Kai realized something deeply unfair during lunch break.
Too many people at Greyhaven Academy looked like protagonists.
Not side characters.
Not background extras.
Full protagonists.
The kind with tragic backstories, orchestral theme music, and suspiciously attractive lighting during emotional scenes.
Meanwhile Kai looked like a guy who lost arguments against folding chairs.
"This school is statistically unreasonable," Kai muttered while staring at the ranking board.
Rowan Park adjusted his glasses beside him.
"You say that every three days."
"Because reality keeps proving me correct."
Students crowded around the massive digital rankings near the central courtyard. Arguments erupted constantly as rankings shifted after evaluation week.
Some celebrated.
Some looked emotionally destroyed.
One guy near Rank 300 stared at the board like a stock market investor moments before bankruptcy.
Cultivation education was spiritually unhealthy.
Kai scanned the updated rankings quietly.
Still climbing.
Slowly.
Painfully.
But climbing.
That part mattered.
A month ago he would have celebrated entering the Top 200.
Now?
His eyes instinctively drifted higher.
Top 100.
The Beast Vault line.
Free crystal access.
That single reward alone could change his family's future.
Kai's parents never pressured him openly, but he understood reality.
Iron-grade crystals alone cost enough to financially injure middle-class households.
Bronze-grade crystals?
Disaster.
Silver-grade?
Mortgage-level suffering.
And Gold-grade crystals…
Those existed in the category called:
"People Like Us Don't Discuss Those Prices."
Which was why the academy rankings mattered so much.
Kai exhaled quietly.
Originally, his goal was simply entering the Top 100 somehow.
Even Rank 100 guaranteed a Common Bronze-grade crystal.
Free.
No debt.
No family sacrifice.
No loans.
That alone had once felt impossible.
But now…
Top 20 no longer seemed like fantasy.
A Common Silver-grade crystal.
The thought alone made his heartbeat rise.
Silver-grade skills weren't just strong.
They were foundations.
The kind of skills people built entire cultivation paths around.
Kai quickly looked away from the upper rankings before ambition damaged his emotional stability again.
Unfortunately—
the universe immediately introduced more competition.
"Move."
A massive figure stepped through the crowd.
Students shifted instinctively.
Tessa Cardinal.
Rank 97.
Indigenous Canadian.
Combat specialist.
Human demolition event.
Kai once watched her crack a reinforced practice dummy so hard the instructors inspected the wall afterward.
Not the dummy.
The wall.
Tessa glanced at the rankings before clicking her tongue.
"Dropped two spots."
Kai looked concerned.
"You sound disappointed."
"I lost points in tactical analysis."
"That sounds normal."
"I hate tactics."
"Reasonable."
Tessa crossed her arms.
"You're Kai, right?"
Kai instinctively adjusted his hood.
"The shadows whisper my na—"
"You're the medicine guy."
Silence.
Rowan covered his face immediately.
Kai felt his soul leave his body temporarily.
"I have no idea what you're talking about."
"You sold recovery serum to Darren."
"Hypothetically."
"You labeled one bottle 'Maximum Violence Edition.'"
Kai slowly pointed at Rowan.
"He handles marketing."
"I absolutely do not."
Tessa snorted unexpectedly.
Which was terrifying because it sounded like a bear approving violence.
"You're climbing fast," she said.
Kai shrugged carefully.
"Hard work."
"That obvious, huh?"
"You move like someone compensating academically."
Emotional damage.
Critical hit.
Rowan nearly choked trying not to laugh.
Kai pointed accusingly.
"You were supposed to defend me."
"I'm preserving honesty."
Traitor.
Tessa looked back at the rankings quietly.
"Top 100 gets ugly near graduation."
Kai noticed her expression shift slightly.
More serious.
Less casual.
"My brother says desperation makes people stupid."
"Your brother being Cassian Cardinal feels unfair to everyone else," Rowan said.
That was true.
Cassian Cardinal.
Rank 3.
One of Greyhaven's monsters.
Calm.
Precise.
Absurdly talented.
Rumors claimed he once defeated three upperclassmen simultaneously during joint training.
Kai personally believed upper rankings were genetically engineered in secret government laboratories.
Tessa shrugged.
"He still studies like a maniac."
Then she looked directly at Kai.
"If you're serious about climbing, stop acting like this is a game."
Kai blinked.
The atmosphere shifted briefly.
Not threatening.
Not hostile.
Just honest.
Top rankings weren't just competition.
For many students—
they represented their future.
Scholarships.
Guild recruitment.
Military sponsorships.
Resources.
Opportunity.
Tessa walked away after that.
Several students parted instantly from her path.
Kai watched quietly.
Then looked at Rowan.
"She's surprisingly insightful."
"She punched a vending machine because it ate her snack."
"Wisdom takes many forms."
Later that afternoon, Kai and Rowan sat beneath a tree near the outdoor training fields.
Mostly because Kai's body currently hated him.
The morning conditioning instructor apparently believed pain built character.
Kai personally believed lawsuits built character too.
Rowan handed him a cold drink.
"You know," Rowan said casually, "you're changing."
Kai narrowed his eyes.
"That sounded ominous."
"You used to joke about rankings constantly."
"I still do."
"But now you actually care."
Kai looked toward the distant training fields.
Students fought across reinforced platforms while instructors monitored matches.
Some battles were elegant.
Others resembled organized public violence.
A Silver-ranked student launched a shockwave powerful enough to crack stone.
Several first-years applauded immediately like they witnessed celebrity combat.
Kai spoke quietly.
"My parents are getting older."
Rowan remained silent.
"They won't say it directly," Kai continued, "but I know how expensive this is."
Cultivation wasn't fair.
Talent mattered.
Money mattered more.
Even average cultivators spent fortunes maintaining growth.
Supplements.
Training.
Medicine.
Crystals.
Families sacrificed everything for opportunities.
Kai smiled weakly.
"Originally I just wanted Top 100."
Rowan nodded.
"That was already ambitious."
"But now…"
"You think Top 20 might actually happen."
Kai laughed softly.
"Saying it out loud sounds illegal."
Rowan adjusted his glasses.
"You know what your problem is?"
"I have several."
"You keep acting like you're still weak."
Kai frowned slightly.
"I am weak."
"No," Rowan said calmly. "You started weak."
The words lingered longer than expected.
Kai looked at the rankings again.
Still far.
Still difficult.
But no longer impossible.
And that terrified him slightly.
Because hope was dangerous.
Once ambition entered the mind—
it never left quietly.
That evening, Kai entered his Mindspace laboratory again.
White lights illuminated endlessly stretching corridors while machines hummed softly around him.
Elias Mercer stood near a floating analysis screen.
"You are distracted," the scientist observed immediately.
"Too many people have protagonist energy."
"…Clarify."
Kai gestured dramatically.
"One guy is a tactical genius. One girl destroys walls recreationally. Another guy apparently has perfect combat scores."
"Yes."
"How is average talent supposed to survive this environment?"
Elias remained silent briefly.
Then activated several combat recordings.
Elite cultivators.
Failed cultivators.
Dead cultivators.
"The greatest mistake intelligent people make," Elias said quietly, "is assuming talent alone determines victory."
The recordings shifted again.
Gifted cultivators making catastrophic decisions.
Overconfident fighters collapsing instantly.
Powerful people losing because they stopped improving.
"Talent creates potential," Elias continued. "Consistency creates monsters."
The laboratory became quiet.
Kai stared at his own reflection in the glass.
Average talent.
Average background.
Average awakening.
But still climbing.
Slowly.
Painfully.
Relentlessly.
Then suddenly—
Kai grinned.
"Oh no," Elias said immediately.
"You developed another reckless idea."
"If talented people rely on talent…"
"Yes?"
"Then I simply need superior preparation."
The scientist stared at him silently.
Then nodded once.
"Acceptable conclusion."
Kai stood dramatically.
"The ranking war begins now."
"Please define 'war' responsibly."
"No promises."