The temporal realm looked almost identical to the real world. Almost. The sky was the first difference. High above the ruined city, an enormous spiral of darkness slowly turned through the clouds
. It resembled a black hole suspended impossibly close to the world, silent, distant, and vast enough to dominate the horizon. Yet it produced no sound. No visible force. It simply existed.
Luna stood beneath it with her hands resting behind her back, her eyes fixed upon the strange phenomenon, nine tails gently swaying behind her.
"So, that's how this world has a different flow of time?"
She tilted her head. The black spiral remained silent. Naturally, it offered no answer.
Luna smiled before turning her attention toward the city surrounding her. The academy had transported her into the temporal realm only moments ago.
She had expected something completely alien: a barren wasteland, a world filled with impossible creatures, perhaps an enormous forest with no signs of civilization.
Instead she found herself standing inside what appeared to be the remains of an ancient city. Massive buildings stretched across the landscape.
Some remained almost completely intact, while others had collapsed long ago, leaving behind enormous piles of broken stone and twisted metal.
There were ordinary houses, large estates, grand mansions, and structures so enormous that Luna could barely understand their original purpose.
Several towers reached hundreds of meters into the sky, their upper sections destroyed, leaving jagged ruins exposed beneath the dark clouds.
Even in its current state, the city felt familiar. The buildings resembled those found throughout the real world.
Yet something about them felt wrong. Older. Abandoned. As though an entire civilization had simply disappeared one day and never returned.
Luna slowly walked through the empty streets, her eyes moving from one structure to another. There was no one nearby.
No students. No monsters. Not even the sound of animals. Only the wind. Her nine tails continued moving lazily behind her as she inspected the surrounding buildings.
"Interesting..."
She approached one of the larger houses before gently pushing against its entrance. The door slowly opened.
Creak.
Dust covered nearly every surface inside. Most of the furniture remained intact. A large table stood in the center of the room, several chairs surrounding it, old decorations still hanging from the walls.
It looked as though someone had once lived there. Luna stepped inside, her gaze slowly moving across the room. Then she quietly stepped back outside.
"Now—" She looked toward the countless abandoned buildings surrounding her. "—do they expect us to sleep inside random houses?"
A brief pause followed. She glanced back toward the empty home.
"I suppose it isn't the worst option."
Still, she wasn't planning to choose a base without first understanding her surroundings. Luna continued walking, her movements light and graceful, each step carrying her farther through the ruined city.
She eventually reached the tallest structure she could find, a partially destroyed tower overlooking nearly the entire region. The climb took only a few moments. With a single leap, Luna landed upon the highest remaining section.
The wind immediately swept through her long hair, her nine tails spreading slightly behind her as she looked across the enormous landscape.
For several moments, she remained completely silent. Then she slowly turned toward the north. A vast forest stretched across the horizon.
The trees were enormous, dense enough that almost no light reached the ground beneath them. Even from this distance, Luna could sense the presence of powerful creatures hiding somewhere inside. She narrowed her eyes.
"North. If I fly continuously, perhaps three days."
The forest continued beyond the horizon. There was no visible end.
Luna turned toward the south, and her expression immediately changed. A massive storm covered the distant landscape. Dark clouds twisted violently above the ground while flashes of unnatural energy occasionally illuminated the area.
Beneath the storm, she could barely make out another forest. Unlike the northern forest, however, the trees appeared dead.
Their branches were twisted, their leaves long since gone. The entire region looked as though something had poisoned the land.
Luna stared at it for several seconds.
"A dying forest, inside a hazardous storm?"
She glanced toward the enormous black spiral above, then back toward the storm.
"Considering that thing is hanging above us—" She shrugged. "—I suppose it makes sense. In a strange way."
Turning toward the west, Luna found more ruins. The city continued far beyond her current position. However, past the final line of buildings, the landscape gradually changed. Stone replaced soil. The ground became dry and uneven.
Enormous cliffs rose from the earth while countless jagged rocks covered the distant horizon. It resembled the Combat Mountains, at least from what Luna could see.
"A rocky desert? Or perhaps another mountain region." She frowned. "It's difficult to tell from here."
Finally, she turned east. The horizon disappeared beneath a thick layer of mist. Nothing could be seen beyond it. Not a forest. Not a mountain. Not even the outline of another city. Only white. Luna stared at the mist for several seconds. Then smiled.
"Interesting."
She had barely arrived, yet the academy had already placed her inside a world large enough that she couldn't see its boundaries. The first phase would last three weeks. Three entire weeks.
And somewhere within this enormous territory, she needed to locate designated regions, meet other students, defeat assigned monsters, acquire points, and survive long enough to complete everything.
Luna looked down at the academy bracelet around her wrist.
"Well, I should probably stop sightseeing."
She tapped the bracelet. A translucent holographic screen appeared above her arm, several menus immediately unfolding before her eyes.
[PHASE ONE — EXPLORATION, ENCOUNTER, AND SURVIVAL]
Candidate: Luna
Tier: Mythical Tier
Time Remaining: 20 Days, 23 Hours
Luna's eyes moved toward the lower section. She navigated through several options before finding the information she wanted. Her smile widened.
"Let's see what the academy expects from me."
FINAL SELECTION EXAMINATION
PHASE ONE — EXPLORATION, DISCOVERY, AND SURVIVAL