Free Web NovelThe month had passed like lightning. Now, as morning light filtered through the windows of Vanguard Hall, all seven prodigies stood assembled in formation.
Thorne looked at all of them in silence. He had watched them throughout the entire month, and their growth had been much better than even he had anticipated. At first, it had been Adrian alone who had pushed his Fireball to E-Rank, an anomaly that had forced Thorne to reevaluate his expectations. But as the month-long training continued, the others had slowly caught up, each of them driving their own first skills forward through repeated combat, instinct, and desperation. They had not reached Adrian’s level of abnormality, but they had proven why they belonged in the Vanguard Program.
Each carried themselves differently from the day they had first entered this chamber.
Thorne smiled faintly as he said, “I did not expect all of you to reach E-Rank in a mere month. You have displayed talent far beyond the old students of the Vanguard Program. I hope you continue to grow just as quickly as you have now.”
Everyone nodded, the acknowledgment settling over them with quiet satisfaction.
Thorne’s faint smile disappeared almost immediately as he continued. “Your training period is over. Today, you depart for your first mission.”
He gestured toward the side entrance, where footsteps started to echo against the marble floor as a figure emerged from the shadows. The newcomer’s presence filled the hall with effortless command. She appeared to be in her late twenties, her fiery red hair pulled back into a practical bun. Her uniform bore the standard black of the Defenders, but the D-Rank insignia near her chest gleamed like a badge of honor.
“This,” Thorne announced, “is your commander for the mission. A graduate of the Vanguard Program, now a D-Rank Defender.”
The woman stepped forward, her posture straight. “Cadets. I am Commander Helena Drake, Fire Affinity, Vanguard Graduate, D-Rank Defender.”
“I have reviewed your files,” Helena continued, “Each of you is classified as an E-Rank now, having been able to kill E-Rank monsters and mastered at least one E-Rank skill.”
For a moment, her gaze rested on Adrian before shifting away. Adrian had pushed both of his skills to E-Rank, while the others had only done so with one of their skills.
“This makes you soldiers, not trainees,” Helena said. “You will conduct yourselves as such.”
The seven cadets straightened further, and the mood in the hall changed with those words.
“Your mission is as follows,” Helena continued, “A nest has been discovered near City Veridia’s perimeter.”
The mention of Veridia sent faint murmurs through the group. They all knew the city’s reputation. Veridia stood near one of the more unstable stretches of the Wastelands, a city whose outposts were famous for frequent monster waves and unpredictable migration surges. Even before joining the Academy, they had studied Veridia often in tactical briefings, usually as an example of how quickly a settlement could be pushed toward disaster if nearby nests were not eliminated early.
Helena continued, her expression darkening. “The nest is led by a D-Rank monster.”
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Adrian felt a spike of adrenaline flooding his system. E-Rank monsters had pushed him to exhaustion only weeks ago. D-Rank monsters stood on another level entirely. Their bodies were stronger, their instincts sharper, their abilities more stable, and their presence on a battlefield could change the behavior of every lesser monster around them.
“Understand this,” Helena said. “When monsters ascend to D-Rank, their intelligence evolves rapidly. They command their species, breed faster, and coordinate attacks. If left unchecked, a single nest can multiply until it spawns multiple D-Rank threats, or worse, a C-Rank abomination.”
“That is unacceptable.”
Everyone nodded. Adrian exchanged a glance with the others, seeing his own tension reflected in their faces.
Seraphina asked the question everyone was thinking, “Commander, with respect, we are still E-Rank ourselves. How can we—”
“Do not misunderstand,” Helena interrupted, her lips curling, “I will deal with the D-Rank personally. “Your role is simple. Follow me and contain the pests.”
"The E-Rank monsters swarming the nest are nothing more than distractions," she continued, dismissing them with a wave. "You will keep them off me while I execute the kill. That is all."
The blunt reduction of E-Ranks to mere vermin left everyone processing the scale of what lay ahead.
Then Damon spoke up, "How many E-Rank monsters are we talking about, Commander?"
Helena's smile turned predatory. "Intelligence suggests anywhere from twenty to fifty."
Hearing that, everyone relaxed a little. If it were only around fifty, then it should not be impossible to handle them, especially with all seven cadets working together under the supervision of a D-Rank Defender. They had each grown stronger over the past month, and their confidence had been forged through repeated hunts. For a moment, the number sounded manageable.
Helena noticed their reactions immediately, “Do not underestimate these monsters,” she said, her voice hardening. “Even though they are fewer in number, they will be hungry. Hunger and thirst are the best accelerants. A beast is most savage when it is starving. It will lunge forward without hesitation and tear prey to pieces even if its opponent is multiple times larger than itself.”
Her warning cut through their brief relief. Everyone understood the point clearly. Numbers alone did not define danger.
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Moments later, the squad followed her through the outer halls of the Academy toward a compact, high-tech transport waiting on the landing platform. The transport dominated the platform, its hull gleaming midnight black, etched with defensive runes.
Unlike the passenger vessels that had brought them to the Academy, this had many armored plates and weapon mounts.
Helena gestured toward the boarding ramp. "Move. We depart in thirty seconds."
The interior struck Adrian immediately. Ten individual chambers lined the corridor, each sealed behind reinforced doors marked with biometric scanners.
"Personal quarters for extended missions," Helena explained without being asked. "Sound-dampened, climate-controlled, privacy guaranteed."
She moved down the corridor, assigning chambers with swift gestures. “Kai, chamber three. Marcus, four. Seraphina, five.”
Adrian received chamber seven, the scanner reading his palm print with a soft chime. The door slid open to reveal a compact but complete living space.
The chamber contained everything a soldier might need: a sleeping alcove, a workstation, equipment storage, and even a small meditation area. Soft lighting adjusted automatically to his presence.
"Two hours until arrival at the outpost," Helena's voice carried through the transport's comm system. "Rest, prepare, or train as you see fit."
Her own chamber door sealed, leaving the cadets to settle into their temporary homes. Adrian closed his door and felt the transport's engines hum to life beneath his feet.
The Academy's barrier dome rushed past the small porthole as they ascended. For the first time since arriving, Adrian watched the Academy shrink below them.
His pulse quickened with genuine excitement. Books and simulations had described Defender outposts, but seeing one with his own eyes would be different entirely. These fortresses stood as humanity’s first line of defense, where real soldiers faced real monsters every single day.
The transport banked sharply, breaking free of the Academy's protective sphere. Open sky stretched endlessly ahead, carrying them toward their first taste of the real war.
Adrian settled into the chamber's meditation alcove, closing his eyes to center himself. Two hours to prepare for whatever waited at the outpost.
Two hours before his first real mission began.
