"Get up!" Leo screamed, his face twisted in a mask of absolute fury as he scrambled to his feet. He lunged toward Kai, his hands igniting with an unstable, erratic burst of flames. "I'll kill you! You're dead, Raven!"
But before Leo could cross the distance, the two sycophantic students rushed forward and grabbed his arms, holding him back.
"Leo, stop! Look over there!" one of them whispered urgently, pointing toward the edge of the training grounds.
A high-ranking academy instructor was walking down the distant corridor, his eyes scanning the field. Engaging in an unauthorized, lethal magic brawl on the first day of Awakening was a guaranteed way to get expelled, regardless of family status.
Leo thrashed against his friends' grip for a moment before looking at Kai with pure venom. "This isn't over, F-Rank trash. Tomorrow, the first-year dungeon trials begin. I'll make sure you don't walk out of that gate alive."
Spitting on the ground, Leo violently shook off his cronies and stormed away toward the exit, his ruined clothes covered in dust.
Kai didn't even watch them leave. His focus was entirely glued to the translucent purple screen floating in his vision. He walked back to the weapon rack and picked up the standard-issue steel shortsword once again.
System, Kai thought. Evolve the sword.
He mentally selected YES.
[System Notice]
> Expending 5 Evolution Points (EP)...
> 1x Low-grade Iron Ore detected within a nearby scrap pile. Absorbing material...
> Evolution process initiated...
A brilliant violet light enveloped the weapon in Kai's hand. The microscopic fractures inside the metal sealed themselves instantly as the blade melted down and reshaped itself in a flash of cosmic energy. The dull, mass-produced gray steel transformed into a sleek, obsidian-black alloy that absorbed the ambient moonlight. The leather grip wrapped tighter, perfectly contouring to the shape of his palm.
When the light faded, a completely new interface overlayed the weapon.
[Item: Abyssal Steel Shortsword]
> Grade: Refined Steel Blade (E-Rank)
> Durability: 100/100
> Attributes: +5 Strength when equipped.
> Evolution Available: Requires 25 EP and 1x Dark Crystal to upgrade.
Kai swung the sword through the air. A sharp, satisfying sound echoed across the empty field. It felt lighter, sharper, and incredibly balanced.
He immediately opened his personal character screen to see his updated attributes.
INFINITE EVOLUTION SYSTEM
> Host: Kai Raven
> Level: 1 (50/100 EXP)
> Talent: Eye of the Primordial Sovereign (SSS-Rank)
> HP: 100/100
> MP: 10/10
> Strength: 10 (+5 from Abyssal Steel Shortsword)
> Agility: 11
> Endurance: 9
> Evolution Points (EP): 1
With the sword equipped, his effective Strength attribute leaped to 15—surpassing Leo's base strength of 14. An F-Rank student had just out-statted an A-Rank prodigy on day one, using nothing but a discarded training weapon.
"Tomorrow is the dungeon trial," Kai murmured, sheathing the black blade into a standard scabbard.
The academy used a managed, Tier-1 Goblin Cave dungeon to test the newly awakened students. For ordinary F-Ranks, entering it was a death sentence unless they carried baggage for a high-ranking team. For Leo, it was a playground to show off his magic.
But for Kai? A dungeon filled with live monsters meant an endless supply of experience points, materials, and dead carcasses ripe for energy extraction.
Kai turned toward the exit of the academy grounds, his grip tightening on the hilt of his evolved sword. Let Leo plan his ambush. Let the city think he was a failure. When the gates of the dungeon opened tomorrow, the world would finally realize what happens when an infinite predator enters the hunting grounds.