The next morning, Kairo stood in the central Petverse Arena, surrounded by combat drones and a hundred blinking holograms.
Today's class was titled:
[Advanced Simulation Combat: Beast Command & Tactical Sync]Instructor: Commander Yul Crass. Tier-6 Tamer. Guild: Iron Halos.
The man himself was a beast in a suit — broad-shouldered, silver-eyed, with a jagged scar running from his temple to his collar. His beast, a half-digital panther named Cryosynth, lay quietly at his feet, tail twitching with casual menace.
Crass didn't do greetings.
He pointed to the floor.
"Team pairings are up. First round: Veylan and Kessal vs. Trell and Varu."
Kairo blinked.
Mira, already at his side, gave him a tight nod. "No pressure."
Across the arena, Rovik smirked, flanked by his fire-wolf Blazehound and a silent girl with glowing green glasses — Varu, a summoner type. Her pet, a floating bone serpent, circled her like a ghost coil.
[Simulation Field Selected: Broken Gridlands]
The room shimmered. Virtual terrain folded around them — a shattered cyber-wasteland of flickering ground, ruined server blocks, and gravity-glitch cliffs.
"Mote," Kairo whispered, "status?"
"Kernel Breaker Form Active. Interrupt Pulse ready. Corruption Byte: cooldown 3 turns. Awaiting combat directive."
Across the field, Blazehound roared.
The fight began fast.
Rovik charged like a tank — arrogant, loud, predictable. Varu stayed behind, whispering to her pet, eyes glowing as her serpent split into illusions.
Mira didn't flinch.
"I'll isolate the summoner. You handle fire-boy."
"Works for me."
Blazehound lunged again — just like before.
But this time, Mote was faster.
It didn't split — it inverted.
A data flash exploded across the field, flipping light and shadow for a fraction of a second.
[Interrupt Pulse: SUCCESSFUL][Status: Skill Queue Jammed – 1 Turn]
Blazehound's fire-pulse died mid-cast.
Kairo didn't wait. "Mote — Corruption Byte. Direct memory attack."
[Engaging.]
The tiny speck blinked once, zipped forward — and sank directly into Blazehound's chest like a shard of ice.
The wolf screamed.
[CRITICAL STRIKE — Fire Node Severed][Skill Disabled: Ember Fang]
On the sidelines, Commander Crass raised a brow. Quiet murmurs rose from the observing students.
Varu snapped her fingers — her serpent illusions swarmed Mira's beast, a cyber-falcon with piercing blue data-feathers. Mira calmly tapped three commands into her wristpad and muttered:
"Tether Burst. Shock Net. Cut through the fakes."
The falcon dove. A web of neon blue crackled through the serpent clones, breaking them apart in sharp bursts.
[Enemy Summoner Node Collapsed.]
[Duel Victory: Veylan / Kessal][+2 Levels to Pet: Mote is now Level 4]
After the match, Crass approached Kairo directly.
"Good instincts," the man grunted. "You move like a codebreaker, not a tamer."
Kairo stayed silent.
Crass lowered his voice. "That pet of yours. It's not registered in any known line. You know what that means?"
"…I have an idea."
Crass studied him for a long beat. "Then be careful. I've seen glitched pets rise before. And I've seen what the system does to them when it notices."
Before Kairo could respond, a sharp notification pinged in his HUD:
[New Milestone Reached: Pet Level 4][Throne Trace Unlocked: Second Slot — Sealed]
Do you wish to access the Trace Memory of your Second Pet? [Y/N]
Kairo's heart skipped.
This was it.
"Yes."
The world slowed. A new screen unfurled — a digital lock made of spinning rings, each one engraved with symbols in a language he couldn't read.
At the center, a silhouette.
Majestic. Vast. Winged.
[Pet #2: ??? — Throne of Storms]Status: SealedRequirement: Unlock at Mote Level 10Element: Sky Sovereign / Lightning Dominion / Myth Rank]
Kairo stared.
"A Throne-class… lightning god?"
Behind his eyes, a storm rumbled.
And somewhere deep in the system's core, ancient code stirred.