Early in the morning, the sun slowly started to rise, pale golden light creeping through the gaps in the windows. In a few minutes, Ray would have to attend the Venus house meeting.
But he couldn't wake up.
Last night, both Alice and Arisa had been requesting with their cute, bubbly eyes to play with them more and more, clinging to him like stubborn kittens who refused to let go. Ray had barely managed to leave that house and finally get some rest.
Even if he didn't leave last night, Ray liked to sleep a lot. Sleeping was practically one of his greatest talents. Usually, it was Aunt Mary who would come and wake him up, scolding him while pulling off his blanket.
His wristwatch vibrated twice with incoming calls, the faint buzzing echoing in the quiet room. Ray shifted slightly, frowned, and ignored it. When he realized the caller was Ryan, he cared even less and turned his face deeper into the pillow.
On the other side, when Ryan saw that his friend was not waking up, he shook his head helplessly. Ray, whether in his past life or this one, had always loved sleeping far too much.
Seeing that his best friend wasn't responding, Ryan sighed. He was used to this. After all, he was the only person who had the key to Ray's house. In the past life and in this life, even with formations protecting the place, Ryan was the only one Ray had allowed to enter whenever he liked.
When Ray didn't pick up the second call either, Ryan's lips slowly curled into an evil grin.
Grace, who was standing beside him, felt a chill crawl up her spine when she saw that expression. Still, curiosity sparkled in her eyes. She also wanted to see what Ryan would do to Ray—this side of him was new even to her.
"Wait here," Ryan said casually. "Only I'm allowed to enter."
Grace nodded, half-nervous, half-excited.
Ryan stepped into the formation, the faint ripple of energy parting for him, and opened the door to the house. Inside, everything was quiet. Too quiet.
He walked in and found Ray sleeping peacefully, sprawled comfortably as if the world outside didn't exist.
Ryan made a few quick preparations, a faint cracking sound echoing as he loosened his joints. Then, without warning, he sprinted forward and jumped into the air, aiming a flying kick straight at Ray.
Ray reacted instantly.
He twisted his body sideways just in time. Ryan tried to kick left—Ray shifted. Right—Ray dodged again. The air cracked softly with the force of Ryan's movements, but none of them landed.
Finally, fully awake and realizing his sleep was completely ruined, Ray shouted,
"Okay, okay, I am up! Sheesh! You haven't changed at all with the violent calling."
Ryan landed lightly and grinned.
"That is how I show my brotherly love. You haven't changed either. You wouldn't have woken up by other means."
Ray rubbed his eyes and sighed with a helpless smile.
"Wait there. Let me go freshen up and change."
While changing in the washroom, Ray's voice came from inside, echoing slightly off the tiles.
"You are doing martial arts only, or do you use any other weapon?"
Ryan crossed his arms, smiling proudly.
"Fists and legs are my only weapons. You, I, and Elena used to learn martial arts in the past life. I improved mine along with my cultivation. You didn't learn any martial arts?"
Ray chuckled from inside.
"I learned swordsmanship from my father in this life. He's quite strict. I also learned formations from my mother. So even though I picked up movement techniques and some martial arts along the way, I'm fifty percent a swordsman and fifty percent a formation master."
Ray soon came back out wearing the academy uniform, and for a moment even Ryan paused. The outfit made him look strikingly handsome.
It surprised Ray as well. Instead of ancient-style clothing, the uniform was modern—almost formal. A black shirt paired with fitted black pants gave a sharp, clean look. However, one thing ruined the modern feel.
A blue cape.
He had to wear it to represent his house—Venus. The fabric fluttered lightly behind him, and Ray found it incredibly lame.
Mars wore red capes.
Jupiter wore yellow.
Mercury wore green.
Ryan laughed softly.
"That reincarnated person really went wild with modern academy clothes. Makes me want to laugh. He invented some weird rules too—especially that club system. Clearly, they want new students like us to get bullied."
Ray smiled calmly.
"They do. But there's a safety catch for my club. I have a strong advisor. Even if junior teachers come as backers to suppress it, it won't be easy. Besides, I have you, Grace, Alice, and Aries. Each of you is a child of a leader from a different region or a grandchild of a high-level academy figure."
He paused, then added honestly,
"I also have some backing from my parents—but nothing compared to you all."
Ryan raised an eyebrow.
"What are you talking about? Everyone knows the hero family. Not only your father and mother, but you too. All three of you carry the hero tag."
He smiled knowingly.
"I researched you a little. Whenever your name comes up, people call your family the 'Hero Family.'"
Ray blinked, then chuckled.
"That's the first time I've heard of it. Sounds weird."
He waved his hand lightly.
"Anyway, let's go."
As they walked out, Ray saw Alice, Arisa, and Grace waiting outside, all wearing black dresses. Alice and Arisa had their cheeks puffed up in clear irritation.
Alice spoke first, her voice full of grievance.
"Ray, why is he allowed to go in and not me?"
Ray smiled gently.
"Because I don't want a lady to see my sleepy face. This guy here is the only friend I've made at the academy so far, so he's allowed to wake me up."
He glanced at Ryan.
"He's a bit weird, but get along with him."
Then Ray pointed toward Grace.
"And if he does anything wrong, just call his fiancée. She'll take care of it."
Grace nodded with a polite smile. Alice and Arisa returned the greeting, their anger easing slightly.
Ray then said,
"Let's go. The house meeting will start soon. Alice, you know what will happen if we make Sister Aries wait."
Alice shivered from head to toe.
"H-Hurry, guys! Let's go!"
She dashed ahead immediately, calling for Ray and the others from a distance.
Ray chuckled but offered no explanation. He simply followed. Arisa and the others exchanged confused looks, clearly wanting to know what Ray was talking about, but quickly followed along anyway.
When they reached the meeting place, many new students had already gathered, their voices blending into a low murmur of excitement and nervousness.
In front of them stood four house flags, side by side, each bearing the image of a legendary beast and colored according to its house. Beneath them stood four leaders, their presence imposing and calm.
Behind the leaders loomed a massive building, ancient yet majestic. It seemed that the new students would soon be guided inside.
Ray's eyes quickly found Aries, who was smiling warmly at him. It seemed she had successfully broken through—her aura felt sharper, more stable.
Then Ray looked toward the Mars leader.
Darius.
Darius was staring at him with an ugly expression, his eyes filled with open hostility. If looks could kill, Ray would have died hundreds of times already.
With a snort, Darius turned away.
The Jupiter and Mercury leaders remained as unreadable as ever, their expressions calm, giving away nothing.
As expected, the Jupiter leader, Adrian, stepped forward. His voice was steady and carried effortlessly across the crowd.
"Welcome to the Hall of Four Houses," he said.
"Form four lines according to your house and follow us to the hall behind us."
The atmosphere instantly grew tense with anticipation.