After training in Wren's training area for a while, they soon called it a night. Everyone headed to bed, but something Riven couldn't get out of his mind was what Jordan had said. Jordan wanted more people involved in the system. But the thing was, after Harkel's and Joey's warnings, Riven truthfully didn't want to tell anybody about the system—scared for his own safety.
Still, when the topic came up again, two people were mentioned as possible candidates to learn about it and help them more: Nico and Tessa's brother.
Everyone immediately shut down that idea. No one really knew Tessa's brother, and honestly, no one wanted Tessa herself to learn about the system anyway. Tessa only knew because of Wren.
But Riven didn't completely disagree. He wanted the him to come to Wren's training area after classes were out, so they could get a good feel for who he really was.
⸻
The next day, everyone followed the same routine. But when they got to their homeroom, something was different.
Mr. Sable wasn't at the front of the class as he usually was. Still, everyone sat down and began talking. A moment later, Tessa walked in with a boy who had dreadlocks.
"This is my brother, Leo," she said, introducing him.
"Yo," Leo nodded. "I heard you guys were looking for a seventh member in your group. What is this, a boy band?"
Harkel chuckled. "Oh yeah, we're going along quite nicely," he said with a smile.
As Leo started getting to know the others, Mr. Sable entered the classroom. Something was off. Sweat was dripping from his forehead. He looked like he was either nervous or had just gotten in trouble for questioning something.
"Okay class, take your seats," Mr. Sable said.
Leo sat closer to the group than he ever had before—right behind Joey.
"We've got a big announcement today. In three weeks' time, you'll have your first assessment… and your first outing."
A student raised their hand. "What's an outing?"
Mr. Sable sighed. "Truthfully, you weren't even supposed to have one this year. Your assessment was just going to be a test to see how much you've improved. But for some reason, they've turned it into a full outing.
"An outing is when a class—sometimes an entire school—travels to a different world or planet."
There were murmurs of disbelief across the room.
"Before I continue," Sable said firmly, "there's something you need to understand. You're not allowed to tell anyone about this. Not the internet. Not your parents. Not your family. If you do, and I promise you trust me, just know this—they have ways of finding out. You will be punished,and I don't know how. But it's not going to be good. For you, or your family."
The room went completely silent.
"In these other worlds—just like Earth—there are magical creatures. Beasts. Some of you might not even know they exist because you're Wallborns. Ever wondered why your families stayed behind walls? It's because they knew about the beasts. They knew they couldn't protect themselves or their loved ones without help. So they paid taxes and stayed inside."
He paused.
"Your family doesn't know about the other worlds unless they've gone to Sigil Gate. And if they did, they never told you. That was by design."
"Beasts have levels," Sable continued. "When you kill one and dig into where its heart would be, you'll find a gemstone. These stones are engraved with a number—usually from 1 to 10. But honestly, I don't think 10 is the max. There might be stronger beasts out there."
Riven raised a brow. "I remember hearing about beasts on the internet. Some say they're the reason for the walls, but others think it's because of a war between the Four Families and the military or Sigil Gate Academy. But I've never heard anything about other worlds."
"Same," Joey said. Then he raised his hand.
Mr. Sable nodded.
"Can these beasts be turned into weapons?" Joey asked remembering when he used the lock on skill back in the venue place and the weapon class.
"Yes," Mr. Sable said. "Using the gemstone in their heart. Humans tested all kinds of things with it. Turns out, the stones are practically unbreakable—unless you melt them down. One day, someone forged a weapon with it. When they held the weapon, they felt stronger, faster… sometimes even tougher."
He continued, "The gemstone still lives inside the weapon. If the beast was high-level enough, the weapon might even develop a special trait—like catching fire, even if you don't have a fire-based evolution. Some weapons with the same level can have traits, while others don't. No one really knows why. Maybe the beast was too weak. Maybe the forger failed. Those are the theories, anyway. Any other questions?"
No one raised their hand.
"Good. In three weeks, we're going to a place called Aurex. Now, hand over your unit cards."
Each student walked up and handed over their card. Mr. Sable scanned them all and returned them one by one.
"I've given you 2,000 units. Go to the city. Buy a weapon. You should be able to afford at least a level-two type. I want to give you the best chance of survival. I won't have any students dying on my watch."
"Dying?"
The way he said it made everyone silently gulp.
⸻
When class was dismissed, the day was over. As the group walked out, they saw a wave of first-years pouring into the city—no doubt trying to grab the best weapons they could find.
"Shouldn't we be heading to the city right now?" Leo asked. "Before they take all the good stuff? You know some of these kids are rich—they're probably gonna buy out half the shops."
But Riven smiled. "I have a better idea."
⸻
Meanwhile, in the assembly hall—
"This is insane," Mr. Sable said. "Second-years were only allowed to visit other worlds because most of them were already Awakened. Nearly all of the freshmen haven't even reached their first Awakening. The only ones who have are those six"
"Then the others should stick with them," said a silver-haired man, his voice commanding. Every teacher in the room instinctively backed off.
"They need to see what the universe is really like. Not just Earth. Besides—our powers come when we're backed into a corner. This is the push they need."
He turned to leave.
"Now clean this place out."
As he walked away, Mr. Knox, Mr. Kain, and the other teachers who had objected lay unconscious on the ground.
Sable clenched his fists. "Yes, sir… Darius."
⸻
Back in Wren's training room, Leo waited outside the door. The others had told him to wait. Before going in, Riven had asked him one odd question:
"What type of weapon do you use?"
"A greatsword," Leo replied.
Riven nodded and stepped inside.
He pulled up the system and transferred all the money from his card into it.
[System: 2000 System Points]
"Alright, 2,000 points," Riven said as he opened the weapons tab. As he scrolled, he could see the names of weapons and their levels—but one thing stood out.
"These weapons are really cheap."
"Okay, so I wasn't the only one thinking that," Harkel said.
"Yeah," Joey added, "the vendors in the city were charging way more than this."
Suddenly, everyone heard a ding. They turned toward Riven, who now had two greenish-black gauntlets on his hands.
[System: Black Verdant Gauntlets have been purchased –1000 System Points]
The gauntlets were Level 3.
Black Verdant Gauntlets
Strength: +12
Speed: +5
Durability: +8
"Special ability: Has a 20% chance to poison any person or creature it touches."
Everyone was about to buy their own weapon—until Riven purchased a Level 3 greatsword, then two Level 2 weapons, and five Level 1 weapons.
He looked at Joey.
"It's time to start our own shop," Riven said with a smile.