CHAPTER 331: STAY CALM

A few minutes later, Dani’s eyes fluttered open.

He blinked, disoriented, as the world swayed around him. His body ached—every muscle, every joint—and a dull ringing pulsed in his head. He pushed himself up onto shaking arms, confusion clouding his thoughts.

He looked around. The forest was unrecognizable—trees charred down to stumps, ash swirling in the faint breeze. The ground was cracked and blackened, like the earth itself had been burned alive. Smoke rose lazily in the distance, carrying the acrid stench of tinder and a strange metallic tang that still lingered in his nostrils.

He stared at the scorched soil beneath his fingers, trying to anchor himself in the moment. But something tugged at the edges of his mind—an elusive sense that he was missing something important.

’I feel like... I’m forgetting something,’ he thought, frowning. ’Well whatever... probably just a dumb déjà.’

He let it go and reached into his pocket. His fingers closed around a small, circular device that glowed with a dim blue light. The holo-screen flickered briefly as he held it.

He sighed, clicking his tongue in annoyance.

He didn’t even know why he was annoyed, but he didn’t push the matter.

"Adolf should have completed his mission by now," Dani muttered to himself, flexing aching fingers. A slow, satisfied smirk curved his lips. "All that’s left is to call the AMO and declare an emergency."

He turned his head and saw the boy lying on the ground beside him. Brown hair matted with sweat and dirt, body battered with cuts and bruises that oozed dark lines of dried blood. The boy shifted slightly, groaning in pain.

Dani clicked his tongue, shaking his head in false pity.

’What a poor kid...’ he thought coldly. ’Got himself into this mess by doing something stupid, no doubt.’

He paused, surveying the complete devastation around him. ’Still... I didn’t expect Adolf to go this far... destroying the entire area... that’s too much...’

He shook his head and shrugged, then pressed a button on the circular device. The blue glow brightened and a holographic panel sprang up, displaying a stylized logo of the Adventurer Mages Organization.

Dani’s finger hovered over the "Emergency Broadcast" icon. He inhaled deeply.’ Time to play the hero.’

He finally clicked over it, and the device flashed red.

"Emergency!" he cried out, voice cracking.

*

A few more minutes passed...

More footsteps crunched through the burnt forest, and the thick silence was broken by the arrival of several more figures cloaked in thick black coats bearing the logo of the Adventurer Mages Organization.

Their eyes scanned the remains of the battlefield, expressions tight with urgency.

One of them—a tall man with purple-threaded hair and a scar crossing his left brow—hurried forward and dropped to his knees beside the motionless figure of Harry.

His fingers hovered near Harry’s neck for a beat before nodding.

"He’s alive," the adventurer muttered, almost in disbelief. "But barely. His pulse is thin, and mana levels are fluctuating like hell."

Another officer rushed to his side, and together, they gently lifted Harry onto a floating stretcher platform.

The silver-haired officer uncorked a healing potion from his belt—thick, green liquid swirling inside—and tilted Harry’s head back.

"Come on, kid," he murmured. "You can’t die here."

He poured the potion down Harry’s throat.

For a moment, nothing happened.

Then, the potion took hold.

A low hum pulsed from Harry’s chest.

Faint veins of green light spread across his body like glowing roots, rapidly threading through skin.

Cuts closed with startling speed. Burns faded. The black-and-blue bruises receded. His pale complexion regained color as if life had been painted back into him stroke by stroke.

The officers leaned closer.

But Harry didn’t stir.

His body was whole again, but his eyes remained shut.

"Tch... still out cold," the officer muttered, standing slowly. "Whatever happened here... it wasn’t ordinary."

Not far away, another stretcher glided over the ash-ridden ground, carrying another unconscious student—a beautiful girl with long black hair.

"She’s unconscious too," the officer pulling her said grimly. "This is the strongest student in the tournament. For her to be knocked out like this..."

He trailed off, glancing at the ruined, smoky surroundings. "The enemies must’ve been... monsters."

The others didn’t argue.

All around them, the devastation painted the truth in black and cinder. This wasn’t a spar. This wasn’t a simple disruption.

It was just destruction.

Still, the two students lived.

For that, the officers allowed themselves a flicker of relief.

"Thank the gods," someone muttered. "The two with the most potential... if we’d lost them here, things would have been terrible."

Another nodded. "We need to get them stabilized and secure."

As the stretchers hovered to a safer zone near the trees’ edge, another officer approached Dani Okvar, who still knelt where he had been, pale-faced, his knuckles tight around the device in his palm.

His face wore the perfect mask of controlled worry, eyes darting between the stretchers, lips trembling slightly.

The man with threaded purple studied him for a moment before moving closer.

"Hey. You are sure you didn’t see the guys who did this... not even one...?"

Dani looked up sharply.

"Yes," he said, voice raw with sadness. "I... I got here late. When I arrived, the attackers had already vanished. I tried to reach headquarters, but there was some weird interference—" he held up his communicator, its blue glow flickering erratically, "—and I had to wait for the signal to stabilize."

The officer’s gaze narrowed.

Dani’s performance was flawless. His expression, the tremble in his voice, the subtle edge of desperation, everything pointed to that of an adventurer who truly felt bad about what happened.

But it was a lie.

Unbeknownst to the other adventurer, he was actually the reason the dark guild were able to infiltrate in the first place.

And now, he was playing the part of the concerned hero to a tee.

The officer didn’t press further, simply patting his back, before walking away.

Around them, more AMO agents moved swiftly, scanning the area for lingering threats, setting up warding barriers, and sending information back to the AMO.

Thrumm!

A high pitched sound suddenly echoed from the drones floating around, catching the attention of all who heard it.

[Attention all students and personnel within the training zone. This is a Broadcast from the Adventurer Mages Organization.]

[An enemy infiltration has been confirmed within the tournament grounds. Effective immediately, the event is suspended. Repeat: the tournament is hereby CANCELLED!]

[All students are to follow the adventurers, and safely leave the forest.]

The announcement echoed again, louder, sharper—so that none could mistake the urgency.

The forest stirred.

In distant clearings and shattered groves, students—scattered across the vast competition area—jerked upright.

Some blinked in disbelief. Others paled outright. The warning sunk in like a blade through cloth.

But it wasn’t over.

A second announcement followed just moments later, the voice shakier now—tinged with something darker.

[We regret to report that two students have been found deceased after this attack, and one missing!]

[The AMO plans to take full responsibility for this tragic incident, but still, we urge all students to remain calm and follow instructions.]

The panic among the students grew even more, the news of one of them dying too shocking to bear.