The room was sleek, with warm wood panels, and soft ambient lighting that gave the space a golden hue.
A minimalist painting hung above the bed, its strokes subtle but expensive. The polished stone floor was softened by a thick navy rug, and a discreet screen on the wall displayed the time in gentle white text.
It was modern elegance—refined without being cold.
Lying on the queen-sized bed, tangled in silver-blue sheets, was a young man—Leon Kael.
His long white hair spilled across the pillow like silk, his face carved with such absurd perfection it could make even nuns question their vows. Or worse—men their preferences.
Without warning, his eyes snapped open. Piercing blue, cold and clear. For a second, he just stared at the ceiling.
Then, slowly, he turned to the other side of the bed but there was no one there.
Only a letter that was on top the neatly fluffed pillows.
Leon blinked once, before he reached for it.
The handwriting was unmistakable.
> "Morning, sleepyhead.
Sorry for leaving like a dramatic mistress in a typical romance novel. I would've stayed, but you looked too peaceful to wake up—and honestly, I didn't want to go another round this morning because I knew if you asked for it again I won't have been able to say no. And we both need to be in good shape for today. But don't worry, I'll make it up to you after the Trial Summoning. Assuming you don't die.
With love (and just a little regret),
Elizabeth."
Leon stared at the note. Then, with a soft groan, he muttered, "Shit. That's today."
He shot up, hair a mess of silver threads, as he stumbled to his feet. The summoning arena wasn't exactly known for being forgiving of late arrivals.
"Why the hell didn't she wake me up?"
He paused halfway through pulling on his boots—then sighed. Right. It was Elizabeth. Of course she didn't. She probably thought it would be funny.
He disregarded the excuse she gave in the letter he knew her to well already.
"Why," he grumbled, slinging his coat over his shoulders, "couldn't I have just fallen for a normal person?"
With one last muttered curse, Leon Kael shoved open the door and dashed toward destiny—or at least toward the most important summoning of his life.
....
Leon arrived at the summoning arena just in time, his coat half-fastened and his silver hair slightly disheveled from his mad dash towards the Arena gates.
The guards gave him a passing glance but didn't stop him—trial candidates had priority today.
Inside the massive arena, hundreds of young men and women stood in neat formations, tension thick in the air.
All of them were the same: candidates on the brink of becoming Trial Takers, summoned to another world where strength was law and survival was not guaranteed.
Outside the high security gates surrounding the arena, crowds had gathered—friends, lovers, families—watching from designated observation platforms.
Their faces were a collage of pride, fear, and forced smiles.
Leon's sharp blue eyes scanned the crowd and landed on his family.
His mother stood at the front, her hands clasped tightly but her expression calm. She hadn't slept last night either, he guessed.
His father and older sister were beside her, faces unreadable as always, like statues carved from stoicism itself.
Leon lifted a hand, about to jog over and greet them—
But A sudden hush fell over the arena. The Overseer had arrived.
Leon mouthed a silent apology.
His mother gave a soft nod in return, eyes warm with understanding. His father barely moved, and his sister didn't blink—but he was used to that.
He slipped into formation with the other candidates just as the Overseer stepped forward.
That's when he saw her.
Elizabeth.
Standing at the far end of the line, her black hair cascading down her back like midnight silk, catching the sun just right.
Her clothes hugged her curves with tailored perfection—functional yet impossible to ignore. Her lips curled slightly, like she knew exactly what she was doing to the poor souls trying not to stare.
Leon, tragically, was not immune.
Then—
Ahem.
The Overseer's cough echoed across the arena, snapping the entire crowd into stillness.
Leon blinked, his eyes flicking back toward the podium like a guilty schoolboy caught mid-daydream.
"You all have spent a year preparing to enter the Trial World," the Overseer began, voice booming with practiced authority. "And now, the time has come."
Leon zoned out almost immediately.
They'd heard all this before.
A hundred times, maybe more. Warnings about danger. Reminders that death in the {Trial World} was permanent.
Hints that they were humanity's last hope, and all that dramatic fluff.
It was filler.
The Overseer was just killing time.
Leon's attention drifted, eyes flicking back to Elizabeth, then to the crowd, then to the sky above, wondering if it would be the last blue sky he saw for a while.
"…remember, you do not only fight for yourselves," the Overseer was saying now, reaching the final stretch, "but for the Federation! So give it everything you've got!"
Every candidate stood straighter. Together, they shouted:
"Yes, sir!!"
The Overseer gave a sharp nod. "Good. Then let the summoning… begin."
The arena trembled. A low hum filled the air. Arcane runes lit up beneath their feet, glowing in vivid gold and violet as energy surged through the formation.
Leon turned one last time toward Elizabeth.
He grinned and blew her a kiss.
She rolled her eyes but didn't look away.
Then, in a flash of blinding light—he was gone.
---
Silence.
Then whiteness.
Leon found himself floating in an endless space, untouched by gravity or time.
His feet touched nothing, his body weightless. Then, before his eyes, a translucent screen appeared with a soft ding.
> [Welcome, Trial Taker.]
Initiating Class and Talent Scan…
Searching for talent…
…
Talent Found.
Talent: [Attack]
Leon wasn't surprised he awakened a talent.
Coming from a noble family where both parents were talented—his mother with an Extraordinary-rank healing talent, his father with an Extraordinary martial talent—it had always been more a matter of when than if he'd awaken a talent.
In fact, not awakening one would've been the real shocker.
So when the screen before him calmly displayed that he possessed a talent, he didn't so much as blink.
But then he saw the rank.
> Rank: EX
His breath caught.
"…EX rank?"
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A/N: Please send power stones and leave reviews.
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