In Ironclad City, strength wasn't admired.
It was enforced.
Every street, every district, every school was governed by one invisible law—rank decides everything. The higher your rank, the wider the world opens for you. Privileges, protection, futures written in gold. The lower your rank… The world closed its doors quietly, mercilessly.
Ironclad City High was where that truth was made painfully clear.
Kael Dominus stood at the edge of the vast awakening hall, fingers clenched at his sides, watching hundreds of students file in with confident strides. Some were laughing. Some were surrounded by friends. Others walked with the calm arrogance of those who already knew their place at the top.
They all had something in common.
They belonged here.
Kael didn't.
"Transfer student, right?"
The whisper wasn't subtle. It wasn't meant to be.
"Heard he's from the outer districts."
"No way. With that surname?"
Kael ignored them. He'd learnt to do that early. Words couldn't bruise you if you didn't let them. Or at least, that was what he told himself.
Above the hall, translucent screens flickered to life, displaying names, family affiliations, and ranking evaluations. The Ironclad System—cold, absolute, and worshipped like a god—was about to pass judgment.
Awakening Day.
The day every student bonded with a beast and determined their worth.
Kael exhaled slowly.
Just get through this, he thought.
A tall instructor stepped onto the central platform. His uniform bore the silver crest of the Ranking Authority. When he spoke, his voice carried effortlessly across the hall.
"Welcome to Ironclad City High. Today, you will awaken your bonded beasts and receive your initial ranks. Remember—your rank reflects your potential, your discipline, and your value to the city."
A pause.
"Those ranked high will be cultivated. Those ranked low… will not."
The meaning was clear.
Students were called forward one by one.
As each stepped onto the awakening circle, glowing sigils rose from the floor. Beasts emerged in bursts of light—flaming lions, thunder hawks, and spectral serpents. The hall filled with gasps, cheers, and murmurs of admiration.
Ranks appeared overhead.
Rank-B. Rank-A. Rank-C.
Each announcement reshaped futures in real time.
Kael watched silently.
Then, his name appeared.
Kael Dominus.
The murmurs sharpened instantly.
"Dominus?"
"That family fell years ago."
"No beast lineage left, right?"
"So why is he here?"
Kael stepped forward.
The awakening circle is activated.
For a heartbeat… nothing happened.
No light. No response.
The silence stretched.
Then the system voice echoed through the hall—emotionless, precise.
"Awakening complete. Rank-E."
Dim gray letters materialised above Kael's head.
Rank-E.
The weakest classification.
The hall exploded.
Laughter rippled outward like a wave. Students covered their mouths, not even bothering to hide it. Some pointed openly. Others shook their heads in mock pity.
A Rank-E at Ironclad City High.
Unprecedented.
One instructor adjusted his glasses, squinting at the display. "Rank-E… Dominus?" he muttered. "Is that even allowed?"
Another laughed outright. "So the rumours were true. The weakest heir."
Kael's ears burned.
He stood frozen as the laughter washed over him, as if his feet had fused with the awakening circle itself. He could feel the system's presence crawling beneath his skin—measuring, evaluating, condemning.
Yet something felt… wrong.
The circle beneath him hadn't deactivated.
A faint pressure lingered, subtle but unmistakable.
Why isn't it ending?
Kael lowered his gaze.
The runes beneath his feet were flickering—not brightly, not visibly enough for others to notice—but fractured, as if struggling to process something it couldn't understand.
Then—
A voice spoke.
Not aloud.
Not through the system.
It came from somewhere deeper, echoing through his consciousness like a distant bell struck in the void.
"Do you wish to command?"
Kael's breath caught.
His heart slammed against his ribs.
This wasn't a system prompt.
There were no glowing windows. No notifications. No confirmation options.
Just the voice.
Ancient. Calm. Absolute.
The laughter around him faded, replaced by a ringing silence in his ears.
'Command?' he thought.
Another presence stirred—vast, heavy, and restrained by something unseen.
"They bind beasts." "You bind authority."
Kael's fingers trembled.
He didn't know why, but instinct answered before fear could.
Yes.
The awakening circle cracked.
A sound like breaking glass echoed through the hall.
The instructors stiffened.
"What was that?" someone shouted.
The system screens flickered violently. Symbols distorted. Rankings glitched.
Then—nothing emerged.
No beast.
No shape.
No light.
Just Kael, standing alone.
The silence returned—thicker, heavier than before.
Then the laughter came back, louder.
"That's it?"
"A summons without a form?"
"He didn't even get a beast!"
"Rank-E fits."
One student wiped tears from his eyes. "This is the most pathetic awakening I've ever seen."
The awakening circle shut down abruptly.
The system corrected itself.
"Anomaly resolved"
Kael felt the presence retreat, not gone, but waiting.
He stepped off the platform, legs steady despite the storm inside him.
No beast walked beside him.
But something unseen followed.
As the next student was called, Kael heard whispered conversations trail behind him like shadows.
"Did you see the system glitch?"
"Probably a malfunction."
"He's still Rank-E. Doesn't matter."
They were right.
For now.
Kael took his seat at the back of the hall, eyes lowered, expression unreadable.
Inside him, the voice spoke once more—quiet, satisfied.
"Contract acknowledged" and
"Sovereign authority dormant."
Kael closed his eyes.
He didn't know what a sovereign was.
He didn't know why the system couldn't see it.
But one thing was certain.
This world ranked power by beasts.
And whatever had answered him…
Was not a beast.