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

Outside the tall cafeteria windows, the afternoon light had faded into an oppressive gray. Storm clouds hung low, but offered no rain. The air felt thick. Pressurized. Like a deep breath held by the planet itself.

The storm hadn't broken. But it was there.

And humanity was woefully unprepared.

Across the globe, the military academies began to shift. Curricula rewritten. Simulations hardened. Mentorship replaced with brutal trial by fire. They were no longer training students. They were forging weapons.

Pearl Institute's brutality wasn't madness. It was desperation.

A silent arms race against extinction.

At the moment it was relatively peaceful, but it was the quiet before the storm.

The beasts were waiting!

For the world to wear itself down. For its greatest warriors to burn themselves out in meaningless, territorial squabbles. For its leaders to weaken, to fracture.

And then they'd strike. Everywhere all at once.

Damien stared down at the report for a long moment, unmoving.

His fingers tightened around the paper before he folded it neatly and slid it into his jacket pocket.

Jiang Xiao Yu watched him carefully. "It's bad isn't it?"

"…Yeah."

"We don't have much time. The beasts will probably attack very soon." Jiang Xiao Yu said quietly.

"I know."

She stirred her soup once, then set her spoon down.

"The war with Europe has to end quickly. Either by diplomacy… or by a strike to their jugular. Humanity cannot afford an internal war with each other and a global war with the beasts."

Damien turned to look at her.

He didn't say anything.

But the deep seated confidence and cool determination radiating from him spoke louder than words.

Jiang Xiao Yu leaned forward slightly. "You're planning to go to the front, aren't you?"

Damien met her eyes. "That's the only place that matters."

"I figured," she said quietly.

She studied his face for a moment longer, then added, "You're not just thinking about fighting, are you? You're thinking about leading. Building something of your own."

"If I have to." His answer was simple, but his tone carried weight.

"Not for legacy," she said, more to herself than to him. "Not for pride. Just… to win."

Damien nodded. "Someone has to."

She tilted her head. "And if you fail?"

"I won't." The answer came without hesitation.

Jiang Xiao Yu gave a soft breath of something close to amusement. "Arrogant."

"Confident."

She looked away, faintly smiling. "Dangerous combination."

"You'll need dangerous people at the front," Damien said, picking up his chopsticks again. "The kind who don't break when the world does."

Jiang Xiao Yu didn't argue. She just watched him a moment longer.

And then, quietly, like a choice had been made, she returned the smile, barely, and picked up her spoon again.

They both returned to their food, but the mood between them had shifted.

It was no longer two students sharing a meal, but two soldiers quietly preparing for a war they could feel closing in like the jaws of a fearsome beast.

And in a sense, it was.

The following week passed like a blur of fire and steel.

The training shifted.

It was no longer designed just to exhaust the students, but to push them toward something sharper. Smarter. More cohesive.

If the earlier sessions were hammers, this phase was the forge.

Each day began at 4 a.m. and ended well past dusk.

The instructors stopped explaining the why behind the training. They didn't need to. By now, the news of the rapidly accelerating awakened beast threat had proliferated throughout the world.

The students understood. It wasn't about passing tests, but about preparation for war. .

Some drills were designed to simulate battlefield chaos: smoke-filled obstacle courses that shifted mid-run, teammates screaming in false pain while instructors barked orders to ignore them and press forward.

Others were mental. Hours spent trapped in mana-concealed illusions, reliving the worst memories of their lives until they passed, or broke down.

One exercise required teams of six to escort a mana core through a "beast-infested" forest trail, guarded by upperclassmen in enchanted suits designed to mimic Awakened Beast behavior.

The moment a scream rang out, the suits accelerated. Several students were caught within seconds. The survivors learned that hesitation was death, and that not all cries for help could be answered.

Perhaps the most haunting was the "blackout night," where the entire first-year dorm was plunged into magical darkness, cut off from mana and sound.

The students awoke to find glowing runes on their arms and an envelope beside their beds, each one different. Some were given names to protect. Others were given names to eliminate.

No one slept that night.

By the end of the week, half the students looked like they'd aged a year. The other half started to act like they'd aged a decade.

And through it all, Athena remained Athena.

Bright, daring, and utterly untouchable in combat simulations. Her mysterious spells danced with golden elegance and devastating force, and her personality remained as bold as ever.

And finally, the week passed, and it was time for Athena and the American Delegation to return to the USA.

Morning assembly.

The entire first year stood lined up in their training uniforms, dust still clinging to their boots from the sunrise drills.

The second, third and fourth years were gathered as well, murmuring with mild irritation, until the large floating crystal at the front of the courtyard pulsed with light and a rare, clear chime echoed across the campus.

It was a tone reserved for official broadcasts.

Professor Kong Hu stepped forward, flanked by several high-ranking staff, including the stern-faced Professor Bai Lian and the ever-calm Professor Orange.

"Attention all students," Kong Hu's voice rang out. "This is an official announcement from the Ministry of Education and the International Alliance Committee. As of this morning, the American delegation has completed their observation tour at Pearl Institute and will be returning to the United States."

A few students murmured in confusion, while others immediately glanced toward the familiar golden head in the crowd.

Athena stood with one hand on her hip, her training jacket slung lazily over one shoulder, chewing gum like she hadn't just become the center of attention.

Professor Kong Hu continued.

"Further, it is the request of the United States that one member of their delegation be properly introduced, for reasons of protocol and clarity of rank."

There was a pause.

And then Professor Bai Lian took over.

"Student Athena," she said, voice formal and carrying through the courtyard. "Step forward."