"On your feet, maggots!" Commander Luth's voice boomed across the training grounds, sharp and commanding, causing several cadets to flinch. "From today, all twenty of you are cadets of the 4th Batch. Get to know each other. In a short while, we'll head out for your first training mission"
Aeron felt a surge of nerves as the commander's words echoed in his mind. He glanced around at the others, most of them standing awkwardly, unsure of what to do. The crisp air of the Other World felt different—heavier, like it carried the weight of a thousand unseen eyes watching them.
He took a deep breath and turned toward the nearest cadet, determined to shake off his anxiety. "Hey there, I'm Aeron," he said, offering a smile that he hoped came off as confident rather than forced. "What's your name?"
The guy turned to face Aeron, his sharp, angular features set in a serious expression. He was head taller than Aeron—with a strong, muscular build that hinted at a life of discipline and physical training. His dark brown hair was cut short, almost military-style, and his piercing green eyes glinted with intensity as he sized Aeron up. There was something about him that commanded respect, as if he were no stranger to combat. "Ruth," he replied in a low, gruff voice, nodding once. "Nice to meet you."
Aeron gave a small nod in return, slightly thrown off by Ruth's intensity but not wanting to show it. "So, what do you think of this place?" Aeron asked, trying to make conversation.
Ruth glanced around the barren training grounds, then at the dense forest beyond. "It's... different. I was a soldier back on Earth, but this world? Feels... off," he said, his voice thoughtful. "Like something's always lurking. Can't quite explain it."
Aeron nodded, understanding. He felt it too—that unsettling energy. "Yeah, I know what you mean. Nothing feels right here. Like we're constantly being watched."
Before Ruth could reply, a cheerful voice interrupted them. "I'm Emma!" a girl said brightly, bouncing up beside them with a wide grin. She had long blonde hair and yellow eyes. Her energy was almost jarring compared to the tension that hung in the air. "I guess we're in the same squad, huh?"
Aeron smiled at her enthusiasm. "Looks like it," he said.
"Wow, this place is wild, isn't it?" Emma said, looking around with wide eyes, as if she were on an adventure rather than a dangerous mission. "I mean, look at that forest! I've never seen trees like that. I wonder what kind of creatures are out there!"
"Probably ones that want to kill us," Ruth muttered, crossing his arms.
Emma's smile faltered slightly, but she quickly recovered. "Yeah, well, we've got guns, right? I'm sure we'll be fine!" She gave Aeron a playful nudge.
He couldn't help but chuckle at her optimism. "I hope you're right," Aeron said, but deep down, he wasn't so sure.
"Everyone, stand at attention!" Lieutenant Zei's sharp voice sliced through the air, silencing the chatter. The group immediately stiffened, falling into formation as they faced the lieutenant. His eyes swept over them with a cold, calculating gaze, as if assessing their worth.
"We're heading out on patrol into the forest," Zei continued, his tone authoritative. "You're not here to sightsee or make friends. This is the Other World, and if you don't pay attention, you won't survive. Stick together, keep your heads down, and learn everything you can. We won't hold your hands out there."
Aeron felt a shiver run down his spine at the lieutenant's words. He stole a glance at Emma, whose earlier enthusiasm had dimmed slightly. Her lips pressed into a thin line, but she quickly gave him a small, reassuring nod, like she was determined not to let fear get the better of her.
As they began marching, Aeron felt the weight of his gun on his shoulder, an unfamiliar weight that reminded him just how unprepared he was. The forest loomed ahead, dark and mysterious, its towering trees casting long shadows on the ground. Each step felt like they were walking into the unknown.
Seeing Aeron like that, Emma shot him a quick smile. "Come on, where's the excitement? This is what we signed up for, right?" Her voice was light, but there was a slight tremor underneath that betrayed her nerves.
"Yeah, I guess," Aeron muttered, trying to focus on the path ahead. The forest was getting thicker, the air cooler. The ground beneath their feet turned uneven, covered in fallen leaves and moss that made every step uncertain.
As they trudged deeper into the forest, the eerie stillness was broken only by the sound of their footsteps and the occasional rustling of leaves in the distance. Aeron could feel the eyes on them again, that same unsettling sensation he'd felt since stepping into this world.
"Do you think the stories are true?" Emma suddenly whispered, breaking the silence. "About the creatures here? The ones that no one has ever survived meeting?"
Aeron exchanged a glance with Ruth, who looked unfazed. "Does it matter?" Ruth said flatly. "Whether they're true or not, it doesn't matter."
"That was cold," Emma said, glancing away with a slight frown.
Aeron smiled at the exchange but felt the tension between them. Emma's optimism was refreshing, but there was a harsh reality lurking beneath the surface that none of them could ignore. They weren't here to sightsee—they were here to survive.
"Just stick close," Aeron said quietly. "We've got each other's backs."
Emma nodded, her smile returning, though this time it was softer, more genuine. "Yeah, we do."
After an hour of walking, a squad member groaned, "How long are we going to walk like this?"
"In our missions, we walk for days," Lieutenant Zei snapped. "Stop whining and keep moving."
"It's getting dark. Are we staying out here on our first night?" Aeron asked, glancing around nervously.
Aeron started sensing danger as he was already sensing someone keeping eyes on them, suddenly, a pack of mysterious wolves charged at them from the shadows.
"Everyone, pick up your guns!" Commander Luth ordered. "These wolves are called Shadowfangs. They're fast—keep your distance and take them down!"
"Yes, sir!" the cadets shouted, scrambling for cover behind the trees. Everyone started fighting against the Shadowfangs. Someone fought of themselves while some tried to protect others.
Aeron crouched behind a fallen log, his heart pounding in his chest. He aimed his rifle at one of the Shadowfangs as it closed in on Ruth. "Get down!" Aeron shouted. He squeezed the trigger, the crack of the gunshot echoing through the night. The wolf dropped with a yelp, skidding to a halt just inches from Ruth's feet.
"Nice shot!" Ruth called out, rolling to the side as another wolf leaped toward him. He fired, landing a clean shot between its glowing eyes.
Emma, just a few feet away, was huddled behind a tree, reloading her gun with trembling hands. She glanced up in time to see a Shadowfang charging straight for her. Her breath caught in her throat, her body frozen for a moment.
"Emma, move!" Aeron yelled, sprinting toward her. At that moment time started moving slow while Aeron was running at his normal speed. Aeron's ability to slow down time had activated without him realizing it. Just before the beast reached her, Aeron arrived just in time, moving Emma and unleashing a barrage of gunfire that sent the creature crashing to the ground.
"Thanks…but how did you moved so fast" Emma gasped, her face pale but her resolve steady.
Suddenly, a thick fog rolled in, colder and darker. It swallowed the trees, the sky, and the entire squad. Visibility dropped to nothing, and the air felt heavy with something sinister.
"What the hell is this?!" Ruth shouted through the mist, his voice distant.
Aeron waved his hand through the dense air, barely able to see his own fingers. "I can't see you guys" the fog grew thicker swallowing everyone in its haze
"Where am I?" Aeron muttered as he woke up to find it was now night. He struggled to his feet, searching for clues. In the distance, he spotted Emma lying unconscious. He rushed over.
"Are you alright?" Aeron gently shook Emma until she began to stir.
"Where am I?" Emma murmured, slowly opening her eyes.
Before Aeron could answer, he heard rustling in the bushes. "Don't move. Stay right here," he whispered to Emma.
"Where are you going?" Emma asked, worry in her voice.
"I heard something in that bush," Aeron replied, gripping his gun tightly as he cautiously approached the bush. Suddenly, two Shadowfangs lunged at him. He quickly shot them down, but another one leaped from behind.
"Look out!" Emma screamed.
A shot rang out from the other side. Aeron turned to see two cadets from their squad emerging from the trees.
"Are you okay?" one of them asked.
"Yeah, we're fine," Aeron replied, relieved. "Do you know what happened?"
"No clue," one of the cadets said, shaking his head. "After that fog rolled in we don't know what happened. We woke up and found ourselves in a bush over there."
"Something's not right," Aeron said, frowning. "Firstly, that many Shadowfangs attacking us, and then this strange fog appears? Shadowfangs hate other creatures—they wouldn't normally work together like that. And there's no way they could summon a fog like this unless there is a beast tamer hiding here."
"And why would the fog separate us?" Emma added, concerned.
"Exactly. There has to be another explanation," Aeron said. "We need to find the others and the commander."
A scream pierced the night from deeper within the forest. Without hesitation, Aeron and the others ran toward the sound.
They arrived just in time to see a boy being attacked by Shadowfangs and a girl standing at a distance trembled in fear.
"Don't shoot, you might hit the boy. Both of you flank them from the sides! Emma, keep her safe!" Aeron commanded, pointing to the girl near the boy.
"Hey, Shadowfangs, you like blood, right?" Aeron taunted, cutting his hand with the edge of his gun. Blood dripped to the ground. "Come and get it."
The Shadowfangs, drawn by the scent, left the boy and charged at Aeron.
"Now! Take them down!" Aeron shouted. The cadets opened fire, killing the wolves.
"You idiot! Why did you do that?" Emma scolded Aeron, rushing over to bandage his hand.
"It was the only way to distract them," Aeron said with a grin.
"Idiot," Emma muttered, but there was relief in her voice.
"Is he okay?" Aeron asked the cadets, nodding toward the injured boy.
"He's alive, but he needs medical attention soon," one of the cadets replied. "We've stopped the bleeding for now, but he won't last long without proper care."
"Thank you for saving us," the girl said softly, still shaken.
"Don't worry. It's our duty to protect each other—we're a team now," Emma reassured her.
"We need to find the rest of the squad," Aeron said, determination in his voice.
"Which direction is the way out?" Emma asked, her voice tinged with concern as she scanned the dense forest around them.
"We're in the middle of an unknown forest, filled with Shadowfangs," Aeron replied, his tone serious. "Teleporting all twenty-two of us to a further distance isn't something a beast tamer could do easily—unless they're of supreme level. We have to keep moving until we find a clue."
Aeron's words hung in the air as the group trudged forward.
"Can you two carry him?" Aeron asked, his voice steady but commanding as he looked at the two cadets.
One of the cadet looking hesitant, asked, "Why do we have to—"
Before he could finish, the other cadet interrupted, "We'll carry him," he said firmly, silencing any further questions.
As they continued walking, the forest seemed to close in around them, the trees tall and foreboding, casting long shadows in the fading light. The air was thick with tension, each step echoing the uncertainty in their hearts.
Emma broke the silence. "Back there, how did you move so fast?" she asked, curiosity evident in her voice.
"Can you walk properly?" Aeron replied ditching Emma's question
Emma paused, her eyes narrowing. "Are we walking in circles?" she asked, glancing at Aeron.
He looked around, noticing the familiar broken branches and the claw marks on a nearby tree. "You're right," he said grimly. "This is the place where we killed those two Shadowfangs."
"We should try the other direction," one of the cadets suggested, his voice betraying a hint of frustration.
"Yeah, let's go," Aeron agreed, though doubt began to creep into his mind.
They turned and walked in the opposite direction, the minutes stretching into another hour. But when they stopped again, the sight before them was all too familiar.
"Hey, we're back in the same place again!" the cadet exclaimed, panic rising in his voice.
Aeron's heart sank. "We might be cursed by a looping spell," he said, trying to keep his composure. "Does anyone here know how to break a curse?"
"None of us are mage," another cadet replied, his voice filled with worry.
The trembling girl who had been silent for most of the journey finally spoke up. "I can try breaking it," she offered, her voice shaking with uncertainty.
She stepped forward, closing her eyes as she began to whisper an incantation. Her hands trembled as she reached out into the air, her fingers tracing invisible symbols. The others watched in tense silence, the forest seeming to hold its breath. Suddenly, a sound like shattering glass echoed through the trees, and the air around them shifted.
"She's a genius!" one of the cadets exclaimed, relief flooding his voice.
The girl gave a small, modest smile. "I'm not that good," she said, though the pride in her eyes was unmistakable.
"Wait, do you hear that?" Emma hushed the group, her ears straining to catch the faint sound.
"Yeah, I hear someone talking," Aeron said, his senses on high alert. "Let's check it out."
They moved cautiously toward the source of the sound, every rustle of leaves and snap of twigs setting their nerves on edge. When they reached the spot, they froze as a gun was suddenly pointed in Aeron's direction as he was in the front.
"Yo, yo, take it easy! We're in the same group," one of the cadets said quickly, raising his hands in a gesture of peace.
The boy holding the gun lowered it. He gestured for them to follow him. Without a word, they complied, their footsteps barely making a sound on the forest floor. After a few tense moments, the boy motioned for them to stop and crouch behind a bush.
"Look there. What do you see?" he whispered, his voice low.
Looking through the leaves, they saw a young boy in a ritual suit, standing in a clearing. His voice was low and guttural as he chanted in a language none of them understood. The eerie glow of the moonlight cast long shadows across his face, making him look almost otherworldly.
"He's been like that for over an hour," the new boy whispered.
"Why didn't you shoot him? He doesn't look good," one of the cadets asked, his voice tinged with fear.
"I wanted to," the boy replied, his voice grim. "But look beside him."
The group's eyes widened as they saw five cadets lying motionless on the ground next to the sorcerer. Their faces were pale, their bodies unnaturally still.
"Are they alive?" Aeron asked, his voice barely audible.
"I'm not sure," the boy admitted, "But shooting him might not be a good idea. He's a sorcerer—we don't know what he could do if we provoke him."
"What do you think, Emma?" Aeron turned to her, but received no response. "Emma?" he called again, a note of urgency in his voice.
Suddenly, a shadowy figure emerged from behind him as he turned back, striking Aeron on the head with a dull thud. Pain exploded in his skull, and the world around him faded into darkness as he fell to the ground, unconscious.