Extra's POV: I am the Sixteenth Son

After training with Jareth, Ares and the rest of his class had taken their baths before changing into new clothes, black training uniforms with baggy pants that made them look like tiny ninjas ready for their first mission.

They were now gathered in front of a building separate from the Cradle's main structure. The building was made of black stones that seemed to drink in the sunlight, and it hummed with energy so powerful that Ares could feel it tickling his skin like static electricity before a storm.

Maelia walked beside Ares, still staring at the building with wide eyes. She spoke up, her voice barely above a whisper. "So this is it? Our new life!"

Ares turned to look at her, a smile spreading across his face like butter on warm bread. "Yeah! It looks that way. This will be our new life from now on."

Sylas and Lysandra stayed quiet, but their faces showed the same mix of excitement and fear that someone might feel before riding their first roller coaster. They all stood before the Echovault, a training facility where Cradle trainees would sharpen their battle skills while improving their fighting abilities.

The doors to the Echovault swung open, and a man walked out. He looked like the complete opposite of Jareth. Where Jareth was built like a mountain, this man was lean and fit, like a marathon runner. He had no scary energy around him at all, in fact, he seemed as harmless as a librarian.

He was Ethan, the supervisor of the Echovault. A friendly smile painted his face as he walked toward the group. "Hey there, trainees! I'm Ethan, and I run this place. I'll be watching over your training here in the vault. Come on in, let's see what you're made of!"

The group studied Ethan like he was a puzzle they needed to solve. Even Ares found himself wondering what surprises waited for them inside as they followed the man through the doors.

– – –

Inside the vault, Ethan led them down a long hallway with two massive rooms on either side. The walls had glass windows, and the students pressed their noses against the glass like kids at a candy store.

On the left, there were glowing cores stuck to the wall with some kind of suction device. The cores sparkled like Christmas lights in different colors. Above them, two signs read "Beast" and "Humanoid" in bold letters.

On the right side, there was something that looked like a six-sided ring with a raised stone pillar standing guard beside it. Seeing this, Ares couldn't help but think of the web novels he'd read in his past life. 'This place gives me the creeps, but let's see what happens today!'

Ethan led them to an open room at the end of the hall. It looked like someone had mashed together a waiting room and a classroom. Ethan pointed to chairs at the front, and they all sat down like obedient students.

"Welcome to the Echovault!" Ethan announced, his voice echoing slightly in the room. "You'll need to spend at least three hours a day here, which will cost you ten merit points." He paused, watching their faces drop like rocks as they realized everything at the Cradle had a price tag.

"That gets you into the vault and gives you a free beginner-level core. But if you want to fight stronger enemies, you'll pay extra, forty points for levels up to expert, and one hundred for master and grandmaster ranks. And that's per round, folks."

The trainees absorbed this information like sponges soaking up water. Ethan could see they understood the rules now.

"Alright! Time for the fun part, who's ready for some action?"

No one replied. Everyone stared at Ethan like he'd grown a second head. He chuckled and led them out of the room toward the door marked 'Echovault.' Ethan stepped inside alone and came back out holding a purple glowing core that pulsed like a heartbeat.

"This little beauty is the core of a beginner beast. It's not really dangerous, more like a annoying bug than a real threat. Since today is just for show, we'll only need one volunteer." Ethan's eyes swept over them like a searchlight. Finally, he pointed. "You! What's your name?"

Sylas kept his usual cool expression before answering. "Sylas de Eisenklinge!"

Ethan waved away his fancy title. "Yeah, Sylas. You get to be our test dummy today."

Sylas's eye twitched slightly. "Lucky me," he muttered under his breath.

– – –

The group moved into the vault's second room, the Ring Area. Ethan carried the core forward as he talked. "So this is where the magic happens, literally."

The room was built like a fighting ring, but not the kind you'd see in boxing movies. The main features were a raised stone platform with a circular dent in the middle and a six-sided pattern carved into the black stone floor that looked like it was waiting for something to happen.

Ethan stopped and pointed to the hexagon. "First, step into that shape there."

Sylas walked into the hexagon, his footsteps echoing in the quiet room.

"This is the core of a Novice-level monster called an Aqua Dribblet, basically a slime creature. Here's a tip: it's more like a pest than a real beast. Use your brain, not just your muscles."

Ethan placed the core into the circular dent on top of the platform.

A soft click echoed through the stone beneath their feet, like a lock opening.

The vault came alive.

Thin white lines lit up at each corner of the hexagon carved into the floor. The light crawled along the six edges one by one, until the entire shape glowed with steady blue light. From the bottom of the stone pillar, a low hum began, growing stronger and stronger. The core glowed brighter, then pulsed once with a deep thump, sending a wave of soft blue light rushing outward into the ring.

Ethan stepped back as the core sank slightly into the platform.

Blue mist curled up from each corner of the hexagon like smoke from a campfire. The mist twisted into tall beams of light that formed a glowing ring above the ground. Water droplets appeared in midair, hanging like invisible spider webs. At the center of the hexagon, liquid light began to pool, slow at first like honey dripping from a spoon. Then it grew bigger and bigger.

A see-through, blob-like shape rose from the glowing pool, twitching like it was waking up from a long nap. It shimmered like jelly, roughly round, with stretchy arms that slid across the carved floor. Its surface rippled with tiny bubbles and swirls. Two faint blue rings glowed where its eyes should be.

The creature twitched once. Then it lunged forward, moving like a drunk person trying to walk a straight line. It wasn't fast or scary, just curious and hungry.

The Aqua Dribblet was awake.

Every student watching felt their jaws drop. This was their first real experience in the Echovault, and even Ares couldn't hide his amazement. But the one feeling all the pressure was Sylas, who now stood face-to-face with the slimy creature.

The Dribblet bounced once. Then twice. It made a wet slapping sound with each little hop, like a fish flopping on dry land. No claws, no sharp teeth, just goo.

It threw itself at Sylas with a lazy lunge, its body rippling as it slid across the floor.

Sylas dodged easily, sliding around to its side. His short sword flashed in the blue light.

Slice, clean as a whistle.

The blade passed through the Dribblet's upper part, leaving a shimmering cut.

Then the goo split apart.

Now there were two smaller blobs, both still moving around.

They rolled apart and began circling him slowly, like cats stalking a mouse.

Sylas blinked hard. "You've got to be kidding me."

"Did it just multiply?" Maelia whispered from outside the ring.

Ares crossed his arms. "Looks like cutting it wasn't the best idea."

Sylas slashed again, this time driving his blade down into one of the halves. It made a gross squelching sound, but instead of dying, it wrapped around his sword like sticky glue.

"Ugh, this thing won't let go!"

The other half jumped from the side and stuck to his leg, making a soft sizzling sound.

Sylas winced and pulled his leg back. "Ouch, it's burning!"

Outside the ring, Ares's eyes narrowed. "It's acidic."

Lysandra leaned forward. "It's not just harmless slime?"

"Nope," Ares said grimly. "It's much worse."

Back in the ring, Sylas gritted his teeth and yanked his leg free, cutting the blob off with a hard swing.

"I've had enough of this nonsense!"

He held out his free hand. A small, flickering orange flame sparked to life in his palm—his basic, Level 1 fire magic that he was still learning to control.

"Let's see how you like being cooked!"

He threw the flame at the nearest blob.

The moment fire touched slime, the Dribblet went crazy.

There was a sharp hissing sound, then suddenly, everything exploded.

BOOM!

A bright orange and green blast of steam and acid erupted outward like a volcano. Sylas was thrown across the ring, hitting the floor with a loud crash and a pained grunt. His uniform steamed and smoked. Angry red burns appeared on his arm and neck where acid had splashed under his collar.

The Dribblets? Completely gone.

"Well," Sylas groaned from the floor, "that could have gone better."

Ares shook his head. "At least you won... sort of."

– – –

Ethan stepped forward calmly as the lights around the ring dimmed back to normal.

"Sylas," he began, his voice steady but not unkind. "You survived. And technically, you won the fight."

Sylas sat up slowly, wincing at his burns. "Not exactly how I planned it..."

Ethan ignored the comment and turned to address everyone.

"Let this be your first real lesson, not all slimes are just water. Aqua Dribblets might look harmless, but they're filled with acid that eats through skin and metal. Their bodies become unstable when they touch fire."

He looked at each student in turn.

"Fire doesn't always help. Sometimes, it makes things explode in your face."

"The Vault didn't hurt you, you hurt yourself. The system can't protect you from your own mistakes."

He walked back to the platform and placed his hand on a glowing symbol.

"Don't judge a monster by its rank alone. Learn what it actually does, or you'll end up like Sylas here, singed and sorry."

He paused, looking almost sad.

"This is the Cradle," Ethan said quietly. "Everything here can kill you, including your own ignorance."

The students had learned something important today, and this lesson would stick with them for every fight to come.

As they helped Sylas to his feet, Ares couldn't help but grin. "Well, that was educational."

"Shut up," Sylas muttered, but there was a small smile on his burned face.

They were all beginning to understand that life at the Cradle would never be boring.

– – –

A/N – Was it fire or mid? Don't just vanish—powerstone, comment, review. Let me feel your presence.