The rain had finally stopped by the time Kaelen Ashford returned to the lower streets of the Iron Docks, though the heavy autumn mist still clung to the cobblestones like a damp shroud.
The morning sun struggled to pierce through the thick layer of smog and sea fog, casting a pale, metallic sheen over the rusted iron cranes, cold forge chimneys, and waterlogged alleys. To the common laborers, dockworkers, and street vendors scurrying through the mud, it was just another grim day of survival in Oakhaven’s lowest precinct.
For Kaelen, however, the world felt entirely different.
Under the frayed hem of his canvas coat, coiled comfortably around his left wrist like an intricate, cool bracelet of carved jade, rested his second summon—the Ancient Jade Sky-Serpent. With Void Shroud II active, the Calamity-Grade beast’s terrifying True Combat Rating of 3,200 was completely compressed, appearing to any external mana-scryer as nothing more than a harmless, decorative CR 1 reptile ornament.
Beside his boots, completely merged with the deep shadow cast by his coat, moved Nox. The Ancestral Primal Void-Stalker, boasting a True Combat Rating of 770, glided in absolute silence, its golden eyes occasionally gleaming from within the darkness.
Kaelen walked with a quiet, measured tread, his hands buried in his coat pockets. His fingers brushed against a heavy leather pouch containing fifty-five Gold Sovereigns—a fortune that could buy a comfortable merchant house in the High Precinct.
"Well, look who crawled out of the woods," a raspy, familiar voice called out from the doorway of Old Bram’s smithy.
Old Bram was leaning against his heavy anvil, a wooden pipe held between his yellowed teeth. The old blacksmith’s eyes narrowed as he took in Kaelen’s appearance. Kaelen was clean of blood, his posture straight, and his eyes clear—a stark contrast to the shattered, bloodied survivors of the House Vance expedition who had limped back through the Great Gate late last night.
"Bram," Kaelen greeted with a faint nod, stepping under the wooden overhang of the forge.
Bram pulled the pipe from his mouth, letting out a thick puff of blue smoke. "The whole city is buzzing, boy. Half of Valerius Vance’s personal guard came crawling back through the gates before midnight, bruised, battered, and babbling about shadow phantoms in Gloom Ravine. They say a rogue Calamity beast wiped out Captain Vane’s vanguard and broke the contract of young Valerius’s Flame Drake."
Kaelen’s expression remained calm, devoid of any surprise. "Is that what they're saying?"
"Aye," Bram grunted, his keen eyes scanning Kaelen’s face. "Valerius was screaming that a curse had taken the ravine. But what caught everyone’s ear was the fact that you—a draft-bound supply handler with no armor and a CR 1 rat—walked out of that same ravine without a single scratch on your tunic."
"I was lucky," Kaelen said softly. "When the monster struck the vanguard, I ducked into a drainage crevice and waited until the noise stopped."
Bram stared at him for a long, heavy moment before letting out a dry, rumbling chuckle. "Lucky, huh? Right. And I suppose the Flame Drake’s binding collar snapped by accident, too." Bram didn't press further; he was a wise man who knew when not to ask questions that could get a man hanged. He simply knocked his pipe against the anvil. "Whatever happened out there, kid... you aren't the same boy who walked up those three hundred stone steps on Awakening Day."
Before Kaelen could answer, the heavy clatter of iron-shod hooves echoed down the narrow alleyway.
A pair of magnificent white steeds, their coats shining like polished silver, pulled a gilded carriage through the muddy street. The carriage bore the official crest of the Kingdom of Solis—a sunburst encircled by a winged staff. Flanking the carriage were four elite guards clad in gleaming silver plate armor, their shoulders draped in velvet cloaks of royal blue.
The sight of high-born guards in the squalor of the Iron Docks caused immediate commotion. Street vendors pulled back their carts, and dockworkers backed away into doorways, whispering anxiously.
The carriage ground to a halt directly in front of Bram’s smithy.
The carriage door opened, and a tall man in elegant purple robes stepped down onto the muddy cobblestones, stepping carefully around a puddle of stagnant water.
It was Overseer Malakor.
The Grand Overseer of the Royal Summoner Guild in Oakhaven held a rolled parchment sealed with red wax and a golden ribbon. His sharp, hawk-like eyes swept over the soot-stained forge before settling directly on Kaelen.
"Kaelen Ashford," Malakor spoke, his voice carrying the calm, resonant authority of a high-tier spellcaster.
Kaelen bowed slightly, maintaining his posture. "Grand Overseer."
Malakor studied the eighteen-year-old youth with an unreadable expression. He looked at Kaelen’s worn clothes, his calm, unshakeable gaze, and then cast a brief, probing glance at the dark shadow pooled near Kaelen’s boots. His mana-detection ring flickered faintly, but Void Shroud II held completely firm—registering nothing beyond a faint, pathetic CR 1 signature.
"Last night, young Lord Valerius Vance returned from Gloom Ravine with severe mental trauma," Malakor began smoothly, his tone devoid of personal emotion. "He claimed that an unregistered shadow entity ambushed his hunting party, freed his Flame Drake, and spared only you. Captain Vane reported that you vanished into the fog during the chaos."
"I took shelter in a rock fissure, Overseer," Kaelen replied evenly. "I am merely a Failed Summoner. I have no power to fight a Gold-Grade monster or control shadow beasts."
Malakor’s lips twitched slightly. "Indeed. The Guild evaluators concluded the same. An unranked laborer could not possibly orchestrate the defeat of a CR 420 Wyrm or the liberation of a Flame Drake. It was deemed an encounter with an unmapped high-tier wild beast."
Malakor unrolled the parchment in his hand, revealing golden calligraphy stamped with the seal of the Royal Capital.
"However," Malakor continued, "your name came up during the post-expedition review. Under the Royal Summoner Edict of Solis, any candidate whose awakening altar demonstrated anomalous mana resonance is subject to mandatory secondary evaluation at the Royal Summoner Academy in the High Capital."
Kaelen’s heart gave a subtle thud. The Royal Summoner Academy.
"Overseer?" Bram interjected, brow furrowing. "The boy was marked with a Combat Rating of one. The Academy only accepts Gold-Grade talents and noble scions."
"Normally, yes," Malakor acknowledged, turning his gaze back to Kaelen. "But the Grand Archive in the Royal Capital detected a spatial pulse during Oakhaven’s Awakening Ceremony—a pulse centered on Altar Five. Furthermore, the Royal Academy's Head Overseer, Professor Elira Voss, has issued a direct mandate. All candidates present during anomalous events must report to the Capital for the Annual Freshman Evaluation."
Malakor extended the golden-sealed parchment toward Kaelen.
[SYSTEM NOTIFICATION] [QUEST RECEIVED: THE ACADEMY INVITATION] [OBJECTIVE: ACCEPT THE ROYAL SUMMONER ACADEMY MANDATE & TRAVEL TO THE HIGH CAPITAL] [REWARD: ACCESS TO IMPERIAL FOSSIL VAULTS, EXPANDED BESTIARY COMPATIBILITY, UNLOCKS ARC III PROGRESSION]
Kaelen stared at the golden document.
The Royal Summoner Academy was the beating heart of the Kingdom of Solis’s power. It contained the largest central library in the realm, the Royal Monster Research Facility, and the Imperial Vaults where thousands of unclassified ancient fossils and relics collected over centuries were stored—fossilized bones that the System classified as worthless trash, but which were priceless gold mines of Extinction Points for Kaelen.
Moreover, Valerius Vance and the arrogant noble heirs of Solis would all be attending the Academy.
"When do we depart?" Kaelen asked, reaching out his hand and taking the parchment.
Malakor’s eyes flashed with a faint hint of approval. "The royal transport leaves from the High Precinct Plaza at dawn tomorrow. You will be granted entry to the Academy grounds as a Provisional Evaluate. Whether you remain there as a student or are dismissed as a commoner depends entirely on your performance before the High Faculty."
"I will be there," Kaelen said.
Malakor nodded, turned on his heel, and climbed back into the gilded carriage. The silver-armored guards took their positions, and with a click of reins, the magnificent horses pulled the carriage back up the winding road toward the High Precinct.
Silence returned to the alleyway.
Old Bram walked over, leaning against the wooden post and staring at the golden invitation in Kaelen’s hand.
"The Royal Capital, kid," Bram said quietly, his tone a mix of pride and deep concern. "That place isn't like the Iron Docks. It's a snake pit filled with arch-dukes, high lords, and ancient Summoner families who have controlled the kingdom for generations. They won't take kindly to a dock boy walking among them."
Kaelen folded the golden parchment and tucked it securely into his coat.
"Let them bring their snakes, Bram," Kaelen said, his voice quiet yet carrying a weight that made the old blacksmith shiver. "They built their academy on top of a system that erased the world's history. I'm just going there to take it back."
Kaelen turned and walked up the creaking wooden stairs to his attic room one last time.
Sitting on his narrow cot, Kaelen called up his translucent System interface.
[USER STATUS] NAME: KAELEN ASHFORD CLASS: ERASED BEAST TAMER (HIDDEN) TALENT: PRIMAL COMMAND (LV 2) EXTINCTION POINTS (EP): 350 EP CURRENT SUMMONS:
NOX — ANCESTRAL PRIMAL VOID-STALKER (TRUE CR: 770 / MASKED CR: 1)
ANCIENT JADE SKY-SERPENT (TRUE CR: 3,200 / MASKED CR: 1)
UNLOCKED BESTIARY ENTRIES: 10 SPECIES HABITAT RESTORATION THRESHOLD: 1/10
Kaelen looked down at his left wrist, where the tiny jade serpent uncoiled its head, its slit pupils shimmering with emerald light. Beside him, Nox emerged from his shadow, resting its broad, black-scaled head on Kaelen’s knee, letting out a low, purring rumble.
"Tomorrow, we leave Oakhaven," Kaelen whispered, stroking Nox’s soft fur and the smooth jade scales of the sky-serpent. "The High Capital thinks they're inviting another weak student to mock. They have no idea what's walking through their gates."
Outside the window, the sun broke through the smog of the Iron Docks, illuminating the path ahead.
The boy without a beast, the Failed Summoner of Oakhaven, was heading to the Royal Summoner Academy—and the world of Solis was about to be shaken to its very foundations.