The word still echoed in everyone's mind.
10 minutes.
Panic erupted.
"We're gonna die!"
"Shut up! Think of something!"
"How the hell do we get out?!"
Voices overlapped, rising louder and louder.
My chest tightened. My breathing became uneven.
"No…"
My eyes locked onto the creature at the center.
Still. Silent. Waiting.
"This can't be happening…"
A cold chill ran down my spine.
Nightmare.
A disgusting abomination.
Not just a Void-Born mutation.
Its strength… its mana output…
It surpasses even a dragon.
If that thing gets released, we all die.
"Shit…"
For a moment, I froze.
Around me, chaos spread.
Cadets rushed toward the walls, slamming their fists against the pure white surface.
Nothing.
No cracks. No response.
"Move!"
A group attacked together.
Blades. Magic. Skills.
BOOM.
The attacks landed and vanished like they never existed.
"It's not working…" someone whispered.
Another cadet raised his trembling hand.
"My watch—try your watches again! Contact the professors!"
Everyone checked. Pressed. Tapped.
Nothing.
Dead. Unresponsive.
"We need to stay calm."
Liam's voice cut through the noise, firm and controlled.
"Panicking won't get us out of here."
Leon stepped forward beside him.
"Spread out. Look for anything unusual. Walls, floor, ceiling. Anything."
"Yes!"
Some cadets forced themselves to move, searching desperately.
Irina clicked her tongue.
"Tch… this place is too clean…"
Even she sounded uneasy.
Nia frowned.
"Yeah… no seams. No doors. No patterns…"
She turned to me.
"Chrono… do you see anything?"
I didn't answer immediately.
My hands were still slightly shaking.
Think.
We can't break the room.
We can't escape normally.
And in ten minutes, that thing wakes up.
"Damn it…"
I crouched slightly, staring at the floor.
Too smooth. Too perfect.
"Irina."
She looked at me.
"What?"
"Burn a small part of the floor."
"…Are you serious right now?"
"Just do it."
A brief pause, then—
"Tch… fine."
She snapped her fingers. A focused flame shot downward.
For a split second, the floor flickered.
Like a glitch.
My eyes sharpened instantly.
"There."
Nia stepped closer.
"What did you see?"
I stood up slowly with a smile.
"This room… isn't real."
Silence.
Liam frowned.
"Explain."
"It's a projection. A layered construct."
I pointed at the ground.
"The reason our attacks don't work isn't because it's strong. It's because it isn't fully physical."
Leon's expression shifted.
"A controlled simulation layer…"
I nodded.
Irina crossed her arms.
"Okay, genius. Then how do we get out?"
I glanced back at the creature.
Still motionless. Still silent.
"We don't break the room."
Confusion spread.
"We create an opening."
Leon frowned.
"Explain."
I pointed toward the creature.
"That thing is the only real object here."
My voice sharpened.
"When it activates, its attacks will interact with the environment differently than ours."
Liam's eyes narrowed.
"Meaning it can damage the projection."
I nodded.
"Exactly."
Irina smirked.
"So we use that monster to break the room."
"But—" a cadet interrupted, voice shaking, "—that thing is S-rank! How are we supposed to survive even a minute against it?!"
Another spoke up.
"That's not something we can handle!"
"We'll die the moment it moves!"
Silence filled the room.
I answered calmly.
"We're not trying to win."
I looked at all of them.
"We bait it."
Leon immediately stepped forward, catching on.
"Formation changes."
His tone sharpened.
"Frontline won't engage directly. They'll redirect attacks."
"Speed types, you'll act as bait and pull its attention."
"Everyone else, watch the surroundings."
Liam added,
"The moment the environment distorts or cracks, call it out."
Leon raised his voice again.
"Listen carefully! This is no longer an exam. It's survival."
He pointed across the room.
"Frontline fighters, take positions up ahead. Defensive types with them."
"Speed types, spread out. You'll draw its attention and keep moving."
"Healers stay in the rear. Do not get exposed."
"No one acts alone. If you panic, you die."
Cadets moved.
Hesitant at first, then faster, taking positions.
Irina rolled her shoulders, flames flickering.
"…Guess we're doing this."
Nia stood beside me.
"You sure about this?"
I didn't look at her. My eyes stayed on the creature.
"No."
A brief pause.
"But it's the only way."
A faint ticking sound echoed.
9 minutes remaining.
I clenched my fist.
"We only need one opening."
"One is enough."
___
The room fell into a tense silence.
At the center, the creature remained still.
Waiting.
faint ticking sound echoed through the room.
9 minutes…
8…
7…
Time blurred.
No one spoke unless they had to.
The earlier panic was gone—
Replaced by something worse.
Silence.
Heavy.
Suffocating.
—
"Positions!" Leon's voice rang out.
Everyone moved.
Frontline stepped forward, though their hands weren't steady.
Speed types spread out, but their footing wasn't as confident as before.
Healers gathered at the back—
Some clutching their staffs tighter than necessary.
—
5 minutes.
A cadet muttered under his breath.
"…We're really going to die…"
Another sat down, whispering something quietly.
Praying.
—
4 minutes.
Irina clicked her tongue—
But this time, there was no arrogance behind it.
"…Damn it…"
Her flames flickered—unstable.
Nia swallowed hard.
"…Chrono…"
Her voice was quieter than before.
I didn't respond.
—
3 minutes.
My chest felt tight.
Too tight.
My breathing wasn't steady.
This is bad.
No.
I already knew that.
—
2 minutes.
A low sound filled the room.
Faint.
Uneven.
—
Breathing.
Someone whimpered.
"It's… it's alive…"
More voices joined.
Quiet.
Desperate.
"…Please…"
"…I don't want to die…"
"…Let this be a dream…"
Even the stronger ones—
Stayed silent.
__
1 minute.
My hands were shaking.
Slightly.
But enough.
Damn it.
I clenched them.
Tried to steady myself.
You've seen this before.
You know what happens.
That didn't make it better.
"…Shit…"
The word slipped out under my breath.
—
I was scared.
—
50 seconds.
—
Leon's voice rang out again.
"Everyone! Stay focused!"
But even he—
His grip tightened.
His voice wasn't perfectly steady.
—
40 seconds.
—
The creature's fingers twitched.
Slow.
Creeping.
—
A girl behind me started crying softly.
"…Mom…"
—
30 seconds.
—
The ground beneath the creature flickered again.
Longer this time.
More unstable.
—
Good.
—
But my heart didn't calm down.
—
20 seconds.
—
A deep, distorted breath escaped the creature.
—
Several cadets flinched.
One stepped back.
Then another.
—
"Hold your ground!" Liam shouted.
—
10 seconds.
—
My gaze locked onto the creature.
—
This is it.
—
9…
8…
—
My heartbeat pounded in my ears.
—
7…
6…
—
My breathing grew heavier.
—
5…
—
Its fingers dug into the ground.
—
4…
—
Someone whispered a prayer behind me.
—
3…
—
One eye slowly opened.
—
2…
—
A crimson glow filled the room.
—
1…
—
Everything went silent.
—
The creature's head snapped up.
—
For a split second—
No one moved.
—
Then—
My voice tore through the silence.
"RUN!"
It moved.