The dimensional zone entrance rippled before them like a vertical pool of liquid mercury, but one could also see the spatial distortions at the entrance that made the air around it hum with power.

"Level 4 dimensional zone," Marcus announced, checking his holo-watch's readings one final time. "Estimated beast density: moderate to high. Primary threats: flying predators and territorial pack hunters."

Levi stood at the entrance with the four Silverpeak students, his hand resting on his saber's handle. Luna was secured in his pocket, unusually quiet as if she sensed the danger ahead.

The past day in Redwood Village had been… emotional. His mother had cried, his father had gripped his hand with surprising strength despite his wheelchair-bound state, and his twin sisters had bombarded him with questions about academy life. He'd given them most of the 150,000 credits he'd sent, keeping only a small amount for himself.

But now that was behind him. Now, he needed to focus on battling the Golden Wyvern!

"Everyone ready?" Marcus asked in a low tone as he grasped his spear.

Lyra nodded as she unsheathed her twin swords. From the reflection, one could see it had been sharpened to the extreme. "Ready as I'll ever be."

The Feng twins exchanged glances, then Kai spoke. "We've synchronized our elemental energy. We are good."

"Alright then, let's not waste too much time, the Golden Wyvernight be recovering by now." Levi said with a solemn face.

One by one, they stepped through the portal.

The sensation was like being squeezed through a tube too small for your body while simultaneously being stretched in all directions. It was a familiar feeling but very difficult to greased to.

"Thud!"

They landed one after the other as their legs touched the ground.

What Levi first saw was color. It was crimson red.

The sky here was a deep crimson, as if forever locked in sunset. The vegetation was also different, there wasn't a single hint of green leaves but leaves that contained purple and gold color. Levi inhaled deeply and he could taste a metallic substance in the air and then suddenly he felt his pores opened as his Astra technique circulated itself, absorbing Astra energy.

The Astra energy in the air here was almost five times denser than even that of the one in the academy! he air tasted metallic, heavy with Astra energy so dense it made his skin tingle.

"Weng~"

Suddenly, Levi's senses blazed as he felt slight danger from this little realm.

"The nest is approximately thirty kilometers northeast," Marcus said, consulting his holo-watch. "We should reach it in about four hours if we maintain good pace and avoid major encounters."

"What about the other beasts in this zone?" Ren asked, his eyes scanning their surroundings with sharp eyes.

"According to our intelligence, the Golden Wyvern has established dominance over this entire region. Most beasts avoid the area within fifty kilometers of its nest. We should be relatively safe from random encounters."

"Relatively," Lyra muttered. "That's reassuring."

Marcus glanced at the girl and lightly shook his head. If they weren't in a serious situation, he would have knocked her in the head.

They began moving, falling into a strange sort of formation with Marcus at point, the twins in the middle, Lyra guarding the rear, and Levi positioned slightly off to the side.

To be honest, this place was beautiful in its one way. They way red gold and crimson merge together to create an astonishing view was incredibly.

Strange flowers bloomed the moment they passed by, massive flying creatures that resembled pterodactyls circled in the crimson sky as they communicated with one another and dominated the skies.

After two hours of careful travel, they finally met with trouble.

It was a pack of Shadow Stalkers. Shri stalkers are wolf-like beasts with almost translucent bodies that flickered between visible and invisible. Level 6 to level 9 Genetic Soldier tier, and there were at least a dozen of them.

"Formation!" Marcus commanded.

The Silverpeak students moved with practiced efficiency. Marcus at the front with his spear. Lyra darting to the left with her swords. The twins spreading out to create a triangle formation that would allow them to support each other.

Levi's feet crackled thunder energy as his cells vibrated rapidly, generating thunder as he held on like a taut arrow ready to be pulled.

"Awoooo!"

The Shadow Stalkers attacked together almost instantaneously , three targeting Marcus, four going after Lyra, and the rest trying to flank through the twins.

"Whoosh! Whoosh! Whoosh!"

Ice spears materialized around Ren, launching toward the flanking wolves. Three struck them, as the ice spears stabbed into them. impaling beasts mid-leap and freezing them solid before they shattered on impact.

"Whooom!"

Kai's flames erupted in a wall that cut off the wolves' escape route, herding them toward Marcus's spear.

"Pierce! Pierce! Pierce!"

The golden spear flashed three times, each strike perfectly timed to catch a wolf mid-dodge. Bodies fell, dissolving into shadows that dissipated into the air.

Lyra was like a rotor, her twin blades creating a defensive barrier that nothing could penetrate. When one wolf tried to phase through her guard, she somehow anticipated it and drove both swords through its translucent form.

"Slash!"

The beast materialized just long enough to die, then faded to nothing.

Levi handled the three that tried to circle around the formation, using basic saber techniques and Thunder Step. He didn't need his trump cards for these—they were dangerous but manageable.

"Crackle!"

Lightning flashed as he appeared behind one wolf, his blade already moving.

"Slice!"

Clean decapitation. The head hit the ground before the body realized it was dead.

The entire fight lasted less than one minutes. When the last Shadow Stalker fell, the Silverpeak students regrouped no one's seriously injured—just some scratches and one shallow bite on Kai's arm that Ren immediately healed with ice energy.

"You guys have incredible coordination," Levi observed. "You've fought together for a long time."

"Since we were kids," Marcus confirmed. "Our families made sure we trained as a unit."

They continued onward, encountering two more beast packs that they dispatched with similar efficiency. Each fight reinforced Levi's assessment—these four were genuinely skilled, well-trained, and worked together seamlessly.

But they were still only Genetic Soldiers. Against a Fiend Warrior beast, even a weakened one, their teamwork might not be enough.

After four hours of travel, they finally reached their destination.

The Golden Wyvern's nest was located on a massive plateau that jutted from the mountainside like a natural throne. The approach was a narrow path barely two meters wide, with sheer drops on both sides that disappeared into clouds below.

"There," Marcus whispered, pointing.

On the plateau's far side, easily two hundred meters away, was the nest itself.

It was enormous—at least thirty meters in diameter, constructed from twisted metal and crystallized Astra energy that had been shaped into a bowl. And resting in that bowl, clearly visible even from this distance, were two small forms.

The cubs.

Each was roughly the size of a large dog, covered in golden scales that gleamed in the crimson light. They were playing, tumbling over each other in the adorable way young predators do, completely unaware of the hunters watching them.

"Where's the mother?" Lyra breathed.

As if answering her question, a massive shadow passed overhead.

"ROOOOOAAAAAR!"

The sound was like nothing Levi had ever heard—a mixture of a dragon's roar and an eagle's screech, amplified to eardrum-shattering levels. The very air vibrated from the force of it.

Levi's eyes snapped upward, and his blood ran cold.

The Golden Wyvern was circling above them, easily a hundred meters in the air. Its body was at least forty meters long, covered in scales that shimmered between gold and bronze. Its wings, when fully extended, had to span over sixty meters. Its head was draconic, with intelligent eyes that blazed like molten gold and jaws filled with teeth the size of swords.

Even from this distance, even supposedly weakened, the creature radiated power that made Levi's Danger Sense scream.

"Everyone, back!" Marcus hissed urgently. "It's patrolling. If we move now, it'll see us!"

They retreated to a rocky outcropping that provided cover, pressing themselves against the stone and trying to minimize their Astra signatures.

The Golden Wyvern circled three more times, its massive form casting shadows across the plateau. Then, seemingly satisfied that no threats were present, it descended toward its nest.

"Whooom!"

The impact of its landing shook the entire plateau. Dust and small rocks tumbled from the cliff faces. The creature's claws dug into the crystallized nest material as it folded its wings and lowered its head to nuzzle the cubs.

"It's… it's beautiful," Lyra whispered, genuine awe in her voice.

She was right. Despite the danger, despite the mission, Levi couldn't help but appreciate the majesty of the creature. This was a Golden Wyvern—one of the legendary beasts that could potentially evolve into true dragons. Seeing one in person was something most people never experienced.

"Beautiful or not, we need a plan," Marcus said quietly. "We have maybe one shot at this. If we screw it up, that thing will kill us all."

They huddled together, voices barely audible.

"The plan we discussed earlier," Marcus began. "The four of us engage the wyvern, keep it distracted and focused on us. Levi, you circle around to the opposite side of the plateau and prepare your strongest attack. When we create an opening, you strike with everything you have—aim for a vital spot, try to cripple or ideally kill it in one hit."

"If the attack succeeds and the wyvern goes down," Kai continued, "Ren and I grab the cubs and run. Marcus and Lyra cover our retreat."

"If the attack fails or only wounds it," Ren added grimly, "we all retreat immediately. No heroics, no second attempts. We get out alive and count ourselves lucky."

Levi studied the wyvern from their hiding spot, analyzing potential weak points. Its scales looked incredibly thick—natural armor that had probably deflected countless attacks over its lifetime. But there were vulnerable spots on any creature.

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