No! I don't want to be a Super Necromancer!

Just then, the chamber door slid open behind them.

Principal Tian Long and two more professors stepped in. Then a third. Then five. The room grew more crowded as word spread.

And then General Chen entered.

Tall. Silent. Armor on even indoors.

Behind him came two hunched old men, the two old geezers General Maru and General Riki.

"Send in more drones." General Chen commanded after he was brought up to speed about the situation.

"I was just thinking of that." Professor Kong Hu nodded in agreement.

"You think you're close to the end?" he said into the mic. "Think again. This is what failure to sacrifice for the team feels like."

And then he pressed a few buttons to release a new batch of drones.

On screen, Damien Bloodbane stood tall at the edge of the barricade, expression unreadable.

He adjusted his stance as the drone wave came, and then blitzed into it, tearing through drones like a force of nature. The first years, battered and exhausted, held the line behind the barricade under Jiang Xiao Yu's command.

And for the first time in decades, the observation room was filled with instructors, generals, and old soldiers.

After several long minutes, Professor Bai Lian finally slumped into her seat, fanning herself with a half-burned mana report.

"I don't know whether to yell at them for not sacrificing or give them medals for acing the freaking punishment trial - forgive my language, General." she muttered. "One of them built a fortress. A fortress. Out of trash."

Professor Wu smiled widely. "Innovation born from desperation. Classic military brilliance—or a fire hazard. Either way, I approve."

Professor Li Yan smirked. "We told them to survive. They're halfway to founding their own damn kingdom."

General Chen still hadn't moved. Arms crossed. Eyes locked on Damien Bloodbane, who was currently disarming four drones mid-air with the bored efficiency of someone swatting flies.

Finally, he exhaled through his nose.

"They built a wall," he said. "He became the sword."

He tilted his head slightly as Damien Bloodbane redirected a stun baton into another drone's face without missing a step.

"He's not just surviving," General Chen added. "He's giving us a live demonstration of why he'll be giving orders in five years."

Professor Maru scratched his chin. "Five? You're being pessimistic."

Professor Riki snorted. "Someone get the boy a uniform and a battalion. Let's stop wasting time."

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

The simulation ended with a final blaring siren, and for a brief moment, there was peace.

Then—

PSSSHHH—the massive steel doors to the chamber hissed open with a groan.

Out stepped the twelve.

Slowly.

One by one.

Dragging themselves like survivors of an ancient war.

Ji Chen had a drone arm stuck to his shoulder and didn't seem to notice.

Zhao Rui's hair was literally smoking and he had one eye twitching like it had seen things no teenager should.

Jennifer Aquafrost was limping, clothes shredded, eyes dull, still gripping the handle of an ice dagger that had long since melted.

The Mu and Lin triplets were bruised, limping in uneven pairs, moving like synchronized zombies.

Fatty was missing a shoe, covered in motor oil and at least one tire mark.

Jiang Xiao Yu was stone-faced, cloak torn and dripping with blood—not all of it hers.

And at the front, Damien Bloodbane…

Was covered head to toe in enemy oil, dried blood, and faintly glowing mana scars.

The hallway outside was filled with the rest of the first years, who had been laughing, chatting, gossiping, and placing bets on who'd cry first.

When the twelve emerged…

All noise stopped.

Jaws dropped.

A single mana soda can hissed open in the silence, someone having forgotten they were holding it.

Several first years took a cautious step back.

One whispered, "Is that blood?"

Another muttered, "Did they just come back from war?"

A third looked at Fatty and immediately turned pale. "Why does he smell like bacon and trauma?"

Fatty looked at them with haunted eyes, swaying slightly like a man who hadn't slept in a century.

"Don't go in there," he whispered, voice dry and distant. "They know. The drones… they learn."

The first years froze.

One poor kid dropped to his knees. "They know?! What do they know? Oh my god, this is horrifying!"

Fatty took a staggering step forward, staring into the middle distance like he was still in the warzone.

"They adapt," he muttered. "You kick one… the next one ducks."

A girl squeaked and immediately covered her boots. "WHY WOULD THEY DODGE?!"

Fatty's gaze twitched toward her. "I tried to hide behind a broken drone. It moved. It wasn't broken. It was waiting."

A boy gasped. "THEY PRETEND TO DIE?!"

Another kid clutched his heart. "That's illegal! That should be illegal!"

Fatty kept going, voice trembling.

"I saw one sacrifice itself… just to pin me down… so the others could take turns."

"Take turns doing what?!" someone cried.

Fatty stared blankly. "They… They…"

And then Fatty started to pretend cry.

And the first years started to scream.

Full-blown screams.

One kid threw off his uniform jacket and shouted, "I'm done! I'm done! I'll clean the toilets! I'll mop the sky! Just don't put me in there!"

A pair of twins were hugging each other and reciting the school handbook like a protective spell.

"I don't want to die! I still haven't summoned my first elemental beast!"

Another kid, shaking uncontrollably, whispered, "I just wanted to learn magic. Not get PTSD from Roombas with knives."

Meanwhile, Fatty stared past them all, whispering one last thing as the doors groaned open again:

"They know your name... before you tell them."

And the line of first years exploded in panic.

"Can we still transfer to the Culinary Division?! I want to transfer to the Culinary Division!!"

Then...

CLACK CLACK

Professor Kong Hu strode in, clipboard in hand, expression as unreadable as ever.

"Next batch."

No one moved.

Not a soul.

He glanced up. "I said... next batch."

Still silence.

Professor Kong Hu clicked his tongue. "Hesitation in the face of orders. Noted. Extra laps tomorrow."

Panic rippled through the group like a mana shockwave.

A group of professors started to physically drag the first years into the chamber.

Another was halfway out the window before being yanked back by a dorm supervisor.

"Ahhh! I don't want to die! I don't want to die!" Sobbed one first year miserably.

"Let me go! Let me go! I am a Culinary Department Student!"

The doors clanged shut.

And the next batch's screams started before the simulation even began.

"WHAT IS THAT RED BUTTON? DON'T PRESS IT!" Came a hysterical scream from within.