SSS Awakening: Only My Summons Evolve

The ride to the Iron Graveyard was taking place in the back of Han’s absurdly long, armored limousine.

The interior of the car smelled of rich leather and expensive cologne, a stark contrast to the grim topic of conversation currently flowing between the nobles.

"So, did wiping out half the venue really make it that much easier to collect points?" Moon asked casually, swirling a glass of sparkling water like he was talking about a new workout routine.

Alice who was seated elegantly across from them, gave a small, pragmatic nod.

"Yes. By clearing the competition early, we monopolized the spawn zones, so we were pretty much done with our exam in an hour or two."

Sitting next to Moon, Verso looked between the two nobles as if they were complete psychopaths. They were talking about a mass slaughter of students like it was some form of competitive advantage.

He could not hold his tongue anymore. He gathered his courage, leaning forward slightly to ask Alice a question that had been on his mind ever since he saw the video.

"Did you not feel any guilt? What was their fault that they had to die?"

It made absolutely no sense to him. How could someone casually end dozens of lives, steal their futures, and sleep without nightmares? Did these clan elites even have hearts?

Hearing his sudden outburst, the casual atmosphere in the limo vanished.

Alice slowly turned her head to look at him. The playful amusement from the lobby was gone, replaced by a chilling cold stare.

"Why would I feel any guilt for taking the lives of people who would have taken mine without a second thought?" Her words came out razor sharp and bone chillingly cold, just like the very first time he had heard her speak in that boutique.

Slightly shocked by the sheer weight of her answer, Verso glanced at Han and Moon.

To his dismay, both boys looked completely satisfied with her logic which irritated Verso to his core. How could these nobles just brush off the loss of innocent lives? Do people like him mean nothing to them?

"I mean, it makes sense from a survival standpoint," Verso argued, his voice rising.

"but who is to say that most of those people were out to get you-"

"Verso, stop." Han’s voice cut through the tension like a polished blade.

The green haired boy’s smile was gone as he turned slightly toward Alice, dipping his head in a polite, apologetic gesture.

"Lady Ragnar, our friend here is a normal civilian who is entirely unaware of your situation. Please excuse his ignorance."

Hearing Han explicitly label Verso as a normal civilian, Alice was visibly taken aback.

Her cold stare faltered, replaced by genuine confusion as she looked at Verso in a different light. Given that he was casually hanging out with Han and Moon — heirs to incredibly powerful families— she had naturally assumed Verso was also a clan noble hiding behind a low profile.

"A civilian..." Alice murmured. She looked down, her icy demeanor cracking for just a fraction of a second.

"I suppose it is only natural for people on the outside to assume that I was the ruthless one."

She sounded almost... dejected. She turned her gaze away, staring silently out the tinted window into the passing lights of Phoenix City.

’What the fuck are they saying?’ Verso thought, his anger suddenly giving way to confusion.

He tried to piece together the context clues. If he was understanding this correctly, Alice hadn’t slaughtered those students just because she was a point obsessed maniac. There was an underlying reason related to her background.

Was she targeted? Were the other examinees assassins hired by rival clans?

A heavy, suffocating silence took over the drive. No one spoke a word, well except for Moon, who completely ignored the heavy emotional tension in the room.

The red eyed boy simply pulled out his phone, kicked his boots up, and started loudly chuckling at parkour failure videos on the internet.

Soon, the limo pulled to a smooth stop. The doors opened, and the group stepped out into the ground.

As they walked forward they handed the gate staff their academy cards and then walked the into the ground until they stood in front of a massive yellow portal.

"I will take the lead." Alice announced, her voice returning to its usual authoritative cadence.

Verso was not surprised by the sudden authoritative behavior. It was becoming clear that almost all high ranking nobles underwent intense tactical and leadership training.

"Moon and Han, you two will take the front vanguard," Alice instructed, pointing to the portal.

"I will take the flank to cover our blind spots. Verso, I am not entirely sure of your combat strength, so you will be positioned at the center."

She didn’t say it maliciously, but it was clear she was putting him in the safest spot because she assumed that the commoner was the weak link.

Nobody spoke for a second, until Han simply turned to look at Verso with his signature, pleasant smile.

"I don’t think you have to worry about Brother Verso being the weak link, Lady Ragnar. I can personally vouch for his strength." Han turned his attention back to Alice and Moon.

"With this team, we should have four summoners with Elite beast souls. The starting area of the Graveyard should not be hard to deal with if we cooperate."

Verso froze. His heart stopped dead in his chest.

Han had just given away his biggest secret. He dropped the fact that Verso had an Elite summon as casually as commenting on the weather.

Panic setting in, Verso whipped his head toward Moon, expecting the noble to be furious that the scum had been hiding an elite beast soul and not helping with the Python hunting.

But instead of being angry, the red eyed boy was completely unfazed, just stretching his shoulders.

"I find it very hard to believe that there is a commoner with an Elite summon," Alice said, her eyebrows raising in profound shock. She looked at Verso with a newfound, intense curiosity.

"But... I will take your word for it, Han."

Without waiting for a response, Alice turned and confidently walked into the swirling yellow light of the portal.

Just as Verso was trying to process his blown cover, a heavy hand slapped him brutally hard on the back.

"What, scum? You thought you had me tricked all this time?" Moon laughed loudly, a genuinely amused grin on his face.

But even before Verso could even formulate a defense, Moon stepped past him and vanished into the portal, leaving Verso standing outside with Han as he realized that he had been thoroughly outplayed by the nobles once again.