CHAPTER:22 [Divine Interference]
Out in the far reaches of the Multiverse, where the very tapestry of existence is woven, a gigantic being with massive wings rested inside a structure resembling a Dyson Sphere. Its presence radiated power that even the thin lines of reality seemed to bow before.
Beep… beep… beep.
Alarms suddenly blared across the chamber.
The being opened its eyes and awakened from its rest.
"Chaos."
It pulled up a glowing interface.
......…
A man sitting on a throne hidden behind primal darkness spoke with a hoarse voice.
"Michael, it's been a millennia. What do you want?"
A voice echoed through the darkness.
"Chaos is spreading."
The being hidden in shadows replied,
"I'll check the dreamer."
The voice echoed again.
"Not the dreamer world. Your world."
The man spoke,
"I'll see to it."
The voice faded with a final warning.
"You better."
After a long silence, the man sighed and summoned a phone.
........
Ring… ring… ring… click.
A man with a wide build and receding hairline answered respectfully.
"My liege, this lowly one is always at your service."
The man on the other end spoke coldly,
"Is there anyone strange at the academy?"
Harold answered with clarity,
"Yes, my liege. There is someone… exactly as you described."
"Great. Then send the whole class to the newly formed dungeon."
Harold stuttered,
"B… but my liege, your daughter is also in the same class."
The voice turned icy.
"Are you defying my order?"
Harold's face paled in fear.
"N… no. I'll do it right away."
Beeep.
The call ended.
........
Like always, Kai woke up, washed his face, changed into his uniform, and left for breakfast. After eating, he headed to the academy. On the way, he stopped at the announcement board where a crowd had gathered.
The note read:
(To the Elite Class: Make sure you are present at the GYM for the briefing of the dungeon you'll be visiting.)
"Oh, fuck."
Kai started running toward the GYM.
........
By the time he arrived, the briefing was already over.
A man with short hair and brown eyes in jet-black fancy armor with a sword at his waist spoke,
"Mr. Kai, you are late."
Kai raised an eyebrow.
"And who the fuck are you?"
"I'm Reeve, your physical teacher."
Kai replied bluntly,
"Well, I don't remember having such a teacher."
Reeve answered without emotion,
"That's because you never attended one. Anyway, the briefing is over. Get to the changing room, put on your battle suit, and if you have questions, ask your friends."
Kai changed quickly and joined the rest as they headed to the dungeon.
........
The dungeon was a dark, lightless cave. As they moved deeper with their teacher, Kai asked,
"At least tell me what our objective is?"
Reeve answered calmly,
"Your objective is—" then shoved all the students into the ravine. "—to survive."
Aaaaaaaaaaaaa
The rest of the class screamed in terror as they fell, but Kai remained calm. This wasn't his first time falling into darkness.
Thud.
"What is wrong with him?"
"Yeah, he could've just said so."
"Aah, I'm scared."
The so-called Elite class wailed like babies. Dona and the few prepared students, including Kai, landed perfectly.
After setting up a small fire, Kai said,
"We should get moving."
However, apart from a few decent students, the rest were useless.
"Huh… what do you mean get moving? We should be finding a way to get back."
Kai replied,
"The objective is survival, and the only way out is to kill the boss."
One student stood up and grabbed Kai by the collar.
"Look here, you commoner punk. If my family finds out about today, they won't let it rest, so—"
Before he could finish, Dona cut in,
"He's right. We should get moving. Come, I'll take the lead."
Kai followed Dona while the useless ones stayed behind, hoping for rescue.
........
They moved deeper into the dark ravine. The ground was uneven and rocky, full of wide holes like the footprints of a sharp-legged creature.
Shino muttered,
"Man, this place is long."
Feng Lin smirked,
"You tell me."
A quivering voice came from behind.
"M… m… maybe we should stay quiet and focus."
Shino and Feng Lin looked back in surprise.
"Bitch, the fuck are you doing here?"
It was a blonde-haired boy with pointy ears.
"Huh… I followed you. How can you be so heartless?"
Shino started to reply when Dona suddenly whispered,
"Shush… shush." After a moment she said, "You guys heard that."
Shino whispered,
"There is nothing."
Dona summoned her sword and replied in a low tone,
"No… there is."
The rest also drew their weapons and waited in formation.
After a long silence, they heard it — the sound of bones clicking against each other, moving toward them at incredible speed.
Soon the creature came into sight: a giant crab-like monster with massive pincers and razor-sharp legs.
Dona shouted,
"SCATTER!"
She lunged forward and tore the creature apart with her sword. Its pieces scattered across the ground.
"Well, that was easy."
"That's because you weren't the one who did it."
"What did yo—"
They bantered while Dona cleaned her blade, but Kai felt uneasy. He walked over to inspect the massive pincer that had flown from the body.
He conjured a sword and slashed it, but the shell didn't even scratch. He switched to a blunt weapon and struck with full force. The shell cracked, but there was no movement.
"Hey Kai, come here."
Kai turned and smiled.
"Comi—"
SLASH
END OF CHAPTER:22