Once everyone had been sorted into their Affinity groups, Major Pain marched to the front of the formation. He swept his cold gaze over the recruits, eyes narrowing slightly before he barked, "You have now been sorted into your Affinity. From this point forward, your training will be tailored to that Affinity. Anything else is a waste of potential."
He paused, letting the words hang in the air before pointing behind the group, "Behind you are six instructors. Each of them is responsible for one Affinity. From left to right: Augur, Juggernaut, Warden, Wraith, Terra, and Psychic. Find your teacher and form a line in front of them."
As the recruits broke off, Riley made his way toward the Augur instructor. He was the first in line, and as he turned to glance at the others who joined him, he noticed something odd. There were only nine other recruits. Just ten Augurs total.
Their instructor studied them with calm curiosity, flipping through a clipboard in his hand. He nodded once. "Only ten? That simplifies things.."
His voice had a smooth, almost musical quality to it. It was the kind of voice you'd expect from a late-night radio host. Measured. Confident.
"You can call me Mr. Zan," he continued. "I'll be guiding you on how to harness your Affinity as Augurs. We are not front-line bruisers. We are battlefield controllers, masters of information, foresight, and strategic application. Your Talent is perception. It's about understanding and manipulating your environment."
Mr. Zan clapped once. "We'll begin with a field expedition. You've got five minutes to retrieve your gear from the barracks and meet me back here. Move."
The group scrambled back to their dorms. Riley shoved everything he'd unpacked into his kit bag and jogged back with the rest. They returned within four minutes.
Mr. Zan raised an eyebrow, impressed. "That was fast. Follow me."
Without another word, he led them away from the familiar training yard. They passed buildings Riley hadn't seen before—storage sheds, weapons lockers, and offices with shaded windows that gave nothing away. Eventually, the structures thinned out, replaced by raw stone and open space. They reached what looked like another training ground, only this one had a massive stone wall stretched from one side of the cavern to the other at its border on the farthest side from the group.
There were no gates. No visible doors. Just a solid wall.
A soldier stood near the base, arms crossed. Mr. Zan flashed a small ID card clipped to his belt. The guard glanced at it, then at the recruits, and gave a silent nod. Without a word, he leaned against the wall and knocked three times.
Knock. Knock. Knock.
The sound echoed.
A low rumble answered. Then, with a scrape like stone against stone, a narrow section of the wall shifted and opened. Another soldier appeared from the other side, eyes alert. He waved them through.
Mr. Zan led them in without hesitation, flashing his ID again. The soldier inside barely glanced at it.
"You're cleared. Be careful," he said. "We haven't sent anyone deeper in months."
Mr. Zan shrugged. "I'm not worried."
The wall closed behind them.
Beyond was a vast cavern, far darker and more desolate than the camp. Gone were the lights and markings of civilization. This was Velura in its untouched form. The walls were jagged. The air was cooler. And the ground beneath their boots no longer felt like a training yard—it felt like something wild.
They walked for several minutes, the cavern widening with each step. The faint glow of the wall faded behind them, swallowed by the dark.
Mr. Zan finally stopped.
"Welcome to what we call the Beast Zone," he said, turning to face them. "As you've probably learned, Velura operates on a strange rule—beasts come out at night, and they vanish by day. You might think the sunlight makes you safer. It doesn't. It just means something worse comes out to play."
The recruits shifted uneasily.
"When dawn breaks in Velura, weaker beasts retreat to places like this—deep beneath the surface. But predators follow them. Hunt them. The ecosystem that thrives here is brutal and effective. So efficient, in fact, that many creatures never return to the surface."
Riley could see the sparkle in Mr. Zan's eyes. He enjoyed this topic. Passionate. A true believer in the weirdness of Velura.
"Now," Mr. Zan continued, clearing his throat, "your task is simple. You will each find a beast egg. It doesn't matter what kind—only that you find one and return with it. I'll stay close. If something dangerous shows up, I'll intervene. I don't want to lose any of you. That'd be… messy."
He paused to scan their faces.
"Any questions?"
None.
"Then off you go. Bring me an egg."
The group began moving deeper into the cavern, sticking close together. Riley noted how quiet they all were—tension clung to every step. No one wanted to be the first to wander off.
The passage ahead narrowed. After a few minutes the group noticed just how noarrow iit was getting as if they were about to hit a dead end.
"That can't be right," someone muttered.
They pushed forward anyway. As they approached, Riley spotted it: a narrow, human-sized tunnel carved into the rock. One by one, they ducked through it. The path curved, then descended steeply before levelling out.
When they emerged on the other side, the entire group stopped and stared.
A hidden world stretched out before them.
Massive mushrooms towered over the cavern floor. Neon-colored caps glowed in blues, pinks, yellows, and purples. Their light was soft, like moonlight through fog—not enough to fully illuminate the space, but enough to give shape to the wonder beneath. Thick stalks clustered like trees, forming a strange forest. Beneath their fungal canopy, movement stirred—creatures of all shapes and sizes roamed the shadows.
They stood on a ridge overlooking it all. From up here, they could see patches of moss that shimmered with bioluminescent spores, insects that drifted like floating lanterns, and reptilian beasts that slithered between mushrooms as tall as buildings.
Riley exhaled, heart thudding. "Oh boy."
Somewhere in that strange forest, his beast egg was waiting.