The sky above the First Layer of Hell burned in its usual eternal crimson, casting long shadows across the rocky terrain. The heat was oppressive, thick with the scent of sulfur and ash.

Damon, Daveon, and Anaya stood in formation, their bodies rigid with focused anticipation.

Across from them, Miss Leana’s piercing gaze swept over them like a final test, her presence a silent reminder of the battles they had fought over the past three weeks.

Their time here was almost up.

Dean Godsthorn had given them three weeks—no more, no less—to train in the First Layer of Hell, and now, with only one day remaining, they had one last mission.

One last challenge.

Miss Leana’s voice was steady, unwavering.

“Each of you is to hunt down ten Grade Five demons before nightfall,” she announced. “You will return with their essence cores as proof.”

A slight breeze stirred the dust at their feet, a rare moment of cool air amidst the infernal heat.

Grade Five demons weren’t impossible for them anymore. Over the past weeks, they had grown stronger, faster, deadlier.

But hunting ten before sundown?

That would be a challenge.

Miss Leana’s expression remained unreadable. “The first to return will be rewarded.”

Damon smirked.

A reward? Now that was interesting.

She handed each of them a small talisman, its core pulsing with protective magic.

“If things go south, this will activate a temporary movable barrier around you that can follow you around, buying you enough time to escape,” she explained.

Damon, Daveon, and Anaya each took their talismans, but none of them had any intention of using them.

They had survived too much to rely on last-minute lifelines.

Miss Leana didn’t wait for further questions.

“Go.”

And just like that—the hunt began.

Damon sprinted across the scorched terrain, the others keeping their pace beside him.

“Catch you guys later.” Damon informed the others as he split from the group to hunt separately.

It didn’t take long for Damon to stumble upon a wolf-like Mana beast. Its massive paws silent against the rocky ground as it moved through the area.

What were the chances? Close to none. Damon approached, taming the beast by beating it into submission.

He mounted the beast and rode off on it.

His senses were sharp, honed after weeks of near-constant battle.

The first demon wasn’t far.

Damon could smell it—the sickly stench of burning flesh and rot.

He slowed, motioning for beast to halt.

A few meters ahead, a hulking Grade Five demon crouched near the remains of a lesser beast, its grotesque four-armed frame twitching as it devoured its last victim.

The moment its blackened eyes snapped toward him, Damon moved.

The demon lunged, swinging a jagged claw toward his throat.

Damon sidestepped, his sword already flashing outward.

A clean cut.

One of its arms fell, severed from the elbow down.

Kreeeeeii!!

The demon howled, molten blood hissing against the ground.

But it wasn’t done.

It swung its remaining three arms in a flurry of desperate strikes.

Damon was already ahead of it.

He ducked. Twisted. Slid beneath its second attack.

His blade flashed up, piercing straight through the demon’s chest, shattering its essence core with a single strike.

The creature convulsed—then collapsed.

Damon exhaled, reaching down to pluck the core from its remains.

One down.

Nine to go.

Elsewhere, Anaya moved like a shadow, her daggers gleaming as she danced between her targets.

She wasn’t one for direct combat—but that didn’t mean she wasn’t deadly.

Her first demon barely had time to react before she was on its back, driving her blade straight into its skull.

Daveon, on the other hand, was far more reckless.

His first kill came with a single, devastating punch, sending a massive Grade Five demon flying into a jagged rock wall.

Before it could even get back up, he crushed its skull under his boot.

They were all hunters now.

Damon’s second and third kills came quickly.

The fourth demon tried to flee—a winged abomination with a venomous whip-like tail.

Damon didn’t let it escape.

“Attack!”

The wolf hesitated for a while but it remembered how Damon had beat it into submission and immediately leaped forward, clamping its jaws onto the demon’s tail and yanking it downward.

Damon seized the opening, rushing in and severing its wings with a single strike.

The demon shrieked as it plummeted to the ground.

Damon finished it off with a swift decapitating blow.

Four down.

Six more.

As Damon hunted his seventh target, the demons began adapting.

They weren’t just reacting anymore.

They were waiting. Watching. Hunting him back.

By the time he had collected seven cores, he found himself surrounded.

Three Grade Five demons at once.

They were coordinated. Strategic.

For a moment, he almost smirked.

Then—they attacked.

One demon lunged first—a hulking brute with molten skin, swinging a massive iron club.

Damon ducked, narrowly avoiding the shattering force of its strike.

The second demon—a serpentine figure with twin scythe-like arms—darted forward from behind.

Damon twisted midair, deflecting its blade with a single, well-timed strike.

The third demon, however—was faster than the others.

It leapt from the side, its claws aiming straight for his back.

But before it could land—the wolf struck.

The wolf lunged out of nowhere, slamming the demon into the ground with bone-crushing force.

Damon didn’t waste the opening.

He twirled his blade, striking at the first demon’s exposed side—and drove his sword straight through its heart.

One down.

He sidestepped the second demon’s strike, using its own momentum against it—sending it crashing into its remaining ally.

Then—he finished them both off in one smooth motion.

Three more cores.

Ten kills complete.

Damon knew Anaya and Daveon were still out hunting.

If he was quick, he could be the first to return.

Without hesitation, he mounted the wolf, gripping its fur tightly.

“Let’s move.”

The massive wolf took off, racing across the rocky terrain at blistering speed.

Damon could feel the wind whipping past his face, the weight of the ten cores pressing against his side.

The sun was beginning to set, casting deep shadows across the landscape.

As Damon sped through the battlefield, collecting his tenth core and racing back toward the Regulator Base, Anaya and Daveon were locked in their own fierce battles, each determined to be the first to return.

They had both heard Miss Leana’s words.

“A reward for the first one back.”

Neither of them was willing to give it up without a fight.

And so, they hunted with everything they had.

Anaya moved like a shadow, her lightning daggers glinting in the eerie crimson glow of the First Layer of Hell.

She had already claimed six cores, but she wasn’t satisfied.

Faster, stronger, deadlier.

She would not let the others beat her.

Her next target was massive, easily twice her size—a Grade Five Demon with plated obsidian armor covering its body.

Its six yellow eyes tracked her movements, its blade-like claws ready to tear through flesh.

But Anaya wasn’t afraid.

She darted forward, twisting in midair as the demon slashed at her with terrifying speed.

‘Too slow.’ Anaya dropped low, sliding beneath its swipe, kicking off the ground and flipping behind it.

Before the creature could react—

She struck.

A flash of yellow lightning—her dagger sank deep into the demon’s exposed neck.

The creature let out a strangled gurgle, thrashing as its molten blood sprayed across the rocky ground.

It swung wildly, trying to crush her in its final moments—

But Anaya was already gone.

She stepped back, watching as the demon collapsed onto its knees, shuddering before falling face-first into the dirt.

Seven.

She bent down, plucked the core from its remains, and kept moving.

Daveon, on the other hand, had never cared for speed or finesse.

He wanted the challenge. He wanted to understand how they fought.

The thrill of overpowering something stronger than him.

And right now—he had found it.

A towering Grade Five Demon stood before him, its muscular form covered in thick bone-like plating, its massive axe-like arms raised high.

Most people would have run.

Daveon?

He grinned.

“That all you got?” he taunted, rolling his shoulders.

The demon roared, bringing both its arms down in a devastating swing.

Daveon didn’t dodge.

He caught the attack head-on.

His feet dug into the ground, the sheer force of the impact shattering the stone beneath him.

The demon’s eyes widened in shock.

Daveon gritted his teeth, veins bulging in his arms as he held the creature back.

“Not today!!” With a roar of his own, he pushed back.

A crack rang out.

The demon stumbled, its arms snapping backward unnaturally.

Daveon grinned.

And then he went in for the kill.

With one devastating uppercut, he shattered the demon’s jaw—then grabbed it by the throat and slammed it into the ground.

Boooom!

He stomped down once.

The demon went still.

Seven.

Daveon exhaled, pulling the core from its corpse before moving on.

Both Anaya and Daveon pushed harder, refusing to slow down.

They sliced, punched, dodged, and killed, tearing through their final demons with fury and desperation.

The sun was sinking lower, shadows lengthening across the hellish landscape.

Each of them had nine cores now.

They needed one more.

Anaya found hers first.

A spindly, spider-like demon was crawling across a jagged rock, its eight glowing red eyes locked onto her.

It moved unnaturally fast, scuttling toward her like a nightmare brought to life.

Anaya exhaled, steadying her grip on her daggers.

The creature leapt—its claws stretching toward her throat.

Anaya didn’t flinch.

She sidestepped at the last second, twisting her body and driving both her daggers deep into its torso.

The demon twitched, its body spasming as black blood pooled beneath it.

Anaya wrenched the daggers free, kicking the body off her blades.

Ten.

She grabbed the last core and took off running.

Daveon’s final battle was a brawl.

His last demon was twice his size, with horns like jagged spikes protruding from its skull.

It lunged, its massive fists swinging toward him—but Daveon didn’t back down.

Instead, he charged forward.

The first hit landed—straight to his ribs.

The impact sent him skidding back, but he grinned through the pain.

“Not bad,” he muttered.

The demon came at him again.

But this time—Daveon dodged.

He ducked under its arm, then slammed his fist into its side—sending it flying backward.

The creature landed hard, but it wasn’t dead yet.

It staggered to its feet—just in time for Daveon to finish the job.

He sprinted forward, leapt into the air, and brought his daggers crashing down onto the demon’s skull.

Boooom!!

The ground shook from the impact.

The demon collapsed instantly.

Ten.

Daveon ripped the core free and took off running.

Both Anaya and Daveon were now sprinting at full speed, pushing their bodies to the limit.

The Regulator Base was close.

But who would make it first?

As they neared the finish line, a blur rushed past them.

A wolf.

A rider.

Damon.

Riding his new wolf at full speed.

Anaya cursed under her breath.

Daveon let out a roar of frustration.

They had fought so hard.

But in the end—Damon was faster.

He crossed the threshold first, his captured and tamed wolf skidding to a stop.

Miss Leana was waiting.

Damon slid off the wolf’s back, tossing his ten cores at her feet.

“I win,” he said simply.

Anaya arrived seconds later, her face unreadable.

Daveon followed, breathing heavily, shaking his head.

They had given everything.

But Damon had won.

Miss Leana looked at all three of them.

“Good,” she said. “You’ve all improved. Tremendously.”

Then, turning to Damon, she nodded.

“Since you were the first to return—you get the reward.”

Damon smirked.

“And what exactly is it?”

Miss Leana’s lips curled into a knowing smile.

“You’ll find out soon enough.”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep