Smoke covered the academy plaza.
Students were still running in panic while guards tried to direct them toward safe exits.
Some instructors were fighting attackers in the air, magic colliding above like thunder.
Explosions still echoed from different parts of the academy.
Cael forced himself to stand straight.
His head still rang from the shockwave that had thrown him earlier.
His back hurt.
His shoulder stung.
His whole body felt heavy.
But stopping meant dying.
And he had no intention of dying again.
Another group of students ran past him.
One boy tripped and fell.
People almost stepped on him.
Cael grabbed his collar and pulled him aside.
"Watch where you're running, idiot!"
The boy nodded frantically and ran again.
Cael looked around.
Guards were slowly pushing attackers back, but too many enemies had already entered.
If attackers reached deeper areas, more students would die.
And chaos would become worse.
Cael clenched his teeth.
"Fuck… why is this happening faster than the game…"
In the game, guards held the front longer.
Students had more time to escape.
But now everything was collapsing faster.
Meaning future events were already changing.
And he hated that.
A scream came from behind a fallen stone pillar.
Cael turned.
Three masked attackers were moving toward a group of trapped students.
Two girls and a boy.
They were cornered.
One attacker laughed.
"Easy kills."
Cael cursed.
Without thinking, he ran.
One attacker noticed him.
"Oh? Another hero wannabe?"
The man swung his blade.
Cael ducked barely in time.
The blade cut air above his head.
Too close.
He grabbed a fallen spear nearby and thrust forward.
The attacker jumped back.
Another rushed from the side.
Cael stumbled trying to dodge.
His foot slipped on broken stone.
The attacker swung down.
Cael barely rolled away.
The blade smashed into the ground.
Stone cracked.
Fuck, I'm going to die like this…
His heart pounded wildly.
He forced himself to breathe.
Think.
Don't panic.
He remembered his training.
Move.
Observe.
Strike where it matters.
The first attacker lunged again.
This time Cael stepped sideways instead of backward.
The blade passed beside him.
Cael thrust the spear forward with all his strength.
The tip pierced the attacker's stomach.
The man froze.
Shock in his eyes.
Blood spilled from his mouth.
Cael pushed harder.
The attacker collapsed.
Dead.
For half a second, Cael froze.
His first real kill during this attack.
But there was no time to process.
The second attacker roared and charged.
Cael pulled the spear out and tried to block.
Too slow.
The blade sliced his arm.
Pain shot through him.
"Shit!"
He staggered.
The attacker raised his sword again.
Cael grabbed dirt and threw it at his face.
The man cursed and stepped back.
Cael rushed forward.
Instinct moved his body.
He drove the spear into the attacker's throat.
Blood burst out.
The man collapsed, choking.
The third attacker hesitated.
Fear visible now.
He tried to run.
A guard's magic arrow pierced his back.
He fell.
Silence hit Cael's ears for a moment.
Then screams returned.
The trapped students stared at him.
"T-thank you!"
"Run!" Cael shouted. "Get out of here!"
They ran immediately.
Cael stood still.
Breathing heavily.
Hands shaking.
Blood dripping from the spear.
His mind replayed the fight.
And he muttered,
"…My first kills… were either because I got lucky… or because I caught my opponent off guard…"
He looked at the bodies.
"…But this one… I actually fought for my life."
No tricks.
No surprise.
Just survival.
And he won.
His stomach twisted.
But strangely…
He didn't feel like throwing up.
Only exhaustion.
Another explosion erupted nearby.
Cael snapped back to reality.
More attackers were pushing in.
He grabbed a short sword from the ground.
Spear in one hand.
Sword in the other.
Not ideal.
But better than empty hands.
He started moving again.
Near the academy stairs, guards were losing ground.
Two attackers rushed past them toward fleeing students.
Cael intercepted one.
Their blades clashed.
The impact shook his arms.
The attacker pushed forward.
Stronger.
Cael stepped aside instead of blocking again.
The attacker stumbled slightly.
Cael slashed across his leg.
The man screamed.
A guard finished him off.
The second attacker turned to escape.
A fire spell from an instructor incinerated him mid-run.
Cael breathed heavily.
Bodies everywhere.
Smoke.
Fire.
Blood.
The entrance exam…
Turned battlefield.
And suddenly—
A loud horn sound echoed across the academy.
Attackers began retreating.
Some jumped onto rooftops.
Others disappeared into smoke.
Guards tried chasing them, but most escaped.
Slowly…
The battlefield quieted.
Students cried.
Some searched for friends.
Some sat in shock.
Injured people lay everywhere.
Cael stood still.
Sword hanging loosely.
His entire body trembling.
Reality finally catching up.
He survived.
Again.
But this time—
He didn't just run.
He fought.
Saved people.
Killed enemies.
And lived.
But deep down—
He knew.
This was just the beginning.
Because the world he entered…
Was no longer following the game exactly.
And that terrified him more than death.
Cael looked at his blood-covered hands.
"…Welcome to the real world, huh…"
And for the first time—
He truly understood.
This wasn't a story anymore.
It was war