In the shadows of skyscrapers that loomed over the final city of humanity, an armored personnel carrier floated down a highway. The vehicle contained three people: An attendant, a driver, and a young woman by the name Viviana Adler-Stern.

  Viviana’s hands wouldn’t stop moving, subconsciously tapping on her only possession; the blade that sat on her lap, issued standard to all Adler-Stern heir candidates.

  As she gazed out the window, she thought to herself. She wondered what that feeling in her chest was. Nervousness? No. Anticipation.

  Out the window she saw skyscraper after skyscraper, megastructure after megastructure. These buildings, bastions of humanity, were adorned with no color or artistry– instead, they were adorned with logos.

  FM, the logo of Ferric Meridian. A coiling snake, the logo of Ophidian Pact. The letters VAC in blue, the logo of Vulx Arc Cooperative.

  The five winged star, the logo of Adler-Stern.

  After a brief journey, the armored vehicle gently slid to a stop. One of the side doors opened, and the attendant stepped out. The attendant offered a hand to the girl still in the vehicle and spoke. “Ms. Adler-Stern, welcome to the Central Academy for the Soulbound.”

  Viviana got out of her seat while simultaneously adjusting her belt system. Her sword fell to the side of her hip, resting close to her hands for fast drawing. She stared at her attendant’s outstretched hand and decided not to take it. She would step forward herself, alone, like she had for all her life.

  “Ms. Adler-Stern, your father instructed me to give you this message,” the attendant said. At this Viviana’s hand twitched, looming dangerously over her sword. After a moment her hand settled on the weapon’s pommel.

  The attendant, completely unaware, continued speaking. “Your father said this: Viviana Adler-Stern, gain the strength to kill me. That is all he left you. I will be leaving you now. Good–goodbye.”

  The attendant’s voice wavered on the last couple words. Viviana nodded idly. It was a shame that her attendants final words would be her father’s worthless drivel. Viviana didn’t really care. Her attendants changed more often than she changed clothes.

  The attendant stepped back into the vehicle. The door closed, and the vehicle drove off, leaving Viviana standing at the gate of Central Academy.

  She observed the grand scale of the main building. It didn’t reach into the sky like the skyscrapers of Central’s core, but it still overlooked a massive campus, consisting of four giant domes that housed different environments. These environments held students of various factions, all competing for the favour of the guilds of Central.

  In front of the main building were various students. She could see the various cliques that the students formed. About half of them were dressed in various modern styles. Another half of them had nearly identical clothing; uniforms. These uniformed students all wore a pin close to their hearts, indicating the student’s guild affiliation. The pins were of the same design as the logos on the skyscrapers. Ferric Meridian. Ophidian Pact. Vulx Arc Cooperative. Adler-Stern was missing.

  Viviana walked forward. Most of the students were in front of a stage. It was probably the meeting area for new students, so she went there. As she walked a couple people spared her glances. Normally, the only Adler-Stern in the academy would be something to gawk at, but today people were more worried about themselves. It was the first day of school after all.

  Even so, some people could not stop themselves from commenting on her appearance.

  “It’s the Adler-Stern!” a girl whisper-yelled. The whisper part wasn’t quiet enough.

  “Are you even sure it’s her? Sure, she’s blonde, but that’s not too distinctive…” another girl said, covering her mouth with one hand.

  “I’m sure! She got out of an Adler-Stern car!”

  “Then don’t talk to her. She’s the one that got exiled.”

  “Exactly! Look, she might have gotten out of that car, but she doesn’t even have a uniform. She’s unaffiliated! We could do whatever we want…”

  Viviana ignored them as she walked closer to the stage. She was overwhelmed by the number of people; confined to the Adler-Stern manor, she had never seen this many people her age, ever. If she had to guess, it’d be around three-hundred young adults.

  Approximately half of these had uniforms and pins on.

  “Hey, Adler-Stern!”

  Viviana turned to look. It was the same girl that pointed her out earlier. Viviana observed the pin on her clothes, attached close to the heart. FM, standing for Ferric Meridian.

  The FM girl was plain in appearance. She was shorter than Viviana. Viviana observed her stance, her bearing, and the length of the sword she carried. Inconsequential.

  “Adler-Stern, how do you feel, being the only one in the academy? Or should I even call you an Adler-Stern? Didn’t you get exiled?” the FM girl said, a grin on her face. “It must be tough. You gotta be worse off than these unaffiliated!”

  Viviana short circuited. She didn’t know what to say. Didn’t understand what this person wanted from her, so she just stood there.

  The girl continued. “I’ve got a proposal. What if you work for me? Judging by your… obvious lack of funds,” she said, pointing at Viviana's lack of uniform. “You could come under my wing. I can’t say I’ll pay you much, but you could afford a uniform, right?”

  Viviana briefly considered it. She figured out she didn’t like it.

  “Hey, why aren’t you saying anything? Adler-Stern? What, you too high and mighty to talk to me?”

  Another Ferric Meridian girl approached. Viviana observed her bearing like before. She was much more of a threat. Fiery red hair and eyes. Perhaps a main line descendant?

  The fiery girl grabbed the other girl on the shoulder. “Hey, I think we should go.”

  You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

  “Not until this bitch stops looking down on me!” The girl reached out a hand, intending to grab Viviana.

  Too close.

  Viviana’s instincts immediately took over. Years of honed experience in the Adler-Stern manor. Someone had attempted to enter the space she owned without permission.

  Like lightning Viviana drew her sword and cleaved through the arm of the girl. It fell to the ground with a splat. Viviana didn’t realize what she had done until the girl screamed. She stepped back, preparing herself for combat while chastising herself.

  I don’t know the rules of the academy yet. Will there be consequences?

  Swords were not drawn. Instead, the fiery red girl stood in front of the other, shielding her from further combat. Viviana knew she could deal with her as well, but the lack of combat stance and her sheathed weapon disarmed the situation. Viviana lowered her sword while the fiery girl glared at her.

  “You’ll regret that, Adler-Stern. You’re making an enemy of Ferric Meridian,” she said. Then she turned to her friend and picked up her severed arm. “Come now, stop screaming. You’re a soulbound, the arm will be fixed in an hour or two…”

  The pair walked away. Viviana sheathed her sword. Only then did she realize that a crowd had formed around her, giving her a wide berth. Whispers intensified as they looked around, averting eye contact. Viviana crossed her arms. She really, really did not know what to do. Too many stares. So she opted to just stand there, awkwardly.

  I didn’t do anything wrong, did I? We’re soulbound, and I didn’t use my soulbound weapon– just a regular, system recognized one. She’ll heal right back up, I think. I don’t know… I’ve never not killed someone…

  Seconds later something saved Viviana from all the incessant staring. A loud voice rang out from the front of the stage, startling a few people. Viviana’s eyes moved to the front.

  “Attention, academy students!”

  There, a young woman stood in full armor. Breach armor. Viviana had an instinctive reaction to it. Threat. She calmed herself, logically reminding herself that the woman at the front wasn’t sent for her. For one, her armor wasn’t painted the distinctive shock white of Adler-Stern. Instead, it was colored a bright red. For another, she was clearly a student of the academy.

  The breach knight– or perhaps knight in training– cleared her throat. When hardly anyone paid attention, the student smashed her armored boot into the ground, empowered by a skill. The physical shock reverberated around the entire area.

  At this, everyone became quiet. Then the breach knight looked at Viviana. At the blood on the ground. She snorted. “I see one of you is a little excited. Well, whatever.”

  The breach knight looked away with a bored expression, pulling out a piece of paper from her armor’s belt system. She unfolded it, making crinkling noises that echoed through the podium microphone.

  “Anyways. Ahem. Good morning. I am your student proctor for the duration of the orientation. Welcome to the Central Academy for the Soulbound, or CAS. After being founded by the guilds Ferric Meridian, Ophidian Pact, and Adler-Stern in 2043, CAS has taken in the newest generation of soulbound across all of Central year after year. These soulbound would go on to become the defenders of humanity, the rangers of the walls, the pioneers beyond, and the warriors of the great-guilds.

  “Time and time again, countless hopefuls shed their blood at CAS to prepare for what's to come in the future. These four years will prepare you for a great future with the guilds. The guilds all wish for the success of the students of Central Academy. The academy also thanks the guilds Ferric Meridian, Ophidian Pact, and Adler-Stern for their continued support.”

  After that rather dry speech, like she was reading off a sponsorship segment, she tossed the paper over her shoulder and cleared her throat again.

  “Anyways, we will now begin with unranked orientation. Those who have already received rankings exit behind the stage and into the academy, where optional ranking matches are available. Otherwise, do whatever. I mean, you are free to explore the academy as you wish.”

  At those words the students with uniforms walked away, heading behind the stage and into the main academy gate. Soon, only the students without uniforms remained, Viviana along with them.

  “Okay, now that that’s done…the rest of you lot, make groups of three. You’ll be doing the orientation in teams,” the armored student said. Nobody moved for a second, unsure of what to do. “Huh? What are you waiting for? Go!”

  The people around scrambled to make groups, leaving Viviana completely unsure of what to do. Everyone just seemed to automatically find someone, causing groups to be formed faster than she could think.

  A couple students looked her way. Viviana observed them. They looked strong. She would be fine on a team with them. But for some reason, when Viviana met their eyes, they looked away, inevitably choosing anyone but her. Viviana couldn’t understand why.

  The number of people without a group became smaller and smaller. Eventually, Viviana observed two individuals left.

  One of the two, a scrawny young man in glasses, spotted her and jogged over awkwardly. Finally, the last person, a timid looking, squirrel-like brunette, joined the group. They both had fearful expressions on their faces. No words were exchanged as Viviana pondered the situation she got herself in.

  They don’t look very strong. Please, don’t let them be teammates. Make me fight the people in my group. That would be optimal.

  “Alright, you guys done?” the armored student said. She repeated herself in a louder tone, finally stopping the students from talking. “Stupid freshies… Okay, now, I’ve got some rules here that I’m gonna read. Listen up.”

  The student at the podium pulled out another piece of paper from her belt system, unfolding it loudly. Then she spoke.

  “Ahem. Orientation this year is team based. The group you are currently in is your team. Each team will receive a flag. If a flag is held, it will generate points over time. Eliminating enemies will increase the amount of points generated by the flag. Rankings will be decided by the end of this activity based on the point value of the flags possessed by the teams and individual performance.

  “The activity will be held in terrarium four in two hours. I suggest dropping off anything you need to in your dorm and then meeting with your team to discuss strategy. Any questions?”

  Silence. Then, one person raised their hand. “Um, Miss, what are rankings?”

  The proctor sighed. “Ranks are your worth in the academy. The higher ranked you are, as in closer to rank one, the better the guilds will treat you. It’s how the real guilds, the ones sitting in Central, know which students to send permanent offers to. As a result high rankers gain a ton of influence, while low rankers are good as ghosts. Is that all?”

  The student nodded as a couple whispers made their rounds through the students.

  So that’s the incentive, Viviana thought. I’ve got to get the highest rank possible, no matter the cost. But with this team…

  “Alright. Then, the important rules. Well, the two that apply right now. The other you’ll learn eventually. No soulbound weapons. No killing. That’s all.”

  The armored student threw her paper away and activated her breach armor, causing boosters on the back of her feet to throw her over a nearby building, disappearing from sight.

  Viviana sighed. The ‘no soulbound weapons rule’ was fine with her. As long as no soulbound weapons were drawn, no one in the academy could die. Viviana would certainly take advantage of an environment without permanent consequences. But that meant Viviana had to rely on her longsword, which was strictly her secondary weapon.

  This is going to get difficult.

  Viviana turned away from the stage as the entire crowd erupted into conversation. She looked at her two teammates. The scrawny young man was somehow still panting from jogging over to her. The timid brunette was half her size and carried around a sword that Viviana could probably hold as a dagger.

  They both looked deathly afraid of her.

  Viviana had to win a battle royale with them.

  She was screwed.