“Okay, to better understand this topic, let’s go over what we know about Spirit Force — or, in simpler terms, the Will.”
“Sir, will this be on the exam?”
“No. I’m just covering it to help better explain the phenomenon behind a Portal Break.”
I sighed.
What a boring class it was.
Yes, I finally decided to attend a lecture.
It had been weeks since I last showed up to any class.
Yeah, I hate to admit it, but I had a problem.
Before our first assigned mission, I took a day off just for the hell of it.
Then… it became a habit.
Before I knew it, I had skipped forty-five mandatory classes, thirty-two optional ones, and more than twenty electives.
It just couldn’t go on like this.
So today, I finally dragged myself back to the Academy. And I was already regretting that decision in favor of sleeping the day off.
Slouching in one of the back row seats, I rested my chin on my palm and looked out of the classroom window.
The view outside was as dreamlike as it ever was on Ascent Isles.
From up here, I could see countless second and third-year Cadets bustling in and out of Apex Tower, filling the streets of the Academy City.
I could also see the Sky Gardens. Most of them were still lush, though patches of brown had begun creeping into the greenery as winter was slowly approaching… even though it was nearly April.
Even the sea of clouds on which the Ascent Isles floated looked murky gray today.
Right. It was monsoon season outside the Ascent Isles.
Sometimes, I forgot how jarring it was — this stark contrast between the ecosystem inside and outside the Isles.
A cold wind must have been sweeping through the streets outside as some Cadets shivered, but inside the classroom, the air remained still — stale, even.
I exhaled through my nose and turned my gaze back to the professor.
Right now, I was sitting through one of the mandatory classes — A Guide to the Spirit Realm’s Ecology and Geography.
It was Rexerd Cronwell’s lecture.
With dark hair, light hazel eyes glinting with a hint of amusement, and almost boundless charisma, the man held the attention of every Cadet in the room.
Except mine.
Why? Because I already knew most of what he was saying.
After all, in my previous life, I had spent more hours than I’d care to admit delving into the game’s lore and world background.
Sure, I didn’t know everything.
And I had also forgotten many things.
But I definitely knew whatever he was teaching.
“…Spirit Force is the foundation of all high-level combat. It is a direct extension of one’s willpower. If your Origin Card is your soul, then your Spirit Force is your voice — your command over the very world itself. It is what separates the strong from the weak, the rulers from the ruled.”
His voice blurred into the background for me once again.
I absentmindedly started tapping my fingers against the desk, letting my mind wander aimlessly.
At this rate, I might actually fall asleep.
…But then, as if the world itself had grown tired of that lecture as well, a tremor rattled the classroom.
The windows shuddered. Desks groaned. And a few Cadets gasped in surprise.
I blinked.
Soon, another tremor followed deeper this time. It was a low, resonating quake that made the entire building shudder.
The professor froze mid-sentence. Silence fell over the room, save for the faint creaking of the walls.
“What’s this? An earthquake?” someone whispered.
“No! Are you stupid?” came a sharp reply. “We’re thousands of feet above ground!”
“Then turbulence?”
“We’re not moving either—”
The Cadet’s retort was cut short as yet another tremor raked through the building.
Then, from somewhere outside — deep, distant, yet unmistakable — came a low, guttural roar.
My fingers stopped tapping.
Ah.
Now this was interesting.
Chairs scraped against the floor as every Cadet shot up from their seats to dash toward the windows.
I didn’t bother getting up. My seat was by the window anyway.
Instead, I lazily tilted my head to get a glimpse of whatever had caused all the commotion.
Outside, the once-dreamlike scenery of the Ascent Isles had twisted into something nightmarish.
Cadets on the streets stopped in their tracks and tilted their heads upward. Even a few Instructors and Faculty Members present on the training fields shifted their gazes toward the sky.
Above them — above us all — a massive creature was looming just over the Crown Island.
The creature was so massive that its grotesque form cast a dark shadow over the Isles.
That creature…
At first glance, it resembled a giant wyvern. But the details were all wrong.
Its wings were jagged, like shards of obsidian forcefully embedded into flesh.
Its elongated skull split unnaturally at the jaw, revealing rows upon rows of needle-like teeth. From its spine jutted dark and ropey tendrils, twitching as though searching for something.
It hovered over the Academy like an omen of death and destruction, every beat of its malformed wings sending unnatural gusts that stirred through the gray clouds.
Then, it lunged.
A collective gasp from everyone present filled up the room. Some Cadets even flinched.
But before the winged abomination could so much as graze the Academy’s skyward towers—
—BOOM!
It slammed into an invisible forcefield.
Almost immediately, a crushing wave of pressure exploded outward.
The very air rippled and the heavens shook.
The moment the creature made contact with the unseen barrier, an overwhelming force lashed back at it, sending its grotesque form spiraling through the air.
Now that… was Spirit Force.
Well, an application of it.
And not just any Spirit Force either.
The Central Monarch’s Spirit Force.
The air thrummed with residual energy like a silent warning against any further aggression.
The creature writhed midair, its grotesque form trembling as though finally realizing it was facing something far beyond its ability to defy.
Then, with one last guttural snarl, it twisted its body in the air and fled — vanishing into the swirling sea of clouds.
Silence fell over the classroom.
Then—
“Whoa.”
A single Cadet breathed out the word, and just like that, the tension snapped.
Murmurs erupted and speculation started running rampant.
I simply leaned back in my seat, resting my chin on my hand again.
Professor Rexerd let out a short laugh. “Well, that was far more exciting than my lecture. I guess this was your first time witnessing something like that, right? So, can anyone tell me what just happened?”
Another stretch of short silence filled the classroom for a moment before someone hesitantly answered:
“A beast tried to enter the barrier?”
Rexerd nodded as a half-smirk appeared on his lips. “That’s true. But what exactly happened?”
Another pause occurred, but no one answered.
He gestured for everyone to take their seats. Once they did, he spoke again.
“You see, my dear students, after reaching [S-rank], an Awakened’s soul begins to exert pressure onto the world. Learn how to control that supernatural pressure, and you can do many things.”
He let his words settle before continuing.
“For example, by wrapping Spirit Force around their body, any high-ranked Awakened can negate most physical debuffs and ailments from enemies of the same or lower rank.”
Yes.
That was one of the ways the game balanced overpowered Origin Cards.
Take mine, for instance.
My command over matter itself was an absurdly powerful ability. Right now, I could only perform crude transmutations, but as I grew stronger, I’d be able to do near-godlike things — like altering an object down to its atomic structure or creating almost anything out of thin air.
How could an enemy possibly counter an ability like that?
Well, if they were at or above [S-rank], they could simply shroud their body in Spirit Force. That alone would prevent me from directly harming my enemy by deconstructing their organic tissues or something similar.
…Uness I could use my own Spirit Force to overpower theirs.
Rexerd continued as I mulled over everything he’d said:
“Not only that, but with Spirit Force, you can even achieve the effects of low-level telekinesis. So, that’s cool. And then, of course, there’s an extension of the first ability. If you truly master this aspect of your power, you can impose your will on the world and create a physical barrier.”
He pointed a finger upward.
“That’s what the current Monarchs do. That’s what their predecessors, the first five Monarchs, did to save humanity and gave us safe places to live — Safe-Zones.”
That was correct.
The first five humans to reach [SSS-rank] had imposed their Will onto the world, erecting invisible barriers. Dome-shaped megacities were built within those barriers, later becoming the Safe-Zones.
Those five individuals were then given the title of Monarchs — supreme beings akin to gods who had saved humanity from a world thrust into a nightmare.
A hope for the future — that’s what the Monarchs had given to the world.
That’s why they were worshiped. That’s why their families are still revered today, as they continue to produce new Monarchs.
“Most of the world outside the Safe-Zones is teeming with Spirit Beasts. The very fabric of reality out there feels… thin. You may not have noticed the difference if you’ve only traveled by jet or airbus. But the moment you set foot on land outside a Safe-Zone, you must have felt it — the absence of a Monarch’s protection.”
Rexerd’s gaze swept across the classroom.
His eyes lingered a second too long on me, Michael, Lily, Alexia, Kang, and a few other Cadets who must have come from the Conquered Territories outside the Safe-Zones.
We gave him varying degrees of polite nods in affirmation.
His smile grew. “Now, here’s a question. What makes Monarchs different from the rest of the [SSS-rankers]? Why can’t, say, the Dawn’s Scourge Arthur Theosbane, or the Blackfield Butcher Tywron Zynx, or any other [SSS-ranker] create their own Safe-Zone?”
There was another beat of silence.
Then, just like before, he answered his own question.
“Because the intensity and strength of one’s Will are not equal. We don’t know why, but those born into Monarchial bloodlines possess a Will unmatched by ordinary Awakened.”
Everyone listened in rapt attention as Rexerd prepared to conclude his lesson.
“That is why Monarchs are the protectors of humanity. Take what just happened as an example — The Ascent Isles floated a little too close to the border of the Central Monarch’s forcefield, and all the human souls here attracted a powerful Spirit Beast. But the moment it tried to enter the Central Continent, the Monarch’s Will nearly crushed it. In the end, it had no choice but to flee.”
Some Cadets looked ready to start applauding and cheering from how much the Monarchs were being praised.
But Rexerd wasn’t finished.
“That doesn’t mean the other [S-rank] Awakened who can use Spirit Force — since not all of them can — are useless. In fact, it’s because of them that we can close and open Portals to the Spirit Realm.”
And just like that, he spent the next fifteen minutes explaining what I already knew.
How [S-rank] and above Awakened could tear open holes in the fabric of reality under the right conditions, creating gateways to the nightmarish parallel dimension known as the Spirit Realm.
Or how they could exert pressure on existing Portals, forcing them to collapse and close.
But Spirit Beasts also possessed Will, making the second feat far from easy.
He also talked about a few more things, but thankfully, the lecture soon came to a close right when I was about to drop dead from boredom.
“So, to summarize – Spirit Force is the will of the strong imposed upon reality. At its peak, it can shield entire cities. But it can also crush those too weak to resist it.” Professor Rexerd clasped his hands together, gathered his documents from the lectern, and headed for the door. “That’s it for today. I’ll see you all on Friday.”
The moment he left, the classroom erupted into hushed conversations.
Some Cadets gathered their belongings and left as soon as they could, while others stayed behind, chatting about the creature they had just seen.
I remained seated, lazily watching students filter out.
Michael and Lily were standing near the entrance, discussing something passionately.
Kang accompanied Alexia as she walked through the crowd with eerie accuracy despite her blindness, thanks to the «Senses Enhancement» Card she had traded from me.
Juliana, who had been sitting beside me during class, immediately got up and left for her alchemy elective. I didn’t stop her.
Though, from the corner of my eye, I caught the image of Thalia approaching me.
But before she could get anywhere near—
A loud thud echoed from the hallway outside.
The murmur of voices sharpened and edged with hostility.
A moment later, another thud resounded — this time, followed by a sharp grunt of pain.
The classroom doors were still open, and from where I sat, I had a clear view of the corridor.
A young man in a standard Cadet uniform lay sprawled on the floor, struggling to get back up. A single drop of blood streaked down his chin from the corner of his lips.
Standing over him was another Cadet. No certification was needed to recognize his status — the arrogant look in his eyes and the air of entitled superiority made it clear enough. He was a noble.
His expression twisted with barely restrained disdain as he sneered at the fallen Cadet. “You’re in my way. Know your place, mongrel.”
The commoner wiped his bloody lip and glared up at him. “You bumped into me, you arrogant bastard.”
And just like that, a fight sparked.
I couldn’t help but smile.
And so it begins.