Kael and his group took their first steps into the damp, heavy air of the Misty Valley. Lyra was unsettled by the strange sounds coming from within the thick fog that surrounded them. "Kael," she whispered anxiously.
"Do you think there might be creatures inside that are stronger than what the director said?"
Kael scanned the area. "According to the director, there are only F-rank creatures, Lyra. They've inspected the test area multiple times before we arrived—relax," he said. Lyra calmed down a little at his words.
Group leader Gil turned to the mages: "Can you scan the area with your mana field? Is there anything nearby?"
Kael spread his mana outward like a wave. When he pushed his limits, he could scan up to 30 kilometers, but he answered without revealing that: "There are only small animals nearby. However, I sense a few wolf-like creatures about 5 kilometers away."
Gil paused, his eyes wide with shock. "5 kilometers?! How can you sense such a vast area? That's an incredible distance!" Lyra was stunned too.
"Kael, you're incredible! I can barely make out an area of 300 meters."
Meanwhile, in another part of the forest, Rota's group had gotten into a heated argument over Thalendir.
"We're supposed to be leading the way—what are you doing?!" one of the knights shouted.
Thalendir replied arrogantly: "Hah! I don't need anyone's help." Rota tried to intervene: "Thalendir, we need to work together! As a mage, I should be supporting the knights."
"Support? Who do you think I am?"
Rota sighed inwardly and said, "Why was I assigned to this group anyway?"Meanwhile, in the observation tower, Principal Felan and teacher Marlon were watching the students. "Marlon, don't you think this year's first-year class is really interesting?"
"Yes, sir... Especially the group with Revia and Kael. Why did you put two 4-ring students in the same group?"
Felan furrowed his brows. "Ms. Brian handled the group assignments. I'm also curious why she did such a thing."
At that moment, Ms. Brian was speaking to someone via her charm in a secluded corner: "I've arranged the groups as you requested. I'm waiting for your signal to start the plan, sir."
"Good job, Brian. You can leave the rest to us."
A vague unease had settled over Kael. He could hear the sounds of the forest more clearly than the others; the whispering of the trees was spreading an ominous atmosphere.
"Get ready!" Gil said, drawing his sword. "The creatures are coming this way! Ros!, Soren!, take your positions!"
The moment the wolf-like creatures burst through the mist, Revia opened her magic circles in a matter of seconds. In the blink of an eye, she turned the wolves into ice statues. Gil swallowed hard at Revia's speed.
"O-okay... So that's what having four rings is like."
Lyra murmured to Kael, "Revia is really fast." Kael, however, sensed a greater danger as he stored the frozen wolves in his storage ring.
"Wait!" Kael shouted. His expression changed instantly.
"What's wrong? Wolves again?"
"More than wolves... an army is coming. There are way too many of them!"
Gil gripped his sword tightly. "How many? If it's 10 or 20, we can handle it." Kael's voice trembled: "Hundreds..."Gil and the team's faces went pale.
"You must be mishearing it? There can't be that many creatures in the Mist Valley!"
Revia also panicked when she focused her senses.
"Kael is right... They're coming!"
Lyra clung to Kael's cloak in fear:
"Kael!"
"Calm down, Lyra. Even if there are a lot of them, they're only F-rank creatures."
Kael drew his own sword and moved to stand beside Gil. "I'll provide support from the front." Gil was stunned.
"You're a mage, Kael! What are you going to do with a sword?"
Soren and Ros snapped back sarcastically:
"This isn't a sword fight. Get out of the way!"
Gil had realized from Kael's stance and the way he held his sword that he was more than just a mage.
"It's fine, let him stay."
The growl of the wolf pack and the sound of their footsteps began to shake the ground.
"They're coming!"
The group formed a circle. Revia attacked the pack with icicles, while Lyra unleashed fireballs. Kael gripped his sword with both hands, took a deep breath, and, swinging his sword to trace a massive crescent of fire, split the pack in front of them in two with a single stroke.Gil was stunned by Kael's technique.
"This... What kind of sword technique is this? Are you really a mage?"
As the numbers grew, the team closed ranks. Revia cast a temporary ice wall around them so they could catch their breath. The knights were crouched on the ground, gasping for air.
"Their numbers keep growing!" Ros exclaimed, pulling out a signal flare.
Revia said, "Wait! If we fire the flare, we'll fail the exam!" Soren shouted angrily, "Our lives are more important than the exam!"
Just then, a massive howl shook the forest. The pack's alpha had emerged. It was a creature at the very edge of F-level. Revia hurled a massive icicle at the alpha. The icicle pierced the beast's body, but the wound closed within seconds, as if it had never happened.
Revia stepped back in shock:
"What is this? It's regenerating!"
Lyra was horrified: "Kael, have you ever heard of wolves having the power to regenerate?!" Kael noticed the glowing black runes on the alpha's neck.
"These aren't normal... Gil, I'll handle the alpha. Revia's wall won't hold—watch your backs!"
Kael leaped over the ice wall. Mid-air, he shifted into his second sword form:
"Breath of the Red Dragon!!"
The flames erupting from his sword coalesced into the silhouette of a colossal dragon, engulfing the alpha. The alpha's regenerative power couldn't keep up with Kael's scorching fire. The knights watched Kael as if spellbound.However, Kael saw black runes glowing on the neck region of what remained of the alpha.
"Someone is controlling these creatures," he thought, but he couldn't see anyone around. When the wall shattered, the entire herd turned toward Kael.
"Kael, watch out!" his friends shouted.
Kael was determined to finish the job with a single move. 3rd Form:
"Rise of the Flame Spirit!"
A wave of pure energy bursting from Kael's sword swept the entire herd aside. Revia had to pull up another wall in front of the group to protect them from the energy wave. When things settled down, everyone was in shock. Gil stammered,
"I've never seen a sword technique like this before," he said.
Revia thought to herself, "Now I understand very clearly why he received the Royal Order."Just as they thought it was over, an unsettling silence fell over the forest. The hairs on Kael's entire body stood on end. The aura surrounding them was so powerful that Lyra and the knights couldn't even move.
A massive shadow emerged from the mist: ANUL.
It was a Class C creature—a monster far larger and more intelligent than a chimera, capable of using elemental magic. Compared to humans, it was equivalent to a 6-ringed mage. Soren made a move to fire his bolt, but Anul suddenly appeared right beside him. With a single blow, he sent Soren flying. Soren crashed into a tree and collapsed to the ground, covered in blood.
"SOREN!" Gil shouted. Revia used all her mana to trap Anul in an icy prison. Everyone held their breath, but the ice cracked and exploded within seconds.
Though Revia summoned an ice wall in front of her to protect herself, Anul shattered the wall and struck Revia. Revia, who had been knocked to the ground, managed to slightly lessen the impact of Anul's attack thanks to the ice wall she'd raised, but the force of the blow left her unable to get back up.
Anul now fixed his gaze on Lyra. Kael clenched his teeth and lunged forward. As he attacked the creature with his sword, he simultaneously created fireballs and fired them at the creature in a volley. Neither Kael's sword strikes nor the fireballs he fired were enough to defeat Anul. Anul grabbed Kael's sword with his claw and flung him aside.
When Lyra saw Kael being flung to the ground, she called out to him
"Kael!!"
Kael, who had been flung toward Gil, used his sword for support and stood up
"Gil, listen to me! We can't fight this creature. I'll distract it—you take the wounded Revia and Soren and get out of here!"
Gil was speechless.
"Kael... you won't survive! This is suicide!"
"I'm fast; it can't catch me. Just get everyone out of here, Gil, please! I'll lure the creature into the forest." Kael placed his hand on Gil's shoulder.
"Gil, please, I'm asking you for just one thing: get everyone out of the misty valley."
Gil takes a deep breath and stands up.
"Ros! You take Revia; I'll take Soren. Lyra, we're leaving!!"
Lyra: "What! Wait a minute—what about Kael?"
"Lyra, we don't have time to talk. Kael will distract the creature and buy us time—we can't let his effort go to waste!"
Lyra looks at Kael, who is barely standing.
"No, Kael, you can't escape the creature—you're literally leaving him to die!"
Lyra screamed through her tears: "No! We can't leave him to die!" Kael turned to Lyra and shouted:
"LYRA! I PROMISE I'LL COME BACK SAFE AND SOUND! GO WITH GIL AND DON'T LOOK BACK!"
Lyra, though she didn't want to, quickly left the area with Gil and the team, tears streaming down her face.
Kael and Anul were left alone.
"I'm right here—what are you looking at?!" Kael shouted, launching a fireball.
Anul spat out a massive burst of fire from his mouth. Kael narrowly dodged and dived into the forest, but Anul's speed was unimaginable.
When Kael turned around, he couldn't see Anul. As he turned his head to the side, Anul suddenly appeared beside him and struck Kael with a claw. Though Kael tried to block Anul's attack with his sword, he was flung toward a tree. The tree shattered into pieces, and Kael heard the bones in his ribcage crack.
"Damn it, I can't breathe. I don't have the strength to move anymore."
Kael thought of his sick mother.
"My mother... I promised her I wouldn't die here."
As Kael reached for his seal ring, he heard that dark, cold voice coming from the depths of his soul:
"CHILD, YOU SEEM TO BE STRUGGLING... SHOUT MY NAME!"
Kael was stunned. "Who is this? Is someone talking to me?"Kael heard the voice again
"CALL ME! I'LL TAKE CARE OF THIS VERMIN FOR YOU!"
Later, the voice began to sound familiar to Kael—as if he'd heard it somewhere before. It was the voice of the dragon that appeared before him during this summoning ritualKael shouted with all his might:
"GROSOLUN!!"
Behind Kael, a complex summoning circle appeared, bathing the forest in a purple light, with massive runes spinning upon it. From within the circle, a majestic dragon emerged, its eyes glowing purple and its scales pitch black! The dragon's roar shook the entire Mist Valley.At that moment, Principal Felan saw the injured students emerging from the Misty Valley and ran over to them.
"What happened? Did some Class F creature reduce you to this state!?"
"Anul... There was an Anul inside!"
"When Felan heard the word 'Anul,' he was shaken and took a step back.
"What! How could this happen? The entire valley was under surveillance—it's impossible for a Class C creature to be inside!"
Gil: "We don't understand what's going on, Ms. Felan. We have injured students; please tend to them."
Felan shouted to the healers,
"Hurry over here—there are injured students!"
Lyra cried out to Felan,
"Ms. Felan, Kael—
"When Felan looked closely, she couldn't see Kael in the group.
"Where's Kael, Lyra!?"
Lyra cried out: "Ms. Felan! Kael... Kael stayed inside to save us! Please help!"
Ms. Felan gathered a few teachers and prepared her spell to teleport herself and the teachers toward the direction of the dragon's roar.