The demonstration ended in a wave of baffled applause. Ren had met the challenge, and the Aegis network had recorded a powerful, stable signature. To the world, he was the academy's heroic, if eccentric, prodigy. To Chief Technician Prell, he was a frustrating but seemingly legitimate anomaly. To Anya Volkov, he was a nightmare, a ghost who could rewrite reality.
That night, the meeting with Elder Tian was brief and direct. The Elder didn't ask how Ren had done it. His expression made it clear that he knew it was another impossible feat, another secret kept.
"You have succeeded," the Elder said, his voice heavy with the weariness of a master strategist who has just watched his prized piece make a move of terrifying, unpredictable genius. "You have given them a clean, powerful data point to chase, a false trail that will keep their analysts busy for months. You have bought us time."
He looked at Ren, his gaze piercing. "But it was a dangerous, reckless move. You have shown your hand, not to the Pagoda, but to Anya Volkov. She is a mind that rivals my own, and you have given her a puzzle that she will not rest until she solves. Be wary of her. Her curiosity is now more dangerous than any animosity."
The Elder then shifted his focus, closing the chapter on the Pagoda and opening a new one. "The academy's curriculum must continue. Your performance in the simulation, and your new status as a 'hero', has earned you a place in the next phase of training. It is time for you to leave the confines of this academy."
He explained the mission. It was a standard rite of passage for the top-performing first-year students: a GAMA-sanctioned, low-risk, D-rank Rift suppression in the controlled territories of the Sunken Coast. A real-world application of their skills.
"You will be part of a squad," the Elder commanded, his tone leaving no room for argument. "Your objective is not to be the star. It is to be a competent, reliable teammate. You will use only the GAMA-sanctioned techniques I have taught you. You will reveal nothing of your true capabilities. Your mission is not to close a Rift; it is to prove you can be a soldier in an army. You are to be unremarkable. You are to be forgettable. Is that understood?"
"Yes, Elder," Ren replied.
"The old fool wishes you to hunt rats when you have learned to command dragons," Zephyrion grumbled in his mind.
Even a dragon must first learn the layout of the forest, Ren countered silently.
The next morning, Ren found his name on the assignment list posted in the main hall. He was assigned to Squad 7. As he read the names of his teammates, a quiet dread settled over him. His squad leader was a stern, by-the-book upperclassman. The other members were competent but unremarkable initiates. And the fifth member, assigned as the squad's secondary fire support, was Anya Volkov.
He turned and saw her standing a few feet away, her eyes already on him. She gave him a small, almost imperceptible nod. It was not a gesture of friendship or rivalry. It was an acknowledgment of an undeniable fact.
The Elder had put him on a leash. Anya had been assigned as his warden.
The game had left the academy grounds, but it was far from over. He was a ghost being forced to walk in the sun, and the one person who knew he was a ghost was now assigned to watch his every move. The mission to the Sunken Coast was no longer a simple training exercise. It was a cage, and he was walking into it willingly.