“Crap… this has to be at least twenty meters deep! How am I supposed to get out of here!?”

  The ravine stretched on endlessly. He couldn’t see its end—it might have gone on for several kilometers.

  Toma started walking straight ahead, trapped in the trench and still far from his goal.

  After about an hour of walking, he suddenly spotted three students running toward him.

  “Finally, people! I was starting to think I wouldn’t see a single soul! Hey, guys—where are you running? There’s nothing that way!”

  One of the boys shouted back.

  “Run, man! Get out of here!”

  Toma grabbed his arm, stopping them in their tracks.

  “What are you running from?”

  “There are demons camped just around the bend!” one of them blurted.

  “How many?” Toma asked quickly.

  “About thirty!” another boy replied.

  A grin spread across Toma’s face.

  “Perfect! Don’t worry, guys. I’ll take care of them.”

  “There’s no way you can beat that many!”

  “Don’t you know who I am?” Toma’s eyes flashed with confidence.

  “I’m Toma Sorien.”

  Shock hit them all at once.

  “What?! Toma Sorien—the one who took part in that mission where they defeated a giant, unknown demon?!”

  “Yeah, that’s him! The girls in our class are all in love with him! And you’ll really help us?”

  “Of course. But first, why don’t you introduce yourselves?”

  “Sure! I’m Eric, sixteen years old. We’re in the same year, just a different class.”

  “I’m Peter. Same year as you—nice to meet you.”

  “I’m Joe, same age as Peter and Eric, and in their class too.”

  “You guys fell into this ravine too?” Toma asked.

  “Yeah,” Peter said. “About an hour, maybe an hour and a half ago, three demons started chasing us. We ran, but suddenly there was a ravine ahead. We had to choose—fight the demons or jump. We went for the jump, but we didn’t make it far enough and slid down the edge into the ravine.”

  “Since then, we’ve just been walking down here,” Eric added, “but now we’ve found even more demons!”

  Toma stared at them in disbelief.

  “Seriously, guys? Is this all you’ve learned at the academy this year?”

  “Yeah… They only teach demon combat to second-years. We’re still just first-years,” Peter explained.

  “Oh my God… Carter’s right. You really could finish this academy way faster than the standard three years. I’ve fought a demon stronger than level three. Can you even imagine that?”

  “No way. At our level, that’s impossible,” Eric said.

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  “Well, I can talk big because I learned most of what I know out on missions. But I plan to take my exam next year so I can join a professional squad as soon as possible,” Toma replied.

  “That’s amazing!” Joe said, wide-eyed.

  Toma nodded, tightening his grip on his katana.

  “Alright, enough talking, guys. Watch closely, and I’ll show you how to take down demons!”

  With that, Toma and the three boys crept toward the bend and observed the demons. All of them had katanas in hand, waiting for the right moment.

  “When I give the signal, we charge! Don’t be afraid—just stay behind me and do exactly what I say!”

  “Got it!” Joe replied.

  “Okay… Three, two, one—Now!”

  They rushed forward.

  Toma was in the lead, so every demon’s gaze locked on him first.

  “I’ll go ahead—cut down the ones I knock back toward you!” he shouted.

  “Understood!”

  Toma sprinted forward, leapt toward an oncoming demon, and in midair slashed through several more.

  When he landed, he stomped one demon to the ground.

  “Joe, cut his throat!”

  “I’m on it!” Joe swung his blade, severing the demon’s head.

  Toma pressed on without stopping. He kicked one demon’s leg out from under it and stabbed through its chest. Another lunged, but he ducked and drove his blade into its back.

  Three more rushed him at once. He spun, knocking them to the ground with a sweeping kick, then smashed his fist into one demon’s face. Bone cracked, and it collapsed instantly.

  The others looked on in sheer amazement.

  “Whoa, something like this exists?”

  “That guy is a real demon-killing machine.”

  “Is he really our age? How can there be such a huge difference between us?!”

  “Don’t just stand there! These demons are unarmed—kill them!” Toma shouted.

  The boys felt a surge of adrenaline and finally joined the fight.

  “Watch out, their claws are sharp!” Toma warned, flipping through the air and cutting down one of the demons in mid-motion.

  The team grew braver, slashing and stabbing, even managing to defeat a few demons on their own.

  Toma, however, was faster than all of them combined, cutting down demon after demon.

  Until finally, the battlefield grew quiet.

  Not a single demon was left alive.

  The boys burst out in celebration.

  “Yes!”

  “We won!”

  “For the first time in our lives, we defeated demons!”

  Toma smirked.

  “Hope I was flashy enough.”

  Joe tilted his head.

  “What do you mean by that, Toma?”

  Toma pointed upward.

  “See that? Up there above us? There’s a drone broadcasting us live. It’s been flying above or around me the whole time.”

  “Really? We didn’t even notice,” Joe admitted.

  “Alright, now it’s time to get out of here!” Toma declared.

  He walked over to a demon corpse, cut off its arms, and set them aside.

  “Cut some off for yourselves too!”

  Peter recoiled.

  “Why? That’s disgusting!”

  “Don’t be squeamish. Just do what I told you.”

  “Understood, Toma!”

  They began stacking demon corpses like crude stairs, leaning them against the edge of the cliff.

  “This isn’t even half high enough!” Eric complained.

  “That’s why we need the demons’ arms,” Toma said.

  He picked up a severed arm, climbed to the top of the demon pile, and jammed the claws into the cliff’s edge. Step by step, he climbed higher, the claws digging in deep enough to hold his weight.

  Higher and higher he went until he finally reached the top and pulled himself up.

  “Yes, I did it! I got out! Now you guys come too!”

  The three boys followed his lead, using the same method, and eventually made it out of the ravine.

  “Thank you! Without you, we’d never have gotten out of here!” Joe said.

  “Yeah, it would never have occurred to us that we could escape using this method!” Eric added.

  “And without you, we wouldn’t have defeated a single demon! How can we repay you?” Peter asked.

  “Well, for a start, give me some water. Mine’s all gone,” Toma replied.

  “Of course!” Peter dug into his backpack, pulled out a bottle, and handed it to him.

  Toma drank generously, then handed it back.

  “Ah, it’s nice and cold!”

  “Hey! There was a liter in there—now there’s only half left!” Peter protested.

  “So what? That’s the least I deserve after saving your lives!” Toma shot back.

  “Yeah, Peter, don’t be selfish!” Joe said, rolling his eyes.

  Toma clapped his hands together.

  “Alright then. Come on, boys—let’s get moving!”

  “Okay!”

  “It’s not as hot now as it was in the morning,” Peter said.

  “Yeah, it’s actually pretty cool,” Joe agreed.

  “Look! There’s some big brown curtain in the distance!” Eric shouted.

  “Is it just me, or is it getting closer?” Peter asked nervously.

  Toma’s expression hardened.

  “You idiots, that’s a sandstorm! And it’s heading right for us!”

  “What do we do now?” Joe asked.

  “There’s no other choice—we have to go back into the ravine!” Toma barked.

  “Oh, come on! It was so hard to get out!” Peter groaned.

  “And would you prefer to be buried alive by sand?!” Toma snapped.

  “Come on, quickly, into the ravine—the sandstorm is getting closer!” Joe urged.

  All four of them started running with everything they had.

  The sandstorm closed the distance fast—eight, maybe ten meters away—before they finally reached the ravine.

  They slid down the slope in a rush, scrambling to the bottom.

  Once there, they dragged demon corpses over themselves as makeshift cover, shielding their bodies from the incoming storm.

  “Ugh, these demon carcasses stink so bad!” Eric gagged.

  “Stop whining! Cover yourself with them!” Toma ordered.