Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner

After the traumatic experience, Noah and Lila prepared to return to reality. Before departing his domain, Noah turned to Lila, his expression serious.

”There’s something you need to know before we go back,” he said. ”Everyone thinks you’re still recuperating after our final match with Kaiden. The public doesn’t know about Purge or their plans for today.”

Lila’s eyes narrowed. ”So I need to stay hidden.”

”Exactly. If people see you walking around looking perfectly fine, it’ll raise questions we don’t need right now.” Noah ran a hand through his hair. ”I’ve got a plan with Lucas and the others, and we need to keep your rescue quiet for now.”

Lila nodded, her tactical mind immediately grasping the situation. ”Where should I go?”

”My dorm room in the arena. Kelvin had made it impenetrable. Well, to everyone except me. It’s secure and no one will look for you there.” Noah hesitated before adding, ”Also, we should form a Domain Link. That way, I can reach you instantly if things go sideways.”

”Smart,” Lila agreed, extending her hand. ”Do it.”

Noah took her hand, channeling void energy between them to establish the connection. The familiar sensation of their energies intertwining flowed through them both.

[Domain Link established with: Lila Rowe]

[Command ”Domain Exchange: Lila” now available]

With the link secured, Noah transported them back to reality—Lila directly to his dorm room and himself to a secluded service corridor near the main arena. He needed to find the others.

As Noah approached the main concourse, he spotted Lucas, Sophie, and Kelvin standing near one of the entrances. Their faces were etched with concern as they scanned the crowds. Even from a distance, he could make out their conversation.

”—should have been back hours ago,” Sophie was saying, her normally composed demeanor fraying at the edges.

”I’ve checked every security feed I can access,” Kelvin replied, tapping frantically on his wrist device. ”Nothing.”

Lucas stood slightly apart, his eyes cold and calculating. ”If Albright is involved—”

”Hey,” Noah called, approaching the group.

Three heads whipped around simultaneously.

”Noah!” Sophie exclaimed, relief flooding her features before immediately shifting to indignation. ”Where the hell have you been? We’ve been worried sick!”

Kelvin punched him lightly on the shoulder. ”Dude, you can’t just disappear when there’s a terrorist organization potentially targeting the arena!”

Lucas said nothing, but his penetrating gaze demanded answers.

Noah quickly recounted everything—the beast gauntlet, the elevator to the white room, and the horrifying revelation about the Lila clones. As he described the experiments the Rowes had been conducting on their own daughter, his friends’ expressions transformed.

Lucas’s usually impassive face hardened with disgust, his jaw clenching tight. ”Experimenting on their own child,” he said quietly, his controlled tone barely concealing his fury. ”Creating clones as expendable test subjects.”

Sophie’s rivalry with Lila was no secret, but genuine horror crossed her features. ”That’s... monstrous,” she whispered. ”No one deserves that, least of all from their own parents.” For all their differences, Sophie’s compassion transcended personal feelings.

Kelvin’s perpetual humor fell away, replaced by uncharacteristic seriousness. ”So let me get this straight—they’re cloning their daughter, injecting the copies with dark chi, and using them for... what? Cannon fodder? Test subjects?” He shook his head. ”And here I thought my dad was in the running for worst parent of the year. The Rowes just won the entire century’s competition.”

”Did you find her?” Sophie asked. ”The real Lila?”

Noah nodded. ”She’s safe. Hidden for now. We’ll need her when we confront her parents.”

”Speaking of confrontations,” Lucas said, nodding toward the main arena entrance. ”We missed the second-year finals while searching for you. Aria Vulcan won, by the way. And now...” He glanced at the massive display above the entrance where countdown timers indicated the third-year finals would begin in fifteen minutes.

”The main event,” Kelvin finished.

Noah looked up at the screen showing the matchups for the final event. ”Three-way battle between you, Smoak, and Frost? That doesn’t seem fair.”

Lucas’s lips curved slightly. ”It’s not meant to be.But you didn’t complain and got the job done during your turn. I intend to do so too,”

The four friends made their way back to their seats just as the pre-match hype was building to fever pitch. The arena was packed to capacity now, with standing room only in the general admission sections. Massive holographic displays showed highlight reels from previous matches as commentators built anticipation.

”—unprecedented three-way final between arguably the three most powerful third-years in the system!”

”That’s right, Kim! The Academy 12 prodigy Lucas Grey, who stunned the world with his Reawakening last year, facing off against not one but TWO Academy 8 powerhouses—Jayden Smoak and Diana Frost!”

The crowd roared as statistics and power ratings flashed across the displays. Noah remembered his encounter with Diana Frost months ago, during their retaliatory strike against Academy 8 after the siege on Academy 12. Her ability—momentum nullification—had nearly immobilized him completely. Even with his void powers, he’d barely escaped her dead zone.

’This is going to be rough for Lucas,’ Noah thought, studying the matchup. ’Frost can nullify movement and Smoak has supposedly Reawakened to S-rank. Two against one, both with counters to Lucas’s style.’

Around them, the excitement was sky high. Reporters weaved through the crowd, capturing reactions and predictions.

”—Grey has never lost a match since his Reawakening—”

”—but Smoak has a score to settle—”

”—Frost is the wild card here, she’s never faced Grey directly—”

A reporter thrust a microphone toward Commander Owen, who stood stoically near the officials’ box.

”Commander, your thoughts on Academy 12’s chances today, given the unusual matchup?”

Owen’s weathered face remained composed. ”Each finalist has earned their place through skill and determination. I respect Academy 8’s representatives and the abilities they bring.” A slight smile touched his lips. ”That said, I have complete faith in Cadet Grey’s capabilities. He has never failed to rise to any challenge placed before him.”

As the minutes ticked down, a hush fell over the arena as Webb Pithon, the global arms tycoon, approached the central platform. His expensive suit and confident stride marked him as one of the most powerful civilians in the system.

”Oh no,” Kelvin groaned beside Noah, sliding down in his seat and raising a massive ”GO LUCAS!” banner to hide behind.

”Is that—?” Noah began.

”My father,” Kelvin confirmed miserably. ”The man who never misses an opportunity to hear himself talk.”

Webb’s voice boomed through the arena. ”Ladies and gentlemen! What an INCREDIBLE display of talent we’ve witnessed today!” His animated gestures and broad smile were nearly identical to Kelvin’s usual demeanor—just wrapped in an executive package.

”Before our final match begins, I wanted to personally announce that Pithon Industries will be awarding substantial cash prizes to all semifinalists and finalists from today’s tournament!” He paused for the appreciative applause. ”These young warriors represent the best of humanity’s next generation of defenders!”

Webb launched into an impassioned speech about human resilience against the Harbinger threat, his charisma capturing the audience completely. Noah glanced at Kelvin, who had slumped even lower behind his banner.

”He’s exactly like you,” Sophie whispered to Kelvin with obvious amusement.

”He is NOT,” Kelvin hissed back. ”I’m much cooler and less... corporate.”

When Webb finally concluded his speech with a dramatic fist raised to the sky, the crowd erupted in thunderous applause. As he departed the platform, he spotted Kelvin in the premium seating section and waved enthusiastically.

”THAT’S MY BOY RIGHT THERE!” he shouted, pointing directly at Kelvin. ”FUTURE CEO OF PITHON INDUSTRIES!”

Kelvin made a sound like a dying animal and disappeared completely behind his banner.

The lights dimmed, signaling the imminent start of the match. The announcer’s voice echoed through the arena.

”LADIES AND GENTLEMEN! THE MOMENT YOU’VE BEEN WAITING FOR—THE THIRD-YEAR FINAL!”

A spotlight hit the eastern entrance. ”REPRESENTING ACADEMY 8, THE ICE QUEEN HERSELF—DIANA FROST!”

A tall, slender woman with platinum blonde hair cut in a severe bob stepped onto the arena floor. Her combat suit was pale blue with silver accents. Unlike most finalists who acknowledged the crowd, Diana’s gaze remained fixed straight ahead, her expression utterly disinterested. The temperature in the arena seemed to drop several degrees as she took her position.

Even the tournament officials gave her a wide berth, one of them visibly flinching when she turned her cold stare in his direction. From the Academy 8 section, her Headmaster watched with a mixture of pride and concern—not for her, but for what she might do to her opponents.

”FROM THE SAME ACADEMY, THEEE NUMBERRR ONNEEE—JAYDEN SMOAK!”

The western entrance erupted in blue flames as a muscular young man with a shock of dark hair strode confidently into the arena. His combat suit was black with blue flame patterns. In his hand, he carried a wicked-looking sword made from what appeared to be polished bone. The weapon gleamed unnaturally under the arena lights.

Jayden raised his free hand, summoning a swirl of blue flame that morphed into the Academy 8 emblem before dissipating. The crowd roared its approval. He then set the bone blade down before heading onto the platform. Weapons weren’t around. He’d only brought it as part of his final entrance theatrics.

”AND FINALLY, FROM ACADEMY 12—THE LIGHTNING GOD HIMSELF, LUCAS GREYYYY!”

The northern entrance exploded with white-gold lightning that arced dramatically across the ceiling before concentrating into a human form. Lucas materialized from the electrical display, his midnight-blue combat suit accented with silver lightning patterns. Despite the theatrical entrance, his expression remained calm, almost detached, as he took his position.

The crowd’s reaction was deafening. Lucas Grey wasn’t just a champion—he was a legend in the making, a household name whose Reawakening the previous year had inspired countless cadets across all twelve academies.

As the three finalists took their positions in the circular arena, Noah studied them carefully. Lucas stood relaxed yet alert, conserving energy. Jayden practically vibrated with anticipation, his eyes locked on Lucas with naked hatred. Diana remained perfectly still, her gaze calculating as she assessed her opponents. Yes, her eyes were on both Jayden, her colleague and Lucas.

”This is gonna be epic,” Kelvin whispered, his father’s embarrassing display momentarily forgotten.

Sophie leaned forward. ”Two against one. That’s not a fair fight.”

”No,” Noah agreed. ”But if anyone can handle it, it’s Lucas.”

The announcer’s voice returned, building the final tension: ”COMPETITORS READY?”

Lucas nodded once.

Jayden’s grin turned predatory.

Diana’s expression remained unchanged.

”THEN LET THE FINAL MATCH... BEGIN!”

The arena floor rumbled with energy as the protective dome flickered to life, separating the combatants from the thousands of spectators.

In that fraction of a second when the energy barrier solidified, Lucas’s feet sparked with blinding arcs of electricity. The air itself seemed to crack and split as lightning coursed through his body.

Then—movement so fast it existed only as afterimage.

One heartbeat, Lucas stood poised at his corner.

The next, a thunderclap explosion rocked the arena as Diana Frost’s unconscious form slammed into the energy barrier, her body creating a spider-web pattern of impact stress on the barrier before sliding limply to the floor.

Where Lucas now stood, the reinforced titanium plates of the arena floor had buckled inward—a perfect crater nearly six inches deep, edges glowing molten orange from the sheer force of his departure. Thin tendrils of smoke rose from his footprints as residual electricity danced across the depressed metal.

The entire stadium fell into stunned silence.

Then pandemonium.

”DID YOU SEE THAT?!” the announcer screamed, voice cracking with disbelief. ”GREY JUST ELIMINATED FROST IN LESS THAN POINT-THREE SECONDS! THE SPEEDOMETERS ARE STILL CALCULATING THE VELOCITY!”

Noah grabbed Kelvin’s arm, his eyes bulging with what one could only describe as pure joy and excitement. ”Did you see what he did there?!” he whispered intensely, unable to contain his admiration. ”He recognized Frost as the strategic threat. Her spatial anchoring could’ve neutralized his speed advantage completely.”

Kelvin’s eyes lit up behind his glasses, already pulling up data on his wrist device. ”The sensors just registered 783 megajoules of kinetic force!” he whispered back with equal enthusiasm. ”He channeled the electrical discharge through his musculature to amplify his acceleration curve. My watch is recording Mach 1.6 at the moment of impact!”

”By striking her neural cluster or as some would call it, pressure points at that exact angle,” Noah continued, gesturing with his hands as if mapping the trajectory, ”he disrupted her ability to establish her dead zone before she could even register the attack.”

”And look at the thermal signature!” Kelvin zoomed in on his device, showing Noah a heat map overlay of Lucas’s movement path. ”He focused the electrical discharge through his forward leg to superheat the air in front of him, creating a pressure vacuum that actually pulled him forward! The absolute madman modified my frictionless boot design!”

Sophie sighed loudly beside them, rolling her eyes as the two continued their rapid-fire analysis. ”Are you two seriously going to break down every microsecond of this?” she asked, though a small smile tugged at her lips as she watched her boyfriend’s animated excitement.

”That’s why he’s pushed so hard in training in the weeks prior to the tournament and even during the tournament,” Noah explained to Kelvin, completely ignoring Sophie’s comment. ”He anticipated an event like this where he might have to face her. This maniac wasn’t just building raw speed—he was perfecting neurological targeting at high velocity.”

”The neural targeting is one thing,” Kelvin marveled, furiously making notes on his device, ”but do you realize how precisely he had to modulate his electrical field to prevent it from frying his own nervous system? I’ve got to reverse-engineer this technique!”

Sophie shook her head, exchanging a knowing glance with another spectator nearby. ”Boys and their combat analytics,” she muttered, but she couldn’t help smiling at Noah’s passionate breakdown of the battle. For all his serious demeanor, seeing him geek out with Kelvin over their friend’s performance was oddly endearing.

All eyes now turned to the remaining combatants. Lucas, standing calmly in the center of his impact crater, and Jayden Smoak, whose expression had transformed from cockiness to something much darker as he realized Academy 8’s strategy had just collapsed in an instant.

The stadium’s roar diminished to a tense murmur as Lucas straightened, tiny arcs of electricity dancing between his fingers. He tilted his head slightly, regarding Jayden with the calm detachment of a master assessing an opponent barely worth his time.

With deliberate slowness, Lucas raised his hand, pointing directly at Jayden. Brilliant white-blue sparks cascaded across his extended fingers, illuminating his face with harsh, otherworldly light.

”Guess they sent two so at least one of you might last a full minute,” Lucas said, his voice carrying across the now-hushed arena. The electricity intensified around his fingertips, crackling with barely restrained power.

The crowd erupted at the taunt, sensing the true battle was only beginning. Jayden’s face contorted with fury, blue flames erupting along the length of his arm.

The commentator’s voice broke through the absolute madness of the crowd: ”Ladies and gentlemen, the gloves are OFF! Grey with absolutely no respect shown after that lightning-fast elimination!”

Cameras caught the Academy 8 Headmaster’s expression darkening as Lucas continued to stand there, one finger still pointing at Jayden, challenge written in every line of his posture.