Rise Of The Lesser-Blood

Once they reached their desks in the back row, Ryan violently pulled Thomas aside by his sleeve, his face entirely pale and his eyes wide with a mixture of shock and sheer panic.

”What did I tell you huh, Thomas?!” Ryan hissed under his breath, frantically glancing down toward the front rows to make sure no High-bloods were listening. ”That back there was Raymond of House Saber! I heard his family is famous for producing the most ruthless killers and assassins in the entire kingdom! If Julian hadn’t stepped in, you would have been shish-kebab before the morning bell!”

Thomas calmly pulled his sleeve from Ryan’s grip, keeping his face smooth as glass as he sat down on the wooden bench. ”Julian didn’t do it to save me, Ryan. He just wants to be the one to break me on a public stage.”

”That’s exactly what scares me!” Ryan muttered, running a trembling hand through his blonde hair.

”Julian just threatened to hurt a fellow High-blood just to keep you all to himself for the tournament. Every single eye in the freshman tier is locked onto you now, Tom. You aren’t just an anomaly anymore, you’ve upgraded to Julian’s personal target.” Lina and Mina leaned over from their neighboring desks, their expressions equally tense.

Before Thomas could respond to them, the heavy oak doors of Class 1-A slammed shut with a resounding boom.

Thwack!

The sharp, loud crack of a heavy wooden rod striking the front podium instantly silenced the entire room. Step-by-step, the chatter died out as Instructor Cross paced across the front stage, his battle-scarred face set into a grim scowl. He didn’t waste a single second on morning greetings. He turned directly to the large, slate blackboard behind his desk, channeling a spark of dense mana into his chalk.

”Quiet down!” Instructor Cross barked, his voice echoing off the vaulted stone ceiling. ”The administrative block has finalized the preliminary brackets for the Inter-Class Freshman Tournament. All five first-year blocks will compete simultaneously on the lower coliseum floors starting tomorrow morning.”

With a series of rapid, heavy strokes, the glowing mana-chalk began to write itself across the board, drawing out the complex lines of the tournament grid. Dozens of names flashed into view, but Thomas’s eyes locked onto the very first pairing listed at the top left corner of the block.

Right there, etched in bright, shimmering blue light, was his first official match.

[ PRELIMINARY ROUND 1 - MATCH 1 ]

Thomas (Class 1-A) VS. Raymond of House Saber (Class 1-B)

A collective wave of gasps and malicious whispers rippled through the front rows of High-blood students. Down at the front, Julian slowly leaned back in his chair, a cold, elegant smile playing at the edge of his lips as he adjusted his silver-rimmed glasses. He didn’t even need to turn around; as if he knew Thomas was looking.

Thomas stared at the board, his heart rate remaining perfectly steady as a sharp chime resonated deep inside his skull. The system interface quietly flashed to life in his peripheral vision, completely invisible to the rest of the room.

[ HIGH-INTENSITY COMBAT QUEST GENERATED ]

* Objective: Survive and defeat Raymond of House Saber in Round 1.

* Threat Level: Grade A (Assassin Core)

* Potential Evolutionary Feedback: High

[ System Advice: Let the assassin strike. Adapt or perish. ]

Thomas gripped the edge of his notebook, a cold, unshakeable calm settling over his farm-boy features. Raymond had wanted a piece of him in the hallway, and now the academy had handed the assassin the perfect legal stage to draw blood. But as Thomas looked at the glowing letters on the board, his dangerous smile returned. Raymond thought he was the ultimate predator, but he was in for a surprise.