“Battle Room 40,” Landen said, reading the sign mounted beside the heavy metal door. He looked around for a door handle and found a dark interface panel to the side. The moment he reached toward it, a soft chime echoed as a thin laser swept across his wrist, scanning his ID tag.

“Student Landen Knight,” a synthesized voice announced. “Your appointment with Professor Drex is active. You may proceed.”

With a low hiss, the door slid into the wall.

Inside was a dimly lit red corridor where racks of gear similar to the suits they wore for the simulation battle against the bots—only instead of green, these were matte black with thick red striping down the arms and legs.

“Equip a suit and proceed to the staging area,” a woman’s voice instructed over the intercom.

The gear was skin-tight, forcing him to strip naked to pull it on. Once secured, an inner door opened into an area the size of a closet. When he walked in, a powerful pressure pushed against him, as if the air inside had thickened into water. Moving forward became difficult, each step feeling as though he were wearing clothes weighed down with lead.

Once he got into the center of the room, a display appeared on the wall, showing a cartoon of a man with his legs spread and arms above his head. Landen mirrored the pose, and the floor rotated him around as a red beam swept his body.

“Scan complete.”

Then, a deep hum echoed through the chamber until the dense energy surrounding him surged, pressing violently against his body. A strange sensation washed over him as the suit fused directly onto his skin.

“Fusion complete,” the room announced.

The ceiling opened, and the floor rose, revealing a dark sky filled with vibrant, swirling clouds.

“It’s dark in here,” he said, looking around. Trees surrounded him, their branches swaying. A moon hung in the sky. “What’s a forest doing inside a training room?”

A cold breeze swept past him, carrying a thin mist through the air. Nearby, he could hear the steady flow of a stream, along with the rustling of animals, birds, and insects moving through the brush.

He looked around in disbelief, unable to tell whether he was inside a room or out in the wilderness.

Not wasting a second, he began examining the area, eager to figure out how it had all been created. Unlike before, he hadn’t entered a machine, so this couldn’t be a simulation. Yet everything around him looked and felt completely real.

Walking deeper, he eventually bumped into a wall, proving he hadn’t actually left the building. Racks of weapons lined it, every kind imaginable. Among them were the swords, which he immediately grabbed one to examine.

“Nice blade,” he said.

Suddenly, a tone chimed in his head.

Strange. A notification now?

He opened it.

[ System ]

[ New quest: Survive punishment without losing consciousness. ]

[ Reward: +200 exp, +2 Strength, +8 Vitality ]

Whoa, that's a big reward. He thought. Then he read the quest again. Survive punishment?

Just then, an ominous energy crept up from behind, then pressed down, forcing him to freeze. Every instinct told him to run, but an unseen force held him in place. Turning his head, he saw Professor Drex standing a few paces away, one hand raised, veins bulging as he radiated pure malice.

Shit, was he always this big? He thought, looking up at him. He’s a demon. I swear his eyes are red.

“I told you,” Drex growled. “Don't. Touch. The weapons.”

Drex dropped his stance and pulled back a fist.

There was no way Landen could dodge it in time. He barely had time to brace. “Shit!”

CRACK!

The impact sent Landen flying through the brush, snapping branches before he slammed into a tree. He hit the ground, gasping for air as his vision went in and out.

“Stay awake, Landen!” his system said. “Get up! Run!”

He dragged himself up, his mind still disoriented. One damn hit, and it felt like he almost died. If he got hit again, he probably would die.

“I need to get out of here.”

Before he knew it, a large tree trunk came flying out of the darkness and slammed into his stomach. Once again, the impact sent him flying, and he crashed hard into a wall.

Blood filled his mouth. There was no way his organs had survived the impact. He slid down and sat motionless, the trunk still resting across his lap. Somehow he was still conscious, though the world had gone blurry. There, in front of the moon, was the silhouette of the person trying to kill him.

“You're still awake?” Drex grinned, arms crossed. “I'm impressed.”

“You're—trying—to kill—me?” Landen murmured, barely able to get the words out.

“You have been placed under my authority to punish as I see fit. And your punishment has begun.”

“Punishment—by—death?”

Drex let out a low bear-like laugh. “If this is enough to kill you, then you're too weak to amount to anything anyway. Good riddance.”

He lifted Landen by the throat and held him at eye level. Then the punches began. One after another, the blows rained down, leaving Landen’s face swollen and battered as blood splattered with each strike.

“This is why I became a teacher, for moments like this,” he said, his eyes wide, then laughing like a wild man.

Crack!

His head snapped sideways.

Crack!

His vision doubled, tripled, then folded in on itself.

“Landen! Don't give up! Stay awake!” the system shouted.

Crack!

I’m—trying—

Crack!

Goodbye — System!

“Landen!”

… … …

A single chime cut through the darkness.

[ System ]

[ Survival Quest: FAILED ]

— — —

Some time later.

SPLASH!

The shock of ice-cold water snapped Landen back to life.

“Aw shit,” he said, scrambling, looking around frantically. “Am I — alive?”

The forest was gone, back in the entry hall, lying across the floor. The moment he saw Drex standing over him, Landen flinched and scrambled backward.

But Drex didn’t move. He didn’t even look angry, expressionless, really. He just stood there staring at him for a moment.

“Today's punishment is over,” he finally said. “Come back tomorrow, same time, for your next round.” He dropped the bucket and walked away.

“What the hell happened?” Landen said. One moment he was dead. The next moment, he woke up back at the entrance, as if it was all a dream.

He stayed glued to the wall as he watched Drex leave, cautious of another attack. As Drex walked away, Landen noticed the black overcoat he wore, which displayed his Essence Grade.

Across the back, five stars sat like a crown, with a large sword, surrounded by four smaller swords at the center. Two rivers waved beneath them, completing the crest.

If Landen remembered correctly, that meant Drex was one grade above Halvek.

Speaking of — Professor Halvek appeared down the hallway, heading toward the next battle room with Maledic trailing a step behind. The atmosphere shifted the instant the two instructors caught sight of each other.

As they closed the gap, they stared at each other with the utmost confidence. Halvek with his usual smirk. Drex with his predatory eyes.

The moment they were about to cross paths, they stopped.

Maledic's eyes jumped from one to the other as the battle of silent stares stretched. Neither professor leaked a single drop of aura, appearing completely relaxed on the surface, but the underlying pressure was so intense that Maledic’s hand drifted instinctively to his sword hilt, bracing for the hallway to erupt into a war zone.

The rift between them went back to the day Kael Halvek first set foot in the academy. He was a nobody. No history, no family, yet he came not as a student, but as a challenger demanding answers to questions no one knew. When the faculty tried to brush him off, his single-minded determination led to confrontation, and Halvek ended up dueling several top professors back-to-back.

The reckless display had infuriated Drex. But before he could step into the arena to put the arrogant newcomer in his place, Chief Vanderbilt intervened, putting an end to the duels and granting Halvek full access to the academy until he found what he was looking for.

It didn't stop there. Halvek quickly proved himself an exceptional martial mind, helping other students refine their techniques and rapidly elevating their performance. Impressed by both his raw strength and unexpected talent as an educator, Vanderbilt fast-tracked Halvek straight into a professorship.

To Drex, Halvek’s rapid rise wasn't just unearned—it was an insult to the academy's order. And the bitter taste of that ungranted duel had been souring in his throat ever since.

"Professor Drex," Halvek said, his grin widening. "Always a pleasure to bask in those lovely, welcoming eyes of yours.”

​Drex didn't flinch. He leaned in, closing the remaining distance until he was inches away. "I'm watching you, Kael. One wrong step. One slip in front of the Headmaster. And you're mine to tear apart.”

"Careful, Garrick. People might think you're obsessed," Halvek said, his smile growing. "Or worse—paranoid. The Council doesn't take kindly to professors who chase ghosts in the dark."

​"Ghosts leave no footprints," Drex whispered, eyes narrowing. "You leave plenty."

​"You know, I don't need to commit a crime for us to dance," Halvek replied smoothly. "Name the time and place."

​Drex’s lips twitched into a cold smile. He raised a hand, hovering his fingers just inches from Kael's throat. "Oh, how my hands would love to crush the life out of you. But the Chief wouldn't appreciate me killing his favorite little protégé."

​Kael didn't flinch. “It could be our little secret.”

​Drex paused, evaluating the invitation, but before he could speak, Kael cut in.

​“Not brave enough to go against authority?” Kael raised a hand and lightly tapped Drex’s cheek twice in a mocking pat. “What an obedient dog you are.”

​Without waiting for a response, Kael stepped around him and strolled down the hall.

​Drex remained rooted to the spot, his face unreadable as he stared straight ahead. Maledic and Landen didn't dare breathe, waiting for the explosion that felt bound to follow. But after a long, quiet moment, Drex simply turned and walked away in the opposite direction. He had had enough entertainment for the day.

Maledic and Landen exchanged a glance, both relieved that the tense standoff had ended without incident.

Halvek walked past Landen without so much as a glance, while Maledic approached him.

“Why are you soaked and sitting on the floor?”

“I'm not entirely sure myself.”

Maledic helped him up to his feet. “You ready to train?”

“Am I…?” He looked down at his body.