Waking up was never easy at Valebourne Academy. It wasn't the beds—they were surprisingly decent, a rare mercy in a place designed to break people. It was the weight of expectation, of danger wrapped in the disguise of "education."
Aster's eyes opened slowly, the light from the enchanted dorm ceiling filtering in like judgment. His limbs felt heavy, sore from yesterday's drills, and his head still buzzed with the memory of his awkward duel. Still, he was alive. That already put him ahead of the statistical average.
He sat up with a groan, brushing a hand through his mess of hair. "Still here," he muttered, then glanced at the corner of the room where his system interface flickered.
> [Quest Update: Main Quest – Orientation Week: Day 5 – 'The First Hunt' begins.]
[New Objective: Survive.]
[Hidden Quest: Deliver the final blow without anyone seeing. Reward: Partial Awakening of Shadow Step.]
"Because nothing says good morning like vaguely ominous notifications."
After the fastest wash-up in history, Aster threw on his academy-issued gear: reinforced leather tunic, basic enchanted boots, and a lightweight training sword strapped to his back. He looked half like a soldier, half like a poorly prepared adventurer.
The academy hallways buzzed with tension. Students murmured among themselves, most too nervous to engage in anything beyond speculation. A few looked excited. Sadists, probably.
The morning lecture hall had been cleared out—no professor, no chairs. Instead, instructors in dark uniforms herded them toward the central courtyard, where magical platforms awaited. Aster stepped onto one and felt the familiar tug of spatial magic as the world blurred around him.
When the distortion faded, he was standing in the middle of a dense forest, the sky above dimmed by a shimmering dome of magic. A controlled wild zone—likely one of the smaller sealed biomes the academy used for practical tests.
"Welcome to your first group assessment," one of the masked instructors announced. "You will be released in randomized teams of five. Your task: eliminate corrupted beasts within the zone. Survive. Contribute. Be evaluated."
The instructor didn't smile. None of them ever did.
Aster's team was a mismatched blend: a spear user with a twitchy eye, a quiet girl who wielded earth magic, a confident twin-sword fighter named Rane, and a boy named Jules who clearly hadn't lifted a sword until this semester. And then there was Aster, wildcard extraordinaire.
They moved deeper into the forest. The trees were thick and knotted, roots twisting out like claws. The air smelled of damp leaves and mana. Rane took the lead. "We stay tight. If you see something, don't shout—signal."
Aster trailed in the back, eyes flicking between shadows. "Great. Nothing like group work with strangers and monsters."
Their first encounter came fast. A corrupted wolf—eyes glowing red, fur patchy with crystalline growths—lunged from the underbrush. The team scrambled.
Rane parried its leap with his swords, while the spear-user jabbed at its side. The mage whispered an incantation, causing the earth to shift beneath the beast, staggering it. Aster hung back, observing, until the beast recovered faster than expected and charged at Jules.
"Oh, come on."
Aster darted forward, unsheathing his sword awkwardly. His stance was off, his grip shaky, but he managed a deflection—barely. The wolf snarled, knocked him back, and lunged again. He rolled under it and slashed upward, cutting its shoulder.
Not enough.
Rane finished it with a clean slice, and the group regrouped, breathing hard. "Nice save," Rane said, eyeing Aster.
"Totally intentional," Aster wheezed.
Three more beasts appeared over the next thirty minutes. Two more corrupted wolves and something worse—a bloated, boar-like creature with tusks and a shattered horn. It took coordinated effort to take it down, and they weren't without injuries. Jules was limping. Aster had a long scrape down his arm.
Still, they were alive.
Then it came—the final test.
An intelligent enemy. It wasn't huge, but it moved with eerie grace. Humanoid in shape, shadowy like mist, with bone-like armor and a sword grown from its own limb. It hissed when it saw them.
"Formation!" Rane shouted.
But the thing didn't wait. It shot forward, slashing the spear-user across the chest before anyone could react. Aster's world narrowed.
It moved too fast. Too smart.
Rane fought it in a blur, the earth mage trying to slow it with traps. Aster waited, crouched low, sword trembling in his grip. His heart pounded. He couldn't beat that thing—not in a fair fight.
Which is why he didn't try.
He watched it. Not its attacks, but its rhythm. The way it shifted focus when wounded. The slight delay when it dodged spells. Then, as Rane drew its attention with a reckless charge, Aster moved.
He ran.
Around the fight. Quiet. Low.
The system buzzed in his head.
> [Hidden Objective Active – Opportunity Window Detected.]
Aster burst from the brush, blade raised, and struck at its exposed back.
The thing spun—too late. His blade sank in, not deep, but enough. It shrieked, flailing, then stumbled as the earth mage sent a spike of stone through its leg. Rane finished it.
No one noticed.
> [Hidden Quest Completed – Final Blow Delivered Unseen.]
[Partial Awakening: Shadow Step unlocked.]
[Skill Added: Flicker Step (Prototype) – Passive.]
Aster exhaled, cold sweat running down his spine.
He looked at his sword. Still shaking. Still bad at this.
But he was learning. Fast.
And in Valebourne, fast was the only way to survive.
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