The asphalt of the Blue York intersection cracked under the pressure of the erging beasts. A glowing dungeon gate hovered directly above the broken traffic lights, spilling monsters onto the concrete. Municipal officers had already locked down the entire periter.
They established steel barricades across the avenues and evacuated the surrounding comrcial blocks. The crisis sat firmly at a D-rank classification, which was a perfectly manageable situation for the responding academy team.
F-rank horned rabbits and D-rank gray wolves poured into the financial district. A small cara drone buzzed overhead to broadcast the live combat feed directly to the academy network.
Kira stepped forward and drove her steel halberd into the chest of a leaping wolf. Her long, dark blue hair whipped around her shoulders as she pivoted on her boots. She swept the bladed polearm in a wide arc, creating a physical barrier of moving tal to keep the advancing pack at bay.
"Keep the formation tight!" Marco yelled over the snarling beasts.
Marco ran a hand through his peachy pink hair and gripped a pair of steel shortswords. Utilizing his C-rank experience, he took the vanguard position and stepped right into the center of the monster pack. He ducked under a feral swipe and drove his blade into a wolf’s ribs.
Jax brought up the rear with a kite shield and an iron mace. His dark brown hair stuck to his sweaty forehead. A horned rabbit charged directly at his shins. Jax bashed his shield forward, knocking the creature onto the asphalt, and followed up with a downward strike of his mace to crush it completely.
Kira pulled her weapon back and thrust the tip toward another wolf trying to flank the vanguard.
"Watch your left side, Marco!" Kira called out, twisting her grip on the polearm.
Marco acknowledged the warning with a quick nod. He sidestepped a lunging beast and sank his right shortsword into the creature’s neck. He pulled the blade free and spun to cross his swords against a second attacker. His movents relied entirely on physical conditioning and rigorous martial training. He kicked the wolf away and slashed its chest.
Jax held the defensive line to protect their blind spots. He shoved advancing monsters backward into Marco’s striking range. The three second-year students operated with excellent coordination. The hovering cara drone docunted every successful physical takedown for their live audience.
"The numbers are thinning out," Jax observed, kicking a defeated goblin away from his boots. "The gate should close very soon."
Marco wiped sweat from his brow and readied his swords for the remaining stragglers. "Let us finish cleaning up the street."
Marco adjusted his grip on the twin shortswords. A gray wolf lunged directly at his chest. He sidestepped the attack and drove his left blade upward into the beast’s jaw. Kira swung her halberd in a wide arc to intercept a pair of leaping horned rabbits.
The steel blade cleaved through both creatures mid-air. Jax bashed his kite shield forward, knocking the final goblin onto the cracked asphalt. He brought his iron mace down and ended the monster completely.
The glowing dungeon gate above the traffic lights flickered and collapsed into a shower of harmless blue sparks.
Marco wiped the sweat from his forehead and sheathed his shortswords. The hovering owl drones zood in to capture the victorious team for their live broadcast. Municipal officers pulled the steel barricades aside to secure the inner periter.
A crowd of evacuated civilians gathered behind the yellow tape, breaking into a loud round of applause.
"Thank the heavens you kids were nearby!" an older woman called out from the front of the crowd, clutching a paper shopping bag to her chest. "That wolf nearly jumped right through the bakery window!"
Kira offered a polite wave to the woman and rested the halberd over her shoulder. "Just doing our job, ma’am. Please stay behind the line until the hazard crew clears the bodies away."
A police captain walked up to Marco and extended his hand. "Excellent work securing the financial district," the captain said, shaking Marco’s hand. "We would have definitely lost civilian lives if we had to wait for the official guild dispatch. Your response ti was incredible."
"We saw the D-rank ergency beacon pop up on our network feed," Marco replied, adjusting his collar to look presentable for the drone cara. "We were just three blocks away and decided to intercept."
Suddenly, an armored van screeched to a halt near the edge of the police line, interrupting the celebration. Four adult adventurers stepped out of the vehicle and pushed their way roughly through the cheering crowd.
The leader of the group glared at the dead monsters scattering the street. He kicked a broken traffic cone across the asphalt and threw a massive tantrum.
"Are you absolutely kidding ?" the guild leader yelled, pointing an accusing finger at the police captain. "We received the dispatch call ten minutes ago! You let a bunch of academy kids steal our clear points!"
Marco crossed his arms and looked at the angry man. "We simply responded to the closest ergency beacon. You took too long to arrive."
"You stole our guild contract!" the man shouted, stepping right into Marco’s personal space. "This intersection belongs to the Iron Fang guild territory. You brats are trespassing on our claims."
Kira rolled her eyes at the accusation. "The gate spawned right in the middle of a public street. Monsters do not care about your imaginary guild borders."
"You think you own the city just because you stream your fights!" the man sneered, clenching his fists.
Jax stepped forward and planted his kite shield directly between Marco and the yelling man. The police captain quickly intervened, gesturing for his officers to separate the arguing parties and escort the frustrated guild team away from the broadcast caras.
A tall woman wearing the Iron Fang guild insignia grabbed the yelling man by the shoulder and physically pulled him backward. She offered a polite bow to Marco and Kira while keeping a firm grip on her guildmaster’s arm.
"Please excuse his temper," the woman said, offering an apologetic smile to the academy students. "We lost a lot of clear points this week. The stress is completely frying his nerves. We really do appreciate you stepping in to keep the civilians safe."
The angry leader grumbled under his breath and wrenched his arm free. He turned around and stomped back to the armored van. The remaining guild mbers offered quick nods of gratitude before following him away from the barricades.
Marco relaxed his posture and let out a sigh. Kira waved the hovering owl drone away to give them so privacy.
A sudden electronic chi interrupted the conversation. Jax reached down to his utility belt as his communication device lit up. He glanced at the caller ID flashing across the small screen. The official academy crest glowed brightly on the interface.
’The administration rarely calls us directly during an active patrol,’ Jax thought, furrowing his brow at the glowing emblem.
Jax tapped the screen to accept the connection and turned to his teammates. "Hold on a minute, guys. The academy is calling on the encrypted channel. I need to step aside and take this."
He excused himself from the group and walked away from the cheering civilians. Jax found a secluded spot behind a parked police cruiser and pressed the communication device to his ear to speak with the instructors privately.
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