A wall of water surged up around Lian, sealing off his escape.
Before he could react, the scythe wielder had already closed the distance, the curved blade resting cold against Lian's neck. One more push and it would be over.
They were about to finish it.
Then both of them stiffened.
The water wall collapsed instantly, splashing uselessly to the ground. The scythe remained as it was already summoned and fully materialised, but its rune circuits switched off. No abilities. Just raw metal.
Both of them faced backlash but the scythe guy didn't give into the pain.
Still, the blade stayed pressed against Lian's throat.
Lian slowly raised both hands. "Alright. I give up," he said calmly. "You can take my flag. Just let me pass and reach the centre."
He paused, then added casually, "Or we can do this the hard way. One of us three will get eliminated or I can even make sure all three of us if you like."
The two enemies exchanged a glance. A few seconds passed. Then, they nodded to each other.
The rich guy spoke up first in a demanding voice.
"What rune was that? The one that can make other runes fail. Hand it over, I want that."
Lian tilted his head. "And how do I know you'll keep your word?"
The answer came without hesitation.
"I swear on my clan's honour."
That was enough.
Lian knew it from the original owner's memories. Almost everyone in the academy, especially those tied to the military families or major clans, treated honour like law. A clan oath wasn't something they broke lightly.
Still, Lian didn't respond immediately.
He wasn't doubting them.
He was just buying time.
Meanwhile, the scythe wielder didn't bother waiting.
He reached into Lian's bag, pulled out the flag, and finally lifted the blade away from Lian's neck. The pressure vanished, but the danger didn't.
Lian exhaled quietly.
Then he summoned the rune.
A small circular disk materialised above his palm, hovering steadily. It was no bigger than a wristwatch, but its design was dense and deliberate. Concentric coil-lines spiralled outward in tight, precise loops, forming an intricate circuit etched in faint silver light. At the centre sat a translucent black stone, glassy and deep, as if it swallowed light instead of reflecting it.Two short antennae protruded upward, slightly angled, vibrating almost imperceptibly.
The Interference Rune.
The first rune Lian had ever created after coming to this world.
His trump card.
His face tightened as he tossed it over, while forcing a hint of reluctance into his expression.
The rich guy's eyes lit up the moment he caught it. Without hesitation, he slotted it into his rune deck which is commonly used to store runes. The deck clicked softly as it accepted the new addition.
"How do I use it?" he asked, already impatient.
Lian replied simply, "Pour your ether into it. Wait until a power button mark appears on your wrist."
The rich guy did exactly that.
Ether flowed.
A blue power symbol blinked into existence on his wrist.
For half a second, everything was fine.
Then—
Boom.
His bracelet shattered, and he dropped unconscious on the spot. His expensive armour only blocked external attacks—something Lian had figured out earlier after watching him suffer severe backlash when his water wall was forcibly deactivated. From that moment on, the weakness was obvious. And Lian decided to take advantage of that and the psychology of the rich guy who values weapons above skills.
Previously the interference rune had no effect on the armour or the bracelet handed by the academy.
Their frequency was different from attack runes—much lower.
To disrupt attack-type runes, Lian would normally have to stay within five or six meters. But for low-frequency runes like bracelets or armour, the effective range dropped to just a few inches.
Close enough for mutual elimination.
That wasn't an option.
So Lian chose a different approach to eliminate that guy.
The moment the scythe wielder returned, Lian had already done the math. Two versus one with zero chance of him winning.
So he stopped trying to win and started building a trap.
A position where he appeared to be losing, yet still held the initiative.
He knew they would demand the rune.
So he tuned its frequency lower in advance—low enough that when the rich kid tried to activate it, the bracelets in close proximity would de activate.
Before the scythe wielder could process what had happened and shift his focus to Lian, thick smoke flooded the area. Visibility dropping to zero.
Then a gentle hand touched against his neck.
The next instant, electricity surged through his body.
His muscles locked. His vision went white. The flag slipped from his grasp as he collapsed and slowly trying to get up.
By the time the smoke began to thin, Lian was already walking out of it.
Thermal goggles rested over his eyes. A red flag hung loosely from his hand.
Calm. Unhurried. He simply walked towards the central tower.
--
As Lian stepped into the tower, the air turned cool. Dim light filtered through cracks and broken windows, cutting thin rays through the darkness.
Lian climbed to the first floor, where a massive projector displayed the results for everyone to see. Names shifted and rearranged as scores finalized. As students gathered around, some cheering, some swearing, some staring in disbelief.
Lian's eyes found his name.
Rank: 10
Name Lian Vardan
Kills: 0
Score: 100
Below him, his teammates' names followed. Each of them had the same score, with varying kill counts.
"Oh look someone got into top 10 with 0 kills"
"he also scored a 100"
The whispers started.
Side glances. Curious looks. Thinly veiled suspicion.
A few students approached him, unable to hold back their curiosity. "How'd you manage to grab a flag and make it all the way here?"
Lian answered casually with an innocent and humble smile.
"My teammates found it. They held off the opponents while I focused on running it to the tower."
Nothing more. Nothing less.
They believed him.
Everyone knew Strength was not always about dominance. Sometimes, it was about teamwork and control.
One should try to appear Strong when he is weak and Appear weak when he is strong.
But Lian is someone weak who carried far too many secrets, he is unsure if he could defend himself if they got exposed so he must appear just strong enough to seem competent and not strong enough to be overlooked.
As Practical Combat wrapped up, so did their first year at the academy.
Later, Lian walked out of the ruined city as the sun dipped toward the horizon. The broken skyline burned orange and gold, shadows stretching long across the cracked ground.
Sunny, Nox, and Lin Ling were already there waiting for him.
Sunny glanced up when he saw him.
"Looks like you made it."
Lian nodded. "Yeah. We all scored a hundred."
Nox's eyes lit up instantly. "Then it's celebration time. Lin Ling's paying for everything."
Lin Ling froze. "What the hell did I do to deserve that?" he protested. "I'm already running out of pocket money."
No one listened.
They ended up at the academy cafeteria, plates stacked high, the tension from the battle finally draining away. For the first time since the match began, it felt… normal.
Nox leaned back in his chair, clearly satisfied.
"I'm calling it now. Lian and Lin Ling are both going to Class A next semester."
Lian immediately shook his head. "No chance. I'm a hundred percent sure I won't be in Class A."
Nox smirked. "Stop lying. If you do get into Class A, you're paying for our lunches for a whole week."
Lian didn't hesitate. "Fine. Bet."
Then he added, glancing at Lin Ling, "But I'm pretty sure he will make it."
Lin Ling scratched his head then adjusted his glasses. "I don't know. There's a chance, sure, but it's not that high."
He paused, then looked at Sunny.
"By the way… you've been really quiet."
Sunny stared at his food for a moment before answering.
"I messed up the written exams pretty bad. I might end up in Class C. Who knows… next semester, we might all be in different classes."
He smiled faintly. "That'd be kinda sad."
Nox raised an eyebrow.
"Didn't know you even cared about us. Thought you only cared about girls."
For a second, Sunny stared at him. Then he laughed.
The table burst into laughter with him, the earlier heaviness dissolving like it had never been there. Plates emptied. Jokes piled up. Time slipped forward without anyone noticing.
Later that night, Lian sat alone in his dorm.
The room was quiet, lit only by the dim glow of a desk lamp. He leaned back in his chair, notebook open, pen moving slowly as he scribbled lines and crossed them out.
"Let's conclude the gains and losses," he muttered.
He hadn't had the time to properly analyse his situation until now.
Losses first.
He was almost certainly ending up in Class D.
The Interference Rune was gone, traded away and one day might be used against him.
His first Year had slipped past before he could truly exploit it.
He was also low on money after creating that rune and modifying several others for his squad.
And once the results were announced, his parents would either cut his allowance or stop sending money entirely.
That one stung more than he wanted to admit.
He tapped his pen against the paper.
Now, the gains.
He avoided getting expelled. That alone mattered.
Remaining in the academy meant access to resources, systems, and people that didn't exist outside its walls.
Connections like Kair were useful.
And beyond all that…
Being transmigrated into this world was, objectively, a stroke of fortune.
Unlike his previous world, this one had a vast recorded history, layered civilisations, and technology shaped by ether. Ether itself changed everything. Energy that could be shaped, tuned, weaponized, engineered.
Possibilities that simply did not exist before.
Maybe here, he could actually chase the goal that had been impossible in his old life.
Still, when he zoomed out and looked at the bigger picture, his position hadn't changed much.
An insignificant existence.
A pawn.
A life whose fate was written by those standing higher above.
"Time to make plans for next week."
First priority: upgrade his rune deck.
Cheap tricks like the Interference Rune wouldn't stay effective for long. By the end of next semester, most students would reach Sequence 2 and mastered ether control.
Going into class A has many benefits which I have to make use of before leaving this academy and I also need to get strong as fast as possible. I clearly don't have skills or talents but since when did I play fair.
The lamp flickered softly as Lian closed the notebook, eyes sharp with intent.
The game had just started.