Chapter 4 First Blood
Chapter 4: First Blood
The novice rift zone sat beneath the academy's eastern tower, accessible to all enrolled students. It was a controlled space — a simulation of a real dimensional breach, populated with seeded monsters ranked D-tier and below.
Li Yue stepped through the entry gate at dawn, before most students were awake.
The rift zone materialized around her.
A dark forest. Purple sky. Glowing insects drifting through the air like living embers.
Luna vanished from her shoulder — not gone, but dispersed, moonlight weaving into the shadows around Li Yue like invisible armor.
Passive: Lunar Shroud — engaged
Her senses sharpened to an almost uncomfortable degree. She could hear breathing forty meters away. Smell metal in the air from a beast's claws. Feel the faint tremor of heavy footsteps through the soil.
A shadow lunged from the treeline.
D-tier Shadow Hound. Fast. Aggressive.
Li Yue stepped sideways.
The beast's claws sliced through empty air.
She didn't panic. Seventeen years of living on her own — navigating a dangerous city, working part-time, surviving — had given her something the original Li Yue never had.
Composure.
Luna reappeared above the hound, moonlight condensing into a single lance of silver energy.
[Moon Strike]
The impact wasn't loud. It was precise. The hound dissolved into particles of light.
+50 EXP
Beast Shard Fragment obtained.
Li Yue stared at the space where the monster had been.
"That's it?"
Luna landed on a nearby branch, looking faintly smug.
By the time the academy's morning bell rang, Li Yue had cleared the novice zone three times.
Level 4
Strength: 89 | Agility: 104 | Mana: 210
Numbers that would make most adult awakeners look twice.
She walked out of the rift zone into the early morning light, and found someone waiting.
A girl with silver-streaked hair and a sharp uniform. Third-year student badge. Expression unreadable.
"You're Li Yue."
"I am."
"My name is Shen Mei." A pause. "I'm the captain of the academy's first combat unit. We've been watching the rift logs since last night." She held out a small card. "Come to our practice hall this afternoon. You don't have to join anything. I just want to see what you can do."
Li Yue took the card.
She already knew she'd go.
Because people like Shen Mei — calm, observant, reaching out rather than grabbing — were exactly the kind of allies worth keeping.
Luna peeked out of her collar and sniffed the card approvingly.
Li Yue smiled.
The game had begun.
