In a dark, abandoned classroom, only the faint creak of the wind echoed through the broken shutters. A lone figure paced the room, her shadow cast against the cracked walls.
Ms. Viera bit her thumbnail, eyes sharp with anxiety.
> "What do I do about this…"
She stopped in her tracks, turning toward the window, heart pounding.
> "If the demon was telling the truth… then many students are trapped—and this place... this whole place feels like it's been pulled out of nowhere."
Her thoughts tangled with worry. No exits. No communication. No map. And worst of all—monsters.
> "I can't fight them. My gift is useless against mindless beasts. They don't even have gifts…"
She dragged her fingers through her hair in frustration, until a glow outside broke the silence. Her instincts kicked in—she ducked behind the wall beside the window.
A light moved slowly past the room. Faint. Pulsing. Unnatural.
> "What is that light… a student? Or a monster?"
She peeked outside, cautiously.
There, emerging from the hallway fog, was a creature—its emaciated body slithered with deliberate steps, and its lure-like appendage glowed like a lantern.
An Anglercrawler.
> "So it's a monster. Guess I've got nothing else to lose…"
Ms. Viera narrowed her eyes, clenched her fist, and focused. A shimmer pulsed through her irises, turning them a bright green.
> "Gift Analysis!"
A surge of data flooded her vision—lines, diagrams, patterns. But what she saw left her stunned.
> "…What? This monster has a gift?"
Her breath caught.
> "Can monsters obtain gifts now…? Or is someone giving them out?"
Shaking her head, she focused on the details. The Anglercrawler's gift was simple, yet strategic—it could control and concentrate its light beam from its esca to focus on a single point like a spotlight. Likely for vision. Or distraction.
> "So that's it… that light isn't just a lure. It's its only means of seeing."
Her cuffs shifted, clicking open. Twin blue beams flickered to life—laser blades extending from her wrists with a high-pitched hum.
> "If it can only see where it shines, then I just need to stay out of the light… and strike where it's blind."
Silently, she maneuvered around the creature's path, keeping low, tracing the edges of its glowing cone of sight. Then, with a precise leap, she lunged forward and sliced through the esca, severing its source of light.
The Anglercrawler screeched in pain, stumbling backward, its light extinguished.
But from the wound, a dark, slime-like appendage emerged—gathering the sliced esca into its gooey form.
> "Tch… Fighting goo-types is always a hassle."
Ms. Viera darted after it as the Anglercrawler fled, dragging its limping body down the hall. The half-absorbed light organ pulsed weakly.
> "Trying to reclaim what's lost? Sorry, not today."
She caught up with the creature, blades flashing. She struck its back again and again, each slash disabling its attempt to regenerate its sight.
"You're not even fighting back! What are you? A walking fear beacon?!"
With one final slice, the monster let out a chilling shriek before collapsing, oozing into the ground, motionless.
---
The fight over, Ms. Viera pressed onward, her feet light but her mind heavy.
By the time she reached the third floor, she found two students collapsed in a classroom. Their bodies were cold.
> "How merciless…"
"I need to get the others out—fast."
As she continued through the corridors, her gift continued collecting data.
> "So these monsters… their gifts aren't unique. They're shared. Multiple of the same species… same gift, same pattern. It's like they're clones."
She clenched her fists.
> "These aren't just beasts anymore. Someone… something is standardizing them."
A growl snapped her out of her thoughts. She looked up.
Another Bloodwolf. Its eyes empty, its body trembling with bloodlust.
> "Again? This is the third one…"
The creature sniffed the air, growling. Ms. Viera lowered her stance, not preparing to fight—but to run.
> "Blinded by dread. Driven only to kill. It's fast, but I know its route now."
She sprinted down the hallway, the Bloodwolf giving chase.
> "Come on… just a little further…"
They neared a turn. As the creature lunged, Ms. Viera dove toward the open window, flipping her body outward. The Bloodwolf skidded—and launched itself out the window without hesitation.
She grabbed the ledge, her boots scraping the wall.
"Serves you right, hehe!"
Dangling for a moment, she pulled herself up, breathing heavily.
> "Still on the third floor. I need to regroup… find my students. Fast."
---
She slipped into a nearby classroom and locked the door. Her heart still thumped, but her thoughts began circling again.
> "These monster gifts… are they natural evolutions? Or… is someone—that demon—gifting them?"
She looked at her reflection in the window: tired, scorched, eyes burning green.
> "If monsters start developing gifts… if they become as gifted as humans… our society won't last long. And the demons—"
Her voice faded into silence.
She didn't need to finish the thought.