Aurum North High School.
Tiered lecture hall.
Cole was slouched in a hard wooden chair, spinning his pen out of sheer boredom.
Every Monday afternoon was the same "career planning" lecture—perfect for catching up on sleep or sneaking in some homework.
Up on the stage, the grade director was hyped as usual, voice booming: "Students, today we have a very special guest! A proud alumnus from the Class of '15—Senior Zane Kirk!"
Cole yawned and stared out the window. Perfect sunny weather for a nap.
Then the entire lecture hall erupted into cheers.
…Zane Kirk was that popular?
Confused, Cole glanced up—and the sleepiness vanished in an instant.
The door swung open. A young man in a sharp navy-blue uniform strode in, the insignia on his shoulder flashing cold light.
The moment he stepped inside, the floor trembled.
No way that skinny guy weighed enough to shake the ground.
Because right behind him, squeezing awkwardly through the doorway with its shoulders hunched and head lowered, was a goddamn dragon.
Almost three meters tall, dark-red scales gleaming like polished metal, a massive draconic head with sparks flickering between its jaws every time it exhaled.
The air instantly filled with waves of heat and the faint smell of sulfur.
"Holy shit… what the hell is that?!"
Cole nearly screamed.
But everyone else just whispered excitedly. They looked thrilled, awed… but not shocked.
"Dude, why are you all acting so chill? That's a freaking dragon!"
Cole was completely lost.
Did spiritual energy revive while I was asleep? Am I dreaming?
He pinched his (admittedly handsome) cheek. Ow. Real pain.
The grade director, Mr. Cross, raised a hand for silence. All the usual troublemakers instantly sat up straight like perfect little angels, eyes shining with worship.
Senior Zane Kirk began his speech—calm, powerful, magnetic.
He talked about graduating from North High, awakening his Beast Space, stepping into the Phantom Realm, contracting his first beast, surviving deadly trials, growing stronger alongside his partner…
Half an hour later—thanks to Zane's speech and a frantic search on his phone—Cole finally wrapped his head around this world.
Turns out he'd been isekai'd without noticing.
Everything looked the same—same city, same school, same people—but this Earth had one huge difference: fifty years ago, unstable spatial rifts started popping up all over the planet, connecting to a vast, bizarre world called the Phantom Realm.
A world with mountains, rivers, forests… but filled with countless extraordinary creatures—Phantom Beasts.
At first, governments sealed the news and sent elite troops. Modern weapons proved useless against the truly strong ones. Some giant beasts even crossed over and wrecked entire cities.
"New Calendar Year 07—a mountain-sized mythic ape stepped out of a rift in Los Angeles, North America. In three days the city was rubble. A million dead. Hundreds of missiles and even tactical nukes only pissed it off…"
"Year 22—a thousand-meter-long sky whale shadowed Wanghai City in the South Seas…"
Humanity was on the brink.
Then came the turning point: some humans could awaken an internal Beast Space.
This space didn't just house contracted beasts—it massively accelerated their growth and evolution. What used to take decades now took months, weeks, or days.
Certain phantom beasts began willingly forming soul contracts with humans, growing faster inside a Beast Space while feeding a tiny bit of power back to their master. Humans gained loyal partners and just enough strength to fight back.
Those people became known as Beast Masters.
Beast Masters saved humanity and reshaped the world.
They were guardians, heroes, walking strategic weapons. Top jobs, resources, status—everything tilted toward them.
Yet ordinary people were still in danger. Random rifts still opened. One stray beast could wipe out a street.
"Damn… this world is way too dangerous."
"Normal people are just lambs waiting for slaughter in front of strong beasts."
"I could be walking down the street sipping bubble tea, singing, and suddenly—CHOMP—no more ass."
"No way. I have to become a Beast Master. I have to get strong!"
Cole made up his mind.
"Bro that fire dragon was badass—come on, the Awakening Ceremony is starting! This is my fourth try, I'm definitely awakening this time!"
As soon as the lecture ended, his best friend Tyson grabbed him and bolted.
Every high school now held multiple assisted awakening ceremonies per year—the only realistic shot for normal people to awaken a Beast Space.
Tyson had failed three times.
Cole? Four failures. Same boat.
"They say physical fitness affects the odds… am I too scrawny? Is that why I keep failing?"
Thinking about it made him depressed.
Talented kids usually awakened on their first or second try, then got sent straight to the newbie trial, contracted a beast, and transferred into the elite Beast Master class. Normal classes became electives.
Kids like him and Tyson? Doomed to a lifetime of slaving away for someone else — grinding through math and literature just to end up as another wage slave.
With a mix of nerves and hope, they crossed the tree-lined campus path to the trial building—a pure-white spherical structure students nicknamed the "Phantom Egg."
"Every time I see this thing it blows my mind," Tyson muttered. "Heard it cost billions. The rest of the school combined isn't worth that much…"
The line was insane. Two hours later it was finally Cole's turn.
He lay on the awakening bed like a seasoned veteran (sadly).
DING.
[Beast Space Awakening: Success]
[Talent: Unknown]
…I did it?!
Cole stood up in a daze. The staff member handed him a "Reserve Badge" with obvious envy.
This badge meant he had a Beast Space—he was a Reserve Beast Master!
Next step: survive the newbie trial, contract a beast, and he'd be official.
But Cole just waved his hand in front of his face like an idiot.
The staff muttered, "Kid's so happy he broke," stuffed the badge into Cole's pocket, and shoved him out—next!
Because floating in front of Cole's eyes was a line of gray text:
[Talent Awakened:]
[Divine Resonance (Initial): Every time one of your contracted beasts levels up or evolves, you receive double the stat growth on your own body.]
Normal Beast Masters got maybe 1/10th feedback, if they were lucky.
He got double?
That was twenty times the normal rate!