"Wait. What’s that?"
The casual atmosphere vanished almost instantly.
The others followed his gaze.
Farther down the corridor, something dark was slowly rising from the ground. At first, it looked like an ordinary patch of smoke, barely distinguishable from the shadows surrounding it. But as they watched, it began to spread, twisting and curling in the air like a living creature.
None of them recognized it.
And that alone was enough to make them cautious.
Before anyone could say another word, an indescribable pressure suddenly descended upon the corridor.
It was overwhelming.
The air seemed to grow heavier by the second, making even the simple act of breathing feel difficult. An inexplicable sense of dread crept into their hearts, sending a chill down their spines.
These were S-rankers.
They had faced countless monsters and survived situations that would have driven ordinary awakeners to despair. Fear was not something they experienced easily, especially when they were together.
Yet, at that moment, every single one of them felt it.
Their bodies reacted before their minds could make sense of what was happening. All four members behind the captain instinctively took a step backward, their confident expressions replaced by unease.
The captain’s face turned serious.
He stared at the approaching darkness for a moment before raising his hand.
"Don’t panic. Prepare to attack!"
His voice rang through the narrow corridor, firm and authoritative.
But no one answered.
For a brief moment, the captain assumed his companions were simply concentrating on the strange phenomenon ahead. He tightened his grip, ready to give the next command.
Then he turned around.
And froze.
Behind him, where four of his teammates had been standing just moments ago, there was nothing but four clouds of dark smoke.
No footsteps.
No screams.
No signs of a struggle.
They had simply vanished.
The captain’s mind went blank.
"W-What...?"
The words barely escaped his mouth.
He stared at the empty corridor, desperately trying to understand what he was seeing. Only a second ago, his teammates had been standing right there, joking about their next level and their countless dungeon runs.
How could they disappear without making a sound?
His heart began to pound violently.
For the first time in a long while, the captain felt a fear that he couldn’t explain, let alone control.
Slowly, he turned his head back toward the front.
The dark smoke was much closer now.
It had spread across the corridor, swallowing the faint light of the glowing crystals and obscuring everything in its path. The captain couldn’t see what lay beyond it, nor could he sense anything clearly through the suffocating pressure that filled the air.
He tried to move.
But his body refused to respond for a brief, terrifying moment.
Then the darkness surged forward.
The captain’s eyes widened as the smoke rushed toward him, covering his field of vision in an instant.
And just like that, the last of the Five Supers disappeared into the darkness.
The corridor fell silent once more.
Only the faint glow of the crystals remained, illuminating the empty stone passage as though nothing had ever happened there.
"Damn that old man," Severin cursed as he did another load of homework.
"Sign~ If I didn’t need his help. I won’t do this work in a million years." For his weekend plans, he had to go out.
Though there was no rule saying students couldn’t go out of the academy, it still required the approval of their homeroom teacher.
Soon, he drifted off to sleep.
Just like that, three grueling days of school quickly passed.
"Status"
[Name: Severin D’Auremont]
[Race: Human, Curse Spirit (Sealed)]
[Class: Swordsman]
[Level: 1]
[Stats]
[Strength: B-]
[Agility: B]
[Constitution: B+]
[Mana: D]
[Skills: Iron Will (Passive), Concentrated Thought (Passive), Mana Control (Passive), Blade Mastery (Passive), Quick Draw (Active), Quick Slash (Active)]
[Techniques: D’Auremont Basic Sword Art, Golden Saint Sword Art {1st Form}]
[Talent: Infinite Adaptation & Evolution]
[Blessing: Fortune’s Last Favor]
[Mana Control (Passive): Automatically manages mana usage, reducing waste and helping maintain enough mana for skills during battle.]
[Quick Slash (Active): Performs a fast sword slash to attack enemies, dealing quick damage before they can react.]
After five days of intense training, his status looked much better than before. He had even acquired two more skills.
To tell the truth, this progress definitely exceeded what he had expected. For this, he had to thank Sera, who had sponsored him with Tier 1 food.
Now, leaving aside his Mana, all his stats were in the B rank. His stats now directly rivaled those of A-class students.
Combined with his swordsmanship, he could safely be placed in the top three among his peers here. (Purely in terms of combat)
It was just a pity that he couldn’t learn the Golden Saint Sword Art (2nd Form) because his Mana hadn’t reached the required level.
But it was fine. He already knew how to increase his Mana quickly.
"Tomorrow, I have a lot to do. ~Yawn~" Thinking about his plans, he quickly lay down on his bed to sleep.
The Next Day
"Ren, it’s a bit dangerous outside. Take this, and remember to be safe," Seraphina said as she handed a locket inscribed with runes to Severin.
Severin looked at the locket with a bit of interest. He knew from the game that Seraphina’s class was Rune Master, a type of ancient class.
It wasn’t easy to learn. It also required money and resources to use, along with a long time of preparation.
According to the game, Seraphina was later called the greatest genius in rune-making. She later created many new, never-before-seen runes that were strong and deadly.
In terms of stats, the current Sera and he were probably the same, leaving aside his Mana, of course. But in terms of pure damage and sealing, he was probably still a long way behind her.
With his Golden Saint Sword Art {1st Form}, he could probably cause an S-ranker serious damage, but this small locket might kill one.
"Use this thing carefully. It can probably kill an E-Rank Elite (Level 2)."
Okay, they were really far apart.
The game’s stat-to-real-damage proportions were a bit too messed up.