The Chimera Core: The Autumn Vanguard

Discarded as zero-output waste, Kael is a commoner conscript sent straight to the meat grinder of Sylphrena Academy. With an internal biological glitch instead of a magical spark, he is designed to be disposable property for the frontlines. That changes in the blood-soaked dark of the elven borderlands. Left for dead by an elite stalker, Kael's dying nervous system is forcibly fused with an ancient, alien chimera interface. Guided by cold system subroutines and rapid evolutionary upgrades earned through lethal combat, he transforms from a broken school property into a calculated apex predator. Alongside a tight-knit squad of survivors, Kael must navigate brutal academy hazing, subterranean monster vaults, and corrupt aristocratic sabotage. But surviving the academy is only the beginning. To carve out true freedom in an unforgiving war college, Kael will have to let his humanity erode—one terrifying genetic mutation at a time.