The heavy growling from the perimeter of the portal grew louder, shattering the brief moment of quiet. Before the students could even adjust their positions, a fresh wave of monsters burst through the torn curtains of the stage, sprinting straight down the flat floor.
More of the heavy, boar-like variants and agile, panther-like predators flooded the area all at once. Broken stage lights swung on torn cables overhead, throwing jagged shadows across the cracked floorboards, and the air reeked of dust, torn canvas, and the sharp copper tang of old blood soaked into the wood. Deep cracks split the flooring where the first wave had already fought, and shattered chair legs lay scattered across the aisle.
„Don’t let them build momentum! Hold the line!“ Rashid yelled, surging forward into the overlapping chaos to meet the threat head-on.
As he ran, Rashid invoked his talent: **[Sharpness]**. A bright, silver glow coated the iron tip of his spear. He met a heavy, boar-like variant in a brutal clash. Thanks to his talent, his spear did not snap or slip against the beast’s thick bone ridges; instead, the magically sharpened edge cut cleanly through the monster’s front leg armor, slicing deep into the muscle and forcing the massive beast to crash sideways onto the floor. Black blood poured from the wound as it thrashed weakly among the ruined desks, unable to rise again.
Right next to him, Lukas Brunner stepped into the path of a fast, panther-like variant that tried to leap past the frontline. The agile predator lunged, aiming its sharp claws straight at Lukas’s chest. Lukas did not try to dodge. Instead, he thrust his spear forward, slamming into the monster’s shoulder mid-air. The moment his weapon touched the beast, Lukas triggered his talent: **[Weight Manipulation]**.
Instantly, he increased the monster’s body weight by 15%.
The sudden change completely broke the panther-variant’s balance in mid-air. Its trajectory dropped instantly, and its front legs buckled under the sudden, unexpected weight. The beast let out a panicked roar as its chest slammed violently into the hard concrete floor, rolling clumsily into the shattered desks.
Around them, the entire battlefield exploded into a fast, violent grind as everyone fought simultaneously. Spears rose and fell, the wet crack of iron finding bone barely audible over the shrieking monsters and the recruits' ragged breathing, while blood, both black and red, sprayed across the tiles and pooled into a dark, sticky sheen underfoot.
Maximilian used his **[Strength Boost]** to block another charging boar-variant. Right next to him, Jonas Holzer drove his spear over Maximilian’s shoulder, activating **[Sunder]** to create a glowing, brittle crack right through the beast’s thick hide. The monster shrieked in pain but before it could move to retaliate or just to flee, Jakob Wallner struck the exact same crack. His **[Explosion]** activated, sending a sharp wave of kinetic pressure into the wound with a dull *thud* and dropping it instantly.
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At the exact same moment on the right side, David Lindner held out his hand, his **[Gravitational Force]** flaring to pull a rushing panther-variant straight into the path of another incoming beast. The two creatures crashed into a roaring pile of legs and fur, claws and teeth snapping wildly in the confusion, allowing Amir Al-Sayed to use his **[Momentum Burst]** to blur across the floor and stab his spear rapidly into the tangled monster before they could get up.
On the left side, the new members of the team struggled to keep up with the fast pace, forcing the veterans to cover their mistakes. A stray monster broke through, its sharp claws cutting deeply into Mei-Ling Zhou’s arm while she was trying to protect a newbie who had overextended. Three parallel gashes opened from her shoulder to her elbow, deep enough to show the pale gleam of muscle underneath. Dark red welled up instantly, running down her arm and dripping off her fingers onto the cracked floor.
Mei-Ling screamed in raw pain, the sudden agony forcing a sharp cry from her throat. But even as she shrieked, she forced her mind to focus and used her **[Cellular Regeneration]**. The flesh on her arm began to knit back together fast, closing the wound completely in mere seconds while she whimpered from the residual shock. Before the beast could bite her again, she gritted her teeth, stepped close, and drove her spear up into its head.
Right next to her, Elena Petrova saw Sarah Nowak aiming at a leaping predator and used her **[Stat Transfer]** instantly, sending her own stamina into Sarah to make her stance perfectly steady. Sarah’s **[Precision Focus]** showed a glowing red spot under the throat of the jumping predator. In front of her, Matteo Rossi’s spear moved fast—*thump, thump, thump*—each block triggering his **[Rhythmic Thrust]** and making him faster to keep a second monster away.
The moment the red spot lined up, Sarah’s spear shot out, piercing the panther’s throat mid-air.
Michael moved through the middle of this madness with precision. His strengthened will had increased his perception massively and let him see the whole room nearly in slow motion, tracking most movements, the mistakes by his fighters, and strikes by the veterans all at once. A huge alpha hound jumped at him from behind a broken desk. Without a single wasted movement, Michael stepped to the side. Using a small gap between two fighting rookies, he drove his iron spear tip straight under the monster’s jaw, killing it in one fluid motion.
Black blood sprayed from the wound, and the hound’s legs went still. The heavy hound rolled into the dirt, its jaw hanging open and its tongue lolling in the dust, and the immediate stage floor finally fell silent. The only sounds left were the heavy breathing of the group and the dripping of black blood from their spears.
But the silence did not last long. Deep inside the portal, a heavy clattering and low growling echoed, growing louder with every passing second. The shadows rippled once more, red eyes flickering awake in the darkness, and an even larger pack of monsters began charging straight toward them.
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