At the sa ti Al was having breakfast with the Virellano family—
In a place that resembled a colossal subterranean cavern, illuminated only by the torches fastened along its curving stone walls, crimson flas flickered and spilled uneven light across the entire expanse.
Thin trails of smoke curled upward from each torch, clinging to the jagged ceiling filled with needle-like stalactites, creating swaying shadows that danced wildly like starved spirits searching for a host.
A faint mixture of sulfur and dried blood lingered heavily in the air, stinging the nose and thickening the atmosphere until every breath felt weighty and oppressive.
A dinsional rift slowly unfurled within that cavern—small enough to look unstable, yet large enough for three or four grown adults to step through at once if they dared.
And from that rift erged three figures: Daraka, Darius, and Kugo—each clad in a black hooded robe, the fabric obscuring their bodies while leaving their faces visible.
Darius and Kugo did not imdiately survey their surroundings.
Instead, they clenched their teeth, both focusing more on enduring the stabbing waves of pain still surging through their bodies.
"Agh... my body feels absolutely wrecked. It’s like I’ve been torn apart from the inside," Darius groaned.
"Yeah... sa here. Even after reinforcing my body with internal energy, the aching just won’t go away," Kugo added through heavy breaths.
Daraka rely gave them a flat glance while casually holding a black-and-white stone—dinsional stone, in his hand.
"This is your first ti experiencing dinsional transfer. It’s normal for it to feel unpleasant," he said coolly.
"If we attempted dinsional transfer without this stone—and without those special robes—the pain you’re feeling right now would be far more horrifying," he continued.
Darius and Kugo both stiffened at that revelation.
"Seriously?" Darius asked, startled.
Daraka nodded once.
"That’s how it is."
Then his gaze shifted forward. "And this is the place I was referring to."
Darius and Kugo lifted their heads and finally paid attention to their surroundings.
A vast chamber of stone stretched before them, dimly lit by torches yet still visible enough to show its intimidating size.
Despite not being completely dark, the air carried an oppressive and eerie atmosphere that made the skin crawl.
A faint sting of energy brushed against their skin—Kugo instantly recognized it as magical energy, though he had no clue what type.
It felt dark, forbidden, as if it was sothing he should never touch.
anwhile, Darius—who possessed no such insight—only felt the effects.
Nausea, prickling discomfort, and an inexplicable fear rising like a tide within him, amplifying every negative emotion he had.
Even so, both were undeniably captivated by the sight around them.
"So this is what you ant by ’another dinsion’...?" Darius muttered.
"It’s not that different from our world. But the aura here... it’s unsettling. My instincts keep telling we’re not supposed to be here," Kugo added, voice low.
Daraka shook his head lightly.
"Technically, this dinsion and the human dinsion exist on the sa planet. So in terms of natural construction, everything is relatively similar—stone, soil, water, and so on," he said.
"What differs are the functions and inhabitants. The natural resources here are fundantally magical—whether stone, plants, animals, or especially the true natives... the djinn."
"Ah... so that’s how it is," Kugo murmured. "I’ve fought beasts and monsters in our world before... so this is where they originate."
"I never imagined this dinsion was real. I thought it was just a myth." he added.
"This really is incredible... and terrifying. Soone like would’ve never known things like this existed if I didn’t witness it myself," Darius said quietly.
Daraka nodded calmly.
"It’s real," he said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"And what you’re seeing is only a tiny fraction of it. Right now we’re rely inside a giant cave. If you step outside, you’d find much more—assuming you’re capable of handling it."
His tone remained casual, but the content of his words sent a chill down both Darius and Kugo’s spines. They exchanged stiff nods, swallowing hard.
Up to this point, they had only seen the cavern—no creatures, no inhabitants—but even the empty space felt hostile.
Still, their priority was to determine whether this place was truly safe for them. After all, this was the location Daraka had promised as their eventual escape route.
"So... this is supposed to be the place where we’ll hide with our families?" Darius asked.
Daraka nodded again.
"Yes. Until we exterminate that pest, this is the safest place for you to disappear."
Then he gave them a curious glance.
"So? What’s your decision?"
Darius and Kugo exchanged another look—this choice weighed heavily on both of them.
Daraka saw the hesitation and understood it was natural for them to struggle.
But for him, there was nothing left to doubt. He had prepared everything ticulously—hesitation should no longer exist.
So he took the initiative.
"I didn’t expect the two of you to still be wavering after all this," he said with a note of disappointnt. "But I understand your anxiety."
He exhaled softly and turned around.
"In that case, follow ."
He began walking forward.
Darius and Kugo looked at each other once more—Daraka’s words rekindled their resolve.
Ultimately, all of this was for their own sake.
So they followed him.
Daraka walked with composed, unshakeable confidence; each step of his echoed across the stone floor like the toll of an inevitable judgnt.
In contrast, Kugo and Darius moved with lingering fear and indecision.
Mont later... Daraka stopped when they reached what looked like the end of the cavern—a massive slab of rock, appearing to be a dead end with nowhere else to go.
With a smooth gesture and a murmur of incantation, Daraka thrust his hand outward, and the seemingly solid wall dissolved like mist swept away by a strong wind.
Beyond it lay an enormous, far more expansive area.
The stone wall had rely been an illusion masking what truly existed beyond.
Darius and Kugo’s eyes widened in disbelief.
Their bodies trembled; they wanted to react, but Daraka calmly gestured for them to relax—his deanor subtly assuring them that this was neither a threat nor a mistake.
What lay beyond was an assembly of countless beings—thousands, or perhaps hundreds of thousands—gathered across the vast expanse.
Their forms varied greatly, yet many retained a humanoid silhouette.
So wielded weapons; others appeared fused with their armants. Many bore elongated claws, massive fangs, and eyes filled with chilling intensity.
Every single creature fixed its gaze sharply upon the three humans—yet none made a move.
It was as if they had already been expecting them.
Daraka continued walking through the crowd.
Darius and Kugo followed fearfully, lowering their heads as cold shivers ran down their spines.
Darius nearly wet himself from terror but forced his body to hold firm.
Kugo was slightly calr—he had fought beasts and djinn before in human dinsion—but none of them had ever radiated an aura as suffocating as this.
Eventually they reached a towering humanoid creature with dirty blue skin, seated on a throne sculpted from the cavern’s stone.
It was not luxurious, but its design radiated undeniable dominance—a silent announcent that this being ruled everything in this chamber.
The throne was carved with strange, forbidden symbols, as though each groove had been etched using the screams of sacrificed beings.
Beside the blue creature stood another humanoid—its skin pitch-black except for a white, furred back; its mouth small but protruding; four circular eyes and no nose at all.
Foteyo.
"Lord Gurar. Lord Foteyo. We have arrived," Daraka said respectfully, bowing his head.
Darius and Kugo didn’t know what else to do, but seeing Daraka bow, they hurriedly followed suit.
Whatever status they held in the human dinsion ant nothing here—they understood that much.
The blue creature, Gurar, appeared to smile and spoke to Foteyo in a language twisted and utterly incomprehensible—
a mixture of guttural roars and the crackling of bones, reverberating through the cavern and causing small tremors along the stone walls.
Foteyo then relayed Gurar’s words, acting like an interpreter.
A conversation unfolded among them.
Darius and Kugo could not understand any of it, but the expressions of fear and doubt on their faces gradually transford—first into surprise, then into confidence, and finally into conviction.
Their gestures shifted into firm nods of agreent.
Daraka, acting as diator, observed closely, occasionally shifting his gaze toward Gurar and Foteyo.
The two monstrous beings smiled—smiles whose anings neither Darius nor Kugo understood.
But they didn’t concern themselves with that; their minds were too fixated on the belief that they had finally found a path to victory.
And thus, that mysterious exchange between beings of entirely different dinsions concluded—
an exchange that birthed a malicious plan, a sche that would inevitably set its sights on one target:
Al.
---
anwhile, back at the Virellano residence, the very Al who was being discussed in an entirely different dinsion was already standing at the car door.
The interior of the vehicle was surprisingly spacious, designed with a vis-à-vis seating layout at the center.
David was already seated inside, alone. Clarista and Fani were sitting together on the opposite seat.
anwhile, one more spot remained empty beside David—yet instead of being used by a passenger, David had casually placed his backpack on it.
Al had been instructed to sit in the front, near the driver.
Fani witnessed that arrangent and could only stare, completely taken aback.
Their seating formation... made her uncomfortable.
She, an outsider, ended up seated comfortably in the back, while Al—the young master of the family—was placed in front as though he were so kind of co-driver or assistant.
She was about to switch seats imdiately.
But Clarista lightly held her hand, gently shaking her head in a subtle gesture of refusal.
Fani had no choice but to relent.
And so, they departed.
---
The car cruised steadily toward the exam location, the atmosphere inside shifting in a delicate oscillation between awkward silence and soft calm, depending entirely on who happened to speak.
Clarista, seated in the middle of the back row, eventually broke the quiet with a light question.
"So, what do you think, Fani? What are David’s chances today?"
Fani glanced at her briefly before answering honestly.
"He’s a great kid. To be honest... I feel like I didn’t even need to tutor him. Top three in the nation shouldn’t be a problem for him."
She offered a small smile.
"You probably think the sa, don’t you, Clarista?"
Clarista replied with a tone dripping with pride.
"Of course. My little brother really is the best."
Her gaze, filled with almost exaggerated fondness, was directed straight at David.
David gave a faint smirk—he could practically feel the wind lifting his sails.
His eyes subtly shifted toward Fani, hoping to slip in a touch of flirtation, maybe win her attention for even a fraction of a second.
But Fani remained cold and professional. Her focus stayed straight ahead—if anything, she seed more interested in looking at the seat Al was occupying.
A look that only made David increasingly uneasy.
He felt ignored, dismissed—and yet, for so reason, even now, he still couldn’t bring himself to acknowledge defeat, especially not to Al.
An idea struck him.
A small one, but enough to poke at Al from another angle.
"In that case... what about Al?" he asked casually. "You’ve tutored him too, right, Sis Fani? You should be able to judge him."
He leaned slightly forward.
"In your opinion, what are his chances for this exam? Do you think he can reach the top ranks, or at least scrape into the middle tier?"
Fani jolted slightly.
Being asked so suddenly, of course she had to answer—but because the question was about Al, her composure slipped for a mont.
"Ah... um..." she murmured.
And inside her mind, a brief flashback surfaced.
All those days where she had pretended to tutor Al. Even though it was all just an act, she still made an effort to evaluate just how strong Al’s academic ability was.
She knew Al was strong, and knew he was knowledgeable—but academics were different.
Academic fields demanded rigidity, structure, systematic reasoning, definitive breakdowns of theory.
A person like Al, who clearly disliked rigid systems, would normally not be strong in such areas.
And yet, reality once again shattered her assumptions.
The so-called ’tutor’ in Al’s case... ended up reversing direction.
She beca the one who was tutored.
Al taught theories, strategies, even corrected the question systems she brought.
On several occasions, Al even used her as a test subject for the new question models he personally drafted.
Fani genuinely felt she did not possess a single area in which she surpassed Al.
Even serving Al by joining night shifts to help supervise the building felt like sothing she could be proud of—sothing aningful.
Returning to the present scene—
"Ha... haha..." Fani let out a nervous chuckle.
"I’m not sure. I really don’t know... But I think... there’s no such thing as a good ranking that can asure him."
Her tone was ambiguous.
But David and Clarista interpreted it differently.
To them, the line ’there’s no such thing as a good ranking’ only ant one thing:
’Al wouldn’t be getting a good ranking at all.’
Both of them laughed.
"Of course," Clarista chid. "There’s no way he could get a good score."
David laughed with satisfaction.
As expected. A shrimp-brain will always stay a shrimp-brain.
He shot Fani a sharp glance.
And after this, you should understand.
Soone smart like you fits only with soone smart like . But for so strange reason, you still choose to waste your ti with him, he grumbled internally.
Fani didn’t bother responding to either of them; she simply nodded faintly as if to say, ’Do as you please’, and returned her gaze to the front.
Al, seated in the front, heard their entire conversation—and could only shake his head.
They’re unbelievably childish, he thought.
And the car continued moving toward their destination.
---
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