Soon the sunlight shone as the kids woke up one after the other.

At this point, the last time they had eaten was a day ago.

Calus stood up like the others and looked at the man.

"We will land in a bit. Hold steady," the middle-aged Beastman fighter said as the kids kept quiet.

Soon, large buildings could be seen. From buildings inscribed with skill scriptures, to beast enclosures for Beastman fighters, to various pavilions ,everything came into view.

The kids gasped as the huge bird descended and landed.

Booom...

A powerful gust of wind hit the ground as the middle-aged man made his move.

The eagle dived, breaking the sound barrier.

But just in time, it spread out its wings.

The air compressed as the kids were lifted up. Their minds went blank as fear gnawed at them.

Then suddenly, the eagle disappeared along with the middle-aged Beastman fighter.

The kids were left standing on the ground, confused.

How did they get down? What exactly happened?

Even Calus could barely see it. In just a split second, the eagle changed direction and accelerated into the sky while the middle-aged man dropped Calus and the others safely to the ground.

"Everyone form a single line, please. Once you get here, place your hand on this orb. If it reacts, you have awakened. If not, then you are not a fighter and will follow those on your left. Fighters will pass by me and enter," an aged man's voice echoed as Calus looked around.

They were directly at the entrance of the Eastern Academy, and they were not the only ones. Multiple groups of kids stood outside in long lines.

Some murmurs were heard, but what dominated was silence and one could see why.

A large crowd dressed in black stood on the left side. Enough to show the number of kids who had not awakened.

Seeing this, Calus gulped and sighed.

This was the harsh truth of the world.

Out of all the people here, maybe less than a thousand would be accepted.

The Eastern Continent was massive, with close to three billion lives. The number of children attempting awakening would at least be in the millions, yet only about a thousand would be accepted into the Eastern Academy. The other tens of thousands who awakened would be sent to work for the government.

The Eastern Academy was known as the meeting place of geniuses in the Eastern Continent.

The kids were supposed to feel weak

after all, most of them had only eaten yesterday morning

but instead, they felt refreshed and energized.

The amount of mana in this area was dense. Extremely dense, to the extent that their bodies were filled with it and their hunger disappeared.

Hours passed, and finally Calus came face to face with the orb that had decided whether he was an awakener in his last life.

Now, facing it again, he smiled.

Checking his stats once more, Calus was sure he was at the peak of the Silver Fighter Realm.

He smiled as the old man spoke.

"Touch the orb. To enter the academy after your first awakening, you must be at least Three-Star Iron Level. If you are below that, you will move to the left and be taken by the government to work for them," the old man said as Calus placed his hand on it.

At first, there was no reaction. Those behind him shook their heads.

It seemed this kid was not an awakener. 𝚏𝐫𝚎𝗲𝕨𝐞𝐛𝕟𝚘𝐯𝚎𝗹.𝕔𝐨𝗺

The old man squinted his eyes. Just as he was about to speak

Bhahhh!

A white light filled the field for hundreds of meters as everyone closed their eyes in shock.

"Peak… Peak Silver Realm?!" the old man's eyes widened as he laughed.

"Please, do enter," he said excitedly as the light died down. Calus nodded and walked in.

Immediately, he was gone.

Crack...

A cracking sound was heard as the orb fractured.

"Another one…" the old man muttered as he looked at Calus's back.

---

The academy was familiar to Calus as he walked around. The ground view, the pavilions, the gold-built floor slabs.

It screamed authority and power.

Soon, they went through a couple of trials and yes, Calus won. There were other strong talents, such as one at Peak Iron Level and another at Low Silver Realm.

All these beings were impressive, but ultimately, Calus won.

And so, the days of studying at the academy began. Very soon, what he had been waiting for happened.

It had been a few weeks since they entered the academy. Calus had been preparing to break through to the next realm.

The Gold Realm.

At this realm, one could control elements.

Space, fire, water, and the like.

A Gold expert could already serve as a Great General for a kingdom, so it was highly respectable.

Even their teachers were High to Peak Gold experts.

As for the school mentors, they were all in the Platinum Realm, along with the school leader.

In these few weeks, Calus had been labeled "The Chosen One," the one who would lead his generation. But aside from that, he focused on getting closer to his friend, Fre.

Fre was a poor kid with a lot of talent.

At this point, he possessed Two-Star Silver Realm power.

He seemed slow, but Calus knew that in the future, Fre would be extremely valuable, for he was among the kids who possessed the Body of the Key.

The "Key" meant exactly that.

Each person with this body was a fragment of an ancient key. Since his academy days in the previous life, a secret organization had placed someone near Fre to control him.

And today, she would arrive.

"Yooo, Calus, are you about to break through?" Fre asked. His chubby cheeks trembled as he spoke.

He looked at Calus like he was a monster, and Calus laughed.

"What if I already broke through?" Calus asked as Fre shook his head.

"Not that quickly. Don't lie to me. Even if you're a monster, you aren't that fast," Fre frowned as he patted Calus on the shoulder.

Calus chuckled as he looked at his stats.

Host: Calus

Rank: Gold — One Star

Status: Blessed as the Chosen

Over the past week, Calus had gained a special status that made his strength grow even more powerful, along with the huge amount of resources provided by the academy.

Quietly, Calus had already broken through.

But not everyone was aware.

"Well, that aside, Calus, I want to introduce you to someone," Fre suddenly said as Calus raised his eyes.

At that moment, Calus had been looking around for any sign of the witch who had made Fre fall in love with her. But she wasn't anywhere to be seen, and that made him anxious.

"Yes, who's that?" Calus asked, surprised.

After all, they had lived their last lives together as friends, and Calus was sure he knew everything about Fre's life.

"Well, she's my sister. Hey, Lisa, come here," Fre said.

Calus's eyes widened in shock.

But that wasn't all.

Soon, a familiar feminine figure walked toward them, and Calus's shock turned into horror.

"Calus, this is my blood sister, Lisa," Fre said as her face came into view.

Her dark hair, mixed with blue strands, made Calus instinctively step back.

Her beauty was astonishing. Her skin was smooth and jade-like, and she wore a small, childlike smile on her face.

"Hello," her soft voice sounded.

Calus gulped, his mind racing.

How? How? How? What happened? How is this possible? This… this…

In his last life, Calus could swear Fre had been an only child, just like him. That was one of the reasons they had become sworn brothers.

Yet in this life, he had a sister?

And that sister was the damn witch.

How could this be?

"Calus… are you dumbstruck by her beauty? Yes, she's my twin sister," Fre laughed proudly.

Calus recovered and forced a stiff smile.

"Ah… yes, yes… she's…" Calus trailed off as he looked at Lisa. She gave him a bright smile.

Now things had become complicated.

If he killed her, wouldn't that hurt Fre?

No… wait. Maybe this was just a butterfly effect. Maybe she wasn't evil in this life?

But Calus couldn't believe it.

She had been responsible for his death.

How could she possibly be innocent now?

"The hunt will begin in two hours. Everyone should gather at the gate."

A familiar voice echoed through the area. The kids immediately stopped what they were doing, and Fre's eyes lit up with excitement.

"Yes! Finally, let's go!" Fre said with a grin as he turned and left, unintentionally leaving Lisa and Calus alone.

"Maybe she's not the same… but I'll find out so enough".., Calus thought as he narrowed his eyes.

He felt that things were starting to spiral out of control.

Too many things were no longer making sense.

"Ha, I didn't know you were accepted".., calus paused as he laughed.

" Where have you been? I didn't see you since this week's and fre didn't

mention yiy si Sorry about that. Anyways,

nice to meet you," Calus said with a smile as he stretched out his hand.

Lisa smiled and took his hand.

"Nice to meet you too, Chosen One".. Lisa muttered

as she watched Calus

face grew into shock.

She lean closer as she whispered

"Last time we failed… this time we won't," she said with a bright smile.

A chill ran down Calus's spine.

Even under the bright sunlight, he felt cold all over.

"Lisa! Calus! What are you doing? Come here!" Fre called out as he waved at them.

"Yes, brother. We'll be there soon," Lisa replied sweetly.

Fre nodded and turned back toward the gate.

Lisa then looked back at Calus.

"If you hurt him—" Calus began, but Lisa cut him off.

"You know he's a fragmented part of the Key, don't you?" she asked calmly.

Calus suddenly clenched his fists.

Murderous intent filled his eyes, but Lisa's expression didn't change.

"Remember, I'm his sister in this life. Guess what he'll do if you kill his sister? Do you still think your friendship will hold?" Lisa asked softly as a look of expectation

was seen from her eyes as she looked at calus like a predator looking at a prey.

Calus trembled.

Lisa released his hand, turned around, and walked away.

Calus gritted his teeth as he stared at her fading figure.

Then his eyes widened.

What did she mean by "Chosen One"?

In his last life, he had been nothing but a struggling commoner.

When had he ever been chosen?