CAPTAIN BULL.

"We're from Squad 11," said a tall man with flaming red hair, his tone loud and confident. "You want to join us? We're monster hunters. High-risk, high-reward. Good pay, fast promotions!"

Before Aarav could respond, another voice cut in sharply.

"We're Squad 123! Exploration and mapping division. Less blood, more brains. We need someone like you. What do you say?"

Aarav blinked.

He hadn't even had lunch yet.

People started crowding around him from all sides like hawks circling a rare catch. Hands reached out. Banners unfolded. Squad insignias were shoved in his face. Each group had its pitch — danger and glory, riches and power, knowledge and prestige. All of them wanted him.

"Squad 7 specializes in spiritual warfare!"

"Squad 14 needs a combat telepath! You look promising!"

"Squad 42 is the fastest rising elite team in the realm! Join us!"

They were everywhere. Faces, names, promises. Too many voices. Too many outstretched hands. Too many reasons to say yes — and yet, not a single person answered the one question that buzzed in his mind:

"Uh… Can someone explain what this place even is first?"

But nobody heard him. Or maybe they did and just didn't care. He was a fresh face — maybe a rare one. Maybe different. But all he felt was suffocation, like a jewel tossed into a pit of greedy hands.

And then — a voice cut through the room.

"Everyone!" someone shouted.

A boy, perhaps only sixteen, dashed into the center, his black clothes soaked with sweat, his breath ragged. "The Grandmaster has ordered all units to appear on the frontlines immediately! An Arcane has descended into our realm. It's on the battlefield — inside the academy perimeter!"

The words were a thunderclap.

Everyone froze for a second.

Then the room exploded into movement.

The crowd that had surrounded Aarav scattered like ants from a stomp. A few forgot their gear in their haste. Others grabbed their weapons mid-run. Chatter was replaced with war cries, laughter with urgency. It all happened in a blur.

Within moments, Aarav was the only one left in the room.

The silence was heavier now.

Outside, a commotion had erupted. He walked out.

And then the sky darkened.

A deep rumble came from above, and a blue lightning bolt cracked the sky in half, lighting the dark clouds like fire behind shattered glass. Aarav's eyes widened.

Descending from the sky was the monster — the Arcane.

It was a cube. A grotesque thing with two human legs dangling beneath it like an unfinished puppet. The body of the cube was made of human heads — stitched, melted, fused into each other. Some of the faces had no eyes. Others had sealed mouths. All of them looked horrified. In pain. As if they were still alive. Whispering. Screaming. Begging.

The lightning struck the Arcane directly, and for a brief moment, it stopped moving. But then —

A segment of the heads opened like a flower of mouths.

From its core, a thick black lightning bolt tore through the clouds and crashed down on the academy battlefield below.

Screams erupted.

Aarav instinctively ducked, though the strike was far away. Around him, the crowd of students had gone into a panic. They ran. Not toward the battlefield — but away. Back into the safety of the halls.

He followed them, unsure of anything anymore. Unsure of himself, this place, or why this realm's power levels felt so absurdly high.

They gathered in a vast hall — a sanctuary-like chamber lined with viewing spheres floating in the air. One of the largest spheres was broadcasting a live feed of the battlefield.

The scene was pure chaos.

Students — fighters — were dying. Their bodies turned to dust the moment they were struck. Black fire raged through patches of the field. The Arcane hovered in the sky like a god, screeching in an inhuman tongue.

The atmosphere inside the hall grew tense. Young souls trembled. Many of them couldn't stop watching. They knew this was their future. One day, they too would stand on that field.

Then…

DINGGGG.

A sound like a temple bell echoed through the entire hall.

"Grandmaster is here!" someone shouted, voice filled with relief.

Hope bloomed in the air like sudden spring.

On the battlefield, a figure appeared.

An old man. Long white beard. Tattered grey robes that fluttered in the wind. He held a huge staff taller than himself. Yet, he stood unmoving — like a mountain. A pillar of calm in a storm of horror.

"Grandmaster! Grandmaster!" the shouts in the hall became a chorus.

Then, beside him, a slim man with sharp features landed gracefully, blades of wind spiraling around him.

"Ooh! First squad captain is here — Captain Raj!"

A second figure dropped on the other side — a woman, compact and muscular, with short white hair and fierce eyes.

"Fifth squad captain Soizon is here!"

Moments later, a graceful woman landed beside Soizon. The moment her feet touched the ground, a green orb of light expanded outward from her.

As it touched the fallen, the dust from their corpses reversed — pulled back — and began reconstructing bodies, cell by cell.

"Ooooh! That's third squad captain Rajinoi! Look! She activated her Time-Healing Revival Domain!"

"She's bringing them back!"

Then, a short boy appeared in a flash of yellow light, standing beside Raj. He looked barely older than Aarav.

"Squad 11 Captain Hizashi! The genius kid captain!"

And then — a tremor shook the camera.

A massive figure tore open space itself, landing beside Hizashi like thunder striking stone. He had bulging muscles and a mad grin. He wore two pitch-black gloves.

"Captain Bull of Squad 9 is here!" someone shouted, half terrified, half thrilled.

The man raised his fists and punched the sky.

"Awaken! Dark Death Bull!" he roared.

From the sky descended a massive black bull, five times the size of the Arcane. Its eyes glowed red, and smoke fumed from its nostrils.

With a single charge, it rammed the Arcane.

The moment it made contact, the monster began to disintegrate — heads turning to ash, mouths fading into mist, limbs crumbling into dust.

Silence.

Aarav stood there, breath caught, surrounded by roaring students. Some were crying with joy. Others were jumping. Hope had returned.

But inside his head, one single thought screamed louder than anything else:

"Can someone please explain where I am?! And why the hell is the power scale here so high?!"