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"This isn’t personal," Holden said, spitting out blood. "Hold ’em down." The other boys held him down as Holden walked up. "No. This isn’t personal. This’s… professional, now innit? Some might call it the job description."

Tyler heard the crunch of gravel under Holden’s new leather boots—and then felt a sharp force crack against his jaw. He jerked and screamed, but the other boys held him down.

"Calm down, mate," Holden said. "Can’t do shit to ya durin’ the trial, now can I? But just remember…" He grabbed Tyler’s hair and lifted him and leaned into his ear, "ma~te."

Tyler growled and looked at the teen.

"Th’ trial’s endin’," Holden said. "So you better sharpen up, or fall into line. ’Cause if you keep muckin’ around aimless, causin’ us problems… we’ll sort ya into rewards, now won’t we?"

The others didn’t answer—trepidation in their grip. It seemed that they didn’t fully process the situation before coming.

Dranami wasn’t Earth. From now on, they would earn rewards for hurting and killing neophytes with Path and Unique classes.

This was his plan all along, Tyler thought, wondering how he could be so stupid. Holden had turned public opinion against Tyler, flaring up discontent to obtain a group to attack him. Now, he was leveling up at his expense—and honestly meant to kill him. It was clever—Tyler would give him that.

"Let’s see how many levels we’ll get before we get the warning," Holden said. He stood and kicked Tyler in the ribs with a thunderous crack. "Come on, do it." He turned to the others and lowered his voice to an unsettling degree. "Hit. Him."

Even staring at the dirt, Tyler could feel the shame and trepidation in them. Levels were one thing—killing was another. Some adapted better than others; Tyler imagined that most wouldn’t adapt at all.

"I said do it!" Holden screamed.

Suddenly, a haunting whistle, strung together in a beautiful melody, cut through the forest. Holden stopped attacking and turned. Tyler did the same, opening his weary eyes to see someone in strange formal attire, somewhere between a blazer and a full peacoat, weaving through the trees. No one knew when he got so close or where he came from, and that whistle… that song… it was absolutely menacing, rattling in his mind like an echo chamber, making him want to run.

"Well this looks charming," a young man said. "You mind if I join the fun?"

Tyler wheezed and coughed out blood, a sign that the attack had damaged his lungs… or that his throat was beat up. Probably both. It was a terrible situation. Yet even in his state, he didn’t know if he wanted to be anywhere near the young man who just spoke.

Like Holden, he held himself like an elite, someone born with power and taught to dictate rather than serve. He also had that smug confidence in his voice, as if the world itself was a game.

His haircut was fresh.

"No disrespect, mate," Holden said, sounding surprisingly amicable, "but this’s trial business. From what I’ve gathered, we’re not supposed to mingle with others."

"Oh, you can mingle," the sharply dressed man, who Tyler would later know as Brexton Claustra, said. "You can even attack one of us. I can’t can’t touch you or threaten you or coerce you into doing anything specific, nor single anyone out for any particular reason." He took a step forward, and the entire world seemed to turn black, inverting with white like a half-developed photo, and then an invisible force rattled Tyler’s bones.

Holden gasped and dropped to a knee, gasping for air.

"But I wonder about… beasts," Brexton mused. "Do they have the same rules?"

Suddenly, a haunting howl reverberated in the woods, and Tyler could hear rotted logs snapping underfoot and trees swaying and ground buckling and leaves rattling as something barreled through the thicket in the distance.

No-no-no-no-no! Tyler tried to stand, but that force was still bearing down on him. The others beside him weren’t much better, screaming and trying to crawl away.

"And what if I just want to shake your hand?" Brexton said. Suddenly, the teen multiplied into ten, walking up like a person’s reflection in a shattered mirror, walking up to Holden, who was on the verge of pissing himself.

"W-Wait, mate," Holden stammered as one of the clones walked up to him and dropped to his haunches. "I’ll leave. I’m not sure what’s goin’ on, but I’ll say sorry."

"Hoh?" Brexton mused. "Sorry for what?"

"Pickin’ on him."

"Oh, it seems you’ve learned something. What is it that you’ve learned?"

"I… ummm… that people are always watching."

Brexton’s eyes glided to the right. "Yes. That’s… very, very true. And?"

Holden looked at Tyler and then back at Brexton, lips quivering as the beast got closer, breaking down trees as it bowled through the area. "T-That I should be careful who I attack?" he asked.

Brexton puffed out his bottom lip and nodded a few more times. "That’s also… wise."

"I-I’m sorry."

Brexton nodded a few times. "Okay."

Tyler found the scene… strange. Eerie even. If Brexton had been a guard, he would have gotten into serious trouble by now. If he had shown favoritism to Tyler, he also would’ve been penalized. Tyler was certain of it. He studied the rules three times at his mother’s behest. The woman was losing her mind ever since Leo lost an arm and got patched back together. So why? What did this person want that would make them risk the Oracle punishing them? Or did they not want anything at all?

There were so many questions, and it was stressing him out. The pressure in the atmosphere was suffocating and straining, as if his head were held under water, and he just wanted to cling onto someone and pull, bringing his head out to breathe and wheeze and gasp for breath—but he was frozen, heart moving for the rest of his body—waiting for his fate to unveil itself.

Right then, in that state of hyper-stress, listening to the howls and moans of some tortured animal in the distance, watching Holden beg and plead and rationalize, feeling the pressure of Brexton’s aura, everything came to ahead—

—and a clap shattered the environment. It was like a dome had been placed over them, filled with dark lighting and roaring animals, and once it broke, the world was flooded with birds and insects and light and everything else that was there before they arrived. The sound of the monster was long gone.

It was like it never existed.

"That’s enough, Brexton," a stern voice said from behind Tyler.

Brexton grinned and stood up. "Kalas… Now what might you be doing here?"

He just kept walking up to the ground, making Tyler want to roll to face him, but his full attention was on Brexton.

"Might wanna stop," Brexton said, glancing at the ground behind Tyler. "The distance requirements are rather sharp." Suddenly, his body and all his other clones dissolved into nothingness, leaving Brexton yelling out fifty yards away. "This’s the ideal distance!"

"Not if you’re protecting trial participants," Kalas said. He stopped right beside Tyler and looked down at Holden. "You’re all free to leave."

They did. Holden and his friends stood and ran back to the grounds as quickly as they could, seeking refuge next to their proctors.

Brexton remained, watching from a distance. Tyler couldn’t see him, but he could feel an almost insane smile staring at him as Kalas turned to him.

"Who are you?"

"I’m your new teacher."

"Did Mira send you?"

"Yes."

"Of course…" Tyler was bitter knowing that his sister was helping him again, especially after what happened the last time she did. Still—something had changed. Holden had just proved to him that talent and individual might meant nothing until someone was strong enough to fight everyone. This world wasn’t about winning—it was about who survived the longest and who retained what they cared about along the way. And Tyler honestly didn’t give a fuck anymore. If Mira wanted to help him get stronger, he’d accept it. He’d do whatever it took to get every "level" out of Holden as he could.

Tyler nodded and stood. "Okay." Then he turned and found Brexton still staring at him in the distance, smirk as calm as ever.

"Stay away from him," Kalas said.

"Who is he?" Tyler asked.

"An info broker," Kalas warned. "He’s influential and will sell you out the moment he gets the chance."

"Then why’d he help me?"

"The Claustra have their virtues, and people often deal with them. He’s probably looking for an in with your sister. Or… he’s just seeking out a rush. That one’s a wild animal. You never know what he’ll do."

Tyler nodded and looked at Brexton. Brexton waved playfully.

"Duely noted."

"Now let’s go," Kalas said. "We have much to do."

Brindle watched Tyler return to the training ground with a penetrating gaze. Family and relationships were the driving points of irrationality in most humanoids. If his apprentice’s family were in trouble, she might open up the forest or yield to demands. To prevent that, he may need to start killing gods until they send their students to protect her family. Much as he loathed it, he would also need alliances.

There were things to be done, relationships to make, measures to be taken—yet Brindle was undaunted. Once he accepted a task, he accepted it fully. Now, whether it took a year or a million years, he would support his apprentice. Such was the patient and absolute entity he had become. Such was his way.

Brindle turned screens to watch Mira. He knew by her patterns that she was collecting supplies for alchemy, health potions most likely, given the plants she was walking toward after searching her guide. Yet she kept getting distracted every ten feet until her cat nipped at her jeans and dragged her along, taking her to the next herb.

Mira Hill was the real deal—someone who truly loved plants. She looked so happy in nature, glad to be free. That was a joy that Brindle couldn’t understand. She didn’t feel a kinship with plants like he did—just love and appreciation. It was strange yet pleasant. She just might make a guardian yet.

Brindle pondered his future moves and nodded. "It’s time to go," he told Telgan. She kicked on his shoulder and nodded, leaning backward in her tiny body and being absorbed into a tree. Then, a portal opened within, and they boldly left the beautiful, colorful Ethereal Gardens Brindle had built over his vast life span, preparing to set the groundwork for what was to come.

I had the best day of my life. Or perhaps it was just a great day, but I had a deeper appreciation for the cycle of life that came after. My family was as safe as they could get, and I had a road to power. Now, I could walk through this strange and wondrous forest, navigating through poisonous plants as if they were inconsequential, choosing to stop at the ones that looked strangest—foraging small fruits from edible bushes and eating nuts that grew underground. I couldn’t believe that this would be my life.

It was a day off but it wasn’t idle. I had collected the ingredients for a basic health elixir that was in my alchemy tutorial recipes and planned to spend the following day making it. That should appease my narcissistic patron god. I hoped.

As for Brindle, I doubted he cared what I did as long as I didn’t destroy his forest. I hoped.

Either way, those were questions for the morrow. I went back at dusk, entering my humble shelter and putting meat into the fire for dinner. I then bathed, humming in the shower before sharing a wonderful dinner with Kline and changing into my shorts. Then, lying in bed, I weighed the virtues of mental shielding training and threading, only to remember something that I had to do before I did anything else.

"I guess it’s finally time to make my equipment requests," I thought with a slight smile.

I opened my guide and went to the equipment tab.

It was about 9 PM when Aiden got the notification. He was sleeping in the vraxle’s chamber for another night when he, his guards, and the wyvern all suddenly froze, staring into dead space to read the message. It read:

—---

Domain Quest Announcement!

Every Neophyte in the First Domain has been issued a voluntary quest.

Quest Name: Air Drop Equipment in the Areswood Forest.

Description: Air drop off a supply package in the Fourth Ring of the Areswood Forest.

Requirements:

Obtain a permit from the Lysanwood Defense Agency.

Obtain an avian mount, bought, rented, or loaned.

Flying an avian mount.

Showcase you are capable of delivering the package by doing a passthrough.

Deliver all the supplies.

Reward(s):

Diamond Request.

Platinum Request.

Oracle incentivized path to Fourth Ring release for participating cursed avians.

Warning: This quest is classified as a Diamond Category quest. Most participants are expected to die. It’s recommended that you only fly peak second evolution beasts or a cursed avian to attempt the quest, as the avian guardians of the Fourth Ring far surpass the strongest beasts in the First Domain.