It was beautifull night.
The metal gates finally opened, revealing a shattered cityscape ahead. Buildings—some crumbling and destroyed, others intact ready to be destroyed—stretched across the big arena, creating alleyways, kill zones and blind corners for the recruits. The air was very tense. Every recruit stood frozen for a moment, muscles coiled, eyes wide open staring at the shattered cityscape.
Lucien took one single breath.
Then he ran as fast as he could, leaving everyone behind him.
Without hesitation, he sprinted through the metal gates first, leaving behind dust clouds and the frozen recruits. His eyes scanned alleys and rooftops , senses heightened, blood pumping through his veins with raw determination. This was the moment he had been waiting for. No more training, no more theory—only real monsters and payback.
In the control center overlooking the arena with cameras in every little corner, Rylen stood there as live camera feeds blinked across the holographic screens. Behind him stood Emiluna, Jason, and captains from the other four Nightguard Corps divisions, all watching closely to what's going to happen today.
"Remember," Rylen's voice echoed in a flashback in Lucien's mind, "there are Nightguard operatives spread throughout the arena who are close to the action. If you're in mortal danger, they'll intervene and kill the monsters. But only then. This is a real battlefield—treat it like one or else you won't make it."
Lucien's fist crashed into the face of a hunched, yellow type-skinned Level 5 monster. It gave a sickening crunch before the beast flew backward into a collapsed building, its body limp and not moving. One down. Lucien turned, catching a second one stalking from a narrow alleyway. Before it could even move, Lucien raised his hand, unleashed a burst of telekinetic force, and crushed it against a crumbling wall. The monster died in a instant
[2 Points awarded]
He continued straight away, no break and on to the next one.
Somewhere behind him, heavy footsteps echoed in the darkness.
Kagetsu....
Lucien caught a glimpse of the black- haired boy leaping onto a rooftop and killing a level 5 monster with a blade-like weapon.
Kagetsu's Combat Suit — Phantom Lotus suit MK
Appearance: A matte-black combat suit with violet-blue lines glowing subtly along the joints and his back when activated. The armor is lightweight so Kagetsu can move easily, built for agility and silence. The helmet features a narrow visor with a built-in targeting HUD, giving it a sharp look. His shoulders and arms are slightly armored so he can still move freely, while the legs are built for fast directional changes and maneuvers.
Core Abilities (Kagetsu):
1. Silent Flow(Stealth Mode)
Silences all the sound made by Kagetsu—footsteps, breathing, suit movement—and completly hides his visibility. He becomes nearly undetectable to monsters and humans for a short time.Duration: 20 secondsCooldown: 30 seconds
2. Aim Assist(Precision)
Enhances his sensory processing and aiming towards his opponent, highlighting his enemy´s weak points for a short duration. During this mode, his attacks are three times more accurate and deal four times the damage when striking the opponents vulnerable areas.Best used with light weapons like short bladed or daggers.Duration: 5 secondsCooldown: 20 seconds
3. Speedblitz (Short-Range Blink)
Teleports Kagetsu instantly up to 20 meters in any direction he wants to move. He leaves behind a fading afterimage of himself that distracts enemies for a brief moment.Max Charges: 3 Recharge Time: 40 seconds per dash
4. Execution( Finisher)
When a enemy is below 30% health, Kagetsu can trigger a finishing sequence in that momeent: a flurry of 6 pinpoint strikes delivered to kill the enemy.The attack is perfectly timed and positioned, it paralyzes and kills low-to-mid-tier monsters in seconds.Requires: Setup + opening + below 30% healthCooldown: Once per target
Combat role: Assassin/ Scout/ Tactician
Kagetsu weapons:
Twin Daggers Ultrathin, molecular blades that vibrate at a very high frequency, allowing him to cut through most monsters with ease.
Plasma Thread Wire ( Hidden tool)Used to trip, bind or cut enemies with just finger flicks. Excellent for setting traps mid-combat.
Silent Launcher (Wrist-mounted)Fires precision neurotoxin blades that can paralyze or kill smaller monsters, giving Kagetsu a critical opening in his fights.
One clean move. Efficient. Kagetsu had his own 1 point with ease.
But Lucien wasn't watching anymore he couldn´t care less about Kagetsu.
He turned left into a small street, ducking under a collapsed bridge, and then he saw it: a low Level 4 monster.
It was a blend of polar bear and rhinoceros—standing at 8,2 feet tall with an armored snout, fur like snow-laced steel, and limbs thick as tree trunks. Its breath steamed in the cold air, and its red dark eyes locked on Lucien with pure hate.
Lucien attacked instantly.
He sprinted forward and landed a clean punch to the creature's nose. The monster staggered, then roared out of anger.
Lucien didn't stop. He followed through with a bunch of punches—to the ribcage, then the shoulder, then the jaw. The creature flew backwards and smashed into a container, leaving a dent in the steel with its spine.
Lucien dashed to finish the monster—
—but the beast lunged with abnormal speed.
A massive paw struck Lucien across the chest with monstrous force.
Lucien's body was flung though the air like a it was nothing. He smashed through two buildings—stone and dust exploding with each impact—and landed among twisted glass and rebar. Blood spilled from his mouth.
In the control center, all three of them—Rylen, Jason, and Emiluna—stood upright as the footage flickered.
Jason yelled. "I'm going in!—"
"No," Rylen said, voice tight.
"He's missing an arm," Emiluna whispered, crying. "We have to—"
And then, on the monitor, they saw it.
Lucien's body twitched. Then shook. Then—
Regeneration.
A dark energy surged through his veins like liquid shadow. Bones twisted, flesh grew on his arm, and within seconds, his severed right arm grew back—muscle, sinew, and skin reborn like nothing had ever happened.
Everyone watching gasped and watched closely.
"What the hell…" the captain of the first whispered. "That's… that's not normal healing. That's divine-level regeneration."
Rylen stared in silence and thought. "He's evolving."
10 Minutes Later
Lucien's eyes opened.
He took a deep breath, still lying in rubble, his chest covered in blood. Pain throbbed faintly, but he felt stronger. Lighter. His vision sharpened even more—he could see the grains of sand in the cracks of pavement.
He stood up, now completely healed.
Two figures fought in the distance.
Kagetsu and a girl—one Lucien hadn't seen before—were fighting the creature that had nearly killed him. The girl was a blur, darting with inhuman grace, slashing and vanishing like wind in a beautifull suit. Kagetsu moved like a tactician, delivering precise blows to weaken its legs. Together, they overwhelmed the creature until it crashed to the ground and let out one final roar before it died.
[2.5 Points Each]
Lucien's jaw tightened. That was his kill. Lucien got angry.
But there was no time to cry about it.
He sprinted back into the battlefield, fully focused, sharpening his every move.
He hunted like a machine.
One Level 5 monster tried to ambush him from a dark alley. He dragged it out telekinetically and stomped its skull in.
[3 Points]
A second charged from behind a rusted bus. He dodged it, spun behind it, and shattered its spine with a spining back kick.
[4 Points]
Two more appeared in a pack. They were 2 ugly wolves. He fought them bare-handed, breaking their bones and ripping one's throat with nothing but brute strength.
Lucien had no time to play.
[6 Points]
One last Level 5 beast tried to run.
Lucien didn't let it.
He used telekinesis to pin it against a concrete wall, then crushed its skull and jaw with a single flying knee.
[7 Points]
He paused to catch his breath. Time was slipping. Only four monsters remained: three Level 5s and one low Level 4. That meant only 8 more points available.
He needed 3.
But he couldn't find the Level 5s—they were scattered all over the area.
So he made a choice.
He hunted the Level 4.
He tracked the beast through the cracked city roads, following the monster his claw marks. Then, finally, he found it.
It was lizard-like— 10 feet long creature, its scales a deep blue, glowing faintly. A mutated salamander, clearly low-level in the 4th tier, but still far beyond a human in power. It hissed at Lucien, its tongue flicking with sulfurous smoke. Lucien could see the monster his tongue was poisonous and deadly
Lucien didn't wait..
He leapt onto the creature's back and began slamming his fists into its spine—over and over—each blow heavier, angrier, more savage.
Ten hits. Then twenty. Then thirty. In matter of seconds
The creature screamed, bucked, clawed, but Lucien was relentless.
Forty-five… forty-six…
Blood and ichor spilled all over Lucien.
Fifty.
The creature's spine cracked. Then collapsed.
It lay still.
Lucien stood atop it, fists dripping with dark blood, chest heaving.
The scary thing was. Lucien didn't look like the good guy here. He was covered in blood and licking the blood off. He looked like the bad guy.
[+5 Points] → [12 Total Points]
He had done it.
The arena was silent.
From fifty recruits, only fifteen remained standing when the metal gates closed.
Rylen gathered them at the command post courtyard. His eyes swept over the bloodied, bruised but unbroken faces of the recruits.
"You fifteen have survived Week 2," he said. "You've passed week 2, the Trial of Combat."
Lucien stood at the far left of the line, blood dried into his clothes, his body aching.
"But this is only the beginning," Rylen continued. "Week 3 will push your body even more. So you've earned six days of rest. Use them well."
Jason offered Lucien a water bottle with a proud smile, Emiluna approached Lucien from behind and whispered, "You scared the hell out of us, you know."
Lucien laughed. "Yeah. Scared myself a little, too."
Kagetsu stood a few feet away. He glanced at Lucien and nodded once—respectful, maybe even with a bit of curiosity.
Beside him stood the unnamed girl with short blond hair, her eyes sharp and green. She said nothing, but she didn't look away from Lucien either.
They were rivals now.
And Week 3 was coming.