Volume One: In the Prime of Youth Chapter Four: Bancroft

(Page 1/3)
“Campus—this can be the name of a place or a kind of life. I left the ivory tower early, and faced with the ugliness and perils of the world, I transformed from a weak lamb into a wolf clad in sheep’s clothing. After transferring schools, I unwittingly became the lead in a ‘Tale of the Hungry Wolf’ among those naïve students. Do you wish to know what kind of story this is? Let me tell it slowly, from the beginning.” —“Chronicles of Bygone Days,” by Huo Ye.

Bancroft Academy, lauded as the “Sanctuary of Elites” by over a dozen colonies, is a place from which every graduate is fated to become someone of note. At the same time, it is famed for its rarity of graduates, with a graduation rate that sometimes plunges into single digits—a unique phenomenon in the realm of higher education.

“It is not graduation that makes one an elite, but only elites are worthy of graduation.” This motto, inscribed upon the school’s stone stele, originates from the words of its first principal.

After bidding farewell to his five companions, Huo Ye began dusting off his Hunter Squad uniform. The dirt from battle clung to him—“disheveled” hardly did justice to his appearance. Having not seen his sister for half a year, he still wished to leave her with a good impression.

His route did not follow the railway, so he did not alight at the station, but instead stood directly before Bancroft’s main gates. Though both his parents were alumni, this was Huo Ye’s first time at Bancroft. He couldn’t help but marvel at the daring vision of the school’s founder, for the entire academy was built in the heart of the Calamity Wilds.

“A school that produces the greatest number of outstanding Gifted Walkers, yet it stands right in the Calamity Wilds—talk about slapping those Catastrophes in the face!” Huo Ye exclaimed.

The “Catastrophes” he referred to were the most fearsome class of disasters. To be classified as a Catastrophe, a disaster must rate at least 150 on the hazard scale. The most powerful among them were called the Twelve Cataclysms. For the calamities, this title marked unmatched strength and status; for humanity, it meant a nuclear-level existential threat.

“Hey, Xiao Ai? Yes, it’s me. Something came up, I’m right outside the school gate. Why don’t you come meet me here? The guard doesn’t believe I’m a student since I’m wearing a Hunter Squad uniform. All right, all right, it’s my fault. How about big brother makes you macarons later?” Huo Ye coaxed his little sister with a gentle, soothing tone, as if speaking to a child who’d waited too long.

His sister was named Alice Halls, the biological daughter of his adoptive parents. Though their father, Eddie, bore a classic Western name, he was of pure Asian descent, while their mother, Vivian Halls, hailed from French ancestry.

Thus, Alice was of mixed heritage and strikingly beautiful. The platinum blond hair inherited from her mother and those brilliant sapphire eyes were her most captivating features.

Ten minutes later, Huo Ye finally spotted Alice in the distance. He raised a hand with a smile, but within a second, that smile froze on his lips.

“Damn it! Has our precious cabbage been stolen by a pig?” Huo Ye’s mind filled with a thousand stampeding llamas as he saw a boy walking beside Alice.

For an older brother, the mere presence of a strange male beside his sister—be he a gentleman or a street thug—first brings unease, then anxiety, and finally, a wild impulse to sock the fellow before deciding whether to apologize, a complex tangle of emotion.

Most people only glance and feel the first twinge, gradually moving into stage two and three before a proper meeting.

Huo Ye, however, completed this transformation in five seconds, then strode toward the pair with a fierce air.

His steps were not especially swift, but Alice could clearly sense his brooding aura. She was instantly alarmed—when did her brother start giving off their father’s intimidating vibe? Terrifying!

Following his gaze, she realized the boy who’d been following her all this time was still at her side! Was he suicidal or something? Out of goodwill, Alice warned, “You’d better go now. I’m not going with you. If you don’t leave—see that guy in uniform? That’s my brother! He might beat you to a pulp!”

(Page 2/3)
Alice’s words were brief but carried a potent threat.

By the time Huo Ye reached her, he had already replaced his scowl with a friendly smile. Hearing Alice’s words to the boy, he breathed a sigh of relief. Anyone who could say that clearly wasn’t a boyfriend—thank goodness!

Alice turned and beamed at Huo Ye, throwing her arms around him without a care for the dust on his uniform. “Brother, I missed you so much!”

Huo Ye hugged her back tightly and murmured, “I missed you too.” Then, releasing her, he nodded toward the boy and inquired, “And who is this?”

“Ah, well… I’m just the messenger. Our ‘Wildfire’ club president would like to invite Miss Alice to tonight’s club gathering. Many leaders of major clubs will be there. Miss Alice, the president sent me specially—please do come, or I’ll be in deep trouble!”

Huo Ye immediately understood. This was just an excuse to get Alice to the gathering—another suitor’s ploy. He was used to it by now, as Alice had attracted many admirers before.

Mentally, Huo Ye marked this ‘Wildfire’ president as a formidable rival. Still, as the saying goes, you don’t harm the envoy between warring armies—no need to make life hard for a mere messenger. So he said, “All right, go back and tell them: Xiao Ai will attend, but so will I. Make sure to add my name to the guest list—Huo Ye, as in ‘the night that may come.’”

The boy was overjoyed—this Herculean task was finally complete. He thanked them profusely and took his leave, disappearing through the school gates.

Watching him go, Huo Ye asked Alice with a wry smile, “So, what’s going on?”

Alice rolled her eyes. “What else? The Wildfire club president, Enmadou Chadou, has been pursuing me since my first day. The more I ignore him, the more persistent he gets. Tonight’s gathering was only supposed to be for the club president and vice president, but now I’m specially invited. His intentions couldn’t be more obvious.”

“There’s nothing wrong with a boy pursuing someone he likes. If you’re not interested, I’ll handle it for you tonight,” Huo Ye said calmly. “By the way, why is their club called ‘Wildfire’? It sounds so juvenile! I can’t even tell what they do.”

Alice giggled. “No, Wildfire isn’t a hobby club. Let me explain…”

She then described Bancroft’s club system.

Each term, the school releases a pool of ‘free resources’: access to high-level training grounds, elite instructor courses, and rare gifted artifacts, all priced in points. If you have the points, you can claim what you need.

Points are issued each term based on academic performance—the higher your grades, the more ‘base points’ you receive.

The school also posts tasks of varying difficulty, mostly dangerous trials in the Calamity Wilds, with hefty point rewards. But not everyone is willing to risk their lives for these. So, once this system was in place, a market for point trading arose.

To enforce its elite and competitive philosophy, the academy set rules to curb private, harmonious exchanges of points between students. For each friendly transaction, the school takes a 20% cut in points or resources as a handling fee.

If this were the only rule, students would have endlessly complained about the school’s lack of compassion.

(Page 3/3)
Yet at the same time, the academy established another rule: if two parties wager points or resources in a competitive match, the victor takes all and the school claims no fee.

In principle, as long as nothing illegal or against school rules occurs, and the wagered points or resources are agreed as equivalent by both sides, with at least one witness, anything from a brawl between hundred-strong squads to a simple card game could be used to win or lose points.

Since competition favors strength in numbers, over time, non-hobby clubs like Wildfire sprang up. Students would band together, complete school-issued tasks for points, or seize them from weaker students, amassing vast resources and growing in power.

Currently, the largest groups are the Seven Attribute Clubs, ranked from strongest to weakest: Thunderclap, the thunder club; Windchime Valley, the wind club; Wildfire, the fire club; Frozen Domain, the ice club; Chamber of Truth, the space club; Light of the Sacred Ring, the holy club; and Dark Hall, the shadow club.

“Still acting like teenagers in college—isn’t that a bit much?” Huo Ye remarked after hearing these grandiose names, paying little mind to their power and influence, but marveling at their flair.

“You sure your focus is in the right place?” Alice teased. “So, after all that, are you interested in joining any club? If you want to join our Light of the Sacred Ring, I can talk to the president for you.”

Huo Ye chuckled and waved a hand. “No need. A mountain of ants can’t match a pack of wolves. I don’t need a big club behind me—just a few trusted comrades.”

At that, Alice punched his shoulder, puffing up indignantly. “Who are you calling ants?”

“I wasn’t talking about you! How could you be an ant? You’re my adorable, dependable sister!”

“Hmph, that’s better.” Alice put her hands on her hips with satisfaction, then asked, “By the way, now that you’re at a new school, are you still keeping the old secret?” The nature of this secret was understood without words.

Huo Ye nodded. “There’s no need to hide my Gifted abilities too much—it’ll come out eventually, and I don’t plan to keep it secret for long. But until then, try not to mention it.” He was referring to the fact that he could use multiple types of gifts—a trump card he kept hidden. Outwardly, he would present himself as an ordinary shadow-type gifted walker.

“OK, got it!” Alice replied, her fair cheeks dimpling into twin smiles. She darted behind Huo Ye and began pushing him forward. “Come on, let’s go! Your luggage has already arrived, but the room we’ve prepared for you is empty. I’ll help you change clothes and then we can buy some furniture.”

“Hey, stop pushing—I can walk myself!” Huo Ye protested.

And so, bickering and laughing, the siblings made their way into the campus.