The smell hit them first.
Ren,
Daigo,
Toru,
Hinata,
Mei,
and Rika
It wasn't the metallic tang of the training swords or the clean scent of the manicured gardens. It was the smell of wet fur, stale blood, and shit.
"Ugh," Toru covered his nose, his voice muffled. "What died in here? It smells like a locker room after a chili-eating contest."
"Focus," Reiji Narukami commanded, though his knuckles were white where he gripped his shield. "Everyone, stay in formation. Just like we practiced."
It was Day 7.
They stood in the center of the Beast Colosseum—a circular pit sunk twenty feet into the ground, surrounded by high stone walls. The floor wasn't paved with polished marble; it was packed dirt, stained dark in patches that looked suspiciously like old dried blood. Above them, on the viewing balcony, Sir Valdorn stood with his arms crossed. Next to him were the Mage Instructors and a few Royal Guards.
"Listen up!" Valdorn's voice boomed down into the pit. "For the past week, you have hit wooden dummies. You have cast spells at stone targets. You have complained that the training is repetitive."
Valdorn leaned over the railing, his scarred face impassive. "Today, the training wheels come off. The enemy does not stand still. The enemy does not wait for you to finish your chant. The enemy wants to eat you."
A heavy iron gate at the far end of the arena rattled. A low, guttural growl echoed from the darkness behind it.
"Real steel today," Daigo Shun whispered, shifting his weight. He was holding a massive tower shield and a mace. He looked the part of a [Vanguard]—big, imposing, and armored in thick plate. But Ren could see a bead of sweat rolling down Daigo's temple.
Ren stood at the center of the formation. He held a real sword now—a bastard sword made of high-carbon steel. It was lighter than the lead-weighted practice sword, but it felt colder. Sharper.
"Do not kill them unless necessary," Valdorn shouted. "But do not hesitate. If you hesitate, you bleed."
CLANG.
The gate rose.
Three shadows burst from the tunnel. They moved low to the ground, fluid and fast.
Worgs.
They weren't just wolves. They were monsters the size of small horses, with matted grey fur and spines of bone protruding from their shoulders. Their eyes glowed a sickly yellow, and their jaws snapped with enough force to crush a femur.
"Holy shit," Toru squeaked. "They're huge."
"Formation A!" Reiji yelled. "Daigo, front! Mei, left flank! Rika, stay hidden!"
"On it!" Daigo roared. He slammed his mace against his shield.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: TAUNT]
A red shockwave rippled out from Daigo's throat. It wasn't sound; it was pure aggression. Ren felt the urge to look at Daigo, to attack him.
The three Worgs skidded to a halt, their yellow eyes locking onto the Vanguard. They snarled, foam dripping from their jaws, and charged.
"Come get some, you ugly bastards!" Daigo yelled.
The first Worg leaped. It hit Daigo's shield like a cannonball.
BOOM.
Daigo slid back two feet, his boots carving grooves into the dirt. "Heavy!" he grunted, his face turning red.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: IRON SKIN]
Daigo's skin turned a dark, metallic grey. He braced his shoulder and shoved. "Mei! Now!"
Mei Tachibana, the [Lancer], didn't need to be told twice. She looked terrifying. Her black hair whipped around her face as she lunged from behind Daigo's cover.
"Piercing Strike!" she screamed.
Her spear glowed with a sharp blue light. She thrust it forward, aiming for the Worg's chest. But the beast was fast. It twisted in mid-air, and the spear tip only grazed its flank, drawing a line of red blood.
The Worg yelped but snapped its jaws at her.
"Shit!" Mei scrambled back.
"Fireball!" Toru yelled from the backline. He thrust his hand out.
[SKILL ACTIVATED: IGNITE]
A ball of fire the size of a basketball erupted from his palm. It looked cool—until it flew wide, missing the Worg entirely and exploding against the stone wall near Hinata.
"Watch it, you pyromaniac!" Hinata screamed, diving out of the way. "You almost grilled me!"
"They're moving too fast!" Toru panicked, his hands shaking. "I can't lock on!"
Chaos. Absolute chaos.
The formation was breaking. The Worgs weren't taking turns. While one kept Daigo busy, the other two circled the group, looking for the weak links. They were intelligent. Pack hunters.
"Ren!" Reiji shouted, blocking a snap from the second Worg with his shield. "Do something! You're the DPS!"
Ren stood there, his sword heavy in his hand. His heart was hammering against his ribs like a trapped bird.
I have to move. I have to attack.
He gripped the hilt.
[PASSIVE SKILL: DIVINE GUIDANCE]
The world greyscaled. The golden grid appeared.
It showed him everything. The Worg attacking Daigo had an opening under its front left leg. The Worg circling Hinata was about to lunge.
Step forward. Slash downward. Sever the spine.
The instruction was clear. It was a kill shot.
But Ren stared at the beast. It was breathing. It was alive. Its yellow eyes were filled with hunger and fear. If he swung that sword, he would cut through muscle and bone. He would end a life.
Ren hesitated.
The golden line flickered and vanished.
"Ren!" Daigo yelled, buckling under the weight of the beast. "Little help here?!"
"I..." Ren took a step, but his feet felt like they were in concrete.
While the front line struggled, the third Worg—the Alpha—saw its chance. It ignored the loud Vanguard and the flashy Pyromancer. It looked for the one trying to hide.
Rika.
She was crouching near the wall, trembling. She had activated [Veil of Silence], hoping to stay unnoticed. But she was terrified. Her pheromones—the scent of pure fear—were leaking through the skill.
The Alpha Worg's nostrils flared. It turned its head. It looked right at the empty space where Rika was hiding.
Rika saw the beast turn. Her breath hitched. No. No, I'm invisible. You can't see me.
The Worg didn't need to see her. It lunged.
"Rika!" Ayaka screamed from the back.
Rika's stealth broke. She shrieked, scrambling backward, but she tripped over her own feet. She hit the dirt hard. The Worg was on top of her in a second, its massive paws pinning her shoulders to the ground.
Hot, rotten breath washed over her face. Saliva dripped onto her cheek.
Rika stared up into the yellow eyes of the monster. She couldn't breathe. She couldn't move. She had a dagger at her belt—a sharp, enchanted steel dagger meant for killing. But her hands wouldn't work.
I'm going to die, she thought, her mind going blank. I'm going to die right here.
The Worg opened its jaws, aiming for her throat.
"GET OFF HER!"
Ren saw it. The golden line appeared again—a desperate, jagged streak of light connecting him to the beast on top of Rika.
Throw the sword. Calculate arc. 88% probability of hit.
But Ren was too far away. If he missed, he would hit Rika.
"Move!" Ren screamed, sprinting forward. But he was slow. His Agility stat was garbage. He was running through molasses while the beast was moving in real-time.
Up on the balcony, Valdorn leaned forward, his eyes narrowing. "Do not interfere," he ordered the mages who were raising their staffs. "Let them learn."
"But she will die!" a Mage protested.
"Then she dies," Valdorn said coldly. "If the Hero cannot save her, then they are all dead anyway."
In the pit, time seemed to slow down.
Rika squeezed her eyes shut. The Worg's jaws snapped down.
CRUNCH.
But it wasn't Rika's neck.
A barrier—a shimmering, hexagonal pane of blue glass—materialized inches from Rika's face. The Worg's teeth slammed into it, cracking the energy but stopping the bite.
Hanae Igarashi, the [Barrier Mage], stood twenty feet away, her hands thrust forward, her face pale and sweating.
"Get... up!" Hanae screamed, her voice trembling. "My shield won't hold!"
The Worg roared in frustration and slammed its head against the barrier again. Crack. The blue glass splintered.
Rika was still on the ground, paralyzed by terror. The barrier was breaking. Ren was still five seconds away. Daigo was pinned.
The Worg raised a claw, bypassing the barrier, ready to rip Rika's stomach open.
Rika stared at the claw. It was hooked, black, and caked with dirt.
Do something, a voice inside her head whispered. You're a Rogue. Do something.
But she was just a high school girl. She liked cats. She liked milk tea. She didn't know how to kill.
The claw came down.