F-Class.
The two letters glared at me from the board long after everyone else had moved on. F. As in failure, forgotten, and fantastic-you-blew-it-Han-Yue.
I let my head thunk lightly against the wall. "Great start to my heroic career," I muttered. "Next stop: sweeping the training grounds while Chen Bo signs autographs."
Pebble—the world's most emotionally supportive rock—warmed faintly in my pocket. Probably pity.
[Host detected self-deprecating humor. Would you like to monetize it by streaming?]
"No."
[Missed opportunity detected.]
I ignored the floating blue text and pushed myself off the wall. Might as well go meet my new classmates—fellow rejects in the Academy's grand hierarchy. Maybe we could start a club: The Future Corpses Society.
The F-Rank building sat at the edge of campus, past the manicured gardens and shining glass towers of the higher classes. By the time I reached it, the marble paths had turned to packed dirt. The air smelled faintly of rust and disinfectant.
Inside was one large hall—no desks, no smartboards, no fancy equipment. Just open floor, wooden dummies, climbing ropes, and weapons that looked like they'd been borrowed from a medieval museum's trash bin.
I hesitated at the door. "This… definitely screams 'quality education'."
[Affirmative. Safety rating: 2 out of 100.]
"Wonderful."
About twenty students were already inside. None looked happy, but none looked weak either. A girl with bandaged hands was doing push-ups in perfect silence; a tall guy shadow-boxed with raw focus; another sat cross-legged, eyes closed, muttering formulas.
They all had that same look: people who'd already hit bottom and decided to start digging upward.
At the center stood our instructor—a broad-shouldered man with close-cropped hair and a metallic left arm that caught the light. His face had the kind of scars that looked like they'd been earned in places without witnesses.
When he spoke, his voice was gravel and authority.
"Welcome, F-Rank. I'm Instructor Wei Tian. You are not here because you're weak. You're here because the system can't measure what you'll become."
I blinked. That was… surprisingly motivational.
"Other classes study theory and control. You'll study survival. They fight in arenas; you'll fight in reality. F-Rank stands for Forged. You will break until you're remade."
A ripple ran through the room—fear, excitement, disbelief.
Wei Tian raised his metal arm, and thin sparks danced across the surface. "But first, paperwork."
A table was rolled in, stacked with dark parchments shimmering with crimson runes.
"Before training, you will sign the Contract of Death."
I blinked. "That… sounds fake."
He turned toward me. "You have a comment, student?"
I straightened instantly. "No, sir! Just… admiring the branding."
He smirked faintly. "Good. You'll need that humor where you're going."
He lifted a parchment. "This contract removes the Academy's liability. F-Rank training is lethal. You may die—physically, mentally, or spiritually. The Academy provides no revival, refund, or emotional compensation. Sign if you accept. Leave if you don't."
The hall went quiet. The only sound was the faint hum of the runes.
Someone whispered, "He's joking, right?"
No one answered.
I stared at the parchment handed to me. My name was already inscribed in ghostly ink, waiting for a drop of blood to seal it.
Die during training… really?
I glanced around. No one hesitated. One by one, each student pricked a finger and pressed it to the page. The runes flared, absorbed, vanished.
Instructor Wei watched us with that same unreadable calm. "Once you sign, you belong to the crucible. There are no half-measures here. Live hard, die harder, and maybe—just maybe—you'll crawl out as warriors."
My heartbeat echoed in my ears.
If I walk away now, I stay F-Rank forever. If I sign, I might die…
Pebble pulsed faintly through my uniform pocket—warm, steady, like a heartbeat that wasn't mine.
"Fine," I whispered. "Guess we're both insane."
I pricked my finger and pressed it to the parchment.
The rune flared crimson—then black.
For an instant, the world tilted. My vision flickered, and lines of blue code burst across the air.
[System Notification — Binding Detected][Host: Han Yue — Contract recognized][Synchronizing legal status with Survival Protocols...]
"Wait, what—"
A searing line of light shot up my arm and vanished under my skin.
[Integration complete.]
"...Did I just digitally sign my soul?"
[Affirmative! Also, congratulations on your first semi-legal life-risking agreement!]
I groaned. "Can't you ever announce things normally?"
[Normality = boring ≈ low engagement rate.]
Wei Tian slammed a gauntleted fist into his palm, silencing everyone.
"You are now part of the F-Rank combat division. Your schedule begins tomorrow at dawn. Expect pain, exhaustion, and the constant presence of your limits. Dismissed."
The students dispersed, whispering. Some looked thrilled, some terrified.
I stood frozen, staring at my still-glowing fingertip.
What the hell did I just do?
[Answer: You've entered the first real tutorial.]
"Tutorial?"
Before I could question it further, the air shimmered again. Blue panels stacked like cards before my eyes.
[New Quest Generated]
Quest: Survive for One Month in F-Rank TrainingDifficulty: InsaneObjective: Remain alive and enrolled until the end of the first cycle.Reward: Authorization to forge an Armored Beast Weapon.Bonus: Login Menu unlocked. Starter Material Pack available.
I stared. "Survive for one month? That's the quest? Not excel, not train, not win—just not die?"
[See? Achievable goals build confidence!]
"Achievable?! You literally said insane difficulty!"
[That was for dramatic flair.]
I pressed a palm to my face. "You are the worst motivational app ever coded."
[Flattery accepted.]
Around me, the hall had emptied. The others were already leaving, chattering nervously. I trailed behind, mind spinning.
Forge an Armored Beast Weapon…? That meant binding Pebble into something—blade, armor, maybe even a hybrid construct. It was the next step in awakening. For everyone else, it came after stable synchronization. For me? Apparently after one month of barely staying alive.
Typical.
I glanced at my reflection in a cracked window. My uniform was rumpled, my hair refused to cooperate, and my eyes screamed I haven't slept since last Tuesday.
"F-Rank Han Yue," I muttered. "Professional disaster in progress."
Pebble pulsed again.
"You're enjoying this, aren't you?"
It warmed slightly.
"Figures. Rock comedy duo, coming soon."
[Would you like to register that name as your team title?]
"Please stop listening to my sarcasm."
[Impossible. It fuels me.]
Outside, the afternoon sun bled orange over the campus. Higher-rank students strolled by in shining uniforms, their beasts shimmering beside them—phoenixes of fire, wolves of crystal, serpents coiling mid-air.
Then there was me, holding a faintly glowing pebble in my palm like a kid bringing a pet snail to a dragon show.
For a moment, I almost laughed. The absurdity was too much.
But beneath the humor, something else simmered—a quiet spark.
Maybe Wei Tian was right. Maybe the system, for all its trolling, wasn't completely wrong. F-Rank wasn't a prison. It was a forge.
And if I had to crawl through hell to prove it… fine.
[Host emotional intensity rising. Would you like to record a motivational speech?]
"No. But maybe… log me in."
[Affirmative. Opening Login Menu.]
The world dissolved into blue light. Rows of icons appeared:
Inventory (0/10)Crafting LockedMaterial Pack [Claim]Training Feed Coming Soon!
My finger hovered over [Claim].
"Alright, Pebble. Let's see what kind of miracle loot they're giving the bottom of the barrel."
[Warning: Low expectations detected.]
"Story of my life."
I tapped Claim.
The screen flared white—
—and something heavy materialized in my hand, wrapped in rough cloth and faintly humming.
Pebble's warmth spiked, resonating with it.
A line of glowing text unfurled before my eyes:
Starter Material 'Resonant Core — Rocky Type' acquired.Compatibility: 100%.Crafting Option Unlocked — ???
I exhaled slowly.
"Guess training just got interesting."
[Congratulations, Host! You've officially enrolled in survival.]
"Yeah," I murmured, looking out at the fading light. "Let's just hope I'm still here when the month ends."
Pebble pulsed once—bright, confident.
Somehow, that made me smile.