Chapter 3: The Rules of the Game


    Hunter Academy wasn’t just a school.


    It was a battleground.


    A place where students weren’t just trained but ranked, judged, and discarded based on their potential. The strong climbed higher. The weak became obstacles.


    And me?


    I wasn’t even supposed to exist.


    <hr>


    The Hierarchy of Arkadia Academy


    The school was divided into three major groups:


    <ol>


    <li>


    The Elite (S & A-Ranks) – The golden children of the Hunter world. Born into legacy families, gifted from birth, expected to rise to the top. Their power was absolute. Their influence stretched beyond the school. If you weren’t one of them, you were beneath them.


    </li>


    <li>


    The Average (B & C-Ranks) – Capable, but nothing special. The majority of the school fell here—good enough to be Hunters, not special enough to be feared. They lived in a delicate balance: too weak to challenge the Elite, but strong enough to prey on the lowest tier.


    </li>


    <li>


    The Outcasts (D & F-Ranks) – The expendable ones. Those who barely made it in, or those whose abilities were too unstable, too strange, or too weak to be taken seriously. They were treated like background characters in a story they weren’t allowed to control.


    </li>


    </ol>


    And then there was me—someone who technically wasn’t in the system at all.


    <hr>


    The Teachers & Their Games


    The instructors at Arkadia weren’t ordinary teachers. They were former high-level Hunters, each assigned to oversee different aspects of training. But they didn’t just teach—they played favorites.


    <ul>


    <li>


    Professor Vance (Combat Arts & Strategy) – A scarred, no-nonsense veteran who believed in one thing: strength determines worth. If you couldn’t prove yourself in battle, you weren’t worth his time.


    </li>


    <li>


    Lady Selene (Magic Theory & Applications) – Elegant, enigmatic, and rumored to be a former S-Rank Sorceress. She played mind games with students, testing their intelligence over brute force.


    A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    </li>


    <li>


    Instructor Barlow (Hunter Ethics & History) – The only teacher who seemed remotely human. He actually cared about students, which made him a target for ridicule among the elite.


    </li>


    </ul>


    Each of them had power. And each of them held influence over who succeeded and who disappeared.


    <hr>


    The Standout Students


    Aside from Kaien Aldren, my newfound rival and the poster boy of the Elite, there were other names that dominated the academy.


    <ul>


    <li>Iris Fontaine (S-Rank, Ice Elementalist) – Beautiful, ruthless, and utterly cold—both in magic and personality. She viewed emotions as weakness and had a reputation for freezing people solid for wasting her time.</li>


    <li>Rei Takeda (A-Rank, Lightning Duelist) – A prodigy with a blade made of electricity, known for his explosive temper and near-unbeatable dueling skills.</li>


    <li>Victor Graves (A-Rank, Shapeshifter) – A wildcard. No one knew his true form, only that he could become anything and anyone.</li>


    </ul>


    They ruled the academy with an iron grip.


    And then there were the Outcasts.


    <hr>


    The Outcasts & A New Friend


    The students at the bottom weren’t just weak. They were forgotten.


    Hunters-in-training who either lacked raw power or had abilities too strange to fit the mold.


    And that’s where I met Elias Wolfe.


    He found me in the cafeteria, slouched in a corner, analyzing my new status screen while trying to avoid unnecessary attention.


    "You’re new," he said, plopping down across from me.


    I barely looked up. "And you’re observant."


    He grinned, unbothered.


    Elias had the lean build of a rogue, his uniform slightly disheveled, hair a mess of ink-black strands. His left eye was covered by a mechanical eyepatch, glowing faintly with runes.


    "Let me guess," he continued. "You don’t belong here, but you’re planning to fake it ‘til you make it?"


    That got my attention.


    I narrowed my eyes. "Why do you care?"


    He smirked, tapping his eyepatch. "Because I’m doing the same thing."


    I frowned, scanning him. "You have a Class. A real one."


    "Sure," he admitted. "But my ability’s… not exactly Hunter-approved."


    I arched a brow. "Which is?"


    He leaned forward, voice dropping.


    "I see things I’m not supposed to."


    A chill crept up my spine.


    Elias grinned, like he knew exactly what I was thinking.


    "Don’t worry, though. Your secret’s safe with me," he said casually. "I like collecting interesting people. And right now?"


    His single eye gleamed.


    "You’re the most interesting person in this school."


    <hr>


    The First Test Looms


    I didn’t know whether Elias was a threat, an ally, or just an idiot.


    But I did know one thing—staying under the radar was already proving impossible.


    Because the academy had one rule for newcomers.


    At the end of the week, all new students had to face their First Combat Evaluation.


    A public fight.


    In front of the entire school.


    If I wanted to stay in Arkadia, I had one chance to prove I belonged.


    No pressure.


    <hr>