My Special Ability is Growing Muscles

From what started as a glorified hunting trip, where more than 50% of the students who went on the field mission had never been to the wild, and had never been exposed to mosquitoes, in the blink of an eye, it was already Day 7.

And like Captain Helios said, today was the last day of the mission before they would arrive at their destination, if nothing hindered them on the way.

And just like that, the mission was almost completed.

The students could not help the subtle excitement in the air as they woke up that morning to continue their journey.

Most of them started this mission with little or no combat experience, and pretty much 0 kills. Most of the nobles were trained, even more than the commoners, but training doesn't matter much when it was yet to be put to the test in real combat scenarios.

And this field mission provided them with just that, an abundance of real combat scenarios that forged them front blunt blades into sharp steel.

Now, they were more mature and experienced than ever before.

Now, they knew not to panic like incompetent fools in the face of danger, even when in the face of a beast that was vastly more powerful than them.

They knew to cooperate and pool their different powers and special abilities together to hit harder than their individual powers would suggest.

Most of them were still around the F rank, but together, they had toppled and killed D Rank beasts.

Which other 16 year olds could boast of that?

Some of them died along the way, and they were forced to deal with the pain of death and loss. It was not pleasant, but it forged them into what they were now, battle-hardened Awakened who were equipped to brave the wild.

Gone was the naïve curiosity of children that they brought with, and replacing it was the sharp gleam of hunters in their eyes that told of combat experience, murder, and death.

In a way, they were seasoned hunters already despite the fact that it's only been 7 days.

Afterall, in these 7 days, they fought against not just beasts that were ready to devour them, and some that did succeed to devour some of them, ranging from F all the way to D Rank, but they also fought against constructs.

They fought against human constructs, bestial constructs, and even Orcish constructs in the ruin of Blackthorn Keep as they were exposed to the brutal history of the Orcish race and their ancient civil wars.

Not just constructs, they also fought against Undead!

That was still one of the creepiest experiences that they've had, but they prevailed, survived, and came out of it alive and stronger than ever before.

In that battle, 2 of them ranked up, becoming E- Rank.

In normal situations, the other students wouldn't think much of it since it was not them who ranked up, but during the course of the mission, they already built so much camaraderie that they already learned to stop thinking in the singles, and start thinking in the multiples.

Kairo and Valek's rank ups, and Selene's subsequent evolution qualitatively increased the overall threat of the 5 platoons, and to the rest of them, it was a boon.

They were more than happy for it since it increased their survival chances.

The mission was harder than expected, not even the Monster Trio expected it to be this grueling. They finally understood the decision to send 5 instructors alongside them with C rank strength.

Afterall, without their presence, Adrain had no doubt that they would have been wiped out against some of the encounters they had in the wild.

Against those few C Rank encounters… he knew he stood no chance. Even with his dual God grade abilities, and even with the others like Kairo and Valek, including Selene helping him, he knew they would have all died without fail.

That was how dangerous the mission was.

Not to talk of the eerie encounters like against the Treants. Without the instructors anchoring them and helping them, Adrain was pretty sure that they would have been annihilated back in the wild zone.

The wild zone… that was an experience that he would never forget.

'I thought this mission would be boring, but man… what a journey it's been'. He thought as he looked into the distance.

Kairo had the same twinkle in his eye as the morning broke. Most of the encounters he had in this journey, he'd never even read of them in comics, that was how crazy and thrilling their first mission was.

Besides, Undead… not many Awakened and hunters could boast of having fought them and living to tell the tale in their resumes, but these 16 year old kids had done it.

Well, after all this, it was no longer right to call them children.

They were men now, battle-hardened men.

And so, the caravan moved with new energy on the seventh day.

After nearly a week of endless trudging, of sweat, blood, and sleepless nights, the end finally appeared on the horizon.

The wilderness ahead of them thinned, its twisted trees and foul mana stench receding. Hours later of the grueling trek, in the distance, the land finally opened into rolling plains bathed in dawnlight.

And there, standing tall and unyielding, was hope… Ironveil City, one of humanity's proud frontier bastions.

The sight of it sent relief surging through the students, it told them that their journey was finally coming to an end.

The subtle smile on Captain Helios's face also reinforced this belief.

Ironveil City was gigantic, one of the biggest and most populous human cities. Its walls were a marvel of both spellcraft and steel. Its Blackstone bricks were taller than mountainside cliffs, lined with silvered ward-runes that shimmered faintly in the sun.

Massive watchtowers jutted upward, each crowned with rotating mana cannons ready to obliterate threats from miles away.

Grizzled Awakened manned the watchtowers, always keeping watch. They saw them long before the students ever caught sight of the city.

The closer they came, the more the students' eyes widened.

"Holy…!" one boy whispered. "It's huge…!"

"Ironveil," Mira muttered under her breath, awe glinting in her eyes. "The last human city before Demon territory."

For some, relief crashed over them. For others, it was pride. Even battered and bruised, they straightened their backs, realizing they had made it.

They had endured wild beasts, corrupted plantoid monsters, constructs, and undead. And they were still here, stepping out of the wilderness alive.

The nobles who once sneered at hardship were now grinning, dirt-streaked but triumphant. The commoners, scarred but alive, clenched fists in silent victory. The distinction between noble and commoner was almost non-existent now.

Kairo exhaled, staring at the city walls as a strange calm settled in his chest.

'We did it… we actually did it'.

For the first time since the mission began, he let himself feel the faintest sliver of achievement.

They didn't march into the city itself. Instead, the caravan veered left along the walls, heading toward the Frontier Outpost of Blackgate, a sprawling fortress adjoining Ironveil.

That was their true destination.

Unlike the shining spires of the city, Blackgate was built for one purpose… war. It had no banners, no grandeur, just stone, steel, and rows upon rows of fortified bastions where soldiers drilled with mechanical precision.

Ballistae lined the parapets, and mana forges hummed from deep within.

Captain Helios' voice boomed as they neared the gates.

"Students of Nexus Academy! Steel your hearts, you have reached the edge of the human domain". He let a rare smile creep up his face. "Congratulations in advance, you have almost completed your first field mission".

"Beyond this fortress lies only Demon territory. Remember this sight… Ironveil and Blackgate are humanity's shield!"

The students roared back, voices shaking the ground. It was not arrogance this time, but something rawer, it was survival mixed with pride.

Kairo stood among them, sweat-soaked and ragged; he smiled. 'Leora… I'm still alive'.

The gates of the outpost opened, soldiers waving them in as they already recognized them from afar having been expecting them.

The students trudged forward, their exhaustion drowned out by the jubilant beat of achievement. The instructors allowed them that moment, and even cracked small grins themselves.

And then…

BOOM!

It came suddenly.

The earth shuddered violently as a thunderous explosion ripped through the ground near the outer wall. A second blast followed immediately after the first, tearing through a ballista tower.

Screams erupted as the horizon twisted, shadows peeling away to reveal monstrous figures.

And then out of nothingness they came…

…Cloaked in warped mana, hundreds of Demons appeared, their armor blackened and their weapons dripping with corrupt essence.

A preemptive strike!

"No…" Mira whispered, blood draining from her face.

No one saw this coming.

The instructors shouted, soldiers scrambled, but it was already too late. The first volley of corrupted spears slammed into the outpost's forward ranks, tearing men apart in an instant.

The students froze, hearts plummeting, until a single, hideous roar broke through the chaos, an inhuman bellow that shook the skies.

Kairo's fists trembled as his teeth clattered against each other. 'W-what? C'mon… not here… not now!'