Chapter 10
Two days later, the academy atmosphere shifted.
The bells rang at an unusual time. The announcements crackled alive across the entire campus.
"Attention all first-year students. Report to the Central Arena in full combat gear. You have been selected for the First Annual Crosnic Wilds Field Hunt."
Aeren blinked.
Around him, the other Class 1 students froze. Some looked nervous. Others confused.
"A field hunt? Already?"
"We're barely trained!"
The whispers spread like wildfire.
From across the yard, Instructor Vellius—tall, cloaked in black battleweave, with sharp silver eyes—walked toward them.
"This is no simulation," he said bluntly. "You will enter the Fractured Vale, the outermost boundary of Crosnic Wilds. Your goal is survival. Nothing more. If you return with a successful subjugation report, you pass. If not... you remain in the dirt."
The word "Fractured Vale" sent a chill down Aeren's spine. He had heard the stories. Twisted terrain. Wild, uncontrollable monster energy. Half-real, half-nightmare beasts said to spawn without pattern.
"But... isn't that area unstable?" one student asked.
Instructor Vellius smirked. "Exactly. Let's see which of you belong on the battlefield... and which of you belong in the infirmary."
Aeren stood in the locker room, staring at the combat gear laid out for him.
His hands trembled slightly.
Wood-level. No aura output. No weapon synergy. No actual combat kills.
And yet, here he was, suiting up like a real Seeker.
"I'm not ready," he whispered to himself.
"You never are," said a voice.
Anshi.
She wasn't supposed to be here—her class had a different hunt location—but somehow, she was at the door.
"But you still go. That's what makes you different."
She stepped closer, handing him a necklace with a soft white glow in the center. "This belonged to my brother. He didn't survive his first hunt. But he wasn't alone. And neither are you."
Before he could reply, a loud alarm echoed.
"Team Class 1 – Report to Gate 3. Deployment in 15 minutes."
As they reached the gate, Aeren saw the others already prepping—Class 1 students lined up, shivering behind their gear. The atmosphere was tense. A few were crying quietly. One had already thrown up.
Above the gate, a large screen showed the Fractured Vale Map. The zone they were being dropped into was called:
🔻 "Zone D-13: The Whispering Hollow"
And beneath it, one line glowed red:
"Unstable Rift Activity Detected. Low Visibility. Creature Signature: Unknown."
"They're sending us into an unstable zone?" Aeren whispered.
"No… they're sending us into a trap to see who can crawl out of it alive," someone muttered beside him.
The giant steel gate cracked open.
The light vanished.
Fog drifted in, thick and heavy.A cold wind whispered across the ground.
One by one, the Class 1 students stepped into the mist… into the wild.
Aeren was the last.
His boots touched the fractured soil. It felt like the air itself was watching him.
And in the distance—deep in the fog—something moved.Not a monster. Not quite.Something older. Something waiting.
🩸 End of Chapter 10
⚔️ Next Chapter: "The Hollow Screams – Aeren's Awakening Begins…"