From the edge of the forest the visage of Arthur and his squad could be seen emerging. One by one they stepped into the limelight, the idol glistening in the sun.
Mars was the first one out as he hoisted the idol above his head with a wide grin stained across his face.
"Exam completed!"
From behind him Garrett followed with the bodies of Harold and Tommy in tow. Then Amy, holding up Angela by the arm, helped her walk to the finish line. And Arthur, the last one out, carried Elias over his shoulders.
Ahead of them, right at the border of the Green Veil, a figure could be spotted.
Caroline Ashveil.
Her arms were folded across her chest, dark skin catching the afternoon light. Purple hair pulled up into a high ponytail, loose strands shifting in the breeze. A dark military cape draped from her shoulders, its gold trim catching the same sun as the idol in Mars's hand.
A sleeveless white shirt fitted close to her frame. Dark leather trousers and a wide gold belt at her waist showed off her long legs. Her amber eyes loomed over them as they walked forth.
"Not bad for a bunch of first-years." The corner of her mouth pulled up just slightly. "B+ at worst. A at best."
"And I assume we are the latter." Mars said with complete confidence, hoisting the idol out for Caroline to collect.
"B+."
"Ehh." Mars stumbled, the idol slipping from his hands.
Caroline grabbed it before it smacked the ground and grinned as she looked at Mars.
"Don't be surprised. Your plan was seventy percent luck. Don't act like you earned an A." She turned the idol over once in her hand and slid it under her arm.
"However." She looked at Arthur. "Masking the space-locking runes as bomb runes was smart. Convincing enough that even to an untrained eye they passed for the real thing. That part I'll give you."
Arthur said nothing. He knew she had more to say.
"The panther was handled well given the circumstances. I would have loved to see more agency from you, Garrett, especially when Mars was being pushed back. It's your job as the tank to absorb as much damage as possible and sitting back is not an option."
"Yes ma'am." Garrett agreed with her assessment. Arthur could see him clenching his fist, taking it to heart.
"Amy, once again does a great job supporting the team and not losing your cool. Just make sure to keep an open mind in case things go awry. A rigid soldier is only good if the plan works."
"Yes ma'am." Amy gave a small bow of her head.
Caroline moved on.
"Angela." Her amber eyes settled on her, turning cold. "You burned everything you had to land that attack on the panther. Did you stop to think how that decision affected everyone around you?"
Angela said nothing.
"You took yourself out of the fight completely. While burning your strongest attack to bring down a single opponent can be acceptable in the heat of battle, there is a time and a place for it. You met neither of those requirements. Instead you took it upon yourself to make that call alone, without communicating it to your captain, without thinking about what came after." Caroline's voice didn't rise but the weight behind it did. "You left your squad one fighter short before even reaching mission critical. Don't make this mistake again."
Angela nodded.
"Now, you, captain. You kept for the most part a tight ship, making sure everything went according to your plans. The rune work showed initiative and the pressure play on Elias was well executed." She paused. "But your plan had too many hinges. One wrong move at any one of them and the whole thing folds. You built it assuming your enemies would behave exactly as you expected them to." Her amber eyes didn't leave him. "Start building in contingencies. A plan that only works if everything goes right is not a plan. It's a gamble."
"Yes ma'am." Arthur said.
She held his gaze a moment longer than the others.
Then she looked at the group as a whole.
"Good work. All of you." She tucked the idol firmer under her arm. "You are dismissed."
They turned to head back to campus.
"Oh, and do leave those three. I have unfinished business with them."
Thud!
Dropping all three on the ground, they walked off leaving them to face the wrath of Caroline.
'Rough day to be Elias Crane.' Arthur couldn't help but think as he walked away.
—-
As they walked off into the sunset Caroline waited until they were far out of earshot.
She crouched down, sliding her finger behind the neck of each of them, unleashing a small pulse of mana that woke them from their sleep.
Elias came up gasping. Eyes snapping open, hands already moving before he knew where he was.
"Easy there. We don't want another problem on our hands, do we?"
His eyes found Caroline's, the panic clearly etched across his face. Not from not knowing where he was but from the sight of her.
"Good. It seems you know where you are." Caroline stared coldly at Elias. Cold sweat dripped down his neck as the tension got to him. "But it seems you haven't realized what deep waters you've set yourself in."
Beside him Harold stirred, groaning, pressing a hand against the ground to sit up. Tommy followed a second later, slower, blinking against the light.
Neither spoke. One look at Caroline was enough to shut them up.
"Now that the exam is over, it's time you pay up." Caroline holding out her hand awaits payment.
Sighing, Elias knows there's nothing he can do but hand over his points. "Here you go all 500 points…"
"Thank you. And now you Gemist brothers." She turns her hand over to both the twins waiting for her payment.
"Tch here." Harold, not willing to hand them over, crooks his head but resigns his faith and hands them over.
"Good now that you'll hold up your end of the deal, it's time for me to do mine. Due to your failure from now on you are required to spend every class an extra 30 minutes helping me."
"What we can't do that we-." Harold tries to argue back but…
"Did I stutter Mr. Gemist." An aura of a predator reaches out engulfing Harold freezing him on sight.
"N-nno no ma'am." Harold stammers out fear evident in his eyes.
"Good then get out of my sight and crawl back to your master. I don't have time for such petty squabbles." And with a flick of her hand she sends them away as she turns and walks off.
'Aldric's boy.'
She turned the idol over in her hand once.
'Let's see if you're as sharp as your father or just as reckless.'
She tucked it back under her arm and headed for the faculty building.
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