CHAPTER 42: CAUSE OF THE ANOMALY

Edwin couldn’t make sense of how one of the main bosses of the dungeon would move from its fortress, something he had never even heard of. And not just it alone, it came with a great army capable of threatening a small city.

He examined the ghostly blue flames billowing off the skull of the Undead Warlord astride its wolf, whose ribcage was exposed and one of its hind legs was nothing but bone and torn ligaments. The warlord held a great axe with a long handle, long enough to make the weapon over six feet in length!

Just the sight of a dungeon boss that could kill a tier 7.0 summon like a wyvern with ease, an estimated peak 7.9 high tier, leading an army of elite tiers, low-level high tiers, and three adult sandworms ;top-level high tiers that even some lord tiers struggled to kill, made Edwin exclaim.

"God!"

He noticed the signal poles were still up, so he grabbed the special phone given to him, since the others couldn’t connect so far away from the city, and began making calls.

Meanwhile, it had become a warzone at the entrance of the coach buses. Students fought each other to rush in first, some throwing the weaker ones aside, others activating Echo to harness parts of their summons like claws, elements, tails, or teeth.

The stronger ones pushed through, but the chaos only intensified. A red-haired boy slammed another with green hair into the bus, right beside the door.

"You pushed me!" the redhead yelled, slamming his fist into the green-haired student without mercy. At his fourth punch, a palm rested on his shoulder.

"Stop."

"Get off me!" the redhead yelled, turning and swinging at Godfrey.

Godfrey tilted his head, his eyes unleashing a gleam that made the boy shiver. He quickly scrambled to dive into the bus, but Godfrey wrapped his fingers around his ankle and tossed him into the sand.

Placing a foot on the boy’s back, Godfrey looked at the others. The fight ceased instantly. Everyone watched him with different expressions.

"Walk in one after the other. If any one of you pushes the other, you’ll suffer worse than this one beneath me!"

At his threat, they had no choice but to obey, despite their grievances. Some cursed under their breath, especially those above average, but no one dared resist.

Godfrey tilted his head to the other bus and saw everyone moving in an orderly fashion, supervised by Snow, who leaned against the bus with his arms crossed and a condescending gaze directed his way.

Godfrey noticed that those in the top circle were being allowed to enter first, irrespective of their position in line. The end result: Snow had achieved order without a single word. And Godfrey understood the message.

Despite his strength, he was disliked. Snow, who had been in the game since middle school, was respected. After all, a king never ruled alone, he needed the support of the upper echelons.

Godfrey’s expression darkened.

Manhattan’s way made the teachers stay at bay, allowing the students to form their own hierarchy. Those who would rule became rulers in this harsh yet controlled terrain; those who were weak became the ruled. That way, when they graduated, the world would not seem all too strange.

***

They began to move. The Polaris coach buses had two Humvees following them, both filled with mercenaries armed with cold melee weapons and hot long-ranged firearms.

Yet, even as the buses sped through the desert road, leaving dust in their wake, the dark clouds drew closer with each passing minute.

The sandworms were even faster. At this point, the students could see them. Fear spread through their ranks, and it worsened when a portion of the dark clouds twisted into the shape of a human head.

"I see it now. The undead are being drawn out by Cain’s Fanatics, and their target is probably us, the elite students of the world’s top schools," Isolde said.

Godfrey’s eyes narrowed.

"We can’t outrun those sandworms. They’ll be here in a min—!"

The panicking student didn’t finish his words. Suddenly, the coach buses appeared in the parking lot of Vegas Prime Resort.

He could see the beautiful, serene area, the parked cars, and the bright golden dome shielding the city. Not a sign of the horror chasing after them.

Sighs of relief swept through the buses. Godfrey, who hadn’t realized how hard he’d been clutching his thighs, finally released them and leaned back with a heavy exhale.

Isolde shut her eyes, breathing slowly to regulate herself. She wasn’t afraid of the undead, she could stall them and fly away if things turned dire, but whoever lurked within that cloud wasn’t just stronger than her. They were more experienced.

Meanwhile, back in the desert, a hurricane of black smoke descended from the clouds and dispersed, revealing an old, slim man with gray hair and a fine pair of round golden glasses, standing atop a rock formation.

A black moon with gray rays was tattooed on his forehead. He wore a plain black shirt, pants, and shoes, looking no different from an ordinary old man, save for the tattoo.

"We prepared against teleportation, but the information was wrong. There is a rather unique teleporting summon in their midst... I always recognize a Violet Astral Mollusk." His eyes narrowed, though his face remained calm.

With a wave of his hand, the horde retreated.

From a different direction, a cluster of crows swirled together, and a man appeared in their place, a typical use of Exchange and Retrieval.

The man had long black hair that reached his shoulder blades. He knelt before the old man.

"Apologies for my error, Grand Black Moon."

The old man stared at him silently.

***

Unaware of the conversation taking place where they had escaped, the students were busy chattering about what had happened, many of them gathered in the open parking lot.

Godfrey watched Edwin, who stood at a distance speaking with important-looking people flanked by guards carrying deadly firearms. But in truth, guns were useless against high-tier or elite-tier summons, especially those specialized in defense.

"This is the reason the school management brought you into the dormitory, right?" he asked Isolde.

She nodded once. "Cain’s Fanatics are rising. They yearn for their god’s return. They want a world where Cain rules mankind as god. And now that the adults are too much for them, they’re targeting the next generation."

"So we’re targets now?" Godfrey frowned.

"They failed. Security will be increased, and they won’t dare try again, not without risking capture. The authorities loathe anyone who seeks to destroy the order built over the century."

Edwin returned with the female homeroom teacher in charge of the Polaris students. She was stunning, her beautiful glasses catching the sunlight.

"Gather round. Vegas King Tier sends his apologies for what happened and has promised to fund a party tonight to ease your minds."

"A King Tier apologized?!" a student gasped.

"Wow!" another exclaimed.

Even the Polaris students felt awed. This was a King Tier they were speaking about, and he had promised them a night party, likely a beach party, since Vegas was famous for it.

...

A/N: Over thirty golden tickets on the first day! Thanks to those who supported, those who sent those gifts and those who comment.

You’re helping to shape this work!