The mist of Sector Seven clung to Eryx’s face as he dragged his broken left ankle across the stone path.Behind him, the courtyards were quiet, but Sultan’s blood oath still rang in his ears. Every step left blood on the gray stones. The pain in his leg was sharp, but it was nothing compared to the weight in his chest.Along the arcades, students watched him pass.There were no whispers. No one asked how he survived Sector Seven. The bond they had in the lecture hall was gone. Now they only looked at him with disgust and fear. They pressed against the walls as he limped by. To them he was no longer a straggler. He was a curse. A monster who brought death."Back to dirt," Eryx thought. "Just a straggler. An unranked mistake."They had stood with him against the enforcers. But the moment a commander died, the nobles turned. They needed someone to blame, and an unranked boy was the easiest target. His life meant nothing. He was a coin to spend, a shield to throw away.It wasn't just the

TWANG!A third bowstring snapped through the damp fog, sharp and lethal.The heavy iron arrow whistled through the mist and struck Eryx flush in the middle of his back, right between his shoulder blades. The impact felt like a sledgehammer driving straight into his spine, shattering the last bit of air in his lungs.Eryx pitched forward onto his face, hitting the dirt hard."Ah...!" He choked, spitting a thick mouthful of dark, iron-tasting blood onto the damp leaves.The world spun violently. The gray sky flipped sideways, dark spots dancing across his vision as the cold mud pressed against his burning cheek. Pain wasn't just a sensation anymore; it was an ocean drowning him from the inside out. Arrows bristled from his shoulder, thigh, and back like jagged black iron roots. His waist was sliced open, his ankle crushed, and his spirit conduits felt as though they had been filled with molten lead.Behind him, the heavy thud of dozens of boots echoed through the trees. The hunting part

The rustle of heavy silk echoed over the sound-amplifying array as Elder Thomas stepped forward to the front of the judgment balcony, his face still dark with cold fury."The final bracket of the Vanguard Trials is now open," Thomas declared, his loud voice echoing over the quiet stadium. "Listen closely. The terms of this tournament have been revised by the High Council. Today, resource allocation for the upcoming semester, spirit stones, high-tier martial arts scrolls, and medicinal pills, will be strictly determined by your performance on this ground, alongside the Dragon growth evaluations logged by your respective cohort overseers."Murmur rippled through the gathering of student competitors standing on the arena sand."Resource allocation..." Rowan muttered, a cruel smile spreading across his face as he adjusted the broadsword strapped to his back. "If you fall in the first round, you get nothing…not a single coin, not a single spirit herb.""And there is one final directive," E

Third Person POVEryx didn't hesitate for a single second. The gnawing hunger in his chest had taken over, and looking down at that mountain of wild meat, he was completely sure of what was about to happen.He didn't need to bark orders. Drogo lunged from the edge of the ditch like a streak of black smoke, going straight for the creature's face. At the exact same time, Eryx leapt down the muddy bank, his shortsword drawn, aiming to split the beast's thick hide from the side.The boar slammed its front hooves into the mud. For an ancient, extinct creature, it moved fast—unnatural fast.With a brutal grunt, it swung its massive head sideways. Its curved tusk ripped through the air, narrowly missing Drogo as the little dragon twisted mid-air to dodge. The sheer air pressure from the swing blew Eryx back two steps, the boar using that split-second space to pivot its heavy frame and take off into the dark trees."It's running!" Drogo's voice hissed in Eryx's mind, dark black mist boiling o

The dark horned beast closed the distance in a fraction of a second. Before Eryx could lift his blade to guard, a horn slammed straight into his chest.The force of the strike shattered two of his ribs, crushing a vital core point right below his sternum. Eryx went flying through the air, his body smashing hard into the trunk of an ancient oak tree before sliding down into the dirt like a broken doll.A choked gasp ripped from his throat, blood spurting over his lips. Pain roared through his nervous system—a sickening, white-hot fire that spread from his chest down to his hands and feet."Drogo..." Eryx coughed, clutching his chest as he forced the mental link open. "Get out here..."Silence. The connection felt heavy, sluggish, like trying to pull a rope through thick mud."The... the warding in this yard..." Drogo's voice rasped in his mind, muffled and weak. "The ancient stone arrays... they are choking my core... I can't break free..."Eryx spat a mouthful of dark crimson onto the