8:00 AM, 3rd Ring, Sector 1; Heima entered a skyscraper, looking similar to a modern palace. She entered a small, inconspicuous door to the side, seeing a row of steps trail downward. Continuing along the dark, narrow path, she raised her speed, her body transforming into a blur, creating gusts of wind along her wake.

Within a minute, she had arrived at the Lower Strata, standing inside an inverted lighthouse, 30 metres below the ceiling. She made a jump, taking a free fall towards the ground—spanning 300 metres from the ceiling.

Along the way, she raised her hand, catching hold of a silk rope, its shade transparent. Though, the sliver of aura it released made its location apparent. The moment she caught hold of the silk rope, the part below her hold snapped, bringing her forward.

She experienced the feeling of rowing a swing, accelerating along the path due to the inclination and its vertical height. Her hair tied into a bun unravelled itself, flowing along with the wind as her body was brought towards the position vertically downward the pivot, accelerating to its maximum.

Heima let go of her hold; her body bolted across the air, crashing into a net along the path of flight, its base forming a massive depression. The next moment, a recoil occurred, pushing Heima's body towards the direction she came from.

Heima exerted strength in her hands, coiling her finger around a strand in the web, pulling at it to brave through the recoil, preventing her body from getting flinged out. The process repeated itself numerous times, her body oscillating by the mean, forming damped amplitudes that slowly came down to a halt.

Heima released her hold, making a backward jump, allowing her legs to land on the ground, her body tumbling along with the flow. Her mind spun, making her lose her balance while she felt a hurricane form in her stomach, making her want to throw up.

"Oh, Heima stood up after just 11 seconds. She's made a record once again," A raspy voice echoed as a man with a slender figure sauntered out, his expression akin to a scorn.

"See this jealous dude getting riled up over nothing," A lady walked up towards Heima, her expression one of ridicule as she gazed at the man with a slender figure, "Who was that charming fellow who fainted midway?"

The man with a slender figure snorted, walking away towards a pair of double doors, their height only reaching up to his knees. He paused before the door, slowly kneeling on the floor, inching his body forward, and holding a sleeping position.

"Haap," Emitting a dense fluctuation of psychic energy, he shot forward like an arrow, entering through the double doors, pushing them aside like they were scraps of paper. Seeing the scene, Heima felt a mild headache throbbing up.

She ran along the ground, speeding to her limits, creating a long broiling spiral along her wake, her body crouched forward. The moment she neared the pair of double doors, she leaped forward, taking a stance similar to a person diving into the water. Her fists shot the double doors open, giving her body room to enter, sliding onto a long corridor.

She hurriedly picked herself up, using the speed of her sliding, exerting strength into her hands to perform a leap. Midair, she lifted her legs upward, bringing them towards a pair of large double doors, looking sturdy.

The kick sent the double doors open, wide enough for her flying body to pass through, allowing her to appear in a wide room. Her feet slid on the ground for 20 metres before her body came to a stop, giving her the reprieve to gaze at her surroundings.

The room was a massive 2 kilometres wide and 3 kilometres long, the dimensions appalling. It was 300 metres tall, taking up all the vertical space in the Lower Strata. Attached to the ceiling was a massive TV screen, circumferential in its design, forty-five degrees to the ground, visible to all areas.

There were at most 3000 people gathered in the area, making the massive hall look vacant. Heima stood before her colleagues, consisting of a team of 19 members, all Tier 3 in strength. She stood in silence, gazing at the screen above.

"You are all gathered here," A voice resounded through the region, carrying with it a hidden force, involuntarily making their bodies shudder. An image flashed on the screen, displaying the figure of a Frenzy Beast.

The beast had a long nose, a single elongated eye on the top, and a serpentine body. Its tail looked ethereal, morphing between phantom and reality. It neither had limbs nor any wings but it floated in the air, hovering 2 feet from the ground.

"This Frenzy Beast has yet to be named. It was first discovered 5 hours ago by a scout team, roaming about 20 kilometres beyond Wild Zone 12. It is extremely sensitive to threats and has the ability to disappear without a trace. It has Tier 4 strength and would only hunt Tier 3 and below creatures. Your mission is to capture it alive and bring it back."

The crowd immediately turned silent, the silence chilling. The voice continued without pause, as if mechanically recorded, "It's a team mission. Teams 1 to 150 can move out. The successful team/teams will be extensively rewarded."

"Team 136! Moving out!" Heima shouted, her voice deafening. Immediately, 19 voices echoed from behind her, "Team 136, moving out!"

The team of twenty immediately rushed towards a large section that had opened, opening a pathway wide enough to carry 100 people side by side. Heima and her team rushed into the pathway, jumping into a large rectangular box, attached with rollers.

Her team mimicked her action, grabbing hold of a silk rope, pulling at it. Immediately, the rear end snapped as a tremendous force pulled at them. Followed by her instructions, they exerted force into an indentation in the rectangular box, transmitting the force to it.

The rectangular box shot forward, carried along by the contracting silk rope, gripped in their hands. They traversed tens of kilometres in a straight line, the pathway traversing from the 3rd Ring until the 10th Ring, opening up into Wild Zone 1.

Her team hurriedly jumped out of the rectangular box and rushed in the direction of Wild Zone 12, seemingly in hurry but, their gaze steady, cautiousness ever-present in them, ingrained into their bodies through experience.

"The abilities of this monster are a mystery; we have to be careful should we discover it. Just follow my lead and act accordingly," Heima said, her voice transmitted to her team members as they sped along the ground, taking careful note of their steps. Danger could pop up any time in the Wild Zones, so they paid heed to caution as a priority.

…

Like clockwork, Jyorta slumped his shoulder bag over his shoulder, feeling a bit strained due to the weight, the only reason he carried as such was to seem cooler. He dragged the trolley bag with the other hand, waiting on the platform for a metro train.

8:00 AM, a train arrived at the station, one that went to his Academy. Jyorta boarded it and luckily found a seat to occupy. He then gazed into the window, situated 7-8 steps to his left, watching the similarly built skyscrapers flash past by.

8:15 AM, Jyorta alighted at his station and proceeded towards the 4th Academy, taking the familiar path. Passing through a bunch of inspections and asking for details, he finally arrived at the front of an auditorium.

The auditorium was capable of seating 100 people, filled with a paltry sum of students, numbering 14 in total, including him who had just arrived. He placed his luggage near him, occupying 2 extra seats. To his left sat his friend Ashten Coorg, looking silent, gazing at the empty podium, having not noticed his arrival.

"Are you feeling nervous?" Jyorta spoke, finally getting attention from his unresponsive friend.

Ashten Coorg turned around, his eyes turning red, tears welling up from within them, "My sister is undergoing the Induction Ceremony today. I am scared for her; unlike me, she cannot tolerate pain. She has been a delicate girl since childhood,"

"Don't worry," Jyorta flashed a calm smile, "She is stronger than you think. She just hides her pain better than everyone. So, just have some confidence in her. I can guarantee that she would do better than you, by a wide margin."

The two were twins, separated by 5 minutes. Ashten was born on October 31, 2 minutes before the next day began. His sister, Ashray Coorg was born five minutes later, officially declared as born on the 1st of November. Hence, her Induction Ceremony was scheduled a month later.

"But you have never met her. How can you be so sure?" Ashten Coorg retorted, his eyes widening in surprise.

"Guess?" Jyorta laughed, his laughter infecting his friend, bringing a smile to his face. "So, I was in the supermarket one day and I spotted a pretty…"

"Wait for a second, you actually met her before? How come you never mentioned it till now? Moreover, how did you even recognise her?" Ashten spoke fast, his words spewing out like a trail of bullets.

"Oh, about that," Jyorta nodded in thought, "That day when I came to your house and you were gone somewhere, your mother…"

"Stop, stop, stop!" Ashten flailed his hands, his expression one of frustration, "You didn't speak much and just went away after finding my absence right?"

"On the contrary," Jyorta laughed, his expression jovial, "The dinner was delicious while your mother showed me your baby pictures. Oh, the one where you made a sleeping pose while you pissed, your piss making an arc until it perfectly landed in your mouth; that shot was awesome."

Ashten Coorg facepalmed, his expression devastated, muttering, "What the hell have you been showing, mother?"

"After that," Jyorta continued, his smile beaming.

"There's still more?" Ashten blurted out in shock, his scream echoing in the auditorium, making his classmates turn their heads, their gazes curious.

A girl made eye contact with Jyorta, trying to establish communication, seeking to receive an encrypted answer. She noticed Jyorta raise his eyebrows, moving them to the side a little, pointing towards Ashten Grey, his mouth curling up a little while his eyes blinked once.

The girl's face beamed with liveliness, feeling like she had unearthed some juicy gossip. As if she had inserted spring into her legs, the girl stepped over the cushion seats and hopped towards their location. Immediately, the other students too scrammed over, their curiosity winning them.

"What happened?"

"Out with it, Jyorta?"

"Who did you meet this time?"

"It's not me," Jyorta shouted, their attention fixed on him, surprise filling their eyes. He then pointed towards his friend, exclaiming, "Ashten loves frog patterned underwear. He also has a wide collection: frogs, lions, and even worms."

"Eww, worms." A girl showed her disgust, gazing at Ashten from top to bottom, as if she couldn't believe it. The others too displayed similar expressions, wavering between disgust and laughter.

Seeing the situation take a turn for the worse, Ashten riled his brain, trying to think up an effective counter, not caring about the dignity of his friend. After all, his dignity had already been damaged by his previous statement.

"Then," Ashten shouted, slumping his hand over Jyorta's shoulder, "This mister here has a habit of cross-dressing. The number of guys he has fooled is…"

Just when he was about to trail his answer to make a bigger impact, he noticed the crowd turning silent, looking at him with wonder.

"I know that."

"I know it too."

"I usually take him cross-dressed as a girl and go shopping to buy some gifts for my boyfriend." A girl commented.

"Yeah, most of the girls do that," Another girl commented, winking at Jyorta.

"…" Ashten gazed at Jyorta, flabbergasted, muttering, "When have you been doing such things? And, to think I called you my friend."

Jyorta coughed, looking to the side. Seeing the situation, he began to whistle, failing to produce any sounds due to his inability to whistle. Just in time, the door opened; the principal sauntered in, accompanied by four other teachers.