Two days later, all the groups stood assembled near the massive glowing portal—the one that would scatter them across various hunting grounds, each team teleported to a different location.
Daniel stepped onto the field and instantly felt the weight of every gaze fall on him.
Eyes. Whispers. Judgments.
He could hear them even without trying.
"Wait, this trash is still at the academy?" one student whispered.
"I thought they would've expelled him by now," another muttered, his tone dripping with contempt.
"Maybe it's not so easy to expel someone from a noble family," said a third, scoffing. "Honestly, it's guys like him that bring disgrace to heroes' lineages."
"I even heard he's been constantly bothering Miss Lisa in class," someone added. "Always late, always kicking open the door like some street thug. No manners at all."
Daniel exhaled quietly, hands in his pockets, and gave a faint smile.
> So... nothing's changed. My reputation's still as rotten as ever. Good to know people have long memories.
Just then, Venessa strolled up beside him, arms crossed and lips curved in a sharp smirk. "Well, well," she said, her voice soaked in sarcasm, "aren't you popular today?"
Daniel shrugged with a smirk of his own. "Not as much as you, sweetheart."
They both stood there, silently listening as the whispers grew louder—students clearly unaware or uncaring that their voices carried.
"Isn't that Venessa?" someone hissed.
"Why is she even talking to that useless guy?" another said in a tone of disbelief.
A quieter voice chimed in, "You don't know? They're in the same team."
"Ohh…" A third voice sighed dramatically. "Poor Miss Venessa… Who even put her in that team? They should've picked me instead. At least I would've talked to her with some respect."
Daniel rolled his eyes. The simps are really coming out of their caves today…
He glanced sideways at Venessa, who seemed entirely unfazed by the attention—though a subtle twitch at the corner of her mouth betrayed her amusement.
"I bet he bribed the teacher somehow," one boy whispered, his voice dripping with disdain.
Daniel, standing a short distance away, overheard it clearly. If bribing actually worked in this place, he thought with a wry smile, I'd rather stay miles away from her.
"But still," another boy chimed in, "why is Venessa even talking to that piece of trash?"
A third one leaned in with a suspicious tone, "I think Daniel is blackmailing her."
A gasp escaped from a girl nearby. "Seriously?! Then we should help Venessa! What if she's in danger?"
Daniel rolled his eyes mentally. Great. That's got to be the worst rumor yet. And blackmail? Who in their right mind would try to blackmail a vampire like her?
Just then, Venessa walked over to him with a sly grin curling on her lips.
"Oh, Sir Daniel," she said in an exaggerated, playful tone. "I shall follow your every command. Please, don't listen to their nonsense."
Daniel gave her a long, narrowed stare—part annoyed, part amused. He said nothing in response, but his silence carried more weight than words.
And still, around them, the whispers continued to swirl like a storm.
---
Just then, Principal Elena drew everyone's attention with a sharp clap and a commanding voice.
"Students, listen carefully," she said. "Once inside, each team member is responsible for protecting one another. The Academy will be monitoring every move you make. Collecting cores alone won't earn you points—your actions will be rewarded or penalized based on conduct. So think before you act."
Daniel stopped paying attention midway through her speech. Nothing useful, he thought, just the usual warnings.
His gaze drifted toward Rey, who stood a short distance away with Peter, Petra, Alia, and Ron. From their animated expressions and gestures, it was clear that Rey and Ron had grown quite close—they talked like old friends.
Then Daniel turned to Ren, who stood quietly beside him. "You're not scared, are you?" he asked, his voice low but calm.
Daniel understood what this meant. For most of the students here, it would be their very first encounter with real monsters.
Back when portals had first opened across Earth, others had opened elsewhere too—gateways to strange and hostile domains, soon labeled as dungeons. These dungeons came in various ranks, based on the energy they emitted. The stronger the energy signature, the higher the danger—and the higher the rank.
Fortunately, Centory had no natural dungeons of its own. While many high-rank creatures did exist here, they preferred to remain within their isolated territories. Still, today was an exception.
All the students were about to step into a dungeon—an E-rank one, at that. Although technically classified as a dungeon, it was more of a forest—dense, wild, but filled only with weak monsters. That made it perfect for training.
Daniel tightened his gloves and glanced at the swirling portal ahead. Let's see what this jungle has in store.
---
One by one, the teams began stepping into the portal.
This particular portal was directly linked to a dungeon—one that had already been conquered long ago. But it was unlike any other. Despite being cleared, it continued to spawn F-rank and a handful of E-rank monsters at irregular intervals, making it the perfect spot for beginner-level training.
Daniel and his team approached the portal together. As soon as they stepped through its swirling energy, Daniel felt his head spin violently.
Within seconds, they were teleported into the hunting grounds.
But the moment Daniel's feet touched the jungle floor, his stomach churned, and everything he'd eaten earlier came rushing up.
He collapsed to his knees, vomiting onto the ground.
Ren and Rex rushed to his side, helping him steady himself.
"Dude, you okay?" Ren asked, concerned.
Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, Daniel groaned, "Yeah… I shouldn't have had breakfast. If I knew this was gonna happen…"
It wasn't unusual. The first time someone experienced portal teleportation, disorientation and nausea were common. With time, the body adjusted. So, the rest of the team didn't take it too seriously.
Justin stepped ahead of them, scanning the dense forest before them. "We don't have much time," he said sharply. "The other teams have probably already started their hunt."
As the faint sounds of rustling leaves and distant growls echoed through the thick underbrush, the urgency in his voice became real.
Daniel took a deep breath, steadying himself. Alright, he thought. Let's get this started.