My Special Ability is Growing Muscles

Retreating back into higher ground, away from the suffocating spore basic, the caravan finally creaked to a halt, wagon wheels groaning as the instructors barked the order to stop.

A weary sigh swept across the line of students. Dust hung in the air, mixing with the metallic tang of dried blood.

This was when most of them finally paid attention to how they looked as they wiped the snort, tears, and dirt that smeared their faces.

Unlike the pristine group with clean and neatly ironed combat clothes that left Nexus Academy on a mission, the group was now battered and bruised by the trials of the Wild Zone.

They now looked like a group of wild men braving the wilderness. Gone was their clean hair and baby face naïve with excitement, all that was left was the grave look of boys who were turning into men, who had seen blood and slaughter.

Thankfully, this time, despite how harrowing the battle was, due to a few standout performances and due to the fact that it was not night, no student died.

That gave them a great sense of relief; it meant they could survive.

"Sit, drink, and heal". Captain Helios's voice was curt, his face as hard as the blade slung over his back.

With a practiced motion, he passed down a crate of glass vials, each filled with faintly glowing liquid. It was healing potions that were specifically supplied by Nexus Academy for this mission knowing the danger that was attached for the students.

In the end, all Nexus Academy wanted was to train their students and grow their combat experience, not send them to their deaths.

"One per head, make it last".

"Make sure you don't waste it, your life or death may depend on it".

"Yes captain!" They responded.

Then, they scrambled, some with shaking hands, others collapsing outright as they swallowed their portion. By now, most of the arrogance and conceit of the nobles was already eroded as all that was left was the will to survive.

And gone was the complacency. Even as they rested, the lectures of the past two weeks finally started revealing themselves as they stared alert to their surroundings, watching for any sign of danger.

As soon as they ingested them, the warmth of the potion flowed into broken ribs, bruised muscle, and strained lungs. It was not enough to erase exhaustion, but it was enough to hold bodies together.

Kairo sat with his back against a wagon wheel, the potion vial empty beside him. His chest rose and fell heavily as sweat rolled down his brow, smearing the dirt on his face across.

His shriveled frame trembled, the side effect of his ability clawing at him again as Mira plopped down beside him before handing over her canteen with a raised brow.

"You look like death's hungry cousin".

Kairo rolled his eyes. "That's getting old," then he chuckled faintly, his voice hoarse. "Thanks, really needed that". He gave her a sarcastic thumbs up.

"Don't mention it." She leaned back, smirking as she stared at the dark canopy above. "If you die of starvation before the mission even starts, I'll kill you myself".

Despite his hollow stomach, Kairo smirked. Somehow, Mira's barbed humor steadied him more than the potion did.

The instructors didn't let the silence last long though as Captain Helios's voice soon cut through like steel again.

"Don't think last night makes you warriors; that was just the edge of the Wild Zone. Surviving means staying sharp".

"The beasts deeper in don't forgive mistakes".

The warning settled heavily.

No one laughed, not even the nobles.

A few more minutes of rest later, the caravan rolled forward again. Wagons creaked, boots dragged, and the air itself seemed heavier the deeper they went into the mana-corrupted Wild Zone.

Gone was the complacent chatter of the first night.

Now, the students marched in grim silence. Their hands clenched weapons, their eyes constantly scanning the shadows.

As they trekked, skirmishes came in waves.

At first it was a pack of corrupted wolves lunging from the brush, then it was lesser insectoids that crawled across the road, but nothing like the pack ambush of the night before or even the Treant encounter, but it was enough to keep their nerves raw.

This time, the instructors hung at the back, letting groups of students rotate forward to deal with each beast.

"Prove you can keep the caravan safe," they ordered.

And so, the Freshers fought.

Mira cut down a charging wolf, wind mana sheathing her blade.

Draven's Titan Arm crumpled a mantis-like beast in one blow. Even Valek fought in silence, his blood blades flashing, with his obsidian serpent coiling around him with predatory menace.

Kairo fought too, though his shriveled body screamed for meat.

His strikes were short, brutal, and efficient, a survivor's blows. He pushed past the gnawing hunger and past the pain, his instincts carrying him when strength faltered.

And though sweat stung his eyes, he noticed something others didn't… the students were changing.

Complaints had dulled, and fear had hardened into something sharper. The Academy's rookies were slowly becoming soldiers.

By sundown, the corrupted haze began to thin. The oppressive red tint faded, replaced by a clearer sky where the moon's pale glow bled through.

And then they saw it… the Ruins of Blackthorn Keep.

It was now just a ruin.

Once, it must have been a fortress that pierced the heavens. Now it stood in decay, its walls cracked and crumbling, moss crawling up its stones. Banners hung in tatters, now just colorless shadows of forgotten empires.

The courtyard was a graveyard of broken statues and scorched earth, reeking faintly of mana scars.

Whispers spread among the students.

"It looks cursed".

"What happened here?"

"Why does it feel like it's watching us?"

No answer came, all that met them was silence, thick, pressing, as though the ruins themselves disapproved of their presence.

"Captains!" Helios barked. "Form the line, we camp here for the night. No one sets foot inside the Keep until ordered".

The students obeyed without question as they began setting fires and raising tents even with their hands that trembled with exhaustion.

They felt relief mingled with unease as the Wild Zone was finally behind them, but the Keep loomed like a predator, watching from the darkness.

Mira collapsed near the flames, muttering, "Finally. Gods, I'm sleeping through the end of the world".

Kairo didn't answer.

He sat at the edge of camp, eyes locked on the jagged silhouette of Blackthorn under the rising moon. His fists clenched.

The flames flickered, and the ruins loomed large and black as the night pressed in with a silent promise.