There were no couples walking hand-in-hand. No fashion-forward students in flashy clothes. Every student they passed was either training or sitting cross-legged in the snow, cultivating their Force.

The sheer discipline in the air was oppressive. Even Juno and Colt fell silent, straightening up as if by instinct.

This was nothing like the other war academies they’d visited—those places had more in common with a typical college campus, just with some martial flair.

But this? This looked like a goddamn special forces boot camp.

Axel’s breath caught in his chest. So it’s true, he thought. Everything Vince had said about this place—it was all real.

He turned to look at Quade. But the guy just gave the arena a glance and went right back to scrolling his phone.

Axel felt compelled to speak. “This… this isn’t what we expected. I don’t think the old strategy’s gonna cut it here....”

For once, Juno and Colt didn’t push back. They seemed to sense it too—this place had a different energy.

But Quade? He leaned back in his seat and scoffed.

“Cut the dramatics,” he said. “If you’re scared, then sit out. Don’t get fooled by all this hard-ass discipline bullshit. Most of them are probably average as hell. Awakeners don’t win because they work harder. They win because they’re born better.”

Zara’s expression darkened. She didn’t like the way he said that—not the arrogance, not the sneer, not the way he dismissed those students outside like they were trash under his boot.

Juno and Colt looked uneasy but said nothing. Quade was still their primary fighter. Axel simply sighed and let it go.

The convoy pulled up in front of a solid concrete building. One by one, everyone climbed out of the vehicles.

“You’ll be staying in the faculty dorms,” Luke told them. “We’ve got everything arranged.”

Several instructors from the academy came out to meet them. One of them, a broad-shouldered man with a respectful expression, stepped forward to greet them.

“Welcome to Bloodstone. We’re grateful for the Whisper Syndicate’s visit. I hope you’ll give our students some proper guidance.”

The man reminded Axel a bit of Vince—low-key and humble, but with an unmistakable presence.

Quade, meanwhile, looked pleased with the greeting. “Of course,” he said smoothly. “Happy to help.”

Just as they were preparing to head inside and unload their gear, a commotion erupted nearby. The sound of rapid footsteps, excited voices—dozens of students abruptly broke off their training and bolted toward a far building.

“He’s back!”

“Senior brother’s back!”

“He must’ve brought back a whole haul this time!”

The buzz grew louder as the crowd surged toward the end of the courtyard and disappeared from sight.

Seeing the excitement from the students outside, the members of the Whisper Syndicate paused and turned to watch the commotion unfold.

Far off in the distance, the city gate slowly creaked open. A military-green truck rolled in, battered and scarred from countless battles. A group of students followed close behind, crowding around the vehicle like bees returning to a hive.

“Those are our students,” one of the instructors explained with a casual air. “Sometimes they head out into the wilderness to hunt mutant beasts. Other times…” He smiled faintly. “get hunted.”

The first half of the sentence didn't make anyone feel anything, but the second sentence made Juno and others stunned. get hunted? !

“Hunted?” Juno blinked.

“No instructor leading them?” Colt asked, stunned.

The instructor shook his head. “They have a chaperone their first three outings. After that? Life and death is up to them.”

He didn’t elaborate. He didn’t need to. To him, this was normal.

......

“Brothers, I’m back!” a loud, boisterous voice rang out.

Everyone turned to see a man leap up from the back of the truck, tall and broad-shouldered, wearing a robe stitched from the pelt of a beast. A deep scar slashed across his cheek, giving him a grizzled, dangerous look.

THUD!

With a grin, he lifted a massive, fur-covered beast from the vehicle and slammed it down.

“A Snow Wolf! It’s a Snow Wolf!”

“Senior Brother hunted a Snow Wolf?!”

“He’s insane! That’s badass!”

The admiration in the students’ eyes was palpable.

Quade squinted, unimpressed. “Snow Wolf? That supposed to be a big deal?”

The instructor nodded. “Not bad at all. It’s one of the tougher second-level mutant beasts—roughly equivalent to a peak-level second-rank human Awakener.”

Quade chuckled. “Seriously? Judging by the way they’re losing their minds, I thought it was some fourth or fifth-level monster.”

Luke gave him a sharp look. Quade caught it and offered a lazy shrug. “Sorry. Just figured that students from one of the Four Great War Schools would be made of sterner stuff. Guess my expectations were a little high.”

The instructor’s smile thinned. “That student’s name is Brandon. He’s a sophomore. Given his age and experience, he’s already accomplished more than most.”

“Brandon, huh…”

Quade stored the name. Seniors wouldn’t be taking part in the selection, which meant this guy might be his biggest competition. Still, he wasn’t worried. A second-level Awakener? Please. He could crush that in his sleep.

Varric, the instructor, noticed the look of disdain on Quade’s face. He hesitated for a moment—he wanted to say something, to explain that Brandon wasn’t respected just because of his power, but because of his grit. His will. He’d started from nothing, and he kept going where most would have broken.

But Varric just sighed and said nothing.

“Come on, brothers! We’re having wolf meat tonight!” Brandon laughed, tossing down a few more mutant beasts corpses. Cheers erupted from the crowd.

“Alright, show’s over,” Quade muttered, shaking his head. He hoisted his bag onto one shoulder and started walking toward the dorms.

Juno and Colt followed in silence. Luke offered Varric a polite smile. “I apologize for him. You know how it is—young people, full of ego. A little friction is normal.”

Luke wasn’t thrilled with Quade either. But Quade wasn’t one of his subordinates—and as a third-level Awakener, there wasn’t much he could say to him anyway.

“No offense taken, Mr. Luke,” Varric said with a wave of his hand.

Not far away, Axel pulled his gaze away from the truck and the mutant carcasses. He turned to where Annabelle had been playing.

“Come on,” he said gently.

“But my snowman…”

“I’ll help you build another one later.”

“Okay,” she nodded, taking his hand without protest. They grabbed their bags and headed toward their assigned quarters. Axel’s mind, however, was elsewhere.

No life crystal? He’d been trying to confirm something for a while now—whether mutant beasts actually contained life crystals.

He’d seen many mutant beasts corpses before, but most were preserved or chemically treated, so it was hard to tell. But the Snow Wolf’s corpse from earlier… it was fresh. And still, no visible life crystal.

Either mutants don’t have crystals, he thought, or they have been dead for too long.

Whatever the truth was, he intended to find out during his time here in Shiverstone.

“Who was that just now?” Varric asked, eyes lingering in the direction Axel had gone.

“That’s Axel,” Luke replied. “Also from the Whisper Syndicate.”

Varric’s eyebrows shot up. “He’s so young.”

“Yeah. Just turned eighteen.”

Eighteen. Barely old enough for university.

“Five days from now,” Varric said. “We’ll begin the selection then. That should give us time to recall the students who are still out.”

The school didn’t force graduates to return. But the Whisper Syndicate’s visit was important—worth cutting short a few wilderness trips.

The dorm room wasn’t big, but it was clean and orderly. There was even a small gym next door, set up for physical conditioning.

After unpacking, Axel wasted no time slipping into his cultivation state.

Over the past several days, he had been steadily absorbing life crystals, expanding his original veins little by little. But now\... he could feel it — the bottleneck.

Still, it wasn’t all bad news. The Force he absorbed wasn’t going to waste. Thanks to his dual cultivation of Body Forging and Meditation, his strength had quietly climbed to a new level.

Physical: 703/705.

Force: 701/703.

Spirit: 706/709.

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