Suddenly, the sky changed!
Ethan’s pupils constricted.
About several hundred meters overhead, a pitch-black crack suddenly appeared in the once-clear blue sky.
It looked as if it had been slashed open by an invisible blade, its edges jagged and irregular, revealing a void of pure darkness within.
The moment the crack appeared, the crowd in the plaza descended into chaos.
“What is that?”
“The sky is splitting!”
“Something’s coming out!”
Exclamations of shock rose from every direction. Some people instinctively retreated, while others stared at the rift with wide eyes, their faces etched with disbelief and horror.
Ethan’s gaze swept toward the Spirit Bone Guards lining the plaza’s edge.
The skeletons remained perfectly still, their ghostly green soul fire burning calmly. They made no move to react.
“It’s not an attack,” Ethan thought, his mind settling as he looked back at the sky.
The rift was widening.
A dull, tearing sound echoed from deep within the void.
Then, a massive dog head poked out from the crack.
The head was entirely black, with fur like steel needles standing on end and eyes of an eerie, glowing crimson. It was staggeringly large; the head alone was at least ten meters across.
It opened its mouth, revealing rows of bone-white fangs, and bit down on the edge of the rift, pulling with savage force.
The crack expanded at a visible rate.
Two massive paws emerged next, their claws glinting with a cold, metallic light.
The beast gripped the sides of the rift and pried them apart with all its might, its muscles rippling beneath its fur.
The plaza fell into a deathly silence.
Everyone was too stunned to speak.
Some freshmen collapsed, their legs giving out. Others turned pale, their lips trembling uncontrollably. A few stared at the giant dog head with a mix of terror, awe, and an inexplicable, feverish intensity.
Ethan stood his ground, his eyes fixed on the giant beast tearing through space.
He could feel the aura emanating from the rift.
It was terrifying.
A crushing, overwhelming terror. Even the slight fluctuations leaking out made his hair stand on end, and his instincts screamed at him to flee.
But he didn’t move.
After about a minute, the giant beast finally tore open a space large enough.
The rift was now at least thirty meters wide, a jagged hole into pure darkness.
The giant dog climbed out.
It was entirely black and as large as a small mountain.
As its four paws stepped onto the empty air, each footfall sent visible ripples through the sky.
Its crimson eyes swept over the plaza below. Wherever its gaze landed, the freshmen instinctively lowered their heads, not daring to look it in the eye.
Then, the light shifted.
The massive dog’s body suddenly contracted. The black fur collapsed inward, bones reorganized, and muscles twisted.
In the blink of an eye, the mountain-sized beast vanished, replaced by a figure standing in the air.
It was a middle-aged man.
He was lean and muscular, dressed in dark grey martial attire. His exposed forearms were corded with muscle, and his skin was a deep bronze from years of sun exposure.
His messy black hair stood out in every direction. He had a square jaw, thick eyebrows, and those same eerie crimson eyes.
He stood there in the void, looking down at the plaza.
His gaze swept over the disorganized crowd.
Some freshmen were still shaking, some were slumped on the ground, and others were leaning on each other just to stay upright. However, a small handful still stood tall, their faces showing little panic.
Ethan was one of them.
The man’s gaze lingered on Ethan for a brief moment before passing over the other composed individuals. A hint of satisfaction appeared on his face.
“This year’s little ones are quite the cowards.”
Then, he raised his hands and gave a light clap.
“Silence.”
His voice wasn’t loud—it was almost soft.
But the moment the word left his lips, the entire plaza fell into a grave-like silence.
The seven thousand-plus people on the plaza found they could no longer speak.
Some opened their mouths to say something, but no sound came from their throats.
Others grabbed the person next to them in a panic, only to find them equally mute.
People tried to cough, clear their throats, or scream with all their might, but not a single sound could be squeezed out.
The plaza was plunged into an eerie, total silence.
Only the sound of the wind, breathing, and heartbeats remained.
The man lowered his hands, his gaze drifting over the terrified, confused, and bewildered faces. The curve of his lips widened.
“Don’t bother,” he said, his voice reaching everyone’s ears clearly. “You can only speak when I allow it. If I don’t, you could scream until your throats bleed and you still wouldn’t make a sound.”
He paused, his eyes scanning the crowd.
“I am the Dean of Students of Blood Bone Tower Academy, a Second-Tier Wizard. You may call me Blood Fury.”
His voice was calm, yet it resonated in everyone’s ears.
A Second-Tier Wizard.
Ethan’s pupils shrank slightly.
Blood Fury ignored the shocked stares and continued on his own.
“Do you know how many of you will survive the next ten years?”
Blood Fury raised his right hand and held up one finger.
“Ten percent. In other words, out of more than seven thousand three hundred people, at most seven hundred will survive their first decade.”
He paused, the grin on his face widening.
“Do you know how the rest of them die?”
No one could answer.
No one dared to answer.
Even if they could speak.
“Some make mistakes in their cultivation and kill themselves,” Blood Fury said, holding up a finger. “Wizardly knowledge is dangerous—extremely dangerous. A tiny runic error or a loss of mental control during meditation is enough to turn you into a pile of sludge from the inside out.”
A second finger went up.
“Others fail their missions and get torn apart by magical beasts. The academy won’t support you for free. If you want to learn, if you want resources, you have to work. And work means the possibility of death.”
A third finger.
“And some are killed by others. Killing is forbidden in the academy—except for on the Life-and-Death Stage. But that rule only applies if you get caught. If no one finds out, it’s not a violation. Understand?”
As his gaze swept the crowd, the freshmen grew even paler.
“So, if you want to survive ten years and stay in the academy to move forward, you must learn three things.”
Blood Fury held up three fingers on his left hand. “First, hold your tongue. Don’t say what shouldn’t be said, and don’t ask what shouldn’t be asked. Second, watch your back. Never show your weakness to anyone. Third...”
He paused intentionally.
“Get stronger.”
The moment those two words fell, a terrifying aura erupted from Blood Fury.
It was a pure, crushing pressure, as if an invisible mountain had suddenly been dropped onto everyone’s heads.
Ethan felt his legs buckle, and his body was forced downward.
He gritted his teeth, desperately trying to straighten his spine, but the pressure only grew heavier, making it almost impossible to breathe.
Yet, after a single moment of bending, he fought against the weight and slowly forced himself upright.
The surrounding freshmen fared much worse.
Some fell directly to their knees, barely holding themselves up with their hands.
Others were pinned flat against the cold stone floor, their bodies shaking violently.
Most simply collapsed in a heap, gasping for air with eyes full of terror.
Only a few, like Ethan, were still struggling to stand.
Rate on N.U.
