Chapter 212: Talking with the instructors
The group began to move again, subdued now. The earlier chatter had faded into silence, replaced by the weight of what they had witnessed. Every creak of the forest seemed sharper, every shadow deeper. The academy had sent them here to test their teamwork—but instead, they had stumbled onto something else.
Jae walked at the front, his mind restless. Strengthening flames, shadows that could bind, fire that tore through beasts—these things he could understand. They were tools, weapons, parts of training. But scars branded into a living creature? That was no test. That was cruelty, deliberate and controlled.
And if someone was shaping mana beasts into abominations... then their battles had only just begun.
xxx
The remains of the alpha variant wolf lay smoldering in the clearing, its massive body having dissolved into black mist, leaving behind only warped bone fragments and the faint, acrid stench of burnt flesh. The scorched earth still radiated faint heat, and the air hung heavy with residue from the clash, the energy thick enough to prickle against skin. Every breath carried the bitter tang of smoke, and every heartbeat seemed to echo the violence that had just passed.
The ground bore scars as deep as the fight itself. Great gouges where the beast’s claws had torn soil and stone; long black streaks where fire had swept unchecked; and strange, warped burns along the surface, spiraling and circular, almost too neat to be natural. The forest canopy above sagged under the weight of silence. Birds had fled. Insects had gone quiet. The only sound was the shuffle of boots as students pressed into a wide circle, careful to keep distance from the site as though afraid the beast might reform from the shadows and rise again.
They murmured amongst themselves in low, urgent tones. Awe clashed with fear, disbelief tangled with relief. A handful of students whispered Jae’s name, some with admiration, others with unease. More than one set of eyes darted toward him, as though the flames still clung to his body and marked him different from the rest.
The instructors arrived moments later, their presence cutting through the babble like cold steel. They had felt the surge from afar, unmistakable even for seasoned magi. Leading them was Mrs. Lira, her pale hair tied neatly back, her cloak sweeping close to the ground. Her stride was calm but purposeful, and when her eyes fell upon the scene, they sharpened like blades drawn from scabbards.
Behind her, two other teachers split off to check on the students, scanning for wounds, exhaustion, or shock. They moved with trained efficiency, offering murmured reassurances and steadying hands, but Mrs. Lira ignored the noise around her. Her attention went straight to the blackened soil where the wolf had fallen.
Her gaze flicked once toward Jae—still standing at the front of his squad, posture steady despite the faint steam curling from his skin where fire had burned too close. The Dragonfire Blade had faded back into nothingness, but its memory lingered in the air. For the briefest moment her expression shifted, weighing something she did not speak aloud, before she knelt by the remains.
She crouched low, her fingers brushing the charred fragments of bone. The bones crackled faintly, crumbling at her touch, and a faint hiss rose as if mana still bled from within them.
"An alpha variant..." one of the instructors muttered, voice heavy with disbelief. He shook his head, staring into the blackened soil. "Unnatural for this territory. They’re rare enough in the deeper wilds, let alone this close to the academy."
Another teacher frowned, his hands resting behind his back. "Even in the northern ranges, such a creature would be unlikely. To find one here, during a student exercise... that is no coincidence."
The words unsettled the students further. Murmurs rose again, laced with panic this time, but Mrs. Lira silenced them without a glance. She pressed her palm flat against the earth, closing her eyes as she let her mana seep into the cracks. The ground thrummed under her touch, faint, jagged threads of power twisting unnaturally through the soil. Her brow furrowed, lips tightening, and when she finally rose her expression was grim.
"This beast didn’t mutate on its own," she said quietly. Yet the quietness only made her voice more piercing. The words hung in the air, sharp as a blade. "The energy patterns are inconsistent. Layered. Someone—or something—interfered."
The clearing stilled. Even the most talkative students fell silent. Unease rippled like a current through the group. Elise bit her lip hard enough to leave it pale, her hand twitching at her side as though she wanted to cling to Jae for reassurance but stopped herself. Tirel, who usually met everything with a smirk or sultry chuckle, folded her arms tightly beneath her chest, eyes narrowed. Even Byun’s grin, which so rarely wavered, had slipped away, leaving only a hard, calculating look in its place.
"Interfered how?" one of the other teachers asked, his tone clipped.
Mrs. Lira’s eyes dropped back to the bones. The strange, circular burns stood out even now, their shapes too precise, their edges too deliberate. She crouched again, letting her hand hover just above one of them, then withdrawing as though the corruption might cling to her skin.
"These marks suggest forced infusion," she said slowly. "Mana not its own was driven into its body. It reeks of corruption." She hesitated, glancing once at the other instructors before adding, "There have been whispers across the border. Rumors of kingdoms experimenting on beasts, attempting to mold them into weapons. Soldiers that bleed mana and know no fear."
Her words landed like stones dropped into a still pond. The ripples reached every student. Several drew back instinctively, expressions twisting with fear. Others tried to look braver, setting their jaws, though their eyes betrayed the unease simmering beneath. Teachers exchanged tense glances, though none dared speak against her assessment.
The idea that neighboring realms might be weaponizing mana beasts, pushing them beyond their limits, and setting them loose this close to the academy—it was more than frightening. It was a threat that hinted at war.