The training dome no longer looked like part of an academy.
Gone were the smooth floors and idle projectors. Now, it resembled a forward base carved from tension and light flickering terrain simulations, Rift gates glowing ominously, and briefing panels scrolling nonstop midair.
Three massive gates pulsed with simulated Rift energy.
Each one led to a unique Instance Rift Simulation, designed to test every aspect of a squad: survival, coordination, and real combat pressure.
Ten cadets — the Rising Ascenders stood at attention. Their gear was strapped, weapons checked. Nearby, three veteran Ascenders waited —each assigned to monitor one squad inside the simulation: a B-rank Combat Specialist, a Support-Type, and a Tactician.
This wasn't rehearsal. This was the last trial before deployment.
Squad 1:
Elise Fontaine
David Ruiz
Enzo Rhavoz
Squad 2:
Kael Navarro
Cyrhelle Elsinora
Julienne Arc
Squad 3:
Charlotte Gravielle
Vin Serantes
Min Ji Lee
Levi Giarden
Tension rippled, even through light conversation.
Charlotte folded her arms. "So, final test before we're tossed into the real thing."
Vin smirked. "Simulated or not, if anything in there roars, I'm punching it."
Min-ji adjusted her visor, standing barely shoulder-height beside Vin. "Our squad's last. I want a full report of everyone's failures."
Levi tapped his chin. "Nah, they're just saving the best group for dessert."
Cyrhelle glanced at Kael and whispered, "Any guesses? Boss fight? Survival wave?"
"Maybe both," Kael replied, calm and unreadable. "Depends how cruel they feel today."
Julienne cracked her knuckles. "As long as there's machinery I can hijack, I'll manage."
A sharp chime rang above.
"Instance Rift Simulation — initializing. Squad One, report to Gate One. Mission parameters uploaded to personal panels."
Without a word, Elise Fontaine moved first, sleek white bow slung over her shoulder. David followed, cracking his knuckles and flexing his gloves, armor gleaming under the simulation light. Enzo brought up the rear, visor glowing faintly, completely unreadable behind his data stream.
Kael nodded at them. "Let's see how sharp you really are."
David smirked. "You'll be applauding in two minutes."
The gate opened.
Steam, distorted light, and synthetic Rift pressure rolled outward.
They stepped inside — swallowed by simulation fog and jungle-like terrain.
Behind them, the dome fell quiet.
Every eye turned to the live projection above as Squad One's trial began.
---------------
The gate sealed with a final hiss.
In an instant, the sterile hum of the training dome gave way to dense heat and thick air. The simulated jungle sprawled ahead, overgrown and wild — vines twisting around stone ruins, mist curling through the canopy above.
> [MISSION OBJECTIVE: Eliminate all Riftspawn. Defeat the Wyrm-Class Boss.]
[Simulation Type: Instance Rift – Jungle Ruins Variant]
[Time Limit: 2 Hours]
Squad One pressed forward in formation, accompanied by three seasoned B-rank Ascenders — their observers, and silent safeguards.
Elise Fontaine walked ahead, bow in hand — not summoned, not shaped, but real. White-lacquered wood, custom-built, elegant. But it was what she loaded into it that drew attention.
Her fingertips shimmered.
A strand of golden energy unwound from her palm, fluid like silk, then coiled into shape — a single glowing arrow. Flexible at first… but as she drew it back, it sharpened with tension.
> Desyre Core: Arc Thread
Creates glowing, razor-thin threads controlled like silk. Used to weave precise, high-velocity arrows that slice on impact.
One of the B-rank Ascenders, Reyes, whistled low. "Those arrows aren't normal. You see that shaping?"
Odelia, the support-type, nodded. "Flexible at rest… they only harden when pulled. She's controlling tensile sharpness in real time."
Behind them, Enzo Rhavoz flicked his visor into place. His expression hadn't changed — but his posture had. Straighter. Tighter.
Without a word, his core activated — the shift so subtle, only the tactician, Tam, noticed.
> Desyre Core: Mind Lock
Temporarily disables emotion to boost tactical awareness. Enables rapid prediction and combat processing.
Tam arched a brow. "Cold one, huh?"
Enzo's voice returned — quicker, flatter. "Movement ahead. Two targets, Fiend-Class. Camouflaged. One high, one low."
Elise didn't wait.
She drew, released — the Arc Thread arrow spun midair, slicing clean through the first Riftspawn before it could finish leaping. The second tried to flank from the undergrowth.
A flick of her wrist.
Thread snapped out like a lasso, coiling its leg — then tightening until it cracked bone. Elise fired again.
Kill confirmed.
The three B-rank Ascenders exchanged glances.
"First years," Tam said slowly, "shouldn't be this clean."
David Ruiz braced forward, intercepting another rush. "More coming!"
"Three on the right," Enzo called out. "Fast ones."
"Got 'em," Elise muttered, already spinning thread into another arrow.
Within seconds, the trio moved like they'd done this for years. Shield, arrow, gunfire — sync and silence.
Then came the tremor.
The ground shook beneath them, loose stones skipping across the path. Vines rustled. Mist curled at their feet like something alive.
From the canyon ahead, a low, guttural exhale echoed — not wind, not machine — something deeper.
"Movement," Enzo muttered, tapping his visor. "Large-scale heat signature… definitely Wyrm-Class."
Elise's fingers tightened around her bow. David stepped forward, shield raised, body lowering into stance.
The fog parted ahead, revealing the final descent.
A crater waited beyond the ridge.
And something inside it was waking up.