Death Again?

A small, hesitant voice cut through the silence.

"Um…" She cleared her throat.

Ren's eyes snapped toward the sound.

Mei stood up. She had introduced herself earlier. She had a delicate look, soft blue eyes, and a nervous energy.

She swallowed hard but she didn't sit back down. Her voice was quiet, but somehow, it carried through the room.

"I get that you're upset," she said, glancing at Ren before quickly looking away. "But… what everyone is trying to say is that getting into the academy at all is already a big deal."

Ren narrowed his eyes, he was ready to argue, but something about how she said it made him pause.

Mei fidgeted with the hem of her sleeve. "For people like us… people without powerful backgrounds, just being here means something. It means we have a chance."

She took a deep breath, and tried her to steady her voice.

"I know it's unfair. The ranking system, how they decide where we belong based on who our parents are instead of what we can do, it's frustrating. But… Class D isn't the end. It's the start."

Mei finally looked up and met Ren's eyes. There was no fear in it, just honesty. "We all came here to get stronger. And even if they see us as weak, even if they push us to the bottom, that doesn't mean we have to stay here."

"I'm from the Seiryu Clan," she continued, shifting uncomfortably as everyone's attention stayed on her.

"But my mother was just a servant. My father is a noble, he used her and left me with her."

A few murmurs ran through the room. Even Shiku raised an eyebrow.

Mei hesitated but didn't stop. "I was never supposed to exist. My clan only keeps me around because my father was someone important. But the truth is… I've never belonged anywhere. If things were fair, I wouldn't even be standing here."

She clenched her fists and looked directly at Ren, her voice was firm now.

"But I am here. And that means I have a shot. We all do. Even if they look down on us, even if they stick us in the lowest class, just being here means we have a chance to prove them wrong. And I'd rather take that chance than waste time being mad."

Mei hesitated for a moment before she continued though her voice was still soft but firm.

"I don't know exactly how you feel," she said, looking straight at him. "But I do know what it's like to be looked down on."

Ren's jaw tightened.

"In our clans, we've been invisible our whole lives," she went on. "No one sees us. No one cares about us. The head of the academy even said it, only the firstborn kids from noble families were supposed to be here. The rest of us? We weren't even meant to make it in."

Ren scoffed and crossed his arms. "And that's supposed to be a good thing?"

Mei shook her head. "No. But it's something we can use. We fought to get in, even if the system is unfair. Even if they don't think we deserve real training, the fact that we're here means they can't ignore us. If we weren't in the academy at all, no one would even know we exist."

The room fell silent. Even Shiku, who had looked skeptical at first, started nodding slowly.

Ren clenched his fists. He got what Mei was saying, he really did. And maybe the others were fine with starting at the bottom, with taking whatever they could get, even if it wasn't much. Maybe they were willing to accept the scraps and be grateful for it.

But he wasn't.

He refused to believe he was meant to stay at the bottom.

He opened his mouth and was ready to say something to remind everyone that being here wasn't enough. But he stopped himself.

There was no point in arguing when Mei had already said everything with so much calmness and honesty.

With a frustrated grunt, he pushed his chair back and stormed out of the classroom.

The next few days were nothing short of torture.

Ren barely spoke. Not to his classmates. Not even to Shiku.

He moved through the academy like a shadow, he ate in silence, he only showed up for training just enough to avoid trouble before shutting himself in his room. The energy in Class D made his skin crawl.

These people didn't even act like they were here to be warriors. They laughed, joked, made friends, and went about their days like they weren't stuck in the lowest rank. Like they weren't supposed to be fighting to prove themselves.

It drove him insane.

Shiku tried at first. She knocked on his door, she threw a pillow at his head during meals, she even tried annoying him into a reaction, but Ren ignored her.

He wasn't mad at her. He was just tired.

Tired of trying. Tired of hoping.

If this was the fate given to him, then so be it. If Akane decided to give him the system when he turned eighteen, fine. If not? That was her business.

Either way, he wasn't wasting any more energy chasing something that kept slipping through his fingers.

One day,, with his hands shoved into his pockets, he wandered through the academy halls. Frustration simmered in his chest. He had no destination, no plan, it was just a storm of emotions brewing inside him.

Then, he passed a massive, open training hall.

Loud voices. Bursts of energy. Class A.

He stopped.

Inside, the top students of the academy were training under a strict-looking instructor. The air itself seemed alive with power as he guided them, showing them how to control their essence, how to sharpen it like a weapon.

Then, whoosh!

A sudden explosion of flames shot through the hall.

Ren's eyes locked onto the source.

Riya.

Her fire burned hotter than ever, flames crackled in the air with an intensity that even made Riku raise a brow.

She flexed her fingers and stared at them like she was seeing her own power for the first time. A slow smirk crept onto her lips. Then, without missing a beat, she turned to Riku and her voice dripping with irritation.

"What kind of tutor is this?" she muttered with her eyes still fixed on the instructor. "Father knew about him all this time, and he never brought him to train me personally? All these years wasted."

Riku let out a sharp breath and gave a small nod. He was already seeing where this was going.

Riya clenched her fists with the flames still flickering around her.

"If I had this training earlier, I would've been so much stronger."

Ren stood near the massive pillars of the training hall, half hidden in the shadows. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but the second Riya started talking, something in him tensed.

"This tutor…" she continued, flexing her fingers as small embers danced between them. "Just one lesson, and I'm already stronger."

She turned to Riku. Her eyes gleamed with something dangerous.

"I wasn't expecting much from this academy, but if the training keeps up like this, I'll be stronger than I ever imagined."

Riya had always walked like she owned the world. She had never once doubted herself and now, she was realizing she could go beyond her limits.

Ren's breath hitched.

A sharp twisting feeling coiled in his chest.

If Riya keeps training like this… If she keeps getting stronger…

She could awaken a power that could take everything from him. She could awaken a power strong enough to claim the title of Dragon Lord. Strong enough to burn him out of existence.

A bitter taste filled his mouth.

He wasn't supposed to be standing here. He wasn't supposed to be lurking in the shadows while she thrived. He was supposed to be better.

No.

A fire ignited inside him.

He wasn't going to sit around in Class D like some forgotten nobody. He was going to fight his way to Class S, even if it killed him. He wasn't going to let Riya take what was his.

Lost in thought, he didn't notice the shift in energy until the hall fell silent.

There was a rule in the academy. If you were caught where you weren't supposed to be, you were expelled. No second chances.

Then, Riya's gaze snapped to him.

Her smirk faded for just a second before her eyes darkened.

"Hey, you." Her voice rang through the hall, it was sharp and commanding. "What are you doing there?"

Ren's heart pounded.

He was done for.