The goblin's weapon descended toward the terrified girl.
Arin's fingers dug into the ground as he desperately tried to move, but his body had reached its absolute limit.
"Move..."
Nothing happened.
Kael gritted his teeth and tried to push himself up.
His arms collapsed beneath him.
"Liora..."
"I know..."
Liora's hand trembled as she tried to summon her blood manipulation, but there wasn't enough strength left.
The goblin raised its weapon again.
Then the world suddenly stopped.
A strange pressure descended over the courtyard.
The air became cold.
Extremely cold.
Ayla's eyes widened.
Something was changing inside her.
A transparent blue interface appeared before her eyes.
[WORLD SYSTEM ACTIVATION DETECTED.]
[Awakening Condition Met.]
[Compatibility confirmed.]
[Ability awakening commencing...]
Ayla stared at the notification.
"What...?"
Her entire body suddenly erupted with pale blue energy.
The temperature around her dropped instantly.
Ice spread across the ground.
The goblin attacking the girl froze in place.
Ayla slowly stood.
Her exhaustion disappeared.
Her eyes glowed icy blue.
[Congratulations, Awakened.]
[Unique Ability Acquired: Absolute Ice]
[Class: Ice Sovereign]
[Rank: C]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 12]
[Agility: 15]
[Endurance: 11]
[Vitality: 13]
[Mana: 30]
[Skills Unlocked:]
[Ice Spear Lv.1]
[Frozen Ground Lv.1]
[Ice Barrier Lv.1]
Ayla looked at her hands.
"What is this power?"
The goblin broke free from the ice and immediately lunged toward her.
Ayla instinctively raised her hand.
A massive wall of ice erupted between them.
BOOM!
The goblin crashed into it.
Ayla's eyes sharpened.
"Stay away from her."
She extended her hand.
Dozens of ice shards materialized around her.
"Freeze."
The shards shot forward.
The goblin was struck repeatedly and thrown across the courtyard.
Everyone stared.
But Ayla wasn't the only one awakening.
Rhett suddenly dropped to one knee.
His body began radiating heat.
A bright orange glow spread across his arms.
A notification appeared before him.
[WORLD SYSTEM ACTIVATION DETECTED.]
[Awakening Condition Met.]
[Compatibility confirmed.]
[Unique Ability Acquired: Inferno Manipulation]
[Class: Flame Lord]
[Rank: C]
[Level: 1]
[Strength: 17]
[Agility: 13]
[Endurance: 14]
[Vitality: 15]
[Mana: 28]
[Skills Unlocked:]
[Flame Strike Lv.1]
[Blazing Step Lv.1]
[Flame Burst Lv.1]
Rhett looked at his burning hands.
Then he smiled.
"So this is what awakening feels like."
A goblin charged toward him.
Rhett stepped forward.
His foot erupted with flames.
He disappeared in a burst of fire and appeared directly in front of the goblin.
His fist struck its chest.
BOOM!
The goblin flew across the courtyard and crashed into the wall.
Rhett looked at his fist.
"Not bad."
Kael stared at him.
"You're joking."
Rhett grinned.
"I've been waiting for this."
Ayla looked toward the remaining goblins.
"Then let's finish this."
The two newly awakened students charged.
Ayla transformed the battlefield into a frozen wasteland while Rhett tore through the goblin ranks with explosive flames.
Arin watched them carefully.
He remembered them.
The Ice Queen.
The Fire Lord.
But seeing their awakening this early was completely different from his memories.
They were already talented fighters before obtaining their abilities.
Now they had powers perfectly suited to them.
And they were terrifying.
Ayla raised both hands.
"Frozen Prison."
Ice erupted from the ground, trapping several goblins inside massive pillars.
Rhett immediately followed.
"Flame Burst!"
A wave of fire swept through the trapped enemies.
The remaining goblins panicked.
Arin forced himself onto one knee.
"Looks like we can leave the rest to them."
Kael laughed weakly.
"Finally."
Liora nodded.
"About time someone else carried us."
Kael looked at her.
"Did you really have to say it like that?"
Ayla and Rhett continued fighting until the final goblin fell.
Silence returned to the courtyard.
The tutorial was over.
Then countless notifications appeared before the six survivors.
[Battle Completed.]
[Total Enemies Defeated: 94.]
[Survival Condition: Completed.]
[Hidden Condition: Six Combatants Survived.]
[Special Reward Granted.]
Another notification popped up
[System Functions Will Be Locked Till Global Awakening]
[Days Left For Global Awakening: 5 Days 12 hours 17 minutes 43 seconds]
The three reincarnators received a different notification.
[Trinity Linked System Bonus Activated.]
[Extreme Survival Achievement.]
[Combat potential exceeded predicted limits.]
[Additional Experience Awarded.]
[Bonus Experience: +2,500]
[Bonus Skill Points: +5]
[Trinity Synchronization Increased.]
[Current Synchronization: 82%]
Then came another notification.
[Special Trinity Trial Completed.]
[Requirement: Survive an opponent significantly beyond current rank.]
[Reward: Rank Advancement.]
Arin's eyes widened.
[Rank Advancement Available.]
[F → E → D → C → B → A → S]
[Advancement bypass confirmed through Trinity synchronization.]
[Rank: S]
Kael stared.
"Wait."
Liora looked at her own notification.
[Rank: S]
Kael's mouth slowly opened.
"We're S Rank?"
Arin stared at the screen.
"Apparently."
The Trinity System immediately appeared.
[Trinity System Note: Try not to faint. You worked hard for it.]
[Also, yes, that ridiculous amount of fighting finally paid off.]
[Congratulations.]
The three stared at the final message.
Kael blinked.
"...Did it just congratulate us?"
Liora looked at him.
"I think so."
Arin was equally surprised.
The system had never spoken like that before.
Then Kael smiled.
"I knew it secretly liked me."
A new message immediately appeared.
[Correction: No.]
Kael's smile disappeared.
"Never mind."
The three laughed despite their exhaustion.
Their status windows updated.
[Arin Veylor]
Level: 7
Rank: S
Class: None
Strength: 31
Agility: 42
Endurance: 28
Vitality: 32
Mana: 61
Ability: [Shadow Manipulation]
Skills: [Shadow Step Lv.3] [Shadow Blade Lv.3] [Shadow Fang Lv.2] [Shadow Bind Lv.1]
Passive: [Shadow Affinity Lv.2]
Kael checked his own.
[Kael Drake]
Level: 7
Rank: S
Class: None
Strength: 48
Agility: 29
Endurance: 43
Vitality: 45
Mana: 44
Ability: [Bone Manipulation]
Skills: [Bone Fist Lv.3] [Bone Spike Lv.3] [Bone Armor Lv.2] [Bone Cage Lv.1]
Passive: [Bone Density Lv.2]
Liora's status followed.
[Liora Vane]
Level: 7
Rank: S
Class: None
Strength: 29
Agility: 39
Endurance: 31
Vitality: 41
Mana: 58
Ability: [Blood Manipulation]
Skills: [Blood Thread Lv.3] [Blood Blade Lv.3] [Blood Shield Lv.2] [Blood Spear Lv.1]
Passive: [Blood Affinity Lv.2]
Kael stared at the numbers.
"We went from level four to nine."
Arin nodded.
"And our ranks jumped."
Liora looked toward Ayla and Rhett.
They were checking their own World System status.
[Ayla Frost]
Level: 3
Rank: C
Ability: [Absolute Ice]
Class: Ice Sovereign
Skills: [Ice Spear Lv.2] [Frozen Ground Lv.1] [Ice Barrier Lv.1]
Rhett's status was similar.
[Rhett Blaze]
Level: 3
Rank: C
Ability: [Inferno Manipulation]
Class: Flame Lord
Skills: [Flame Strike Lv.2] [Blazing Step Lv.1] [Flame Burst Lv.1]
Rhett looked at the system in awe.
"So this is how the system looks like."
Ayla looked toward Arin.
"You already knew this would happen, didn't you?"
Arin shook his head.
"We knew people would awaken. We didn't know you two would awaken today."
That answer was technically true.
They hadn't expected it.
Not this early.
Not like this.
The principal and teachers eventually arrived after the fighting ended.
What they saw left them speechless.
Broken walls.
Destroyed sections of the courtyard.
Dozens of dead goblins.
Injured students.
And six students who had somehow survived the battle.
The school administration immediately decided that the school would be closed for several days.
Officially, it was because of the dangerous incident and the damage to the campus.
Unofficially, everyone knew something was wrong.
The government would later describe the event as an unexplained violent incident.
But the five knew better.
The world was changing.
The following morning, Elias returned.
He stood outside the classroom entrance with a nervous expression.
Arin looked at him.
"What do you want?"
Elias lowered his head.
"I came to apologize."
Kael crossed his arms.
"For what?"
Elias swallowed.
"Yesterday."
Nobody spoke.
"I was scared. I panicked. I should've helped her."
Ayla's expression remained cold.
"You ran."
"I know."
"You left everyone behind."
"I know."
Rhett stepped forward.
"And if Ayla hadn't awakened?"
Elias had no answer.
Liora looked away.
Arin stared at him for several seconds.
"You made your choice."
Elias looked at him.
"Can we still..."
"No."
Arin's answer was immediate.
Elias froze.
Kael shook his head.
"Don't expect us to forget what happened."
Liora added quietly, "We don't hate you. But we don't trust you anymore."
Ayla looked at him.
"Leave."
Elias stood there for a few seconds before finally turning around.
He walked away without saying another word.
The five watched him disappear down the hallway.
Nobody followed.
Nobody called him back.
Their friendship was over.
Not because of some future betrayal.
Not because of an old memory.
But because of a choice he had made when someone needed him.
The following days became a period of preparation.
The school remained closed.
The five used the opportunity to train.
Arin, Kael and Liora accepted missions through the Trinity System.
[Mission: Hunt Mutated Creatures.]
Objective: Defeat 20 targets.
Reward: Experience + Skill Points.
Another mission followed.
[Mission: Clear the Abandoned Warehouse.]
Objective: Eliminate hostile entities.
Reward: Random Equipment.
Then another.
[Mission: Survive the Night.]
Difficulty: High.
Reward: Experience + Attribute Points.
They trained until exhaustion.
Then they trained again.
Ayla and Rhett followed them since the global system is still locked, hunting mutated creatures and learning to control their newly awakened abilities.
By the end of the next several days, the difference was obvious.
Arin, Kael and Liora had reached Level 9 and obtained the unprecedented S Rank through the Trinity System's extreme growth mechanism.
Ayla and Rhett reached Level 5.
The five stood together one evening on the roof of an abandoned building, looking over the city.
The streets below were still filled with ordinary people.
Cars still moved.
Businesses remained open.
Children still played.
Nobody knew what was coming.
Arin looked at the setting sun.
"Four days."
Kael nodded.
"Four days until everything changes."
Liora looked at their companions.
Ayla stood with her arms crossed, while Rhett watched the distant skyline.
The five knew something the rest of the world didn't.
The apocalypse was coming.
And this time, they weren't going to wait for it.
The Trinity System appeared before the three reincarnators.
[Main Objective Updated.]
[Prepare for the First Wave.]
Time Remaining: 4 Days.
[Trinity System Note: You have four days to turn your little survival group into something terrifying.]
[Please try not to disappoint me.]
Kael stared at the message.
"Did it just call us a little survival group?"
Arin nodded.
"Yes."
Kael cracked his knuckles.
"Then let's make it regret saying little."
The five looked toward the horizon.
None of them knew exactly how much the future had already changed.
But one thing was certain.
The apocalypse was no longer approaching quietly.
It was coming for them.
And they were waiting.