The crowd's attention gradually shifted away, conversations swirling again like a tide flowing past rocks.
Cheers returned to the air, whistles bounced off the towering academy buildings, and holographic screens displayed the next rounds of team assignments.
But Elius wasn't cheering. He wasn't even breathing properly.
His hands were cold and clammy. His heart pounded as if something unexplainable was crawling under his skin—tingling, burning, stirring.
Even with the attention now far from him, his body remained tense, spine like steel, shoulders rigid as if holding invisible burdens. His eyes flicked to his two new companions—his "sidekicks."
The ghostly girl was fidgeting nervously. She hadn't spoken a word since she appeared. She stood with her fingers pressed together, thumbs rubbing anxiously, her face partly hidden beneath her raven-black hair.
Her presence was faint, like a fading dream. People instinctively stepped around her, as if their subconscious minds whispered that she wasn't quite real.
The large, muscular man beside her was no better. Built like a professional wrestler sculpted from bronze, his head was bowed low, his thick neck hunched into his shoulders.
His bright green chicken-like feet tapped awkwardly against the ground, talons scratching faintly. His body radiated power—but also, unmistakable shame.
And then, finally, with slow breathy voices that suited their images perfectly, they introduced themselves.
"H-Hello…" the girl said, voice so light and trembling it was almost lost in the wind. "I… I'm Lina… my, my power is… um… Ghost… Finger… Metamorphosis." Her face reddened, and she quickly looked down. "Sorry…"
"I am… Ron…" the man said in a deep voice, like thunder wrapped in apology. "I transform… into a… giant chicken. Sort of."
There was a pause.
Elius stared at them both, mouth opening slightly. Before he could respond—
Ding!
A mechanical chime echoed in his head, and suddenly—something appeared before him.
A translucent blue screen, hovering mid-air, right in front of his eyes.
Would you like to accept these two individuals into your Cultivation Party?
His heart skipped a beat.
No way.
No. No no no.
His eyes widened, and his breath caught in his throat.
This… This was the exact same screen. The same font. The same chime. The same interface.
From his previous life.
From that cultivation game he had obsessed over. The one he played until his death. The one that appeared last night and created the sword. The one that saved him.
He clenched his fists.
This screen—this prompt—would always appear right before he invited his friends to raid a high-tier secret realm.
It was a precursor to hours-long dungeon crawls, wild boss fights, loot beyond imagination, and near-death raids that only true cultivator bonds could survive.
This was how he and his party formed back then.
But… this was real life.
He closed his eyes, inhaled deeply, counted to three, and opened them again.
Still there.
The floating screen shimmered with pixelated patience.
Not a hallucination. Not a trick.
Reality.
His legs felt weak. He wanted to sit down. He wanted to scream.
What in the hell was going on?
"I can form… cultivation parties… in real life now?" he whispered under his breath, voice trembling.
He looked up at his companions—at Lina, still glancing around in confusion, and at Ron, still clearly wishing he was invisible. He swallowed.
"Hey," he said slowly, voice quieter than usual.
They turned toward him.
"Can you tell me your names again?"
"L-Lina," she said softly.
"Ron," the man rumbled.
Elius hesitated… and then reached out.
"Alright… we'll form a party."
Ding!
The screen changed.
You have accepted to party with: Lina and Ron.
Another screen shimmered into place above it.
Due to Elius being a Cultivator who was adept at Spiritual Cultivation in his past life, the spirit and willpower of the party members will be lifted.
Synchronization detected.
Party Member: Ron – Transformation Unlock: Velociraptor Metamorphosis
Party Member: Lina – Transformation Unlock: Ghost Metamorphosis for five minutes.
Cultivator Perk Unlocked: Elius gains the following passive buffs from his party members:
• +20% Resistance to Illusion Attacks (from Ghost element synchronization)
• Predatory Senses Heightened (from Prehistoric Bloodline connection)
Ding!
Elius blinked.
He staggered slightly, caught himself.
His entire body pulsed. It was as if something clicked inside him—a part of his soul responding to the ancient, universal language of cultivation.
The connection wasn't theoretical.
It was felt.
The air tasted sharper.
The colors around him deepened.
His eyes began to pick up motion more precisely, and a strange instinct began whispering to him about the intent of others nearby—the sound of breathing, the subtle movements of muscle, the fluctuations of aura.
He could feel it.
He could sense his team.
Lina's quiet despair resonated like a whisper on the edge of perception.
Ron's buried fury and strength simmered under the surface, restrained by shame but boiling, waiting to be unleashed.
Elius nearly jumped for joy.
"This…" he whispered, lips trembling. "This… this is real…"
He almost laughed. Almost shouted.
But he restrained himself. Barely.
His mind was racing a thousand miles a second now.
If I can party like this… then does that mean…
He began muttering to himself in frantic bursts.
"I can gain their powers. I can synchronize their traits. The more I bond with them, the more buffs I get. And if I invite more…"
His eyes gleamed.
"That's it!"
He looked around the courtyard—at the endless sea of sidekicks, misfits, oddballs.
All of them are potential buffs. All of them are possible assets. Not tools. Not throwaways.
But party members.
He clutched his temples.
His mind exploded with the possibilities.
"Does this mean I can form a full raid party later? Can I create my own sect? My own guild of cultivators?"
He imagined a lineup of oddball sidekicks—each with strange powers—and himself at the center, weaving them together like a formation master.
With the right configuration… he wouldn't just be stronger.
He'd be unstoppable.
Ding!
Another screen appeared.
Notice: Your Cultivation Party is currently at 3/5 members.
Please invite two more members to complete the formation.
Rewards unlocked upon full formation.
Elius stared at the screen for a long moment, then slowly turned his gaze back to the crowd.
They were still distracted, still joking, still forming teams.
But he—
He had something none of them did.
A system. A party. A path forward.
His heart roared like a furnace ignited.
And then—without hesitation, a small smile on his lips and eyes gleaming with hidden joy—he raised his hand.
Meanwhile, Professor Boom was calling out the next team assignments with his signature flair—each name leaving his lips like a mini explosion.
"Team Six! Wrecksteel with his sidekicks Brick Bounce and Chroma Blaster!"
BOOM!
The names were accompanied by literal shockwaves from his booming voice, causing students nearby to stumble, clothes ruffling in the wind like banners in a storm.
Radiant Man, seated at the high platform just beside the stage, was calmly sipping from a tall glass of solar-infused nectar, eyes partially lidded, the faintest smirk curling his lips. He was satisfied.
No—he was amused.
His son, Elius Northrim, would now have to protect that girl who spoke like a squeaking ghost and that green-footed musclehead who looked like he was about to cry.
Sidekicks who could barely speak a sentence without stuttering or apologizing for breathing.
It was perfect.
Let the boy suffer.
Let him struggle, falter, and reveal that his flashy floating sword trick was nothing but a parlor stunt.
"Sooner or later," Radiant Man muttered under his breath, "you'll have to use the bloodline I passed on to you. Not that ridiculous Esper mimicry you inherited from your mother's side."
He barely looked up as the crowd noise continued—laughing, cheering, shouting. A few minor scuffles even broke out from the sidekicks jostling for positions beside promising heroes.
And then—suddenly, something changed.
A quiet ripple cut through the noise.
It was subtle. Like the moment before thunder.
Radiant Man's eyes flicked open as murmurs began to echo through the courtyard.
Students were pointing. Teachers turned their heads. Professor Boom paused in the middle of announcing "Team Seven!…"
All eyes shifted toward a single raised hand.
It was Elius.
Standing tall, calm, one hand up in the air, expression unreadable.
"…What's wrong?" Professor Boom's thunderous voice cracked across the field, albeit with a note of confusion. "What is it that you want, Sword Esper Hero?"
Elius lowered his hand but didn't flinch.
"I want…" he said, loud and clear.
"…more."
Silence.
Dead silence.
A vacuum seemed to consume the entire field. Every voice disappeared. Even the breeze seemed to halt mid-blow.
"More?" Professor Boom echoed, tilting his head. "What… what do you mean by more?"
Elius met the professor's gaze.
"I want two more sidekicks."
Gasps burst like fireworks in every direction.
"He wants what?!"
"He already has two! You're not supposed to have more than two!"
"Is he insane!?"
"Does he want to die!?"
"This guy just said he wanted more useless people!"
"Is he flexing? Or just brain-damaged?"
The entire student body exploded with confusion, shock, and outrage. Even the sidekicks were murmuring in disbelief.
"He can't mean that…"
"Is he trying to mock us?"
"He must be trying to get expelled or something."
"Or maybe he's—no, wait… is he challenging the system?"
Suddenly, waves of uproar and debate surged through the crowd like a tide of chaos.
Superheroes jeered and argued.
Sidekicks whispered and speculated.
Teachers leaned forward, curious and unsettled.
But up on the stage… Radiant Man just stared.
Stared at Elius with a puzzled look that slowly shifted… into something sharper.
His son's eyes weren't desperate. Nor uncertain.
They were steady. Arrogant.
Almost… proud.
They were eyes that said, Father, you think two burdens are enough? You think that would be hard?
Try four.
Radiant Man's smile slowly faded. Not out of disappointment—but out of recognition.
That look…
He knew that look.
It was the same one he had when he challenged the old World Council by flying straight into a rift swarm, alone.
It was the same defiance that once carved his name into the sky.
"…So," Radiant Man murmured, "you're finally showing some teeth, huh."
Professor Boom, mouth still slightly agape, took a half-step forward, then another.
He cleared his throat—booming, unintentionally—and tried to regain control.
"Ahem—Elius Northrim! Are you sure about this?"
He waited. No answer.
He asked again, louder, more formal this time.
"Sword Esper Hero! I ask again—ARE YOU CERTAIN?"
Still no hesitation. Elius didn't blink.
Boom, eyes narrowing, asked one last time—his voice so loud the clouds above rippled.
"ELIUS NORTHRIM—WILL YOU TAKE RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE LIVES OF TWO MORE SIDEKICKS IN A DUNGEON THAT EVEN HEROES FEAR!?"
This time, Elius stepped forward.
And he spoke with a voice that was not loud, but powerful in its stillness.
"Yes."
He looked up—not at Boom.
But at his father.
And then—he spoke to them all.
"I once thought that I would never be more than a shadow. A forgotten name in someone else's legacy. But I've realized something today."
His voice rang across the courtyard.
"Power… isn't just measured in how much you can lift. Or how hard you can punch. Or how many enemies you can cut down."
He paused, eyes sweeping across the students, the teachers, the sky.
"It's measured in how many people you can protect. Even the ones everyone else has already given up on."
Students fell silent again.
"I don't see burdens," Elius said. "I see people. People who were told they couldn't make a difference. People thrown aside before they even had the chance to try."
He took a deep breath.
"If I can carry more—then I should carry more."
More gasps.
More shifting of weight, glances exchanged.
But Elius wasn't finished.
"You all think I'm arrogant, right? That I'm making a mistake?"
He pointed at Ron and Lina.
"They're not mistakes."
He pointed to the crowd of sidekicks.
"They're not useless."
He looked straight into his father's eyes again.
"I'm going to become number one. I'm going to surpass every hero. Every legend. Every godlike being in this world. And I won't do it by abandoning people."
His voice was fire now.
"I'll do it by lifting them. Taking them with me."
Another beat of silence.
Then he clenched his fist.
"And if that means I have to protect four instead of two, then so be it."
His chin raised.
"I'll do it. And I'll still win."
The students didn't move.
The sidekicks stared in awe.
Professor Boom's jaw opened, then closed.
And then—
SCRAAAAAAAPE.
A metallic screech as Radiant Man's chair was pushed back.
He stood slowly, his radiant cape fluttering behind him.
The sunlight itself seemed to bend as he rose, casting a long shadow.
The world seemed to hold its breath.