Chapter 3 Rankings

Chapter 3: The Rankings

The awakening hall buzzed for the rest of the day.

By evening, Li Yue's name had spread across every student communication channel in Nova City Academy. A mythic-rank summon at age twelve. Unheard of. Impossible. Yet it had happened in front of forty witnesses.

She sat alone in the academy's rooftop garden, Luna curled in her lap, starlight dancing in the fox's fur.

A notification appeared.

System Alert

Hidden Class stability requires active suppression.

F-Rank Summoner mask active.

External scanners will detect: F-Rank

True rank visible only to host.

Li Yue exhaled slowly.

Smart.

If her real rank appeared on the academy records, she wouldn't survive the week. Every major faction in Nova City — the military academies, the noble clans, the dimensional research institutes — would descend on a twelve-year-old orphan with everything to gain and nobody to protect her.

The mask was a mercy.

Luna flicked one star-tipped ear.

They'll still come eventually, Li Yue thought. But at least I'll be ready.

She opened the system menu and studied it carefully.

Current Summons: 1

Luna — Celestial Moon Fox | Mythic | Infant Stage

Growth Path: Fox → Nine-Tail Crescent → Moon Empress

Estimated Full Evolution: Unknown

Next Summon Unlock: Level 10

Current Level: 1

EXP Required: 500

She needed to level. Fast.

A second notification appeared.

Tutorial Quest Unlocked

Enter the Novice Rift Zone

Defeat 10 Rift Beasts

Reward: 300 EXP + Beast Shard x1

Rift zones were training grounds built around low-level dimensional tears. Students used them to gain combat experience before real missions. For most F-rank awakened, even the novice zone was dangerous.

For Li Yue, it was a shortcut.

She stood.

Luna jumped to her shoulder.

"Let's go hunting."