Since I'd been unanimously voted as team leader, the Crystal Core was entrusted to me.
A faint pulse of mana brushed against my wrist.
A silver bracelet materialized around it.
Nestled within its center was a crystal the size of my palm, glowing with a steady blue light.
"So it appears the moment you're appointed leader..."
I turned my wrist back and forth, watching the crystal shimmer.
"I wonder..."
Could I just shove this into my inventory?
In the game I can't, but what about here?.
I reached toward it instinctively.
[Nah uh.]
Why not?.
[I don't want a seven tier mage, messing with my stuff.]
Fair, thought that would've been hilariously broken.
Imagine losing because your opponent couldn't find the objective.
"Well."
I adjusted the bracelet.
"Btw aren't you going to get a weapon?."
Finn Pointed at a part of the plaza where several weapon are displayed.
"Nope, I already got mine."
"Where?."
I proudly showed of my metal bat, that I pull out of my inventory.
With a confused look on his face, finn asked
"Where did that come from.."
.....
"Let's begin!."
Lunaria's cheerful voice echoed across the academy grounds.
"Excellent!"
"It seems everyone has assembled into teams."
She glanced around.
"...More or less."
From somewhere across the plaza came the desperate cries of four students.
"WE NEED ONE MORE PERSON!"
"WE'LL TAKE ANYBODY!"
"I UH, ACTUALLY I DONT KNOW IM PANICKING!."
"I'LL BE EMOTIONAL SUPPORT!"
Nobody moved.
Lunaria watched them for a moment before offering a sympathetic smile.
"Unfortunate, well I'll see you in the next trial."
Four pillars of light descended.
Pop.
They vanished.
The remaining applicants collectively decided they had no further questions about the deadline.
Lunaria clapped once.
The enormous map floating above the academy burst into brilliant light.
Tiny points of light scattered across its surface like stars.
Each one represented a team.
"Every squad will now be transported to a random starting location."
She raised one finger.
"No."
"You may not choose."
A second finger.
"No."
"You may not request a reroll."
A third.
"And yes..."
She smiled innocently.
"I do enjoy reading the complaint letters afterward."
Several students who hadn't even been teleported yet already looked mentally defeated.
Lunaria giggled.
"Oh, yes."
"One final reminder."
She pointed toward the bracelet on my wrist.
"The Crystal Core is your life."
"Protect it."
"Destroy another team's Core..."
"...and they are eliminated."
She paused dramatically before her smile softened.
"And most importantly..."
"Have fun."
She looked over the thousands of applicants.
"I truly mean that."
"This is an examination, not a battlefield."
"So please refrain from discovering creative new methods of torturing one another."
"The emergency teleportation spells are excellent... But they cannot account for everything."
A ripple of laughter spread through the crowd.
Then, unexpectedly, her expression became almost nostalgic.
"And..."
She glanced toward the floating academy behind her.
"This will be the last trial I'll be supervising."
The courtyard fell strangely quiet.
A student near the front hesitantly raised a hand.
"...We'll miss you, Ma'am."
Another nodded.
"Yeah."
"You're terrifying... but it's been fun."
Lunaria blinked.
For the first time since we'd met, she looked genuinely surprised.
Then she laughed softly.
"...Perhaps I should submit an appeal."
"Maybe they'll let me assist with the final examination instead."
She tapped her chin thoughtfully.
"Haha..."
"I'm joking."
Her smile returned, brighter than ever.
"Now then."
She snapped her fingers.
"Good luck."
The bracelets around our wrists flared with blinding light.
For one disorienting heartbeat, i felt weightless, as if my body had been peeled away from reality and tucked between two pages of a book.
Then
Crunch.
My boots landed on damp grass.
Cold air rushed into my lungs.
The Third Trial had begun.
An abandoned border fortress rose around them, its stone walls cracked by age and moss, half-swallowed by the surrounding forest. Watchtowers leaned slightly as though they had spent centuries trying not to collapse. Vines crawled over the battlements, and somewhere in the distance a raven cawed.
Finn reacted instantly.
"First things first! Food, water, defensive positions, inventory check, and nobody wander off and get eaten by a tree."
The towering beastkin hefted her axe.
"If a tree tries to eat us, I can eat it first."
Finn blinked.
"That is not the part I was focusing on."
Cassius ignored them for a moment and opened his status.
[Profile]
STR - 26
SPD - 26
DUR - 26
AGI - 5
INT - 38
MANA - 0
His eyes drifted lower.
[Trait]
Cat's Balance.
You have inherited the remarkable equilibrium of a mountain predator.
During my trip to the academy, there had been more than a few moments where I should've kissed the ground.
Walking across slippery mountain paths.
Balancing on the roofs of overcrowded caravans because there weren't enough seats.
"Damn, I feel like that one arcade ninja who stood on his horse."
What was his name again, Kotaro Fuma? I definitely mix them up..
Crossing those wonderfully maintained rope bridges that swayed every time someone sneezed.
Even climbing over fallen trees after monsters decided roads were merely suggestions.
In short this trait was really useful, in my travel here.
I slowly closed the window, finally looked toward the eastern wall of the fortress.
Twenty minutes.
The neutral crystal would activate soon.
A massive early advantage.
I looked at my map marking it.
"Good," i said. "New objective. We move east immediately."
Finn frowned.
"Shouldn't we secure the fortress first?"
"Normally, yes, lucky spawn actually but..."
Cassius pointed toward the forest.
"...there's a neutral crystal on the east, Healing supplies, map fragment, equipment, intelligence on nearby teams."
The shield bearer blinked.
"How do you know that?"
I answered without hesitation.
"I remembered the map."
The mage narrowed her eyes, raising her hand.
"I remember the map, there wasn't one there."
"There are over five hundred Neutral Cores, I don't expect you to remember every single one."
503 to be exact.
She thought for a moment.
...
"Fair."
Finn looked unconvinced.
"I don't like how often your plans start with 'trust me.'"
I smiled.
"Understandable. Counterpoint: I'm usually right."
The beastkin stepped closer to my and glanced at the bracelet on my wrist.
"Reminder. If that crystal breaks, we're all eliminated."
The shield bearer immediately moved to my left.
"Protect the leader."
The mage moved to my right.
"Agreed."
Finn pointed accusingly.
"See? They get it."
I looked around at the suddenly very protective formation.
"I'm i y'all baby or something?."
"No, if someone attacks you, I want to see it happen up close." The beastkin says.
"That's a weird kink to have."
Her face scrunched up due to confusing.
"What are you talking about?, what I meant is, I wanted to figure out if it was a fluke you got ranked 2."
I shrugged, that's fair.
They began moving through the ruined fortress.
The shield bearer marched in front.
The mage watched the rear.
The beastkin prowled beside me.
Finn stayed close enough to grab the Crystal Core if I tripped.
Thought I doubt that'll happen.
After several minutes
...
..
.
"I hate it."
The beastkin let out a big groan before pointing her axe at me.
"I hate it."
"What?"
"The plan, i came here for a battle royale, not a tax policy." She pointed at the other "They must feel the same two, Right?!"
The shield bearer nodded.
"I was hoping for at least one dramatic charge."
Finn looked conflicted.
"I appreciate surviving, but I also expected more explosions."
I stared at my team, with a look of confusion, that camed out of nowhere.
"You people are rejecting a good plan because it isn't entertaining enough?."
"Correct," three voices answered together.
Even the mage raised a hand.
I sighed.
"We're two minute into the third trial and we're already changing strategy?, fine. Alternative strategy."
The team leaned in immediately.
"We move aggressively, seize the crystal before anyone else arrives, establish dominance, raid nearby teams for supplies, and make our presence so terrifying that weaker squads avoid us entirely."
The beastkin's eyes lit up.
"Now we're talking!"
The shield bearer slammed a fist into his palm.
"Excellent."
I looked upward as if seeking divine guidance.
[Theirs no god currently in the sky.]
Dammit.
Guess I'll have to deal with Balin afterall.
Finn clapped me on the back.
"Leadership is about listening to your team."
"Leadership is about preventing your team from dying."
"Semantics."
"Fine. We shall proceed with the aggressively questionable strategy."
The beastkin raised her axe.
"FOR GLORY!"
The shield bearer raised his shield.
"FOR VICTORY!"
Finn raised a finger.
"FOR FREE SUPPLIES!"
The mage thought for a moment.
"For significant advantage."
All four looked at me.
I stared back thinking, I don't get this grouped of kid, but nevertheless I answered.
"For lunch,"
The beastkin laughed so loudly several birds exploded out of the trees.
They reached the eastern breach in the fortress wall.
Dense forest stretched beyond it, mist curling between ancient trunks. Somewhere ahead, hidden among the trees, the neutral crystal waited.
He took one step forward.
Immediately, three people grabbed him.
The shield bearer caught his shoulder.
The beastkin hooked an arm around his neck.
Finn seized the back of his coat.
"What are you doing?"
Finn answered first.
"Protecting our investment."
The shield bearer nodded.
"The Crystal Core remains behind the front line."
The beastkin grinned.
"If someone wants to eliminate us, they have to get through me first."
I looked at the mage.
She shrugged.
"I voted yes."
Finn beamed.
"See? We're already functioning like a real team."
I sighed.
Together, the five of us stepped into the forest.
The forest swallowed us almost immediately.
Towering trees knitted together overhead, turning the afternoon sunlight into scattered emerald beams.
I raised my hand.
"Hold."
The team stopped almost instantly.
Finn tilted his head.
"What is it?"
I reached up.
"Caw."
Missy hopped from my shoulder onto my forearm, puffing up proudly.
I crouched down.
"Alright."
"Since we're going with the 'aggressively questionable strategy'..."
I pointed toward the forest ahead.
"we should probably know what we're charging into."
Missy tilted his tiny head.
"Caw?"
"You know the drill."
"Scout ahead."
His icy feathers fluffed.
"Caw!"
He spread his wings and vanished into the trees with a burst of frost.
Finn watched him disappear.
"Your pet understands all that?"
"Mostly."
The mage adjusted her glasses.
"Can she communicate complex information?"
"Surprisingly well."
"Really?"
"No."
"She mostly says 'Caw.'"
The mage looked mildly disappointed.
While Missy was scouting...
I decided I should probably learn everyone's names.
Call me old-fashioned, but referring to teammates as "beastkin" usually wasn't great for morale.
I looked toward the towering beastkin.
"Names."
She planted her axe against one shoulder with a grin.
"Rhea."
Brown wolf ears.
Amber eyes.
About a head shorter than me.
Muscles that could probably negotiate with mountains.
"What do you do?"
"I hit things."
"Anything more specific?"
"I hit them harder."
Finn nodded.
"Very descriptive."
Rhea looked genuinely proud.
"I specialize in Earth magic."
She stomped one foot.
The ground briefly trembled.
"Frontliner."
She nodded.
"Exactly."
I turned toward the armored man.
He gave a respectful nod.
"Dorian."
He looked older than everyone else.
Broad shoulders.
Tower shield.
The sort of face that naturally looked trustworthy.
He hesitated for a second, before uttering.
"I specialize in body reinforcement."
The group went silence, waiting for my reaction.
The group went silent, waiting for my reaction.
...Oh.
Right.
Saying "body reinforcement" was just another way of saying you were either a commoner or... a fallen noble.
In this case, the latter.
He had a last name.
Am I the only one who didn't know this?.
"Go on."
Seeing no negative reaction, he rested one hand on his shield.
"If someone wants to reach you, they'll have to move me first."
I smiled
"That's Comforting."
I looked toward the quiet mage.
She sighed before I even asked.
"Iris."
Black hair tied neatly behind her head.
Gray eyes.
"Wind."
"Precision casting."
"Reconnaissance."
"Mana detection"
"And occasionally solving everyone else's mistakes."
Finally...
Finn proudly placed both hands on his hips.
"I'm Finn."
"I negotiate."
"I manage money."
"I make friends."
"I convince people not to stab us."
I nodded thoughtfully.
"So..."
"Support."
He frowned.
"I feel undersold."
"You are, after the changed in strategy."
He sighed.
"Fair."
"Thought you did great in that time frame."
Finn smiled.
"I told you I was good at recruiting."
"I never doubted that."
"...Really?"
"Yea."
"You definitely doubted me."
"No, I did not."
I paused.
"Though you definitely gave me a different kind of reason to doubt you."
Finn's smile faltered.
"...Sorry about that."
I looked at him for a moment.
"It's not just about Dorian."
His expression became more serious.
"I don't like it when people hide things from me."
Finn lowered his hands.
"I know."
"And you put me in a position where I had no choice, regardless of how I felt about it."
"..."
"But..."
I shrugged.
"You had your reasons."
I glanced toward Dorian before looking back at him.
"And if I were in your position, I'd probably do the same."
Finn blinked.
"We're similar in that way. We both take risks when we think the outcome is worth it."
For a moment, neither of us said anything.
Then Finn smiled and raised both hands.
"Alright. I'm sorry, won't happen again."
"Promise?."
Finn nodded
"I promise."
I gaved him a small smile.
"Well alr just have some faith in me moving forward."
"Well that was eas-."
"Don't get too comfortable."
"...I knew it was too easy."
"Caw!"
A familiar cry echoed overhead.
Missy burst through the canopy, spiraling downward before landing neatly on my shoulder.
His tiny chest puffed out proudly.
"Caw!"
"So?"
He pointed one wing toward the east.
"Caw."
"Caw caw."
"Caw."
Finn frowned.
"What?"
I slowly looked toward the others.
"We're not the first ones heading for the Neutral Core."
Missy nodded vigorously.
"Caw!"