BOOM!
A violent explosion erupted from outside the window, causing the entire dormitory building to tremble.
Asher shot upright from his bed. Still not fully awake, he watched as the glass of water on his desk slowly slid toward the edge before falling with a crisp smack, shattering into fragments as water splashed across the floor.
He froze for a few seconds before instinctively looking toward the door.
There was no thick smoke or emergency alarm. The only sounds came from several students outside, cursing under their breath. There was surprisingly little fear in their voices—only the irritation of people who had long since grown used to it.
"Again?"
"Can’t those Hunters take their fight outside the city?"
"Stop complaining. I heard it’s two B-Rank Hunters chasing a wanted criminal. The school’s defensive barrier should be able to hold."
Hunters?
Defensive barrier?
Sitting on the bed, Asher’s expression gradually became strange.
He clearly remembered staying up late in his dorm room the previous night, rushing to finish a report before its deadline. After pulling two consecutive all-nighters, he had finally been unable to hold on any longer and rested his head on the desk.
But now, not only had he somehow awakened in bed, but the things those people were saying outside sounded utterly absurd.
Had he stayed awake for so long that he was hallucinating?
Rubbing his still-throbbing temples, Asher looked around the room.
Only then did he realise something was wrong.
This was indeed his dorm room.
At least... it looked like it.
The single bed against the wall. The cheap wooden desk that occupied nearly half the room.
The old wardrobe so stuffed with clothes that its doors never closed properly.
The second-hand refrigerator beside the window that made an unbearable racket whenever it was turned on.
Everything was arranged exactly as he remembered.
Even the faded poster on the wall and the scratch mark carved into the corner of the desk by a key were exactly the same.
But after looking more carefully, Asher discovered that among these familiar objects were many things that absolutely should not exist.
Several books sat on the desk, titled Fundamentals of Spatial Gates, An Analysis of Monster Core Structures, and Hunter Awakening Guide.
A blunt training longsword rested in the corner of the room.
Hanging above the bed was a silver badge engraved with intricate patterns, bearing the words:
Federal Hunter Association.
"Someone’s prank?"
Frowning, Asher threw off the blanket and climbed out of bed.
The moment both feet touched the floor, however, an overwhelming sense of weakness surged up from deep within his body, nearly causing him to collapse back onto the bed.
This body’s condition was terrible.
Not only were his limbs weak, but an indescribable heaviness weighed upon his chest, as though he had only just recovered from a serious illness—or suffered some devastating mental blow not long ago.
Before he could figure out why, another sharp whistling sound suddenly pierced the air outside.
WHOOSH!
A figure wrapped entirely in flames shot past the front of the dormitory building at incredible speed.
The distance was so close that the scorching heat penetrated the glass, rushing into the room and violently sending the curtains fluttering.
Asher stopped in his tracks.
After two seconds of silence, he quickly walked to the window and pulled the curtains open.
The next moment...
He froze.
Outside was still a modern city.
Broad streets overflowed with vehicles and pedestrians.
Steel skyscrapers stretched high into the clouds.
If one ignored the enormous holographic light screens floating in mid-air and the mana-powered trains gliding along their elevated tracks, it looked almost identical to the world he once knew.
Yet less than a hundred metres above the dormitory, two figures were engaged in a fierce aerial battle.
One of them stood atop an enormous black sword.
Every wave of his hand conjured dozens of razor-sharp wind blades out of thin air.
The other was completely engulfed in crimson flames, with a pair of fiery wings extending from his back as he darted between skyscrapers.
"Duran! There’s nowhere left for you to run!"
The middle-aged man standing on the flying sword let out an angry roar before slamming his right hand downward.
BZZZ!
Dozens of wind blades vibrated simultaneously before pouring down from the sky like a torrential storm.
Wherever they passed, even the air itself was sliced apart, leaving behind visible white trails.
"You think you can catch me?"
The man cloaked in flames sneered.
Bringing both hands together before his chest, he instantly condensed an enormous fireball over five metres in diameter, which shot skyward while dragging an immense flaming tail behind it.
BOOM!
The fireball collided head-on with the descending wind blades.
Another deafening explosion echoed throughout the district.
A violent shockwave spread in every direction.
At the same moment, a translucent pale-blue barrier appeared around the dormitory building, effortlessly blocking every flame and wind blade that reached it.
Many students had gathered downstairs and were excitedly holding up their phones, constantly recording the battle in the sky.
A few were even arguing over who had the better viewing spot.
Standing before the window, Asher stared at the two figures endlessly clashing in the heavens.
The confusion on his face gradually transformed into utter disbelief.
"People... can actually fly? And they can throw fireballs?"
He lowered his head and looked at his own hands before raising his gaze again to stare at the sky.
After standing there silently for more than ten seconds, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard across the face.
Smack!
The crisp sound echoed through the room.
Pain immediately followed, confirming that this wasn’t a dream.
At the very least, ordinary dreams didn’t hurt this much.
"Could I have... transmigrated?"
The thought had only just surfaced before he instinctively shook his head.
After all, something that only happened in novels was simply too absurd.
But when he saw the man wreathed in flames crash straight through the outer wall of a distant skyscraper before casually flying back out of the rubble as though nothing had happened**,** suddenly, transmigration no longer seemed so impossible to accept.
If people could fly...
Then what was a little transmigration?
Taking a deep breath, Asher forced himself to calm down before walking to the desk and picking up the phone lying there.
It unlocked successfully using his fingerprint.
The date displayed on the screen was completely unfamiliar.
There wasn’t a single person in the contact list that he recognised.
Meanwhile, the headlines at the top repeatedly featured words such as Spatial Gates, Hunters, Monsters, and Monster Cores.
[A C-Rank Spatial Gate has appeared in Eastern District Thirteen. The Hunter Association has dispatched forces to seal the area.]
[The Valdris Family successfully conquered its third A-Rank Spatial Gate and is expected to enter the Federation’s Top Ten Hunter Families this year.]
[The Frost Queen, Seraphine Valdris, makes a public appearance and is rumoured to become an honorary instructor at Aegis Academy.]
[Aegis Spatial Gate Academy will conduct its freshman Awakening Assessment in seven days.]
Asher’s finger suddenly stopped.
Valdris.
The instant his eyes landed on that name, his heart pounded violently without warning.
An overwhelming hatred exploded from deep within this body.
THUD!
The phone slipped from his hand and struck the desk.
"What’s happening?"