BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The sounds of the explosions were getting closer.

“Iris, how much farther until we’re there?” I asked.

“Mmm…five minutes?” She replied. “Fifi said that Novy’s scent stopped, so she’s guesstimating.”

“Alright.”

We continued to run in silence until we arrived at the location.

Five minutes passed.

CLASH! BOOM! GRRRIIIIISSSSS! As we burst onto the scene, chaos erupted in front of me. Novian, Elara, and the other students from the academy were locked in a desperate battle with a massive destruction-corrupted sloakard. Its long, muscular tail lashed out, smashing the ground as it let out a terrifying roar.

The battlefield was chaotic as Novian led the charge against the giant destruction-corrupted sloakard. His socrilium, a massive sword-and-shield hybrid, gleamed in the dim light, crackling with arcs of blue lightning. With every swing, the blade hummed, electricity sparking through the air as he struck the sloakard’s thick body. Each hit seemed to send a pulse of energy that sizzled against the monster’s tough hide, but the creature barely flinched.

Novian ducked beneath one of the Sloakard’s sweeping claws, bringing his sword up just in time to block a brutal tail swipe. The sword shimmered, absorbing the impact before redirecting a burst of lightning energy back into the beast.

"Come on!!!" he growled, his eyes blazing with determination.

He lunged forward, his sword spinning into another arc, cleaving into the sloakard’s side. Sparks flew as the blade met the creature’s resistance.

Beside him, Elara was giving him cover fire. Her socrilium, a massive minigun, sprayed the Sloakard with a relentless hail of bullets. The rounds exploded on impact, each one igniting in a burst of flames. The Sloakard snarled, rearing back, its skin burning where the bullets tore into it. As the gun overheated, Elara smoothly flipped it in her hands, the rotating barrels collapsing inward, transforming into a monstrous ax. With a war cry, she charged forward, swinging the flaming blade into the creature’s leg, leaving a trail of scorched fur and flesh in her wake.

"Olorona!!!" she shouted, the heat radiating from her socrilium shimmering in the air around her.

Bullets came from the trees. As I scanned the battlefield, I could hear the sharp crack of a sniper rifle echoing through the air, each shot punctuated by the furious roars of the sloakard. The sound came from somewhere high above, but no matter where I looked, I couldn’t spot her.

I continued to spectate the battle. Kaeygo was there, constantly shifting between forms. In one instant, he was a wolf-like beast, his claws raking across the sloakard’s side. In the next, he was a massive snake, coiling around one of its legs and slicing at its fur. His attacks distracted the creature long enough for Novian to get in close, forcing it to rear back and roar in fury. Kaeygo darted back, water trailing in his wake, his body morphing into a new shape with each strike.

“Pathetic. Is this what all this creature has to offer?” Kaeygo said.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

“See, Lucien? I told you Novy has it under control,” Iris said, giving me a sly smile.

I could only give her a nod. Maybe she was right. Maybe I’d been overthinking things. Even with my interference, the characters were strong enough to handle most problems themselves.

“You stay here, Lucien, since you're, like, weak. I’ll go help the others.” Iris yawned. “This should be, like, totally easy — just like the simulation.”

I nodded again, lost in thought. Iris snapped her fingers, and in an instant, Fifi transformed into sleek, metallic bunny ears that perched atop her head.

Maybe she’s right. I should just focus on leveling up. There’s no need for me to be concerned about these things.

And yet, my gut was telling me something else. I didn’t know what was wrong, but something felt off. For example, shouldn’t the academy be aware of this? A destruction-corrupted sloakard was here, and yet no one batted an eye. There were no alarms, no reinforcements arrived — nothing. It didn’t add up.

“You feel it too, don’t you, human?”

“What the—!” I yelled. “How? Where did you come from? Seriously, again?”

The same small black snake with a golden glow sat on my shoulder.

“I was sightseeing.”

“What?” I said, raising an eyebrow. “So, did you get flung off in a different direction or something?”

“...”

Pffft!

“H-how dare you laugh, insolent human!” It hissed. “The great king will not tolerate slander!”

“My bad, my bad,” I said, refocusing on the situation. “You had a feeling about this too?”

“Yes. However, I can sense it through the change in the air,” It replied, its golden eyes narrowing as it surveyed the surroundings. “Continue to watch the battle for a few minutes.”

As the sun dipped below the horizon, casting long shadows across the battlefield, Novian swung his socrilium, unleashing more arcs of lightning that crackled through the air. Each strike connected with the sloakard, but the creature appeared unfazed. Nearby, Iris activated her gadgets, sending drones whirring into the air for support. They launched bursts of energy at the sloakard, but even those attacks dissipated upon impact. As night fell, the air thickened with tension. The others aiding Novian faced the same dilemma, their futile attacks having little effect on the creature.

“Wait, what’s it doing?” I said.

The sloakard stood straight up. GRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIISSSSSSSS! It began to transform, its fur shifting into a deep, black and red hue. Its body grew more defined, revealing a fleshy-bony texture that seemed to pulsate. The elongated limbs twisted, the claws sharpening into vicious points.

Most unsettling were its eyes, which glowed like red, beads of crimson light piercing through the growing darkness. The sloakard's jagged mouth opened, revealing its serrated teeth, as it let out a low, rumbling growl that echoed through the night.

“This… this doesn’t make any sense,” I said, my heart beated. “A stage two evolved corrupted?”

One of the many things Beyond Phantasia is known for is its enemy scaling. The concept is simple: if characters and their socrilium can grow, why can’t the enemies? However, the enemies are often scaled much higher than the characters. A stage one corrupted was already challenging, but encountering stage two during the tutorial? That’s just ridiculous. It was equivalent to a human burning an ant with a magnifying glass, but we were the ants.

“Human, your fellow classmates might die at this rate,” The socrix stated.

“I’m aware,” I said.

I needed to think. I had fought multiple stage two corrupted before as Novian and the others, but that was later in the game. There had to be a way. I knew this game better than most people.

Wait. Maybe? No, it’s risky. No. I had to try; there’s no other way.

“Did you come up with a plan?” The socrix asked.

“Kind of.”

“Will it work?”

“...I don’t know,” I replied.