A soft chime echoed in Raith's mind.
Then, a notification appeared in front of him.
=====
[NEW MISSION]
2. Escape the Predator's Hunt
Objective: Survive and escape from the enemies targeting your squad.
Rewards:
5000 EXP
50 God Points
+50 to all attributes
=====
Raith frowned. The objective didn't sit right.
'Enemies?' he thought. Why did it say that?
He looked forward. No matter how many times he looked at it, there was only one enemy in front of them.
A hulking figure with a hammer the size of a tree trunk, standing motionless yet radiating pressure. Raith knew straight away that this was not what he could handle.
Besides, the system had already made it clear. He needed to survive and escape.
That was when it clicked. "Enemies… Enemies…"
There had to be more than one. Raith looked around. But the darkness of the night had limited his vision.
He wanted to say something. He really did. But how could he?
If he spoke up, the enemies might hear.
If he warned the Wardens, it might cause panic among the Cadets.
And if they asked how he knew… what would he say?
There was no good answer.
'Damn it! I need to lead the others away.'
He bit the inside of his cheek and kept silent. If only he knew that staying silent would be a decision he'd soon regret.
Liara and Elisa had been watching him for a while now. They exchanged a glance, both of them noticing his unease and the way he was muttering under his breath.
A short distance away, Instructor Tamsin reached into his dimensional ring and pulled out a sleek silver device. It looked like an old-world scouter, a small curved scanner that he clipped over his left eye.
He muttered just loud enough for Warden Ivara to hear.
"He's a Level 60. Just like us. But…"
Ivara didn't need a scanner to sense that. She could already feel the overwhelming strength of the enemy standing before them. But what she couldn't sense… was anything else. No intent. No emotion. Just raw, weightless power.
"But he's not human," Tamsin added. "I believe he's one of them. A member of the Cursed Race."
"The Cursed Race?" Ivara's jaw tightened slightly.
If that was true, then the situation was more than dangerous. It was catastrophic. The Cursed Race was something she couldn't handle in her current condition.
"All Cadets—take cover! Do not engage the target!"
Tamsin raised his voice and directed it toward the Cadets. Calm, commanding, but unmistakably urgent.
There was no hesitation.
"Quick!" Vanna shouted. She was panicked.
Cael and Demitri, too.
The Cadets scrambled to find cover or take defensive positions. Not one of them questioned the order. Not even the S-ranked Cadets.
When both Wardens sounded serious, everyone knew not to push their luck.
Seeing the chaos between the Cadets, Dane immediately stepped forward, taking charge without being asked.
"Get in formation!" he called out. "Watch your surroundings! Don't bunch up! We're moving!"
It was actually directed toward the Squad C-707. They seemed helpless except for Raith and Liara.
Dane glanced once at the enemy, then at the two Wardens who remained in front. If they were stepping forward instead of sending the Cadets in… then this wasn't a fight any of them should touch.
"Is it okay for us to run away?" Kev questioned.
Dane nodded. "Yeah. We're going to do it strategically."
He had no time to explain in detail about everything considering their situation right now.
Per protocol, retreating from an enemy far above their Tuner level wouldn't be penalized. The only thing that mattered now was survival.
Meanwhile, back at the enemy, Fatty stood still, then gave a slow clap with his enormous hands.
"Aww," he said, grinning. "This fatty feels honored when people take him seriously."
Tamsin and Ivara stared at him. Forces at ready. Tamsin had drawn his Gunblade, a weapon that combined a high-tech gun and blade.
Ivara smirked, "Still depending on that weapon?"
"Well, my Force is not as strong as yours. But…" Tamsin smiled before adding, "I'm not any weaker than you are when we're at the same level."
"Hey, you two!" Fatty called. "What are you talking about and ignoring me here?"
Tamsin looked at him and replied, "Why are you here?"
Fatty chuckled, "Why? This place belongs to no one, especially a weak race like yours."
Then, without warning, he lunged forward. "Let me show the disparity between us, you puny humans."
His hammer swung down with terrifying force. No roar. No windup. Just speed and strength.
"Everyone! Take cover!" Tamsin shouted.
He then moved just in time, his Gunblade drawn and pulsing with concentrated Flux. He raised it to meet the hammer in a resounding clash that cracked the air.
Sparks exploded on contact. The Cadets flinched at the sound.
The S-ranked Cadets, after witnessing Instructor Tamsin's abilities, assumed that the instructor wasn't a frontliner. His Force, Dominion Flow, was designed to enhance and guide others—not for a solo fight.
And yet, he held the line.
The hammer didn't crush him. He stood firm.
Raith, Elisa, Liara, and Dane saw it clearly. The entire blade was coated in Flux—an extension of Tamsin's own aura.
Dane whispered, "That's sick. No wonder he's the Head Instructor."
The others didn't respond. They hadn't seen what he had.
"He is so cool…" Kev muttered.
Then, without missing a beat, Tamsin adjusted the angle of his Gunblade until the barrel pointed directly at the glowing cracks on Fatty's forehead.
"Try this," he said quietly.
He pulled the trigger, and then—BOOM!
The bullet wasn't made of metal. It was pure Flux, shaped into a needle of death. But, the sound was like a grenade being detonated.
The Flux bullet pierced straight through Fatty's head. A clean shot between the eyes.
Fatty's body went still. For a moment, everyone was frozen. They believed that the enemy was dead. Instructor Tamsin had killed it.
Then came Cael's voice.
"No way! You actually killed it?" Cael said with a cocky grin. "That thing was this weak?"
He laughed and started walking slowly toward the Wardens, clearly proud of himself for surviving the encounter.
Ivara's eyes snapped wide.
"You fool! Stay where you are!"
Cael stopped.
But it was already too late. Fatty swung his hammer. A burst of his aura shot forward from the swing and flew toward Cael.
Ivara moved quickly. She appeared in front of Cael and swung her right fist, meeting the aura head-on. Another booming sound was heard.
The Cadets raised their hands and closed their eyes. The impact was pretty destructive.
Raith was the first to get himself together and opened his eyes. He could see it on Ivara's fist, a pristine silver gauntlet.
He wondered if that was just a weapon or her Force. However, as the others began to open their eyes, another terrifying scene happened.
The hole in Fatty's forehead began to close. It didn't regenerate like a monster wound. It resealed itself perfectly like time had been reversed.
Then, with a smile, Fatty spoke again.
"Surprise! I'm not dead yet!"
He tilted his head back and began laughing uncontrollably, his whole body trembling from the sound. It was a deep, cracked laughter that echoed too long in the night.
Tamsin didn't flinch. It was expected of the Cursed Race.
Fatty abruptly stopped laughing and fixed his gaze on the Head Instructor.
"You know what…" he growled. "That hurt and… I'm going to let you taste it, too."
This time, when he swung his hammer, he put everything into it.
Tamsin raised his Gunblade again to block, but the force behind it was overwhelming. The impact sent him flying backward into a collapsed building.
He crashed through the wall with a bone-rattling impact, bringing the entire structure down in a storm of dust and debris. He skidded along the ground before coming to a stop.
Nobody moved.
Even Raith couldn't breathe for a second.
They had just watched a Warden get thrown like a ragdoll.
Dane was the first to break the silence.
"Move! We're out of here now!"
His voice snapped everyone back into motion. The Cadets moved in a scattered, broken formation. They were still new to all of this—untrained, inexperienced, and clearly overwhelmed.
Raith hurried up to Dane's side, keeping low.
"There's more of them," he said quickly. "We can't go far from the Wardens."
Dane looked at him. "What?"
"There's not just this one," Raith said. "I can feel it. There are others out there."
"Are you serious?" Kev, who was just behind, stopped suddenly.
Cael bumped into him and nearly tripped.
"Watch it, dumbass!" Cael growled.
Dane turned back to Raith.
"How do you know?"
Raith hesitated.
"Instinct."
Dane looked at him for a long moment, then nodded. He didn't know why, but he believed Raith.
"We need better ground," Dane muttered, scanning the ruins. "Where's that place Vanna talked about earlier?"
Raith blinked. "The place with the voices?"
"Yes."
Raith hesitated. He didn't understand why Dane would even think of going back there. That place had nearly broken them just from the aura alone.
And yet… Dane sounded so sure. So calm.
Too calm.
Raith stole a glance at him. Dane's face was focused, unreadable. Like he'd already mapped out three ways to survive and two more to die trying.
'How is he still thinking clearly?' Raith wondered. 'This isn't training. We're about to get wiped.'
He was from the Outer Wards, just like the rest of them. He never received formal combat education. Yet right now, he carried himself like someone who had faced death before—and planned on outsmarting it again.
Raith didn't know whether to be impressed or worried.
But before he could ask more, a sudden pressure ripped through the air.
A second presence descended like a bullet from the heavens.
Another figure emerged—lean, hunched, twitching with energy. His body was riddled with faint blue cracks, glowing like threads of lightning beneath pale skin.
Skinny.
The moment he arrived, the killing aura spread like poison.
It cut through the Cadets like invisible blades.
They froze.
Even without lifting a finger, the pressure was enough to crush their senses. It was like their bodies refused to move as if their limbs belonged to someone else.
Dane shouted, "Enemy incoming! Three o'clock!"
Kev collapsed to a knee, gasping. Mira clenched her fists but couldn't get a word out.
Kev groaned through his teeth. "Are we seriously gonna die here… for real!?"
Then, from behind them, a streak of light burst through the shadows.
A flurry of Flux bullets tore through the air and smashed into the ground ahead of Skinny, just close enough to break his momentum.
The sound was sharp, and electrifying.
Tamsin's voice rang out right after, firm and cold.
"No, no… you're dealing with me first."
Skinny flinched slightly, annoyed by the interruption. He turned his head and hissed toward the side.
"Hey, fatass! Still can't deal with them? We gave you enough time."
Fatty grunted, clearly annoyed. "I'm toying with them. I could crush them any time I want."
And just like that… the real mission had begun for Raith.