Chapter 3: The Werewolf Bloodline

Chapter 3: The Werewolf Bloodline

The gymnasium returned to silence, as if the eerie incident moments ago had never happened. The night breeze gently stirred the chains of the basketball hoop, making a faint ding—ding sound. Jack remained standing in place, his face pale, as if he hadn't fully recovered from the terrifying scene.

Tom stared at the floating system notification before him, his eyes flickering slightly.

[Congratulations! You have acquired the skill—Werewolf Bloodline.]

Werewolf Bloodline? What kind of skill was that?

He attempted to pull up the skill details, but the system panel didn't provide a clear explanation. Instead, a small line of text was displayed beneath the skill description—

[Current Skill Level: E (Unavailable)]

Unavailable? Tom frowned. It seemed like this ability required specific conditions to be unlocked.

But just the name of the skill alone was enough to stir up a storm in his mind—rules meant order and constraints. What did the werewolf bloodline signify?

If he could grasp the power to control rules… what would that mean?

"Hey, Tom." Jack finally snapped out of his daze, staring at him with a strange expression. "Did you… already know how to clear the trial?"

"More or less." Tom answered casually, his gaze still fixed on the words [Werewolf Bloodline].

"What do you mean 'more or less'?!" Jack grabbed his arm, lowering his voice with an unusually serious look in his eyes. "You knew something was off here, didn't you?"

Tom remained silent for a moment before chuckling lightly. "Let's just say… I'm a bit more sensitive than you."

"Damn." Jack rolled his eyes. "That sounds scarier than the ghost just now."

He clutched his chest, as if the shock still lingered. "So, what's your plan? Stay here and wait for more of those 'things beyond the rules' to pop out and scare us?"

Tom slightly tilted his head, glancing at the dimly lit corners of the gym.

Something beyond the rules… No, this entire place was probably part of something beyond the rules.

"Let's go. Back to the dorms." He said casually.

"Huh?" Jack was stunned. "That's it?"

"What, you wanna go another round?" Tom gave him a sideways look.

"Hell no!" Jack shook his head immediately and hurried toward the exit, as if staying any longer might cause something to crawl out again.

The two stepped out of the gym. The night breeze carried a faint dampness. The dim lights of the field flickered in the distance, and freshmen were still lining up to collect supplies. Everything looked perfectly normal.

As if what had just happened was nothing but a hallucination.

Tom rubbed his palm, recalling the sudden system notification. He knew very well—this was no hallucination.

The game beyond the rules had already begun.

And he had become one of its players.

Winter Peak Academy Dormitory, Early Morning

Tom and Jack pushed open the door to their dormitory, one after the other. The room was dimly lit, with only the soft orange glow of the streetlights outside casting a hazy light through the window.

Jack shrugged off his jacket and collapsed onto the bed with a long sigh. "I just want to get a good night's sleep and forget all the crazy shit from tonight…"

Tom ignored him. He walked straight to his desk, pulled out a blank notebook from the drawer, and picked up a pen.

"What are you doing?" Jack turned over, his eyes half-lidded as he watched Tom jotting things down.

"Sorting out my thoughts." Tom answered absentmindedly.

He wrote down three key phrases:

[Rules]

[Emotional Fluctuation Value]

[Werewolf Bloodline]

He stared at the words and tapped his fingers lightly against the desk.

The game beyond the rules had some kind of unknown 'rules' governing it. But rules weren't absolute—they could be altered…

Which led to the question—Who was creating the rules?

And more importantly—Who had the power to 'alter' them?

A heavy sense of unease settled in Tom's mind.

He had thought tonight was just a minor accident, but now, it was clear that things were far more complicated than he had imagined.

"Get some sleep." He closed the notebook and stuffed it under his pillow.

After all, tomorrow was the first day of military training. He needed more clues about the "game beyond the rules."

Lying in bed, Tom closed his eyes, his breathing gradually slowing.

But just as his consciousness began to sink into the darkness, that familiar, icy electronic voice echoed in his ears—

[Ding—Detected that the host is entering a sleep state.]

[System adjustment in progress…]

[Skill 'Rule Modification'—Analysis Progress: 5%]

Tom's brows furrowed slightly, but he didn't open his eyes. He drifted into sleep.

2:00 AM, Winter Peak Academy Teaching Building

In an empty classroom, a flickering, abandoned electronic blackboard flashed for a moment before a string of blurry characters appeared—

[Test Subject: Tom Black]

[Rule Analysis in Progress…]

[Rule Number: 0001]

[Permission Level: E]

[Progress: 5%]

[Additional Data Detected…]

[Uploading Data…]

The characters on the screen flickered a few times. Suddenly, as if disturbed by an unknown force, the screen flashed, and all content was instantly erased.

Then—

A pale, twisted hand appeared at the center of the blackboard.

It reached out slowly, as if trying to touch a certain character on the screen.

However—

"Sss—"

A deep warning hum suddenly echoed through the air. The characters on the blackboard rapidly vanished, the hand jerked back violently, and the entire screen was swallowed by darkness.

A moment later, a low chuckle echoed in the empty classroom.

"A rule modifier… Interesting."

The voice disappeared. The blackboard returned to its usual, silent state, as if nothing had ever happened.

5:00 AM, Outside the Dormitory Building

The sky had turned pale, and the air carried the damp chill of morning dew.

Tom opened his eyes, his mind exceptionally clear, as if everything that had just happened was merely a dream.

However, when he lowered his gaze to his palm, his pupils shrank slightly—

On his palm, a line of tiny black characters flickered faintly—

[Rule Number: 0001]

[Rule Analysis Progress: 6%]

Tom's heartbeat quickened slightly.

It seemed this game ran deeper than he had expected.