Dread

***

A humongous black leathery being opened its eyes with a snap, constricting its pupils in anger.

It ignored the smoke emanating from its gills and sniffed the air intently. Vast quantities of air and sparks entered its nostrils, bringing with it a sour smell of sweat.

'Those bastards!' The being thought, infuriated by the audacity of those weak beings and the carelessness of those old bastards.

All around the beast, the sound of birds chirping, the buzzing of insects, and the occasional crunch of bones breaking made the beast unable to concentrate.

'Silence!'

The beast released a hollow wail, silencing everything in a mile radius. Birds, insects, reptiles, and even other beasts simultaneously fell to the ground as if their souls were ripped out of their bodies.

Everything froze in fear as the monster rose from its slumber. The strong beings lowered their heads, while the weaker stopped moving altogether, not knowing how they died.

Stepping outside its burrow, the beast stepped lightly on the green grass outside the entrance, lighting it on fire just with a slight contact.

The swamp water nearby rippled and sizzled, steaming away just by being near such a creature.

Fully stepping out, the being rose to its full height of three meters, displaying its true appearance in dozens of years of absence.

Four long and bony legs sustained a body thin enough it seemed to break from the slightest touch. Its neck was long, slender, and crooked, seemingly unable to hold the monster's head upright, instead drooping down like an elephant's trunk.

If one saw what this abomination crawled out of, they would freeze in place.

A massive, half-rotten skul sat half-sunken in the moist earth, emanating a constant manatic wind. One eye socket was empty, while the other held a glassy eyeball, its iris shining in seven colors.

The monster's burrow? The empty eyesocket of this half-sunken sull.

The leathery abomination wailed again and vanished from sight before the sound even disappeared.

It was time for those weak beings to pay for entering its territory.

The swamp's owner finally moved.

***

Alex woke up with a start and hastily looked around his sleeping place.

If he were a genius at something, mana sensitivity would be the answer. No one from Enrilth Keep could surpass him, not even the Recen elders, and neither could Geralt, the keep's Headmaster.

The young human wiped the sweat from his forehead and swallowed his saliva, ignoring the rivers of cold sweat that flowed from his back.

Something massive just woke him up. Something so powerful it affected the mana throughout the whole swamp.

Alex couldn't yet cast any spells but could feel the surrounding area slowly freezing over. Mana catalyzed in random spots, without an apparent reason. What should've been a smooth plane became rippled and pleated- crumpled and rigid.

Instinct screamed at him, telling him to run. Anywhere, in any direction, but to escape from here.

Whatever that being was, it was something the humans here couldn't face no matter what. Any encounter with it spelled death a thousand times, ten thousand times.

This trial suddenly became impossible to survive, but even so, Alex couldn't sit around, frozen in fear.

He didn't know how many of his colleagues had already died. For all he knew, Alex might be the last living human here, which meant running around the swamp looking for others wasn't a viable way to survive.

His best bet was to leave the swamp and beg the elders to go and check the situation out. No matter how cruel and unforgiving this test was, it was still a test.

Its purpose wasn't to kill all of them but to sieve out the weak.

Alex forwent every attempt at staying low and leaped out of his burrow, uncaring about how noisy he was.

Grabbing a handful of roasted boar meat, he shoved it inside his pouch and ran to the nearest tall tree. After a good night's sleep, the young man felt full of energy, so he wouldn't reserve any bit of that.

His speed was astonishing, zipping over the water like an arrow, his feet barely touching the swamp's surface before disappearing again.

In no time, Alex reached the tree, grabbing its bark with such strength his fingers sank into the wood as if it were butter.

Reaching the top of the tree, Alex scanned the sky, searching for the sun's position. He knew this swamp was west of Enrilth Keep, so east he must go if he wanted to survive.

The problem was the swamp was so large one couldn't even see its end. Judging by the map drawings, Elor's swamp was half the size of a medium-sized kingdom. Half the size of an entire Kingdom.

Even if one trainee wanted to leave this hellhole, they wouldn't be able to. It is called a hellhole for a reason, after all.

Unfortunately for Alex, survival now entirely depended on his ability to run away.

Without missing a beat, the young man dashed from his spot, his back-kick shredding the treetop. His speed was unlike anything he had shown thus far.

Adrenaline pumped through his veins even though there was no danger nearby, but he trusted his instincts more than his rational mind. Mana sensitivity was something managed by the subconscious, after all.

The surrounding temperature suddenly decreased by several degrees as a shrill wail shook Alex to his bone marrow. His blood froze over, and his pupils dilated like a rabbit's.

His muscles spasmed involuntarily, almost causing Alex to drop from the treetops.

Grinding his molars, Alex forced his hand to slam against his left shoulder, where a small needle stood, sewn into the fabric. Right now, the needle wasn't covered in anything, but the pain was enough to shock him out of his frozen state.

Alex shook the blood off his hand and continued his runaway. That wail was too close for comfort.

Following a Recen technique, contracting his legs and spine muscles, Alex increased his speed almost tenfold before activating his movement technique, accelerating him even further. Even though no mana was used at all, several clever uses of the body's muscles tricked the mana present into adding its power to the constricting muscles. Alex knew there was a better explanation about the inner workings of the technique, but frankly, he wasn't in a situation where such knowledge was useful.

Sweat pooled on his forehead, hands, back, and everywhere else. His breath heated up and misted over, making it seem like Alex was running through some frozen tundra and not a wet swamp.

The only silver lining was the cool air blowing through his hair, cooling his body down, but Alex ignored it all. His mind focused solely on getting as far from that place as possible.

***

Ezek opened his eyes and looked around the area, grinning at his good luck.

Who would've thought he would stumble across an adventurer's party? He certainly didn't, but he wouldn't kick away such a golden opportunity.

One must remember that Elor's Swamp wasn't Enrilth's property and that it was Blackwater Kingdom's pride and jewel. How could a meager Recen institution own such a golden goose?

As dangerous as the swamp was, it was also a treasure trove that rewarded those daring and powerful enough to survive it. If it weren't for its size, trainees would constantly encounter adventurers. That would defeat the whole purpose of the test.

Even with that said, trainees, could pass the test by joining adventurer's parties. Luck was also a vital part of surviving in this world.

If one didn't know how to use every opportunity one came across, they wouldn't live for long.

To say Ezek was ecstatic was cutting it short. The young man basically grinned ear-to-ear all the time.

Imagine his shock when he learned this party had not one but two beauties in their ranks. Ezek felt like he was walking on clouds due to his happiness.

He wasn't as powerful as Alex, which made his encounter with this group of five all the more welcomed.

At first, the group was hesitant about 'accepting' a newcomer, but eventually accepted him when they learned he was a Recen trainee. He could definitely pull his own weight and then some.

Even so, Ezek didn't sit too close to them. He knew his position and wouldn't push his luck no matter what benefits it may bring him.

His survival took priority.

That didn't mean he was not enjoying his time here. Being good with the bow and arrow meant Ezek had particularly sharp eyes. As long as it was within his field of vision, nothing escaped his eyes.

Since joining this group, he was the sole reason they enjoyed such fine delicacies. Sky Pheasant, Gold-footed Hare, and Snow Venison, just to name a few, were all spotted and hunted down by him.

The Mage of the group, one of the two beauties, already increased her strength by a noticeable amount only because of Ezek's contribution. Eating mana-rich meats improved every part of one's body, from raw strength to increased mana pool.

Thus, the young man was enjoying the attention the group gave him. Particularly from the two beauties who sometimes quickly glanced at him, wondering whether he had seen some other delicacy they could enjoy.

Shaking his head, Ezek stood up and dropped down from the branch he slept on. It wasn't as comfortable as a tent, but he wasn't complaining.

Stretching his lower back, he turned his attention to the camp area to his right.

There, all the adventurers gathered around a small fire and were roasting some leftover meat.

"Look who's awoken; our lucky charm." A man in his mid-twenties caught sight of Ezek and waved at him.

The rest of the group turned around and greeted him.

He was the last to wake up because he took the last shift last night, or that's what they thought. In fact, Ezek didn't sleep a wink, mostly because of the wonderful sight he saw early this morning.

The Mage took care to go and wash up near the camp just as the sun peaked over the horizon.

Ezek wasn't sure whether she did that intentionally or not, but he still enjoyed the sight. Of course, being a gentleman, he didn't ogle like some kind of brute, instead taking tasteful peeks at her naked body.

The way shadows danced across her smooth skin made her look more intriguing and seducing.

"What's the plan for today?" Asked Ezek, looking at the young man who was the leader of this party.

The man, unfortunately, didn't look like one no matter how you put it. Thin and shorter than average, the young man didn't instill any sense of security in others.

However, Ezek wasn't fooled by mere appearances alone. Learning from Recens his whole life, he had learned how to pick apart one's strength and could say for sure this man was the strongest one of them all.

The leader slapped his forehead and said.

"Forgot that we didn't tell you. We've already completed our mission, and we're heading back to the city."

He really looked apologetic, scratching his nose. It felt like the group was taking advantage of a lone teen, and he couldn't help but feel embarrassed.

As the leader was dealing with his emotions, the Mage sprung to her feet, shoving pots and cups over, looking in a particular direction, and frowned.

"We need to move. Now!" She said promptly, causing the others to look at her with weird expressions, but all nodded and got up to pack whatever they had.

Ezek was the only one that had nothing on him, other than his bombs, traps, potions, and weapons, so he walked with the group, helping them pack things up.

"Did something happen? You looked too shocked for comfort." He asked, helping the beauty stuff her tent into a backpack.

The Mage nodded and pointed somewhere.

"Something powerful appeared somewhere in that direction. Powerful enough to affect the mana all the way here. We should move out before that monster finds us out."

Ezek frowned upon hearing her and looked over, fearing for his colleagues. He knew some would die during this test, but all of them dying was absolutely unacceptable.

A beast of this caliber appearing in this swamp would explain why the surrounding beasts behaved this weirdly, as though they were walking on eggshells.

Unfortunately, there was nothing Ezek could do to help the others. The only one powerful enough to squash that monster was Enrilth's Headmaster, Geralt.

Ezek sighed and focused on helping the others. The faster they left the swamp, the more people could survive.

Hearing the young man sigh, the Mage mistook it for fear and said without worry.

"Oh, don't worry. Whatever beast did this is far from us and is not even heading this way."

Ezek looked at her with a weird look on his face but didn't manage to say anything as the beauty continued.

"Say, after we leave this swamp, what will you do next?"