The Crimson Tyrant's Forbidden Source

Dress to kill

Chapter 7: Dress to Kill

She forced the thought away as they climbed the winding stone staircase, eventually emerging into the A-rank residential sector. The contrast was staggering. Instead of cramped, damp stone barracks where the lower-tier students were packed like cattle, the hallway opened into a sprawling, high end gallery of modern mini apartments designed exclusively for the Top 100.

The floor beneath their boots was polished obsidian, reflecting the soft, ambient glow of quartz crystals embedded in the ceiling.

However, Eva had a feeling this wasn't the absolute ceiling of the academy's luxury. Along the way, she had passed residential wings marked D, C, B, and A. Given this institution's absolute obsession with social Darwinism and hierarchy, her sharp instincts told her that a hidden, ultra exclusive S-rank sector existed somewhere out of sight, housing the true monsters of the legacy factions.

Swiping her silver token against the metallic seal of Room 4, a low hum resonated through the frame. The heavy wooden door, reinforced with faint defensive arrays, swung open to reveal a pristine, fully furnished living space. It featured a sleek kitchenette with dark stone counters, a modern bathroom facility, and two entirely separate private bedrooms flanking the main common area.

"I... I can't believe we're actually staying here," Nora breathed, her voice tight with a mixture of awe and sheer relief. She walked over, tracing her fingers along the polished countertops as if expecting the room to vanish. "Eva, thank you. Seriously. If I had been sent to the lower dorms without an anchor, the senior students from the noble houses would have torn me apart out of both spite and jealousy just for being associated with you."

Before Eva could reply, a sudden, heavy chime echoed from their personal devices. The sound was sharp, vibrating with a specific frequency that demanded immediate attention. Eva pulled out her phone. A sleek text notification had just arrived, integrating seamlessly with the academy's internal magical matrix.

[ACADEMY TIMETABLE DISTRIBUTION]

Student: Eva Vance (Rank 98)

Core Curriculum: Basic Qi Manipulation Theory, Attribute Containment, Tactical Combat Foundations.

Note: Assigned practical training classes are scheduled alongside A-rank awakeners. Students who are not up to par during the mid-term exercises will be immediately demoted to B or C tiers without appeal.

Notice: Your specialized grouping and class schedules have been tailored to your capacity. Details regarding the mandatory Orientation Ball have been published directly to the School Forum.

Eva walked over to the viewport, her arms crossed as she looked down at the main schooling hall visible from their elevated pavilion.

Hovering permanently over the central plaza was a massive, translucent projection of the Almighty Rankings scroll; the digital heart of the School Forum. The golden ink was actively shifting and pulsing, displaying real time announcements, house points, and frantic student discussions that rippled across the phantom parchment like a live, hyper reactive network.

Right at the top of the forum, a large, glowing crimson announcement had just pinned itself, bleeding into the digital parchment.

[ANNOUNCEMENT: THE LEGACY ORIENTATION BALL]

Attendance is mandatory for all freshmen and will be held tonight in the General Hall. All five regional legacy factions will be scouting for recruits. All introductory classes will begin on Monday. Choose your house wisely before the second week, or the choice will be made for you by blood.

The theme of the ball is:

Dress To Kill

Eva stared at the glowing projection, her mind tracing the names of the five great houses that dictated the realm's power. The academy wasn't just a school; it was a brutal microcosm of the entire continent's political landscape.

"We need to find out exactly what we're dealing with," Eva said, her voice dropping to a low, ice cold tone that made the temperature in the room seem to dip. She turned back, her pitch black eyes locking onto her roommate with predatory focus.

"Nora. Before we step foot into that ball tonight, I need to know everything there is to know about this continent. No sugarcoating."

Nora sat on the edge of the dark, plush sofa, her casual demeanor instantly evaporating as her expression grew dead serious. "You really are an outsider, aren't you? Fine. Let's start with the biggest, most absolute truth: this entire continent is completely hidden from the rest of Earth by ancient, world class spatial arrays.

We are completely isolated. For an anomaly like you, finding a way to breach the borders and actually go back to the mundane world is a statistical impossibility."

Eva’s eyes narrowed slightly. "An impossibility?"

"Unless you use the Gate," Nora whispered, glancing around as if the walls themselves were listening. "And don't even ask me what the Gate is or how to find it. All I know from my family's old records is that the Gate directly connects this hidden continent to the absolute center of Antarctica. As for its exact coordinates and how to bypass its guardians, I have no idea.

Honestly, the only reason I even know this much is because I come from a minor noble family. Commoners and standard awakeners spend their whole lives here without ever knowing Earth still exists out there."

Eva leaned against the kitchen counter, her mind cataloging the information. Antarctica. A frozen, isolated gateway. "And this academy is the only way up?"

"It’s the only thing that matters on this continent," Nora confirmed, leaning forward, her hands tightly clasped. "There are other institutions scattered across the outer territories, but they are joke schools. They only get the second-hand scraps, the discarded remnants, and the failed students the high houses don't even deign to look at.

This academy holds an absolute monopoly on resources, techniques, and high-tier spirit items. If a student at one of those trash schools somehow performs exceptionally and enters the global Almighty Rankings, this place poaches them instantly. A forced, non-negotiable transfer. The outer schools call it an honor, but in reality, it’s just a strategic maneuver to ensure this school keeps a total stranglehold on global power."

"So every pillar of this continent, every legacy heir, and every dangerous variable is trapped under this one roof," Eva murmured, her mind already calculating the immense pressure cooker they had just stepped into. "What about the rankings? I thought the Almighty Rankings were meant for this particular academy alone."

"The global brackets dictate the entire continent tracking the Students, the Alumni, and the War factions," Nora explained, her voice dropping to a barely audible murmur. "But within these specific academy walls, there is an entirely different leaderboard. A shadow board. It’s called the Chaos Rankings."

"The Chaos Rankings?" Eva repeated, tracking the rhythm of the words.

"It’s an underground resistance network," Nora said, a small, reckless spark of defiance lighting up her eyes. "The academy administration tries to enforce absolute control over us, acting as a tool for our powerful parents and the Great Houses to keep us compliant. So, about seventy-odd years ago, a group of rebellious past students created an underground ranking system that has been running on the network ever since. You don't get points there by cultivating quietly or obeying the rules."

"How do you enter it?"

"By going against the norms. By disrupting their perfect order and, well... causing absolute chaos," Nora grinned faintly, though there was a tremor of fear beneath it. "The wild part? The legacy heirs compete for the Chaos Rankings just as fiercely as the commoners. It’s the ultimate flex of true, unmonitored power."

Eva looked at her, her analytical mind picking apart the logistical holes. "Why doesn't the school administration shut it down? Or is it so secretive that even the faculty doesn't know it exists?"

Nora let out a dry, humorless laugh without lifting her head. "Of course the academy knows about it. But the thing is, the Chaos Rankings have the explicit protection of the five factions within the student body, which are led by the most powerful, untouchable individuals still in the school

whether in terms of raw combat strength, immense wealth, or deep political connections.

But even that wouldn't be enough to deter the Board of Directors. The real reason the school can't touch it is because of the history. The former students who dominated the Chaos Rankings decades ago are now the most powerful Warlords, young Leaders, and heirs apparent on the global Renowned Rankings. They control a massive portion of the continent's industries, armies, and resources. If the academy tries to crush the underground network, they offend the very alumni funding the school."

Eva turned her gaze back out the window toward the glowing forum projection. The mandatory theme, Dress to Kill, loomed in heavy crimson letters against the golden backdrop. The school was a volatile powder keg of rigid nobility, spoilt imperial tyrants, and a toxic underground counter-culture of chaotic defiance.

Tonight was not a party. It was a hunting ground.

"Tonight is the scouting phase," Eva murmured, her eyes reflecting the crimson light of the projection. "The house leaders are going to test the waters. If you look weak, you instantly become prey to be subjugated. If you look too strong without a house to back you up, they will conspire to break you before you can threaten their hierarchy."

She walked toward her designated bedroom door, pausing as the stone handle detected her signature and chimed softly under her touch. A slow, cold smile touched her lips; the first real, unfiltered expression she had shown since the blood soaked trials had ended.

"Let's get ready, Nora," Eva said softly, her voice carrying a dangerous, rhythmic edge. "The theme is dress to kill. Let's see how their perfect hierarchy handles the only two mutations in the room."