Morning sunlight poured through the misty clouds above Emberflame Province, casting a soft glow over the cobbled streets. Yet beneath the gentle light, the air buzzed with energy—crowds moved quickly, voices murmured, tension quietly building.
Ryan stood silently before the entrance of the Awakener's Guild, his gray-blue cloak still damp with morning dew.
The area was far more crowded than usual—understandable, as the Federation's live combat entrance exams were approaching fast. Every qualified student was scrambling for last-minute preparations.
Without hesitation, Ryan stepped inside. Behind the reception counter, the familiar young woman in her pale-gold uniform glanced up. Upon recognizing him, her eyes flickered slightly, then curved into a professional smile.
"Good morning, Mr. Blackwood. Another mission today?"
"Yes." His reply was brief, calm as ever.
[System Notification: Current maximum task level available – Tier B.]
Hovering mission scrolls shimmered in mid-air across the board. Ryan raised a hand, selecting a new hunting assignment. A quiet chime followed.
[Task Accepted: B-083 – Exterminate the Parasite Swarm near Crimsonflame Outskirts.]
"Good luck," the receptionist murmured as he turned away. Her gaze lingered for a moment longer than necessary.
Over the past few days, she had seen this forbidden-class summoner come and go like a shadow. Where others needed a full day for one mission, he returned in mere hours—efficient, unshakably composed, never asking questions, never failing.
In the days that followed, Ryan became a phantom around the outer regions of Crimsonflame.
He hunted down beasts, cleared out lairs, rescued trapped merchant caravans, even slew mutated magic beasts in twilight ambushes.
Every engagement, every task—regardless of terrain or threat—he handled with surgical precision. No wasted movements, no reckless gambits. Only results.
His summoned creatures moved like elite units, trained and loyal. Each Nightmare Imp obeyed without hesitation. The shared-vision network and mental tether gave Ryan perfect control of every field.
His task history updated faster than the administrators could file it.
His experience bar climbed without pause.
Until the sixth evening.
After slaying a rare forest Splitfang Demon, a warm golden light surged around him.
[Level Up Achieved.]
[Current Level: 10]
[New Active Skill Unlocked]
[Summon Capacity Increased]
[All Attributes Increased]
Ryan stood at the edge of the woodland clearing, the setting sun casting long shadows behind his figure. Fourteen Nightmare Imps knelt silently behind him in perfect formation.
He opened his system panel:
[Name]: Ryan Blackwood
[Class]: Demon Summoner (Forbidden)
[Level]: 10 (3.50%)
[Strength]: 100
[Agility]: 100
[Intelligence]: 200
[Spirit]: 200
[Endurance]: 100
[Equipment]: None
[Summon Slots]: 14/20 (Nightmare Imps: 14)
[Active Skills]:Summon Nightmare Imp (Level 10),Summon Flame Imp (Level 10)
[Passive Skills]:Abyssal Link,Abyssal Endurance
[Abyssal Link]: All summons gain +200% to all attributes. share combat vision; reveals hidden enemies.
[Abyssal Endurance]: Damage taken -30%; 20% additional damage is transferred to summoned units; immune to one fatal strike (300s cooldown).
"Level ten," Ryan whispered.
It was the first real threshold for any Awakener. From this point, everything changed—attribute spikes, second skill unlocks, even his summon count had increased.
A new option appeared: Summon Flame Imp.
[Name]: Flame Imp
[Race]: Low-Tier Demon (Contracted)
[Strength]: 150
[Agility]: 150
[Intelligence]: 500
[Spirit]: 500
[Endurance]: 100
[Skill]: Flame Barrage
[Loyalty]: Absolute
[Flame Barrage]: After a short cast, deals area-of-effect damage based on Intelligence.
A ranged magic-based demon. Perfect to pair with the melee-focused Imps for tactical combinations.
The system also displayed an update to his Nightmare Imps:
[Name]: Nightmare Imp
[Race]: Low-Tier Demon (Contracted)
[Attributes]: 200 in all categories
[Skill]: None
[Loyalty]: Absolute
Balanced stats, but terrifyingly powerful thanks to the Abyssal Link multiplier. At this point, they could rival some elite units from legendary-tier classes.
Later that evening, Ryan returned to the Guild to report.
The receptionist's eyes widened as she read his profile.
"You're... already level ten?"
Ryan nodded.
She lowered her voice instinctively. "You're the fastest recorded to reach level ten in Crimsonflame Province history. Possibly one of the fastest in the entire Federation."
She quickly completed his registration and handed over a silver-gray badge.
"This marks your qualification for the live combat entrance exam. Please wear it during the exam. The assessment begins tomorrow at three in the afternoon. Don't be late."
"Thank you."
As he turned away, she watched his figure disappear into the crowd.
"This year's exam," she murmured, "might just be legendary."
The next afternoon, in the western quadrant of the province, candidates began gathering at the special test plaza.
Emberflame Province's frontline combat class students arrived in full uniform—familiar faces among them. Emily, calm and focused. Gavin, enthusiastic, shield slung over his back.
The Federation instructors oversaw the operation directly, utilizing a simulated dungeon system to immerse participants in randomized trial fields—ambush, siege, survival. Performance would be evaluated across multiple factors.
In the crowd, Gavin spotted Ryan and ran over.
"Yo! You're really level ten already?"
"Yeah."
Gavin whistled. "You monster. I've been grinding like hell just to barely hit six. Are you even human?"
Ryan gave him a look. "You've improved."
Not far away, Emily stood at the front. She heard the conversation, her gaze drifting toward Ryan.
She watched him silently, emotions shifting behind her composed eyes.
Around her, classmates whispered in awe. "He skipped grinding the trial dungeon and just did Guild tasks… Is that even allowed?"
Emily didn't respond immediately. After a moment, she said softly, "He was never ordinary."
Then added in a murmur, almost to herself:
"To reach this level… I admit it. I'm not as good as you."