The first week at Valencrest ended without Kael gaining a single point.
His Total Merit Index hovered just above the minimum threshold. Not low enough to raise suspicion. Not high enough to draw attention.
Exactly where he wanted to be.
But Valencrest didn't allow anyone to stay still for long.
The Class E cafeteria was loud.
Not with real conversations, but with phrases thrown out to take up space. Those who spoke the most tried to appear solid. Those who stayed silent were often pushed to speak.
Kael ate slowly.
He counted the movements around him. Footsteps. Trays. Glances.
When silence fell, he knew something was about to happen.
Three students entered from the area reserved for Class D.
They weren't supposed to be there.
One of them—tall, confident, uniform slightly modified—stopped in the center.
"So this is the new Class E," he said. "Smaller than usual."
Someone laughed.
A Class E student stood up.
"You can't be here."
The Class D student tilted his head.
"We can. If we want to."
He turned toward Kael.
"You."
Kael didn't react immediately.
Then he lifted his gaze.
"Yes?"
"You're the one from the tests."
Kael remained neutral.
"Depends on what you've heard."
"That you lost a fight you could've won."
A murmur spread.
Kael set down his cutlery.
"So?"
The boy smiled.
"Then I challenge you."
Total silence.
Inter-class challenges were regulated.
But they weren't fair.
An instructor appeared almost immediately. She didn't intervene. She took notes.
"Name," she said.
"Rhel," replied the Class D student.
Then she looked at Kael.
Kael hesitated a second too long.
"Kael."
His bracelet vibrated.
CHALLENGE REGISTERED
Rules projected in the air:
Physical duel simulation
Closed area
Points transferred from loser to winner
Additional penalties for class disparity
Kael felt the weight of the stares.
If I refuse, I lose reputation.
If I accept and win, I rise too fast.
If I lose badly, I fall.
It was an elegant trap.
Kael nodded.
"I accept."
The arena wasn't large.
Opaque walls. Impact-absorbing floor. Cameras everywhere.
Rhel moved with confidence. He'd fought there before. Kael hadn't.
"Don't worry," Rhel said. "I'll make it quick."
Kael didn't answer.
The signal sounded.
Rhel attacked immediately. Direct. Powerful.
Kael stepped back. Slipped. Dropped to one knee.
A blow grazed his head.
Real pain. Controlled.
Too fast, Kael thought.
But predictable.
Kael stood up slowly.
Rhel smiled.
"That all you've got?"
Kael took a step forward.
Then another.
Enough to look desperate.
When Rhel charged again, Kael deliberately misjudged the distance. He was hit. Fell to the ground.
A murmur from the stands.
Now, he thought.
Rhel stepped too close.
Mistake.
Kael grabbed his wrist. Rotated his body. Not enough to win. Enough to block.
Rhel lost balance. Fell.
Kael released him immediately.
Silence.
Rhel stood up, furious.
"What the hell—"
He attacked again. More chaotic.
Kael retreated once more. His breathing was heavy. Too visible.
Then he did something no one expected.
He stopped.
Rhel struck. Kael didn't dodge.
He fell.
The end-of-combat signal echoed.
WINNER: RHEL
The arena remained mute.
Rhel was breathing hard.
"Told you," he said. But his voice shook.
Kael stayed on the ground a second longer than necessary.
When he stood up, the instructor spoke.
"Point transfer executed."
Kael looked at his bracelet.
He had lost points.
But not many.
Annotations scrolled across the instructors' screens:
Spatial control: high
Risk management: anomalous
Suspicious voluntary loss
Rhel exited the arena.
He didn't look at Kael.
That evening, Class E felt different.
Not better.
More alert.
A boy approached Kael.
"Why didn't you finish him?"
Kael answered without raising his voice.
"Because it wasn't my fight."
"Then whose was it?"
Kael looked upward, where the Class D area began.
"The system's."
In a quiet office, Maera studied the data.
"He could've turned it around."
Arden nodded.
"And chose not to."
"Why?"
Arden smiled faintly.
"Because now Rhel will avoid him.
And the others will underestimate him."
Maera crossed her arms.
"And if someone provokes him again?"
Arden looked at the screen.
"Then it will be a choice."
Kael, in the dormitory, stared at the ceiling.
The pain in his side was real.
The result, controlled.
A visible defeat, he thought.
An invisible message.
Valencrest had taken note.
And someone, somewhere, had just begun to wonder
why a loss could feel so intentional.
End of Episode 6.