The following day, the survival classes began as scheduled. Del led the first session, lecturing about portals—their colors, the strange sensation of passing through them, and the vital role teamwork played during outings. For most of the students, this was to be their first portal expedition, so every word weighed heavily.
After an hour, the lesson shifted. This time, Leo and Faye stood together at the front of the training hall. A small platform had been raised—like a boxing ring, though without ropes and only a foot above the ground. Leo stepped onto it, his sharp eyes sweeping the room as he prepared to address the students.
Just before he began, the door opened. A late arrival entered casually, hands in his pockets.
"Hey, this is the Beast Weapons class, right?" the boy asked.
Heads turned. His presence felt oddly different, even to someone like Leo.
"Who's that?" one of the students whispered.
"I think he's new… this late? Must be a draft evader."
Their curiosity, however, quickly faded once their eyes fell on his wristwatch—it displayed the number 1 To them, he wasn't worth a second glance.
Annoyance flickered in Fex's crimson-tinted eyes. What's wrong with these humans? he thought.
Leo resumed his lecture, speaking about beasts on orange planets and the strategies to survive an encounter. When the lesson ended, the students were asked to pair up and spar. Beast Weapon users and Elemental users separated to train, later to regroup in their respective portal outing teams.
Fex had enrolled in the Beast Weapon class, claiming he had no other ability. Yet no one approached him. The other students avoided him entirely, acting as if he didn't exist. He leaned against the wall, watching the matches play out, irritation growing.
Across the room, Layla convinced Erin to spar with her, determined to sharpen her skills. Quinn, meanwhile, was scanning for a partner. That's when he spotted Fex, standing alone.
He remembered all too well how the weaker-ranked students were treated—ignored, mocked, sometimes outright bullied. A pang of pity pushed him forward.
Approaching toward Fex "Hey there, I'm Quinn," he said, extending his hand. "Want to spar?"
Fex's expression shifted. The first person who'd shown him even the slightest interest. His lips curved into a grin as he grasped Quinn's hand.
"Call me Fex. Sure, I'll spar. But don't cry when I wipe the floor with you," he chuckled, taking his stance.
Quinn slipped on his beast gauntlets, matching Fex's readiness. Before the fight began, though, curiosity itched at him. He activated his new skill—Inspect.
A screen blinked into view:
[Name: Fex Sanguinis][Race: Vampire][Ability: String]
Quinn froze. The name alone startled him—it revealed the full name. But the next line…
Vampire.
The word nearly made him stumble back. His jaw slackened, his thoughts scrambled. He'd suspected vampires existed, but to see it confirmed—to meet one face-to-face—was another matter entirely.
Fex, of course, knew nothing of Quinn's revelation. His mind drifted back to the events that had brought him here.
Originally, his plan was simple: travel the human world, experience all the strange delights his grandfather once described. But that plan was shattered the moment he was caught. He had awoken before General Nathan himself.
They accused him of draft evasion, of avoiding conscription. Nathan explained the rules clearly: if he contacted his guardians and proved his age, they would let him walk free.
But Fex had no intention of doing so. The humans frightened him far less than his father ever could. If his family discovered his whereabouts, he couldn't imagine the punishments waiting for him. This academy was his one chance to live freely, to pretend to be human.
Nathan eventually handed him a digital form: basic details, name, birthdate. Fex falsified everything, of course. But when the form asked for his ability, he smirked—he had already planned for that.
Satisfied with the results, Nathan handed him a wristwatch. The device glowed faintly, displaying the number 1 To Nathan, this ended the matter. He passed the responsibility of "scouting" to Duke, who sought to lure students with higher-ranked ability books. Nathan himself didn't approve of Duke's methods, but quotas were quotas.
Now, free within the academy, Fex explored cautiously. He even visited the library, curious about how much humans truly knew about vampires. Leafing through book after book, he realized their knowledge was laughably thin—superstition, rumor, and nonsense. It reassured him… but it also warned him to remain careful. No one here could discover what he really was.
And yet, standing in the sparring hall, shaking Quinn's hand, Fex had no idea that someone already knew.
***********
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