3. Look up.
Outside the classroom, the world was falling apart. Chaos exploded like wildfire—news reports flooded every screen, and social media buzzed with wild theories. Some claimed it was the end of the world, others believed it was a test from the gods. But none of it changed reality.
Survival was now the only thing that mattered.
The Elites didn't come alone, portals opened across the world and several Geminis, with ranks below an Elite, poured out from different parts of the world. The scene was nothing short of a nightmare.
In the middle of the madness, Mario and a group of students managed to seize one of the school buses. Ms. Jasmine, their English teacher, sat tensely at the front, her knuckles white around the steering wheel. The rest of the students squeezed into the seats, barely speaking. The bus was hot, cramped, and had a foul smell of sweat—but nobody cared. They were alive, and that was enough.
"Aaaah, help, Please, I don't want to die. Somebody please..." They watched through the windows of the bus as teacher was torn apart by a low ranking Gemini. It had it claws extended in an unnatural way, and its face was so rough and uneven the sight sent shivers down their spines.
"Ms. Jasmine... Zane is still inside the classroom, we should help him before it's too late." a quiet girl with red hair said from the back. She wasn't part of any group—never picked sides, and never joined in the bullying. But now, her voice shook with something else: fear... and guilt. In panic, she had joined them, even though she saw the door get locked right in front of her.
Jasmine didn't turn. She stared straight ahead with a frown.
Mario scoffed. "Are you stupid or something?"
The girl flinched in fright.
"If you're so worried," Mario continued, sneering, "why don't you go back and save him yourself? You saw that demon too didn't you? Whipaku or whatever. Yet you want us to be heroes for a loser like Zane? Do you think he's better than those who were killed by that monster? Sit your ass down if you've got nothing sensible to say."
"If he was left behind, then he only has himself to blame," Jasmine replied coldly. She then drove off in high speed.
They couldn't afford to wait. A single F-Rank elite Gemini had wiped out nearly half the school in minutes. If it spotted them, it was over. Everyone knew it.
The girl opened her mouth as if to speak again but said nothing. Her lips trembled. In the end, she just looked away, drowning in guilt.
...
Meanwhile, inside the ruined classroom, Zane bled.
His back slid against the wall as he tried to stay upright, smearing blood along the white paint and broken tiles. Glass crunched beneath him.
"You really are something," the Whisperkin hissed in a tone like wind slipping through a grave. It moved like a shadow, slow and deliberate.
"Out of all the worlds I've burned, I've never seen anything quite as pathetic as you. Your own people left you behind. Like garbage."
Zane didn't flinch. He was too tired to feel anything. Or at least, that was what he wanted the monster to believe.
"What does it matter? You're going to kill me anyway," he said, his voice was broken, an effect of the strain the Whisperkin put on his neck when he squeezed it. Blood dripped from his temple, tracing a slow path down his left cheek.
'Why did Master send me to this pathetic planet? What's worse, I had to possess the body of a lowly Gemini to infiltrate the Tutorial in order not to draw the attention of the system. It's not like I'll find a worthy candidate here, all the previous candidates weren't compatible, and they were strong too. Well, whatever, let's just play along.'
The Whisperkin tilted its body, intrigued.
"Do you know why you're still alive?" It asked with a curious voice.
"Because I'm hella charming?" 'Patient, Zane, it's not time yet.' He thought while offering a sarcastic answer.
The monster laughed in a thunderous tone, though only Zane could hear it.
"Usually, people freak out and panic when they see me for the first time. It gets worse when they see my rank. But you're different. And you're wrong, the reason you're alive is because I was intrigued by your ability to keep a cool head in an unpredictable situation. Not many can do that, even in the tower."
It crouched closer, as if sniffing the air like a predator.
'It's still not time yet.' Zane thought as he stared at the monstrosity.
"For an ugly monster, you sure yap a lot, you say I'm alive because you permitted it? As if. You couldn't kill me even if you had a hundred arms." Zane taunted with a wide grin.
'He's either an idiot or has something to gain from provoking me. Either way, I'll humor him, let's see what gives him that confidence.' The Whisperkin thought.
For a full heartbeat, nothing happened. Zane took deep breaths to limit the number of beatings of his heart in a second. This way, he could temporarily hide his presence.
One moment, the Whisperkin was a few feet away from him, the next, his elongated claws were slashing downwards from above his head. But Zane was already moving.
He leapt to the side to evade the fatal slash. Not because he was faster, but because he had jumped a few seconds before the Whisperkin struck.
Zane felt a sharp pain as he jumped. That was when he noticed that his right hand had been severed from his elbow.
It was then that the pain registered. His vision blurred and he clenched his jaw so tight to prevent himself from screaming in sheer agony.
The monstrosity had severed his arm, breaking the door along with it, and creating a wide hole in the corridor.
Zane was weird to a fault, he didn't waste time to whine over the insane amount of pain throbbing in his arm.
'Feel the pain, accept it, let it flow through every corner of your body, be familiar with pain and it shall hurt no more.' He thought, then..
He caught his severed arm which was about to touch the floor with his remaining arm and smashed it directly into the Whisperkin's faceless head, sending the monster staggering two steps back.
The Whisperkin laughed out loud, its voice slithering through Zane's head with blood from the severed arm smeared across his face from the impact.
"You're right, you're alive because you got lucky, twice, and also because I'm enjoying this game. I'm so excited to see just how long your petty tricks will keep you alive." Zane didn't look at the monster, blood gushed out of the stump on his arm, but he didn't care, he had to survive first. He turned to make his next move while still holding his severed arm.
Just as he was about to run through the door the Whisperkin had smashed down, he heard a voice.
"Please, help me." Zane turned to the direction of the voice and found an upperclasswoman holding an elongated iron rod from the concrete where the hole in the corridor was formed. She looked at Zane with pleading eyes.
Zane looked at the face of the girl, then at the Whisperkin. 'That might actually work,' Zane thought as he immediately went into motion.'
He ran as fast as his aching body would allow with the blood from the stump marking his path. The girl stretched her hand while her other hand clenched the iron rod in a firm grip.
"Please, take my hand." The girl pleaded.
"Look up, and be quick about it." Zane shouted.
"Up?" The girl wondered as she looked up at the broken ceiling, but there was nothing of interest there.
"Where do you think you're going?" The Whisperkin lunged, but Zane was already in the air. He had jumped, aiming for the girl's face. The girl had looked up, making her face the perfect flat board. He had intended to use the elongated iron rod, but that was too risky.
As soon as his leg touched the girl's face, he leapt to the side in a right angled jump and dodge motion.
'What the..' The girl didn't have time to register what had happened as the claws meant for Zane slashed down her face. The force sent both the Whisperkin and the girl down the hole.
'Now's my chance. A thousand miles per hour, let's go.' Zane thought, running down the corridor with all the speed he could muster.