With a hush, the transport shuttle landed.
Whoosh! The door hissed open like a sigh from the stars.
Lucas, along with thousands of other wide-eyed candidates, stepped onto the shimmering platform. His jaw nearly dropped to the planetary core.
In front of him…
Atherion Academy.
A place he thought would be just a huge building.
But no.
It was a freaking city.
Tall marble towers.
Waterfalls flowed sideways through glowing air tunnels.
Training domes like some huge stadium, each one humming with energy and cheers.
Students in different uniforms practiced everywhere some in the air, some underground, and one… was literally wrestling a tree for no reason.
"Holy " Lucas muttered. "Atherion's less of a school and more of a small planet with homework."
Before he could breathe in the insanity, a giant hologram burst into the sky.
A tall figure with silver hair and dark robes stood like a ghost made of light.
"I am Headmaster Velyor," the voice echoed like thunder in a temple.
"Welcome to Atherion. From this moment, your Trial Week begins. Each of you will face 6 opponents.
Win and you earn your place. Lose… and go home.
Here, we do not train the strongest. We train the smartest survivors. Talent without tactics is just ego with sparkle."
The hologram vanished.
Lucas felt a shiver crawl through his spine and park behind his brain.
"Did he just say SIX battles?"
"I'm unawakened! I can barely do 30 push ups without crying!"
"I'm gonna get yeeted like a mosquito into a bug zapper…"
Ping!
A holographic screen flashed in front of his eyes:
LUCAS VALEN
Status: Unawakened
Wing: D
First Match: 4 hours 32 minutes
Opponent: Daren vex
Rank: 4-Star Awakened
Type: Wind
Lucas stared.
Then blinked.
Then stared again.
Then…
Gasped like a goat seeing taxes.
"I'm gonna die."
"My opponent is literally a wind ninja with four stars and I still sleep with socks on during winter."
"I am so unbelievably dead."
He turned to a guy beside him. "Hey, is it too late to fake a medical emergency?"
The guy, a buff fire-user, smirked. "Only if you like getting barbecued by your opponent for lying. The med bots scan you for real."
Lucas paled. "Okay okay. No fake injuries. Just… authentic pain."
He wandered through the campus and entered Wing D Dormitory, where candidates from lower-tier or unranked backgrounds were placed.
His room? Small. Plain. But clean.
He dropped on the bed like a dead squirrel.
Then turned to look at the sword-case his dad gave him.
"You better be as unbreakable as advertised," he whispered.
"Because I am."
"Very. Breakable."
The clock ticked.
4 hours.
He could train. Or eat. Or cry in the bathroom.
Lucas did all three. In that order.
Then, dressed in simple training gear, he made his way to the Combat Simulation Zone a circular arena surrounded by floating drones and spectators.
His name flashed on the massive screen above: "LUCAS VALEN vs DAREN VEX"
A boy stepped out on the opposite side.
Spiky teal hair. Playing with his dagger
Lucas? Sweating he knew one wrong move here could get him killed easily
Daren smirked. "You're my opponent? Bro, you look like a background character."
Lucas raised a shaky hand. "And you look like someone who moisturizes with air… but I won't judge."
The whistle blew.