My F-Rank Sagea is Secretly an EX-Rank Calamity

Chapter 6: A Familiar Face

Asher lay completely unconscious on the cold grass of the courtyard.

The colossal Ignifax Dragon coiled its massive, scaled body tightly around him, creating an impenetrable fortress of muscle and ice-flame to protect the boy.

​Remi sprinted out of the residential doors, stopping dead in her tracks as she beheld the legendary creature.

​The dragon sensed her presence immediately, its piercing brown eyes locking onto her.

Yet, it made no move to attack. Remi stepped forward, completely mesmerized by its glassy, gold-shimmering scales and razor-sharp golden claws.

​"Will he be alright?" Remi whispered, her voice trembling.

​The ancient dragon let out a low, gentle rumble that vibrated through the ground.

With a massive heave of its wings, it leaped into the midnight sky, vanishing into the luminous light of the full moon.

​Remi stared up at the empty sky, goosebumps covering her arms. ’A full moon... a legendary Ignifax... what is going on?’

>>>>><<<<<

​Three hours later, the spiritual fog finally cleared from Asher’s mind.

He slowly opened his eyes, blinking up at the ceiling of the medical bay to find Remi hovering directly over him.

​He jolted upright in a panic. "Whoa! What are you doing?!"

​Remi instantly leaped back, her cheeks flushing crimson as she nervously tucked a strand of black hair behind her ear.

"Sorry! You wouldn’t wake up, and I was terrified, so I was prepared to stay here all night watching you."

​’All night... staring at me?’ Asher thought, his chest tightening as his face grew hot.

​He ran a hand through his messy hair, letting out a rough sigh. "My mind is a complete blank. What happened after the griffin showed up?"

​Remi took a deep breath, shivering slightly as she recounted the entire sequence—the fall, the paralysis, and the sudden manifestation of the mythical dragon.

>>>>><<<<<

​At dawn, the Umbrax faction was deployed into the foggy perimeter of the Nevermore Forest.

The students were divided into groups of three, and each team was handed a delicate silver crystal.

​"If this crystal shatters, your entire unit fails the examination instantly," High Lord Malovik announced from the briefing stage.

"Your sole objective is to navigate the outer rim and return with a viable Griffin’s egg."

​Asher was officially paired with Remi and Marnie. Looking at his team, he couldn’t help but feel cursed.

​"If you allow fear to dictate your movements, consider yourselves already dead," Malovik added coldly.

"Any acts of sabotage, violence, or theft between teams will result in immediate expulsion. Advance!"

​The test had officially begun.

​"Looks like we’re a package deal, ginger head," Remi smiled, adjusting her tactical gear while Marnie checked her spell reserves.

​Asher flinched, turning away quickly to hide his blush. "Don’t get any weird ideas, Remi. Keep your sweet talk to yourself."

​He kept his head low, constantly monitoring his spiritual interface.

He had noticed a week ago that any student who officially possessed a Sagea had their partner’s data displayed on the upper right quadrant of their public profile.

If his interface ever glitched in public, Kaito’s existence would be exposed to the entire school—a disaster that would cement his disgrace for eternity.

​After thirty minutes of trekking through the dense, oppressive fog, they hadn’t found a single trace of an entity.

"This is completely pointless!" Marnie complained, throwing her hands up.

"The entire forest is completely deserted!"

​

Suddenly, Malovik’s enchanted voice boomed across the sky: "Groups 1 and 2 have successfully cleared the examination."

​"Are you kidding me?! Already?!" Remi blurted out.

​Asher tossed their silver crystal into Marnie’s hands. "Guard that with your life," he ordered before leaping onto a thick mossy branch, rapidly climbing to the top of a towering oak tree to get a vantage point.

​Remi burst out into roaring laughter from the forest floor. "Asher, griffins don’t nest in standard oak trees! Get down from there!"

​Realizing she was right, Asher slid back down to the dirt just as the sky broadcasted that four more teams had passed. They were running out of time.

​"Illusion!" Marnie suddenly chanted, weaving her hands through the air.

A massive burst of golden mana erupted from her palms, materializing a flawless, hyper-realistic replica of a Pyropex Griffin right in front of them.

​Asher and Remi stood completely dumbfounded.

​"You could manifest high-tier illusions this entire time?!" Remi asked, her jaw dropping.

​Marnie let out a nervous, awkward chuckle. "Sorry... it’s a specialized family spell. If we follow the artificial entity’s natural tracking instincts, it should lead us directly to a real nesting ground."

​They sprinted after the illusionary griffin as it glided deeper into the dense, shadowed thickets of the forest.

​As the trees grew closer together, a strange, heavy static filled the air. "Marnie... are you completely certain this is safe?" Asher asked, his instincts screaming.

​Marnie flinched, a cold bead of sweat rolling down her cheek. "Well... to be completely honest, this is my first time actually casting this spell in the field..."

​Remi and Asher instantly panicked.

​"Your first time?! We’re literally doomed! Where the hell are we?!" Remi yelled.

​Suddenly, a profound, eerie silence fell over the woods.

​"Um... Marnie," Asher whispered, his voice trembling. "Where did your griffin go?"

​They looked up.

The replica had completely dissolved into thin mist.

The spell had failed, and they were now entirely lost in the deepest sector of the forbidden zone.

Remi could clearly hear the frantic pounding of her own heart, while Marnie began to visibly shake.

​HISS.

"Don’t move," Asher commanded, his voice dropping to a harsh whisper.

​The three of them pressed their backs together as a violent rustling echoed from the surrounding bushes.

Terrified, Marnie let out a piercing, high-pitched scream.

​"Shut up!" Asher lunged forward, slamming his hand over her mouth, but the damage was already done.

The loud scream had successfully alerted the Darklings—the vengeful, malevolent spirits of deceased explorers who had perished within the forest trenches.

​"Run!" Asher roared.

​They sprinted through the fog, but the terrain seemed to shift around them, forcing them into a continuous, terrifying loop.

Within seconds, hundreds of shadow-like apparitions erupted from the earth, completely encircling their position.

​"Get back! Stonewall!"

Asher roared, thrusting his palms toward the dirt.

​The earth violently ruptured, a massive, jagged barrier of solid rock tearing upward to form an improvised dome that shielded them from the plunging spirits.

​"Asher... how on earth did you manifest elemental earth magic without practice?"

Remi whispered in absolute awe.

​

"Now is really not the time, Remi!" Asher strained, his fingers twitching violently as he poured raw mana into the cracking stone shield to keep the Darklings out.

"Marnie! The second this barrier shatters, I need you to manifest duplicate illusions of us to throw them off!"

​Marnie shook her head frantically, tears streaming down her face. "I can’t! I told you, my control is completely unstable! If I fail again, the spirits will tear our souls apart!"

​The cracks along the stone dome grew wider, emitting a sickening grinding sound.

​"Please, Marnie!" Asher gasped, his mana rapidly depleting. "I can’t hold this line by myself!"

​Unknown to them, their desperate struggle was being projected directly onto the massive aetherscope back at the staging grounds, where the cleared groups were watching in horror.

​"How the hell did they stumble into a Darkling’s nest?"

​"Wait... that’s Rowan’s younger brother!" a student pointed out, causing the crowd to fall into a hushed murmur.

​An elite guard turned to High Lord Malovik, his hand hovering over his dispatch portal.

"My lord, we need to deploy a rescue unit immediately. At this rate, those freshmen will be completely wiped out."

​But Malovik merely let out a low, amused chuckle, a sharp smile crossing his face.

"Deploy a rescue? Look closer, captain. Those kids are doing just fine. Let the boy do his job."

​"In Three! Two! One!" Asher counted down as the stone dome exploded into a thousand fragments.

​"Illusion!" Marnie shrieked, tapping into her deepest reserves.

A magnificent, shimmering duplicate of their trio materialized, sprinting in the opposite direction.

​The horde of Darklings was successfully disoriented, swarming the phantom targets.

Seizing the window, Asher grabbed Remi and Marnie’s wrists, sprinting down a narrow ravine until they hit a massive, sheer cliffside—a dead end.

​A single, exceptionally dense Darkling had seen through the ruse, gliding silently down the ravine to block their only exit.

Asher’s breath hitched, his entire body freezing as the entity drew closer.

​Suddenly, the slick, malevolent shadow-skin of the spirit began to dissolve, revealing the glowing, serene soul of an elderly man.

​"Oh my God..." Remi whispered, stepping back.

​It was Flynn—Asher’s grandfather.

​A heavy knot formed in Asher’s throat, his knees trembling as the ghost offered a warm, loving smile.

Without a word, the spirit gently placed a pristine, glowing Pyropex Griffin’s egg into Asher’s hands before slowly fading away into spiritual particles.

​"Grandfather?" Asher choked out, reaching into the empty air.

"Wait... don’t go! Not yet!"

​Marnie stared at the egg, her expression tight with intense suspicion.

"Asher, be careful. This is the Nevermore Forest. This entire thing could be a high-tier mental trap manifested by the woods."

​Hoping to break the suffocating tension, Remi nudged Asher’s side with a bright smile.

"Hey, look on the bright side! Our crystal is perfectly intact, and we officially have the egg! Let’s get out of here."

​Marnie crossed her arms, glaring at Asher as they began walking back.

"I’m serious, Asher. If that entity really was your grandfather, it means we didn’t earn this pass. It’s highly unorthodox."

​"Just shut your mouth!" Asher snapped, his temper finally boiling over.

"If you want to venture back into the trenches and find another egg by yourself, be my guest!"