Confused

A soft chime echoed through the sky.

Then, like a ripple, a massive circular glyph shimmered into view, hanging hundreds of feet above the gathered candidates like a second sun.

Glowing golden lines formed concentric circles and rotating runes, intricate and powerful.

Then came the voice. Calm. Cold. Familiar. Vice Headmaster Revek.

"Candidates of the 179th Generation. This is your final assessment."

His voice echoed not from the glyph—but directly inside their heads, a chilling resonance.

"You stand now at the gates of the true academy. Before you is your final challenge. One Guardian. One battlefield. One outcome."

He continued, his voice unwavering. "Ten minutes from now, a Guardian Totem will be released. Your objective is to subdue it by any means. There are no restrictions on what to use or how to use it. This is not a competition between each other but a joint group work. As long as one person can get the totem, all the others pass."

"Victory will grant you full admission into Obsidian Fang." He paused, a beat of profound silence.

"And failure... Good luck."

With that, the glyph vanished.

And a glowing 10:00 appeared in the air—counting down.

The silence that followed felt heavier than steel, stretching taut with anticipation.

Kael stared up, arms crossed, one brow twitching.

"So… we're fighting a monster. With more than a thousand people."

He turned to Theo. "Doesn't that sound a little too easy?"

Theo didn't look away from the descending numbers, his eyes narrowed in thought. "Of course it does. Which means it isn't."

Before Kael could reply, the platform beneath their feet jolted slightly.

Then, slowly, it began to sink.

All around the field, massive stone discs, each holding clusters of students descended like elevator pads from the sky, gradually lowering to the true battlefield below.

As the ground came into view, Kael blinked in intrigue.

The terrain was… unnatural.

A shattered plain of black stone interwoven with glowing rivers of lava, jagged cliffs, and obsidian pillars that reached into the swirling clouds.

Half-dead trees clung to the edges like scared children. The sky above flickered with magical storm clouds, flashes of violet lightning crackling inside them.

It felt like they were descending into a place that hated the world.

They landed with a hiss of steam, the platform settling into the cracked earth. Kael glanced around.

Dozens of other teams had landed nearby, and more were coming down from above like falling stars.

There were so many students that it was impossible to see them all at once, they stretched in all directions like a massive colony of ants.

'Well, this is going to be interesting.'

Kael was just about to ask Rylen what other kind of useful stuff he had packed up when a voice spoke directly behind him.

It was smooth and confident, dripping with an almost unsettling grace.

"Look what we have here."

Kael turned.

A girl approached with the poise of royalty.

She had stark white hair tied into elegant twin braids, silver eyes sharp as daggers, and wore a flawless mage uniform—custom-stitched, clearly far beyond standard issue.

Six other elite-looking students in similarly pristine blue uniforms flanked her like personal guards.

The only one Kael recognized was Theo's sister, Sabrina.

Theo and Niko immediately dipped their heads slightly. "Princess," they said in unison, their voices respectful, almost deferential.

She smiled politely, a cool, detached gesture. "There's no need for that formality here. We're all classmates now, after all." Her tone was pleasant, but her presence cut through the air like a blade.

"I'm putting together a small team of mages," she announced, her silver eyes briefly passing over the other members of Kael's team without lingering.

"And your assistance would be welcome," she said—addressing only Theo and Niko.

Then, with a grace born from years of command, she turned and walked off, her entourage following in lockstep.

Niko was already moving to follow.

Theo paused beside Kael and muttered under his breath, barely audible, "Try not to die." Then he, too, followed his sister.

Kael stood there blinking. '…Am I missing something?'

He turned to Liri, Seraphina, and Rylen.

They all sat on the cracked ground, entirely unbothered by what had just happened.

Liri was humming softly to herself while adjusting her gloves.

Seraphina had her eyes closed in what looked like meditation.

Rylen was sketching something into the dirt with a stick, probably a flower.

Kael let out a sigh and slumped down to join them. 'What happened to teamwork?'

The timer ticked down fast.

00:12

00:09

00:06

00:03

00:01

00:00

When it finally hit zero, the air changed.

The sky cracked open with a thunderclap that vibrated through their bones.

All the candidates immediately became alert, their eyes snapping upward.

Kael looked up. And saw it.

Something massive blotted out the sun, descending from the heavens like a meteor of bone and shadow.

Its wings spread wide—dark, tattered things of membrane and ancient magic. Its form was barely humanoid; dozens of twisted limbs clung to a central, grotesque mass.

Horns like gnarled tree roots curled backward from its head.

A thousand glowing runes burned across its flesh, pulsating with malevolent energy, and its chest bore a massive, crimson brand:

[You have been targeted by a passive effect -- Fear: All stats Reduced by 30%]

Kael's heart dropped into his stomach, a cold knot of dread.

The guardian landed with a sound like a mountain dying, the impact splitting the ground wide. Fire spewed from the cracks.

Nearby platforms exploded into rubble, sending shrapnel whistling through the air. Everyone seemed to tremble as the creature let out a terrifying, guttural scream filled with primal bloodlust.

It rose—towering, bloodless, and hungry.

Its eyes were empty sockets, glowing only with the Archive's sinister red sigils. It opened its mouth. And instead of fire, like Kael was expecting—it spoke.

Not in sound. But in raw, psychic pressure.

A dozen students immediately tried to cast spells, their hands moving through familiar incantations.

But before they could finish, they were erased.

Not killed.

Erased.

Like they had never existed at all, leaving behind only the faintest shimmer of residual mana that quickly dissipated.

Kael staggered back, sword halfway out of its sheath, his hands trembling violently.

Only one thought going through his mind.

'This... this isn't an exam.'

This was a massacre.