Tap! Tap! Tap!
The sharp raps of chalk against the board echoed through the classroom, jolting Raylen awake. His head snapped up as the instructor, an older man with a bemused grin, locked eyes on him.
"Awake yet, Raylen?" The professor's voice held a note of sarcasm, cutting through the low hum of chatter in the room.
Raylen, a blond-haired athlete with sleep still clinging to his eyelids, blinked rapidly. "Y-Yes, sir!" he stammered, groggy, and confused.
"I'll do 20 pushups right now!" Without hesitation, Raylen dropped to the floor, already counting as he pumped up and down.
The professor sighed, fighting a smile. "Get up, you musclehead," he said, amusement clear in his voice. The class burst into laughter, the sound filling the room like a wave.
"Twenty more for me, Raylen!" someone shouted from the back, triggering another roar of laughter. Even the professor chuckled under his breath.
But there was one person who remained silent.
Nyx sat at the far back of the classroom, his gaze distant and unfocused. The chaos around him felt like a dull, irritating buzz.
'Boring… all of this is so pointless.' Nyx's thoughts drifted, untouched by the laughter or the light-hearted atmosphere. He was invisible here, always fading into the background. No one noticed him. No one even remembered his name.
'This life... it's just one disappointment after another.'
Rumble… Rumble…
The laughter came to an abrupt halt as the ground trembled beneath them. Panic flickered across the faces of the students.
"What the hell!?" someone shouted.
"Earthquake?!" another student cried out in alarm.
"Everyone, under your desks! Now!" the instructor commanded, his voice laced with urgency. The students scrambled, ducking beneath their desks as the tremors grew stronger.
Then, as suddenly as it started, the shaking stopped. Tentatively, students began to rise, looking around with wide, confused eyes.
"What the hell just happened?" a voice asked, bewildered.
Nyx's gaze shifted to the window beside him, and his heart stilled. In the distance, a colossal tower pierced the sky, its dark silhouette dominating the horizon.
{ WAVE RELEASED }
A cold, mechanical voice boomed from above, resonating across the planet.
{ AWAKENING TALENTS }
A translucent blue screen flickered into view in the sky, visible to everyone.
{ NEXT WAVE – 19 DAYS }
Nyx's lips curved into a slow, chilling smile. 'Finally… something interesting,' he thought, his pulse quickening.
Suddenly, a scream tore through the silence. Nyx turned his head just in time to see a green-skinned giant, hulking and grotesque, standing over a fallen student. Its massive club dripped with fresh blood.
The girl, clutching her leg, let out another weak scream before the creature brought the club down again—this time on her face. The room filled with shouts of terror as students scattered toward the exits in blind panic.
"Stay calm!" the professor yelled, though fear gripped his voice.
But there was no calming this. More of the creatures poured through the door, their twisted forms too large for the room, blocking any escape. Three of them swung their clubs with brutal efficiency, cutting down students before they even reached the hallway.
Nyx watched it all unfold with eerie detachment. His classmates were screaming, crying, dying—yet it all seemed surreal. His eyes gleamed with something darker, something sharper.
'This world… is no longer the one we knew,' he thought, a strange thrill coursing through him.
Just as the nearest creature raised its club to crush the instructor, a thick textbook flew across the room, slamming into the monster's back.