The shuttle descended through gray clouds into a world of smoke and silence.
Fallow's Reach spread below them—a city of five thousand, now a tomb. Buildings stood hollow-eyed, their windows shattered. Fires burned in scattered districts, sending columns of smoke into the heavy sky. And everywhere, movement. Furtive shadows. Skittering shapes. The constant, hungry motion of creatures that had claimed this place as their own.
Nova studied the city through the shuttle's viewport, cataloging what he saw.
Residential district to the east. Commercial center to the west. What looks like a medical facility near the central square. Monster distribution uneven—clusters in the shadows, open spaces relatively clear.
Beside him, Priscilla's hands gripped her seat's armrests, her knuckles white.
"How many people do you think are still alive?" she whispered.
"Enough to matter. Not enough to save easily."
Kaelen leaned forward, his stone skin already activated. "Any sign of what we're dealing with?"
Nova shook his head. "Too high to tell. But whatever broke out of that dungeon, it's spread through the whole city."
Valerius, seated across from them, watched the approach with detached interest. "The military reports at least three distinct monster types. Gremlins, obviously—they're everywhere in dungeon breaks. Corpse demons, reanimating the dead. And something larger that hasn't been identified."
"How large?" Liana's voice was small, frightened.
"Building-sized, apparently." Valerius smiled. "Don't worry. We're not expected to fight that. Just rescue survivors and clear a path for the real military."
Liana didn't look reassured.
The shuttle touched down at the city's perimeter, where military forces had established a forward operating base. Tents and barriers stretched across what had once been farmland. Soldiers moved with practiced efficiency, their cultivations ranging from 2nd to 4th Order.
A woman met them at the landing zone—a major, by her insignia, with close-cropped gray hair and eyes that had seen too much.
"Students." Her voice was flat. "I won't pretend to be happy about this. You're children playing at war. But the academy insists, and we don't have enough bodies to argue."
She handed each of them a bracelet.
"These record your achievements. Civilians rescued, monsters killed, objectives completed. They also track your vital signs. If you flatline, we'll know. Whether we can reach you in time—" She shrugged. "That's on you."
Nova fastened the bracelet around his wrist. It hummed faintly, already recording.
"Your group is assigned to Sector Seven—the eastern residential district. Priority is civilian evacuation. Secondary is monster elimination. If you encounter anything you can't handle, retreat and signal. We'd rather lose ground than lose students."
She gestured at a map table.
"Any questions?"
Valerius raised a hand. "The unidentified large monster—where was it last sighted?"
"Central district, three hours ago. It's been moving west, away from your sector. With luck, it'll stay there."
"And without luck?"
The major's expression didn't change. "Without luck, you'll be dead before you can signal."
They entered Fallow's Reach on foot.
The streets were littered with debris—overturned vehicles, shattered glass, personal belongings abandoned in panic. A child's shoe lay in the gutter. A woman's purse hung from a broken window. Signs of life interrupted mid-motion.
Priscilla pressed close to Nova, her plants already extending tendrils along the ground, sensing for movement.
"It's wrong," she murmured. "Everything feels... dead. Even the plants. They're not responding."
"Trauma," Nova said quietly. "Environments like this affect everything."
They moved through the ruined streets in formation—Kaelen at the front, his stone skin ready to absorb any attack. Nova and Valerius flanking, their spatial abilities providing coverage. Priscilla in the center, her plants extending their senses. Liana bringing up the rear, water swirling around her hands in defensive readiness.
Two blocks in, they found their first survivor.
A man—middle-aged, bleeding from a head wound—crouched behind an overturned truck. When he saw them, his eyes went wide with hope and fear.
"Students? You're just students?"
"We're here to help," Priscilla said gently. "Can you walk?"
"I—I think so. They took my wife. The little ones—they ran, I don't know where—"
Nova scanned the area. "Any monsters nearby?"
Priscilla's plants pulsed. "Two blocks east. Gremlins. They're feeding."
The man's face crumpled.
Kaelen moved to his side, helping him stand. "We'll get you to the perimeter. There are soldiers there, medical care. You'll be safe."
"Safe." The man laughed bitterly. "Nowhere is safe. Not anymore."
Liana guided him back the way they'd come, toward the military lines. The group waited in silence until she returned, her face pale.
"His wife," she said quietly. "The gremlins. They were feeding on—"
"Don't." Nova's voice was sharp. "Focus on the mission. We can't help the dead."
Liana nodded, swallowing hard.
They moved on.
ACHIEVEMENT RECORDED
Group 17 — Sector Seven
Civilians Rescued: 1
Monsters Killed: 0
Time Elapsed: 27 minutes
The residential district was a maze of collapsed buildings and narrow alleys.
Nova led them through it with careful precision, his teleportation allowing him to scout ahead without committing the group to dangerous positions. Each time he found a clear path, he returned and guided them forward. Each time he found monsters, he noted their positions and led the group around.
"Six gremlins in the apartment building to our left," he reported after one scout. "Corpse demon in the basement of the corner store. At least a dozen more scattered through the side streets."
"We can't avoid them all," Kaelen said.
"We don't need to avoid them all. Just enough to reach the survivors."
Valerius, who had been silent for most of the advance, finally spoke. "You're very good at this. The tactical assessment, the route planning—it's almost like you've done it before."
Nova met his gaze. "I read a lot."
"Of course you do."
They continued.
The first real fight came at the two-hour mark.
A pack of gremlins—fifteen strong, their cultivation ranging from 1st Order, 3rd to 5th Rank—had cornered a group of survivors in a collapsed grocery store. The civilians—a woman, three children, an elderly man—had barricaded themselves in the back room, but the gremlins were growing bolder, testing the barriers.
Nova assessed the situation in seconds.
"Kaelen, draw their attention. Valerius, cut off their escape routes. Priscilla, support Kaelen with binding plants. Liana, protect the survivors—if any gremlins break through, you're the last line."
They moved.
Kaelen charged the pack directly, his stone skin making him impervious to their claws. The gremlins swarmed him, but he shrugged them off, his massive fists crushing skulls with each swing.
Valerius raised his hands, and space warped—the alleys on either side of the store folding in on themselves, trapping gremlins that tried to flee.
Priscilla's plants erupted from the ground, wrapping around gremlin legs, pulling them down where Kaelen could finish them.
And Nova teleported through the chaos, his blades finding throats and hearts and eyes with cold precision.
In three minutes, fifteen gremlins were dead.
Liana, who had stood guard at the survivors' door without a single monster reaching her, stared at the carnage with wide eyes.
"That was—" She swallowed. "That was incredible."
"Clean-up." Nova's voice was calm. "Check the survivors. Make sure none are injured. Then we move."
ACHIEVEMENT RECORDED
Group 17 — Sector Seven
Civilians Rescued: 5 (+4)
Monsters Killed: 15
Time Elapsed: 2 hours, 14 minutes
The survivors were a woman in her thirties, three children aged roughly six to ten, and an elderly man who introduced himself as a retired schoolteacher.
"The others," the woman said, clutching her children. "There were others. When the monsters came, everyone scattered. My husband took the older ones toward the medical center—he thought it would be safe."
"The medical center is overrun," Valerius said without inflection.
The woman's face went white.
Nova shot Valerius a look, then knelt beside her. "We'll check. Do you know what route they took?"
"Main street. Toward the central square." She gripped his arm. "Please. My daughter—she's only twelve—"
"We'll do what we can."
Kaelen led the survivors back toward the perimeter while Liana accompanied them for protection. The remaining four pressed deeper into the city.
ACHIEVEMENT RECORDED
Group 17 — Sector Seven
Civilians Rescued: 5 (pending extraction)
Monsters Killed: 15
Time Elapsed: 2 hours, 41 minutes
The medical center loomed ahead—a four-story building that had once served the community. Now its windows were dark, its doors hanging open, and the sounds emerging from within were not human.
Nova held up a hand, signaling halt.
Priscilla's plants extended toward the building, sensing. "At least twenty gremlins. Maybe more. And something else—something bigger."
"Corpse demon," Valerius said. "Probably using the dead as素材."
素材 (sozai) in English generally means "material," "raw material," or "ingredient."
"Can you sense any survivors?" Nova asked.
Priscilla closed her eyes, concentrating. "Faint. Third floor. Two life signs—maybe three. They're hiding."
Kaelen cracked his knuckles. "So we fight our way through."
"Not through. Above." Nova studied the building's exterior. "The fire escape on the east side is intact. Kaelen, you're heavy enough to draw attention—create a distraction at the front. Valerius, can you warp space to get Priscilla and me onto the third floor balcony?"
Valerius considered. "Directly? No. But I can shorten the distance—make the balcony effectively ten feet away instead of thirty."
"Good enough."
They moved.
Kaelen charged the front entrance with a roar, his stone skin glowing with power. Gremlins swarmed to meet him, exactly as planned.
Valerius raised his hands, and space folded—the third floor balcony suddenly seeming much closer, much more reachable.
Nova grabbed Priscilla and teleported.
They landed on the balcony together, already moving, already searching. The door was locked—Priscilla's plants slipped through the crack and opened it from inside.
They entered the building.
The third floor was quieter than the levels below.
Offices and examination rooms lined the corridor, their doors closed. Priscilla's plants guided them toward the life signs—a storage closet at the far end.
Nova approached carefully, his blades ready.
He opened the door.
Three children huddled inside—two girls and a boy, the oldest maybe twelve, the youngest barely five. They stared at him with wide, terrified eyes.
"It's okay," Nova said quietly. "We're here to help."
The oldest girl—the twelve-year-old—stepped in front of the others. "Where's our mother? She went to find help. She said she'd come back."
Nova's chest tightened.
"She sent us," Priscilla said gently, kneeling beside them. "She's safe. She's waiting for you at the edge of the city. We're going to take you to her."
The girl's eyes filled with tears. "Promise?"
"Promise."
Getting them out was harder than getting in.
The commotion had attracted attention. Gremlins were climbing the building's exterior, their claws finding purchase in the weathered stone. The corpse demon below was stirring, its attention drawn upward.
"We can't go back the way we came," Nova said.
"Then we go through." Valerius appeared in the corridor—he'd found his own way up, spatial manipulation making stairs irrelevant. "I can warp us to the ground level, but it'll be disorienting. The children may not handle it well."
Priscilla looked at the youngest—a boy of five, already trembling. "They'll handle it. They have to."
Valerius raised his hands.
Space twisted.
They landed hard on the ground level, stumbling, disoriented. The children screamed—the sudden shift in location overwhelming their senses. Gremlins turned toward the sound.
Kaelen was there.
He'd cleared the front entrance, his stone skin painted with black gremlin blood. When he saw the children, he moved to shield them without hesitation.
"Go," he said. "I'll hold them."
Nova didn't argue. He grabbed two children, Priscilla grabbed the third, and they ran.
Behind them, Kaelen's roar shook the building.
ACHIEVEMENT RECORDED
Group 17 — Sector Seven
Civilians Rescued: 8 (+3)
Monsters Killed: 32 (+17, Kaelen's count)
Time Elapsed: 3 hours, 52 minutes
They reached the perimeter at dusk.
The children were reunited with their mother—the woman from the grocery store, who collapsed to her knees when she saw them, sobbing with relief. The twelve-year-old girl clung to her, both of them crying, both of them alive.
Nova watched from a distance.
"You did that," Priscilla said quietly, appearing beside him. "You saved them."
"The group saved them."
"You led." She took his hand. "Don't diminish what you did."
He didn't answer. He was watching the city, where fires still burned and monsters still roamed and hundreds of survivors still waited.
"We go back tomorrow," he said.
"I know."
"Dawn."
"I know."
They stood together in the fading light, hands intertwined, and said nothing more.
END OF YEAR EXAMINATION — DAY 1 COMPLETE
Group 17 Current Standing:
Civilians Rescued: 8
Monsters Killed: 32
Group Ranking: 4th of 20