When the four were on their way back to their dorm, they ran into Nico. They hadn't seen the girl since the exam day. Something Harkel found funny was that she said she was going to lead them to victory, yet was the first one out. He laughed about this in his mind, with the others hearing it through the link.
Nico herself looked shocked to see them there. But before any of the boys could say anything, she spoke first.
"I'd like to apologize," she said, bowing.
None of the boys expected her to do that. When they first met her, she gave off the vibe of a hot-headed queen—someone who would kneel to no one. Yet here she was, apologizing and bowing.
"I was overconfident and cocky, which made me lose. And… I was a bit cruel to you when I tried to burn your arm to a crisp."
That last bit made everyone pause.
"Wait, she tried to burn you to a crisp?" Harkel thought to Riven.
"Yeah. If I didn't back off fast enough, I probably would've lost an arm. Is she insane?"
"Apparently not insane enough to avoid apologizing… or I guess just apologizing to you," Jordan added.
"I accept your apology," Riven said out loud. "And maybe we can be friends."
"Or maybe even lovers," Harkel mocked in his mind.
As the four were about to walk off, they heard a little whisper from Nico that made them freeze. After making the remark, she ran off toward the city.
Even though it was a small whisper, thanks to their recent level-ups, they could hear a bit more—and they clearly heard Nico say the same thing Harkel had joked about in his mind.
'HUUUUUH?!' they all thought at once.
⸻
As the day ended, Wren was in a forest surrounded by dummies. They moved in, trying to attack her. She dodged out of the way, shooting most of them with lightning bolts. But one dummy got too close—too close for her to charge up her lightning. So instead, she let out a scream that blew the dummy away.
"So they weren't lying… I really have that girl's Evolution now. But I still have my own," Wren said to herself. "Luckily I made sure my private training area has no cameras."
Wren walked up to a tree and pressed on it, causing the forest to shift into a bluish training room. When she walked out, she saw her mother waiting. She ran up to her and bowed.
"Vice principal" Wren yelled.
"You can greet me like a normal child when we're alone, you know that," her mother said gently.
Wren lifted her head and hugged the tall woman.
"What brings you here, Mother?" Wren asked respectfully.
"Someone told me they saw you walking with some boys to the city. Is that true?"
Wren nodded.
"Did they want something?" her mother asked sternly, as if she would punish the boys if she didn't like the answer.
"No, Mother. I wanted to team up with them. You always said to stick with the strong—and they made it to the Top 5," Wren said, half-truthfully.
"Hmm. Yes, they made it to the Top 5, but I feel like some of them shouldn't have," Ms. Fallow muttered, thinking specifically of Joey, Harkel, and Riven.
"Trust me, Mom. They're strong," Wren said confidently.
⸻
Back with the boys, they were mocking Riven about what Nico whispered before she walked off.
"Maybe even lovers," Harkel said out loud, since Riven had turned off the link skill and the shared screen, not wanting to hear the party anymore.
Joey and Jordan laughed while Riven, on his top bunk, blushed.
"Shut up," Riven said, pushing Harkel onto his bed using his gravity power.
Harkel continued to laugh. With everyone now having a new Evolution, Riven decided to check everyone's stats.
⸻
[System: Riven Harlow]
HP: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Strength: 17
Speed: 15
Durability: 29
This made Riven realize that his stats increase with each level-up, while still having stat points available.
⸻
[Jordan Harlow]
HP: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Strength: 13
Speed: 20
Durability: 15
⸻
[Joey Cross]
HP: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Strength: 8
Speed: 10
Durability: 7
⸻
[Harkel Voss]
HP: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Strength: 15
Speed: 18
Durability: 12
⸻
When Riven looked at everyone's stats, he noticed that Harkel's EXP bar was close to leveling up—and that all of them had four attribute points.
⸻
[System: User can combine all party members' attribute points to give to one person in the party.]
Riven thought about giving the points to himself… but then remembered how weak Joey's stats looked. So, he combined all 16 points and gave them to Joey, distributing them equally.
⸻
[Joey Cross - Updated]
HP: 100/100
Energy: 100/100
Strength: 13
Speed: 15
Durability: 12
⸻
Joey felt the stat increase but didn't say anything, knowing it was most likely Riven who did it.
All the boys eventually fell asleep.
⸻
The next day, the same loud bell rang in everyone's ears, waking them up. After getting dressed, they went to the cafeteria and sat at the same table—when two figures walked up to them.
It was Tessa and Wren.
They sat down without saying anything and prayed with them. After the prayer, they all ate. Riven noticed Tessa staring at him but chose to ignore it.
When the next bell rang, signaling that it was time to head to school, Riven stood up. Wren nudged him on the arm.
"Hey, invite me to the party," Wren asked while walking to class. Riven did so, and also turned on the telepathic link.
⸻
'Hey… don't get mad, but I told Tessa everything,' Wren said right away.
'What?!' they all thought at once.
'That wasn't your secret to tell,' Jordan snapped.
'I know. And I'll make it up to you guys, I promise. But I couldn't keep something like this from my best friend.'
'What does she want?' Joey asked.
'She just wants to be involved. She's scared of being left behind—and I won't let that happen to her. Can we at least invite her to the party?'
'Fine. But she's going to be a regular party member,' Riven replied.
'What do you mean by "regular"?' Wren questioned.
Riven explained the difference between regular party members and bonded party members. Wren quickly understood and nodded.
Tessa was invited to the party, but she couldn't see the system or communicate telepathically.
⸻
They all walked to the school together. When they arrived, they were called forward to find out their homeroom classes. One of the hooded figures read their names—and they all noticed the same thing:
They were all in the same homeroom class.