chapter 5 : The dorm

  “Alright, it’s right in front of us—I see it.”

  We had been lucky—too lucky. Siting ba the road, we hadn’t entered any more monsters. A sense of unease crept up my spine. Silence wasn’t safety; it was the promise of something worse waiting ahead.

  “To think I’d e back here…” Lay muttered, her voice barely above a whisper.

  “You studied here?” I asked, gng at her.

  “…Yeah. Anyway, let’s get going if we want your friend to stay safe.”

  There was something ione—something final. I didn’t push. Lay didn’t strike me as the type to dwell on the past, but I made a mental note of it.

  Then, the silence shattered.

  BANG! BANG! BANG!

  I tehe sound of something smming against a surface echoed through the air. My stomach dropped.

  Shit—something’s attag the dorm.

  We broke into a sprint. As we reached the clearing, my heart pou the sight before us.

  A massive gray wolf, easily the size of a truck, stood at the entras cws ripping into a shimmering blue barrier that shielded the dorm’s front doors. With every strike, cracks spread across the surface, thin fractures crawling outward like veins.

  Then, the wolf stopped.

  It lifted its head and turned. Cold, pierg blue eyes locked onto mine. A chill ran through my spine.

  A sed ter, it vanished.

  What?

  I barely had time tister the movement before—

  CRASH!

  Agony exploded through my ribs as something smashed into my side, sending me flying. The world spun violently before my body smmed into a building. crete cracked beh the force, dust and debris clouding my vision.

  It hurts—it hurts—it hurts!

  My entire body screamed in protest. Every nerve burned, every breath was a jagged struggle. My ears rang, drowning out everything else. Was I dying?

  Through the haze of pain, I could barely make out Lay, her body wreathed in red glow, g against the wolf. Her speed was incredible, her movements sharp and trolled. But the wolf was stronger—each of its blows sent shockwaves through the air, pushing her bach by inch.

  I coughed, something ooling in my mouth. Blood.

  I felt something creeping in—the whisper of doubt, of failure. I’m too weak. I thought I could save Cire? What a joke. I ’t even save myself.

  For a moment, I saw it all py out—the iable. Lay losing. The barrier breaking. Cire and the others inside being torn apart.

  But then—

  No.

  Something inside me refused to accept that. I wasn’t just some nobody anymore. I was chosen. Out of eight billion people, I was given the divine system. I wasn’t going to die here.

  I refuse.

  With gritted teeth, I activated Phoenix I, f my wounds to knit together. It hurt and wasn’t perfect, but it was enough.

  Lay was still holding her ground, but I could see it—she was losing. The wolf’s sheer power was overwhelming, but she had left deep wounds across its fnk. Blood dripped from its side, its movements growing sluggish.

  I began eling everything I had into my right arm, p 120 energy points into the attack. The fmes burned so hot they began to sear my own skin.

  I wouldn’t get another ce.

  Lay swung—but missed. The wolf pounced, sending her crashing to the ground not far from me.

  I knew she’d get up—but I couldn’t wait.

  I went pletely still.

  Slowed my breathing.

  Kept my arms hiddeh me so the glow wouldn’t give me away.

  The wolf turoward us, its arrogance blinding it to the danger.

  Step. Step. Step. Not yet.

  Step. Step. Step. Wait for it.

  It lowered its head, jaws parting, a predator ready to cim its prey.

  NOW.

  I lunged, driving my bat—superheated beyond its limits—straight into one of Lay’s open wounds.

  BOOM!

  The bat detonated is flesh, shattering its ribcage, rupturing ans, sending molten blood and bone flying.

  The wolf didn’t even have time to react. Its body erupted in two, torn apart from the inside.

  But the bst sent me flying again, pain ripping through me as I crashed onto the pavement. My vision darkened.

  The st thing I saw—

  [You have sin a Level 15 Gray Wolf.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  …

  Pain. Again.

  I groaned, prying my eyes open. My body felt shattered.

  I was inside what looked like a medical room. Probably within the dorm.

  I shifted—and then I noticed her.

  Lay.

  She was asleep, her head resting on the bed, her breathing soft and steady. She had stayed here the whole time.

  Before I could process that, the door creaked open.

  Cire.

  We locked eyes.

  Then, without warning, a tear slipped down her cheek.

  “You stupid jerk,” she whispered. “You’re alive.”

  I smiled. “Looks like it.”

  Then—

  Her face twisted.

  “WHY DID YOU ALMOST GET YOURSELF KILLED?!”

  I flinched. “I—I came to save you?”

  “SAVE ME? We had fifty people ready to ambush the wolf, Elian!”

  “…Oh.”

  Her gre intensified. “OH?!”

  “…I might have overreacted?”

  Lay stirred then, blinking blearily at us. “Oh, you’re awake?”

  Cire, still groggy, looked at me. “She stayed here all night,” she murmured. “Trying to heal you.”

  She then huffed, stepping back. “Heal yourself. e downstairs when you’re ready.”

  She left, smming the door behind her.

  I swallowed and looked at Lay. “Why?”

  Lay hesitated, the my gaze, her expression unreadable.

  “I don’t know how much worth you think saving me had. But for me? It was everything.” Her voice was quiet but firm. “I owe you, Elian. And I won’t fet it.”

  The m sun streamed through the window, catg her red hair like wildfire. For a moment, I couldn’t look away.

  “…Thank you,” I murmured.

  She simply smiled, then stood and walked out.

  I exhaled.

  . I made her… no, them worry, didn’t I?

  For now, I o focus. I pulled up my notifications.

  [You have sin a Level 15 Gray Wolf.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [You have leveled up.]

  [Achievement Unlock: Giant syer]

  [Giant syer: You have sin an enemy at least three time your level

  Effect: gain a boost of 20% in all your attribute (but luck) when fighting an enemy at least 5 level over you]

  Level 15… I had been way over my head, hadn’t I? Lay might have been a higher level, but that wolf had been more than twice her level, and she still held her ground. She’s really a genius, isn’t she?

  Still, the achievement was amazing—and gaining five levels brought me up to level 9. I’ll take it.

  That also meant I had 30 free points to allocate… but I wasn’t sure where to put them yet. I o think about that carefully.

  For now, I focused on healing what Lay couldn’t. Healing someone else seemed far more plicated than healing myself. I trated, letting the familiar warmth of [Phoenix] I wash over my wounds. The pain dulled, my flesh knitting itself back together.

  By the time I was done, I was fully healed… but it had e 60 energy points.

  Damn. Am I just bad at this, or does it really take that muergy? Well, it was also time 2 because of my penalty... Annoying.

  Shaking the thought away, I stood up and headed down.

  As I walked through the halls, I passed groups of students. The dorm was ected to the school, and from the eople were moving, there was some kind of pnning happening.

  When I reached the gymnasium, the tension was even strroups of students were clustered together, discussing something in hushed voices. Whatever it was, they looked anized.

  In the right er of the gym, I spotted Cire. She was hunched over a table, staring ily at what looked like blueprints.

  I smirked. Iing.

  “Hey Cire, doing something fun?” I asked casually.

  “Kyaaa!”

  She jumped, nearly knog the papers off the table.

  “D-don’t just appear behind people like that!” she scolded, pressing a hand to her chest.

  I chuckled. “Right, right. So, what are you up to?”

  She crossed her arms, clearly still flustered. “Hmph. Blueprints.”

  I raised an eyebrow. “You never learo build anything before, right? Is this because of your ability?”

  She nodded. “Yeah. Bzing Bcksmith.”

  Oh. Now that’s iing.

  “How does it work?” I asked, leaning forward. “You weren’t a bcksmith before, were you?”

  She shook her head. “Nah. But ever since my ability awakened, it’s like knowledge just keeps ing to me. I even built a small fe, but I’m still figuring things out.”

  That was insanely useful. She could craft ons. And I needed ons.

  “So…” I began, trying to sound casual, “do you think you could make a on? Like, say… a sword?”

  Lay and I had pletely melted the baseball bat in the fight against the wolf. I needed somethier.

  Cire tapped a finger against the table. “That’s exactly what I’m w on. I think I’m close to making one good enough.”

  I grinned. Knowing how perfeist she was, her ons were going to be top-tier. I wondered if she could teach me how to craft, too…

  Before I could ask, she sighed and rolled her eyes. “But enough about that. The president wants to see you. Lay is with her.”