No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

The power of an S-Ranked Awakened, even one not listed among the fabled Golden Ranking, was awe-inspiring in a way that defied ordinary comprehension.

It wasn't just a matter of statistics.

Of strength, speed, or mana capacity.

It was the way the world changed when they acted. The way the laws of nature seemed to hesitate. The way enemies, no matter how monstrous, lost their shape and certainty just by standing near them.

A-Rankers were elite. Terrifying in battle. Each one could change the course of a local war, turn defeat into victory, or hold a city wall on their own.

But S-Rankers were forces of nature.

The difference wasn't just one letter. It was a chasm. A fracture between human potential and something else. Something more.

There were S-Rankers barely stronger than an A-Rank, those who scraped into the rank by stretching their abilities to the limit. They were rare, dangerous, and always revered.

And then there were the others.

The untouchables.

The ones who stood so far beyond the scale that ranking them at all felt insulting. Individuals whose presence could make cities kneel, whose magic twisted space or fate, whose blows shattered military formations with a single swing.

S-Rank wasn't a plateau. It was a sky with no roof.

General Maru was not even part of the Golden Ranking. His name wasn't sung in global broadcasts or flashed across wartime propaganda. And yet… he had erased an A-Ranked beast, a creature capable of leveling half a district, in a single breath, using a technique so quiet and so complete that it defied explanation.

It wasn't speed.

It wasn't even raw might.

It was absolute mastery over strength.

The mastery of someone who no longer fought to win, but who had long since learned how to end things.

To most watching that night, it was their first glimpse of what true power looked like. Not the showy kind. Not the kind that needed to shout.

But the kind that whispered… And the world obeyed.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The sun never felt heavier than it did that morning.

Beijing had survived, but it hadn't come out untouched. The news had already spread across the capital like wildfire—649 civilians dead, over a thousand wounded, and entire residential blocks reduced to craters.

The scale of destruction was a sobering reminder. One A-Rank awakened beast. One moment of negligence. And nearly a thousand lives gone.

The cadets gathered in the training field again, but it wasn't like before. There was no chatter. No usual jostling for position. Just a thick, stifling silence as Professor Kong Hu stood at the front, his expression grim.

"The dead are not statistics," he said quietly. "They are your neighbors. Your vendors. Your friends. Remember them."

He raised his hand.

A low hum filled the field as the mana suppression dome activated. A shimmering field of runes locked the area down, severing their link to ambient mana flow. Breathing became harder. Magic felt impossibly distant.

"Sit," he ordered. "And try to move your elemental energy under suppression. No complaints. No questions. This will either make you stronger… or remind you what helplessness feels like."

The students obeyed without a word.

But before Damien could take his place, a young aide jogged across the field, whispering into Professor Kong Hu's ear. The old man's eyebrows twitched. Then he turned to Damien and Jiang Xiao Yu.

"Principal Tian Long has summoned you both."

The pair followed the aide off the field, walking silently past cadets already beginning to sweat under the mana field. They ascended the wide white stone steps toward the principal's office. Inside, the lights were dimmed, the mood heavy.

Waiting for them were Principal Tian Long and a tall, grizzled officer with a scar cutting across his jaw. General Chen. His uniform was marked with the insignia of the Central Army Corps.

Without preamble, Tian Long spoke. "You two have been chosen."

"Emerald Pine Basin." General Chen said grimly as he pointed at a spot in the map. "Roughly 240 miles southwest of Beijing. It is where the A rank beast came from, and also the base of the awakened beasts in this region."

"We're assembling a strike force to make a statement. This will be a surgical mission. Quick in. Quick out. Four students. Six soldiers. Two from Pearl Institute. Two from War God College. And the two from Pearl… are you."

Damien exchanged a glance with Jiang Xiao Yu, who gave a small nod of understanding.

"You'll meet your team outside the Eastern Gate in ten minutes," General Chen continued. "No prep. You depart immediately. Any further orders will be given en route."

"Yes, sir." The students nodded and left.

The strike team was assembled in less than an hour.

Two students from War God College were already waiting on the airstrip beside their gleaming machines. Unlike Pearl Institute, which focused heavily on mana awakening and spellcasting, War God College prioritized mecha warfare. Their pride and tradition were carved into steel and circuits.

First was Zhao Tianlei, a third-year and specialist in high-velocity close combat. His mecha, Tempest Fang, was a sleek, silver-blue blur equipped with dual vibroblades, multiple afterburners, and leg stabilizers designed for sudden acceleration bursts. It moved like a predator on caffeine.

Beside him stood Xu Meilin, a fourth-year with a reputation for ruthless precision. Her mecha, Storm Widow, was spiderlike in build, with retractable limbs and an array of ranged arcane beam cannons. Its main frame shimmered with semi-transparent hex shielding that pulsed with rhythmic energy surges.

The rest of the squad consisted of six soldiers from the Central Army Corps. Three mecha pilots, three mana-awakened elites.

The mecha pilots were:

Captain Lin Zhong, their commanding officer, piloting Titan Mourn, a sixth-generation heavy-type mecha layered with reactive armor and equipped with a railgun launcher and shockwave cannons.

Lieutenant Wu Kai, piloting Verdant Razor, a forest-adapted medium mech with camo plating and integrated stealth modules. Built for ambush tactics and terrain control.

Lieutenant Rong Hai, piloting Red Hunter, a light reconnaissance unit with rapid-fire mana rifles and hyper-agility software. He was the scout and possibly the bait.

The mana-awakened soldiers were:

Lieutenant Chen Liru, a mid-A Rank wind specialist with mastery over wind blades and aerial maneuvering spells. She could fly unaided for up to ten minutes during combat.

Lieutenant Zhou Feng, a flame conjurer known for his brutal close-range technique, Lava Vein Strike, which burned through both magic and armor.

Lieutenant Han Jie, an earth mage who specialized in battlefield control and reinforcement magic. He could raise stone barriers, shift terrain, and shield allies at a moment's notice.

Damien stood at the edge of the airstrip, silently analyzing the team.

They were strong.

Balanced.

Efficient.

And with the addition of himself and Jiang Xiao Yu, who walked beside him in quiet focus, the full squad was complete.

Ten members.

Four students. Six soldiers.

Mecha and mages. Steel and mana.

A retaliatory strike against a beast horde was no small matter. But this time… they weren't waiting for the enemy to come to the city.

This time, they were bringing the storm first.

Zhao Tianlei, the student from War God College smiled at them.

He clapped Damien on the back like an old friend.

"Well well well, Pearl Institute actually sent a first year." Han Bo laughed. "You must be really strong. What rank are you?."

Damien simply tilted his head and replied. "E rank."

Zhao Tianlei's lips twitched in surprise.

"It's fine if you don't want to say. You don't have to pull my leg that way." He wrinkled his nose in displeasure and then kept his distance.

Damien merely shrugged to himself.

Bro, he was truly an E rank awakened!

Jiang Xiao Yu stepped up quietly beside him, her eyes scanning the soldiers. Calm. Precise. Ready.

Captain Lu Jin looked them all over once, then turned.

"Mount up. This isn't a drill. We leave now."

Ten figures boarded the hovering transport, its engines already humming with mana propulsion. As the doors sealed and the horizon dipped below them, the mission began.

And far off in the shadowed woods of the Emerald Pine Basin… something stirred.