Chapter 12: The Surface.
Ren didn't pause for a second.
His legs carried him forward with silent purpose, striding confidently across the white marble path leading to the grandest library on the street.
His upgraded ID badge hung from the clip attached to his uniform, still pulsing with the faint glow of activation.
But even as his heart thudded with anticipation from the earlier announcement—the thought of achievement points and special classes dancing around in his brain like candy on a conveyor belt—he didn't waver.
He had made a plan, and it was going to be followed to the letter. Because he wasn't here just to compete.
He was here to dominate. And knowledge was the sharpest blade he could wield.
'There's still an hour before the column unlocks anyway,' he thought, adjusting his collar. 'That's more than enough time to understand what kind of world I'm dealing with, at least.'
He approached the towering glass doors with swift steps.
Runes shimmered across the surface like delicate threads of gold, pulsing once before the doors silently parted like the jaws of a great beast letting in its next meal.
The moment Ren stepped through, his footsteps came to a dead halt.
His breath caught in his throat.