Morning came way too fast.
The first thing I saw was my ceiling.The second was the time.
7:15 A.M.
I stared at it for a solid minute. Then closed my eyes again.
"Nope," I muttered. "Not today."
Five minutes later, I cracked one eye open. 7:35.Closed it again.
"…Maybe I died in my sleep. That would be nice."
Another ten minutes later, I finally dragged myself upright like a zombie clocking in for a shift he didn't apply for. My entire body screamed. My muscles felt like I'd been hit by a meteor made of homework.
"System," I croaked, rubbing my eyes. "Please tell me you were just a fever dream."
Silence.
No glowing panels. No beeps.
I sighed in relief. "Good. Just my overworked brain."
Then, like a horror movie jump scare—
[Good morning, Host! You're 35 minutes late for destiny!]
"GAAH!"
I fell out of bed, hit the floor, and groaned. "You again!"
[Of course! Would you like to open today's limited-time breakfast offer? Only—]
"NO. STOP."
I scrambled to my feet, throwing on my uniform at lightspeed. My shirt was half unbuttoned, my tie hung sideways like a dying snake, and I was halfway out the door before realizing I'd forgotten shoes.
By the time I made it to the university gates, it was 8:40 A.M.
Students flooded the courtyard — some chatting excitedly, others looking like me: tired, traumatized, and running purely on caffeine and regret.
Today was the post-Awakening evaluation. The results from yesterday's ceremony would be displayed on the massive bulletin board in the academy corridor. Rank lists. Power grades. Future status.
Basically: the day you find out if you're a legend… or a footnote.
I joined the sea of nervous eighteen-year-olds squeezing toward the announcement area. The hallway buzzed with noise and the smell of cheap breakfast buns.
"Man, I'm gonna puke," someone muttered."Please be at least C-class…""My mom said if I don't make A-class, I'm disowned."
Relatable.
The giant digital board at the end of the corridor flickered to life. Names scrolled, one after another — shining, glowing, ranked.
And just as I was about to look for mine, the system chimed.
[Scanning environment...][Detected: Armored Beast Data Feeds. Accessing local network...][Decrypting results for Host's convenience.]
"Wait, WHAT—"
The entire world froze.
Lines of data appeared before my eyes — floating beside the real bulletin board, invisible to everyone else. Detailed readouts, stats, energy fluctuations, even personality descriptors of people's beasts.
[Subject: Liu Fen — Armored Beast: Ember Wolf. Rank: 3-Star. Aggression: 70%. Intelligence: 40%. Mood: "Hungry for attention."][Subject: Zhao Ming — Armored Beast: Ice Fang Eagle. Rank: 4-Star. Agility: 85%. Coolness factor: overrated.][Subject: Han Yue — Armored Beast: Rocky. Rank: "Pending Evaluation." Status: Confused. Intelligence: Unknown. Potential: …Calculating...]
I blinked."This isn't happening."
[It's very much happening, Host!]
I rubbed my face. "Okay. Maybe if I ignore it, it'll go away."
[Ignoring me only increases my enthusiasm level by 20%.]
"OH FOR—"
I looked around. Everyone else was staring at the screen, whispering, gasping, reacting to rankings. Not one person noticed the glowing blue hologram flickering in front of my eyes.
No one.
"Great," I whispered. "I really am crazy."
[No, Host! You're just exclusive!]
"Exclusive mental breakdown, sure."
Finally, I found my name on the board.
Han Yue — Class: F
Right beside it:Jin Tao — FLi Mei — F
Then, near the top—Chen Bo — S
The hallway buzzed with awe as Chen Bo's name shimmered gold. People murmured, pointed, even clapped.
"An S-class Awakener in the first-year batch!""He summoned a serpent, right? Insane luck!""Man, the Golden Lion Academy is stacked this year."
And me?
Bottom of the list.
My beast was literally still a rock.
I slumped against the wall, staring at the word F like it had personally insulted my bloodline.
"…Fantastic," I muttered. "My best friend's an S-class hero, and I'm one tuition payment away from becoming a janitor."
Pebble sat quietly in my pocket, faintly warm.
The system pinged.
[Host's morale dropping detected. Activating 'Emotional Comfort Program'.][Daily Reminder: F stands for "Future Potential"! And "Failure"! But mostly potential!]
I groaned. "Stop trying to motivate me. You're bad at it."
[Would you like to top-up for Premium Motivation Quotes™?]
"I will throw you into the nearest incinerator."
[Host hostility detected. Offering 10% rebate on anger management potions.]
Chen Bo found me slouched by the wall a few minutes later, grinning like the smug S-class he now officially was.
"Hey, buddy! You see the results?"
"Yep," I said flatly. "I'm at the bottom of the evolutionary chart."
He laughed and slapped my back. "Don't be like that! F-class isn't forever. Remember, rank isn't everything."
"Says the guy with a seven-star serpent."
"…Touché."
The rest of the class began cheering as instructors arrived to brief us. I didn't hear a word they said. My head was still half spinning from the combination of humiliation, sleep deprivation, and the fact that a literal system store was apparently living rent-free in my skull.
[Host detected mild despair. Would you like to purchase the 'Cheer-Up Pack'? 99 credits. 50% off for first-time failures!]
"System," I hissed under my breath. "Shut. Up."
[...Understood. Entering Silent Mockery Mode.]
"What does that even—"
[Internal laughter intensifies.]
I sighed, dragging my hand down my face."F-class, huh?" I muttered. "Figures."
Pebble pulsed faintly from my pocket — one, two, three times, almost like… sympathy.
I looked down. "You too, huh?"
It glowed again, slightly brighter.
Maybe it was just my imagination, but for a second, I swore I saw a faint flicker of gold run across its cracks.
And then it was gone.