Chapter 1: Lev Belos

"More than a hundred years ago, our world faced a world-changing apocalypse. Abyss monsters spawned out of the dimension crack," Teacher Jane's melodic voice rang through the classroom.

"Humanity was in great despair at that time. Human technology was utterly useless against those monsters," she continued, her eyes scanning the room.

"In the depths of despair, saviors appeared. Who were those saviors?" Teacher Jane's voice trailed off, leaving the question hanging in the air.

As her gaze swept across the classroom, something caught her eye. A frown marred her charismatic features as she spotted one of her students, face planted firmly on his desk, clearly lost in dreamland.

With the grace of a cat stalking its prey, Teacher Jane approached the sleeping student. The rest of the class watched with a mix of anticipation and amusement, knowing full well what was coming.

In one fluid motion, Teacher Jane pinched and twisted the left ear of her sleeping student. "You're sleeping again, Mr. Belos," she said, her voice a mix of exasperation and resignation.

What followed was a symphony of groans from the student, Lev Belos, accompanied by the barely suppressed laughter of his classmates.

"Agh! Ah, please stop, Ms. Jane. I'm not sleeping... anymore," Lev begged, his voice a pitch higher than usual.

Satisfied with the reaction, Teacher Jane released his ear. The frown, however, remained firmly in place. "You're really something, Mr. Belos. How many times have I seen you sleeping in my class this month?"

Lev rubbed his now tomato-red ear, grimacing. Despite the pain, his mind raced to come up with an excuse. "I was studying late last night, Ms. Jane," he said, putting on his best 'wrongly accused' face.

His excuse was met with a chorus of laughter from his classmates.

"Haha! Did you hear that? Lev was studying late! Next, he'll tell us pigs can fly!" one of his classmates managed to say between fits of laughter, nearly falling off his chair.

"Can't you come up with a better excuse? Maybe the dog ate your alarm clock?" another chimed in, wiping tears of mirth from his eyes.

"Who knows? Maybe our lazy Lev really did study late last night. And maybe I'm secretly a superhero," a third added, barely containing his snickers.

"Silence!" Teacher Jane ordered, her frown deepening.

Lev could only offer a wry smile in response to his predicament. He really had studied last night, but his reputation as the class slacker preceded him. His insomnia often kept him awake at night, inevitably leading to his daily classroom naps.

"I did study last night though..." he murmured, still nursing his throbbing ear.

Teacher Jane, standing close enough to hear his mumble, raised an eyebrow. "You studied late last night, you say? Well then, Mr. Belos, if you really did study, who was the savior of mankind who appeared a hundred years ago?"

Lev scratched his chin, wondering why his teacher was asking such a commonly known question. Nevertheless, he answered, "It was the Humanity Savior, Lord Matthew Grand."

"And how did Lord Matthew save humanity?" Teacher Jane pressed on.

"Based on history, Lord Matthew was the first Soul Pact Warrior to appear in the world. He merged with the powerful Soul Monster, Divine Roc," Lev began, his words flowing smoothly. "He fought against an Apocalypse-Level abyss monster for several days before pushing it back through the dimension crack, dying in the process."

The frown on Teacher Jane's face eased slightly. She nodded, "Good. It seems you did indeed study late last night. Well done, Mr. Belos. Perhaps there's hope for you yet."

As Teacher Jane walked back to the front of the class, the room fell silent once more.

"As Lev stated, Lord Matthew was the first person to become known as a Soul Pact Warrior," she continued. "Soul Pact Warriors are those who have been gifted or awakened their power to merge and wield the abilities of Soul Monsters!"

[... content continues ...]

"Tomorrow, please remember not to be late. For some of you, it will be your last chance to awaken your soul space," Teacher Jane reminded as the students filed out of the classroom.

Lev, who had already packed up his belongings, accidentally bumped into one of his classmates as he left the room. The book she was holding clattered to the floor.

"I'm sorry," Lev quickly apologized, bending down to retrieve the book. As he straightened up to hand it back, he realized who he had bumped into.

Standing at 170 cm, with long, deep-black hair and flawless features, it was none other than Winter Nordstrom, the school's resident "ice princess." Despite her cold moniker, Winter wasn't actually ill-tempered – she just rarely spoke.

Lev, standing at 180 cm, looked down slightly as he offered the book. "I'm sorry, I was in a bit of a hurry. Didn't see you there."

Without any change in her expression, Winter simply accepted the book and curtly replied, "It's alright."

She then walked away after giving Lev a brief, inscrutable look.

Lev watched the cold beauty's retreating figure, lost in thought until a whisper in his ear made him jump out of his skin.

Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.

"Earth to Lev! She's long gone, wake up, frog prince."

Lev yelped, nearly dropping his bag as he spun around to face the owner of the creepy voice. It was Leo Blaise, one of his closest friends and classmates since their last year of junior high school.

"You're the frog!" Lev retorted, trying to shake off the goosebumps that had erupted all over his arms.

Leo dramatically flicked his flaming red hair in response. "I'm far from being a frog, my friend. More like a majestic phoenix, if you ask me."

Leo, who was about Lev's height with a good physique and tanned skin, was indeed far from frog-like in most women's eyes.

Lev just scoffed at his friend's usual antics. "Right, and I'm the King of Abyss Monsters."

Ignoring Lev's sarcasm, Leo slung an arm around his shoulder. "Come on, let's hit up Cafe Bang. I feel lucky today – maybe I'll finally beat your high score!"

Cafe Bang was their usual after-school hangout, where they would play PC games until curfew. However, today wasn't the right time for Lev to waste precious hours.

Lev gently removed Leo's arm and shook his head. "Can't today, man. Unlike you, Mr. 'I've-already-awakened-my-soul-space,' I've got work to do."

"I need to use every remaining day to try and awaken my soul space," Lev continued, his tone serious despite the jest.

Hearing his friend's reason, Leo's jovial expression softened. He knew how important awakening a soul space was to Lev – they had both dreamed of becoming Soul Pact Warriors.

A few months ago, Leo had awakened his soul space, while Lev was still struggling. Understanding his friend's determination, Leo could only offer his support. "I get it, buddy. Just let me know if you need anything, alright? As long as it's within my power, consider it done."

"Thanks, man," Lev said with a grateful smile as they walked out of the school together.

At 7:00 pm, Lev arrived at his home in the urban side of Serene City.

"I'm home!" he called out as he entered.

"Lev, you're back?" his mom's voice rang out from the kitchen. "Go change your clothes and wash your hands. Dinner will be ready in a jiffy!"

Their house was a modest two-story building, with Lev's room on the second floor. After changing into casual clothes, he went back downstairs to wash his hands and help his mom prepare dinner.

At the dinner table, Lev's mom, Arina, asked, "How was school today?"

"Same old, same old," he replied nonchalantly, stuffing his mouth with a generous helping of fried pork.

Arina squinted suspiciously at her son. Despite being 40 years old, she could easily pass for someone in her late 20s. "Did you fall asleep in class again?"

Lev choked on his food, caught off guard by the direct question.

"Sigh, you little troublemaker. When are you going to start acting your age?" She shook her head, handing him a glass of water. "Were you up all night playing those online games again?"

Having recovered from his near-death-by-pork experience, Lev found himself facing another accusation. "No, mom! Have some faith in your son. I really was studying last night."

"Right, right. If you weren't my son, I might actually believe that," Arina smirked, placing another piece of fried pork on his plate.

"It's really difficult to be honest these days," Lev lamented dramatically. "People would rather believe a lie than the truth. Oh, the tragedy!"

Arina could only shake her head at her son's theatrics. "Just eat your food, you little drama queen. Come to the living room after you've washed the dishes. I've got a surprise for you."

"A surprise? What is it?" Lev perked up, his curiosity piqued.

"What are you, five? Finish your food and wash the dishes. You'll find out soon enough," Arina said, rising from the table.

Lev watched his mom leave, wondering what she could possibly have in store for him. Despite his curiosity, he savored every bite of his dinner, knowing better than to rush through his mom's cooking.

Later, in the living room, Lev found his mother already seated on the sofa. He plopped down beside her and asked eagerly, "So, mom, what's this mysterious gift you're dying to give me?"

Arina didn't immediately produce the gift. Instead, she asked, "How's the awakening of your soul space coming along?"

Lev fell silent at his mother's question, his earlier enthusiasm deflating like a punctured balloon.

Arina's heart ached seeing her son's crestfallen expression. She knew how passionate he was about becoming a Soul Pact Warrior, just like his father had been before he went missing. It had been 15 long years since Lev's father had disappeared without a trace.

She understood all too well why Lev wanted to follow in his father's footsteps – to find him, to bring him home. Arina was acutely aware of the hard work Lev was putting into awakening his soul space, but she felt powerless to help him.

That's why she had been secretly saving part of her salary from her job at the Abyss Monster Carcass Company. It wasn't much, but it was something.

Lev looked up at his mother, curiosity returning as he watched her pull out a small black box from her pocket.

"Your birthday is just around the corner, but I think you could use an early present," she said with a warm smile.

"Mom..." Lev's voice trailed off, touched by the gesture.

"Go on, take it," Arina urged.

"Thanks, Mom," Lev said, accepting the gift with both hands. "Can I open it now?"

Arina nodded, her eyes twinkling with anticipation.

Eager to see what was inside, Lev carefully opened the box. Nestled within was a black, clear, and polished pearl. It took him a moment to realize what he was looking at.

"Is this... a Soul Monster Core?" he gasped, shock evident in his voice.

"How did you get this, Mom?" he asked, his mind reeling at the implications.

"Don't you worry about that. I'm still your mother, aren't I? It's my job to help my son chase his dreams," Arina said, her tone a mix of pride and affection.

"But how? With our financial situation..." Lev's brow furrowed in concern. Suddenly, a ridiculous thought struck him. "Wait, you didn't sell Dad's lucky underwear, did you?"

WHACK!

A powerful smack landed squarely on the back of Lev's head.

"Just what kind of mother do you think I am?" Arina huffed, though there was a glimmer of amusement in her eyes. "I'll have you know, I'd sell you before I'd even think of parting with your father's... ahem... delicates."

Lev rubbed his head, a wry smile on his face. "Ouch! Okay, okay, I get it. Bad joke. But seriously, Mom, this must have cost a fortune. Are you sure we can afford it?"

"You let me worry about that," Arina said, her tone brooking no argument. "Now, off you go to your room. It's time you awakened that soul space of yours."

Feeling a warmth spreading through his chest, Lev could only marvel at how truly wonderful his mother was. In that moment, he silently vowed to protect and care for her for the rest of his life.

"Thank you, Mom. Really," Lev said, pulling her into a tight hug before heading up to his room.

As he climbed the stairs, excitement bubbled up inside him. Could this be it? Could he finally awaken his soul space? With renewed determination, Lev clutched the precious gift, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead in his journey to become a Soul Pact Warrior.