Real Battle

Six hours went by fast.

It definitely wasn't enough time to fully prepare, especially since the merchants weren't dumb. As soon as they noticed the number of Summoners rising, they realized it was the perfect moment to cash in. Prices went up, cutting down how many resources each person could actually buy.

Only those with fewer than five rings even cared about the regular trade goods; anything that really mattered at higher levels could only be bought directly from the academy.

Because of that, there were no rules or anyone to help the weaker ones. In fact, it was better that way—it pushed them to fight for their own resources and grow stronger.

But in the current situation, jacking up prices also increased the chance of Summoners failing... and that put the entire galaxy at risk of being destroyed.

Some Summoners tried to argue, but the merchants just laughed, thinking it was a joke. Summoners and their Spiritual Guardians were usually arrogant beings who treated common Mannaz like trash. Now, karma was coming back for them.

Another reason was that everyone assumed the weaker ones wouldn't be involved in anything that big anyway. There should've been a few hundred Summoners with more than five rings ready to step in and fix everything.

But... the traitors' plan had been pulled off way too well, and now everything was falling apart.

Only a few rich and lucky ones managed to buy the twenty core weapons that suddenly popped up in the black market.

When time was up, everyone gathered again in the courtyard.

The Elders brought the 160 rookies with just one ring and split them into two groups. The interrupted test at least served to measure each of their capabilities.

That way, the top 10 scorers were chosen to be the front line of the rookies. The rest would stay behind, under protection, to have at least some chance of surviving and maybe helping instead of just dying right away.

All the rookies ended up in the very last row. Their job was to take down any enemies who slipped through the advanced lines made up of the stronger Summoners.

They'd only fight the weaker Risen—the powerful ones couldn't afford to waste their strength on them. But in the end, it was a lottery. There was always the chance of a way more dangerous one slipping through.

Altogether, the Summoners formed four lines. The strongest went up front to take on the most powerful Risen, while the rest handled whatever slipped past on purpose. That way, no one would waste energy unnecessarily.

Ceug arrived flying, mounted on his partner.

Right after him, that black-scaled Dragoness showed up. Beside her was a humanoid Spiritual Guardian. She looked like an elf straight out of some Earth fairy tale—golden hair, slim, short, pointed ears, and hypnotic beauty.

It was Darian's first time seeing an elf. She probably chose not to be too different from her true self. That was an option Spiritual Guardians had, once they earned enough rings. Elves were known for their pride and beauty, so it made sense. Humans, on the other hand, almost always chose a completely different, more fantasy-looking form.

The Dragoness moved and placed a huge inscription across the area. Once everyone was in position, she activated a spatial movement inscription.

The space around millions twisted all at once. In an instant, darkness swallowed everything, space distorted, and they moved faster than the speed of light.

The whole thing lasted about a minute. Then the light returned.

They were now on a rocky planet, covered in volcanoes and reeking with a strong, awful smell. There was no life there anymore. Darian imagined it felt like standing on Venus's surface back in his universe.

But just ahead, everyone could see a massive pile of miasma. Its shape resembled a giant nest, which was why it had been named the Abyssal Nest.

Nearby, bodies were scattered all over the ground—dead Summoners and dead Risen.

A group of Summoners and their partners were guarding the area, killing the low-level Risen crawling out of the nest.

The few survivors ran toward the newcomers, relieved. They were badly wounded and needed to retreat and heal ASAP. They wouldn't be able to help in the full assault.

*Everyone, get into Formation: Waves that Break Mountains!*

Ceug roared from the front line, commanding them.

The Summoners moved, already in their positions. They looked like four ocean waves, ready to crash and destroy, with carefully planned spaces between each one.

Two minutes after they arrived, Ceug roared again:

*ADVANCE!*

The order was simple: march straight into the nest and push through it.

Once inside, the goal was to kill every enemy already in there. But as they killed, new ones would be sent in from the other side. Thankfully, there was a cap on how many Risen could be in at once, so for every one they killed, only one more would show up.

After clearing the ones already inside, they'd slowly push forward, taking down the new ones until everything was cleared out and they could destroy the Abyssal Nest.

The temperature dropped hard, cold enough to freeze them to the bone. With every step toward the nest, it felt like jumping off a cliff. The sense of danger and death was overwhelming.

*GET READY!*

Ceug roared again when they were just a meter away from the entrance.

All the Summoners drew their weapons, tense. Their Spiritual Guardians started glowing with colorful auras, ready for a life-or-death fight.

*GO!*

The roar echoed, and the Summoners charged in formation.

Darian's group, in the fourth row, was the last to go in—about ten seconds after the first wave.

It felt like stepping through a portal into another dimension. Inside, it was like a pitch-black abyss filled with thick miasma.

**CLANG!**

**BOOOM!**

Deafening explosions and flashes of colored light went off everywhere in pure chaos.

For the first time, Darian saw the true power of the Risen. They came in every size and shape imaginable. Some were as big as buildings; others were small and lightning-fast.

There were beasts, demons, elves, humans—every race you could think of... all turned into Risen.

They'd been transformed back when those races still existed in this universe. And the ones that still looked human—like the ones he fought during the test—were actually the weakest and dumbest of them all.

Now, Darian was finally in the middle of the bloody, shadowy chaos of real battle.