Returning to the training halls, I was met with nothing but silence and the crackling of fire.

  Destruction had been poured over this pce. Broken benches. Chunks torn from the ceiling. What had once been a great academy was now nothing more than a ruin.

  Hundreds—no, probably thousands—of years of accumuted knowledge and history of this virtual world were being erased in a matter of minutes.

  I grabbed my chest and bit down on my lower lip as I watched the fmes devour murals, tomes, and lecture halls alike. Lore that had been crafted with care, lost to a rampaging inferno.

  But I had a bigger goal.

  I had no intention of mourning now.

  The only pce my eyes were drawn to was the tower up north.

  I needed to reach it—and if that meant straying off the safe path and risking death, so be it. I had to see what the developers had created. Had to witness what brought this world so vividly to life.

  I was utterly captivated.

  "MAGIC MISSILE!"

  I shouted, and a deep-purple sphere tore forward, ripping through the wing of a gargoyle mid-flight. Stone shattered as the creature lost bance and smmed into the already-damaged marble wall below.

  But the other two didn't hesitate.

  A jagged bck magic circle snapped into existence around one gargoyle's mouth—its runes twisting and grinding against one another like broken teeth. Pitch-bck mist poured out in violent waves, thick and unnatural, dragging the air along with it.

  Where the curse passed, the marble hissed and rotted away, bubbling as if the floor itself were being digested alive.

  "Shit..."

  I dove forward just as the corrupted mist tore through the space where I had been standing. The heat and pressure grazed my back as I hit the ground hard, sliding across ash-stained marble.

  I rolled onto my stomach, wand clenched tight.

  But the second gargoyle was already casting.

  Crimson veins of magic crawled across its stone body, glowing through deep cracks as the spell forced itself outward. The air screamed—actually screamed—as a second curse took form, compressing into a spiraling mass of darkness in front of its open maw.

  Getting up would take too long.

  If that thing fired, I'd be dissolved—just like the once-pristine marble in front of me, now nothing but bubbling bck sludge.

  "Got your ass!"

  I shouted, pointing my wand upward. Out of the corner of my eye, I watched the final sliver of my cooldown tick down.

  Zero.

  "Magic Missile!"

  This time, the purple light didn't even bloom.

  The spell detonated on release—space folding inward for a split second—before snapping back into pce. Where the gargoyle's head had been was now a clean, smoking hole.

  The body drifted sideways, lifelessly smming into the other gargoyle as they came crashing to the ground.

  Bursting into chunks of rocks. Blending into the destruction of the hallway.

  Just like that, all three monsters were dead.

  But danger still lurked around every corner of this battlefield.

  With only one spell at my disposal, my chances of survival were grim.

  Still—

  What was the point of a game without risk?

  A grin crept onto my face as I tightened my grip on the wand and sprinted forward, deeper into broken hallways and ruined lecture chambers.

  Toward the north tower.

  Reaching the center of the academy, I stepped into a vast, breathtaking hall.

  At its heart stood a massive fountain—but where water should have flowed, roaring fmes burned instead, twisting upward in violent spirals. Heat rippled through the air, warping the space above it.

  The statue of a mage that once crowned the fountain y broken in two. One half still clung to its pedestal, barely and fragile, while the other had shattered on the marble floor below—reduced to unrecognizable fragments.

  High above, gargoyles circled beneath the ruined ceiling.

  Hundreds of them.

  At the very least.

  They wheeled through the open sky like vultures over a carcass, their massive stone wings creaking and grinding with every heavy fp. Dust and loose debris rained down each time they passed overhead.

  "God damn..."

  I whispered, staring up through the fractured roof.

  "Yeah... staying quiet is definitely the wisest choice right now."

  Carefully, I moved forward, weaving through fallen rubble and shattered pilrs. I stayed beneath the remaining intact sections of the ceiling, using the shadows and broken architecture to shield myself from the merciless eyes above.

  The rain didn't help.

  Water poured through every crack and opening, turning the smooth marble floor into a slick, treacherous ice rink. Every step had to be calcuted.

  One slip—and I was dead.

  Eventually, I reached the far end of the grand hall.

  A massive wooden gate stood before me, reinforced with iron bands and ancient runes.

  My exit.

  I knew what I had to do.

  But shouting now would give me away instantly—and those gargoyles above were clearly eager for the hunt.

  I inhaled slowly and steadied myself.

  "Door open!"

  I spoke clearly.

  The gate responded immediately.

  With a deafening creeeeeak, the massive doors began to part.

  At the same time, almost every gargoyle in the sky let out a harrowing shriek.

  The sound scraped against my spine.

  My heart dropped.

  I risked a gnce over my shoulder.

  And—

  At least fifty gargoyles were diving straight toward me, their stone bodies cutting through rain and air like a tidal wave of demons.

  "Come on—please—open faster!"

  I muttered, panic creeping into my voice as their screeches grew closer.

  One of them began to cast.

  This wasn't like the spells I had seen before.

  Lightning ripped down from the storm clouds above, striking the gargoyle again and again. Each bolt fed into a growing sphere of electricity forming between its jagged stone teeth.

  The air crackled violently, sparks leaping outward as the spell swelled louder and brighter.

  "Woah... they made spells interact with the environment?!"

  A grin fshed across my face—

  But then reality hit again.

  If that thing fired, I was dead.

  In almost perfect timing however, the gates were finally opened.

  I didn't hesitate. I had no time to.

  I bolted.

  Leaping over colpsed debris, sliding beneath fallen beams, twisting my body through narrow gaps as the gargoyles poured in after me.

  Their cws scraped against stone, wings smashing into walls as they forced their way through the ancient halls.

  "Haha—who would've thought that stupid parkour game would actually be useful someday?!"

  I huffed, vaulting over a fallen pilr that blocked my path.

  "Thank you, Shawn! I owe you my life!"

  I shouted upward as if he could hear me.

  Of course, no one answered.

  No one would hear it—

  Except the system.

  And the starving beasts chasing me through these ruins.

  The walls around me began to shudder as the gargoyles closed in.

  Curious, I dared a gnce over my shoulder—and instantly regretted it.

  They were forcing themselves through the corridor like a living avanche, crushing one another without hesitation.

  One of them, pinned against the wall by sheer pressure, cracked apart with a deafening crunch.

  Stone shards exploded past me.

  Where the gargoyle had been, only dust remained.

  "God damn it, you magic-hungry demons,"

  I yelled while sliding beneath a bench wedged awkwardly between the walls. "at least have some spirit for the group you flying pebbles!"

  As if offended, a stream of pitch-bck sludge bsted past my head, missing me by what felt like a single pixel, dissolving the wall beside me into bubbling sludge.

  "ay!" I squeaked. "That could've hurt!"

  I dove through a narrow opening in the floor, rolling hard as I tumbled into the next room.

  The gargoyles screeched behind me, cwing at the corridor entrance—but they couldn't follow.

  I scrambled to my feet and turned back just in time to see their stone faces snarl in frustration.

  "Too bad you wiffed it though hotshot!" I ughed, sticking my tongue out at them.

  The noise faded. While Silence occupied the surroundings now.

  I leaned against the wall, chest heaving as my gaze drifted to the corner of my vision.

  The yellow bar was hovering near empty–maybe five percent left.

  "Phew... that was close," I muttered. "Stamina management was really pushing its limits."

  I exhaled slowly.

  Even though this was a game, with no real exhaustion, no aching muscles—my legs still trembled faintly.

  Being chased at full sprint while death snapped at your heels had a way of leaving its mark... at least mentally.

  So I stood there for a moment.

  Breathing in.

  Breathing out.

  Letting the adrenaline drain away.

  Once my breathing steadied, I straightened up.

  As a giggle made its way out. Quickly that giggle turned into a ugh.

  "That was so good, I almost shit my pants dude" I exhaled "Great Guild Studios Really cooked with this Game!"

  I felt my cheeks turn hot as my face cramped up into a smile.

  "Alright," I sighed. "Time to move on."

  I turned around—

  And froze.

  Before me stretched a massive library, completely demolished.

  Shelves y shattered like fallen dominoes. Burnt pages drifted through the air like dying embers. Entire sections of the ceiling had colpsed, exposing the storm-dark sky above.

  Knowledge reduced to ruins.