It was the fifth day of the week. Wor-en had expected this.

  Of course they’d fail to fill their ranks. Too few wanted to join a team from the copper class, and fewer still were willing to stay. So he’d planned ahead—students would be shuffled around, assigned where numbers were thin.

  He stepped into the copper classroom, where chaos reigned as usual. Chatter bounced off the stone walls, half-hearted debates over pointless things. No one noticed his entrance. No one cared. That was fine. He preferred this than those stiff students whenever he was around.

  Wor-en took his seat, the desk as cold as the silence he carried with him. A rolled parchment waited there. He unrolled it with measured fingers.

  Two names stood out like ink splashed on clean linen: Leo Stark and Yuri.

  Gold class.

  He blinked. Then read the names again.

  A tank and a support. Both were well-known to be one of the highest ranks among the first year students.

  His eyes narrowed, scanning the room. He found Kana, sitting with the same casual ease she always carried—like rules bent around her without asking permission.

  “You’re certain these two gold class students gave you their approval?” he asked, voice low.

  “They came here themselves. Applied to join.” Kana answered, as if it were the most natural thing in the world.

  Wor-en sat back slightly, caught off guard. Gold class students, volunteering to join copper? That never happened. Even in the annual tournament. Pride alone should’ve kept them from even walking near this building.

  But then again... this trio wasn’t normal copper class.

  Professor Dufer had mentioned it before—how something felt off with their assessments. He’d submitted a request to reevaluate the class rankings entirely. Principal Light was still considering it but it might be delayed due to the new The North subject.

  “Alright,” he said, eyes moving back to the parchment. “Next week, from the first day to the fourth, we’ll begin morning field training. No one is to be late or—there will be a big penalty. I am dead serious.”

  A collective groan rippled across the classroom—even from Kana. Field training meant travel. It also meant they couldn’t afford to be late, now they would have less time to grind.

  This won’t be worth it, Kana thought. Unless there’s something we’re not being told.

  Wor-en heard the frustration. Saw it in their faces.

  And smiled.

  “This,” he said, eyes gleaming, “is what I want to see.”

  …….

  Leo stood outside the western gate of the capital, utterly alone.

  The wind carried a bite now, sharp and dry as it swept over the stone muddy road and into the open fields beyond. He adjusted the weight of the shield on his back, the steel of his armor already cold against his skin.

  Why here?

  Why alone?

  His father had told him to wait, and wear full armor along with his favorite horse. That was it. No reason given. Just a command.

  He obeyed, of course. He always did.

  But now, standing there while the chill crept into his joints, doubt whispered at the edges of his thoughts.

  Did I do something wrong?

  Is this a punishment?

  He closed his eyes. Replayed the week in his mind like a checklist. Training—completed. Reports—submitted. Every request, every task... he had done them all.

  So why this?

  The sound of hooves broke through his thoughts. Three riders approached along the worn path, their silhouettes taking form against the gray sky. Familiar.

  Kana rode at the front, her posture relaxed but alert. Boris followed, upright as ever. And Suri—of course—rode like she was part of the wind itself or not.

  Kana slowed her horse as they neared. “Did you wait long?”

  Leo blinked. “Kana? Boris? Suri?” He stepped forward. “What are you doing here? You’re not allowed to go outside the wall.”

  Kana gave a sigh that said of course no one told you anything, “Your father didn’t explain?”

  Leo shook his head. “He just said someone would pick me up.”

  Suri and Boris exchanged a look—amused. Suri chuckled. Boris grinned behind his scarf.

  “We’re the ones,” Kana said, motioning to the open space behind her. “The ones picking you up.”

  Leo looked between them, his confusion not yet clearing.

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  The trio from the copper class... here to collect me?

  Why would Father...

  A slow realization began to settle in his chest.

  He had just stepped into something far bigger than he'd expected. But he was still not sure.

  …

  Their horses had run for hours, hooves pounding against dirt and stone until even the biggest of them began to slow down. So they stopped near a quiet bend in the river, where clear water rolled lazily between rocks, reflecting the bright moon in the sky.

  The horses drank, snorting and shaking their manes. The four of them sat around a crackling campfire—small, but warm enough to push back the chillness of the night.

  Leo leaned forward, arms resting on his knees. “Can someone please tell me where we’re going?”

  “We’re going to raid a dungeon,” Kana said without looking up, casually feeding a stick into the fire.

  Leo stood. “Are you all insane?”

  Boris didn’t even flinch. “See?” he said, gesturing toward Leo with a smirk. “This is why we don’t want to tell you.”

  “We have your father's permission,” Kana added, her voice edged with frustration. She hadn’t expected Leo’s stubbornness to be this grating. His uprightness was admirable—but it was like dragging a carriage without a wheel. Frustrating.

  Leo opened his mouth, but Boris cut in—this time with unusual seriousness. “You want to know our secret? Why we’re stronger than we should be? It’s this.” He tapped the ground beside him. “This is it. Risk with our lives on the line. We go to places others avoid. We take steps others are too scared to take. We're heading to a dungeon no one has entered before.”

  There was a beat of silence.

  Then Kana chuckled. Suri joined her, shaking her head.

  “Don’t make it sound so dramatic,” Kana said. “It’s a low-level dungeon. You don’t even have to come in if you're scared.”

  Leo hesitated. Then sat back down, slowly. That stung his pride. Something flared up inside of him. He? Scared? If they did it, then he could do it as well—and he would be better than them. She probably hadn’t meant it as a challenge—at least, not entirely—but it landed like one anyway.

  He didn’t answer.

  Suri leaned closer to Kana, voice soft. “You’re really something, you know that?”

  Her eyes flicked toward Leo, then back to Kana.

  She leaned closer to Kana, “You know what you just said… right?”

  Kana only smiled, and threw another stick into the fire.

  …..

  The recent heist from the secret vault was still far from recovering.

  They weren’t even halfway through the investigation. No real progress, no suspects. Only whispers.

  So the organization shifted focus.

  If they couldn’t find the culprit yet, they’d compensate—through other means. The prices of raw materials had been raised—especially those used in illicit drug production. More people were getting caught for human trafficking—making them expensive at the same time.

  A temporary solution. Crude, but effective and helpful in a way from the empty vault.

  Now, there was a new plan. A bigger one. Something delicate.

  Balt had heard rumors. And now, standing in the basement with his team, he knew the rumors were true.

  Only the chosen were allowed inside. The others—support units and secondaries—waited in silence just beyond the doors. Inside, about a dozen of them stood, arranged in a loose circle. Hooded. Silent. Their faces were hidden by shadow from a dim candlelight.

  Balt’s team was here because they were good. Not the strongest, not the most brutal—but clean. Efficient. If a plan soured, they left no trace. And they never broke protocol. At least as far as he knew.

  A man approached from the edge of the room and handed a rolled parchment to each of them. Balt gave a short nod and accepted it.

  Then, a voice echoed—calm, low, and commanding.

  “Let’s begin.”

  It wasn’t a voice Balt recognized. Altered? Perhaps. But powerful in its presence. He was probably one of the top executives. If so, he must do everything to impress him.

  “There is an opportunity to recover a significant amount of coin,” the man said.

  A few quiet murmurs flickered through the circle.

  “But that opportunity depends entirely on execution. This isn’t guesswork. It will require precision. Discipline.”

  He gestured, “Open the parchment. Those are the targets.”

  Balt did as instructed. Inside was a list—names, detailed descriptions, even sketches. Some were underlined in red.

  “Do not make a mistake with those marked in red,” the man said firmly. “Those are—nevermind. Leave them. Untouched.”

  “The rest…” he gestured again, “are your potential targets. Your choices will depend on their movements and yours. You may take them all at once, or split them apart. In the end, only the result matters.”

  He paused.

  “You may recognize some of the names. Sons and daughters of noble families. Currently enrolled at the Academy.”

  That made a few heads lift.

  “They have a new program. After a few months, they’ll be sent outside city walls to hunt low-level monsters and they might even enter a low-level dungeon..”

  “And that… is your window.”

  “We’ll provide you with their schedules once finalized.”

  Another pause.

  “You are to capture and return the target students. Alive.”

  A breath of silence passed through the circle.

  “They’ll be returned to their families—in exchange for a very generous sum. If a single one dies, the consequences will be… unpleasant. We don’t want a grudge from a noble house. They have enough coin to kill some of you, if they decide to do so.”

  A subtle threat. A reminder. The organization didn’t tolerate failure. And the organization would choose the coin over them.

  “We’re calling it… Operation: Bleed.”

  Balt smiled as he studied the list.

  He’d done similar work before. Though… most of those targets didn’t come back.

  It looked like this time would be different.

  But then again—

  Accidents happen.

  Leo Stark—Gold Class

  Wayne Ariv—Silver Class

  Andel Kergastel—Copper class