Several more beasts were killed as the six boys advanced deeper into the forest. Each of them took turns extracting the gemstones from the beasts' hearts. When they did, they all placed them into Riven's inventory space, letting them stack together so they could see the total count at once.
For most of them, it was difficult to remove the gemstones the first time. Even after doing it once, their movements were awkward. But by the second time, it became easier for all of them.
Riven glanced at the system quest to check their progress.
[system: 10/15 beasts defeated]
They took a small break. It had been two hours since they entered the forest, and it felt like the most appropriate time to check where they stood.
⸻
[system: Riven Harlow
Level: 12
Awakening: One
Evolved Ability: Lightning
XP: 364 / 1690
Race: Feymir
Strength: 35
Speed: 36
Durability: 36
Energy: 36 / 36
Health: 37 / 37
Unassigned Stat Points: 2]
⸻
[system: Joey Cross
Level: 16
XP: 1000 / 2400
Race: Human
Awakening: 3
Evolved Ability: Light
Strength: 60
Speed: 60
Durability: 60
Energy: 20 / 40
Health: 40 / 40
Unassigned Stat Points: 1]
⸻
[System Status: Jordan Harlow]
Level: 9 (383 / 1167 EXP)
Race: Human
Awakening: One
Evolved Ability: Ink
Strength: 11
Speed: 12
Durability: 16
Health: 23 / 23
Energy: 22 / 22
Unassigned Stat Points: 3
⸻
When they saw Joey's energy, they immediately realized how low it had gotten—but they already knew why. Joey's mana weakness had always been an issue. The boy still wasn't used to his evolved ability.
He had always been scared of it, avoiding its use whenever possible. Because of that, his body had never adapted to the stamina required to continuously use the techniques he kept dishing out. Now, he had to pace himself, backing off from most of the beasts.
After everyone adjusted their stats into traits they preferred, the group stood up and stretched, getting ready to move again.
As the six boys walked forward, Harkel suddenly spoke up, starting to lose count.
"How many beast gemstones do we have in the inventory now?"
"We have ten—exactly," Riven answered after checking his inventory. "We never ran into anything higher than a Level One beast, so all we have is ten."
"Damn…" the blue-haired boy thought to himself. He had been hoping they could gather more beast gemstones before having to return to the academy. If they needed to forge their own beast weapons at some point, time wasn't on their side. It wouldn't be long before their Beast Levels fell far behind the rest.
The sound of clashing steel echoed from behind them—swords grinding against claws. They had been hearing noises like this for the past hour, and they knew exactly what it meant. It wasn't students fighting each other.
It was students fighting beasts.
That meant the others had already caught up.
Harkel clenched his fist. They had a solid head start, so it was best to keep their momentum.
"Alright," he said. "Here's the plan. We need to find at least five Level Two beast gemstones. If we do, we'll hold onto them for later—just in case. Even if we don't find any, we can't let that deter us. We still have the academy outing next week, so there's time."
Before Harkel could continue, Jordan raised his hand.
"Yes, Jordan?"
"I don't want to be rude," Jordan began, "but since this is for your goal—becoming the leader of your clan and all that—when it comes to the academy outings or whatever… I want to absorb the gemstones."
Jordan placed a hand on his chest as he spoke.
Harkel paused.
Normally, he wouldn't have liked the idea of Jordan absorbing beast gemstones during the hunt. This event was for points—both personal and team-based. But gemstones gathered during academy outings wouldn't count toward the game.
This was the perfect opportunity.
"Alright, then," Harkel said, nodding without argument.
If Jordan evolved, they would become a far more formidable group. The improvement would be massive—especially after seeing how much Riven had grown from his own evolution. It made Harkel wonder just how terrifying the next stage of their evolution might be.
The six of them moved again, pushing deeper into the forest.
The sound of clashing weapons grew louder—but this time, it wasn't behind them.
It was ahead.
They slowed, cautiously moving forward. As they got closer, they spotted other people fighting beasts. Their uniforms marked them as students—but something was off.
Their outfits were nothing like those of Sigil Gate.
They were entirely black, with thin white lining running along the edges.
"Who are they?" Luka whispered.
"Students from the other academy," Leo answered, crouching into the bushes to avoid being seen.
"Let's get out of here," Harkel whispered, backing away. The others followed, changing direction.
"Hey," Riven said quietly as they moved. "Why back off so fast? We could've helped them."
"I'd like to," Harkel replied, staring straight ahead. "But they wouldn't want our help. The other academy ingrains it into their students' minds that Evolvers treat them like they're handicapped. That pride runs deep—so deep they'd rather die than accept help from us."
He paused.
"And we don't know if we can trust them. If we'd shown ourselves, there's a good chance they'd have tried to fight us for our beast gemstones. Unlike some people, I'm not willing to kill my own kind for this."
The weight of his words settled over the group.
This game… at some point, it would force students to fight each other.
Expect death, Jordan thought grimly. Is this what he was talking about? Are we really going to have to kill each other someday?
Not long after, they reached a cave entrance where a group of Rataclawin beasts roamed freely.
Everyone drew their weapons.
Joey moved to do the same, but Harkel stopped him with a raised hand.
"You've pushed yourself too hard. Sit this one out and recover your energy."
Joey hesitated, then nodded. He found a rock and sat down, breathing heavily. Sweat dripped from his face—not from the heat, but from sheer exhaustion. Using his evolved ability had taken more out of him than he realized.
Riven surged forward first.
Lightning crackled around the tips of his gauntlets as he slashed at a Rataclawin's face, carving deep gouges into it. The beast collapsed instantly.
Two more lunged at him on all fours.
Riven didn't move.
A massive greatsword flashed through the air, slicing both beasts cleanly in half.
Leo wiped the blade against the orange, rust-colored ground, stripping it clean of blood.
Luka ensnared another beast's leg with vines, holding it in place long enough for an arrow to pierce straight through its face.
Harkel moved with controlled aggression, slashing one Rataclawin nearly down the middle. He stopped just short of the beast's core, careful not to damage the gemstone.
Jordan unleashed a flurry of miniature daggers made entirely of ink. He carried two ink jars at his waist, feeding his ability nonstop. The daggers shot forward, stabbing the beast in its eyes.
Jordan vaulted over it and sliced cleanly through its neck.
The head fell.
In moments, all the Rataclawin beasts lay dead.
One by one, they extracted the gemstones and placed them into Riven's inventory.
The count climbed rapidly.
Sixteen Level One beasts defeated.
The quest was complete.
Just as Riven reached for the claim option, he spotted another Rataclawin fleeing into the forest, squealing as it ran. He considered chasing it—then stopped.
He let it go.
There was no need to kill something when it wasn't necessary.
He chuckled as he watched the Rataclawin scurry back into the cave, moving like an actual rat. Riven was just about to tap the claim button when a loud, overbearing roar erupted from deep within the cave.
The sound tore through the forest.
Everyone—students and beasts alike—covered their ears as the roar sent shockwaves rippling outward.
"What is that?!" Oliver shouted, clutching his ears.
"I don't know—did someone set off a siren?" Tommy yelled back.
"No," Sinclair said grimly. He could feel it vibrating through his bones. "This isn't a siren."
"It's a beast," Axel said. His entire group came to the same conclusion at once.
"A beast?" Emmett asked, turning toward Kyle.
"Yeah," Kyle replied, eyes narrowing. "And if it can send shockwaves through the entire forest, it's not a weak one."
The blue-haired boy thought quickly. Only two possibilities came to mind. Either Harkel and his group had run into it—or it was a student from the other academy.
Either way, claiming that beast's gemstone would be nearly impossible.
Other teams would rush toward the source. Some would try to group up. And once the beast was dead, the aftermath would be worse—everyone fighting each other over who got the gemstone.
"We're staying here," Kyle ordered firmly. "Keep hunting Level One beasts. Do not go anywhere near that shockwave."
The roar slowly died down.
Emmett hesitated for a moment, but ultimately chose to follow orders. The group turned back, resuming their hunt for Rataclawin.
What Kyle didn't know was that every other group had made the same decision.
That meant Harkel and the others were on their own.
⸻
"What was that…?" Luka asked nervously.
His hand shook as he raised his bow, arrow aimed toward the cave entrance.
"I don't know," Leo said, his voice low. "But it's nothing good."
The pressure from the roar lingered in the air, heavy and suffocating. Acting purely on instinct, Leo transformed.
In moments, the werewolf towered over the others, muscles tense, eyes locked on the cave—ready for whatever emerged.
Joey picked up a rock, gripping it tightly as he prepared to assist however he could. He could feel it—he only had one more large Light technique left in him.
But for now, he didn't plan on relying on it.
Instead, he steadied himself.
This time, he would fight with his own strength.
A massive green figure emerged, its body tall and segmented, standing on long, jointed legs that bent at sharp, unnatural angles. It resembled a giant praying mantis, its exoskeleton layered in thick emerald plates that overlapped like armor. Serrated edges lined each segment, catching the light as it moved.
Its forelimbs were long and bladed, folded close to its chest before snapping outward with a sharp click, the scythe-like arms stained dark from past kills. A triangular head tilted slightly as it stared at them—its eyes unsettling and misaligned, one angled outward while the other focused forward, giving it a twisted, almost broken gaze.
The sight made them all gulp.
Blood dripped slowly from the beast's mouth as its bladed arm slid outward. They watched it slice through the air—but they heard nothing.
No sound. No impact.
Only a shift in the air itself.
"Shit!" Riven yelled.
Electricity surged across his body as he activated his electric body skill, lifting himself into the air. Harkel reacted instantly, doing the same. Joey, Leo, and Jordan all dropped low, ducking beneath the invisible strike.
Riven's eyes snapped downward.
Luka wasn't fast enough.
In his mind, Riven saw it clearly—Luka's head would be gone.
Dammit—no!
Forcing his body to move, Riven lunged downward midair. His hand snapped out, grabbing Luka's head and slamming it down toward the ground, saving his life.
But his hand told a different story.
A sharp, sickening pain flooded through him.
It felt like something passed through his hand with no resistance—like a hot knife sliding effortlessly through flesh.
Then it happened.
The air screamed past them.
Behind them, tens—maybe hundreds—of trees collapsed at once. Their trunks were cleanly severed through the middle, falling in a cascading crash that shook the forest.
When Riven hit the ground, he already knew.
He didn't need to look.
But he did anyway.
Lying beside him was his left hand.
Gone.
Riven grabbed the mangled stump of his arm, pressing down hard, trying to stop the blood pouring out.
"Shit!" Harkel shouted as he rushed over.
He ripped off part of his uniform and wrapped it tightly around Riven's arm, doing everything he could to slow the bleeding. The others could only stare—frozen—as they looked at the beast.
It stood tall.
Its form was unmistakable.
A mantis-like creature, towering and unnatural.
The system message did nothing to ease their fear.
[system: An entity the system did not expect has appeared
Threat detected: Level 4 Mantid]
"Level four?!" Leo's voice cracked as he shouted the words aloud.
Another system message followed immediately.
[system: Defeat the Mantid or die while trying
Reward: System Rewards]
None of them cared about the reward.
Because it wouldn't matter if they died.