"Just a fleeting thought. We don't know any of our mentors' names, right? Or is it just me?" I asked timidly.

"That's just you. Most students already know who they are going to study under." Anik answered nonchalantly.

I guess I'll know their names once I start taking lessons.

There was a massive sacrificial fire in the middle of the gathering. Crackling flaming whips kept lashing out at the hanging roots of the Banyan Tree, but they didn't catch fire. Did it gain fire resistance from such rituals being conducted underneath it for thousands of years?

Various leaves, flowers, offerings, and utensils dotted the space around the fire. We sat in the same row and column formation, boys to the right and girls to the left, as denoted by the position of our dorms.

I heard hymns being chanted from the sages and the name of Agni Deva being repeated. Were they summoning the God himself?

The flames suddenly turned to a pillar of magma as a three-meter humanoid being emerged from it.

Forget about describing his features; it was hard to even look at his immediate surroundings. It reminded me of the way my eyes used to hurt while looking up at a sunny sky after pulling off an all-nighter.

"Don't worry, I'll protect the place. May my fire be your strength. And let it burn away all your enemies. I bless this Ashrama with my divine flames. Let none be able to cross it with the intention of harming the precious Guardians." Agni Deva's noble voice boomed across the Ashrama, akin to a warning for any hidden invaders daring to raid this place.

Still, by squinting my eyes, I tried to get a look at God's noble form. It's not every day we get to see a Divine Being like Him.

His whole body was on fire; red, undulating hair floated above him like the flames erupting out of a fiery, active volcano. His eyes shone with the vigor of a hundred suns.

I shut my eyes forcibly, fearing I might go blind. It was too much for me.

An orange-yellow, fiery divine wall around the Banyan tree rose from the ground in a 2-kilometer radius.

It made sure to put every facility within its boundaries.

Vertical eye-shaped violet cracks formed in the space all around us, along the perimeter of the flame barrier.

Seniors walked in through those portals with determined eyes, clad in their white battle robes sticking out of their metal armors and surrounded with the aura of multi-colored Kundalini. It makes sense since they have already awakened two or three Chakras already.

It was epic.

Damn, I can't wait to get one year older to make an entrance like that.

"We are short on time. Let's complete the ritual first!" The head sage with a knotted white beard announced. "Sanjeevani Amrita is an artificial elixir we have created using the Amrita as a base and the Sanjeevani Mantra as a catalyst. While pure Amrita is not compatible with mortals, the Devatas have gifted this formula in return for a vow to protect the upper Lokas from vicious Asuras. Be pure in your intentions and feel the blessings of the Gods. As soon as you're done with the ritual, make sure to return to the dorms and not interfere with your seniors. You are not ready yet, despite what you wish to believe."

Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

I felt a bit irritated at the blatant bias that was unfolding in front of me.

The seven chosen were somewhere in the crowd of seniors, farming exp, while we were supposed to sit back at our dormitories quietly.

I triggered the command that prompted my experience farmers to start making their move.

I also wasted no time and started kneading my kundalini, following my muscle memory that I had trained for hundreds, no, thousands of times in the last two days. I need just a hit for it to give me enough experience to level up.

As the ritual started, students got up and moved towards the fire.

They were given a three-leaved stalk dipped in ghee, which was to be offered to the fire.

Their fingers imitate the pose you do when creating a shadow deer.

Suddenly, the earth underneath trembled with a disastrous earthquake as if something was forcing its way out.

Huge four-meter to five-meter humanoid life forms appeared along the edges of the mountain peaks.

There were some ten to fifteen-meter giants among them, too.

They carried metallic rods glowing with a blue-black hue, and their skin glowed like the recently awakened students who didn't know how to cloak their energy but with an intensity multiplied by a hundred times.

The frightening pressure they released from all around us gave me the same feeling as sitting on that Shakti Rekha brimming with energy.

It was so suffocating that many of the students started gasping for breaths or vomiting.

"Continue. Don't get distracted." The sages shouted with a bold voice. "Your seniors will protect you; believe in them."

"How long do you think you can continue these practices? Ashwatthama???" A loud voice boomed somewhere from the north.

A huge 40-meter red-skinned guy rose above the peak, bringing out gasps from even the seniors.

To be honest, I was just giving a rough estimate.

If he looked that big from this far away, he might actually be much larger.

"You imprison us in that barren wasteland, leaving us to die, while you enjoy the riches of Swarga. And you rob these young children of their innocence by making them your prison guards. I will destroy everything you deceptive Gods stand for." The huge giant's voice kept booming, sending tremors within our ribcages.

His bass was turned up to the max.

"Enough of your deceptive words, Ahara. A glutton such as you is only meant for destruction. Don't even think about stepping into the sacred Lokas. Stay where you are meant to be. You who devoured your own kin to satisfy your hunger are by no means qualified to perceive the beauties of the upper Lokas. Begone, Demon!!" A voice appeared from inside the Banyan tree.

I snickered for a second, remembering the meme of the guy holding a crucifix.

But as a weird red binding filled with ancient Akshara appeared around the eyes of Ahara, I shivered.

To see a high-level curse attacking such a massive enemy out of nowhere disturbed me greatly.

If mere words contained so much power, how can I even defend myself against it?

The Danava fell from a huge height, being unable to perceive its surroundings as a result of going blind, lifting us up by a few centimeters into the air with a massive shockwave as soon as it made an impact.

The other Asuras, which is a collective term used for representing most of the Patala Loka's beings, started wall running down the mountains as if defying gravity itself.

I was surprised at the fact that most of us stayed calm under the circumstances.

The mountain slopes filled up with innumerable massive beings, hurtling towards the barrier at breakneck speed, leaving not a speck of snow or greenery on it. Wherever I looked were colorful humanoids, Nagas, mutated bulls, elephants, various other monstrous predators, and huge giants, all trampling everything on their way toward us.

The ground rumbled continuously, unable to withstand their thunderous steps. It was finally my time.

"Come out, my cute little farmers." I commanded.