The blinding light of the portal faded, replaced instantly by a blast of scorching heat. Hajin shielded his eyes with his forearm, his boots sinking into soft, shifting sand.

A howling wind ripped through the area, whipping thick clouds of dust that stung his exposed skin. As his vision cleared, he realized the entire landscape was a vast, desolate desert stretching toward a red horizon.

"Vanguards, shields up!" the Captain barked, his voice cutting through the roar of the gale. "Form the defensive wedge immediately, and keep your eyes on the dunes."

The knights moved quickly, their shields locking together to block the stinging sand. The Captain turned back toward Hajin’s group, his expression cold as he looked down at the four of them.

"You four, stay at the very back of the formation," he ordered, gesturing toward the rear guard. "Do not try to be heroes, and do not block our path if we need to retreat."

A few of the younger knights near the rear smirked, whispering to each other while casting arrogant glances at Hajin. To them, a rookie without a proper guild history and his unarmored companions were nothing but baggage.

Juna clicked her tongue, her ears flattening against her hair while she glared at the whispering soldiers.

Loccy shifted her weight uncomfortably, her boots sinking further into the hot sand, but she kept her fists clenched. Vella simply let out a quiet, amused chuckle, her arms crossed as she watched the knights form up.

Hajin did not care about their disdain, his expression remaining completely flat. He ignored the whispers, his attention already shifting toward the surrounding sandstorms.

’Time to see what is hiding out there,’ he thought, focusing on the core deep within his chest.

He pushed a surge of his white divine mana up into his optic nerves, activating his Divine Eye.

The world instantly shifted. The bright orange dunes and the whipping sand washed out into a quiet, uniform gray. The wind became a flowing stream of pale lines, but his focus was drawn to the glowing signatures below the surface.

He scanned the dunes, his eyes tracking three distinct, heat-like mana signatures moving sluggishly beneath the sand. They were circling the formation, waiting for the perfect moment to strike.

He deactivated his Divine Eye, the gray world fading as colors returned to the desert. He stepped forward, calling out to the front of the line.

"Captain, under the sand—"

Before he could finish his sentence, Helen turned back with a sharp glare.

"Shut up, rookie," she snapped, her hand resting on her sword hilt. "We are trying to concentrate on the shifting sand, so keep your mouth closed."

Hajin shrugged, stepping back into his position at the rear. "Fine," he muttered, letting out a quiet breath. "Guess you have this."

He turned toward the girls, his voice dropping to a whisper. "Be on guard."

Juna narrowed her eyes, her claws sliding out from her fingertips in response. Loccy took a deep breath, crouching low as her ears twitched alertly. Vella watched the dunes, a faint smile playing on her lips.

Suddenly, the ground beneath the vanguard group began to shake.

"Here they come!" the Captain shouted, flaring his mana.

Three massive, worm-like creatures erupted from the sand, their circular mouths lined with rows of razor-sharp teeth.

"Helen, take the right!" he commanded, his voice carrying the authority of a seasoned leader. "I will take the left. The rest of you, hold the center one at all costs."

As he raised his massive blade, four brilliant crystal shards manifested in the air around his wrist, rotating in a slow, steady circle while humming with dense mana.

Nearby, Helen pulled her rapier from its sheath, her wrist immediately flaring with four identical glowing fragments as her posture shifted into a low, aggressive stance.

From the rear guard, Hajin watched the display with narrowed eyes while the knights around him backed away to form a defensive wall. His attention remained fixed on the Captain and Helen, his Divine Eye tracking the dense mana pathways flowing through their bodies.

’They are holding back,’ he realized, tracking the distinct four-Shard signatures.

The Captain and Vice Captain were clearly suppressing their true power, conserving their strength for the rest of the Gate, but his Divine Eye had already revealed the truth beneath the surface.

The Captain’s actual capacity was closer to six Shards, the dense, layered mana pathways in his core far exceeding what a four-Shard fighter could hold. And Helen was even higher, her coiled, aggressive flow suggesting she was sitting at seven Shards at her peak.

’The Vice Captain is stronger than the Captain?’ he thought, his brow furrowing slightly. ’That’s unusual, normally the leader would be the strongest one in the squad.’

They were both masking their real levels, letting the knights believe they were working with less than they actually had.

The ground erupted as the Captain moved, pushing off the dune with explosive force to kick up a massive wave of sand. A trail of silver mana followed his leap while he held his claymore high above his shoulder.

The left worm lunged toward the frontline, its gaping mouth snapping closed on empty air just before the Captain met it mid-descent.

He brought his broadsword down in a heavy, sweeping arc, striking the monster’s thick hide with immense force.

A loud thud boomed across the desert as the impact shattered the worm’s outer scales, sending a spray of black blood into the wind. The sheer force of the blow drove the writhing body hard into the sand dunes, leaving a deep crater in the earth.

Simultaneously, the right worm lunged toward Helen, its massive body coiling before shooting forward like a spring with its gaping mouth wide enough to swallow a horse.

Helen did not flinch, waiting until the creature was inches from her face before her body blurred in a fraction of a second. She vanished entirely, leaving only a faint trace of wind where she had stood.

The worm slammed into the empty sand, its heavy head crashing down with a dull, echoing thud. 𝚏𝗿𝗲𝐞𝐰𝚎𝕓𝐧𝚘𝘃𝗲𝐥.𝐜𝚘𝕞

A split second later, Helen appeared high in the air above the creature, her fluid movements completely unaffected by the howling desert wind. She spun mid-air, channeling her mana into her leg before driving her heel down onto the monster’s head.

The impact was deafening, releasing a shockwave of wind that blew the surrounding sand away in a wide circle. The worm shrieked as its body buckled under the immense force, driven straight back into the earth.

Hajin watched the display while tracking the residual mana trails she left behind, noting that her speed was far beyond what a normal knight could achieve.

’I see, speed must be her speciality,’ he thought, genuinely impressed by her flawless control.

The sand beneath his boots suddenly shifted.

"Watch out!" one of the knights yelled.

The ground exploded upward directly under Hajin, the third worm bursting through the dune with its massive mouth wide open, its razor teeth aimed straight at him. The knights around him scrambled backward, diving out of the way.