The teleportation array ripped them through space with a sound like tearing silk.

Kael’s feet hit cobblestone. His gravity sense flared outward instinctively—mapping streets, structures, people. The disorientation lasted half a second. He’d done this enough times to adapt.

Thornwick City weather was raining and the group was always wet.

Narrow streets lined with aging brick buildings, gas lamps flickering despite the afternoon gloom, puddles reflecting a sky the color of old bruises. Civilians moved in tight clusters—heads down, steps quick, not stopping to talk or browse the market stalls that should have been bustling at this hour.

It seemed like a dead city to anyone just entering the city now.

"Thornwick," Byron Field announced, spreading his arms wide like he owned the place. "According to the information we were given by the academy, it originally had a population of over forty-three thousand before the incidents began. Current estimated population has been reduced to thirty-one thousand. Twelve thousand missing over the course of eight weeks. The guild here has been useless, so we’ll be doing their job for them."

Byron was tall, broad-shouldered, with the kind of sculpted jawline that suggested his family had paid for genetic optimization. He wore his Gold Tier designation like a crown, chin tilted up, eyes scanning the street with performative authority.

Zane Ashford—a wiry young man with nervous eyes and a sword on his hip—nodded along like Byron was delivering scripture.

Mira Chen pushed her glasses up her nose and studied a handheld display, already pulling up mission data.

"The guild hall is three blocks east," Mira said. "Should we—"

"I was getting to that," Byron snapped. "Follow me."

They followed.

The Thornwick City Adventurer’s Guild was a two-story building. The interior matched—faded glory, worn furniture, a handful of adventurers slumped at tables who looked up with the hollow eyes of people who’d stopped expecting good news.

The receptionist was a young woman with brown hair pulled into a messy bun and dark circles under her eyes that spoke to weeks of interrupted sleep. She looked up as the group approached, and her expression cycled through confusion, recognition, and something uncomfortably close to disappointment.

"You’re the academy team?" She glanced at their wristbands.

"That’s correct," Byron said, stepping forward and placing both hands on the counter with a loud thump. "I am Byron Field, group leader. Foundation Establishment Rank 6 peak. My team and I have been assigned to resolve your little disappearance problem."

The receptionist stared at him.

"Little," she repeated flatly.

Byron faltered. "I meant—"

"Twelve thousand people, Lord Field. Twelve thousand. We’ve had investigators from three different cities, two consulting beast scholars, and a tracker from the Ashford family." Her eyes flicked to Zane, who suddenly found the floor very interesting. "None of them solved it. So forgive me if I’m not thrilled to see a group of first-year students."

Sage smiled behind Byron’s back.

Kael watched the exchange with mild interest.

"The mission briefing," Mira interjected smoothly. "Please."

The receptionist handed them a thin folder. Mira opened it and began reading aloud.

"Thornwick City has experienced systematic disappearances over an eight-week period. Abductions occur exclusively at night. No bodies have been recovered. No blood evidence at any site. Entry and exit patterns suggest subterranean movement—sewers, old mining tunnels, collapsed cellars—but investigation teams have found nothing in the underground network. Current hypothesis: one or more intelligent beast-type creatures have established a lair beneath the city and are abducting civilians for unknown purposes. Likely feeding, though the absence of remains complicates this theory."

Kael tilted his head.

"You’re suspecting beasts," he said.

The receptionist blinked. "Yes?"

"For abducting twelve thousand people over eight weeks without leaving a single trace. No bodies. No blood. No evidence of any kind." He leaned against the counter, arms crossed. "And it never occurred to any of your investigators that humans might be involved?"

Silence.

The receptionist’s eyes widened.

"Humans," she said slowly, as if the word was foreign.

"Humans abduct humans all the time. Slavers. Cults. Black market organ harvesters. It’s an entire industry." Kael tapped his finger against his arm. "Beasts eat where they kill. They don’t clean up. They don’t hide bodies. They don’t organize systematic nightly raids across a city of forty thousand without a single witness catching so much as a claw mark. Your investigators found nothing because there’s nothing beast-related to find."

The receptionist opened her mouth. Closed it.

Idiots, Kael thought. Twelve thousand people and not a single person in this guild considered the most obvious explanation. Incredible.

Byron stepped forward violently, shoulder checking Kael aside.

"What my teammate means to say," Byron said loudly, face flushed, "is that we will of course investigate all possibilities. The Field family has extensive experience with beast subjugation, and I personally have—"

"Have you investigated human trafficking before?" Mira asked.

"I—that’s not—the mission clearly states—"

"The mission states the guild’s hypothesis. Hypotheses can be wrong." Mira adjusted her glasses. "He’s right. The evidence profile fits human actors significantly better than beast activity."

Byron’s jaw clenched. The receptionist looked between them with an expression caught somewhere between mortification and reluctant agreement.

Zane coughed. "Maybe we should... look at the sites?"

"Good idea," Sage said, her voice honey-sweet. "Leader."

The word dripped with mockery.

Byron turned red.

"The guild will provide full cooperation," the receptionist said quickly, recovering. "Maps, site access, witness transcripts—everything we have. Your mission has a one-week duration due to the complexity of the case. The timer starts tomorrow at dawn."

"One week," Byron repeated, grasping for control. "Fine. We’ll solve this in three days. Lead on to the sites."

He strode toward the door.

Nobody moved immediately.

Kael caught Sage’s eye. She raised one eyebrow. He shrugged.

Mira closed the folder and followed Byron at a measured pace. Zane scurried after her. Kael and Sage left last, passing the receptionist’s desk.

"Check your own people," Kael said quietly, not stopping. "Disappearances this clean require inside help."

The receptionist’s face went pale.

The door closed behind them.

The receptionist stood frozen for a long moment.

Then footsteps descended the stairs behind her—heavy, deliberate, accompanied by a pressure that made the air in the guild hall thicken.

Guild Master Aldric Penn descended into the main hall. Late Mana Heart Realm—the weight of his cultivation settled over the room like a wet blanket. He was a thick-necked man with a shaved head and eyes that had seen too much.

"You heard all of it?" the receptionist asked.

"Every word." Penn stopped at the bottom of the stairs, arms crossed. "Humans."

"We didn’t—"

"Neither did I." Penn’s voice was quiet. "Eight weeks. Twelve thousand people. And neither the guild master nor a single investigator under my command considered that the perpetrators might look like us."

The receptionist said nothing.

Penn stared at the door through which the students had disappeared.

"First-years," he murmured. "A first-year looked at our evidence and saw what we couldn’t."

"Sir—"

"Pull every resource we have. Food, information, equipment—whatever those kids need, we provide it. Since they seem more useful than the guild itself." Penn turned to face her. "If those students solve this case, it will be the most humiliating moment of my thirty-year career. And I will deserve every ounce of it."

The receptionist straightened. "Yes, sir."

"If they die because we failed to support them properly, it will be the worst moment of my career. And I will not survive that shame."

He turned and climbed back up the stairs.

The receptionist began pulling files.