"Hey, that's Captain Jacob," Leo exclaimed in a low voice, his eyes fixed on Jacob.
"Captain Jacob?" Fuen asked in a puzzled tone, his question echoed by the curious looks from the others.
"He's one of the three Captains of the City Guards. I've seen him a few times with my father," Leo explained quietly, still staring at Jacob like a fan watching his idol.
"And that scar on his forehead," he continued, lowering his voice even more. "It's said he got it when he risked his life to save the old Captain of the Guards back when he was just a guard himself. Despite being heavily injured, he kept fighting until reinforcements arrived. Later, he was promoted to Captain when the old one retired."
The others looked at Jacob with newfound awe. They had heard from their parents/Dean about the time when a Dread Beast almost breached the city ten years ago and how a single guard had held the line, saving many civilians. But they never knew that guard was Jacob.
"Ahem." Jacob cleared his throat, the air around him instantly tightening as his presence carried a strong military aura, silencing the whispers.
"Students," he began, his voice firm, "as you all know, we will now commence the Awakening Ceremony. This year, I have been given the responsibility to oversee your group, along with Teacher Rebecca from the Academy."
He paused for a moment, scanning everyone with sharp eyes before continuing.
"Now, before we begin, let me remind you of several important rules that you must absolutely follow during your awakening." His expression hardened, voice carrying weight.
"First, remember that safety is the most important thing above all. While you may not truly die in there, the experience will affect your mind. The impact could leave you mentally impaired for at least a week, or even several months in the worst cases.
Second, you must never reveal your identity or any knowledge of the real world to others inside, even if you are on the verge of death. If you do, something sinister may follow you back into our world, causing you to become something horrific and we will have no choice but to deal with you.
Third and lastly, make sure to complete at least one task while you are inside. Failing to do so might cause your awakening to fail. And if possible, complete more tasks to receive greater rewards."
"Do you understand?" he asked in a loud, commanding voice.
"YES!" the students shouted in unison.
"Good, then let's begin," he said, nodding toward Teacher Rebecca.
He took a few steps forward, stopping near the group of ten students who were standing around the floating sphere.
"Now, all of you need to relax and close your eyes. I will channel energy into the Catalik Stone, and the process will begin.
Remember, do not worry about how long you stay inside. Only a few moments will pass here in the real world."
As he finished speaking, the group closed their eyes, trying to calm their racing hearts, though their trembling eyelashes betrayed their nerves.
A moment later, a stream of white energy burst from Jacob's palm and connected with the Catalik Stone.
The instant the energy touched the sphere, the two rings – one vertical, the other horizontal – started spinning. A dark mist formed around them, slowly thickening until it became a solid black sphere that enclosed all ten students.
"Wow..." *n
"Amazing..." *n
Gasps echoed through the crowd as students below stared at the black sphere forming before their eyes.
"Whoa," Lucan murmured, his mouth slightly open. Even though he already knew how this ceremony worked, seeing it happen before his eyes was a completely different experience compared to watching it as an animation on a cold screen.
While the students were filled with awe, Jacob's expression remained serious.
"Prepare for any emergency situations!" he ordered, his voice sharp as he turned toward the medical and security staff, who were already on alert.
"Yes, sir!" they responded together.
A few minutes later, the black sphere began to shrink inward, slowly compressing toward the Catalik Stone.
Soon, ten blurry shadows appeared as the fog slowly began to fade.
But different from how they had entered, most of them were now lying on the ground, with only three still standing.
"Medical personnel, get ready," Jacob ordered, his eyes sharp as he and the other security personnel took alert positions while the last of the black mist disappeared.
"Haah… haah… haah…" one of the standing students gasped heavily before collapsing to his knees.
"Ueck… uurhhgh!" another student began vomiting violently to the side.
The last one still on his feet looked pale, his face drenched in sweat.
The medical team rushed forward, quickly carrying away the unconscious students along with the one still vomiting, leaving only the two who could still stand.
Those two were led to the side, where Rebecca questioned them briefly while writing something down on a sheet of paper.
A few minutes later, it was done, and the two were escorted away to rest.
"They completed two tasks out of three. But while attempting the last one, these seven died just moments before the time ran out," Rebecca reported to Jacob.
"Hmm"
He nodded silently, signaling her to proceed.
"Next group," Rebecca announced.
The next group, all now with pale faces, slowly stepped toward the Catalik Stone. The process began again, exactly as before.
But this time, when the black fog cleared, every student was unconscious.
Rebecca and the medical staff hurried forward. She placed her hand on one of the students, as if sensing something, then shook her head.
"All failed," she said softly.
Jacob shook his head again and then motioned for the next group.
Group after group stepped forward, and the same cycle continued. Most managed to complete at least one task, though failures were common.
Then, in the middle of the ceremony, something unexpected happened.
"Urghhhh… eehahhh… hehhahahhaahha!"
After the fog cleared, one of the students suddenly began to convulse, his voice twisting into a grotesque mix of laughter and screams.
"He's mutating! Attack him!" Jacob shouted, his expression turning grim and ugly as the security personnels immediately sprang into action.
The student's back split open with a sickening sound, tearing through his uniform as countless baby faces emerged, all crying and laughing at once.
Sharp, spike-like tongues burst out from their mouths, dozens of them, darting toward the nearby team members.
Swish!
Just as the tongues were about to pierce one of the unconscious students, a blade of wind cut through the air, slicing every tongue clean off.
"Wahhh… wahhhh… uwaaahhhh!" the baby faces shrieked in pain, thick black liquid pouring from their eyes. Wherever it touched the floor, the ground sizzled and melted into small holes.
Then in next moment, another security personnel appeared above the creature. His body was marked with cheetah-like patterns, fur covered his limbs, and a tail flicked behind him. His arms had morphed into claws.
With one swift downward strike, a bright arc of light flashed through the air.
"Uwaahhh… wahhh… wa—" the cries stopped as the student's body was cleanly split in half. Both halves fell apart, blood and organs spilling across the floor.
Without hesitation, another guard raised his hand, a fireball forming in his palm. He hurled it at the corpse, flames engulfing everything until both flesh and blood were reduced to ashes within seconds.