After another thirty minutes, every student had completed their sparring matches, and their scores were carefully recorded by the instructors.
"That concludes the first assessment!" Eric's commanding voice echoed across the hall, silencing the ongoing chatter like a sudden gust snuffing out a flame. "And now, it's time for the second assessment."
"What's the second assessment about?" Greg asked, brows furrowed with curiosity.
"You'll see," Eric replied cryptically, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. He then clapped his hands thrice.
Right on cue, four men appeared out of thin air, their sudden presence drawing startled gasps. The students instinctively braced themselves, muscles tensed, eyes narrowing in suspicion.
"Everyone, move to the center of the room. Let the men surround you," Eric instructed.
They obeyed cautiously, clustering in the center as the four mysterious figures spread out to encircle them. Then, all at once, the men placed their palms against the ground.
A brilliant light erupted beneath their feet, bathing the room in an otherworldly glow.
'A transportation circle… but where are we being sent?' Grey wondered, squinting as the radiance engulfed him. The light was blinding, forcing everyone to shut their eyes tight.
Moments later, the brilliance faded. As they slowly reopened their eyes, a new world welcomed them.
They stood in a vast forest that stretched endlessly into the horizon. Towering trees with thick, twisted trunks loomed above, their canopies forming a living ceiling of emerald green.
The air was thick with the rich, loamy scent of damp soil and moss, laced with the floral sweetness of wild blooms and the pungent musk of decaying foliage.
Soft, spongy moss cushioned their steps, and the texture shifted beneath their feet as they moved—first yielding, then firm, like nature itself was adjusting to their presence.
The breeze rustled through the leaves, producing a gentle, melodic rustling that felt like whispers from the forest itself.
Shafts of golden sunlight pierced the treetops, dousing the scene in a warm, flickering glow that contrasted with the cool, shaded undergrowth.
"Your second assessment," came Eric's voice from a few meters away.
The students turned and saw him standing before a massive black gate, ancient and ominous, as if guarding secrets lost to time.
"Each of you is to hunt ten hop bunnies and collect their magical cores. You have fifteen minutes. Failure means disqualification," Eric announced, raising a hand to signal their readiness.
The students said nothing. Instead, they turned to face the dense forest ahead, the tension in the air sharpening their focus like whetted blades.
'I couldn't care less about this assessment or the tournament,' Grey thought, smirking as he shifted into a sprinter's stance, 'but hop bunnies are Level 3 beasts in this forest. I might as well test my current limits. Once I'm done, I'll figure out a way to fail the next assessment.'
Wind magic surged around him, swirling like a controlled storm, his eyes narrowing as he focused on a distant point deep within the woods.
"And your time starts now!" Eric shouted, his hand slicing through the air.
In a flash, the students launched forward like arrows released from taut bows, scattering into the forest in a flurry of movement and magic.
Grey took to the skies, riding a gust of wind that propelled him high above the treetops. In a matter of seconds, he descended, landing with a forceful blast of wind that bent nearby trees backward, their roots straining against the ground but holding firm.
"Alright… where the hell are you little beasts?" he muttered, scanning the surroundings. But the forest was eerily still.
After a moment of silence, he shrugged. "Actually, I think I'll wait a little before hunting." His eyes drifted upward to a particularly thick, comfortable-looking branch.
He soared up again and landed on the limb, reclining with casual ease. With one arm folded behind his head, he gazed out over the forest canopy.
"It's been a long time since I had a peaceful nap," he said with a yawn. "Might as well enjoy it."
Within moments, he drifted into a deep slumber, the wind humming gently through the trees like a lullaby.
His face relaxed into a contented smile, unaware that all around him, the forest was beginning to stir—small rustles, faint thumps, and glowing eyes peeking through the underbrush. The hop bunnies were emerging.
While he slept, dreams—or something darker—began to take hold. But these weren't mere figments of a tired mind.
They came like shattered visions, broken glass pieces of a mirror reflecting fractured realities.
He first saw a colossal clock tower, ancient and foreboding, its hands ticking steadily. Then, with a subtle click of his tongue, the hands froze—and began turning in reverse.
The scene shifted violently.
He now stood amid ruins. Crumbled buildings, scorched earth, and lifeless bodies strewn everywhere.
His hands sparked with pure lightning, intense and volatile. The killing intent radiating from him was suffocating—so thick it almost seemed to weigh the very air down.
Then the vision fractured again.
The sky split apart with shadowy ripples. Countless black portals tore open like wounds, and from them descended utter chaos. Cities collapsed. Fire consumed everything. Screams echoed in the void. Blood soaked the ground.
Another shift. This time more obscure, blurred like fogged glass.
He saw a figure a few meters away, unmasking. The mask fell, and Grey's eyes widened in stunned recognition—just before a gleaming blade pierced through his chest.
"Three minutes remaining!" Eric's voice boomed across the forest, yanking Grey out of the dream like a lifeline snapping taut.
His eyes flew open, heart hammering in his chest, cold sweat dripping from his temples. Gasping, he touched his chest and arms, still shaken by the vividness of the dream—or vision.
"Wh… what the hell was that dream?" he panted. "Could that even be called a dream?"
His mind reeled from the imagery. "I… I saw destruction—pure, unfiltered destruction. What does it mean? What's going on?"
"Relax. It's probably nothing," came Noir's familiar voice in his mind, calm and soothing. "You were likely thinking about something before you fell asleep. What was it?"
"The otherworlders," Grey muttered. "I was thinking about the war that might break out."
"Bingo," Noir replied with a faint chuckle. "You've been obsessing about the war. That's all it was—a stress-induced dream. Just breathe. You're fine."
"One minute remaining!" Eric's voice thundered again.
"Shit!" Grey cursed, jolting upright. "I haven't hunted a single beast yet."
Electricity surged around his body in response to his rising urgency. Lightning crackled, coalescing into a pair of sleek gauntlets and boots that hummed with barely contained power.
With a deafening bang, he launched himself into the forest like a thunderbolt unleashed—fast, focused, and ready to hunt.
I'm sorry I'm doing this but I'm so glad for the great readers l have 😅 Nathan Sama 🙌 thanks for the Golden tickets, Fenrir Sama, thanks for the Golden tickets too... And Arcane Sama 🙌 thanks for your continuous support and comments... All these fuel my passion to keep on writing. Thank you all 😊✌️