Chapter 15: The Tactical Alliance and the Sodium Trap

Half an hour before the sky turned red.

Draven stood perfectly still in the dim light of the artificial forest. He raised his left hand, visualizing the invisible arrows of kinetic force around him. He clamped his fist shut.

A Level 12 Mutated Shadow-Wolf was instantly crushed into the dirt. Its bones snapped under the sudden, immense gravitational pressure. Before its packmate could leap at Draven’s blind spot, a brilliant white-gold laser pierced the thick brush and vaporized the second wolf’s head.

[Ding! Targets Eliminated.]

[Experience Gained: 150 EXP.]

[Current EXP: 1800 / 2200.]

Draven lowered his hand and nodded toward Estella. She stepped out from behind a massive oak tree, her breathing steady and her new silver ring glowing faintly on her finger.

"Good shot," Draven praised. "Your casting speed is getting faster."

Estella smiled, clearly pleased with the compliment. "It feels much easier with the ring. I do not even have to force the mana out. It just flows."

Crunch.

A dry branch snapped in the distance. Draven’s Tactical Radar had already picked up the two biological signatures approaching them, but he played the part perfectly. He turned, his hand drifting toward the combat knife at his belt.

Stepping through the dense foliage was Reina Frost, her massive double-sided axe resting casually on her shoulder. Walking right beside her with an arrow already nocked on a beautiful, glowing wind-bow was a girl Draven had not met yet.

She had sharp, emerald-green eyes, short auburn hair, and moved with the silent grace of a seasoned hunter.

Draven quickly activated his Tactical Appraisal. 𝑓𝑟𝑒𝘦𝓌𝑒𝑏𝑛𝑜𝘷𝑒𝘭.𝒸𝘰𝑚

[Target Identified: Natalie Tokks]

[Class: Gale-Bow Sniper]

[Level: 18]

[Favourability: 0/100 (Highly Wary)]

"Well, look who it is," Reina smirked, stopping a few yards away.

"The Wingman and his Vanguard. I did not expect to run into you guys so soon."

Natalie kept her bow raised, the tip of her glowing arrow aimed directly at Draven’s chest.

"Reina, you know them? They took down two Level 12s without making a sound. They are dangerous."

"Relax, Nat," Reina chuckled, though her grip on her axe tightened slightly.

She and Natalie were childhood friends. Their parents ran in the same elite Guild circles, and they had formed an unbreakable team long before the Academy exams.

"He is the guy from the cafeteria."

Draven looked at the glowing arrow, then at the heavy frost radiating from Reina’s axe.

He knew that even though their levels were lower than his and Estella’s, their combat experience and high-tier gear made them a lethal threat.

A fight here would be a massive waste of resources.

"Put the bow down, Tokks," Draven said calmly, his hands open to show he was not hostile.

"We do not have enough points to justify killing each other right now. A fight between us just leaves whoever survives too exhausted to finish the trial."

Natalie narrowed her green eyes, but she slowly lowered the bow.

"You know my name?"

"I know the major players in our class," Draven lied smoothly. He looked at Reina.

"Instead of fighting over scraps, we should form a temporary party. We have the firepower to clear the high-level zones much faster together."

Reina looked at Natalie, silently communicating through years of friendship. Natalie gave a small, hesitant nod.

"Fine," Reina agreed.

"A temporary truce. But if you try to steal our points..."

BOOOOOOOOOOM!

The deafening explosion cut Reina off. The ground violently shook beneath their boots. The blue sky above the canopy suddenly turned a sickly, blood red.

A terrifying roar tore through the trees, causing a shockwave of wind that made Natalie stumble.

"What the hell was that?!" Reina yelled, looking up at the red sky.

Draven immediately tapped his Nexus-Band. The holographic interface flickered, sparked, and went completely dead.

"No signal," Draven announced, his voice turning ice-cold.

"The teleportation safety feature is offline. The Instructors are locked out."

"That is impossible," Natalie gasped, tapping her own dead watch. "The Guilds built this barrier!"

"It was hacked," Draven said, stepping into his Commander persona to control the narrative.

"This is a terrorist attack. The Church of the Eternal Eclipse is making a move. That roar came from a bio-weapon. We have two choices right now."

Draven looked at the three girls, making sure he had their absolute attention. He needed to gaslight them into charging straight into the danger zone.

"Choice one. We run to the edges of the forest, hide like cowards, and hope we survive for the next six hours until the Guilds break through the barrier. But the monsters are panicking. We will be crushed by the stampede."

Draven took a step closer to Reina, playing directly on her hidden feelings.

"Choice two. We go to the center. Neville and the other nobles are already hunting there. They have no idea what they are walking into. We find the terrorist controlling the barrier, kill him, and save our classmates."

Reina’s face went pale at the mention of Neville being in danger. "Neville is at the center?"

"He is," Draven nodded. "Are we running, or are we fighting?"

Reina gripped her axe, her tomboyish confidence completely returning.

"We fight. Let’s move!"

They sprinted through the forest, a terrifyingly efficient four-man squad.

Draven took the lead, using his passive Radar to weave them through the safest paths while bypassing the stampeding low-level monsters.

When they were about one kilometer away from the epicenter, Draven held up his fist.

"Stop," Draven ordered.

Through the trees, they could finally see the clearing. The devastation was absolute. Trees were uprooted and burning with dark fire.

In the center of the chaos was the bio-weapon.

[Target Identified: Eclipse-Forged Amalgam]

[Level: 25]

[Status: Enraged / Blood-Tracking Active]

It was a nightmare of stitched flesh, bone plating, and corrupted purple fire. And fighting it head-on were two figures.

Neville Hennesy, glowing with holy light, and Aegon Logcheville, his silver spear dripping with dark blood. They were locked in their bitter rivalry, trying to out-damage each other while the beast actively tore the terrain apart.

"Neville!" Reina gasped. She readied her axe and prepared to sprint into the clearing to help him.

Draven’s hand shot out, grabbing Reina by the back of her collar and violently jerking her backward.

"Are you blind?!" Draven hissed. He pointed toward the dirt right at the edge of the clearing.

"Look at the ground. The soil is disturbed. There are corrupted mana mines planted all around the perimeter. You rush in there to play the hero, you blow your own legs off."

Reina swallowed hard, her heart pounding as she saw the faint purple glow pulsing under the dirt. "I... I did not see them. Thank you."

"Listen to me," Draven commanded, looking at Estella, Reina, and Natalie.

"The Golden Boy and the Spearman are barely holding it back. I need you three to provide heavy artillery support. Pin the beast down. Do not step into the clearing. Shoot from the treeline."

"What about you?" Natalie asked, nocking an arrow.

"This beast is a summon," Draven stated coldly. "Which means the rat holding the leash is hiding nearby. I am going to find him."

"Be careful," Estella whispered, her eyes full of genuine concern.

"Always," Draven smirked.

As Draven melted away into the shadows, the three girls unleashed hell. Natalie fired a volley of gale-force arrows that exploded into tornados upon impact.

Reina slammed her axe into the ground, sending a massive wave of jagged ice spikes ripping toward the Amalgam’s legs.

Estella took a deep breath. Her silver ring glowed blindingly bright. She condensed her immense Level 18 mana pool and fired a concentrated, terrifying beam of white-gold starlight.

The beam slammed directly into the Amalgam’s shoulder, instantly vaporizing the bone plating and causing the beast to shriek in agony.

Neville looked back toward the treeline in shock, realizing his "rescue" had arrived.

---

Meanwhile, Draven followed his Tactical Radar. He moved silently through the canopy, tracking a stationary biological signature hidden in a dense thicket overlooking the battlefield.

Draven dropped down silently behind a large boulder.

Sitting cross-legged on the ground was a man wrapped in the midnight-blue robes of the Eclipse Church. He held a glowing purple crystal orb, his eyes wide with manic glee as he watched the students fight his monster.

"Yes, yes," the Summoner whispered to himself, a sickening smile on his face.

"Struggle. Bleed. These are wonderful sacrifices for the Star of Ruin. The Academy’s finest will rot in the dirt today."

Draven did not announce himself. He did not monologue.

He opened his System Inventory and pulled out a specialized tactical weapon he had bought from a black market dealer with his Vanguard scholarship funds.

It was a sleek, black kunai dagger. But the core of the blade was hollowed out and filled with a highly pressurized capsule of pure sodium.

Sodium was an interesting element.

When it came into contact with the high water content of human blood, the resulting exothermic chemical reaction was violently explosive.

It was a cruel, outlawed weapon. It was exactly what Draven needed.

Draven coated his boots in a thin layer of kinetic force, making his footsteps absolutely silent. He stepped up right behind the sitting cultist.

With a brutal, downward thrust, Draven buried the kunai blade straight through the back of the Summoner’s neck, driving it deep into his chest cavity.

"Guh-?!"

The Summoner’s eyes bulged. He dropped his crystal orb. He tried to scream, but blood filled his lungs.

Draven twisted the handle, cracking the internal sodium capsule open directly inside the man’s bloodstream.

The reaction was instantaneous. The Summoner’s veins began to glow with a terrifying, boiling heat. Steam literally hissed from his tear ducts.

The Summoner turned his head weakly, looking up at the cold, emotionless teenager standing over him. "Who... who dares? How did you find me?"

Draven looked down at him. The glow of the chemical fire reflected in Draven’s dark eyes.

"I am your Death," Draven whispered.

[Target Identified: Cultist Overseer]

[Level: 22]

[Status: Severe Internal Combustion]

The Summoner’s chest began to rapidly expand. Draven calmly turned his back and walked away.