Owen FateBinder

As Owen ducked a fist, a knee struck him squarely in the stomach, causing him to wince in pain and drop to his knees.

The boy who attacked him laughed disdainfully. "Hahaha! That's enough for today," he said, looking at Owen with contempt. 

He noticed Owen's defiant gaze and spat on the ground near him, "Don't look at me like that. Blame yourself. I hate people like you the most, using money to get in while we work our asses off."

Owen clenched his teeth in anger and retorted, "That doesn't justify what you do to me, Alex!"

Alex laughed mockingly, "Then blame yourself. Who told you to get close to Elly? You know Henry likes her, and he's from the Campbell family. He's the real deal, unlike you, gambling your wealth to get here." 

Click! Alex took a picture of Owen in his humiliating state.

Owen shouted back, "She's my childhood friend, and you all know that. How long will you keep doing this?"

Yes, this bullying had been ongoing for almost a month since Owen first entered Oakfield High School.

Known for its reputation, Oakfield High School is the only A-grade high school in Lakester City, and Owen's arrival there was met with anything but a warm welcome.

Oakfield High School, being an A-grade institution, offers five distinct classes: two regular classes for summoners, one elite class for exceptionally gifted summoners, one regular class for Evokers, and one special class for talented Evokers. 

In this special class, there are currently 21 students. 

Owen, by a stroke of luck or perhaps a curse, finds himself placed in this class, drawing the hate of those who worked hard to earn their spots. 

The students are baffled by Owen's transfer into the school during his third year. 

Such a move is rare, as the curriculum in the third year is very different, and the final exam results are critical for the students' futures. 

Transferring in the third year means starting from scratch, and it's even more unusual for someone like Owen, who came from a regular high school.

When they find out the reason is thanks to a huge sum of donations, the resentment towards him intensifies, leading many students to distance themselves from him. 

Furthermore, each year, there is a quota for 15 students to gain direct admission to Suncrest Academy, an S-grade academy. 

Every Evoker in the city dreams of entering Suncrest Academy. 

It's an open secret that some of these quotas are not awarded to the best but rather to those who make the largest donations to the school. 

The students know that Owen's arrival has cost one of them a spot. 

These make Owen spend his days alone in class, but it's not a big problem for him as he needs to focus on learning the new material anyway to prepare for the final exam.

After the first week, Elly came back to the class.

She has just returned from a family trip, and the moment Elly enters the class, she recognizes Owen.

They go to the same primary school and are quite close. They basically sit with each other for six years straight.

After graduating, Elly found out she had a talent as an evoker, so she went to a different middle school and lost contact with Owen.

Upon seeing Owen again, Elly feels happy, so she decides to move her seat next to his. 

As the school's belle, her choice to sit beside Owen only fuels further jealousy among their classmates. 

Henry, in particular, is most aggrieved by this development. He has repeatedly tried to court Elly, but his advances have always been met with a cold shoulder. 

Henry, seething with hatred, begins to make an offer to his classmates for pictures of Owen in misery. 

He promises to pay $100 for each, a significant amount that tempts the other students.

They start to harass Owen daily, seizing every opportunity to bully him and then sell the photos. 

They also threaten him, warning that if he reports them, they will publicly share the humiliating photos. 

Alex, with a smug smirk, taunts Owen. "You should thank Henry. If it weren't for his rule of only accepting one photo a day, you'd never get a break." 

After his taunt, Alex delivers a final kick to Owen's face before walking away. 

Owen spits his blood onto the ground and glares at Alex with hate. 

He then takes a deep breath, trying to calm himself. In his mind, he reassures himself, 'Don't worry, Owen, this will all pass soon. After this, I'll finally get my summon card.'

'I don't know how Dad managed it, but I hope this special summon card is worth all this.' 

Owen picks himself up, starts to tidy his clothes, and heads to the nearest bathroom to wash his face. 

Looking at his bruised reflection in the mirror, he motivates himself, "Come on, Owen, today everything will be better."

The special summon card is the reason Owen's father went to great lengths to secure his placement in the elite class. 

In this class, students receive a C-grade Summon card, which offers a high probability of summoning a C-grade Spirit. 

The chances are more than 80% for a C-grade, 1% for an S-grade, and a mere 0.1% for an F-grade. This means that students in the elite class are basically guaranteed at least a C-grade summon.

*

______________________________

SSS-Grade Spirit: 0.5%

SS-Grade Spirit: 1%

S-Grade Spirit: 2%

A-Grade Spirit: 5%

B-Grade Spirit: 10%

C-Grade Spirit: 80%

D-Grade Spirit: 1%

E-Grade Spirit: 0.3%

F-Grade Spirit: 0.1%

__________________________________

*

The first summons for an evoker is important, unlike summoners who simply form a blood contract. 

Evokers create a rune on their body as part of the contract, and this rune is permanent, only disappearing if either the evoker or the spirit dies. 

People may think we can just kill the summoned Spirit and re-summon, right? 

But the reality is no. Such an act is not only frowned upon and considered a criminal offense, but it also makes it more difficult for the evoker to form new contracts. 

In some cases, Evokers can even be blacklisted by the Spirit World, preventing them from getting any new spirits. 

The first summon rune forms the foundation of their ability. It shapes their future path, as subsequent summons are meant to support this initial rune. 

After washing his face once more, Owen starts walking towards the summoning hall. 

As he arrives, Elly, her golden hair tied back in a ponytail, quickly runs up to him. 

Her blue eyes meet his black ones, and her pale white hand gently touches his bruised cheek. 

Her beautiful face shows concern as she speaks, "Owen, I told you to be careful. Are you falling again? You weren't this clumsy before." 

Owen feels a sense of warmth and manages to smile. "Yeah, it seems I've become clumsier now. I'm just excited for the summon. We only get two summoning opportunities, after all."

Elly nods in agreement. "Yes, I'm sure you'll get a good summon."

Owen, feeling the stares from his classmates, gently removes Elly's hand. "I'll be satisfied with a C-Grade; my aptitude is just average, you know."

Elly encourages him, "You have a 40% aptitude; that's good enough. Aptitude can be improved. It's just a starting point."

Owen responds, "True, but it's still important, Elly. It'll take me at least a year to raise my 40% aptitude to 100% to make sure my rune has maximum effect. But you already have 90%."

Elly giggles at his concern. "It's just one year, Owen. As evokers, we have long lifespans. We can easily live up to 500 years. What's one extra year?"

Owen acknowledges, "That's true."

Their conversation is overheard by a female student, who sneers, "Trash is still trash."

"In this one year, we can get more runes and master them, but he'll still be stuck with one rune. Why do you even talk to that trash? Come with us, Elly."

Elly, responding to the student's comment, firmly said, "I told you never to talk to me again." 

Since her return to class and witnessing the hatred towards Owen, she has tried to bridge the gap between him and the other students. 

However, their continuous cursing and badmouthing of Owen only fueled her frustration with their childish action. 

Finally, she decided to end the relationship with them, choosing to distance herself and no longer talk with them. 

Instead, she spends her time at school either with Owen or in the library, while Owen constantly gets ambushed whenever she's away at the library. 

She then looks at Owen, "Ignore them, Owen."

Henry observes them from a distance. Despite he's the one offering $100 for Owen's miserable photo, he never joins in the bullying or talks with Owen. 

He prefers to keep his distance, watching from afar. At this moment, he's smiling as he looks at a photo Alex shows him. 

Click. Suddenly, the door opened, and three people entered. 

The first is the headmaster, Benjamin, a man with brown hair and a sharp gaze. 

Despite being 90 years old, he appears much younger, looking as if he's still in his 30s. Accompanying him are Sophia, the vice headmaster, and Olivia, the class instructor. 

Both Sophia and Olivia have golden hair and blue eyes. Olivia stands taller, with a more sexy figure, while Sophia is more slender and has a cute face. 

Olivia surveyed the students, and with a stern voice, she called, "Make a single line and remain quiet." 

The class quickly arranges themselves into a single line, with Owen and Elly at the back, in complete silence. 

They all understand the importance of obeying Olivia's orders. 

Not only does she come from an elite family background, but she is also a three-star hunter and a four-star evoker, commanding respect from everyone. 

Hunters explore other worlds to find artifacts and technology, bringing them back to their own world. Being a four-star evoker means she has mastered four Runes completely. 

Henry then addresses the students, "I know you all can't wait to summon your first spirit, so I won't give a long lecture." 

"Just remember, every spirit, no matter its grade, can evolve, so don't feel bad if you get a low grade."

"What's important is their versatility and potential. I'll be honest: our school grading system isn't perfect. It can only detect their strength." 

"So once again, don't feel about it. Alright, now you all can start summoning." 

Sophia steps forward, pointing towards the summoning area after Henry speaks.

The summoning area has a circle with a terminal at its center, where the summoning card is placed. 

Surrounding the terminal are machines designed to detect the summoned spirit's energy.

The circle's purpose is to create a runic contract with the spirit at the moment of its summoning. Sophia then retrieves a stack of C-grade summoning cards from her bag.

The students' eyes are immediately drawn to the cards. For most of them, this is their first time seeing it, especially one of C-grade. 

Summoning cards are tightly regulated by the government, making them hard to get.

Sophia then gives out instructions, "Come forward, take my card, and begin the summoning."

Alex, the first student in line, steps up. He picks up one of the cards, noting its engraved pattern, a portal drawing, and a bronze-colored edge.

Approaching the summoning device, he inserts the card. 

As he does so, the circle beneath it begins to glow, the air around it vibrates, and the fabric of space itself seems to tear open, revealing a shimmering portal surrounded by blue energy. 

ROAARR!!!! 

A robust 1,5 m saber-tooth tiger comes out from the portal, its fur black and eyes a menacing red. 

It walked step by step till it met Alex face to face. Alex shuddered, feeling the pressure that came from the tiger. 

Although it's not the students' first time seeing real spirits, they have often gone and seen summoner fight in the Arena, but it's the first time for Alex to meet one face to face this close. 

The circle activates again, emitting bursts of energy that envelop both the tiger and Alex.

The tiger then morphs into a pattern resembling tiger claws, and the rune transfers and engraves itself onto Alex's chest. 

The surrounding machine whirs to life, beginning its calculation of the tiger's energy level. The grade ascends from F, E, and D, finally stabilizing at B. 

Benjamin commented, " A B-Grade, beast type, not bad."

Alex's face looked elated as he looked at other students, feeling smug. He feels lucky to get a B- Grade.

Sophia then reminds him, "What are you standing there for? Go back there." 

She points to a designated area for students who have completed their summoning. 

Alex quickly responds, lowering his head, "I am sorry, Miss Sophia." He hurries away, making space for the next student.

Sophia then turns her attention back to the class, calling out, "Next."