The recruits stood before a row of shimmering rune-marked doors — each one humming faintly with Wai energy.
They looked ancient, yet strangely modern, as if someone had stolen a Doraemon "Anywhere Door" and rebuilt it with iron and curse sigils.
> "Each pair will be transported to a random section of the trial forest,"
the receptionist announced crisply.
"Retrieve proof of ten Wai-Rabbits and survive. Time limit: one hour."
Murmurs rippled through the hall.
Armor clanked. Boots shuffled. Someone whispered a prayer.
When AJ's turn came, he found himself standing beside a short-haired village girl in brown robes, clutching her staff like it was her last lifeline.
> "So uh… you do anything cool with that stick?" AJ asked.
"It's not a stick," she said flatly. "It's a conduit. I'm a mage. Earth-element specialization."
"Oh, nice," AJ nodded. "So… you throw rocks?"
"I summon rocks."
"Right. Totally different."
Before she could roll her eyes again, the door shimmered — and swallowed them whole.
---
Forest of Light
They fell face-first onto damp soil.
> "See? Told you I'd land first to break your fall," AJ groaned.
"You landed on my arm."
"That's called teamwork," he grinned.
When AJ blinked again, the world had changed.
Lanterns hung from colossal trees like captured moons, swaying gently.
The air shimmered faintly with Wai energy, fireflies of light drifting between ancient roots.
Beside him, the girl — nervous, clutching her grimoire — muttered,
> "You're my partner?"
"Unless you want to hunt alone."
Miles away, Neo crash-landed in mud, groaning as his pebble-slinger dangled from his wrist.
Ruth appeared silently near a cliff rim, fog curling around her boots, eyes alert.
None of them knew how far apart they'd been scattered —
or that the forest sprawled beneath the very bones of Freya, vast and dangerously alive.
---
AJ's Side — "Piece of Cake"
AJ read the mission scroll.
Hunt ten Wai-Rabbits and return alive.
He laughed.
> "Ten rabbits? That's it? A warm-up."
"You sound confident for someone who tripped over a branch five minutes ago," his partner said dryly.
Soft light flickered — white fur between roots.
Tiny Wai-Rabbits hopped curiously through the glowing grass, their tails sparkling like stars.
> "They're adorable," the mage whispered.
"And probably delicious," AJ said. "Watch and learn."
He crouched low. In one swift motion, he lunged — and caught a rabbit by its glowing ears.
Nearby recruits froze.
> "Let it go!"
"You idiot, not the ears!"
"Drop it, now!"
Even his partner panicked.
> "You'll trigger—"
"Trigger what?" AJ snorted. "It's just a rabbit, not a—"
The rabbit's fur rippled, white to black in a heartbeat.
Its eyes flared crimson.
It shrieked — a sound like tearing metal.
All around them, other rabbits twitched, convulsed, and changed.
The forest bloomed with screams and shadows.
> "...Okay," AJ said. "Not a rabbit."
---
Ruth's Side — Whispers of Power
Far away, Ruth froze mid-step.
Her crimson hair shimmered in the mist.
Something dark pulsed beneath the ground — a ripple of corrupted Wai.
> "It's spreading too fast," she murmured. "Unnatural."
A rabbit burst from the underbrush, black-furred and hissing.
Ruth lifted her hand.
The air warped — and an invisible force crushed it midair with a soft crack.
Her partner stumbled back.
> "What—what was that?!"
"A warning," Ruth whispered. "This place tests more than courage."
---
Neo's Side — Rocks and Rage
Neo and his arrogant partner trudged through the swampy edge of the forest.
> "I said left, you idiot!"
"You followed me!"
The ground erupted.
A corrupted rabbit lunged — claws flashing.
Neo swung his pebble-slinger with perfect rhythm.
The stone shot out, fast and true — smashing into the creature's skull.
It dropped instantly.
> "Guess pebbles hit harder than your words," Neo said coolly.
For once, his partner said nothing.
---
AJ's Side — The Mage's Fury
Back in AJ's glade, chaos reigned.
Dozens of corrupted rabbits darted between the glowing roots, gnashing their sharp teeth.
AJ kicked one away and laughed.
> "Hah! Come on! Ten more, let's make it twenty!"
His partner's patience finally shattered.
Her humiliation and rage boiled over — not just at him, but at everything:
the nobles who mocked her, the fear, the pressure, the test.
> "You think this is funny?" she yelled.
"Kinda!" AJ shouted. "You should see your—"
"Then deal with this yourself!"
She slammed her staff into the ground.
A golden rune exploded beneath her — ROCKBURST.
The earth roared.
Cracks raced outward like lightning.
Trees tore from their roots.
Then — the world caved in.
> "I told you not to get mad!"
"You're the reason I lost control!"
They fell together into the darkness.
---
The City Awakens
Above, the streets of Freya trembled.
Cobblestones split apart as shrieks echoed from below.
Then — small black shapes burst from the cracks.
Hundreds of corrupted rabbits poured into the streets.
Panic spread.
> "What in the Emperor's name—?!"
"Contain them! Protect the market!"
Soldiers rushed in, blades flashing.
Citizens screamed and scattered.
No one knew — not yet — that the "testing forest" was built into the city's very foundation.
That the arena's ceiling was Freya's marketplace floor.
And now, it was collapsing.
---
Impact
The ground split open with a thunderous roar.
AJ, the village mage, Neo, and dozens of others plummeted through the collapsing arena — and crashed into the cobblestone roads of the capital.
Dust and debris filled the air.
Broken lanterns rolled across the streets, their pale light flickering through smoke.
Then came the swarm.
Hundreds of corrupted rabbits poured out from the shattered earth.
They didn't hop anymore — they sprinted.
And they attacked everything.
A soldier's scream echoed as one latched onto his face.
A mother tried to shield her child but was dragged away.
Blood slicked the cobblestones.
The air reeked of smoke, iron, and terror.
---
Desperation
AJ rose, coughing, pulling himself from a pile of rubble.
The mage girl stumbled beside him, dirt-streaked and furious.
> "You idiot! I told you not to touch that rabbit!"
"Guess I've got bad ears," AJ muttered.
Before she could retort, another monster lunged.
> "Rock Spire!" she shouted — and a jagged stone shot up, impaling it.
They stood back-to-back, surrounded.
Across the plaza, Neo swung his pebble-slinger like a storm, crushing skulls with every strike.
His arrogant partner shouted orders, barely keeping up.
> "Behind you!"
"I see it!"
Yet for every beast they killed, five more crawled out of the cracks.
On a distant rooftop, Ruth's crimson silhouette flickered once — and vanished into smoke.
---
Rasa's Fall
A small girl's voice pierced the chaos.
Rasa — one of the rookies — lay trapped under a collapsed building.
Neo froze.
> "AJ, we can't save her! That's a whole tower piece! Look—"
Behind them, the smaller beasts were merging — flesh twisting, bones snapping into a single grotesque, pulsating giant.
But AJ didn't listen.
He ran to Rasa's side, blood dripping from his arms.
He pushed, pulled, screamed, but the rubble wouldn't move.
> "Come on… come on!"
"AJ!" Neo shouted. "It's too late!"
The monster's shadow loomed over them.
AJ clenched his dagger, eyes squeezed shut, shouting in despair—
> "I won't let her die!"
---
The Platinum Adventurer
"Why are you yelling so loud?"
The voice was calm. Cold. Almost bored.
AJ opened his eyes.
A man stood before him — white cloak stained with blood, muscles carved with old scars, gold ornaments gleaming faintly.
Over his shoulder hung the severed head of a griffin.
And in his right hand — the crushed skull of the monster.
It was him.
The Platinum Adventurer from the guild.
The man who once called AJ trash.
He dropped the beast's head with disgust.
> "Disgusting."
"Get up, weakling. You'll die if you keep kneeling."
In one motion, he lifted the rubble and pulled Rasa free.
Then he turned — and unleashed hell.
Every swing of his sword was poetry written in blood.
His movements were fluid, savage, beautiful.
Monsters fell in waves — split, crushed, burned by the force of his strikes.
Each motion drew arcs of red across the night.
Soldiers rallied.
Adventurers joined.
Healers and priests poured in to aid the wounded.
The city — once chaos — began to breathe again.
Neo stumbled beside AJ, awestruck.
> "That guy's… insane."
AJ just stared, heart pounding.
He wanted to be like that someday.
---
Aftermath
By dawn, the city lay quiet — blanketed in ash and exhaustion.
Healers tended to the wounded.
Soldiers built barricades.
The Platinum Adventurer stood on a broken statue, sword resting on his shoulder, watching the smoke rise.
No one dared speak.
And as the sunless sky dimmed again
The world was silent.
No screams. No magic bursts. Only the faint drip of blood echoing through a forgotten tomb.
Ruth stood at the heart of it — pale, still, her boots soaked in crimson. The air smelled of rust and old stone. Around her, broken statues loomed like fallen gods, their faces carved in agony. An enormous door lay shattered at her feet, its runes dim and dead.
A whisper ran through the chamber — not a voice, but something older, heavier, as though the tomb itself remembered pain.
Ruth's fingers brushed the cracked surface of a nearby wall. Faded inscriptions shimmered faintly under her touch, then vanished.
> "So… it's true," she murmured. "It was sealed here."
A low hum filled the air — and suddenly, another presence arrived.
Guildmaster Ervyn Rush appeared behind her, his cloak fluttering. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes gleamed with restrained fury.
> "It escaped," he said coldly, scanning the blood-streaked floor. "All that chaos above — the rabbits, the pit — it was planned. A distraction."
He crouched, touching the floor where claw marks dug deep into the stone.
> "Damn it… I was only a minute behind."
Ruth said nothing. Her crimson eyes flickered once — emotionless, distant — and she turned away.
Ervyn called. "If you knew this was here—"
But she was already gone.
The air rippled — and she vanished like smoke.
For a long moment, Ervyn stood alone. Only the echo of dripping blood answered him.
> "So it's true then," he muttered, his voice low. " is she I think she is…"
He exhaled sharply, gaze shifting to the ruined chamber.
> "whereever you are… you've too early."
Footsteps echoed behind him. His aide, a sharp-eyed woman with gray hair tied in a bun, approached cautiously.
> "Sir," she said softly. "The survivors are being treated. But you look—"
Ervyn didn't turn.
> "Older?" he finished for her, dryly.
She hesitated, then nodded.
He gave a tired smirk, still staring into the tomb.
> "Maybe I am. Every time the past repeats, it steals another year from me."
His hand clenched. The runes on the wall flickered — faint, dying — like a heartbeat fading into silence.
The city camp was alive with motion, but not with celebration. Makeshift tents and cots were scattered across the plaza, where soldiers, healers, and adventurers worked side by side. The air smelled of dust, blood, and medicinal herbs.
AJ sat on a cot, rubbing his arm where the bandages were damp with blood and sweat. Neo leaned against a broken wall, inspecting a small dent in his pebble-slinger.
> "Not too bad," AJ said, trying to sound casual.
"Depends if you're measuring by life or face damage," Neo replied.
The village mage sat nearby, exhausted, her robes torn and smudged with dirt. Even she looked less angry than yesterday, though her hands still twitched at the thought of controlling rock with the chaos around her.
Suddenly, a flurry of movement caught their attention. Rasa's parents — the couple who had fed them last night — ran toward the tent, calling her name.
The little girl lay wrapped in blankets, bandages across her arms and legs. The mother fell to her knees beside her, tears streaming, and hugged her tightly.
> "Rasa!" she whispered repeatedly.
The father's gaze shifted to AJ and Neo. He stepped forward, his eyes wide with gratitude. Without hesitation, he hugged them both.
> "You saved her… thank you," he said, voice rough with emotion.
"We just… did what we could," AJ muttered.
"Still," the man said, bowing slightly, "thank you. Truly."
Neo shifted uncomfortably, scratching the back of his head.
> "We're not used to this many thanks," he muttered.
Ruth walked silently up to the group, placing a hand lightly on Rasa's head. She didn't speak — but the gesture was enough. The girl stirred, blinking up at her with a small smile.
> "She's awake," AJ said, relief in his voice.
Around them, the camp moved efficiently. Injured rookies were being lifted onto stretchers. Adventurers guided panicked civilians to safety. Soldiers organized patrols, keeping the surviving mini-monsters in check.
AJ looked at the mother again.
> "You were the one who fed us yesterday," he said.
"Yes," she smiled, still holding her daughter. "I hoped all of you would be safe."
Neo grunted in agreement, glancing at the city streets.
> "Safe-ish," he said.
Ruth glanced toward the horizon, her eyes thoughtful.
AJ nodded, letting the thought settle. For now, everyone was alive. The chaos was contained, Rasa was safe, and the camp buzzed with cautious normalcy.
> "Let's just survive the day," AJ muttered, leaning back on the cot.
Neo smirked.
"Yeah. One day at a time."
The city had survived — barely — and for now