Beastline Ascension

The sun peeked through the class room as the students filed into the classroom. The building was old but well maintained, with cracked concrete walls and new ceiling fans that doesn't make much sounds each time they turned. A battered holoboard flickered weakly at the front, casting a pale blue light across the worn metal desks.

This was the Swamp Academy — the last stop for nobodies trying to become somebodies.

Renji slid into a seat near the back, his muscles still aching from the F-rank gate incident. The power sleeping inside him was still strange, unfamiliar. A system had awakened, tied to a beast he'd never imagined — a Honey Badger, small but relentless. Whatever it meant, he could feel something changing inside him and he also noticed he had a little white hair at the front of his head.

Moments later, the classroom door creaked open. A man stepped in — Mr. Ain. His presence silenced the entire room without him having to say a word.

He clapped once, sharply.

He began. "You're here because you awakened. But don't get cocky. You're not students of Liertas — not yet."

He raised a hand and tapped the side of the flickering holoboard. The screen stabilized, revealing a set of rankings glowing in clean white text.

HUMAN RANK SYSTEM

F-Rank (Entry level)

↳ F-Bronze → F-Silver → F-Gold

E-Rank (Minor Awakening)

D-Rank (Combat-ready tier)

→ Minimum requirement for Liertas Academy

C to S-Rank (Elite tier)

SS / SSS / ??? (Unknown tier)

VOIDSPAWN CLASSIFICATION

Feral-Class

Savage-Class

Nightmare-Class

Cataclysm-Class

Abyssal-Class

???

"You'll be hearing these terms a lot," Mr. Ain said. "This is the world you live in now. Whether you like it or not."

He turned to face them, arms behind his back. "To enter Liertas Academy — the one in the Lion Empire — you must be at least D-rank and place Top 50 in our midterm tournament."

A wave of shock and murmurs swept across the room.

"Hundreds of you applied," he continued. "Only fifty will move forward. If you can't reach D-rank or place high enough in the tournament, you wouldn't make it. No second chances."

Someone near the front raised a hesitant hand. "Sir... what about great hero from 200 years ago? The one with crimson red eye's,the one they called the Chosen One?"

Mr. Ain paused, then smirked faintly. "Ah. Him."

He tapped the board again. A blurry photo appeared — old and grainy. A man who seems to be in his early 20's stood at the center, shirt torn and soaked with blood. His wild, sharp eyes glowed like embers in the night. Behind him, the ruins of a collapsed gate and dead Cataclysm-Class Voidspawn's.

"That gay" Mr. Ain said slowly, "was terrifying. They called him a Chosen One not because he was chosen by the ancient one's or some prophecy or divine right. He was just... unnatural. The more he fought, the stronger he became. Rapidly. Almost as if the world itself was trying to keep up with him."

Everyone stared at the image in silence.

Renji couldn't look away. Something in the pit of his stomach twisted. His heartbeat grew louder.

"I don't know him," Renji thought. "But why does it feel like... I do?"

He stared into the blurry eyes on the screen. Somewhere, deep inside, he felt a strange pull — a faint but unshakable connection.

The screen flicked off.

"You have two weeks to prepare and before the qualifiers get here," Mr. Ain said, his voice cold and final. "Reach D-rank. Make Top 50. Or Give up and try and live your life ,you only live once.

Renji clenched his fists beneath the desk. He could feel the excitement inside him stir again — small, fearless, unyielding.

"Top 50. D-rank. I don't care how hard it gets... I'm going to Liertas."