Re-Awakened :I Ascend as an SSS-Ranked Dragon Summoner

The hunt was on and Cora charged ahead without hesitation, her boots pressing into the mossy ground as she carved her path through the strange forest. Noah frowned and quickened his pace. "Cora, stay close! Splitting up isn't going to help."

Cora didn't stop. She glanced back, her face set in determination. "Scattered or not, I'm not losing valuable points to class 1C, and I'm definitely not coming in last."

Noah gritted his teeth. He couldn't exactly argue with her point, but still—rushing off like this? "I get it, but we need to stick together. At least for now, that's what makes sense."

That stopped her. Cora whirled around abruptly, her eyes narrowing as she marched back toward him. "Oh, you get it, huh? Let me remind you of a couple of things, genius." She held up a finger. "First, I was the one approached to join this team. Not you. Me. I didn't volunteer, and I didn't beg anyone to hold my hand."

Noah blinked, caught off guard, but Cora wasn't done. She jabbed another finger toward him. "Second, who exactly made you the group leader?"

Silence fell between them like a heavy weight. Kelvin, still looking half asleep, raised an eyebrow but said nothing.

Cora's lips curled into a scoff, and she crossed her arms. "Thought so." She turned her back to him, shaking her head. "Fine, I said so."

Kelvin, breaking the tension, yawned loudly. "You guys done yet? Because while we're standing here arguing, class 1A students are already on the leaderboard."

"What?" Noah said, his voice sharp with disbelief.

Kelvin shrugged and raised his wrist, tapping on his bracelet. "See for yourself."

Noah and the others checked their devices, and sure enough, the leaderboard displayed Class 1A at the top with points already stacking up. The numbers moved steadily, indicating kills being registered in real time.

"Damn…" Noah muttered, his brows furrowing. 'They're already racking up kills? How the hell did they find beasts that fast?'

"It's not individual points yet," Kelvin added. "It's just a class total for now. Still… you don't have to be a genius to figure out which group in their class is carrying everyone."

Before anyone could comment further, Lila chimed in cheerfully, seemingly out of nowhere. "You know, Cora's right. Spreading out is the best thing to do. We'll cover more ground that way, and if anyone finds a beast, it's collective points for the team no matter who makes the kill."

Noah turned to her, frowning. "We're stronger together."

Lila tilted her head with a bright smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Not if we waste time stumbling around like we're on a group field trip. The bracelets are pretty cool, by the way—they'll register stress levels and void energy during combat. That means everyone can get credit for 'participation.' So all you boys need to do is actually move and look alive out there. That simple enough for you, Noah?"

Noah stiffened at the jab, his jaw tightening. 'What's her deal?' He kept his mouth shut, though; engaging wouldn't help.

Kelvin snorted, breaking the awkward pause. "Okay, so it's settled then. Noah and I will take one route, and you two—" He motioned lazily toward Lila and Cora. "—take another."

"That's stupid," Lila shot back without hesitation, her tone as blunt as ever. "You two together? You'd be nothing but cannon fodder."

Kelvin raised a brow, smirking faintly. "Oh? Enlighten us, O wise one."

"Simple," Lila said with a shrug. "We pair one girl with one boy. That way no one drags anyone else down too badly."

Cora didn't wait for anyone's agreement. She turned abruptly, striding toward the thick underbrush. "Kelvin, try to keep up," she called over her shoulder.

Kelvin, chuckling dryly, followed after her. "Guess I'm tagging along, then. Don't slow me down, Cora."

That left Noah standing next to Lila, who sighed heavily as she stared at him. "Well, looks like we're stuck with each other. Try not to screw this up." Her tone made it sound like this arrangement was the worst thing that had happened to her all day.

Noah frowned, watching her start ahead. 'Did she already know about my useless ability?' he wondered.

It wasn't likely. Very few people knew what ability he'd awakened last month during the entrance tests at the base. He'd been careful—too careful—to rely on his wits more than his abilities during the trials. Outside of Kelvin and the testers present that day, no one should have known.

'So why the cold shoulders?'

Noah sighed, following after her as the shimmering trees swallowed them both. Whatever it was, he'd figure it out eventually. For now, all he could do was stay sharp and hope for the best.

Noah adjusted the twin blades strapped to his back as he followed Lila through the unfamiliar forest. The landscape felt wrong—trees that shimmered slightly, their bark as smooth as glass and twisting unnaturally upward. It was a far cry from the forests in old Earth textbooks or even what he'd seen during the training simulations.

Ahead of him, Lila walked at an even pace, unfazed, her silhouette cutting a sharp figure against the eerie glow of the terrain. Noah's gaze settled on the strange weapon strapped to her back—a jagged, curved contraption that looked more like a piece of scavenged scrap than a weapon. What the hell even is that? he thought.

His eyes drifted down for a moment. On an attractive scale, Lila wasn't breathtaking—she didn't have the polished beauty that Jessica, the school belle flaunted, or the girl-next-door charm—but there was something about her. A ruggedness. She had pronounced, extroverted chests for sure. They were good on the eyes, sure, but there was this chip on her shoulder that made it impossible for him to actually like her.

Before his thoughts spiraled further, Lila's voice broke the silence. "Ever seen a beast before?"

Noah blinked, startled. "What?"

"A beast. Have you ever seen one? Or fought one?" Lila repeated without looking back.

"Oh," Noah replied, stepping over a fallen branch. "I've seen a couple, but mostly dead ones. Soldiers would bring them back to the base where I grew up." He adjusted the strap of his blades. "What about you?"

Lila shrugged. "I've seen a few. Nothing special."

There was a brief silence before she spoke again, her tone light but probing. "It must've been something, though. Growing up among all the great names—must've been hard to keep your head up, huh?"

Noah's jaw tightened, her words hitting too close to home. "Yeah…no confidence at all."

Lila had a point. Back at the base, Noah had been surrounded by legends—tough guys, iron-willed women, and strong-as-hell soldiers who either became icons or died trying. Most of the time, the latter was true. Beasts and Harbingers didn't care about names or reputations. They chewed people up and spit them out just the same.

"Sure it must've been hard living in the shadows of your parents, though, right?" Lila added casually.

Noah stopped dead in his tracks.

He turned sharply to look at her. "What did you just say?"

Lila finally glanced back, her expression unreadable. "I said—"

"No. How do you know about that?"

For as long as he could remember, most kids thought he was the cleaner's son. They mocked him for it, sure, but it had never really bothered him. If anything, it was easier that way. Being invisible was preferable to being scrutinized. But now, here she was—Lila—casually dropping hints that she knew the truth.

Lila met his gaze without flinching. "Why does it matter?"

Noah narrowed his eyes. "I'm asking you."

She shrugged again, as if his sudden intensity was amusing. "Relax. I just figured it out. It's not hard to connect the dots when you know what to look for." She tilted her head slightly. "To some extent, I get it, you know? Constantly having to prove you're just as worthy as everyone else."

At that moment, Noah wasn't listening anymore. His mind was racing. If she knew… did that mean others knew too? Kelvin, for one, liked to dig into people's backgrounds. It wasn't far-fetched to think people like him had figured it out.

'Damn it'

Lila's voice dragged him back to reality. "Look, I don't particularly like teaming up," she said, continuing to walk forward. "People tend to slow me down. I usually prefer my own route." She threw a glance over her shoulder, smirking faintly. "But a pair of misfits like us? It couldn't hurt, right?"

Noah's teeth clenched. Misfits? Did she seriously just lump him into that category? Who the hell did she think she was?

A low thrum of anger simmered in his chest. He didn't describe himself with those words. He wasn't some lost cause, some tagalong no one wanted. The way she said it—so casual, so dismissive—made his blood boil.

As they walked, something clicked in his mind, and he suddenly asked, "You're a second generation, right?"

Lila paused slightly, glancing back. "Yeah. What about it?"

Noah frowned, his thoughts piecing together a possibility. "So why were you without a team during the selection? Someone with your background—whatever ability you awakened—you'd think you'd be the first pick for anyone."

Lila didn't reply right away, her face shadowed as she looked ahead.

He pressed further. "What, did you reject everyone else?"

Because, in truth, this excercise wasn't about fairness. If you wanted to stand out, all you had to do was outperform everyone else. But no one said it had to be with people on your level let alone your own teammates. What if—

What if she saw them as a stepping stone? A way to outshine everyone around her. To dazzle the instructors, climb to the top of the leaderboard, and make the rest of them look like fools in comparison.

It wasn't far-fetched.

Noah's fists clenched. 'If that's the case…fuck this bitch,'

The thought flashed through his mind, sudden and raw. He hated the idea of being someone else's tool, their stepping stone to greatness.

Lila turned back briefly, her brow raised as if she sensed the tension. "What? You're overthinking something again, aren't you?"

Noah forced his expression neutral, masking the irritation bubbling beneath the surface. "No."

She didn't press further, only giving him another strange look before continuing ahead, her odd weapon bouncing lightly on her back.

Noah followed, his mind turning like gears grinding in frustration. He wasn't about to let anyone—anyone—treat him like dead weight. Whatever game Lila was playing, he'd figure it out soon enough.

Before the tension between them could boil over, a distant sound broke through the forest air.

Noah froze, his thoughts screeching to a halt. Lila stiffened too, immediately dropping into a low stance. Her hand hovered over the weapon on her back, eyes scanning the area.

"What was that?" she whispered.

Noah blinked, listening more closely. The rhythmic whines and gasps reached them again, louder this time. He blinked hard as realization hit.

His lips twitched.

'No way,'

Lila remained focused, her stance rigid. "Stay close. I think there's something ahead."

Noah pressed a hand to his mouth, trying to hold back his laughter. "Lila," he said, his voice shaking with amusement. "Relax. I don't think it's what you think."

"What?" she shot back, still on high alert.

Noah gestured toward the source of the sound, struggling to keep his composure. "Just…listen."

Another sharp cry echoed through the trees, followed by giggles and hushed voices. Lila's expression faltered as the realization hit her as well. She straightened slowly, her face coloring slightly.

"…Are you kidding me?"

Noah finally let out a low laugh, shaking his head. "Oh, this is priceless."

They crept forward, peering through the bushes into a small clearing ahead. What they saw made Noah's jaw drop.

A group of students—at least eight of them—were in various states of undress, tangled in one another on the forest floor. Clothes were scattered everywhere, and the sounds coming from the group made it abundantly clear what was happening.

"Are those Class 1C tags?" Noah whispered, incredulous.

"Looks like it," Lila muttered, her tone flat with disbelief. "What the hell is wrong with them?"

Noah snorted, his shoulders shaking with suppressed laughter. "Guess they couldn't pass up the chance. You've got to admit, that's dedication to failure."

Lila shot him a glare, though her lips twitched with something close to reluctant amusement. "Idiots. They're going to fail the trial."

"Yeah, well," Noah replied, grinning, "at least they'll fail happy."

Lila sighed, turning away. "Come on. Let's pretend this never happened."

"Sure, sure," Noah said, still chuckling as he followed. "But I'm gonna be thinking about this for a long time."

"Don't," Lila muttered.

"Oh, I will."

As they walked away, Noah couldn't help but shake his head, still grinning. 'Class 1C,' he thought. Unbelievable.