Ascension: Rune Evolution System

The ground beneath them was wide enough to hold all of them comfortably, but it was still a cliff, and beyond its edge was nothing but a terrifying drop into the vast forest below.

Behind them, the grassy terrain sloped upward toward a stretch of scattered rocks and unfamiliar trees, while the rest of the area was open enough that there was nowhere to hide from the abomination floating above.

”Everyone, calm down!” Jason suddenly shouted.

Frost looked over and saw him standing near the middle of the crowd, his face pale, his arrogance shaken but not entirely gone.

”We need to stay together! My father will send people to look for us. There’s no way something like this can happen without the authorities getting involved!”

Frost stared at him for a second and almost laughed.

The authorities?

In what world did this idiot think the police were going to show up and arrest a sky-shattering octopus demon from the heavens?

Still, Jason’s voice had an effect. A few panicked students instinctively turned toward him, clinging to the familiar confidence he usually projected.

It did not matter that his words made no sense. It did not matter that he was just as clueless as everyone else.

In moments of panic, people did not follow the most reasonable person in the room.

They followed the loudest one.

Jennifer stood a short distance away with Naomi beside her, her face pale but her eyes still sharp as she stared at the red notification in front of her that no one else but her could see.

Her gaze moved across the cliff, toward the slope behind them, then to the forest far below, then finally to the monstrous creature above.

It seemed she was trying very hard not to panic. That was more than he could say for most of them.

”We have to move,” Frost said.

His voice was not particularly loud, but a few people close to him heard it and turned in his direction.

Jason did too.

”What did you say?” he asked, his expression darkening almost out of reflex.

Frost ignored the hostility in his tone and pointed at the red panel still hovering before his eyes, even though he was probably the only one who could see it.

”It says safe zone protection is ending in three minutes. That means this place is currently protected, but it won’t be for much longer. If we stay here, we’ll probably die.”

The word die made several faces turn even paler.

Jason clenched his jaw.

”You don’t know that.”

”No,” Frost replied, looking up at the sky again. ”But I’m willing to bet the giant nightmare squid descending from the heavens isn’t here to give us a welcome speech.”

A few students followed his gaze, and the moment they did, their already fragile expressions nearly collapsed.

The massive onyx-black creature was still drifting above them, its hundreds of tentacles swaying through the clouds with dreadful leisure.

It had not attacked yet, but Frost could not shake the disconcerting feeling that it was aware of them. Watching them and waiting for something.

Another notification flashed.

[Safe Zone protection ending in two minutes and thirty seconds.]

That did it.

The fragile thread holding everyone together snapped.

Screams erupted across the cliff as several students bolted toward the slope without waiting for anyone else.

Others followed a breath later, not because they had a plan, but because running seemed better than standing still beneath that thing.

Whatever objects most of them had been holding were abandoned on the grass without a second thought.

Though one particularly foolish student still tried to unlock his phone with shaking hands, only to curse when he realised there was no signal.

Frost pushed himself to his feet, ignoring the painful itch still burning at the centre of his back.

His legs felt weak, his head still throbbed, and his ears still rang painfully, but none of that mattered.

Pain could wait.

Death probably would not.

He took one last look at the cliff, trying to find anything useful, any clue, any path, any sign that this trial had more to it than throwing a bunch of students into a fantasy world and feeding them to an eldritch horror within five minutes of arrival.

Then his gaze paused.

Near the far side of the cliff, half hidden between two jagged rocks, there was a narrow path winding downward along the mountain slope.

It was almost impossible to notice from where most of the students were gathered, especially with everyone panicking, but from Frost’s angle, he could just barely make out the uneven trail cutting through the grass and stone.

His eyes narrowed.

A path.

That had to lead to somewhere other than this high cliff that was like a guillotine hanging over their heads with that abomination hovering over them.

”Jennifer!” he shouted before he could think better of it. The blonde girl turned to him, surprise flashing across her face.

Frost pointed toward the far side of the cliff.

”There’s a path over there!”

Jennifer followed his finger, and after a brief moment, her eyes widened slightly.

Naomi saw it too.

”There! He’s right!” Naomi shouted. ”There’s a way down!”