The sensation of stepping through the Portal wasn’t pleasant at all.
It felt like plunging into a frozen lake, the cold biting at my skin as an overwhelming pressure squeezed my chest.
Then, just as suddenly as it began, it was over.
I stumbled out the other side, landing on uneven ground.
Around me was a dense forest.
Only the trees weren’t green and brown — they were black as night and the leaves were crimson like fresh blood.
Except for the red of those leaves, the whole world around me was monochromatic. The sky was gray and the sun was… the sun was black?
Oh, I never noticed this detail in the game.
Anyway, everything around me was in the shade of black and white.
It didn’t help that I was wearing the standard Academy-issued tactical uniform — black trousers and a sleeveless white vest under a dark combat jacket.
So even I looked black and white.
The air was dry, making my skin feel itchy, and I could hear loud growling and screeching noises in the distance.
I turned just in time to see Michael burst through the portal. His face was contorted by a look that was somewhere between anger and disbelief.
“You absolute—”
“Careful,” I interrupted, holding up a finger. “You don’t want to say something you’ll regret in front of your Squad leader.”
Michael glared at me, his jaw tightening as if he was physically restraining himself from punching me.
Lily came through next, her arrival far more graceful than Michael’s. She glanced around at the forest before her gaze landed on me.
“That was dangerous,” she said simply. “You should never go head-first into a Portal since you never know what’s waiting for you on the other side.”
Without bothering to give her a reply, I looked away, assessing our surrounding area.
Alexia and Kang emerged through the Portal soon, the tear in the fabric of space vanishing behind them immediately.
The blind girl’s smirk was firmly in place as she dusted off her vest. She flipped back her ginger hair and gave us all a quick glance.
It was then I noticed she already brought out her Origin Card.
“There’s always so much sexual tension when you three are alone, isn’t there?” She laughed.
I rolled my eyes. “There’s this thing called thinking before opening your mouth. Try doing it sometimes, Lady Alexia.”
“I tried,” she raised her hand and gave me a casual shrug. “But it takes away my humor.”
I wanted to say her humor was like her vision — non-existent… but that would’ve been taking it too far.
So I swallowed my reply and decided to be the bigger man.
“What?” Alexia’s smirk widened. “Got nothing to say, Lord Samael? Did I overestimate your wits?”
“Your humor is like your vision! Non-existent!” I shouted.
“Woah! Woah! Too far, man! Too far!” Alexia threw her hands up, but had to immediately grab her Shadow, who seemed like he was ready to bite my head off.
“What did you say, you punk?!” He growled like an angry dog.
“That was low,” Michael clicked his tongue. “Even for you.”
Meanwhile, Lily just shook her head.
“Okay. My bad. I’m sorry,” I sighed. “Now, listen up, here’s the plan. Alexia, Michael, and I will slay seven Spirit Beasts. Meanwhile, the other two remaining members of our team will head to the center of the dome and get the Essence Stone.”
“You’re suggesting we split up?” Lily quipped, but like usual, I ignored her.
“That’s a terrible plan,” Michael commented, and I was happy to reply to him.
“You think that because you’re dumb,” I scoffed. “Alexia, you, and I could easily slay seven Spirit Beasts. The other teams can’t afford to split up because they don’t have the kind of manpower that we do with the three of us here.”
Then I pointed at Lily and Kang. “While we fight and finish the first objective, these two can head to the center of the dome and get the Essence Stone, and finish the second objective. We’ll win this thing in no time.”
“It is too dangerous for these two to go deeper into the forest alone,” Alexia frowned.
“It isn’t,” I shook my head. “She can see a few seconds into the future and he has very sharp senses. An oracle and a scout — there is no better combo for avoiding trouble.”
That seemed to make Alexia give some thought to my plan. But before she could speak again, Kang’s face twisted into a scowl.
“Wait, how do you know about my innate power?” He asked, weirdly suspicious.
Right.
No one here met him before, so no one was supposed to know about his Origin Card. It granted him the power to turn parts of his body into that of a wolf.
Partial wolf transformation – that was his power.
I rolled my shoulders as nonchalantly as possible. “Do you really think I won’t do some research on my teammates?”
Kang looked like he was about to say something, but before he could, Michael slowly turned his head toward me.
“Aha!” He exclaimed. “You said you ended up in this Squad as a coincidence before this class. When did you have the time to do background checks on teammates you didn’t even know you’d have?!”
Wow.
Did this guy have to be so perceptive?
Shaking my head, I tried changing the topic. “We are getting derailed from my genius plan here. Let’s win this test first and think about all the useless conspiracies later.”
“I knew it!” Michael practically jumped in his spot. “You did do something to end up in our Squad! You know what, we can’t trust you since you lied to our faces! To our faces! By our unanimous vote, you’re not our Squad leader anymore!”
“W-What unanimous vote?!” I wailed.
“I didn’t get to vote,” Alexia blinked confusedly.
But this time, it was Michael who completely ignored me and turned to Lily.
“Lily, activate your Origin Card and be our support,” he then turned to Kang. “You’ll be our scout. We’ll move as one unit and leave no man behind.”
He glared at me. “Not even you. But I’ll talk to you later.”
“This is a stupid idea,” I snarled. “By splitting our forces, we’ll complete this test faster anaah—”
My words cut off mid-sentence as someone yanked me from behind.
Lily had grabbed the collar of my jacket and hauled me back, nearly causing me to lose my footing.
In the same motion, she raised her leg up and slammed her foot into Michael’s chest with as much force as she could muster, sending him staggering back.
The momentum shoved us both in opposite directions, while Lily herself fell to the ground upon losing her balance.
And thank heavens she did that because in the very next second, something sliced through the air where I’d just been standing — moving in a blur too fast for our eyes to track.
Something similar zipped past Michael’s shoulder in the blink of an eye.
It all happened in a heartbeat, so fast that Alexia reacted just a second too late, shouting, “Watch out!”
I snapped my head in the direction where those things had gone and instantly spotted two bat-like creatures.
They had leathery black skin, identical in color and texture to the trees they had been hanging from, and their crimson eyes matched the eerie red leaves of this forest.
Their appearance helped them camouflage against this haunting surroundings, making them almost invisible.
You couldn’t possibly spot these creatures unless you were actively looking for them.
The only giveaway about them was the razor-sharp edges of their wings which glinted like polished blades under the ominous black sun here.
Goodness, if one of those things had struck me, it would’ve gutted me like a butcher carving up a pig.
I immediately recognized them.
Bladewraiths — aptly named for their razor-edge wings and ghostly speed.
I wasn’t exaggerating.
These creatures were infamous for their ability to streak through the air at blistering speeds, reaching up to 400 km/h in short bursts.
Judging by the size of these two, they were Infant-grade Spirit Beasts, the lowest tier of their kind — and also the slowest.
Their speed wouldn’t exceed 200 km/h. But that was still way too fast.
They’d reach us before we could even activate our Cards — since summoning a Card takes a few seconds.
Fortunately, I reacted the moment Lily pulled me back and began casting my Cards.
A heartbeat later, one of the Bladewraiths let out a piercing shriek and launched itself forward in a blur, targeting Lily, who was still scrambling to her feet.
Michael moved without hesitation, stepping in to intercept it.
But before he could reach her, the second Bladewraith lunged at him, equally as fast and deadly as the first one.
The protagonist clicked his tongue and raised his sword, which had appeared in his hand only god knew when.
Michael didn’t try to match the creature’s speed. He simply let it come to him. As it closed in, he angled his sword carefully.
The Bladewraith was too fast to stop. It ended up skewering itself on his blade. Ironically, the speed that should’ve helped it kill its prey became the reason for its own demise.
But the ordeal wasn’t over.
The first Bladewraith was still closing in on Lily, and Michael didn’t have the time — or the positioning — to handle it.
Not that he needed to.
That one was mine.
My [Steel Hide] Card manifested over my shoulder, hardening my skin in an instant.
At the same time, I swung my leg forward, stepping between Lily and the incoming Bladewraith.
The creature’s razor wings connected with my shin but failed to cut through. My hardened skin did not break, but it still stung like hell.
I winced in pain as the momentum of my kick sent the Bladewraith hurtling backward until it slammed into a nearby tree with a sickening crunch.
Before it could recover or use its speed again, my [Flame Lash] Card materialized next, and a whip of blazing fire coiled in my hand.
I snapped the fiery whip forward, obliterating not just the Bladewraith but the tree behind it as well, reducing both to a shower of flaming splinters that scattered across the small clearing.
For a moment, everything was still. Then I exhaled, glancing down at Lily. “You good?”
She could only give a half-nod before Michael helped her to her feet.
“The sounds of us talking must’ve drawn those two here,” Alexia said, her voice carrying a gravity I wasn’t used to hearing from her.
“We should start moving,” Kang added, his canines looking sharper than usual. “Infant Beasts often move in packs.”
“Yes,” Alexia agreed, her eyes narrowing. “I can sense more Beasts like those two approaching, though I’m not certain how many.”
Michael nodded firmly. “Yeah, let’s get moving.”
He yanked the dead Bladewraith off his sword, then slashed it through the air, pausing mid-swing and letting the dark blood on it splatter to the ground.
Lily glanced down at my leg. My trousers were torn, showing a bruised shin.
“Can you walk?” she asked, her tone soft.
Instead of answering her, I simply walked past. I was limping slightly, but I could still run if I wanted to.
So, without another word, we decided to start moving.