My Almighty Werewolf System

Chapter 5

Kai woke to the warmth of sunlight already piercing through the arched windows above his bed, slashing golden bars across the stone walls of the dormitory.

His entire body ached.

Not the dull soreness of fatigue, but the deep, soul-scraping kind of pain that came from being used as a werewolf’s personal punching bag. He groaned as he sat up, dragging a hand across his face and blinking blearily at the bedside clock rune hovering midair.

8:57 AM.

“Crap.”

The door slammed open.

“Sleeping beauty awakens,” Jace announced, marching in with a scowl and a half-eaten piece of toast in his mouth. “Guess what? Everyone’s forming teams. Everyone. And you, sir, are snoring through your chance at glory.”

Kai blinked. “Teams... for the festival?”

“No, for a tea party,” Jace deadpanned. “Yes, the festival! Come on, man! If we don’t find three other lunatics brave enough to team up with a rainbow-ranked Arcane and his sarcastic werewolf roommate, we’re going to end up watching this thing from the bleachers.”

Kai groaned, forcing himself upright. Every muscle screamed. His system reward had dulled the worst of it, but the aftershocks of Ryder’s knuckles still sang in his bones.

He dressed quickly, tugging on his Academy tunic and sliding his boots on one at a time, hissing through gritted teeth. They headed out through the dormitory gate, down the ivy-covered walkways that lead to the central square.

The courtyard was a frenzy of energy.

Banners whipped in the breeze. Students of every faction, werewolves in their lean uniforms, vampires with their flowing coats, dryads, druids, a few flame-born warlocks, clustered in groups, discussing strategies, laughing, arguing.

Floating registration crystals hovered like lazy jellyfish, pulsing softly in the air as scribes and staff took names.

Everywhere, teams of four were coming together. Names were already being etched into the skyboard above the courtyard, a magical roster that shimmered like starlight.

Kai and Jace approached one group, a trio of younger druids laughing among themselves.

“Hey,” Kai began, trying a smile. “You guys need a fourth?”

The laughter stopped.

They looked at him, then down at the emblem on his chest, faintly glowing in rainbow colors. A weak rank. A weaker reputation.

One of them smiled apologetically. “Sorry, already filled.”

They weren’t. Not even close.

Next group. Then another. And another.

The pattern repeated. Kind rejections. Awkward looks. Open snickers.

“No offense,” one flame-born girl had said, “but isn’t the Rainbow Wing where they send students who don’t awaken properly?”

By the time the sun had shifted overhead, Kai was sitting on the base of a statue with his head in his hands.

“I hate this,” he muttered.

Jace kicked a pebble. “You’re telling me. I didn’t think people would be this picky. I mean, I’m loveable, you’re... you.”

Kai groaned again.

Then, suddenly, the courtyard fell quiet.

Not silent.......but quieter. Like a shift in the wind, a ripple of unexpected tension.

Kai looked up, and he saw a girl walking towards their direction, it took him some minutes of thinking before he remembered the face. It is Selene, walking toward them majestically.

She wore a simple tunic of pale lavender and charcoal black, boots laced high, her white-blonde hair braided over one shoulder like a waterfall of light. She moved with deliberate calm, though every step made nearby vampires' glance up, stunned.

“Is she......?”

“She doesn’t usually......”

“Selene? Here?”

Kai stood, not sure whether to brace for an insult, a challenge, or another cryptic warning, or to compliment her undeniable beauty.

She stopped a few feet from him. Her gaze didn’t search the crowd, it was fixed only on him and just some peep on his shadow.

“Are you forming a team?” she asked.

Jace blinked. “Uh. Yes. No. I mean......”

Kai swallowed. “We were... trying.”

Selene tilted her head. “Then I’ll join yours.”

The words hit like thunder.

For a second, even the banners seemed to pause mid-flap.

“You what?” Kai asked.

“I’ll be your third,” she said simply. “You’ll need at least one good fighter. And it might be fun.”

It wasn’t just the courtyard that went still now, it was the vampires. Her brothers.

Across the far side of the square, Valen and Roger turned in unison. Their gazes locked onto Selene like wolves watching one of their own walks off a cliff.

A blur of shadows, and suddenly Valen stood beside her.

“You’re not serious,” he said, his voice low and cold. “We all agreed not to join the festival this time also, what is all this?”.

Selene smiled faintly. “We didn’t agree on it Valen, you and Roger did. And c’mon, I just wanna catch some fun here, nothing serious.”

“This ain’t fun. This is…” Roger stopped beside Valen, his eyes narrowing at Kai. “This is about him, right?”

Selene didn’t deny it.

“I’ll meet you at the registry,” she told Kai, and without another word, she walked past her brothers and toward the floating registration orb.

The courtyard exploded with whispers and murmurings, no one could believe that the classy Selene is choosing Kai’s team.

Almost instantly, others began drifting closer, some curious, some suddenly very eager to associate with the most controversial team in the school.

Among them came a quiet, tall figure cloaked in a shimmering green hood. They moved like mist, until they stood directly in front of Kai.

“I heard you need a fourth,” one of them spoke first, pulling back his hood.

She has a stone-gray skin. Eyes like polished amber. Snake tattoos coiling from her temples down their neck.

She is Stone Born, The Bloodline of Medusa.

“I’m Thalia,” she said. “I want in. I’m fast, I’m precise, and I don’t flinch when things get ugly.”

Kai blinked. “You’re serious?”

“I am,” she replied. “And you’ll need someone who can turn people to stone if you want to survive the shadow-tag rounds.”

Jace’s jaw dropped. “She’s a Medusa. A real one.”

Kai nodded, slowly smiling. “Welcome aboard.”

The four of them walked together to the registration crystal.

A soft voice echoed from the orb as it scanned them.

“Team registration accepted. Participants: Kai of Rainbow Wing. Jace of the Rainbow Wing. Selene of House Umbra. Thalia of the Stone Born.”

The orb pulsed.

“Team name?”

Kai glanced at them. Jace shrugged. Selene just looked at him quietly. Thalia folded her arms.

Kai took a breath.

“Call us... Team Eclipse?”

“Team Eclipse registered.”

The crowd around them dispersed in ripples of shock and speculation. Whispers followed them like shadows.

Kai felt his stomach twist with a strange mixture of pride and dread.

“Kai, I’ll see you soon...... Others, prepare for the game”, Selene said as she disappeared into the wind.

“Should we congratulate ourselves for having Selene in our team?”, Jace asked, concern etched on his face.

“With Selene in our team, we just earned ourselves more crazy competitors, I mean, the crazy folks from all factions”, Jace murmured.