Demonic Po*nstar System

Chapter 527: Newbie Track

A shock rolled through the basin. Hundreds of awakened jerked forward with wide eyes, mouths parting, breaths catching all at once. A few outright shouted in disbelief.

”Two tracks?!”

”Twice the rewards?!”

”That’s insane!”

Magnus didn’t bother calming them. He simply waited until the cacophony tripped over itself and died down, the silence growing sharper as every awakened stared at him with a burning desire for further explanation.

He delivered just that. ”The ’newbie’ category will have a single difference, in that instead of fifty, their teams will hold a maximum of twenty people. And the term newbie, in this case, will cover the following. Those who awakened less than one year ago, those aged sixteen or below. And those who received their first experience point less than six months ago.”

The explosion of reactions was immediate, full of theorizing and confusion.

”Three different circumstances qualify?!”

”That’s so specific...!”

”Damn it, I just turned seventeen!” someone shouted from the left sector, throwing his hands up in despair as several nearby guildmates smacked their own foreheads.

”My little brother awakened thirteen months ago... fuck!” another groaned, slumping against his staff.

A girl in a jade jacket whirled on her friend with wild eyes. ”Wait just a moment...! I finished my guild’s course a little over seven months ago! No way I’m this unlucky!”

”RIP, haha!” a girl with Filipino features patted her back. ”Guess you’re out of luck.”

”Screw you!”

The basin descended into chaos, featuring disappointed screams, jealous complaints, relieved cheers, panicked recalculations.

But Kaiden wasn’t confused. One look at Magnus told him everything.

The man was announcing the rules, not designing them. His posture was too relaxed. His eyes were too detached. His tone is too neutral. Someone like Magnus would’ve created harsher, narrower categories, especially if his own promised favor was on the line. Social fairness was the least of his concerns.

”Those aren’t his rules,” Kaiden murmured to his girls.

Luna nodded. ”Too inclusive.”

Aria crossed her arms. ”Too reasonable.”

Nyx snorted. ”Too not-designed-by-major-assholes.”

The Association had mandated it, they could tell. Every line of the criteria screamed bureaucracy. It was carefully constructed, featuring airtight fairness. They truly just wanted the country’s fresh blood to fight and the worthy to receive these rewards, potentially skyrocketing their rate of growth.

As for the need for these three categories...

The first criterion was the least controversial: anyone who had awakened less than a year ago was classified as a rookie. Simple enough. A single year was barely enough time for most awakened to adjust to this new life, let alone master their bodies, abilities, or mana flow. Unless someone was blessed with monstrous talent or had access to absurd resources, they simply didn’t grow fast enough to compete with veterans. No one argued with that one.

The second rule, however, was where confusion had exploded earlier.

Sixteen or younger.

Why should age matter?

Why should sixteen-year-olds who awakened early qualify when many had been awakened for years?

But the explanation was rooted in the reality everyone in the basin quietly understood: awakenings in the early teens weren’t too uncommon, rarely, some even awakened as young as thirteen, yet almost none of them were allowed anywhere near a real battlefield.

Their guilds kept them sheltered, monitored, and protected.

If they were taken hunting at all, it was to the easiest dungeons or low-risk zones where they were effectively chaperoned the entire time.

Their growth was intentionally slowed to keep them alive during their most volatile developmental years. And the truth was simple; if a sixteen-year-old had what it took to stand here, ready to compete in an event like this, they deserved the right to be recognized as a rookie. The talented did not deserve to be unjustly punished, the association reasoned.

But the final rule was the one that made the least sense to most.

The six-month clause.

If someone had gained their first experience point within the last half-year, they also qualified.

At first glance, it seemed redundant.

Why not just stick with the one-year rule?

Why complicate it?

But anyone who understood how guilds operated knew exactly why. High-tier awakened were treated like walking national treasures by guils. Anyone lucky enough to get their hands on an A-tier or above awakened wanted to ensure those prodigies lived long enough to live up to their potential.

Letting them rush into combat unprepared was a one-way ticket to funeral pyres and political disasters.

So guilds kept them in classrooms, on training grounds, in simulations, in controlled environments where their precious prodigy status wouldn’t get snuffed out by a random monster.

Some were given years of education before ever stepping into real combat.

Which meant they would fail the one-year-from-awakening rule. And almost all of them were too old to fall under the under-seventeen rule. Without the six-month clause, the Association would be punishing them for being protected.

The system accounted for this, ensuring that sheltered prodigies weren’t disqualified simply because their guild held them back. Having only six months was decreed fair, as while they had less time to gather XP, they were properly trained and geared from the start, giving them an advantage.

Together, these three rules covered nearly every rookie situation without leaving anyone behind.

Kaiden exhaled slowly as the reality settled in. A second track. A legitimate one. Same rules. Same point system. Same rewards. His girls exchanged looks with him, and it was clear they were convinced. Since they were already here, they might as well compete and fight for these rewards.

Luna’s sly grin, Aria’s nudge, Nyx’s smirk, Bastet’s amused hum, Calypso’s glittering eyes, and the rising heat of possibility warmed his chest. With the association’s presence and reputation on the line, they did not have to fear being backstabbed.

It was a grand chance for them, even if Magnus and New Dawn were present.

None of them doubted that they were going to face the challenges of the man’s design, but they felt ready.

...

The basin finally broke apart into motion with the tension snapping into a rush of excitement that rippled through thousands of bodies at once.

The moment Magnus finished speaking and dismissed them, the crowd erupted in raw, energized fervor. Awakened of every rank surged toward their guild halls with a sense of purpose that the country hadn’t seen in years.

Veterans were already calculating point routes and Apex-type hunting paths. Rookies were shouting excitedly about strategies, soaking up advice from seniors who suddenly found themselves unusually generous.

Even guild management looked electric as they discussed roster shifting, supply allotments, and support logistics.

The rewards were too good for all parties involved.

A competition backed by New Dawn and the Association... no one wanted to miss their chance.

Kaiden and his girls slipped into the moving river of awakened, heading toward their respective guild areas.

Runewoven’s mountain-carved hall stood out immediately.

Where some guilds clearly lacked high-quality smithing departments, Runewoven had outdone itself. Kaiden could feel Talia’s pride just from looking at the building alone.

The entrance was framed by geometric channels etched into the rock, glowing with mana. Each line carried a different function: temperature regulation, monster-tracking wards, sound-damping enchantments, and structural reinforcement. The craftsmanship bordered on art.

It was solid, quiet, protective. A perfect representation of the guild’s ethos.

Kaiden felt the shift in atmosphere the moment they stepped inside.

The excited buzz from outside didn’t weaken here, not one bit. Runewoven members sat around projection tables, discussing optimal team compositions, weapon and armor shuffling, spellstone allocations, supply kits, and defensive formations. Several crafters were already hammering out rapid adjustments for members whose builds needed tweaking for this specific scoring system.

And they weren’t alone.

Tessa, leader of Nova Circuit and an official ally of Runewoven, stood at the center of a strategy circle, surrounded by several of her higher-ranked members.

She noticed Kaiden’s group immediately. ”Good timing. We’re finalizing lineup assignments.”