The Warden moved with a fluidity that defied human biology. In a single, blurred motion, he closed half the distance of the sewer tunnel, his obsidian blade trailing a faint, cold mist.
"The Matrix isn't just a tool, boy," the Warden's voice echoed beneath his helm. "It's a beacon. Did you think we wouldn't notice a 'garbage' beast suddenly radiating the signature of a Phoenix and a Void-Stalker?"
Elian's heart hammered. He was tapped out—no mana, no silver, and a dying flashlight for a fox. But he had the [Flicker] skill.
"The Academy was a cage, wasn't it?" Elian whispered, more to himself than the man in the mask. "A place to monitor the 'average' so you could prune the 'exceptional.' I'm done playing student."
"You aren't going anywhere," the Warden growled, lunging forward with a piercing strike.
"Ignis! [Flicker]!"
The fox didn't jump. He didn't run. The air around Ignis simply folded like a piece of paper being creased. In a blink, the fox vanished, reappearing instantly behind the Warden.
[Passive Triggered: Cinder-Remnant.]
Where Ignis had just been standing, a ghostly, glowing orange silhouette remained. As the Warden's blade passed through it, the silhouette detonated.
BOOM.
The explosion wasn't large, but it was concentrated. The shockwave shoved the Warden face-first into the sewer wall.
"Again!" Elian shouted.
Ignis grabbed the scruff of Elian's cloak with his teeth. The sensation was nauseating—like being pulled through a straw. The world turned inside out for a fraction of a second, and suddenly, they were thirty feet away, outside the sewer grate and standing in the pouring rain of the forest outskirts.
[Warning: Mana Depletion Critical. Spatial stability at 12%.]
"We can't stay," Elian wheezed, looking back at the city of Oakhaven. The Academy's spires were visible against the bruised sky.
If he stayed, he would be a lab rat. The Warden had confirmed his worst fear: they were watching for synthesis. The world of Aethelgard thrived on the "Bloodline Shackles." If the common people knew that a peasant with a fox could rewrite the laws of God, the entire social hierarchy would collapse. The Wardens wouldn't just arrest him; they would erase him to preserve the status quo.
"The system doesn't just help me grow, Ignis," Elian said, staring into the dark, untamed expanse of the Wilds. "It makes me an enemy of the world's order. We need to go where the 'Order' doesn't reach."
They ran until the lights of the city were nothing but a faint orange glow on the horizon. They crossed the "Border-Line," a row of ancient, moss-covered monoliths that marked the end of the Kingdom's protection.
Beyond this point, there were no guards. No schools. No taxes. Only the raw, unfiltered mana of the deep forest, where beasts grew to the size of mountains and the "Green Twilight" fell more frequently.
[New Location Discovered: The Whispering Wilds (Uncharted)]
[System Advice: Environmental Mana is 400% denser here. Passive Mana Regeneration for Ignis increased. Risk of 'Void' encounters increased by 600%.]
Elian found a hollowed-out tree and collapsed inside it. Ignis curled up next to him, the fox's charcoal fur steaming as the rain hit his warm skin.
"We're starting over," Elian murmured.
He looked at the System screen.
[Current Status]
Credits: 0
Status: Fugitive
Objective: Survived the first night.
Next Evolution Path: To reach Silver-High, Ignis requires 'Organic Integration.'
Required Catalyst: 1 Heart-Core of a Silver-Rank Predator.
The "Slow Path" had just become a "Survival Path." In the Academy, he had to hide his progress to avoid suspicion. Here, in the Wilds, he had to evolve as fast as possible, or he would be eaten by the very things he intended to hunt.
"No more hidden techniques," Elian said, his eyes hardening as he looked at the dense, terrifying canopy above. "No more pretending. Here, we fuse until we're the ones doing the hunting."
As he drifted into an exhausted sleep, a low, guttural roar echoed from the deep woods. It wasn't a beast of this world. It was a distorted, multi-tonal sound that vibrated in his teeth.
The invasion was already here. And for the first time, Elian felt that he was exactly where he needed to be.