The Central Summoning Region was not a place of opportunity.
It was a place of classification.
Every city under its jurisdiction shared the same rule—at fifteen, every citizen underwent the Beast Awakening Ceremony inside official academies. Those who succeeded were branded. Those who failed were forgotten.
And in the Grand Awakening Hall of Ardent Academy, that system was currently breaking.
The shockwave from Jefferson's strike still lingered in the air.
Cracks spread across the marble floor like fractured veins. Golden pillars trembled under residual mana pressure. Above the hall, instructors and elite observers had gathered on elevated viewing platforms, their expressions tight with growing concern.
"This is not a normal awakening," one teacher muttered.
"We've already escalated containment protocols," another replied. "But that demon… it's resisting classification."
Below them, students were no longer seated.
They were retreating.
Whispering.
Panicking.
Because they all knew what was supposed to happen after a successful awakening.
In this world, every summoner bore a Beast Mark.
A tattoo etched into the soul at the moment of bonding.
It would appear on the body—usually the arm, shoulder, or back—manifesting the symbol of the beast they had contracted. A dragon sigil for draconic beasts.
A flame crest for fire entities. A serpent spiral for poison-types.
The stronger the beast, the more complex the mark.
And once formed—
It never disappeared.
It was proof of ownership.
Proof of power.
Proof of status.
Jefferson Vale already had his.
Five elemental beasts, five glowing marks subtly layered along his forearm and collarbone, faintly visible beneath his academy uniform like divine circuitry. Each symbol pulsed in rhythm with his mana.
He stood at the center of the hall like a living authority system.
Perfect.
Unshaken.
And dangerous in a controlled way.
Jeather did not have a mark yet.
At least—not until now.
The Verdant Abyss Demon knelt in shattered marble, its body cracked with glowing green sap leaking through bark-like flesh. Even in a weakened state, its emerald eyes remained fixed on Jeather.
Not obedient.
Not defeated.
Claiming.
Then it reached out.
Slowly.
Deliberately.
Jeather felt it before he saw it.
A burning sensation along his arm.
"…What is this now?" he muttered.
Dark energy surged beneath his skin.
The hall went silent.
Because they saw it too.
A symbol forming.
Not a normal beast crest.
Not a known classification.
Vines of black-green energy twisted across Jeather's arm, carving themselves into a living tattoo.
But the shape—
Was wrong.
Then it stabilized.
A nine-leaf clover.
Each leaf uniquely shaped, uneven yet symmetrical in its own unnatural way, as if reality itself couldn't decide how it should exist.
The mark pulsed once.
Then settled.
System Alert:
Beast Mark Detected
Type: Unknown High-Rank Symbiotic Entity
Designation: 9-Leaf Clover Sigil
Jeather stared at his arm.
"…That's not intimidating," he muttered.
The demon's energy flickered faintly in response.
Offended.
Jefferson noticed immediately.
His expression sharpened.
Not surprise.
Assessment.
"…A non-standard sigil," he said quietly. "Impossible."
The Storm Serpent above him shifted uneasily.
Even it recognized the instability.
Jeather looked up slightly.
"So that's what this is," he said under his breath. "A brand."
But something felt wrong.
It wasn't ownership.
It felt like recognition.
Like something had chosen him first.
The headmaster raised his hand.
Beside him, his beast manifested fully.
A small creature dropped from the air onto his shoulder with a soft plop.
A frog.
Green.
Serene.
But unlike ordinary beasts, it had a faint golden halo floating above its head like a ring of divine authority.
Its eyes slowly opened.
And the entire hall instinctively went still.
Because this was not just a beast.
It was a governing-class entity.
The Angelic Frog.
It croaked once.
The sound didn't echo.
It commanded silence.
Golden energy spread through the hall, attempting to reassert containment.
Reality itself tightened.
The Verdant Abyss Demon began to dissolve under suppression.
Its body broke apart into luminous fragments.
But its eyes never left Jeather.
And for a brief moment—
Something passed between them.
Not obedience.
Not farewell.
Recognition.
The demon's final fragment surged forward.
Not toward the headmaster.
Not toward Jefferson.
Toward Jeather.
And before containment fully completed—
It struck his arm.
The mark burned.
The nine-leaf clover sigil flared violently.
And something locked in.
System Warning:
Partial Beast Integration Complete
Bond Stability: Unstable but Active
Escape Path Generated
Jeather staggered.
"…Escape path?"
The ground beneath him cracked instantly.
Roots erupted—not chaotic, but structured.
Guiding.
Forming a tunnel of living wood beneath fractured space.
Jefferson reacted immediately.
"Stop him!"
Lightning surged from the Storm Serpent.
But the Angelic Frog croaked again.
The golden suppression field intensified.
For a moment—
Jeather was held in place between two forces.
Lightning and divine seal.
He looked at Jefferson through the chaos.
Not hatred.
Not fear.
Just understanding.
"…You're serious about this," Jeather said quietly.
Jefferson didn't respond.
Because he already was moving.
Heroic.
Precise.
But darker now.
Like judgment had replaced hesitation.
"I will correct this anomaly," he said.
Not angry.
Decided.
Precious stood among the retreating students.
Perfect posture.
Perfect expression.
But her eyes were no longer neutral.
They were calculating.
Curious.
And slightly amused.
"So it chose him…" she murmured softly.
A faint smile formed.
"…How inconvenient."
But her fingers tightened subtly.
Not fear.
Interest.
The kind that leads to ownership.
The containment field collapsed.
The roots opened fully.
Jeather exhaled slowly.
"…Guess I'm leaving early."
The mark on his arm pulsed one last time.
The nine-leaf clover glowed faintly.
And the system whispered:
Bond Holder Priority: Survival
Then—
The ground swallowed him.
Silence returned.
The hall was broken.
Containment shattered.
A mark burned into reality itself where he once stood.
The Angelic Frog slowly closed its eyes.
The headmaster exhaled.
"…Lock down the entire region."
Jefferson lowered his hand slowly.
His expression no longer held doubt.
Only direction.
"I'll find him," he said quietly.
Not a promise.
A fact.
And somewhere beyond the collapsing roots—
Jeather was falling into somewhere unknown.
With a demon that was not gone.
Only waiting.
Inside him.
And the nine-leaf clover mark—
Still alive.