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Monday morning arrived with the usual dread of eight AM classes. Russell dragged himself out of bed, grabbed a quick breakfast prepared by his ever-helpful Shadowkhan, and made his way to campus.
The cardmaking students didn't look nearly as miserable as other majors dealing with early morning classes. Enhanced mental strength had its perks - Russell felt alert and focused despite the ungodly hour.
In Professor Chen's cardmaking theory class, Russell found himself sitting between Heath and Keith as usual. The twins had become his unofficial classroom companions over the past few months, probably because they were among the few students who didn't treat him like some kind of celebrity after his connection to Blake became public knowledge.
Russell was flipping through his phone, half-listening to Chen drone on about material compatibility theory, when a new message popped up in the "A Loving Family" group chat.
[Jasper]: The cardmaker divisions transferred from inland areas have basically arrived. Rare to see the bureaucracy move this fast. [Felix]: That's because Yves St. Clair is breathing down everyone's necks. Without that pressure, we wouldn't see northern reinforcements until next month. [Felix]: But this leaves inland areas pretty empty. Hope the students can handle the pressure. [Elise]: Have faith in them.
Russell wanted to respond but couldn't risk typing in the family chat during class. He'd have to catch up with them later.
Heath, meanwhile, was accepting snacks from one of Russell's Shadowkhan with obvious delight. The dark servants had become a regular classroom sight, though they still drew stares from newer students.
"The counselor posted something in our group chat about a big announcement today," Heath whispered, unwrapping what looked like expensive chocolate. "Russell, you got any inside info?"
After Russell's identity as Blake's disciple became public knowledge, students naturally assumed he had access to privileged information. They weren't wrong, but that didn't mean he could share everything he knew.
Russell had a pretty good idea what the announcement would be about - the northern situation and early internship assignments. But the school would definitely sugarcoat the truth for student consumption. No point speculating out loud.
Instead, he looked at Heath's expanding waistline and decided to change the subject. "Dude, have you seriously not considered losing some weight? Your parents named you Heath for a reason, right?"
The contrast between the twins was getting more pronounced every semester. Heath kept getting rounder while Keith remained painfully skinny.
Heath's face turned red immediately. "Do you know what a 'husky 200-pound heartthrob' is?" he shot back defensively.
Keith snorted from Russell's other side. "You're definitely over 200 pounds now, bro."
"Better than being a walking skeleton!" Heath retorted, gesturing at his brother's stick-thin frame.
Keith rolled his eyes and went back to his notes. The twins had this argument at least once a week.
Russell grinned, satisfied that he'd successfully diverted attention from topics he couldn't discuss. The familiar banter was oddly comforting - a reminder that despite all the political maneuvering and supernatural threats, he was still just a college student in many ways.
"Seriously though," Heath said, lowering his voice again, "you must know something. You're connected to everyone important in this place."
"I know lots of things," Russell replied vaguely. "Doesn't mean I can talk about them."
"Come on, just a hint?"
Before Russell could respond, Professor Chen's lecture was interrupted by the classroom door opening. Hazel walked in, moving with the kind of purposeful stride that meant business. She nodded politely to Chen, who immediately stepped aside.
"Sorry to interrupt," Hazel said, though she didn't sound particularly sorry. "I need to borrow the class for an important announcement."
Chen nodded and retreated to his desk, clearly recognizing that a diamond-level cardmaker's business took precedence over his material theory lecture.
Hazel grabbed a marker and wrote three large words on the whiteboard: "Check your phones."
The students, by now accustomed to their counselor's unconventional methods, immediately pulled out their devices. After six months of Hazel's unique teaching style, they'd learned to just roll with her quirks.
If she wasn't diamond-level and Blake's first disciple, Russell thought, she'd probably have been reported to administration months ago. Though maybe she has been reported and they just ignored the complaints.
It made sense when he thought about it. A normal diamond-level cardmaker could become a full professor at any top university, but Hazel was "just" a counselor. The administration probably gave her considerable leeway in exchange for having someone of her caliber working with students directly.
Russell opened the class group chat and saw a lengthy message from Hazel waiting:
[Hazel]: In order to cultivate the practical skills of our cardmaking students, our school has decided to launch an indefinite internship program. I hope all students will uphold our school's excellent traditions during their internships and achieve great success in their endeavors.
Definitely copy-pasted, Russell thought with amusement. No way Hazel wrote all that bureaucratic fluff herself.
The message's actual meaning was crystal clear despite the corporate speak: this group of freshmen was getting thrown into internships way ahead of schedule, and nobody knew how long it would last.
Russell kept his expression neutral since he'd already known this was coming. But the other students weren't taking it nearly as well.
"Is this for real, Ms. Hazel?" someone called out from the back of the classroom.
"We're really going to explore pocket dimensions? As freshmen?" another voice added, sounding panicked.
"What the hell is the administration thinking?" Heath muttered beside Russell.
The concern was understandable. These students had only been in college for six months. While they knew internships would come eventually - usually in junior year - nobody had mentally prepared for jumping into real fieldwork as freshmen. The intensity gap between classroom exercises and actual pocket dimension exploration was enormous.
Anticipating their reactions, Hazel sent a follow-up message:
[Hazel]: This internship follows principles of fairness and voluntary participation. Assignment preferences will be honored whenever possible.
Not many people are going to choose exploration missions, Russell thought grimly. High risk, high reward doesn't appeal to everyone.
Most students would probably opt for safer garrison duties or support roles. Which meant the few who did choose exploration would get more opportunities - and more danger.
Heath leaned over to whisper, "Russell, what are you planning to pick?"
"Exploration missions, obviously," Russell replied without hesitation.
Both twins stared at him like he'd announced plans to juggle live grenades.
"Seriously?" Keith asked. "You know people actually die doing that stuff, right?"
"People die doing lots of things," Russell shrugged. "At least exploration missions pay well."
Heath opened his mouth to argue the point, but whatever he was going to say got cut off by a deafening explosion from somewhere in the distance.
BOOM!
The sound was massive - like thunder, but wrong somehow. Too sharp, too sustained. The classroom windows rattled in their frames, and several students yelped in surprise.
"What the hell was that?" Heath shouted over the ringing in everyone's ears.
Russell felt his blood turn to ice. He recognized that sound - the violent tearing of dimensional barriers. A pocket dimension had just forced its way into their reality.
The expression on Hazel's face confirmed his worst fears. Her usual casual demeanor vanished, replaced by the hard focus of a combat veteran. In a flash of lightning-fast movement that left afterimages, she disappeared from the classroom entirely.
Every phone in the room started buzzing simultaneously with emergency alerts:
[EMERGENCY: Unknown pocket dimension breach detected. All citizens proceed to designated shelters immediately.] [EMERGENCY: Unknown pocket dimension breach detected. All citizens proceed to designated shelters immediately.]
But Russell, as a registered cardmaker, received an additional message that made his stomach drop:
[CARDMAKER ALERT: Report to Huadu Gardens Complex immediately for civilian rescue operations.]
The situation hit him with sudden, overwhelming clarity. This was exactly like his first day in this world - when the Demon's Nest had torn through New Metro's defenses. That day, he'd been the helpless civilian getting rescued by stronger cardmakers.
Now he was one of the rescuers.
The other students in the classroom were receiving similar emergency assignments, though as bronze-level cardmakers they'd be working in supervised teams. Russell watched them panic and argue about what to do, feeling strangely detached from their chaos.
Time to see what I'm really made of, he thought grimly.
Without warning, Russell's human form began dissolving into shadows. His classmates scrambled backward as a massive, hideous creature materialized where their quiet classmate had been sitting moments before. The Arrogance transformation was always jarring for observers - Russell's normal appearance replaced by something that looked like nightmare given physical form.
Black and red energy swirled around him as his Shadowkhan emerged from various shadows throughout the classroom. The dark servants knelt in perfect formation, awaiting orders from their master.
Russell, now sitting on his ornate throne carried by multiple Shadowkhan, looked out at his terrified classmates one last time before shadows swallowed the entire group.
"What the fuck was that?" someone screamed as darkness closed over the classroom.
But Russell was already gone, racing through shadow-space toward whatever hell had just broken loose in their city. The scared freshman who'd hidden behind stronger cardmakers six months ago was dead.
In his place was something much more dangerous.
PLZ THROW POWER STONES