Eren and his squad managed to make it to the rendezvous point, and Xeno and his squad were already the first ones there. After some time more cadets arrived, and it was ten more minutes before the seventh day would hit. Out of three hundred cadets only seventeen arrived with crystals, the others either dropped out or met an untimely death in the forest.
"Of course those monsters made it here first," Eren said, referring to Xeno's squad.
"Well it's thanks to them we even passed the exam," Milan said.
Two minutes remained before midnight struck.
One cadet scoffed. "Well it seems we're the only ones advancing. It was obvious those Honeybadgers wouldn't—"
Three figures suddenly emerged from the forest, battered and wounded but grinning like lunatics, Reol, Geno and Selene with a crystal in hand as midnight finally struck.
Silence fell across the clearing.
Several cadets stared in disbelief.
Reol casually wiped the blood from the corner of his mouth before looking straight at them.
"Don't ever make the mistake of counting a Honeybadger out."
A few cadets clicked their tongues in irritation while others simply shook their heads.
Eren smirked. "Took you long enough."
Xeno glanced at them briefly, his calm eyes lingering for a moment before he turned away again.
From the monitor room, Terrisia watched the scene unfold on the screen before a faint smirk formed on her lips.
"Honeybadgers... always with the suspense theatrics."
She turned away from the monitors and began walking toward the rendezvous point.
Terrisia stepped before the seventeen cadets who stood with crystals.
Her arms folded behind her back, her expression as indifferent as ever.
Silence hung over the courtyard.
From the original three hundred cadets who had entered the forest… only these few had returned with proof of success.
Then she finally spoke.
"Congratulations on passing the first exam."
Her gaze swept across them.
"This generation is the first to have more than ten cadets return with crystals from this trial."
A brief pause followed.
"You should take pride in that."
Without another word, she turned and walked away.
Yet as she did, a faint smile tugged at her lips.
*****
Back at the Honeybadgers headquarters, Commander Zackery sat behind his desk, a mountain of paperwork towering before him.
The door opened.
Felicia stepped inside.
"I just received word, Commander… our boys passed the first trial. And it was Terrisia's trial, no less." she said, a smirk tugging at her lips.
Commander Zackery didn't look surprised in the slightest.
Felicia raised a brow.
"You don't look surprised, Commander."
"Why would I be?" he replied calmly. "I always knew those boys were capable young men."
He leaned back slightly in his chair.
"Geno is talented. He remains calm even in dire situations. Reol, on the other hand, has sharp instincts and can adapt to almost any situation."
He paused.
"But the real problem was their personalities. They clashed."
His eyes shifted to Felicia.
"But you dealt with that, didn't you… Felicia?"
She tilted her head innocently.
"Whatever do you mean?"
Zackery scoffed.
"Don't play coy. When you made them clean the entire building, it wasn't meant to be a punishment."
He folded his hands together.
"You wanted them to get used to each other."
Felicia said nothing.
Zackery continued.
"Reol may be rash, but he's observant. He must have watched how Geno operates. And Geno… well, he's the type who's always looking to learn something new."
A faint smile appeared.
"He was watching Reol as well."
He tapped the desk lightly.
"And that little 'cleaning duty' of yours kept their muscles moving constantly. Training their endurance so they could keep going even when their bodies screamed to give up."
Felicia's smirk deepened.
"Commander… I'll leave that to your imagination."
She turned toward the door.
"Now if you'll excuse me, I should go inform the ladies. I'm sure they've been worried sick."
She paused briefly before adding,
"Oh, and Kay and Shar are returning from their mission today."
With that, she walked out.
Left alone in the office, Commander Zackery leaned back in his chair.
A proud smirk slowly spread across his face.
Felicia made her way to the lab where Tyla was pacing around while Cassidy worked on a new invention. The moment Felicia entered, Tyla immediately rushed toward her, anticipation written all over her face.
"So?!" Tyla asked.
Felicia feigned a frown. "I don't know how to tell you this… as you know, Terrisia was the instructor for the first exam."
Tyla's eyes widened as the old fear of her sister being the examiner resurfaced. Even Cassidy stopped what she was doing and turned toward Felicia.
"Well you see…" Felicia said slowly.
Tyla and Cassidy's expressions darkened with dread.
Then Felicia's lips curled into a faint smile.
"Reol and Geno passed the exam."
For a brief moment, the lab was silent.
Then both Tyla and Cassidy shouted at the same time.
"What?!"
Felicia burst out laughing. "Oh, I'm sorry, I just had to. Your expressions were priceless." She wiped a tear from her eye. "But yes, they passed Terrisia's sadistic exam."
Relief flooded Tyla's face, though she quickly tried to hide it and act casual.
"Well, I did believe in those two boneheads," she said smugly.
"Yeah, sure," Cassidy shrugged. "Says the person who walked laps around my lab for days without sleep."
"Shut it!" Tyla snapped.
Tyla paused, a faint smile curving at her lips. 'Thank goodness… Reol…' "…oh, and Geno of course."
Then her eyes narrowed mischievously. "But don't think this means they're done showing off. The real fun starts with the next exam."
Cassidy's grin widened. "Yeah… I've got a feeling things are about to get messy."
Felicia just shook her head, laughing softly. "You two worry too much… but, you're right. This is only the beginning."
The three of them looked at each other, the air charged with anticipation, knowing the Honeybadgers' next trial would push them even further—and that readers would be desperate to see what happens next.