Chapter 193: 193 | You Weren’t Skilled, You Were Lucky

Silence fell across the room.

Belle, never one for silence, raised her hand.

"Yes, Blue Hair whose name I should know but don’t?"

"Belle Zhao." She rolled her eyes. "And it was different than the simulations. More... intense. The air felt wrong. Like it was too heavy in my lungs."

Dr. Cross nodded. "Dimensional pressure differential. Your body literally rejecting the environment." She looked around. "Anyone else? Mr. Glasses Who Looks Perpetually Constipated?"

Jordan scowled. "Jordan Kim. The entities seemed more intelligent than the simulation versions. They adapted to our tactics."

"Correct! Simulation AIs are based on observed behaviors, but they can’t replicate the true alien intelligence of fracture entities." She pointed at me suddenly. "How about you, Handsome New Kid I Definitely Don’t Remember Being So Fit?"

I felt heat rise to my face. "Jace Monroe. The Reaper we encountered seemed to analyze our abilities and target our weakest points. It felt almost human in its tactics."

Dr. Cross’s smile faltered slightly. "Reapers. Nasty business. Higher-functioning than most entities. Some researchers believe they retain memories from previous incursions."

She tapped her lectern again, and the screen changed to show a monstrous humanoid figure with too-long limbs and a split face. Several students gasped.

"This is a Tier III Reaper, captured on camera during a Tokyo gate incident last year. Only one hunter on the team survived, and that was because the Reaper let him go. We don’t know why."

The room grew quiet. Dr. Cross let the silence hang for a moment before clearing her throat.

"So! Anomalous gates. Let’s start with Void Gates – tears in reality that appear as Tier I or II on sensors but contain much higher threats inside. They’re characterized by their dark appearance, lacking the typical luminescence."

She continued her lecture, describing various gate anomalies – Flux Gates that changed properties during clearing operations, Echo Gates that looped hunters through the same environments repeatedly, and Nested Gates that contained smaller gates inside their fracture spaces.

I took notes diligently, recognizing that this information could literally save my life someday. Beside me, Belle doodled in her notebook while Jordan wrote down every word like it might be on an exam. Naomi’s notes were organized with color coding, and Misato simply stared ahead, likely recording everything mentally.

"Now, here’s the real kicker," Dr. Cross said, pausing for dramatic effect. "The FGRA claims they can accurately classify about 97% of gates. That remaining 3%? That’s where hunters disappear."

She walked to the edge of the stage. "Let’s do a little reality check. You’ve all been through the simulators. You’ve run the training scenarios. Some of you have now experienced an actual gate. So tell me honestly – was it easier or harder than you expected?"

Hands rose tentatively around the room.

Dr. Cross pointed to a muscular Amber student in the back. "Mr. Protein Shake?"

"Uh, it was pretty much what I expected. Hard, but doable with proper teamwork."

She nodded, then pointed to Maria, the Elite Ten member. "Ms. Santos?"

"More difficult. The mental pressure was something the simulations don’t replicate well. The feeling of being watched by something inhuman."

"Good observation." Dr. Cross pointed to a short Obsidian girl with glasses. "Ms. Overthinking Everything?"

"Tina Lee. And honestly? Our gate seemed easier than the simulations. The entities were stronger but less numerous."

Several students nodded in agreement.

An Amber boy near the front raised his hand without being called on. "Yeah, I thought it was going to be way worse. The simulations are designed to break us, but real gates are manageable if you know what you’re doing."

Dr. Cross stopped moving. The playful warmth that had filled the room a moment ago vanished like someone had flipped a switch.

"What did you just say?"

The boy went pale. "I... I just meant the Tier I gate our squad cleared last week wasn’t as bad as—"

"Not as bad." Each word came out flat and precise. Dr. Cross walked down the steps toward him, her heels hitting each stone with measured rhythm. Click. Click. Click. "Manageable." She stopped right in front of his desk. "Easy."

Nobody breathed.

"Your name." Not a question.

"D-Damien Porter."

She looked at him for three long seconds. Then she placed both palms flat on his desk and leaned forward.

"Well, Damien Porter, allow me to clarify something." She placed her palms flat on his desk, eyes locked on his face. "Gates are extinction-level events wearing the mask of routine missions. They’re dimensional fractures that permit entry to things that violate every rule our reality is built on. Since the first recorded appearance, they’ve claimed thirty thousand hunter lives. Conservative estimate."

She straightened. Her gaze didn’t leave his face.

"Last year, six Diamond-rank professionals entered what the sensors tagged as Tier IV. Combined field experience north of a hundred years. Equipment worth more than this building. Every contingency planned."

Silence filled every corner of the amphitheater.

"Three minutes after breach entry, the Gate collapsed. Recovery teams found nothing. Not bodies. Not gear. Not even the standard residue pattern you get from complete biological breakdown. They were erased."

Her gaze swept the lecture hall. "And you, a first-year student who cleared one single Tier I gate with your squad, think gates are easy?"

She walked back to the front of the room, her posture perfect, her movements precise like a predator.

"You’re alive right now because you got lucky. Not skilled. Lucky." She looked each student in the eye as she spoke. "That luck will run out. Probably sooner than you think."

She pressed a button on her lectern, and the screen behind her changed to show statistics. Death rates by year, by tier, by hunter rank. 𝐟𝕣𝕖𝐞𝐰𝕖𝚋𝐧𝗼𝚟𝐞𝕝.𝗰𝐨𝐦

Dr. Cross let the numbers speak for themselves. Her smile returned but the warmth was gone. What was left belonged to someone who counted corpses instead of victories.

"Still confident about your future, Mr. Porter?"

"N-no, ma’am."

"Smart." She turned away from him, addressing the entire class now. "The instant you convince yourself you’ve figured gates out is the same instant you write your own death certificate."

She tapped another key. The screen cycled to individual case studies. Names, photos, final operational reports.

"These hunters thought they understood the rules. They learned different."

The images changed. Each one showed someone young. Someone who probably sat in this exact lecture hall once. Someone who believed they’d be the exception.

"You want to survive?" Dr. Cross walked between the rows again, her voice carrying clearly. "Accept that you know nothing. Accept that every gate is a gamble. Accept that the only thing separating you from the recovery bag is luck and preparation, in that order."

She stopped at the front of the room.

"Your first gate was a success. Congratulations. You beat the tutorial level." Her expression went flat. "Now comes the part where the game stops holding your hand."