As the count down finished, the light vanished.
Lucien fell — or landed — he couldn't tell which. One moment weightless, the next on solid earth. Cold grass brushed his palms. Wind hit his face. He blinked up at a clouded sky — gray, endless, unfamiliar.
Around him, the rest of the students stumbled into the field, coughing, gasping, calling out names.
A field. Wide. Open. Wild.
No buildings. No signs. No exits.
"What the hell—?"
"Is this… a forest?"
"What kind of VR prank is this?!"
Before Lucien could speak, the translucent screens blinked to life in front of each of them — same as before.
[ALERT] — Low-Level Goblin Wave Incoming (ETA: 5 seconds)
Laughter broke the tension.
"What? Goblins?"
"Dude, this has to be a prank. Right? Hidden cameras? Some graduation stunt?"
"This is so fake. They just drugged us or something."
But others weren't laughing. One girl started sobbing. Another screamed, "Where's the exit?! This isn't funny!"
Lucien tried to steady his breath. He turned, scanning for Seria. For Rachel.
There — across the field. Tyson was dragging Seria toward a large tree. Rachel was already with them.
Lucien took a step toward them, but—
[PREPARE FOR COMBAT]
[Soul Fragments available only for direct kills.]
Shrieks rang out.
Real ones.
The trees at the edge of the field rippled — and something ran out.
Small. Green. Fast.
A goblin. No mistaking it.
It didn't look digital. Didn't flicker or glitch like VR. It breathed. It drooled. Its eyes were real.
And it had a knife.
The first victim was a boy in the front. He laughed — "Okay, cool effects, haha"— right up until the goblin leapt and slashed his throat open.
The laughter died with him.
Blood sprayed the grass.
Someone screamed. Someone else threw up.
Then the goblins poured out — ten, twenty, more — shrieking and snarling.
"RUN!" someone shouted.
"No, this has to be fake! Don't panic—AAAHHH!"
A second student went down.
Lucien froze. The world blurred. His lungs wouldn't pull air. He couldn't move.
It wasn't a prank.
It wasn't a game.
A goblin sprinted toward him.
Lucien flinched, arms raised to shield himself—then, wham, a stone smashed into the goblin's face. It dropped with a grunt. Tyson stood several feet away, arm still raised from the throw.
It dropped hard.
"MOVE, idiot!" Tyson's voice cut through the noise.
Lucien scrambled. His hand closed on a rock. He brought it down — once, twice — until the goblin stopped twitching.
After he kills the goblin, Lucien stared at the corpse. His hands shook. The blood wouldn't come off. He felt sick—until the screen blinked.
[Soul Fragment Acquired: +1]
A sudden heat bloomed in his chest. Strength? No… power. His breath hitched. Is this what it takes to survive here?
More screams. More blood.
He looked up and saw another student — a quiet boy from the back row — stabbing a goblin repeatedly, eyes wide and empty. The body turned to ash in seconds.
[Soul Fragment Acquired: +1]
"Lucien!" Seria's voice. He turned.
She was clinging to Tyson, who stood guard in front of her with a branch like a spear. Rachel stood close, eyes darting everywhere, heart pounding behind her ribs.
Lucien rushed to them.
"You okay?"
Seria didn't answer — didn't even look at him.
Rachel did. "There's too many," she said quickly. "We need to run or hide or—"
"Shut up!" Tyson barked. "More coming."
More shrieks echoed through the trees.
Another notification flashed.
[Next Wave ETA: 30 seconds]
Lucien looked down at his bloodied hands. Then back at the field.
This was real.
And it had only just begun.
Lucien stared at the glowing text floating in the air, the edges pulsing red.
Next wave…?
Are you kidding me?
His heart slammed against his ribs. His breath caught in his throat.
There are still goblins all over the field — dozens, maybe hundreds, and they're still tearing people apart—
And you're saying more are coming?!
A girl screamed somewhere behind him.
A group of students had tried to climb a tree — one slipped, landed wrong, and the goblins were on her before she could even stand.
And if the next wave hit while they were still standing in the open—
"We need shelter," he muttered, almost to himself. "We won't survive out here…"
Tyson was already dragging Seria toward a nearby cluster of rocks. Rachel followed, still breathless, still clinging to his side.
Lucien wiped the blood off his face and sprinted after them.
Tyson leaned against a boulder, Seria huddled behind him. His breathing was steady now — too steady.
His screen blinked in front of his eyes:
[Fragment Storage: 3]
The first one he got by accident. A goblin rushed him, and he'd swung the branch he held out of instinct. It crumpled. The light hit him seconds later — warm, addictive.
Now he couldn't stop thinking about it.
This is real.
He stared at the fragment counter, watching the number pulse like a heartbeat.
This is real.
Blood still splattered his sleeves. Screams still echoed across the field.
And yet...
This is better than any high I've ever had.
A goblin lunged, and he welcomed it. The kill was clean. Too clean.
[Soul Fragment Acquired: +1]
Tyson looked down at his hands. They didn't shake anymore. A warmth spread in his chest, slow and addicting. This world makes sense, Tyson thought.
Finally.
I'm going to rise in this world.
He didn't even glance at Seria when she clung to him again.
mean while Lucien was behind him
His legs burned, his lungs screamed — but he didn't stop.
Rachel clung to Tyson's arm, shouting something he couldn't hear over the chaos. Seria stood close beside them, her face pale, eyes unfocused. The field was chaos — students yelling, running, some already smeared with blood.
Why is this happening?
What is this place?
None of it made sense. None of it mattered.
Only one thought throbbed in Lucien's skull like a heartbeat
Protect them.
Rachel. Seria. I have to keep them safe.
A scream tore through the air to his left. Someone went down. A goblin — small, green, inhuman — tore into them with jagged blades.
Lucien's breath caught.
Rachel glanced back at him once, her eyes wide. "Lucien—!"
Too late.
A shadow dropped from the side.
Lucien turned just as a goblin lunged at him, mouth open in a sharp-toothed snarl.
They hit the ground hard.
Lucien grunted, the wind knocked out of him. The goblin snarled above him, raising a rusted dagger with both hands.
I'm going to die.
His arms moved without thinking — catching the goblin's wrists just as the blade came down.
Lucien's eyes squeezed shut.
I can't die.
Not yet.
They still need me.
The dagger inched closer, steel trembling just above his face.
Lucien gritted his teeth. With a surge of panic-fueled strength, he caught the goblin's wrist with one hand—and with the other, seized its scrawny throat.
"Nngh... I can't... die here..."
The goblin hissed, its breath foul and hot. Its blade shivered as it pushed downward, inch by inch.
Lucien's arms burned. His vision dimmed at the edges. He was on the verge of snapping its neck—
WHAM.
A fist smashed into the goblin's face. It reeled, and Tyson was on it.
"DIE!"
WHAM.
"DIE!"
WHAM. WHAM. WHAM.
Blood sprayed. Bone cracked. Tyson didn't stop. He straddled the goblin, fists coated in gore, screaming into its twitching corpse.
Lucien stared, chest heaving. That wasn't self-defense.
That was fury. That was pleasure.
Rachel gasped behind him. He turned to see her—cheeks flushed, lips parted, biting down on a trembling smile.
What the hell? Why is she smiling…?
Before Lucien could process it, Seria sprinted forward. She threw herself into Tyson's arms, clutching him tight. "Tyson!" she sobbed. "Thank you… thank you!"
He didn't hug her back right away. He just stared down at the twitching mess beneath him, chest still rising and falling, a wild glint in his eye.
Then—cool, steady—he stood.
"Come on," Tyson said, wiping blood off his knuckles. "Let's move. I'll handle the killing."
Lucien nodded, still shaken, still catching his breath.
Tyson was always the strong one. Reliable. Loyal. His best friend. Of course Lucien trusted him.
He trusted him.
Of course he did.
They followed Tyson, weaving between the trees toward cover. Rachel stayed close behind Lucien, eyes flicking between him and Tyson. Seria held Tyson's arm tightly, like it was the only thing keeping her grounded.
Lucien didn't see the quick flicker of Tyson's screen — the pulse of red text glowing just for him.
[Tyson Windward]
[Soul Condition: strong (Grade A-)]
[Fragment Storage: 7]
[New Trait Unlocked: Bloodlust (Lv.1)]
Tyson glanced down at his fists, flexed them slowly.
There's no way I'm gonna share this sweet power with anyone.
He smiled to himself as they walked. A calm, easy smile. Like a wolf walking among sheep
Lucien didn't notice the cold gleam in Tyson's eye. He was too busy surviving, to realize he was following a predator with blood on his hands—and a smile on his lips.