The moment the corrupted shriek echoed through the Ashen Expanse, the haze trembled—as though the air feared what approached.
Raven didn't wait. He couldn't.
"Front lines, prepare your anchors!" He shouted, his voice cutting through the clamor of students rushing to form ranks. "Those good with long-range attacks, get to the high ground! Preload your spells—on my signal!"
Mana flared across the battlefield like ignited oil.
Clara leaped toward the right flank, boots barely touching the cracked ground. Her eyes glowed faintly gold now, her mana covering the rope dart dancing between her fingers.
Alex grunted and stood like a wall beside Raven, steam rising off his shoulders as his internal mana burned hotter and hotter.
Somewhere beyond, Jake shimmered into view, stabbing a corrupted scout cleanly through the eye before it could alert the rest. Then he was gone again, a blur of gray and shadow.
But it wasn't enough.
They were coming.
The ten corrupted beasts descended from the ridge like an avalanche of fury and hunger, ash clouds billowing around them.
Their bodies twisted and mangled from their former forms—wolves with too many joints, boars with skulls splitting open to reveal serrated bone ridges.
And behind them, its head held high like a ruined crown, the boss monster stepped forward.
Its size was almost comedic.
Almost.
A twisted bear-lion hybrid, easily fifteen feet tall at the shoulder, with molten crimson cracks lacing its black flesh like magma through obsidian.
Its eyes held no rage, only a cold, sentient malice. One claw cracked the stone as it stepped forward, and the sound silenced everything.
It could tell the difference between its and the students' strengths, but it could also perceive the instructors' powers.
That was probably why it wasn't rushing at them.
It was trying to measure the instructors' moves.
Raven, however, saw the hesitation ripple through the ranks.
He had seconds—maybe less.
"NOW!" He roared.
The battlefield erupted.
Mages unleashed their spells like a timed storm.
Arrows of lightning, spirals of wind, and lances of crystal shot forward. One of the corrupted beasts was struck head-on and disintegrated, its rotting bones scattered across the ash.
Cheers rose, but it was too early to celebrate.
Only one of the ten four-star beasts was dead. That too, because it took all of their attacks head-on.
Now, it seemed intentional because the moment it fell, without wasting time, three creatures surged into the left flank.
Students screamed in surprise as they clashed.
Swords flashed. Flesh tore. One student was flung back like a doll, his shield shattered, blood arcing.
Raven moved.
He blurred into motion, sword out, mana strengthening his limbs in a sharp shimmer. He slammed into the nearest corrupted beast—a hound-like thing with tendrils where its tongue should be—and drove his mana-coated blade through its skull, twisting hard.
The corrupted beast shrieked, then stilled, twitching.
Alex crashed into another, roaring like a lunatic, grabbing it by its throat and slamming it into the ground.
These beasts were under the direct assault of the magic from the ranged fighters, so although it took some effort, the students could face the beasts.
If not one-on-one, then two-on-one, maybe three-on-one. They tried their best.
All of them used the abilities they had learned from the Cradle. Some used the techniques taught to them by the instructors, making them proud, while others used their family techniques.
The ones who stood out the most were the ones who had learned from the senior instructors. A peak example would be Alex.
"Two!" He bellowed, laughing, as he took down another corrupt even as blood leaked down his cheek.
But already, more were coming.
Clara, executing the techniques taught by Instructor Selina, the third judge during the first practical test, danced through the field like a tempest.
Her rope dart flicked out like silver lightning, smashing two smaller beasts apart in one motion.
Right now, her teacher wasn't in Cradle, but that didn't deter her.
Her voice rang over the field: "Hold your lines! You lose formation, you die!"
Jake used a technique taught to him by one of the most secluded instructors in the Cradle, who was still standing far from the crowd of teachers.
His techniques were silent but precise. No one could see how he moved; only the results were visible.
The best point was that he incorporated Krav Maga into his technique, making it deadlier.
Raven, however, caught most eyes as he used almost every technique used on the battlefield.
After all, he had learned—more like stolen—the techniques from other students.
His eyes snapped back to the boss. It hadn't moved. Not much. Just... watching.
'Why is it waiting?' He thought.
Then it clicked.
"It's testing us," he muttered. "Just like Damien. Fuck."
And then the beast's gaze landed on him.
It stepped forward—and the world bent.
Suddenly, breathing became hard. The air grew thick and metallic as mana quivered.
Several students gasped and fell to their knees. One started retching.
"Tainted Domain—!" Raven realized aloud.
It was activating a partial territorial zone—testing them even more.
Unlike the four-star beasts, whose domain could be ignored by plate-three magic swordsmen to a degree, this one was on a different level.
"Everyone, retreat from the center! Get out of its aura range!" Raven commanded, his mana burst like a torrent, pushing away the corrupted air. "Use your mana to resist its corruption!"
Clara stumbled once, but Jake appeared beside her, hand grabbing her shoulder as he helped her retreat. Then he vanished again.
Everyone was helping each other, retreating and advancing at Raven's command.
They could instinctively tell they were too weak to face the boss beast, even in a group.
What good would teaming up do when that monstrosity could kill them before they could even move?
Things seemed fine as they retreated, and Raven was ready to blow the whistle once they gathered, signaling their abortion of the mission.
After all, everyone had already finished their mission.
Until—
A scream tore from the center squad.
The boss moved.
In one bound, it crossed half the battlefield, its claws leaving molten trails behind. It landed amidst the students with a shockwave that sent half the squad flying like pins in a hurricane.
Raven's blood turned to ice. He was too far. Everyone else was too scattered.
"Shit—!"
Then, from the smoke, a blade met the monster's claw.
CLANG!
Sparks exploded.
Kira, a quiet girl who barely spoke more than ten words a day, held it back, her knees trembling, aura burning violently crimson.
"Back—off!" She screamed.
The next instant, however, she was sent flying as the creature exerted more force into its attack.
"GAHH—!!!"
Raven jumped, grabbing Kira before she crashed into the ground, but as he saw the deep gash on her exposed, pale stomach, the injury turning black, he realized the severity of the situation.
"Fuck!" He growled. "Jake, Rufus, Clara, Alex, Jessy, Krish, Felona, Vesse!"
He called out to the students he needed to stop the beast from killing more students as he could already see its eyes on another group of retreating students.
"Tell me what to do!" Alex yelled. In an instant, the students gathered around him, waiting for his orders.
The beast and Raven met each other's eyes.
It was clear what it was planning.
It stood right before a group of students, not killing them but not letting them go either.
Its message was clear: fight me, or I will kill them.
Raven wasn't sure he could save those children if he blew the whistle.
'Fuck! I didn't plan for this!'
Gritting his teeth, he turned to Felona, a blonde girl who was good at healing.
"Leave her to me!" She said before Raven could speak, retreating with Kira in her arms, using her healing magic to continuously stop the corruption from poisoning the girl.
"Alex, Veese, Rufus, and Jessy. I want you guys to stop that bastard, even for a second." Turning to the others, he added, "The rest of you follow my lead."
With that, they rushed toward the beast, ready for the final round.
Their objective, however, was not to defeat the beast.
All they needed was to stop the beast for a few seconds. After that, Raven would take charge.
No one knew what Raven was planning, but they all trusted him—at least on the battlefield.
They all knew how capable he was, including Rufus, so when he ordered, they didn't question once and did what they were told.