With preparations finished, the instructors wasted no time. They began organizing the students into lines, moving group after group toward the waiting portal.
As each group reached the front, they were strapped with black wrist devices, small, sleek watches that locked onto their arms with a faint hum. These were the trackers.
They would glow different colors based on the rank of the monster nearby. F-rank was green. E-rank was yellow. D-rank was orange. A clear, simple warning system.
One by one, the groups disappeared into the swirling portal, swallowed like they were walking into mist.
Eventually, it was Rhian's group that stepped forward.
They stretched out their arms without needing to be told twice, allowing the staff to fasten the devices around their wrists. The moment the watch locked onto Rhian's arm, it felt oddly cold against his skin.
The instructor in charge gave them a sharp look. "Hold hands before you walk inside. If you get separated mid-teleport, good luck finding each other in there."
Without hesitation, Nia grabbed Rhian's hand first.
Ash, predictably, stretched his hand toward Nia with a wide grin that earned him nothing but the sharpest glare. She ignored him completely, stepping closer to Rhian like Ash didn't exist.
Iris, who had no interest in Ash's antics either, slipped in beside Aras.
Their arrangement ended up with Ash grinning awkwardly between Rhian and Aras, his plan to get sandwiched by two beautiful ladies completely foiled.
Rhian stared at the portal ahead of them.
The swirling surface shimmered faintly, like fog mixed with glass.
He took a slow, steady breath.
They counted together quietly.
"Three… two… one…"
And just like that, they stepped forward.
Vanishing into the unknown.
When the last group of students disappeared into the portal, the entire hall fell into silence.
The swirling light of the portal slowly dimmed, returning to its steady glow.
The instructors stood still for a moment, watching the empty space left behind by hundreds of first-year students.
On the platform above, the Headmaster exhaled quietly.
"I hope there won't be any casualties this year."
Her words were simple, not out of kindness, but out of experience.
Beside her, Liane crossed her arms, her sharp eyes still lingering on where her seven students had vanished.
"That's impossible," Liane replied calmly, not cold, just stating what they both knew. "Someone always dies. The only question is how many."
There was a small pause.
"But…" Liane added, voice lowering slightly, "hopefully, it's not that bad this year. They seem like good kids."
The Headmaster didn't argue.
Good kids didn't matter inside a portal.
Only the smart, the strong, and the lucky came back.
.
.
.
.
Inside the portal, Rhian's group hit the ground roughly, like being tossed out without care.
Grunts and curses echoed around them as they slowly pushed themselves up, dirt clinging to their clothes.
Rhian stood, dusting himself off. But the moment his eyes lifted, everything else left his mind.
His body stilled. Breath caught in his throat.
It was beautiful.
Far beyond what he imagined.
Stretching endlessly before him was a vast green forest, wide open, endless space. The grass was brighter, the trees taller, everything alive in a way the real world never was.
There was no corruption here. No pollution. It almost looked untouched by human hands.
Rhian slowly turned his head, looking up.
Blue, clear, clouds moving lazily like it was an actual world of its own. Birds passed overhead, their cries distant, peaceful.
But they weren't monsters.
Not everything in the portal was hostile. Some things just existed, part of the environment.
Ash whistled low beside him. "Man… makes you wonder if we even live on the same plane."
Even Iris was staring longer than she probably realized, the gum in her mouth now still.
Aras stood calmly, always composed, but even he paused longer than normal.
Nia was the first to snap back to reality. She moved her gaze to the distance, eyes sharp again. "Admire it later. We didn't come here for sightseeing."
Rhian smiled faintly but didn't argue.
She was right.
Beautiful or not… this world still wanted them dead.
They didn't get far.
Maybe ten minutes of walking, weapons ready, senses sharp, when Rhian noticed it.
A low clicking sound.
Rhian slowed down, his steps careful, eyes narrowing as he spotted something moving awkwardly near a tree ahead.
It was small.
At least, small compared to the monsters he had seen back in the outskirts. This thing was the size of a large dog, its body long like a centipede.
Bone-colored legs tapped against the ground in strange, twitchy movements. Its back was layered with rough plates like cracked stone, while its head looked almost skeletal, long, sharp, and empty-eyed.
It didn't notice them.
It moved like it was lost. Wounded maybe. Or separated from a group.
Rhian squinted at it. He had never seen this type of monster before. Nothing like the leaking monsters he fought back home.
But instinct told him, this thing wasn't alone.
His grip tightened on his blades.
'Good time to test this out.'
Without hesitation, Rhian closed the distance quickly but quietly. The creature twitched slightly at the last second, its head jerking up like it finally heard him.
Too late.
Rhian drove his short blade clean into the soft gap between its head and armored body. A wet crunch followed. He twisted once for good measure, yanking the blade free as greenish-black blood spurted out.
The monster twitched violently, legs kicking wildly, before collapsing.
Dead.
Ash, standing not far behind, whistled low. "That's one."
But Rhian didn't smile.
Because from the direction ahead… the clicking sound grew louder.
And this time, it wasn't just one.
Rhian took a step back, his body tense, eyes watching the tree line ahead. The bushes moved unnaturally, shaking in waves, like something crawling through them fast.
Ash casually leaned over toward Iris without breaking his stare from the noise. "Not gonna transform?"
His tone wasn't mocking, more curious than anything. He hadn't seen what Iris could turn into yet, neither had Rhian or Aras.
Iris didn't even look at him, just chewed her gum and muttered, "When I need to."
That only seemed to fuel Ash's grin. "Keeping secrets huh? You're worse than Aras."
Aras, hearing his name dragged, didn't respond.
But Nia stepped forward, staring hard at the body Rhian just dropped. Her eyes narrowed in thought.
"I think I know what these are," she said, exhaling slowly.
Everyone looked at her.
"Insect-type swarmers," Nia continued. "Normally they travel in packs, big ones. But this one's off."
She crouched beside the corpse, tapping the hard plates on its back with the hilt of her sword.
"Their armor's thicker than usual… body looks slightly bulkier too. Must be the environment here."
Rhian frowned, glancing at the bushes still shaking ahead. "How bad are they?"
Nia stood up, tightening her grip on her sword. "Individually? Weak. But they don't fight alone. They bite, they cut, they swarm over you until you're nothing but bones."
Ash's grin stayed, but his eyes sharpened.
"And from that sound..." Nia looked ahead, her voice steady.
"They're coming."