"Student Wren, please, can you step down from the stage? The other students need their turn too."
?The instructor’s voice snaps Wren out of his dazed thoughts.
?Wren looks up at the man, but this time, there is no trace of the deep respect that was there before.
?You...! Wren wants to shout, but his voice is completely trapped in his throat. He cannot even speak.
?Slowly, he turns and walks down the steps from the stage. As he walks back, he can clearly hear the whispers of the other students talking about him.
?Look at him...
?I can’t believe an Extenguard turned out to be a zero.
?Wren ignores them completely. His mind is spinning with only one heavy question.
?Why did they leave without me?
?Is it because...
?Right at that exact moment, the instructor’s voice echoes across the hall once again, stopping him in his tracks.
Wren can hear the other students cheering loudly, their mouths wide open in pure awe.
?He turns back to look toward the stage and pays attention.
?Standing on the stage now is a girl who went right after him.
?"Mia Flex! Awakened: Unique Rank - Water Mage!" the instructor announces, his face glowing with extreme joy and excitement.
?Hearing those words, Mia’s face lights up with a proud, arrogant smile.
?Wren stares at her with burning anger. Just a moment ago, that spot on stage should have belonged to him, not anyone else.
?I am an Extenguard! he tells himself angrily. Yes, I am an Extenguard!
?My father would never abandon me.
?He quickly steps backward, retreating toward the quiet shadows at the back of the hall. With trembling fingers, he reaches into his pocket, pulls out his new communication chip, and places it against his ear.
?He punches in the code and hits dial.
?Dad... answer. Pick up right now!
Wren waits for a few seconds, holding his breath as the tone rings in his ear.
?Click.
?"The person you are calling has blocked you."
?A cold, automated female voice cuts him off instantly.
?Hearing those words, Wren cannot believe his ears. All the color completely drains from his face, turning it pale white.
?No... no, no. Dad wouldn’t do this. Never.
?While he is standing there, completely frozen in shock and denial, a heavy hand lands firmly on his shoulder.
?He spins around immediately in a rush of hope, thinking his family’s bodyguards have finally come to pick him up.
But it wasn’t his bodyguards. The hopeful expression on Wren’s face vanishes instantly, replaced by a flash of irritation.
?"Hey, who do you think you are, putting your hand on my shoulder?" Wren snaps angrily, his temper flaring up.
?Standing right in front of him is a chubby young student, his hand resting heavily on Wren’s shoulder like a clamp of iron.
?Wren immediately tries to shrug the hand off his shoulder, pushing upward with all his might.
?To his complete shock, he can’t even budge it. Instead, the pressure increases, sending a sharp, painful ache straight into his shoulder bone.
?Argh... what the hell? Where is this crazy strength coming from?!
?He stares at the chubby boy in disbelief, his face turning even paler than before.
?"Hey, Extenguard," the student says, a dark, mocking grin spreading across his face. "In case you didn’t notice, I’m already in a terrible mood. I only managed to awaken a common-rank class today. I was standing there wondering what to do with my pathetic life... and then I saw you."
?The boy’s smile grows wider, cruel and sadistic.
?"I watched your little bodyguards walk away and leave you behind. Did your own family just throw you out like trash?"
?Hearing those words, all the blood rushes out of Wren’s face.
?Inside his mind, he had already considered that exact possibility. He knew it was the only logical explanation for why they left him behind.
?Even so, hearing someone else say it out loud hits him like a physical blow, leaving him in total shock.
?The most humiliating part isn’t even the cruel jab. It’s the reality of the situation:
?The chubby student standing right in front of him—someone who only awakened a low-level common class—is easily overpowering him.
?Wren, who had spent his entire life pushing through extreme, brutal training regimens designed for an elite heir, is completely helpless against a normal student.
?This is a humiliation Wren knows he will never, ever be able to forget.
The chubby student reaches out with his other hand, grabbing a firm grip on the collar of Wren’s expensive, designer shirt and pulling him in close.
?"My name is Max Dorren," the boy says, his voice dripping with malice. "I don’t have any deep hatred for you, and I’m not planning to hurt you for no reason."
?Max lifts a finger, tapping it mockingly against the fine fabric of Wren’s high-end jacket.
?"But you..."
?Wren’s mind spins in utter confusion. He has no idea what this bully is getting at, or what he could possibly want from him.
?"What the hell are you talking about, fat—"
?Hearing the insult slip from Wren’s lips, his pride already battered and scraping the absolute bottom, Max’s expression darkens instantly. He floods his hand with mana, tightening his grip with brutal force.
?The pressure on Wren’s shoulder spikes violently.
?Crack.
?A sickening pop echoes through the air. Wren’s shoulder joint is completely dislocated.
?Aaaaaaaaaah...!!
?Wren wants to scream at the top of his lungs, to let out every ounce of the agony tearing through his body. But he bites down on his lower lip so hard it splits, tasting copper. No. If I scream, everyone will look. I will never scream in front of garbage like you.
?Max leans in closer, his smile cold and cruel.
?"Didn’t you understand what I said, kid? I told you... strip off every single piece of designer clothing you’re wearing and hand it over to me right now."
Class Ranks:-
Common-Uncommon-Rare-Epic-Unique-Legendary-Mythical-Divine