Is this a dream where I can't escape?
Suddenly, pain came tearing him inside out. He closed his eyes in agony. When he opened them, he saw the sky hidden by trees.
"I'm out, but this pain... it's tearing my head."
"Woof! Woof!"
Hati came running and started licking Alex's face.
"Yes, yes, I'm okay, Hati. Relax," Alex replied with a warm smile.
He tried to stand up, but his body felt a little heavy. After moving a little, he started feeling better.
Then he looked around—trees formed some type of barrier with only one opening toward that big tree touching the sky.
Hydra's only bones and skin remained.
Alex said with wide eyes, "How much time was I trapped there?"
He saw Hati, who had grown a little.
He picked up Hati in his hands, brushing his soft fur with his fingers, and said in a sad voice,
"Sorry, Hati. I kept you waiting."
A voice came directly into his mind,
"You're finally awake."
Alex snapped back,
"Yeah, thanks to you!"
Sarcasm was apparent in his voice.
"How much time was I lying here like this?"
The voice replied in an apologetic tone,
"My children were afraid of the Hydra, so they couldn't come and help you."
Alex sighed and replied with melancholy, looking toward the sun in the sky,
"People or elves—it doesn't matter. They'll stay by your side only as long as you're useful to them."
"Let's leave those things at that. Where's my reward for saving you?"
Swoosh—
Something shot down from the sky and pierced the earth near Alex.
Curious, he stepped closer and found a sleek black staff, about three meters long. Mysterious green patterns pulsed along its surface, glowing faintly. It was elegant, otherworldly—
Then a voice echoed in his mind—the Mother Tree.
"This will be my gift to you."
Alex reached out and grasped the staff.
Sizzling—
He recoiled instantly as searing pain flared through his hand, forcing him to drop it. But before the staff hit the ground, a black tattoo in its exact shape appeared on the back of his hand. The green patterns flickered once before vanishing like smoke in the wind.
"This is a Dimensional Key," the Mother Tree's voice returned.
"You are now bound to this dimension. You may enter it freely and bring others with you. It cannot be transferred—unless you die."
Alex stared at the faint outline of the tattoo, flexing his fingers.
"Can I use it as a weapon?"
"Yes," the Mother Tree replied.
"Use it as a spear handle. It's sturdy and flexible. It's a B-rank artifact—I forged it myself. If this dimension's rank were higher, its grade might have reached even further."
Alex rubbed his chin thoughtfully.
"Can I forge the spearhead using the Hydra?"
"Yes. If you use the Hydra's remains, the weapon's rank may increase."
Without wasting a moment, Alex walked over to the Hydra's corpse—what was left of it. He harvested its fangs, horns, claws, tailbone, and a few of its emerald green, glistening scales, storing them carefully in his spatial ring.
When he was done, he finally looked down at himself. Most of his body was bare, his only clothing a pair of pants, now torn up to the knees.
He sighed.
"I don't have anything to wear. Again."
Suddenly, purple light started covering Alex.
The Mother Tree said,
"So that spell is starting to work now."
Alex said out loud,
"What spell?"
The Mother Tree replied in his mind,
"You should take the staff and keep that wolf of yours in your hands."
Alex immediately picked up Hati and asked again,
"What spell?"
The Mother Tree said in his mind,
"I hope I see your face someday."
Then purple light flashed—
—and Alex vanished.
After four gruelling months, all the students were suddenly teleported back. A flash of purple light—then silence. When the daze cleared, they found themselves standing once again in the same vast hall where the academy test had first begun.
Gasps echoed across the chamber as eyes darted around the familiar surroundings in disbelief. Out of the original two thousand, barely over two hundred students remained. Their clothes were torn and ragged, their bodies bruised, faces hollowed by exhaustion.
And then it erupted—an outpouring of raw emotion.
Some fell to their knees, weeping. Others clutched each other, trembling with relief, with disbelief, with overwhelming joy.
"We're alive!" someone shouted, voice cracking.
"We came back alive!" another cried out.
On the stage before the students stood two figures—Instructor Lucius Aurelwyn and Instructor Emilia Aurelwyn—both wearing anxious expressions. Yet none of the returning students paid them any attention. They were too busy celebrating their return from hell.
Lucius and Emilia, however, were counting. Waiting.and hoping. But as the minutes dragged on and no more teleportation occurred, the truth became painfully clear.
Only ten percent had returned. The rest were gone.
Emilia's jaw clenched, her fists curling tight at her sides. Lucius exhaled heavily, the weight of loss pressing down on him like a stone.
"…Let's give them some time to calm down," he said quietly, sadness apparent in his voice.
Then, without warning, a brilliant purple flash lit up the centre of the hall.
A figure emerged—tall, nearly six feet, his white hair wild and windswept, violet eyes glowing faintly. His pale, muscular form was nearly bare, save for a few remaining shreds of clothing, and beside him stood a majestic, uniquely-coloured wolf cub—grey back and purple belly fur, its eyes one purple, one grey, sharp and intelligent.
In his right hand, the young man held a black staff etched with glowing emerald-green patterns, pulsing with quiet power.
Gasps rippled through the crowd.
Rina Roarhart's eyes lit up instantly when she saw him. Her smile broke through her exhaustion like sunlight through storm clouds.
Selene Frostreign, standing nearby, let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding. Her shoulders relaxed, and the tightness in her chest eased.
On the other hand, Riven Veylor narrowed his eyes, a deep frown appeared on his brow.
So… he survived, Riven thought grimly. I was certain he'd die searching for the dimensional key.