2026-04-26 19:05:44Everyone was quiet for a moment, all eyes snapping to me. I felt a mix of fear and excitement bubbling inside. I could do this if I had killed a beetle that was way above my level..
My pet twitched on my shoulder, sensing my heartbeat, its tiny claws digging lightly into my sleeve. I gave it a soft scratch behind the ears. “We’ve got this,” I whispered. A few students muttered among themselves. “He’s crazy,” someone said. “That rat doesn’t stand a chance against the bigger pets here.” " Does he think this is going to be a easy fight? He is going to have to fight his way through the dredgs." " He won't even last a second." I was not moved. Instead, I felt the joy to show my father what I could do. If he had watched the video then he was doing this just to give me my spot back. Jack was smirking again, leaning against the wall. “Finally,” he said slowly, as if savoring the moment. “Someone stupid enough to throw themselves into the fire. I’ll enjoy watching this. You definitely are going to burn rat-boy." [ Student laughed] I ignored him. My mind was already racing, thinking of strategies. My pet may look small and harmless, but we had just upgraded it. Its speed had increased, and its attacks had improved. The beetle fight had really helped. Given my pet-system the right upgrades. The principal clapped his hands, snapping me out of my thoughts. “Good! I see at least one brave student,” he said. “Now, you will be matched up. Remember, this is only the first round. The real tournament is coming, and only those who survive will get the gold-level upgrade. And like I said this fight is for level 9 tiers. If you fall below that then you are not fit to fight." The student disperse with each of the students murmurring on their way back to class. " System." I called out trying to communicate for the first time. [ System online ] [ What can I help with? ] " What is my current tier?" I stoped, my gaze fixed on the blue line in front of me. [ System update coming right up gamer ] [ System booting : 9,8,7,65,4,3,2,1 ] [ System animal : Rat ] [ System loft : Rat-Wing ] [ System last cash : £2,000 ] [ System tier : 4 ] The moment I saw my level, I felt sad. There was no way I could fight if my tier was not up to nine. I needed to challenge high level tiers. I need to fight to boost my tier. My gaze swept through the students. I could barely have a pick. Most of the high tiers systems had strong animals and big beasts. Unlike me who was having a rat. I scratched the back of my head until my gaze landed on Dan. The same perfect who always had me bullied. I stared at him and his tiers popped up right on top of his head. Tier 5 Good. I knew he was also looking for someone to fight. " Fight me." I said, with my arms folded. " Fight you?" Dan held his tummy and laughed. "Are you asking for a death wish? Or does my pet look like a beetle to you?" " What now? Are you sacred of me? If you are scared then you can tell me." I said with a smirk Some of the students who saw me challenging Dan stood still to listen to us. " Is Dan scared of him?" " Noway. I will be sacred too. Not after what he did in the pit." " How many of the higher teir can do this?" Dan looked back, his eyebrows arched with anger. " Can you stop talking?!" The students few intemidated and kept quiet immediately. His gaze slowly went back to me. " Fine. I accept your challenge but if I win, you are not only going to give me your pet but you are going to be my servant till the end of the term." I felt frightened. The truth was that, I have never seen Dan's pet before. He doesn't walk around with it. I can't help but wonder what his pet looks like. " Okay. Duel accepted." I said thrusting out my hands " Fuck off! Meet me after the end of the school hours." he said laughing. I gave him one long lasting look before I walked off to my classroom. The moment the final bell rang, my heart began to pound harder than ever before. Students poured out of their classrooms, but instead of heading home, most of them moved in one direction—the battle grounds behind the academy. Word had spread fast. “Rat-boy is fighting Dan!” “Tier four against tier five… this is going to be brutal.” “Didn’t he just fight a beetle? Maybe he’s hiding something…” I could hear their whispers as I walked past some of them. My pet shifted on my shoulder, its small body tense, its whiskers twitching as if it could feel the danger. I exhaled slowly. “Stay sharp,” I murmured. The field came into view—a wide, circular arena surrounded by stone markings that glowed faintly. The moment I stepped in, I felt pressured. It was nothing like the pit fight. There was no glowing light, no fancy decoration. It was mainly stones and carvings. Dan was already there. Standing at the center. He looked relaxed, too relaxed. His hands were tucked into his pockets, his expression calm, almost bored. But the moment his eyes met mine, that calm twisted into something darker. Excitement. “You actually showed up,” he said, tilting his head. “I thought you might run away and save yourself the humiliation.” I stepped forward, ignoring the tightening in my chest. “I’m not here to talk.” A few students cheered while others laughed. Jack’s voice cut through the noise. “Don’t die too quickly, rat-boy! At least make it entertaining!” I clenched my fists but kept moving. The principal stood at the edge of the arena, raising his hand. Instantly, silence fell. “This is a sanctioned duel,” he announced. “No interference. No outside help. Fight until one side yields… or is unable to continue.” My throat went dry. Unable to continue. “Summon your pets!” he commanded Dan smirked. “Gladly.” He snapped his fingers. For a split second… nothing happened. Then— The ground beneath him cracked. A low, guttural growl echoed through the arena, sending chills down my spine. The air grew heavy, almost suffocating, as something massive began to emerge from behind him. My pet squeaked, claws digging into my shoulder. “W-what is that…” someone whispered. Dan’s grin widened. “Go on,” he said softly. “Take a good look at what you just challenged.” The shadow stretched… twisted… and then— A pair of glowing red eyes snapped open. My breath caught in my throat as the creature finally stepped forward, revealing itself. And in that moment… I realized— I had made a terrible mistake.
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chapter twenty four
Not from my pet — from the space between us, which was no longer a space. A warmth that expanded outward from the point where my hands touched its sides and did not stop at the edges of either of us but kept going — into the arena floor, into the air above, into the shared perception that was no longer a layer beneath my own senses but simply my senses, whole and doubled and immeasurably clearer than anything I had felt before. The crowd went silent. Three thousand people. Silent. My pet rose. It did not rise the way it had been sitting. It rose the way something rises when it has decided, for the first time, not to hold anything back. The partial shifts I had watched over weeks — the wing extensions, the edge of the dragon form bleeding through the silhouette at high-stress moments — were gone. Not absent. Incorporated. What stood in the arena was not a rat with dragon traits bleeding through the edges. It was a dragon. Small — still small, the size and proportion of somethin
chapter twenty three
I didn't sleep much.Not from anxiety — or not only that. More like the particular wakefulness of a body that knows something significant is coming and has decided, without consulting the mind, that sleep is a secondary concern.I lay in the dark and listened to the city and ran through everything I knew.I knew what was at stake by now. Winning was the only way to show my father I was not a weakling. Only if that mattered anymore. Jack's lion. Force Mane — a concentrated burst of kinetic energy projected outward from the mane, effective at close and mid range, capable of ending a match in one clean hit if it connected. Apex Presence — a passive suppressor that dampened opposing pets' trait activation speed, making everything half a beat slower. Crown Instinct — accelerated reaction speed in response to perceived threats, making the lion faster the more dangerous it judged the opponent to be.Three active traits, all of them layered and compounding.Force Mane was the finisher.
chapter twenty two
“You’re too slow.” “I triggered it in one point three seconds.” “And in a real fight, one point three seconds gets you crippled,” Voren replied flatly. “Again.” I exhaled sharply and reset his stance. My pet crouched beside me, wings twitching once as the bond pulsed between us. “Release sequence,” Voren ordered. I moved instantly. The resonance anchor flashed and a ripple of energy passed through the bond. “Point nine,” Voren said after a pause. “That is better.” I rolled my shoulders. “You always sound disappointed no matter how fast I do it.” “That is because you are not fast enough yet.” I muttered something under my breath. “I heard that.” “I know you did.” Voren ignored me and tossed Eli’s diagram onto the table nearby. “Your semifinal opponent.” “Cael Doro,” ai said immediately. Voren gave a slight nod. “Tier eight point five.” “One tier above me.” “By registered numbers.” I looked down at the diagram again. “Granite Bounder.” “Durability
chapters twenty one
The tournament arena roared like a living beast. Three thousand voices crashed together overhead, loud enough to shake dust from the stone ceiling of the preparation corridor. I stood beneath the arena floor with my hands buried in my pockets while my pet rested calmly on my shoulder. The creature’s eyes narrowed slightly. It could feel it too. The noise of the crowd, their anticipation and hunger. I exhaled slowly. “So this is what it feels like.” My pet gave a low rumble. Footsteps echoed through the corridor. Ivy appeared from the shadows, wiping a streak of dirt from her sleeve. Her expression remained calm as always, but her breathing was still slightly uneven from her earlier match. I raised an eyebrow. “You already finished?” “Four minutes.” Ivy shrugged. “Tier eight point one opponent. Nothing complicated.” I smirked faintly. “Show off.” “I learned from watching you.” My pet tilted its head toward her. Ivy looked directly at it. “How is it?” “Read
chapter twenty
The bracket dropped on a Thursday. Nobody was in class when it happened. Not really. Every screen in every room had a corner of someone's attention before the official announcement even loaded — phones tilted at careful angles, the particular kind of stillness that isn't attention but anticipation. By the time the notification pulsed through the system, half the student body had already refreshed the tournament portal three times. I was in the library. Alone, which was how I preferred to receive things that mattered. [Tournament Bracket: Published] [Your Draw: Slot 14 — First Round] [Opponent: Tessa Wren — Tier 8.2 | Pet: Crimson Hawk | Active Traits: Dive Strike, Wind Current] [Match Date: 4 days] I read it twice. Then I scrolled. Jack was in slot three. His first-round opponent was a tier eight point four — strong enough to be a real match for anyone without a lion. For Jack it was a formality and everyone knew it. His path through the bracket had him mee
Chapter nineteen
The tier locked at 6:14 the following morning. I was already awake when it happened — sitting on the edge of my mattress in the grey pre-dawn, the notebook open on my lap at the final exercise, my pet warm and alert beside me. The system alert came quietly, a single pulse of blue in the corner of my vision, and then the number settled. [Tier Advancement Confirmed: 8.7] [Status: Locked — Cannot Be Reversed By Administrative Review] [Tournament Eligibility: Confirmed] [Review Board Petition: Voided — Insufficient Grounds] Voided. I read that word three times. Then I set the notebook down, lay back on the mattress, and stared at the cracked ceiling for a long moment. My pet climbed onto my chest and sat there, looking at me with those steady glowing eyes. "We're in," I told it. It blinked. "Don't act like you had any doubt." It looked away with what I had come to recognize as its version of dignified indifference. I almost laughed. It came out quieter than I e
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