Chapter 8 – The Four-Headed Arcane
The morning sun had barely risen when Shen and his friends stood before the massive gates of the Arcane Drifter headquarters.
Today was different.
Today was not training.
Today was their first real mission.
The Commander stood before them with his arms crossed.
"Your target is simple."
Nobody believed him.
"Locate the Arcane. Defeat it. Return alive."
Shen nodded confidently.
"We've got this."
The Commander stared at him.
"You won't."
"...What?"
"That's why this mission exists."
Before Shen could complain, the Commander turned and walked away.
"Move out."
---
Into the Forest
The group traveled through a dense forest several kilometers away from the headquarters.
Tall trees blocked most of the sunlight.
An eerie silence filled the area.
No birds.
No insects.
Nothing.
Kenya frowned.
"I don't like this."
Ruke immediately agreed.
"For once, neither do I."
Eliz tightened her grip on her staff.
"It feels wrong."
Shen looked around.
"That's because there's an Arcane nearby."
Suddenly—
CRACK!
A tree behind them snapped in half.
Everyone jumped.
"What was that?!" Ruke shouted.
A deep growl echoed throughout the forest.
The ground trembled.
Then another growl answered.
And another.
And another.
Shen's face slowly turned pale.
"Why are there four growls?"
The answer came moments later.
BOOOOOOM!
The forest exploded apart.
A gigantic creature emerged.
Its body resembled a wolf mixed with a dragon.
Dark scales covered its body.
Crimson veins pulsed beneath its skin.
Most terrifying of all—
It had four massive heads.
Each pair of eyes glowed blood-red.
Each mouth dripped black energy.
The monster towered over the forest.
Its presence alone felt overwhelming.
"What..."
Shen's jaw dropped.
"What is THAT?!"
Ruke nearly fell backward.
"THAT'S NOT A MONSTER!"
Kenya pointed.
"IT LITERALLY IS!"
Eliz looked ready to faint.
"A four-headed Arcane..."
Even the experienced Arcane Drifters watching from a distance became nervous.
One of them stepped beside the Commander.
"Commander... isn't this too much?"
The Commander remained calm.
"No."
"They'll survive."
The Drifter looked unconvinced.
---
Battle Begins
The Arcane roared.
BOOOOOOOOOOOOM!
A shockwave erupted.
Trees shattered instantly.
The team barely managed to avoid being blown away.
"Move!" Shen shouted.
The four scattered.
A moment later one of the heads slammed into the ground.
CRASH!
The earth exploded.
Chunks of rock flew everywhere.
Ruke narrowly dodged.
"THAT ALMOST KILLED ME!"
Another head opened its mouth.
A beam of dark energy erupted.
BOOOOOOM!
The attack carved through dozens of trees.
Kenya's eyes widened.
"Everyone spread out!"
Flames erupted around her body.
Fire Demon Power.
WHOOSH!
A massive fireball shot toward the Arcane.
The explosion engulfed one head.
But when the smoke cleared—
The monster wasn't injured.
"...You've got to be kidding me."
The Arcane laughed.
Actually laughed.
Shen hated it instantly.
---
Teamwork
"We need a plan!" Eliz shouted.
Shen dodged another attack.
"I have one!"
Kenya groaned.
"Why do I suddenly feel scared?"
"We cut off all four heads!"
Silence.
Ruke stared.
Eliz stared.
Kenya stared.
"That's your plan?"
"Yes."
"That's not a plan."
"It's an objective."
"Close enough."
The Arcane suddenly attacked again.
One head targeted Shen.
Another targeted Kenya.
The remaining two charged Ruke and Eliz.
The battlefield instantly descended into chaos.
---
Fire and Lightning
Kenya raised both hands.
"Fire Demon Burst!"
A sea of crimson flames exploded forward.
The Arcane roared as fire engulfed its left side.
At the same time—
CRACK!
Golden lightning erupted around Ruke.
"Ultimate Lightning Strike!"
A bolt descended from the sky.
BOOOOOOM!
The impact forced the Arcane backward.
"YES!" Ruke shouted.
Then the Arcane immediately recovered.
"...NO!"
---
Shen's Attack
Shen tightened his grip on his sword.
Dark energy flowed through the blade.
The mysterious weapon vibrated violently.
For a brief moment—
A strange voice echoed inside his head.
"KILL."
Shen ignored it.
"Not helping."
The Arcane lunged.
Shen sprinted forward.
The distance between them vanished instantly.
His sword flashed.
SLASH!
One of the heads separated from its neck.
Blood erupted into the air.
The giant head crashed to the ground.
THUD!
Everyone froze.
Shen blinked.
"...I actually did it."
Kenya pointed.
"Shen!"
The severed head suddenly dissolved into darkness.
A new head emerged.
Everyone stared.
The Arcane now had four heads again.
"..."
"..."
"..."
Shen slowly turned toward the Commander.
"Commander."
"Yes?"
"Can I resign?"
"No."
---
The Real Fight
The Arcane roared.
Dark magic exploded outward.
The ground cracked.
A giant summoning circle appeared beneath the battlefield.
Shen immediately had a bad feeling.
Whenever glowing circles appeared—
Nothing good happened.
BOOOOOOM!
The earth split apart.
Hundreds of monsters emerged.
Red Goblins.
Stone Golems.
Dark Wolves.
The battlefield transformed into a nightmare.
"THAT'S CHEATING!" Shen shouted.
The Arcane ignored him.
---
Endless Battle
Hours seemed to pass.
The team fought desperately.
Kenya burned through entire groups of Goblins.
Ruke's lightning shattered monsters left and right.
Eliz supported everyone while attacking with her dual magic.
Shen cut through enemies nonstop.
But the monsters never stopped coming.
Every victory consumed more energy.
Every spell made them weaker.
Eventually—
The battlefield became silent.
The monsters were gone.
The team stood victorious.
But barely.
Shen collapsed onto one knee.
His breathing was heavy.
His muscles screamed.
Kenya sat on a broken rock.
"I'm done."
Ruke dropped onto the ground.
"I can't move."
Eliz looked equally exhausted.
"No mana left..."
Then—
A familiar growl echoed.
Everyone slowly looked up.
Another four-headed Arcane appeared.
Fresh.
Healthy.
Powerful.
The team stared in horror.
Shen pointed at it.
"I officially hate this forest."
---
The Commander's Lesson
The Arcane prepared to attack.
Before it could—
BOOOOOOOOOOM!
An overwhelming pressure descended.
The entire battlefield froze.
Even the Arcane trembled.
The Commander stepped forward.
For the first time—
The trainees saw his true power.
Golden energy erupted around his body.
The sky itself seemed to shake.
The Arcane attempted to flee.
Too late.
The Commander raised one hand.
A single beam of light shot forward.
FLASH!
The Arcane disappeared.
No explosion.
No battle.
No resistance.
Simply gone.
Silence filled the battlefield.
Shen stared.
Kenya stared.
Ruke stared.
Eliz stared.
"WHAT?!"
The Commander looked at them.
"Now do you understand?"
Nobody answered.
"You wanted to fight Arcanes."
Still silence.
"You thought training was unnecessary."
The team lowered their heads.
The Commander pointed toward the destroyed battlefield.
"Strength means nothing if you run out of stamina."
He pointed at the second Arcane.
"If that creature had attacked five minutes ago..."
Nobody needed him to finish.
They knew the answer.
They would have died.
The Commander smiled slightly.
"However..."
The team looked up.
"You survived."
"You worked together."
"You adapted."
"You proved your potential."
A grin appeared on Shen's face.
"Really?"
"Yes."
Shen pumped his fist.
"HELL YES!"
Kenya laughed.
"We did it!"
Ruke smiled.
"Finally."
Eliz sighed in relief.
The Commander crossed his arms.
"Tomorrow your real training begins."
Everyone nodded excitedly.
Then the Commander continued.
"We're restarting from the basics."
The smiles disappeared.
"...What?"
"Basics?"
"Again?!"
The Commander laughed.
A rare sight.
"See you tomorrow."
As he walked away, the four trainees stared at each other.
Their first mission had taught them a valuable lesson.
They weren't strong.
Not yet.
But one day...
They would become true Arcane Drifters.
And perhaps even legends.
To Be Continued...