fact, that the edges seemed to vanish into the horizon.
He tilted his head up.
Blinding sunlight instantly struck his eyes.
"Aaah! My eyes!" Hector flinched in pain, instinctively shielding his face and trying to stay upright, barely making a move.
Still, he bumped into someone next to him — another newcomer who’d just been teleported in.
"Careful... That actually hurt."
"I-I’m sorry, but my eyes!" Hector tried to peek through the pain, but it was blinding.
"Sigh... Let me take a look," the young man muttered.
Out of habit from the old world, Hector obeyed without a second thought.
Lucky for him, the guy was genuinely kind.
"Huh! Which clan are you from?"
"What do you mean?" Hector asked, still wincing.
"Sigh." The young man sighed again and replied, "Forget it. Your eyes will adjust soon."
He continued, "It’s your mana. People with rare eyes like yours take longer to adapt. Basically, your vision’s being enhanced by mana, so yeah, it’s going through a fragile phase."
"So yeah, don’t stare at the sky... unless you like being in pain."
Now that he understood the cause, Hector began to calm down.
After a few moments, he slowly opened his eyes. And the young man who helped him came into focus.
He was thin with unwealthy skin, white hair, and lifeless eyes like a dead fish.
"Well... thanks," Hector said awkwardly, reaching out his hand in a gesture of goodwill.
But the young man just stared at him, his dull eyes flickering as if he was about to speak... then simply nodded.
An awkward silence lingered between them until a loud voice suddenly echoed across the castle grounds.
"Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, hey, heeey—"
"Welcome to Ahrix Academy!"
At the front of the courtyard stood a middle-aged man wearing a playful grin. No one had noticed his arrival.
He laughed loudly, spreading his arms wide like a showman.
"I’m thrilled to see so many of you survived the first challenge!"
"You all make this world proud. Each one of you is proof of its strength!"
"And now, we begin duty training for the next trial!"
The air around him suddenly turned chaotic and cold. A flurry of snowflakes swept through the courtyard, making everyone shiver before vanishing into thin air. Then, glowing letters formed from snow appeared in front of each person.
"I’ve now synced the world’s system to evaluate your performance in the first challenge and assign you to your respective classes."
"Remember this: Tomorrow is your first day of school. You’ll each be assigned an instructor."
"Don’t forget—listen to them."
And with that, the man slowly faded into the swirling snow.
"Wait! I don’t understand anything!"
But he was already gone.
Confused murmurs spread through the crowd. Everything was happening way too fast.
Questions filled their minds:
Why are we here? Who the hell was that clown?
At the very least, they deserved some answers.
But not everyone needed them.
Some already knew what was going on — especially those from major or minor clans.
The moment they cleared the first challenge, they were brought here.
As the name suggested, it was a place of learning. But not the kind most people imagined. The academy would train the awakened for about two years.
The goal? Simple: survive and endure.
Only then would they be eligible for the second challenge.
And the strange man from earlier? He was the principal of this place — an Ascendant-level being.
"So... Class A, huh?" Hector stared at the glowing snowflake-shaped display, rubbing his chin.
"That’s good. I’m still lacking knowledge... and skill — in both combat and killing."
"A proper instructor will help me grow. Thankfully, I made good use of what I know during the first challenge. If not, I would’ve failed. Two years wasted — and worse, I’d lose my edge while the future’s still fresh in my mind."
"Well, well. Everything’s got two sides." Hector gave a small shake of his head while scanning the remaining names.
Violet Pauley... Haley Wolfe.
He could deal with it.
A few hours later, everyone was safely guided to their rooms.
Finally, after days filled with blood and chaos, they could rest.
Lying on a wide, soft bed, Hector let out a long sigh and gazed around with quiet satisfaction.
"This place has everything... Feels like a luxury suite."
A faint smile touched his lips.
"Time to check the results."