A warning? and New Planet

The three immediately left, leaving Adam alone with the two Crimson scions. The weight of Victor's gaze made it clear—this wasn't a friendly meeting.

"Adam Walker, was it?" Victor finally spoke. "You've broken some of this academy's rules."

Adam's mind raced. 'Rules? What rules?'

Victor continued, as if reading his thoughts. "Unwritten rules. The most important one of which is—lowlives like you don't mix with nobles. And you've been breaking it for days."

Understanding dawned on Adam. So, this was about Owen.

"At first, I thought you were strong, that Owen might be recruiting you for his budding faction. But no, you're just a weak, pathetic Rank 4."

The words cut, 'And you're the strongest man alive?' Adam wanted to say but remained silent.

"Nobles fraternizing with commoners distorts the hierarchy that has been carefully built by our predecessors".

'I see now, they're craaazy' Adam inwardly rolled his eyes.

"It makes other lowlifes think they matter. That cannot happen." Victor's eyes darkened. "I considered making your life hell in this academy and beyond. But I've decided to be benevolent" A cold smile appeared on his face—"stay away from Owen Hargreaves. This is your only warning. Otherwise, the academy will be the least of your worries."

"We should rough him up a bit Vic" the lookalike beside him commented with a grin.

"Nevermind, it's beneath us" Victor waved his hand.

With that, he turned, motioning for his cousin to follow. Adam stood frozen as their figures disappeared. He had read the academy's handbook—unless it involved murder, instructors wouldn't intervene in student affairs. Nobles had the power here.

"Thank goodness that bastard considers it beneath him—If not, I was pretty sure I'd be manhandled today".

His only way out? Strength. If he were strong, no noble could touch him in the academy. And unlike others, he had no family for some spoiled brat to target. 

Still, he needed a way to go about this. Owen was the one approaching him, not the other way around. Avoiding him wouldn't be simple. He'd have to think of something.

With a sigh, he left the combat grounds, heading back to the dorms. A shower helped clear his mind, but his motivation for strength lingered after the earlier encounter. He booked a training room and pushed his essence to its limits, sweat soaking his clothes as he practiced his bloodline abilities.

His null field allowed him to levitate, but it wasn't true flight. Only Rank 1s could achieve that. He needed to refine his powers, maximize what he had, and maybe learn new abilities. After hours of exertion, he finally stopped, drenched and exhausted. Another shower later, he entered his bloodline plane, focusing on the star within.

It was close. So close.

"Just a little more," he muttered. His breakthrough was going to be faster than he thought.

The day of the outing arrived, and Adam woke early, following his usual routine of a morning jog before preparing himself. The academy grounds were eerily quiet, the usual bustle absent as most cadets remained in their dorms, relishing their free day. Only cadets of the special class were up and about, making their way to the portal station.

Upon reaching the combat grounds, Adam noted that most of the cadets had already gathered. His gaze swept across the crowd and landed on Owen, who was engaged in a lively conversation with Ashley, seemingly oblivious to Adam's arrival. Moments later, Instructor Cornwell strode onto the scene, commanding immediate attention.

"Morning, cadets. Good to see that you're all here—or mostly here," she announced, scanning the group. "Once we arrive at our destination, you'll be split into groups of five. That makes forty groups in total."

A purple-haired cadet raised his hand. "Instructor, how will the groups be formed?"

Cornwell's lips curled into a half-smile. "Good question. The groups will be assigned randomly, so your luck will decide your companions."

A murmur of discontent rippled through the crowd. Adam wasn't particularly thrilled either. He could end up with a group of arrogant nobles or commoners like himself. It was a gamble.

His bracelet vibrated, signaling an incoming message. "There. I've sent you your group information," Cornwell said. Adam glanced at his device and read:

**Group 32**\

*Preston Gale – Rank 52*\

*Adam Walker – Rank 178*\

*Dora Pierce – Rank 84*\

*Patrick Sol – Rank 123*\

*Sam Grey – Rank 150*

Adam scrutinized the list. The only notable name was Preston Gale, a noble from a tier-two family under the Ashbourne lineage. The rest were commoners like himself. A sigh escaped him—this could go either way.

"You have ten minutes to find your group and socialize," Cornwell instructed.

As Adam reread the names and images attached to them, a voice interrupted his thoughts. "Hey, you're Adam Walker, right?" He turned to see a brown-eyed girl staring at him.

"Sam Grey, I presume," he replied.

"Yeah, rank 150. Nice to meet you." She offered a smile.

Adam nodded. "Likewise."

An awkward silence hung between them before Sam broke it. "How about we find the others?"

Before he could respond, a blonde girl approached energetically. "You must be Adam Walker and Samantha Grey! I'm Dora Pierce!" she introduced with enthusiasm.

Adam barely resisted the urge to sigh. 'Great, an extrovert,' he thought sarcastically but replied politely, "Nice to meet you."

Soon after, another member joined them. "I'm Patrick Sol, one of your groupmates," he stated plainly. Patrick was utterly unremarkable—no distinctive features, no presence. The kind of guy who could blend into a crowd and never be noticed.

The final member, Preston Gale, arrived with an air of superiority, his blue hair slicked back, a permanent sneer on his face. He scanned the group before scoffing, "Hmph. Pesky low-lives."

Adam's eyebrows perked slightly. He recognized Preston from an earlier incident—he was the one manhandling the two boys at the dorms. This was going to be a long day.

---

Instructor Cornwell led the cadets to a large hall filled with teleporters and a few staff members. She exchanged words with them before turning back to the students. "Listen up. Once you arrive, locate your groupmates and wait for my arrival. Understood?"

"Yes, ma'am!" the cadets chorused.

"Enter the portals in order of your rank," she instructed.

As the cadets went through, the only one remaining was instructor Cornwell. She gave a series of commands before also going through the portal. After she left, one of the staff members feinged going to the loo, but discreetly stepped away, retrieving a small device from his pocket. He spoke into it in a hushed tone. "They have left."

A distorted voice replied, "Since when?"

"Just a minute ago."

"Coordinates?"

He rattled off a sequence of numbers. The voice responded approvingly, "You have done well. The moon shall hear of your service."

The staff member bowed slightly, despite being alone. "Thank you, my lord."

He returned to his post as if nothing had happened, just as one of his colleagues commented, "That was fast."

"What can I say? Fast legs," he chuckled.

---

Meanwhile, Adam watched as cadets vanished into the portal before his turn arrived. As soon as he stepped through, the familiar sensation of being stretched and compressed engulfed him. An instant later, he emerged on the other side, greeted by the gruff command of a military officer. "Move away from the portal, cadet."

He complied quickly, stepping aside just as the next cadet materialized. Before him sprawled an open expanse—cleared land with a blue-tinted ground. In the distance, a dense forest shimmered under the alien sun, its foliage tinged in the same blue hue. To the right, massive gates framed a high wall, marking the edge of a military base bustling with activity.

Owen waved at Adam from a distance while Levi offered a nod. Adam spotted Preston Gale standing alone and chose not to approach. Instead, he waited for the rest of his group, assembling together as each member arrived. Shortly after, Cornwell appeared, accompanied by a high-ranking officer.

"Pleased to meet you, Lady Evelyn," the officer greeted.

"Likewise, Major Cyrus," she responded. "You've been briefed?"

"Of course. Everything is in place."

As they conversed, soldiers distributed smartwatches to the cadets. Adam strapped his onto his right wrist, opposite his academy bracelet.

"Why are they giving us watches?" Dora asked, inspecting hers.

"Because our bracelets won't function outside the academy," Adam explained. "Only the storage and identification features remain active. Everything else is disabled."

"Makes sense," Sam nodded.

Cornwell's voice rang out again. "Listen up, cadets. Your task today is to map the surrounding terrain and catalog new flora and fauna."

A collective groan echoed from the students. Adam sighed internally. 'So much for an outing—this is just free labor.'

"Pain in the ass," Patrick muttered with a yawn. From what little Adam had observed, Patrick could be summed up in one word—lazy.

"Come on, lazybones, at least it's some exercise. But yeah, they should've just said we're here to work," Sam added.

"I'll be happy to help!" Dora chirped enthusiastically.

Adam observed his group with mild amusement. A noble with an attitude problem, a slacker, an overenthusiastic girl, a relatively normal girl, and himself—an odd assortment of personalities.

Ashley raised a hand. "How do we know if a species hasn't already been documented?"

Cornwell gestured to the devices. "Your smartwatches are encoded with the full wildlife codex. If a species has been recorded, the device will glow red. If not, it will glow green and award your group points.

A/N:

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#Your gift is the motivation for my creation.

Let's reach 50 powerstones by Sunday and I'll upload a bonus chapter.