I wasn't special.
Not in the "hidden magical bloodline" way. Not in the "secret genius with a dark past" way. Hell, I wasn't even average. Just a guy—21, broke, jobless, and freshly rejected from my fifth university. I was good at nothing except keeping my head down and my expectations lower.
So when the letter appeared—on my floor, pulsing with faint golden light—I thought it was some prank.
> "Ash Renner. You've been selected. Dream College welcomes you."
No stamp. No sender. No way this was real.
Until the air cracked. And the ceiling tore open.
I didn't scream. Not because I was brave. I think my brain just gave up trying to process what was happening. One moment I was sitting in my room, surrounded by rejection letters and cold noodles. The next, I was falling—no, being dragged—through what looked like a tunnel of stars.
I saw things in that tunnel. Faces. Eyes. Wings. Horns. A massive throne made of teeth.
And then… her.
A woman stepped forward out of the light. Crimson eyes. Black tattoos curling down her arms. Glasses that didn't hide the madness—or brilliance—in her stare. She wasn't human. Not remotely. She looked at me like I was a puzzle she almost regretted solving.
> "Another random summon," she said. Her voice was velvet wrapped around a blade. "This one looks… unshaped. Perfect."
I tried to ask something. Anything.
But she just snapped her fingers.
And I woke up on a stone floor.
---
It was bright. Too bright. Sky glowing with a golden hue. The air smelled like flowers and blood and rain. I sat up and nearly passed out again.
Because I wasn't alone.
The courtyard around me buzzed with noise. Students, I think. At least they looked like students. Some wore robes. Some armor. Others wore uniforms I'd expect at Ivy League schools. But their faces? Horned, fanged, scaled. One guy walked past with a third eye blinking on his forehead. A girl floated by on a cloud of purple mist, headphones in, ignoring the chaos like it was just Monday.
I was surrounded by monsters. Gods. Demons. Hybrids of things I couldn't name.
And none of them seemed surprised to see me.
A nearby screen flickered on—a massive floating glyph in the air. It read:
> "Welcome, New Blood. You are now a student of Dream College."
"Rules: 1. Survive. 2. Learn. 3. Ascend. Or be expelled."
> "You have 48 hours to claim your dorm, register your Sigil, and select a Discipline. Dream Points begin now."
> "Failure to comply will result in… consequences."
And just like that, it clicked.
I'd been summoned.
To Dream College.
---
Whatever the hell that meant.
The woman—Lisa, I later learned—was my advisor. Professor of "Power Acquisition & Strategic Control." She appeared again just as I tried to run.
> "You don't get to leave, Ash. You're bound now. You were summoned. The system chose you."
> "Why?" I asked.
> "Ask it yourself." She smirked and tapped my chest.
And that's when it happened.
My heart lit up. Not figuratively. A glyph—dark red and shaped like a spiral—burned across my skin for a second before fading. And then I felt it.
A pulse.
Like something ancient had just woken up inside me.
Like something hungry.
---
So here I am. Just a human. In a school made for things far above me.
I don't know why I'm here. I don't know what I can do. I don't even know if I'll make it to next week.
But if this place summoned me?
Then maybe I'm more dangerous than I ever realized.
And I'm going to find out what Dream College really wants.
Even if it kills me.