Bullied Hollowborn: My Tribrid System Awakening

Chapter 11: Instructors Meeting

Richard's POV

The astral beast’s roar shook the sparring pits, its massive form blotting out the light as violet shadow tendrils lashed toward us. Lena stumbled back, her wounded arm trembling, her face pale but her eyes blazing with defiance. I grabbed her wrist, my grip firm, pulling her behind me as Null Drive flared. The air warped, the beast’s law-infused attacks slowing as my ability suppressed them. But the creature was a juggernaut, its presence alone cracking the stone beneath us, sending fissures spider webbing across the ground.

“Run!” I shouted, shoving Lena toward the exit. Her gaze flicked between me and the beast, hesitation etched in her features.

“Richard, you can’t—”

“Go!” I barked, my voice raw. She nodded, reluctance heavy in her eyes, and sprinted for cover.

I turned to the monster, my core humming with Rank E power, glyphs pulsing wildly under my skin—sacrificial, elemental, constructive, and quantum. I didn’t know if I could win, but I’d hold it off. For her. Null Counter ignited my fists, and I charged, ducking a tendril and slamming a blow into the beast’s leg. It howled. The sound was like a blade against my skull, but it reformed instantly, swiping claws that shredded stone. I rolled, shoulder wound screaming, barely dodging. 

Before I could strike again, a voice cut through the chaos, sharp and commanding. “Cadets, stand clear!”

A figure descended from the shattered ceiling, cloaked in silver robes shimmering with law energy. Instructor Varyn Kell, the A-Rank Lawbearer from the Awakening Ceremony, landed with a shockwave that rattled the pits. Her presence was a storm, her eyes cold and precise, hands glowing with intricate constructive runes. Behind her, two more instructors—Professor Tarn, a grizzled quantum law bearer, and Instructor Lira, an elemental specialist—dropped into the fray, their auras pressing against the air.

“Sol, suppress its laws!” Varyn ordered, her voice slicing through the beast’s roars.

I nodded, flaring Null Drive to its limit. The beast’s tendrils slowed, its laws dimming. Varyn raised her arms, and the air solidified, crystalline barriers caging the creature’s attacks. Tarn’s quantum pulses distorted time around the beast’s head, while Lira unleashed a torrent of fire that scorched its flanks.

The beast roared, shadows coalescing into jagged spikes. I dove forward, Null Counter surging. Pain tore through my core, but I slammed my fists into its glowing core, cracks spider webbing across it. Varyn’s runes blazed gold, and with a final incantation, she snapped the rift shut. The beast screamed, dissolving into mist, leaving the pits silent.

My core thrummed, edging toward E+. I swayed, blood dripping from my nose, but Varyn’s gaze pinned me. “Reckless, Sol,” she said, her tone icy. “You activated an experimental astral beast. Explain yourself.”

I opened my mouth, but Tarn cut in, his voice gruff. “Not here. Secure the area, Lira. Cadets, you’re dismissed—except Sol.”

Lena stepped forward, her voice sharp. “He saved me. Those rogues—”

“Enough, Vey,” Varyn snapped, her eyes never leaving me. “Sol, you’re coming with us.”

“What? Why?” I demanded, my fists clenching. “I stopped it!”

Tarn’s hand clamped my shoulder, his grip like steel. “Move, cadet. Now.”

Lena’s eyes met mine, wide with worry, but Varyn’s aura—a suffocating wave of constructive law—silenced any protest. They marched me through the academy’s halls, past gaping cadets and flickering runes, to a sealed chamber deep within the administrative wing. The doors were etched with law sigils, pulsing with power that made my glyphs itch.

Inside, the room was stark, dominated by a crescent-shaped table where five figures sat—the Miracle Academy Council. At the center was Grandmaster Reece, the principal, a man whose presence was a void, his aura so dense it warped the air. His silver hair framed a face carved from stone, and his eyes, glowing faintly with unidentifiable laws, bored into me. Flanking him were Varyn, now seated, and three others: Councilor Marrow, a skeletal woman with quantum law glyphs on her skin; Councilor Dray, a burly man radiating elemental heat; and Councilor Sern, whose shadowed face seemed to flicker with constructive law.

I stood alone in the center, my wounds throbbing, their gazes heavy. Reece’s voice was low, resonant, like a bell tolling doom. “Richard Sol. You stand accused of activating a dormant experimental astral beast, endangering the academy. Explain.”

I straightened, ignoring the pain in my shoulder. “I was training in the vault. A hidden chamber opened—I didn’t know what it was. The beast attacked. I fought it to protect Lena and the others.”

Varyn leaned forward, her silver robes glinting. “You triggered a sealed containment orb, Sol. Those are locked for a reason. How did you access it?”

“I didn’t access anything!” I snapped, frustration boiling. “The wall cracked, the door opened. It called me.”

Marrow’s eyes narrowed, her voice a hiss. “Called you? You expect us to believe a Rank E cadet was summoned by a forbidden law construct?”

“It’s the truth,” I said, meeting her gaze. “I don’t know why it reacted to me. Maybe it’s because of my core or my abilities. You tell me. You’re the ones who scanned me at the ceremony.”

Dray’s laugh was a rumble. “Bold, kid. But boldness doesn’t excuse recklessness. That beast could’ve leveled the training grounds.”

“I stopped it,” I countered. “So why am I the one on trial?”

Reece raised a hand, and the room stilled. His aura surged, a tidal wave of quantum laws woven into a force that pressed against my chest, stealing my breath. For the first time, I felt true fear. Raw and primal, it clawed at me. This wasn’t Varyn’s power or Caleb’s arrogance. This was a god in human skin.

“Is this the power of an SSS Rank?”, I asked myself helplessly.

“Enough,” Reece said, his voice calm but unyielding. “You are not on trial, Sol. You are being evaluated. Your actions, intentional or not, activated a construct dormant for decades. We need to understand why.”

I forced myself to speak, my voice hoarse. “Then tell me what it was. What’s in that vault? Why did it wake up?”

Sern’s shadowed face twitched, his voice a whisper. “You don’t ask questions here, Hollowborn. You answer them.”

“Hollowborn?” I shot back, anger overriding fear. “I’m Rank E, top 100, and I just helped save your academy. Stop treating me like trash!”

Varyn’s eyes flashed. “Mind your tone, Sol. You’re addressing the council.”

“Let him speak,” Reece said, his gaze never wavering. “Your core, Sol. Describe what you felt when the chamber opened.”

I hesitated, the memory sharp. “It was… like a pull. Like the orb knew me. My glyphs burned, and I felt laws—sacrificial, but others too. They clashed, but I channeled them. That’s when the beast appeared.”

Marrow leaned forward, her glyphs pulsing. “Clashed? You’re claiming to channel multiple law types simultaneously?”

“I’m not claiming anything,” I said, jaw tight. “It happened. You saw my scans at the ceremony—my core’s different. You tell me why.”

Dray snorted. “Arrogant. You think you’re the first anomaly we’ve seen?”

“No,” I said, holding his gaze. “But I’m the first Hollowborn to make the top 100. Maybe that’s why you’re scared.”

The room went deathly quiet. Varyn’s hand twitched, as if ready to summon a rune. Sern’s shadows deepened. But Reece’s expression didn’t change, though his aura pulsed, a warning that made my knees buckle. I gripped the edge of a chair to stay upright, sweat beading on my forehead.

“Scared?” Reece repeated, his voice soft, deadly. “You presume much, Sol. Your power is only but a spark, and we have extinguished stars.”, he said with a cold expression.

I swallowed, fear spiking again, but I forced my voice steady. “Then why am I here? If I’m nothing, let me go.”

“You’re here,” Varyn interjected, “because your core triggered a class-five astral construct. Those are experimental and sealed for their volatility. Your Null Drive—your ability to suppress laws—may have destabilized its containment.”

“May have?” I said, incredulous. “You don’t know? You’re the ones who built it!”

Sern’s voice slithered through the room. “Careful, Sol. Some truths are not for cadets.”

“Enough games,” I snapped. “If I’m dangerous, tell me why. If I’m not, let me train. I’m not your lab rat.”

Marrow’s laugh was cold. “You’re no rat, Sol. You’re a bomb, and we’re deciding whether to defuse you.”

Reece raised a hand, silencing her. “Your core, Sol. It’s not just sacrificial. The glyphs on your body—quantum, elemental, constructive—suggest a capacity to assimilate laws. That’s unprecedented and very dangerous.”

“Dangerous how?” I demanded. “I’ve done nothing but fight for this academy!”, I scream in anger. I was done feeling like trash and sucking up to people.

“You fought,” Dray said, his voice heavy, “but you also awakened something we buried. That beast was a prototype designed to test squad synergy. Alone, you shouldn’t have survived.”

“I didn’t want to survive,” I said, voice low. “I wanted to protect Lena. My squad.”

Reece’s aura surged again, and this time, I staggered, my knees hitting the floor. The laws emanating from him weren’t just powerful but a promise of obliteration. My glyphs burned, my core trembling, and for the first time, I felt small, insignificant. True fear gripped me once more, cold and unyielding, like staring into an abyss that stared back.

“You will not fight,” Reece said, his voice a blade. “Not until we understand your core. You are confined to supervised training until further notice. Disobey, and you’ll wish you were Hollowborn again.”, Grandmaster Reece said with an air of finality.

I clenched my fists, nails biting into my palms. “You can’t just—”

“I can,” Reece interrupted, his eyes glowing brighter. “You are a cadet. I am the principal. My word is akin to the laws.”

Varyn stood, her voice firm but not unkind. “Sol, you’re dismissed. Return to your dorm. We’ll summon you for further evaluation.”

I wanted to argue, to demand answers, but Reece’s aura held me like chains. I forced myself to my feet, my body shaking, and met his gaze one last time. “I’ll get stronger,” I said, voice low, defiant. “Stronger than you.”

Reece’s lips twitched, not quite a smile. “We’ll see.”

The instructors escorted me out, their silence heavier than their words. The halls blurred past, my mind racing. They knew something about my core, about the vault, but they wouldn’t tell me. Fine. I’d find out myself. I’d train, climb the ranks, and force them to acknowledge me. 

“I will never let them look down upon me again.”, I swore to myself as I made my way out.

Back in my dorm, I collapsed onto the bed, my wounds throbbing, my core still humming from the fight. Lena’s face flashed in my mind—her eyes, her touch, her belief in me. I’d saved her, and I’d do it again. But to protect her, to protect everyone, I needed power. More than Rank E. More than Null Drive.

A knock broke my thoughts. Lena stood in the doorway, her bandaged arm cradled, her expression a mix of worry and relief. “Richard, you okay? I heard they took you to the council.”

I sat up, forcing a smirk. “Yeah, just a friendly chat with the principal. No big deal.”

She stepped inside, closing the door. “Don’t lie to me. What happened?”

I sighed, running a hand through my hair. “They grilled me about the beast. Said I woke it up, that my core’s dangerous. They won’t tell me why.”

Her eyes narrowed. “That’s bullshit. You saved me—saved all of us. They should be thanking you.”

“They hate me.” I said, voice low. “They see me as a lowly hollowborn.”, my voice cracked a little.

She sat beside me, her hand finding mine, warm and steady. “I know how you feel, Richard. Trust me, I know.”

I met her gaze, her words igniting something in me.

The air between us crackled, her closeness making my heart race. I wanted to say more, to pull her closer, but I didn't.

Instead, I let myself collapse into her, accepting her warmth.