Chapter 7
For a while, life returned to something that resembled normal.
After the strange dream… the strange encounter… the strange awakening—Aeren thought maybe, just maybe, it had all been his imagination.
Days passed. Then weeks.
He walked the hallways of Sinjai Academy like he always had. Quiet. Avoided. Forgettable.
Except to one person—Anshi.
His childhood friend. His only friend. The only one who saw him, even when the world didn't.
Anshi was unlike anyone else at the academy. A rare bloodline carrier, already ranked Bronze Tier at such a young age. Her ability with wind-based compression magic had already saved lives during the mock hunts.
Aeren? Still stuck at Wood Level.
No aura.
No combat skills.
Not even the courage to face a Level 1 monster in training simulations.
Even with the highest-end seeker gear strapped to his arms, he could barely last thirty seconds in the beginner dungeon trials.
The instructors had all but given up on him.
The students? They laughed behind his back—and sometimes, right to his face.
"Aeren the Void Walker!"
"Hey, are you a seeker or a seeker's pet?"
"Did your gear break again—or are you just that useless?"
But Anshi never laughed.
She walked beside him every day. Sat beside him during theory classes. Waited after every failed training simulation.
When he fell, she helped him stand.
When he bled, she bandaged his wounds.
And when he broke, she reminded him why he still had to dream.
Because even though Aeren was the weakest in the entire academy…
…he still wanted to become a Platinum-Level Seekee