The Loser of Fourth Tier
"Hey, you know there's a rumor about a certain loser," said a boy in a freshly stitched uniform, his red badge gleaming on his chest
"You're talking about the one who's still stuck in the Fourth-Tier class, right?" another sneered, nose wrinkled as if the thought alone offended him.
The grand hall of Aetherdeep Grand Academy towered around them—marble pillars spiraled to the ceiling, banners fluttered gently, and golden sunlight streamed through stained glass windows. It was the opening week, and fresh students had begun gathering… but the topic on everyone's lips was not orientation.
It was him—the infamous loser of the fourth tier.
"You know, I heard he got kicked out last year," one of them chuckled darkly. "But then his mother came crawling on her knees, begging the dean to give him another shot."
"Yeah, hah! Four years and the guy still hasn't awakened a single system!"
The hall echoed with cruel laughter. Even passing seniors, some strolling with screens of their stats floating beside them, paused to join in the mockery.
Again... it's starting again.
A lone figure moved through the corridor, arms full of books stacked haphazardly, black bangs hiding most of his face. Raymond Lockwood, the infamous systemless boy, walked with practiced indifference.
"Excuse me, brother," a nervous student tapped him lightly on the shoulder. "Can you tell me where the Fourth-Tier class is?"
Ray tilted his head slightly, voice flat. "Take a right. It's at the end of the corridor."
Before the boy could say thanks, another student yanked him back. "Hey—don't touch him!" he hissed. "That's him! That's the one!"
Eyes widened. Faces twisted in repulsion.
"Oh no. We touched shoulders," the boy shrieked as if infected. "What if I caught whatever freakish curse he has? What if I can't awaken my system now?!"
The crowd froze, attention snapping to Ray like wolves scenting blood.
Ray didn't flinch. He simply muttered, "You approached me. I didn't—"
A heavy arm wrapped around his shoulder, making his body tense instinctively.
Ray's breath caught.
The crowd recoiled as if the air had shifted—fear rippling through them as they stepped back in haste.
"Still scaring the newbies, Ray?" said a familiar voice, light and mocking. "If the dean hears about this, it'll be worse than last time."
Alex, A-Rank Beast Tamer—and Ray's former best friend—smirked as his massive white-winged tiger growled, flames licking from its maw.
'Not him… not now.'
With a flick of his wrist, Alex gave a signal. One of his lackeys snatched the books from Ray's arms and tossed them aside.
Ray didn't move. He knew how this played out. It was never just taunts. Never just words.
And each time, Alex found a new way to make it worse.
With calculated ease, Alex guided Ray forward, his grip firm and casual—like a puppeteer yanking strings.
Within seconds, they reached the open hall where new students gathered in anticipation of their first professors. The buzz of curiosity died as a flying white tiger descended onto the marble stage, flames curling from its nose and jaws.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
"What's an A-Rank Beast doing here?!"
Before the shock could settle, Alex shoved Ray up onto the stage like a prop.
The older students immediately recognized the scene. Their grins turned feral. The whispers began again, swift and venomous.
"Please, everyone!" Alex called with a playful bow. "Give my friend Ray a warm welcome. He's been here longer than any of us!"
Laughter broke out. One student jeered, "Did the Beast Tamer just call the Fourth-Tier Reject his friend?"
Ray stood center stage, eyes downcast, trying to ignore the snickers, the eyes that pierced like needles.
"Come on, Ray, don't be shy," Alex whispered close to his ear, his voice low and cutting. "This is your big moment. Shine for us."
Ray stumbled, trying to keep balance, but his foot caught and he fell hard onto the smooth marble. The crowd roared with laughter.
"Say something, loser!"
"Hey Ray, you gonna give us a lecture on how not to get a system?"
"Oh man, if every day's like this, this academy's gonna be fun!"
Ray wavered on the edge of the platform as a rough shove sent him crashing down—face-first—into the cold marble below.
CRACK.
The crowd froze.
Blood pooled under his head, running slowly across the white stone.
"Damn, he's bleeding—someone call a healer!"
"Why bother?" a senior muttered darkly. "Who'd waste their Talent on that thing?"
Ray's eyes remained open, glazed but not unconscious. He heard it all—the snorts, the insults, the indifference. It was the worst day in a long list of worst days… until—
"Hey," a girl whispered in the crowd, "did you hear the rumor? A group of pirates is sailing to the Void Sea…"
Ray's bloodied eyes twitched.
His fingers clenched.
"… I can't believe someone would willingly go there. That's suicide."
Ray pushed himself up, pain crackling through his skull.
"What… did you say?" His voice came out raw and strained.
The girl jolted back. "I-It's about pirates… they're heading to the Void Sea…"
A wicked grin spread slowly across Ray's face.
"Finally…" he whispered, running a hand through his blood-matted hair. His crimson eyes gleamed—sharp, wild, and alive.
Some of the students in the crowd gasped. That grin… that gaze… it didn't belong to a loser anymore.
"I waited four years… four damn years," he said with rising intensity, his smile stretching unnervingly. Whispers rippled like static through the crowd.
From above, Alex watched him closely, the smirk wiped from his face, replaced by a cold frown.
Ray descended the stage slowly. The crowd parted without a word.
He no longer looked broken.
He looked like something awakening.
Ray walked past the academy gates, blood still trickling down his temple, breath ragged with exhaustion—but something had changed.
His heart thudded wildly, not from fear, but anticipation.
He placed a trembling hand over his chest.
And then—it appeared.
*****
[SYSTEM: GLUTTON PROTOCOL - Lv. 0.01]
Host:Raymond Lockwood (Ray)
Rank: [Locked]
Title: [Locked]
Level: [Locked]
Hunger Points (HP): [Locked]
Digestive Slots: [Locked]
Stored Echoes: [Locked]
[Quest: Feed the Void Sea Red Rock to activate system.]
Pending: 4 years, 3 months, 6 days
Reward: Unlock full system access
Punishment: Permanent system lock
[System : long time no see Host]
*****
No system ask for something to activated, it starts to work from the moment the host awaken it. But Ray's was different.
Ray stared at the glowing red glyph hovering in front of him. It looked nothing like the Etherborn, Spiritchain, or Corecraft systems everyone else awakened with.
His was alive. Pulsing. Ravenous.
Four years ago, at his Awakening Ceremony, the Awakening stone glowed brighter than any before it—then flickered and died, with no system screen to show. The crowd thought he had failed. The professors didn't understand it. No one did.
They called it a glitch.
But it wasn't.
It was something never seen before.
A system so alien that the World Core itself couldn't classify it.
Ray never failed.
He simply got something too rare to comprehend.
As the golden sun bled into the horizon, Ray clenched his fists.
"The Void Sea…" he whispered, a hunger growing in his chest that wasn't quite physical. "That's where it begins."
For the first time in four years, the weight on his shoulders felt lighter. His eyes burned red like a predator who had finally smelled blood.
Ray Lockwood—the "loser," the "Fourth-Tier curse," the boy mocked by the world—took his first step toward something far bigger than anyone could imagine.
Because his system didn't just evolve.
It devoured.