Kelvin could feel Headmaster Adrian watching him.
The Headmaster's eyes were calm.
Too calm.
"You don't know what happened?" Adrian asked again.
Kelvin shook his head.
"No, sir."
For several seconds, neither of them spoke.
Then Adrian sighed.
"Very well."
He turned away.
"But understand something, Kelvin."
Kelvin waited.
"Whatever happened today was not ordinary."
"I know."
"The Awakening Crystal has never shattered in that manner."
Kelvin lowered his eyes.
"And that isn't the only problem."
Adrian looked toward the damaged shelter.
"The beast that attacked Valoria disappeared without leaving a body."
John frowned.
"How is that possible?"
One of the instructors answered.
"We don't know."
Michael crossed his arms.
"Did it retreat?"
"No."
"Then where did it go?"
The instructor shook his head.
"That is what we're trying to determine."
Kelvin remained silent.
He knew the answer.
The beast had never truly been there.
At least, not completely.
Its soul had entered the shelter through the connection created by Soul Thread.
But Kelvin couldn't explain that.
Not yet.
Headmaster Adrian turned toward the students.
"Everyone return to your dormitories."
The students began moving.
Sofia stayed beside Kelvin.
"You sure you're okay?"
Kelvin nodded.
"I'm fine."
She stared at him.
"You've said that three times today."
"I'm still fine."
John walked beside them.
"He's definitely hiding something."
Michael nodded.
"Agreed."
Lydia smiled.
"Maybe we should give him time."
Kelvin looked at his friends.
He wanted to tell them everything.
But he remembered the beast's warning.
And the System's hidden quest.
HIDE THE SOUL.
He couldn't risk them.
Not yet.
---
That night, Kelvin couldn't sleep.
The dormitory was quiet.
Moonlight entered through the window.
He sat on his bed and opened his System.
A translucent blue screen appeared.
SYSTEM
Name: Kelvin
Title: Soul Seeker
Class: Unknown
Affinity: Soul
Rank: F
Level: 1
Experience: 0
HP: 100/100
Mana: 100/100
MP: 100/100
Skills
Soul Perception — F
Soul Thread — F
Kelvin stared at the screen.
"Why is my class unknown?"
He had watched Sofia, John, Michael, and Lydia receive classes immediately.
Light Apprentice.
Ice Apprentice.
Darkness Apprentice.
Healing Apprentice.
But his class remained unknown.
"System."
No response.
"Why can't you classify Soul Magic?"
Nothing.
Kelvin frowned.
"System, explain Soul Magic."
The screen flickered.
For the first time, a response appeared.
[ACCESS DENIED.]
Kelvin's eyes narrowed.
"Who denied access?"
[ACCESS DENIED.]
"Who created you?"
[ACCESS DENIED.]
"Why am I compatible with you?"
[ACCESS DENIED.]
Kelvin clenched his fist.
"Then what can you tell me?"
The screen remained silent.
Then—
[Available information: Soul Perception.]
Kelvin sighed.
"Fine."
He selected the skill.
A new window opened.
SOUL PERCEPTION
Rank: F
Description: Allows the user to perceive the spiritual essence of living beings.
Current Range: 10 meters.
Current Accuracy: 37%.
Mana Cost: 5 MP per use.
Kelvin nodded.
"Only ten meters."
That explained why he had struggled to maintain it earlier.
He closed the window.
Then an idea came to him.
He looked toward the empty chair beside his bed.
"Let's test it."
Kelvin activated Soul Perception.
The room changed.
The wooden walls became faint.
The furniture seemed less solid.
Then—
He saw it.
A tiny glowing shape.
His own soul.
Kelvin stared.
It wasn't what he expected.
His soul wasn't completely black.
It wasn't white either.
It contained countless colors.
Gold.
Blue.
Red.
Purple.
Silver.
And at its center...
was a tiny black sphere.
Kelvin's heart began beating faster.
"What are you?"
The black sphere pulsed.
THUMP.
A wave of energy spread through his soul.
Kelvin immediately deactivated the skill.
He gasped.
"What was that?"
He sat quietly.
Then he heard something.
A whisper.
Not from outside.
From within.
"Not yet."
Kelvin froze.
"Who said that?"
Silence.
He waited.
Nothing happened.
Then his System appeared.
[Hidden condition detected.]
Kelvin stared.
[Soul Core: Dormant.]
His breathing stopped.
"Soul Core?"
[Activation requirement: Unknown.]
[Current state: 0.01% awakened.]
Kelvin's eyes widened.
Only 0.01 percent?
He had awakened today.
Yet something inside him had barely begun.
He looked at his hands.
"What happens when it reaches one hundred percent?"
The System didn't answer.
Kelvin smiled faintly.
"Then I'll find out."
---
Meanwhile, in another part of the Academy...
Headmaster Adrian stood inside a dark room.
Several ancient books surrounded him.
Three instructors stood nearby.
One of them spoke.
"Headmaster, we've searched every record."
"And?"
"Nothing."
Adrian frowned.
"Search again."
"We already have."
"Then search harder."
The instructor hesitated.
"There is only one reference to Soul Authority."
Adrian turned.
"Where?"
The instructor opened an ancient book.
Its pages were almost black with age.
He pointed to a damaged illustration.
A figure stood in the center.
Around him were countless kneeling warriors.
Above him floated a strange symbol.
The same symbol that had appeared on Kelvin's palm.
Adrian stared at it.
"Read it."
The instructor swallowed.
"The translation is incomplete."
"Read what remains."
He began.
"Before the Gods..."
"The Soul ruled."
Adrian's expression changed.
The instructor continued.
"Then came the First War."
"Those who possessed Soul Authority were hunted."
"Those who survived were erased."
"Their names were removed."
"Their history was destroyed."
"And the final Soul Sovereign..."
The page ended.
Adrian turned it over.
Nothing.
"That's all?"
"Yes."
Adrian stared at the symbol.
"No."
He closed the book.
"There's more."
"Where?"
"Somewhere."
Adrian looked toward the window.
Toward the dormitory where Kelvin was sleeping.
"The question isn't whether Soul Magic exists."
He whispered.
"The question is..."
"Why did it choose him?"
---
A few minutes later, Kelvin's System suddenly activated.
[New Quest Available.]
HIDDEN QUEST: THE FIRST SOUL
Objective: Reach Level 10.
Reward: First Soul Skill Evolution.
Time Limit: None.
Kelvin's eyes widened.
"Level ten."
He smiled.
For the first time since his awakening, he had a clear goal.
But then another message appeared.
[Additional condition.]
[Do not reveal Soul Magic.]
Kelvin's smile disappeared.
Then came the final message.
[Someone is currently observing the host.]
Kelvin immediately activated Soul Perception.
His vision expanded.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
Thirty.
His range increased.
He pushed harder.
Forty.
Fifty.
Then—
He sensed something.
Someone was standing outside his dormitory.
Kelvin slowly got out of bed.
He approached the window.
There was nobody there.
But Soul Perception showed a faint soul signature.
Kelvin opened the window.
Nothing.
Then he looked upward.
A shadow moved across the roof.
Kelvin's eyes narrowed.
Someone was watching him.
And the strange thing was...
the soul signature wasn't human.
A voice whispered from the darkness.
"So the heir has awakened."
Kelvin's pupils contracted.
The figure disappeared.
Kelvin immediately opened his System.
[Target detected.]
[Unknown entity.]
[Rank: Unable to determine.]
Kelvin stared into the darkness.
His first night as an Awakened had just begun.
And already...
someone was hunting him.
Kelvin stared into the darkness outside the dormitory.
The unknown presence was gone.
But its words remained.
"So the heir has awakened."
He slowly closed the window.
His hands were trembling.
Not because he was afraid for himself.
Because of his friends.
Sofia.
John.
Michael.
Lydia.
They had been beside him for five years.
They were there when he couldn't sleep after nightmares about the Beast Tide.
They were there when he first celebrated his birthday without his parents.
They were there when he wondered whether he would ever become strong.
They were the people who had turned an orphanage into something that almost felt like home.
Kelvin looked toward the beds where his friends slept.
His chest tightened.
If someone was hunting him...
then they were in danger too.
A horrible thought entered his mind.
What if another Beast Tide came?
What if he was too weak again?
What if he watched another person he loved disappear before he could do anything?
His mother's final words returned to him.
Live.
Kelvin closed his eyes.
For five years, he had interpreted those words as a command to survive.
But now he understood.
His mother hadn't wanted him merely to survive.
She had wanted him to live.
To become strong.
To protect the people around him.
Kelvin opened his eyes.
The fear was still there.
But beneath it was something stronger.
Resolve.
He looked at the System.
Level: 1
A bitter smile appeared on his face.
"Level one..."
He remembered the creature from the Beast Tide.
The enormous shadow that had destroyed Elaris.
The creature that had taken his parents.
And now it had returned.
Kelvin slowly clenched his fist.
"I was weak then."
The black mark on his palm glowed faintly.
"I won't be weak again."
He looked at Sofia.
Then John.
Michael.
Lydia.
"I won't lose another family."
The System suddenly appeared.
[Emotional fluctuation detected.]
Kelvin stared.
[Soul Core response detected.]
[0.01% → 0.03%]
His eyes widened.
The black sphere inside his soul pulsed.
THUMP.
Power flowed through his body.
Not enough to make him powerful.
Not enough to defeat a great beast.
But enough to prove something.
His emotions were connected to his Soul.
Kelvin whispered:
"If my Soul is the reason they're coming..."
He looked toward the dark city beyond the window.
"Then I'll become strong enough to make them regret coming."
A new System message appeared.
[MAIN OBJECTIVE UPDATED]
Become strong enough to protect those you have chosen as family.
Current objective: Reach Level 10.
Kelvin smiled.
For the first time, the System's goal didn't feel like a game.
It felt like a promise.
Outside the Academy, something watched the dormitory from the darkness.
Its eyes narrowed.
"The Soul Heir has made his choice."
A second presence appeared beside it.
"And?"
The first figure smiled.
"Now we know exactly how to break him."
Its gaze moved toward the sleeping students.
"Take away the people he loves."
The shadows disappeared.
Inside the dormitory, Kelvin suddenly opened his eyes.
A chill ran down his spine.
He didn't know why.
But his Soul had sensed something.
Something coming.
And this time...
he refused to be powerless.
TO BE CONTINUED...