The Vanguard Academy's Grand Gate was packed with thousands of shouting students, flashing drones, and floating military camera rigs. Today was the launch of the Inter-Academy Selection Trials.At the center of the deployment platform, a massive, swirling crimson vortex hummed violently inside a titanium frame. This was the entrance to the Tier-3 Variable Rift.The crowd was buzzing, but the biggest circle of gossip wasn't about the monsters. It was about the roster board glowing in the sky."Is that a typo?" a second-year student yelled, pointing at the screen. "Ren Kestrel? The F-rank Zero is on Valeria Halvern’s official three-man squad?!""No way! He’s supposed to be Isolde Revenhall's dog! He wore her family's gear last week!" another cadet shouted back.Right in the middle of the platform, the air suddenly felt heavy. The crowd went dead silent as Valeria Halvern walked out of the prep tunnel. She looked incredibly sharp, her platinum hair tied back, wearing dark blue combat arm

The howling storm outside didn't matter anymore. The only sound filling the narrow obsidian cave was the heavy, frantic breathing of Valeria Halvern.A small, flickering fire built from frozen Abyssal moss cast dancing shadows against the dark stone walls. Valeria sat near the edge of the light, her hands wrapped tightly around her staff, her violet eyes wide and locked onto the figure sitting across from her.Ren Kestrel was calmly wiping a smear of black monster fluid from his sleeve. His eyes had already returned to their normal, boring human brown. The black sclera and golden irises were gone, but to Valeria, he would never look like a harmless Zero again.Ten minutes ago, she had watched him walk into a pack of twenty-four Frost-Bite Stalkers. He didn't use a shield. He didn't use gravity gear. He had simply blurred through the blizzard like a phantom, his bare hands tearing through frozen armor plating like wet paper. Every single beast he touched had vanished into grey ash, lea

The outpost was a total mess of alarms, thick smoke, and shouting medical units. Automated recovery drones were already buzzing down from the command bunker, flashing red lights as they loaded Isolde’s unconscious teammates onto floating stretchers.Isolde Revenhall was still sitting in the slush, her silver armor dented, her breathing heavy. Her violet eyes were glued to the massive, pinned body of the Abyssal Hydra."Cadet Halvern! Cadet Kestrel! Step away from the variant!" the head instructor's voice barked over the outpost speakers as a team of armored guards rushed down the ridge. "The biomass is highly volatile! Wait for the containment units!"Valeria Halvern immediately stepped in front of Ren, holding her staff up to block the guards' view. Her face was tense. She didn't look at the guards—she kept her eyes on the back of Ren’s head. She knew exactly what the "Zero" was planning to do.Ren was already kneeling in the dirty, acid-soaked mud right next to the thrashing central

The Void-Executioner didn't run across the plain. It simply vanished.SHIIIING.The air right in front of Ren’s throat cracked open like shattered glass. A razor-sharp blade of purple spatial energy shot out from the rift. It traveled at absolute supersonic speed — a Tier-5 attack that bypassed all physical defense, the exact same move that had turned the second-place elite team into piles of ash."Ren, dodge!" Valeria screamed, her ice mana flaring as she tried to force a defensive wall between them.She was too slow.The purple blade sliced directly across Ren’s chest. The kinetic force was so immense that it tore his standard Vanguard uniform to shreds, cutting a deep, jagged line right through his flesh. Blood — hot, bright red, and thick — spurted out onto the grey stone floor.Valeria’s heart dropped into her stomach. He's dead, her mind screamed. Even with his freaky strength, his core just got split.The Void-Executioner materialized out of the rift, its faceless obsidian head

The Core Chamber was a massive cathedral of glowing red crystal. At the center stood the mainframe obelisk, pulsing with a volatile, hacked white light.BOOM!A shockwave of crushing gravity slammed against the crystalline floor. Isolde Revenhall was bleeding, her silver armor cracked open at the shoulder. Her violet eyes flared with desperate, fading mana as she backed against the central terminal.Surrounding her were three men wearing unmarked, matte-black military exosuits. They didn't have cadet badges. They were grown, battle-hardened Tier-5 Enforcers sent by the corrupt faction of the High Council."Your gravity manipulation is impressive for a teenager, Lady Isolde," the lead enforcer sneered, his combat blade crackling with a high-frequency plasma aura. "But your mana is dry. General Vance sends his regards. Your family's corporate shares will look excellent in our registry tomorrow."Isolde bit her lip, taste of copper flooding her mouth. She raised her trembling hands to ca