Chapter 27
The air in the exam hall was suffocating. The third trial had just ended, and exhaustion weighed heavily on the students. Some were hunched over, gasping for breath, while others wiped sweat from their brows. The tension in the room was thick—many had barely scraped through the previous challenge.
Then, the temperature seemed to drop.
BANG!
The massive double doors slammed open with a force that sent an echo rippling through the hall. A dark figure strode in, his every step slow, deliberate, and laced with a chilling authority. His presence alone swallowed the room's energy, turning whispers into silence.
Kami, the infamous leader of the Black Department, was here.
A man whose very name evoked both admiration and terror.
His long, black cloak billowed behind him, a deep lining flashing as he moved. His piercing black eyes scanned the exhausted students, a slow smirk creeping across his lips. He didn't just look at them—he measured them, as though already picking out who among them was worth his time.
Some students stiffened. Others averted their gaze, as if eye contact alone might invite disaster.
Kami's reputation was the stuff of legend—and nightmares. He was an enigma, a wild card among the Head Wizards, known for trials so outlandish, so near-impossible, that students who took them often ended up hospitalized. Some quit the academy altogether. Others… were never seen again.
"It's time for my trial," he said.
His voice was smooth, unhurried—yet every syllable carried an edge of danger.
A collective shudder passed through the students. They had barely survived the last trial, and now he was in charge?
They exchanged uneasy glances. A few gulped audibly. Some clenched their fists, steeling themselves. Others looked ready to bolt.
"Follow me."
He didn't wait for them to respond. He simply turned, walking toward the doors with an air of absolute confidence.
For a long moment, no one moved.
Then, as though caught in his gravitational pull, they followed.
---
The Academy's vast courtyard stretched before them, bathed in the eerie glow of the setting sun. It was a place that held memories—this was where they had conquered their first two trials. But something was different now. The very atmosphere had changed.
It was heavier. Charged.
An unspoken warning lingered in the air, prickling at their senses.
Kami strode forward until he reached an ancient stone platform at the center of the courtyard. Embedded within it were four massive teleportation gates, each shimmering with a different color.
The moment the students saw them, their expressions darkened.
They knew these teleporters.
The Green Portal—a safe passage, often used for training. Minimal danger.
The Yellow Portal—a step up, introducing moderate threats. Tough, but survivable.
The Red Portal—reserved for the truly powerful. A test designed for Head Wizards.
And finally…
The Black Portal.
The sight of it made their stomachs churn.
It loomed before them, its surface an abyss of swirling darkness, pulsing as though alive. Unlike the others, which hummed softly, this one crackled with raw, unfiltered chaos.
Nobody spoke. Nobody even dared to.
It was a portal of legend. No, of nightmares.
Rumors whispered that those who entered rarely returned. It was said to lead to realms where monstrous entities roamed—beasts so powerful that even warriors near the Overlord Phase had perished within. Some claimed it transported students to the void itself, a place beyond sanity.
Even looking at it for too long made some of the students break out in a cold sweat.
Kami lifted a single hand and pointed.
Straight at the black portal.
"This," he said nonchalantly, "is your next trial."
Silence.
The weight of his words pressed down like a thousand bricks.
A few students visibly paled. Others went rigid, their breath hitching.
Then, Kaito—one of the bravest among them—snapped his head toward Kami. "Wait… what?"
He wasn't the only one.
Whispers exploded. Murmurs of disbelief. Eyes darted back and forth. Some students even stepped back, as if merely standing near the portal might pull them in.
Kami raised an eyebrow, clearly entertained by their reaction. "Each of you will enter the black portal, evade the beasts inside, retrieve their crystal, and bring it back."
He said it so casually, as if he were assigning them homework.
A stunned silence followed.
Then—
"Sir…" Kaito cleared his throat, forcing out a nervous laugh. "Did you mean the green portal?" His voice held a faint hopefulness. "Because the black portal is—well, you know—suicidal."
Several students nodded furiously in agreement.
Kami merely shrugged. "Only the strong survive." His tone was indifferent, almost bored. "Those who think they're too weak should step aside now."
The unease deepened.
The black portal flickered ominously, its chaotic energy twisting like tendrils, as if hungry for prey.
Some students didn't hesitate—they turned and ran. A few others followed, clearly unwilling to risk their lives for a trial that seemed more like a death sentence.
Soon, only a handful remained.
Among them—
A black-haired boy, Rayden Hailo, flanked by his two subordinates.
A red-haired student from the Glistening Faction, standing tall with his allies.
A yellow-haired student with sharp eyes, inhaling deeply before stepping forward.
A blonde-haired young man and his petite, black-haired partner.
Lucas, clad in his signature black jacket and trousers, smirked in amusement.
And then—
Kaito, standing frozen in place, looking like he was having a full-blown existential crisis.
He turned to Nephis, his voice barely a whisper. "Are we… really doing this?"
Nephis, ever composed, nodded. "We follow the Head Wizard's command if we want to pass this trial."
Kaito's heartbeat pounded in his ears. Every instinct screamed at him to run. To quit.
But his pride wouldn't allow it.
He clenched his fists, inhaled sharply, and stepped forward. "Fine," he muttered. "If we die, I'm haunting Kami in the afterlife."
One by one, they stepped forward.
And then—
They entered the black portal.
As they stepped into the portal,
One thought echoed in their mind:
How will they survive?
To be continued.