Chapter 12:The First Mission Begins

Luc wanted to die.

Not in the "tragic hero" way—just in the "quietly disappear before things get worse" way.

The moment Instructor Vale called his name, every student's eyes turned to him.

Judging. Watching.

Luc already felt sweat forming on his back.

"You'll be going first," Vale repeated, scanning his list. "Your team members will be Eve Lancaster, Riku Hayashi, and Mira Kurogane."

Oh, great.

Luc didn't know these people personally, but that didn't stop his brain from screaming.

Eve Lancaster—the prodigy. The way she stared at him already felt like a knife pressed to his throat.

Riku Hayashi—the lazy genius. He looked half-asleep, yet somehow, he was ranked near the top.

Mira Kurogane—the walking explosion. She cracked her knuckles like she was ready to fight him.

Luc swallowed.

"...Can I say no?" he tried.

"No," Vale said instantly.

Damn.

Mira grinned, slamming her fist into her palm. "Finally! Some real action!"

Eve frowned. "We're starting already? We haven't even trained them properly."

"That's the point," Vale said. "This will show us your natural abilities. If you're weak, you'll fail and be sent to a lower class."

Luc's eye twitched. Lower class?

That sounded peaceful! Send him there!

Before he could argue, Riku yawned. "Alright, alright… let's just get this over with."

Then, to Luc's horror, Riku turned to him and smiled.

"Try not to die, okay?"

Luc groaned. "No promises."

The Underground Arena

The academy had many training areas, but this one was different.

Ancient ruins stretched beneath the school, hidden away from the outside world. The underground arena was massive, filled with cracked pillars and strange glowing symbols carved into the floor.

A perfect place for a fight.

Vale led Luc and his new team to a sealed iron door.

"Behind this gate," Vale explained, "is your opponent. A low-level demon. Defeat it, and you pass. Fail, and… well, that's not my problem."

Luc clenched his fists. Oh, fantastic.

Mira smirked. "This is gonna be fun."

Eve shot her a look. "This isn't a game."

"Sure it is," Mira said. "We fight, we win, we don't die. Sounds fun to me."

Luc, meanwhile, was already regretting his existence.

The Fight Begins

The iron door creaked open.

For a moment, silence filled the air.

Then—

Glowing red eyes appeared in the darkness.

A deep, guttural growl echoed through the arena. Mist swirled in, covering the floor in an eerie fog.

And from the shadows, a creature emerged.

The Wraith Hound.

A twisted, spectral wolf with shadow-like fur, glowing red eyes, and elongated claws that barely touched the ground. Its body flickered, phasing between reality and nothingness.

Luc froze.

That thing looked way too dangerous for a first test.

Vale's voice echoed from behind.

"Begin."

Chaos Ensues

The Wraith Hound moved first.

Luc barely had time to blink before it vanished—

—and reappeared right in front of him.

Shit.

Luc jumped back just as the demon's claws slashed through the air, missing him by inches.

"Whoa, what the hell?!"

Before he could react, Mira charged forward.

"Alright, my turn!"

She hurled a glowing blue orb—a Spirit Bomb. It exploded on impact, shaking the ground—

—but the Wraith Hound phased straight through it.

Mira's eyes widened. "Hah?! That should've blown it to bits!"

Eve clicked her tongue. "Idiot. It's an intangible-type demon."

Luc's stomach sank.

It can't be hit? Then how the hell were they supposed to kill it?!

The Wraith Hound circled them, watching, waiting.

Testing them.

Luc's brain worked overtime. He needed to figure this out fast.

Luc's Plan

Luc took a shaky breath. Think.

"Hey," he called out. "Eve."

Eve narrowed her eyes. "What?"

Luc pointed. "You're aiming at the wrong spot."

Eve frowned. "Excuse me?"

Luc gestured to the Wraith Hound's tail. "That thing's head? It's a distraction. The core is in its tail."

Eve stared at him. "...How do you know that?"

Luc's brain panicked.

Oh. Crap. He wasn't supposed to know that.

"Uh…" He forced a nervous laugh. "Lucky guess?"

Eve's glare hardened.

Before she could argue, the Wraith Hound attacked again.

Luc shouted. "JUST TRUST ME!"

For once, Eve didn't argue.

She slammed her hand on the ground—golden chains erupted from the floor, wrapping around the demon's tail.

The Wraith Hound let out a horrifying screech.

Riku blinked. "Oh. He was right."

Then—he lazily lifted his hand, aura blade forming.

"Guess I'll finish this, huh?"

One quick slash—

—and the Wraith Hound collapsed into mist.

Aftermath

Silence.

Then—Mira cheered. "HELL YEAH! We crushed it!"

Luc, meanwhile, was still shaking (Faking it).

Eve wiped her hands, but her eyes were still locked on Luc.

"That wasn't luck," she said. "You knew something. How?"

Luc froze.

Oh, crap.

Before he could answer, Vale clapped his hands.

"Interesting," he mused. "Luc, you're full of surprises."

Luc gulped. Please don't notice me. Please don't notice me.

"Congratulations," Vale continued. "You all pass."

Luc exhaled. Thank god.

Then—

"We'll be increasing the difficulty for your next trial."

Luc's soul left his body. Again.

To Be Continued…