Chapter 65: Chapter 65: death is part of the journey The blackness didn’t last long.
They suddenly felt their brains being mushed around, like everything inside their skulls twisted for a second.
Then they were met with light.
They opened their eyes and realized they were back in the hall where it all started, but they were scattered randomly across the room.
Some were on their knees, whether from fighting monsters or because the teleportation itself slammed them down, no one knew.
Rhian was confused.
From what he had read and learned in class, once you cleared a portal, a portal would open in front of you, allowing you to exit.
But it seemed the watches were the ones that teleported them. Was this some insane technology?
Rhian shook his head, clearing the thoughts. He finally found his friends, spotting them not far from him.
He noticed everyone had lost their sac that had cores.. how the heck did the school move so fast.
He began making his way toward them, but what he didn’t notice was that he had attracted attention.
Pale skin was normal enough, but the scales on his arms and, worse. the insane slit eyes that resembled a snake’s had drawn stares.
Some students began mumbling.
"Who’s that?"
"Was there a new cursed student we didn’t know about?"
Luckily, many people hadn’t even noticed Rhian’s changes yet.
Most were still staring at the large stand where the instructors were gathering.
Rhian didn’t think much about it. He was shirtless—there was nothing he could do about that.
And as for his eyes, unless he planned on closing them for the rest of his life, there was nothing he could do about those either.
When he reached his group, they had refreshed. Rhian looked at Nia, who looked at him, and stared down avoiding eye contact.
Ash looked at Rhian, looking at his appearance. "I’ll say I like the hair."
Rhian chuckled, touching it. It was good hair, it looked very healthy. It was long and had green streaks.
But Rhian also understood he might need to style it or cut it a bit, as in combat it would get in the way.
Iris looked nervous as she glanced around, causing Aras to ask, "You good?"
Iris looked concerned and nodded. "Yeah, just wondering how many came back... and how many didn’t."
Aras understood. She was probably worried about her cursed classmates. "I’m sure it’s all good."
Rhian kept staring, watching Aras converse so easily. It wasn’t that he couldn’t; he just never chose to.
Aras, feeling Rhian’s stare, shifted uncomfortably. Those snake-like eyes felt unsettling. "What?"
Rhian smirked. "Nothing."
Before the conversation could go on, a loud voice echoed from the front.
"Everyone! Gather yourselves. Line up!"
The instructors stood ahead, their presence sharp.
Some students straightened up immediately, while others still struggled to shake off their fatigue.
Rhian and the others moved, following the crowd as they started to organize into loose rows.
Rhian glanced once more at Nia. She was quiet, her face calm but unreadable. He looked away, deciding not to push her.
The hall grew quieter as everyone settled.
Mr. Callor stepped forward, his boots striking the floor with a heavy, deliberate rhythm as he made his way to the front of the hall.
He swept his gaze across the room, counting faces without slowing.
The students’ watches, connected to their pulses before entering the portal, had already delivered the grim report. Every heartbeat lost had been recorded without mercy.
Death had always been part of the path they chose, stitched into the life of every hunter.
There was no surviving this world without learning to bury friends—or being buried themselves.
Mr. Callor stopped at the center of the hall, his arms locking behind his back, his face as hard and cold as stone.
When he spoke, his voice carried through the hall like a blade cutting through mist.
"Congratulations to all of you. I’m sure it was quite the experience. Some of you might even want to go back. But rest is necessary. Recovery is survival."
The students shifted where they stood, the adrenaline fading from their veins as exhaustion finally caught up to them. Some swayed slightly. Others locked their knees to stay upright.
Mr. Callor gave them no time to settle.
"But while I recognize your success," he said, his voice hardening, "I must also address the ones who did not return."
The room tensed as murmurs spread, students twisting their heads left and right, searching the gathered crowd for missing faces.
Iris felt her chest tighten.
She had already searched the hall when they first arrived, combing through every row.
She hadn’t seen any of her cursed classmates. When she asked Rhian earlier, he had only given a slight shake of his head.
It seemed that from the cursed students who entered the portal, only she and Rhian had survived.
Mr. Callor’s voice pressed forward, leaving no room for sympathy.
"You chose this path. You chose to become hunters. And the path demands a price."
He stepped forward again, the sound of his boots snapping through the growing unease.
"Our trials are not forgiving. They are not meant to be. If you cannot survive a portal, you will not survive the field."
His gaze swept across the hall, sharp and merciless.
"I expect you to grow stronger. I expect you to survive."
For a moment, the hall hung in breathless silence, every student frozen in place.
Then the order broke.
Students surged from their lines, shouting names into the crowd, pushing through the rows with wide, frantic eyes. Some called for friends. Others screamed for siblings who hadn’t answered.
The noise rose, swelling into a wave of panic and confusion that filled the hall.
Mr. Callor stood unmoving at the front, his arms still locked behind his back, his face a mask of cold detachment.
He knew better than to interfere.
Grief would burn itself out. It always did.
Rhian looked at Iris as she let out a shaky sigh.
He spoke quietly. "We should wait. They’ll announce it."
Iris nodded, her hands clenched at her sides as she tried to stay calm.
While Rhian hadn’t really formed any close ties with the other cursed students, he knew it wasn’t the same for them.
They probably had no one else in this school. The others wanted nothing to do with them.
He understood the worry Iris carried. It was the same kind of fear he felt when he had seen Nia fighting a losing battle against the wolf, despite her stubborn words telling him not to help.