The Right Day

**Date Started:** July 11th, 2021
**Date Completed:** Ongoing
**Previous Role-Play:** N/A
**Users Involved:** User: KontonMan; User:GoldenPiece; User:Black Dwarf Star; User:Felosr231; User:Majin Khi; User:ThePirateKingmaker; User:MorellaVoltaire; User:BQD; User:GuyCivic; User:GranCrux; User:Shouri01; User:Imnotfallen; User:Silent Xebec
**Setting:** Clover Kingdom
**Characters Involved**: Fen Monroe, Alessandro Salvatore, Aria Alanis, Ferrah Pan, Judas Eisenheart, Whiskey Romaine, Frozen Shogun, Bella Ravenwine, Xiomar Blaze, Gehard Silva, Dion, Gron Xavier, Bishop Quintrell, Gray Roland, Drake, Orochi

**500XR**
The Cloverian Dream.

Families made their way throughout the streets, more crowded than usual. But it was for good reason, for today was the annual Magic Knights Entrance Exam. Those that attended were in pursuit of that dream, to become a Magic Knight. To serve the country of Clover to their utmost capabilities so that the nation could continue to prosper. And making their way to the exams were all sorts of aspiring Knights, all hailing from across the entirety of the nation.

The sun shone down onto them all from above, almost illuminating the path to the Coliseum where the exams were to be held. Since years of past, the Coliseum had been expanded on to increase its size and resources. More and more applicants came every year and the country had to adapt, for these rookie mages were their future no matter how they felt about it. So it was Clover’s duty to ensure that the Coliseum was up to standard.

People crawled to building roofs and used magic of their own to peer into the Coliseum. Inside were the applicants, waiting for the exams to start. And while the civilians were no part of this process, they couldn’t help but watch. They had the right to see who would be protecting them in mere days from now. An annual exam was practically a festival to the folks of Kikka at this point.

They celebrated the growth of Clover.

## Clover Pie

Fen Monroe wasn’t the first to arrive, but he was still in the first twelve to show up. Strapped to the back of his jacket that held onto him by his shoulders was a spear. Taller then him with a vermillion leather wrapped around the shaft, a silver blade at the end with two jagged points from the base of the aforementioned blade. A circular ornament at the end of the weapon, it was mighty. A weapon he had gotten forged just for this by Ohdove Heartslamb; the Thrice-Tipped Holy Spear.

As he waited in the coliseum itself, more and more applicants showing up with tokens that had been handed out at the entrance, Fen had his arms crossed. He tapped his foot impatiently, both excited for the exam to start and feeling slightly nervous. Today was the day. He had to prove himself worthy of the Magic Knights. One way or another.

Nearing Fen was Dion, hands in his pockets, shoulders slouched, making him look smaller than he actually was. His eyes darted everywhere and anywhere, finally finding refuge in Fen’s very appearance. Much like Fen’s trident, Dion carried a mop across his back.

Even now, as he stood determined due to his talk from yesterday, part of him still didn’t want to be there. It had become almost instinct for him to run away to want to disappear when things got hard. He looked around attempting to find Bishop as well as he walked towards Fen.

“You found a weapon, huh?”

"D-money!" Fen waved his hand at Dion as the boy approached him. He blew some strands of hair from his face as he glanced at the strange handle on Dion's back before answering Dion's question. "Huh? Yeah, yeah. Met some lady that I didn't get along with. Gave me this dope ass spear."

Fen pulled it from his back, spinning it like a baton with his hands before once again placing it onto his back. "What's up with the stick on your back, huh? Is it a quarterstaff? You about to knock some heads with whatever your magic is? Stick Magic? Wood Magic?"

Dion shook his head. “Nop, it’s a mop. Not a lot of magic involved…as far as I know. Made by a…uhm…friend? Acquaintance? Not sure what I’ll do with it but it gives me safety…” Dion said grabbing onto the mop’s darkened handle.

"You gonna, uh..." Fen paused, not sure what to think. It was a mop after all. Not a traditional weapon as far as he was concerned. "I mean go for it. Mop's are cool. Hey D-money, you decide on which Squad you wanna aim for yet?"

Dion nearly grinned. “Yep, yep! I think I’ve made up my mind…if I’m chosen of course. What about you?”

"Dawn or...Mantis. Hanging out with Uncle Samson would be fun, and badass." Fen shrugged. "Also how the fuck you gonna say "yippee!!" and not tell me which squad you wanna join?!"

“H-HUH?! That big muscular man is your uncle?!” Dion asked worriedly, mental images formed on his head. Of a dark skinned man, Samson, the Captain of the Green Mantis. His head moved from this image to Fen’s appearance.

“Something‘s not quite right….”

Fen smiled, a mischievous grin curled onto his face. "Yeah, that guy's badass. He's why I didn't pay at the restaurant we went to. I put it on his tab."

"Though, he's not like my ACTUAL uncle." he continued. "I'm friends with his sister, and he kinda took me under his wing. Teaches me how to survive and stuff."

“O-ohhhh, that makes much more sense. Cause, you know, he’s black and you’re not. Good for you man, I-I can’t really see you in that squad though….” Dion voiced out loud.

"Good point." Fen agreed. "I belong in Golden Dawn."

“D-don’t get your hopes up Fen, they didn’t even show up to the Gala…how about…I don’t know, the Coral Peacocks?” Dion suggested.

"Fuck that, I ain't gonna join the place known for being a support role!" Fen scoffed as he looked at Dion with genuine confusion in his expression. "Yeah they're Magic Knights, but still. I gotta join a Squad that'll prove my magic isn't stupid as fuck."

Fen leaned in closer. "Now you gotta tell me which Squad you wanna join. I gotta know which one my boy's hoping to be in."

“Your magic isn’t stupid, healing people is an amazing ability, Fen. It’s just not…y’know, something that would beat the shit out of other people, I think.” Dion paused.

“As for the squad…look, I don’t wanna jinx it. Don’t know if I’m even getting chosen by a single squad so…how about we leave that for later?”

Fen sighed. "Yeah, I guess. Uncle S and Beks say the same thing, but I don't know. Why'd an angry fucker like me get a magic that's supposed to be for someone that wants to help people over fighting? It's rigged."

"And ya know, that's fine. I like you D-money, so I won't push. But when you and Bishop got some time after the whole squad thing, we gotta grab food. Compare our fuckin' notes."

“N-notes? What notes?!” Dion asked worriedly.

Fen almost smacked Dion on the back of the head. "Not literal notes! I mean like, stories. Experiences and shit."

Dion flinched in response. “G-got it, got it. Notes, yeah. Who’s Beks, your girl?”

"Hahaha..." Fen mumbled, almost inaudible. "AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAA!!!"

He stopped. "Fuck no."

“W-why’d you laugh so hard?” Dion asked, eyes widened.

"She's short. And she's like, 14." Fen said. "She's a friend. And Uncle S' sister."

“Huh, if you say so. Speaking of friends, where’s Bishop?” Dion looked around for any signs of his “sponsor”.

Fen shrugged. "Don't know. He's probably trying to show up fashionably late or something."

As both Alessandro Salvatore and Aria Alanis both entered into the coliseum, the both could feel it, this was it. Despite the nerves the two had, it was also clear the two were immensely excited, the two had been dreaming of this day for the last three years. The Magic Knights Exam.

"Scared aren't ya?" Aria asked smugly to the blue haired Alessandro. "It's okay if you just wanna give up and go home. Leave this to the big guns." She then adjusted the sword tied to her side, making sure it's securely on.

Ale could feel his heart race, he could feel the blood in his body circle around in him faster and faster. "Are you kidding Blondie?" Ale replied,"I'm gonna be a knight and then eventually a captain! I'll be a captain before you ever do!"

The two looked at one another before slamming their fists into one another's. "Just don't hold me back!" They then placed their tokens onto their pockets, splitting up to look around the coliseum.

Gron Xavier walked in to the coliseum with his mask over his mouth to cover the unimpressed and bored expression he held since departing from the gala. To the other attendees, he was either unexcited for the day before them, or very much confident on his chances of succeeding. Either way, it was a bold thing to be while also as one of, if not the, shortest person in the building. Gron looked from the sides of his eyes to peek at the other aspiring Magic Knights as he continued moving forward, his eyes as sharp as an eagle searching for its next prey. Every nervous face he walked past, every boisterous voice of confidence that befell his ears, Gron looked and listened to his competition around him.

"Only a few minutes here and I already know there's a high chance that-" Gron said as he took his token out and flipped it up into the air, watching the token rise above him into the sky, "-I already hate nearly everyone I've walked past."

As his eyes followed the token upwards, he spotted in the distance several commoners climbing onto the roof to see the potential Magic Knights gathering within, a sight he could only cringe at whilst effortlessly catching the token without looking in his hand. Curiosity wondered as he raised his eyebrow at the view, and then to the possible magic knights around him. It was like something within his mind clicked as the young boy raised both brows and nodded his head.

"Makes sense. No wonder the commoners are infatuated with an event like this," Gron thought out loud, still looking to those that looked down from the roof, "I envy them."

Walking down the halls, each step taken was another second shaved off until the exams were to begin. A golden cape fluttered in the wind, attached to a tall boy in brown skin and hair that grew upwards. All but one lone lock, weighted down by the silver cap tied around the ends. People warded around the figure striding through the crowd, the aura of arrogance alone was enough to push away most people. But what that didn't do, the grimoire floating above his hands did.

Fingers danced, the grimoire following the commands of it's wielder. The pages flipped until the book sealed shut, a three-leaf clover inside a star dodecagram on it's cover. The book gently fell into the hands of it's owner, his emerald eyes and flawless skin no longer obscured. Open for all to view. After all, who wouldn't want to gaze upon the glorious features of Bishop Quintrell. The teen had made his way around the radius of the Colosseum a few times now. Securing himself a sugary treat on this current excursion.

He took a chomp out of the cottony textured sweet, it seemed to dissolve in his mouth as his eyes noticed the boy before him. "My, My. Gron? Is that you?" Bishop inquired, drawing closer to the green haired figure. Hair rare enough that he'd recognize it anywhere.

Gron didn't move at all to greet Bishop, rather keeping his back turned on his fellow nobleman with only his voice to acknowledge him. "I think I saw you at the gala yesterday, Bishop. Tell me how a member of noble heritage came to talk so friendly with commoners."

It was then that Gron turned around and pulled down his mask, showing his unimpressed look to Bishop with eyes that glared right into his. Despite his stature, Gron carried a noble posture with a straight back, having brought his hands out of his pockets to place behind him in a crossed fashion. But Gron's own nobility couldn't hold back the curiosity he held for everything around him, especially one for Bishop's behaviour.

"They were commoners, correct? Or have I miscalculated their look and attitude to that of below their actual class?" Gron continued.

Bishop's brow raised slightly as Gron mentioned the gala. Perhaps he'd gotten so carried away in his own thoughts and entertaining himself with the clumsiness of the commoners to have notice the fellow noble. However, his brows had returned to normal by the time Gron turned to face him, simply taking another chomp at his sweet treat.

"Oh, yes they were commoners. It's not exactly hard to tell, such unflattering mannerisms and dejected personas. It's exhausting honestly." Bishop raised his head a bit, looking straightforward into the crowd beyond. A smirk appearing on his face as he thought on Gron's words. A good question. Why would he interact with such people. Those that were lower than him. But then again, who wasn't? "Don't confuse my intentions with them. For one, they'd make good lackeys. One is confident, but he's not refined in the slightest. The other has such an exhausted attitude. But, it's just for reputations sake. After all, House Quintrell is notorious for our charity to those less fortunate than ourselves."

Another chomp of the candy, his eyes narrowed a bit as he locked eyes with Gron. Bishop's overall lax visage became more annoyed. Annoyed with the idea Gron seemed to incite. "Don't confuse it for anything more."

Gron raised an eyebrow to Bishop's response and tilted his head to the side. There seemed to be something in Bishop's words that didn't seem to bring Gron to a satisfied look, if he had one that was. The young noble once more tossed the token into the sky without breaking eye contact with Bishop, and allowed it to fall into his palm without moving a muscle, a perfect toss up and down.

"I think you're confusing it for something less, Bishop. I have no interest in what you pursue with the common folk of this kingdom, whether you recruit them as lackeys or find solace in something as simple as 'friendship'." He responded in a flat tone, "What I am interested in is what would happen if hypothetically, word of a nobleman such as yourself, from a house like Quintrell, was found to believe himself similar or perhaps equal to that of the common man?"

His words were no more a threat than they were a hypothesis. Gron looked to Bishop with unnerving eyes, eyes that wanted to remind Bishop how they stood in the kingdom. They were nobles. Above the rest. They had to be more careful in the way they presented themselves as they had a standard to keep.

Bishop's expression became harsh. Gron's words, the hypothetical thought that he'd think common folk were equivalent to him. It was almost sickening to hear. But at the same time, it was amusing. Bishop covered his mouth, his cheeks turning red as the harsh expression from before turned to pure amusement. His eyes almost like thick black lines as they nearly shut themselves completely. "I knew about the whole tree thing, but I didn't know it made you a comedic genius. Don't worry your tiny little head, Gron. Common man? Equal to me? No one's equal to me."

Fighting the amusement down, just enough to take another bite of his candy. His mouth twisted in sweet enjoyment, his free hand seeming to fan Gron's figure. "The ins and outs of whether nobles are better than commoners, I don't really care for that. Because regardless of status, I'm still better than anyone in this complex. And that'll never change."

"It was just hypothetical, Bishop. Besides, it doesn't matter what you think while we take the exams. In the eyes of the examiners, the commoners have just so much as a chance of succeeding as us nobles," Gron shook his head.

"Seeing as we both attended the gala, do you perhaps have a squad in mind you hope to join?"

It was right outside the venue, a small dog, tied to a post near the entrance. He sat, panting happily as he watched all the Magic Knight hopefuls walk by. One of them stopped by the dog, looking at the sign next to it; "DO NOT PET". The Mage looked around, to see if anyone was around, before reaching out.

Ferrah could hear the scream from inside the venue. "Kukukuku!" he laughed, "looks like that dog's already paying dividends." He continued to meander around the coliseum, kicking up dirt, moving his feet around every which way. The smile underneath his mask couldn't get any bigger.

Trailing behind Ferrah by a few minutes, Judas finally reached the stadium. At first he examined the massive structure as he was impressed by its beauty, only to be interrupted by a loud scream. “!” His head turned over to his left to see a another magic knight hopeful receive a nasty bite from the dog he charmed formerly. “Are you kidding me? Someone seriously kept that damn dog?” He chuckled in disbelief, before placing his face in his palms.

”I guess I’m already making an impact!” Judas yelled, with a sudden change of demeanor. “AHAHAHAHAAAAA!” He continued to laugh proudly, marching into the stadium’s field.

Wandering in after Judas, yawning and wearing the exact same stained and dirty clothes as he had from the gala, known petty thief and all around good guy, Whiskey reached the stadium. He looked a bit hung over, bags under his eyes and the smell of his namesake seeping off of him, and his hair was a bit disheveled. Groaning, he rubbed the back of his neck.

"God damn it, who pissed my pants? I know one of these assholes did it." Fumbling for his cigarettes, he snickered as he saw someone get bit by a dog. Sticking two in his mouth, he forgot to light them and instead he headed towards the entrance, chewing on the filters. "Did it have to be today? Oh well, my magic is the best. I'll win and enter the Magic Knights." A rare moment of determination crossed his face. "I'll prove we're worth it."

The crowd seemed endless, the closely packed residents of the town swarming around the stadium even as the various aspirants made their way towards it. There wasn't much room to be seen, except for one slowly moving space that was approaching the entrance. Like a winter breeze, the rime-laden giant glided through the packed people. The crowd gave Frozen Shogun a wide berth, even in their excitement the cool air that surrounded the armored mage and their imposing size convinced most to give Frozen some room.

The clack of armored boots was drowned out by the noise of the crowd, but they drew towards the entrance to the stadium. With a bow, Frozen asked, "May I have the token for the exam?" to the waiting knight, who quickly gave them theirs. "Thank you."

With that, Frozen continued their march, walking into the stadium proper to join the growing crowd aiming to show off their skills in the hopes of securing their future and the future of those around them.

Heading in behind Frozen, brimming with confidence with an eager yet shy smile on her face was Bella. She looked around noticing the number of rookie mages and it was packed. She felt herself breathing heavily, sweat began to form but she managed to calm herself down remembering what Lucifer told her. "Calm down Bella, clear your thoughts, you got this...no I don't" Bella thought to herself as she let out a soft whimper.

Not far from Bella was Xiomar who noticed Bella who had a mix of nervousness and confidence on her face. He warmly smiled as he approached her. "Well, well, we meet again Bella," Xiomar greeted.

"Oh! Hello again, how did things go," Bella asked.

"Went well, had a pleasant experience," Xiomar replied.

"Do you know who you will be joining," Bella wondered tilting her head to the side.
"Not sure yet but we'll let fate decide on that," Xiomar answered, "best of luck to you."

"You too,"" Bella smiled gently as they headed in to join the growing crowd.

A lone Alev Rainier walked through the entrance of the coliseum, his determination and confidence present in both his posture and eyes. He had made sure to get a good night's rest before waking up early for a small training session and to pick up the special armor Ohdove Heartslamb, a well-known blacksmith, had forged upon his requst and payment.

Feeling his hand across his Grimoire, he took the magical book from its pouch that was bound to his waist and opened it. He had practiced these few spells he knew to the best of his ability. Reading every word on each page, his eyes narrowed as he breathed deeply. He had been training for this day for what felt like his entire life, and he wasn't going to let anything or anyone distract him from giving it everything he had.

Standing inside the Coliseum for some time now, with his back resting on one of the pillars, Gehard Silva silently observed the movement of the crowd of Rookies, many of whom had already been noticed by him at the Gala. Some like Frozen were imposing and exuded a menacing presence by the simple way they dressed.

Seeing how the crowd grew larger and larger, and many individuals who seemed very sure of their abilities ,a bead of sweat ran down his forehead , breaking the air of self confidence he was trying to sketch with his calm expression and leading him to mutter ,after a heavy sigh:

"Damn, some of these guys are really not to be trifled with, I even thought I might have some advantage because I've been training for three years ,but if these guys are as strong as they look, everything I passed will be just the basics to survive this exam."

Tired of waiting in that place, Gehard moved towards the crowd, walking in the middle of the newcomers, with both hands kept in his pockets, he was disturbed by thoughts that only made him even more insecure:

"*Calm down Gehard, it's going to be alright, you made an effort and you treined, ..., but if it doesn't work out..., it will have been all in vain, I will have broken the promise I made to my father, my mother's name will fall into even greater disgrace among the royalty, and at worst I will leave her alone...*"

The more these thoughts flooded his mind the more anxiety is evident on his face, and while he remained unfocused amidst the bad possibilities, Gehard ended up accidentally bumping into a girl, a bump that made him come to his senses immediately, turning around desperately, he faced the woman with a worried look and holding out his hands, said:

"A thousand pardons Miss, are you alright ?"

Bella jumped as she turned around noticing Heard behind her. Her heart sank as a red blush appeared on her face. She trembled a bit looking away then looked back with a shy look.

"I...I'm sorry," Bella apologized as she bowed quickly, "I...I didn't mean to be in your way..."

Groping Bella's arms, Jack kept his gaze fixed on the girl's face, noticing that the girl was blushing, he released her arms, and even more concerned said:

"No, it was my mistake for being so distracted, sorry for grabbing your arms, I hit them when we collided ?, are you really okay?"

"Y-yea I'm fine, just a bit nervous is all but at the same time excited," Bella replied as a small smile formed on her face, "so what do you think of the exam so far with how many people there are participating?"

Gerhard couldn't help but sigh with relief when he realized that Bella hadn't been hurt, she was just as anxious as he was, realizing that she wasn't the only one he felt that way, he even became a little more confident, he even gave a slight smile, and with that smile on his face, he answered her:

"Well I've been here since very early in the morning and I counted an average of 110 between those who were already here when I arrived and those who entered later, all of whom seem to me to have a good chance of being approved."

While he was still speaking, Gehard realized that he had not yet introduced himself, as good manners demanded, he quickly did so, then amended:

"It is a pleasure to meet you Miss, my name is Gehard, Gehard Silva, and what is your name ?"

"M-my name is Bella Ravenwine," Bella replied as she politely bowed once more.

"There's no need to bow down, despite my last name, in the end we're more alike than you think." Said Gehard, dismissing Bella's gesture, which in his view was excessively formal ,especially when being directed to someone like him, after all even being part of royalty he also had commoner blood, and although this was something that brought him constants problems , it is something he would never deny anyone .

"And what brought you here today Bella-San ?, I mean why did you set out to become a Magic Knight ?"

Bella took some time to think of an answer on why she wanted to become a Magic Knight. There were many reasons why she wanted to achieve that goal though there was one reason that stuck out to her the most.

"I want to become a Magic Knight to prove to others that my magic isn't evil and be used to help others and be seen in a better light," Bella replied slightly looking away shyly.

Gehard smiled a little more brightly when he heard Bella's answer, and without much thought answered her, stating his reasons and then offering her another question:

"See how similar we are ,I am also here to prove my worth ,it may seem unbelievable but I have to prove to the royalty that I am worthy to carry the blood of the Silva and that my mother and I are worthy to enjoy the benefits of being part of a royal family ,but changing the subject ,why do they think your magic is evil ?"

Bella looked down with a solemn expression on her face as she twiddled her fingers. She never liked having to answer the question about her magic feeling uncomfortable about it but she had to at least talk about to get it off of her chest.

"My magic is r-rare but at the same time it's see as evil by m-many people," Bella replied stuttering a bit.

"Well I get it..." Gehard replied, cutting the subject short as he realized that talking about his magic bothered Bella, and in order to improve and in order to improve her mood a little, he commented:

"A good heart, a feared magic and the desire to use it to protect and help others, you and my cousin Lucielle seem to have a lot in common, if you show your intentions and skills ,there is a good chance she will give you a chance to join the Silver Eagle."

"Y-you really think so," Bella asked looking to Gehard with sparkling cyan eyes filled with hope and curiosity, "I-I hope I would be able to protect others as you said I have the potential to."

"It's not a promise..., but knowing Lucielle-San, it's a good possibility" Gehard said noticing Bella's excitement.

But before he could say anything else, he was surprised by the voice of the master of ceremonies that echoed strongly throughout the coliseum, realizing that the time for the tests had finally arrived, he felt much of his anxiety return, without letting this insecurity show or take over his actions another time, he soon tried to suppress it with a heavy sigh, walking away with short steps as he said goodbye saying :

"I think the time has come for us to part. Know that it was a pleasure meeting you and I wish you all the luck Bella-San." , then he finally turned his back on her, but not before saying with a smile on his face while waving one of his hands, "See you later !"

The way towards the Coliseum was dreadful to traverse. Her carriage had been slow to take her to the city, and by the time she was present, the path was flooded with commoners and aspirants who desperately sought a token for applicants or a spot for spectating. Sora Greer had to shuffle her way forward and slither between the crowd of people. Eventually growing tired of the waiting and with an irrational fear of not making it in time, she conjured forth a smaller snake which began to travel forward, causing the ones who noticed to shriek and scream in terror, which in turn caught the attention of others. By the time she dissolved the snake, she and her pet 'Flakes' had made their way up to the registration.

"Sora Greer, Aspirant. I'd like a token for my exam, please." She asked, to which she was offered one and she gave a quick 'thank you' before moving on. Standing ready to be before a vast host of people to see what she was good for, she felt a strong tingle in her stomach. She was afraid of failure, that she was. But she would none the less make her best effort in this. Failure was not an option. "Let's go, Flakes."

Rebekah decided to sneak out after the captains had made themselves known and did their little song and dance the other night. She didn't care for the show. Hell, she only went to that little dinner because Samson *made* her. Just like everything else she that happened in her life. Everything is what Samson wants to do. He just jumps to his next action and strings her along without the slightest consideration of her feelings.

That's why when Rebekah finally made up her mind about being a Magic Knight, she refused to discuss anything further with him. Rebekah wanted to be like Rose. Not just because she could beat the shit outta her annoying brother...but because Rose did whatever the hell she wanted to do. Regardless of her royal lineage. Rose represented absolute freedom.

Rebekah wanted to be her. That night, Rebekah was going to head over tot he Vermillion's area except every Magic Knight, noble and royal stood between them. And rather than rip someone limb from limb, she decided to leave. Today would be the day she'd show Rose how much she meant to her.

The young warrior walked passed the crowd and awaited for the entrance to open alone.

Entering the Colosseum next was Drake, one of the few who didn't attend the gala, and was not that excited to be here. He haded nobles, knowing that their eyes would stare down at him and pick him out like an animal. He hated it, he hated almost anything the nobles did. No matter who they were, or what they did. He hated them. Hailing from the far outskirts of the Clover Kingdom, Drake was a commoner. His skin was that of a darker color than most of those attending this event, he mostly stood out with his soft reddish hair when contrasted to the color of his skin. He wore mostly orange as his cap, undershirt, and pants were of that color. Since it was a more prestigious event, he tried to look more luxurious by wearing a black suit over his orange shirt. It didn't look particularly good and one could clearly see that it was made out of a poor man's material. To top it all off, he chose to wear a bright blue and screaming pink tie, somewhat hiding it under his crossed arms as he stood with a blank face glancing over at spectators.

As the seconds went by, he quickly made his way to the back of the Colosseum, leaning against the wall and staring up towards the onlookers. Some of them meet his gaze, others were too focused on the more interesting bunch. He, himself, would glance away from those watching and begin to scan his fellow rookies.

"Wait, did I make it in time?" Orochi pondered to himself as he entered the arena filled with people from different backgrounds and religions, from noblemen to commoners, and from rookies to captains. He was excited to meet new people and introduce himself to the rest of the rookies, as he was one of the few who didn't attend the Gala. He moved his way past the other rookies like a slithering snake and onto an open area where he could easily see what was going on in the arena. Orochi joined the exams in hopes of becoming a magic knight and be able to spread his creative vision with others.

Feeling creative and to pass the time, he takes a pencil from his belt and starts drawing on a piece of paper, drawing a wonderfully detailed depiction of the arena and his whereabouts.

Making his way into the coliseum with a lazy and carefree smirk on his face, Gray looked around with mild amusement while scattering a bunch of seeds on the floor for the anti-Magic birds to consume. While he wasn’t exactly late he knew that he wasn’t early either seeing as the arena was nearly packed full of Magic Knight hopefuls.

"Sure is packed in here." He chimed as his eyes swiveled around to look for any familiar faces from last night gala while he continued to litter the ground with seeds causing more birds to flock around him and consume some. "I wonder how many of em will actually make it into squads." the teen hummed aloud as he glanced at the crowed with a raised brow. "I wonder if I’ll see Cap’n Rose before this shindig starts." Gray mumbled to himself as he looked around for the bright hair captain who had left a deep impression on him and Zephyr the previous night and made him go above and beyond to get into the Crimson Lion’s.

"Speaking of Zephyr where is ma new best buddy at?" He suddenly called aloud as he began searching for his partner in crime as he liked to call him, seeing as they had really hit it off the night before and promised to meet up to destroy the rest of the rookie knights to prove their worth as commoners. "He better show up soon or imma be real upset at him for missing this." Gray grumbled to himself while chewing on a toothpick he pulled form his pocket to help deal with his rising anxiety. Honestly if it wasn’t for him meeting Rose and Zephyr last night, he’d prolly be a real nervous reck right now despite his calm and cool exterior.

Placing a hand on his Grimoire that was by his side, Gray felt a small pulse of magic resonate with his palm upon touching the book which helped lull his anxiety a bit and caused his heart to beat a little slower as his nerves began to return to normal. *"Perhaps I should do some planning ahead of everything and come up with a good strategy.*" He internally pondered as his calculative eyes began sweeping across the gathered rookies once more, this time paying close attention to their appearance, mannerisms and personalities to try and discern what each of their affinities were to help him plan against them if this exams turn out to be a combative tournament or setup, and on the off chance it was something that required cooperation it would help him know which person was the best to ally with to best utilize his strength with other than Zephyr and possibly those two other kids, Fen and Dion he came across last night.

Glancing around to see if any perceived eyes were upon him, Gray gently tapped his Grimoire with let out a soft flow before dimming once more. "It also wounding hurt to place some precautions to ensure I’m successful in ma endeavors and accomplish ma goals, work impressing Cap’n Rose and the rest of the Magic Knight Squads." Gray thought as he continued to formulate plans and strategies as he awaited the start of the exams while he continued to supply the birds with a scatter of seeds.

## The First Task

Floating high above the coliseum, now glowing like a bright star, was a figure vaguely familiar to all of the applicants. But it’d be his voice that would confirm any doubts in those below. “HELLOOOOOO MAGIC KNIGHT APPLICANTS!!!” the emcee from last night’s voice rang throughout the entire stadium. A white suit and trousers, a red tie and a snow white top hat, the emcee stood on a broom as it hovered above everyone. His voice amplified once again by his Sound Magic.

“Welcome, welcome, to the annual Magic Knight Exams!!” he roared with excitement. The spectators from outside and nearby rooftops exploded with joy themselves. “This year, you’ll have 3 and a half tasks! Though you’ve already gone through 1 and a half of them. But don’t let that influence your thoughts! Stay calm, and revel in the fact that you are all here! The Magic Knight Exams. Will you all prove to be just what our Kingdom needs?! Will you accomplish what you’ve strived for?! Today, we will find out!!!!!”

He clapped his hands together. “Now while you can’t see our Captains, please don’t worry. They’re all watching you. So there’s no excuse to goof around!” the emcee waved his hands. On the other half of the coliseum, several stations appeared. Each station was 50 metres long, and multiple stations were next to one another. In each station, at the far end was an archery target, a typical bullseye like design. On the other end was a crate with a bow and arrow, right behind a drawn in line. By each station stood what appeared to be a holographic version of the emcee.

“112 applicants, so 112 stations!” he yelled. “I ask each one of you approach a station of your own, and follow the instructions that are about to appear! Follow the rules to a tee, or you’ll be disqualified! Good luck to you all, and have fun with your first task!”

Arcana began to crackle above the coliseum, before a wall of text facing down conjured itself. Writing made of lighting faced them all, and it read as such:

**Stand at the line. Aim for the bullseye at the center of your target. You will have a bow and arrow by your side. Use what you have and do your best to hit the target. Follow these guidelines.**

Having heard the announcement, Gray made his at towards his section while pondering the exact goings on. Glancing around the area a bit looking down at the bow that sat close to his left hand side with a questionable look. *"So the first task is archery?"* He thought with narrowed eyes as he continued to stare at the bow suspiciously refusing to believe that the exams were this easy. Perhaps they would use this to pick the ranking for the real first task.

"Well it doesn’t matter anyways, I’ll just do my best without hesitation." Gray stated as he stood at the line while picking up the bow and arrow, concentrating a bit Gray glanced around before discreetly flicking his hand forward aiming towards the target with a flick. Smirking a bit with narrowed eyes, Gray grasped the arrow and yanked it back a bit awkwardly as he never held a bow beyond a few hunting trips and event then he rarely shot it. However Gray wasn’t worried about his lack of experience holding him back, he had after all already ensured his own victory from the start.

Gently running his finger across the point of the bow before running along the entire side of its body, soon the bow held a soft greenish glow before it melded into it. Nodding Gray pulled the arrow all the way back and aimed down the sights towards the target with narrowed eyes, closing his eyes an feeling a soft pull and tugging on the arrow, he relaxed his fingers and allowed the arrow to fly free. Due to his inexperience the arrow once released shot upwards aiming over the entire target while shaking horribly as it it didn’t posses the power needed to even get close to the target.

*"And now we snap"* Gray thought as he snapped his finger while holding the bow to his left side. As if commanded the arrow suddenly steadied out and curved down in a arch manner, with a soft green almost invisible line seemingly erupted from the arrow tip and connected directly to the center of the Target. Soon as if pulled or remote controlled the arrow suddenly dropped down evenly with the target at the last second and with a hard **THUD** embedded itself into the dead center of the target, it would be clear to all the experience mages watching that Gray had in a sense cheated albeit they wouldn’t be able to pinpoint exactly how, well with the exception of people like Rose who was used to seeing things far slower than normal due to the nature of her Magic and Zahir who was adept at sensing mana.

Smirking happily Gray raised his hand in celebration, pointing a sole finger to the sky. "Fuck yeh, that how ya overcome ya weak points."

Whiskey had stepped up to his target and bow with a wobble. His irritation with the headache just behind his eyes and the sensitivity to sound and light were exacerbated by the arena and tasks. Sitting in front of his target, he rubbed his temples and tried to make the room stop spinning. Taking a few steadying breaths, he pulled a flask from his pocket and took a drink. Wiping his lips, he looked over the bow and then back to the target.

Stinking of sweat and dirt, Whiskey grabbed the bow and arrow and stormed over to the target, slamming the arrow dead in the center and knocking the target over. He then rigorously beat the target into the dirt with the bow, slamming it over and over until the string snapped, causing the bow to spring straight, smacking Whiskey in the teeth and sending his head shooting back, knocking him over. Instead of moving, he just lay with his lips bleeding. Holding up the bow, he spoke. "I stood by the line. Then I hit the target. You want me to hit the target from the line, make sure you put that in the rules. I. Win." Getting to his feet, he wobbled towards the starting area, leaving the broken gear behind him.

Judas walked up to the line backwards, kneeling down to pick up the bow and arrow resting next to his feet. "Lovely." He mumbled to himself as he turned to face opposite of the target. Placing the bow over left shoulder, he would use his right to pull back the string, and upon releasing it he had fired the arrow. **"CRACK"** Without looking Judas had hit the target in its bullseye. "I guess that practice did pay off huh dad." He chuckled, looking upwards.

Breathing heavily as her pulse raced, Bella approached the line then noticed the bow and arrow next to her. She picked it up then curiously looked at it. She was not familiar with the art of archery but has witnessed people partake in the activity. In front of her was the target, she felt her heart racing once more as she tried to concentrate. Bella let out a slight whimper while trying to get into position. She wanted to pass out, sweat was pooling in her hands and face as she saw multiple targets in her vision.

Bella closed her eyes, took deep breaths, calming herself down finding her center. Worse case scenario she would miss the target and she would not make it to the next part of the exam. She quickly shook her head as she took another deep breath as she counted down to herself in her head, "3, 2, 1, NOW!" Bella released the arrow from the bow with her eyes still closed until THUMP! Bella flinched as she slightly opened her eyes hoping for the inevitable. Suddenly, her heart skipped a beat and her eyes sparked in astonishment. She couldn't believe it, she hit her target!

"I...I did it," Bella whispered to herself then smiled to herself, "I did it."

Next Xiomar approached the line after hearing the announcement about the first task. "So it's archery huh, seems simple enough," Xiomar said to himself as he picked up the bow and arrow. He was a bit confused of the first task but shrugged it off and didn't think nothing of it. Xiomar took his stance as he positioned himself aiming at the target.

"Alright, this'll be over in a bang," Xiomar said as he released the arrow from the bow. He squinted his eyes to get a closer look at his target. His widened when he noticed that he managed to hit the target but barely almost missed it by one inch. Xiomar let out a huge sigh of relieve knowing that he hit the target as he confidently smiled to himself. "Well, that was easier said than done I guess," Xiomar smiled to himself.

Ferrah walked up to the line, stopping just shy of it. He looked to his right, his eyes barely grazing the quiver of arrows and the bow by their side as he looked at the rest of the other Magic Knight candidates. Letting loose arrows, many of them missing. Most of the candidates couldn't even use the bow properly. It was obvious they had never held a bow in their life. Well, Ferrah hadn't either, but he knew his strengths, and he wasn't planning on using a bow to accomplish his goal.

"*Use what you have and do your best to hit the target.*" That had given Ferrah everything he had needed to hear. This was Magic Knights exam after all, why wouldn't they want them to use their magic, and why test them with a weapon none of them had used before? "Kukukuku! Easy." Ferrah unfastened the strap that held his grimoire and it floated to his person, the book opening up as the pages flipped by, until they reached the spell that he wanted.

It happened in the blink of an eye, only those accustomed to tracking fast-moving objects, or perhaps those nearest to Ferrah, would've been able to track it, if they were looking that is. One second, there was a perfectly fine target, and the next a huge gouge had been taken out of the target, almost as if someone had taken a massive bite out of it. Only the very bottom of the target seemed to remain. "Aimed a little high I guess." His grimoire floated back to his satchel and he fastened it closed. "Kukukuku!" He looked up at the announcer as he pointed towards his target. "So, was that allowed?"

Kingston had been rather quite during the festivities. He was more-so focused on something that had been weighing heavy on his mind and had it not been for a bug landing on his nose, he would have still been within his thoughts and completely dumbfounded to the task before him. Slowly he approached the line and sighed, he took a quick glimpse of everyone around and their success or failure to preform the task at him.

His eyes widened as one of the participants got angry and walked to the target to stab it with the arrow. *"What an idiot."* Kingston whispered to himself in absolute shock at the stupidity displayed by the mage. Had he not known any better and been a fair man, he would have retorted to the many thoughts that other royals had when it came to those beneath their class. It was the act of a fool. No, better yet. The act of a hooligan who had no business being blessed with the opportunity to join the Magic Knights.

Shaking him out of his memory, the dark skinned Mage-in-training reached and grabbed his bow and arrow. He held the arrow between his thumb and index finger with his left hand and held the bow firmly with his right hand parallel to the ground with the strike towards his body. He then laid the shaft of the arrow on the bow's rest. Pulling back on the arrow, Kingston took a deep breath. There was a sudden image of his elder brother that flashed in his head as if his brother had been holding onto him and guiding him through this process which had actually been a memory of the two training in long range spells.

Releasing the arrow, Kingston's arrow departed the bow string and broke through the sound barrier. The amount of force he released was on another level as even the air itself rippled as the arrow traveled from the bow towards the target. It was aimed perfectly and on point. Upon meeting the target, the arrow struck right through the target, shattering the bullseyes before continuing to travel along the path into a nearby stand, destroying it.

Releasing his hand from the the string he struck a pose and looked around curiously. "Uh, sorry."

Frozen stood still at the line on station 77, looking at the bow in their hand. It seems almost small in the hands of the rimed giant, and the string kept stiffing up at their touch. "Well, this is a most interesting task. I never knew archery would be part of a magical exam." They said quietly. "Done this a few times, but doubt I can hit a bullseye at this distance."

Though considering the several people not even trying for the bulleye with the bow, and in Whiskey's case mindlessly beating the target, Frozen wasn't entirely certain they needed to.

Frozen stared for a few seconds longer before knocking the arrow as they drew the bow. Aiming upwards a bit, Frozen casually pulled the stringer farther back as the giant prepared to loose their shot.

At least that was the plan before a loud crack filled the air.

Dings filled the air as a hail of wood splinters bounced off the armor of Frozen, the bow shattering under the force of the giant's pull.

Frozen just looked down at the bow, the arrow lying a few feet to the side of them as the shock of the bow shattering causing it to bounce out of their armored grip.

"I hope that does not count as my shot," They mumbled before walking over to pick the arrow up. Thinking for a second, Frozen shrugged, "They never said we had to shoot the arrow."

Vapor poured off of Frozen's hand as ice coated the arrow, the ammunition lengthening as the arrow leveled up into a javelin. "Now this is something I know how to use a bit better," The giant said with a hint of satisfaction in their voice.

Drawing their arm back, the giant raised their foot before slamming it back down again, throwing the javelin towards the target, trails of watery vapor following behind it.

The target took the impact, twisting to the side some as the javelin pierced towards its right side, Frozen missing the bullseye but still catching the edge of target with a solid impact.

"Not a bullseye, but I will take it," They said with a nod at their performance, before looking towards the copy of their announcer for further instructions.

"Alright I got this!" Alessandro chanted to himself, reaching down for his bow and arrow. "I promised Master that I'd become a Magic Knight, so something like this won't stop me." Then as he began to pull in the string, without a firm grip he let go, slamming his hand into his own eye. "Ow! My eye!"

"Firmly grasp it idiot!" Aria yelled at him from across the way. She took her bow and arrow, a short but deep breath followed, the intensity was clear in her eyes, she wanted this. Pulling the string back the blonde mage took her aim, letting a breath out just as she let go! While she was aiming and hoping for a bullseye, she was a little over a dozen centimeters away. "Damn it." She murmured in disappointment.

"Okay...firmly grasp it." He said to himself before following it up with, "why does that sound slightly dirty?" He asked out loud, looking over to Aria who facepalms herself hearing the statement. Though after he was done, he gripped it back and took his own aim. "*Don't miss, Don't miss, don't miss!*\* he thought to himself. "*I don't care for how close it is, I just can't miss!*" After taking a deep breath, half way through exhaling he released it! His arrow shot with great speed...sadly his precision couldn't be on equal level. Where Aria was only a few centimeters away, Alessandro was only a few from missing it all together.

His arrow landed at the furthest edge of the target all together, but still, it landed. "Heck yes! Yes! Yes! Ha! I did it! I didn't miss!!! Yeah!!"

While exhaling Aria asked herself, "seriously this idiot can be too much at times."

Alev approached his station, mind racing as he repeated the instructions in his head. *Stand by the line, aim for the bullseye.* He grasped the wooden bow, feeling it with both of his hands. He had used a bow and arrow on a few occasions before and was sure he could manage to hit his target. Nocking his single arrow, he began to pull the bowstring back and narrowed his eyes as he aimed at the target. *Stand at the line. Aim for the bullseye...*Alev stopped, slowly letting the bowstring go limp. He was missing something. He let his bow hang by his side as he peered up at the rules of the task and read it aloud.

"You have a bow and arrow...by your side. Use what you have to hit the target...well, why the hell would it say that unless it meant..." Alev's eyes widened with realization. He dropped his wooden bow, the tool clattering as it hit the ground alongside the arrow. With a sly grin, Alev pulled his grimoire from its pouch. It became enveloped in a blood-orange glow of mana as it opened and floated in front of him. The nobleman closed his eyes and concentrated, a blob of lava forming above him. The molten mass undulated for a moment before beginning to shrink, Alev's fists clenching as the blob condensed into a ball about half a meter in diameter. Filled with excitement he opened his eyes, pointed at the target ahead, and giddily spoke, "Lava Magic: Magma Ball." The orb shot towards the target rapidly and slammed into it, the spell's intense heat instantly igniting it...at least for half a second before the ball burst. The explosion, while relatively small, blew apart the target and coated its remains in a layer of slag. It had been completely destroyed.

The dread of failure was already digging into her heart. Sora Greer was beyond terrified of not being at a spot where she had any idea of how to pass the test. Or, well, she had an idea, just not how to complete it. She held the bow in hand and nocked the arrow on the string. And at that moment she immediately felt the first issue: Her bow arm was not steady. Her arm was bordering on outright shaking. She needed to stabilize herself, but she did not know how. It was only when she felt movement in her bag that she was struck by an idea. Having watched others around her doing everything between taking giant munches out of the target and just straight up walking up to stab it with the arrow, she hoped that her next move would not outright disqualify her.

Whispering a small order, Flaked slithered out of her bag and moved over her bow arm and constricting around her arm, making it more robust and stable. She felt quite content with this move, granted that it didn't make her ineligible to proceed. Laying aim, holding arm, hand and arrow steady, she drew the string before letting loose, causing the arrow to fly through the air and slowly descending. Her aim had been off. It soared and struck at the lower end of it. But rather than hitting and embedding into the target, it pierced the very outer fringes of it, causing her arrow to slide off of the target and sticking down into the dirt. Cursing her own failure. she prayed for the best before looking up to the Emcee to see their judgement.

Dion was amongst the last to move towards the stations, not because he was slow, but because from the emcee’s instructions, to the instructions each and every contestant saw in the sky, it all flooded his brain simultaneously, leaving him unable to act. Both body and mind froze, Dion mumbling to himself restlessly. What was the right answer? What was a trick? What wasn’t? Many questions came in and went, sweat rapidly dripped from his temples down his body and he tapped his foot against the ground repeatedly.

“Stand at the line…but does that mean stay there? Do I use my magic? Maybe someone’ll see it, and that won’t be good, I also shouldn’t waste my magic power…or maybe the magic shouldn’t be used, otherwise, why give us a bow and arrow?” Dion questioned. “But he said if you don’t follow the instructions to a tee, you’d get disqualified…” Dion looked at the others, already preparing their attacks. “And if I take too long, I’ll be disqualified a-anyways. Shit, shit, shit!”

In a frenzy, Dion noted the emcee floating above them, and without much thinking, “Oi, instructor man! C-can I get some clarification on those rules?! They’re not exactly c-clear, no disrespect, by the way. I also understand if you don’t want to answer…or well, if you can’t!” He screamed.

The holographic emcee by Dion's side simply gave the boy a thumbs up, the floating words crackling once more. It pointed at Dion, and then to the words, and then to the bullseye.

"H-huh?! F-fuck does that mean, man?!" He noticed the worlds crackling, taking in word by word as his body automatically moved to the remaining station in a jog. "Stand at the line. Aim for the bullseye at the center of your target. You will have a bow and arrow by your side. Use what you have and do your best to hit the target. Follow these guidelines..." Dion repeated those words over and over. "He pointed at me...then at the words...then at the bullseye...I need to take those words to heart..."

Dion's eyes narrowed, remembering his talk with Ohdove the day prior, as well as Rosanne. "If I stay mediocre, I'll live a mediocre life..." Finally, he reached his station, skidding along the ground and causing dust to rise. Dion grabbed the arrow without much thought, standing at the line. Mana flowed from his hands, a large bubble forming in between them. "*My magic control isn't the best, especially with a bubble this size but I have to take this risk!*"

Remaining atop the bubble, Dion floated along with it, though due to the large amount of mana most of the applicants utilized, the bubble began to drift away from the target and towards the skies. "O-oh, shit, this isn't good, this ins't good!" Due to its transparency, to some it'd almost seem as if Dion was flying. Panicking while mid-air, once he realized controlling the bubble wouldn't work, Dion stabbed it with his arrow, causing it to break as well as the bubble itself, leaving Dion to fall towards the ground.

"AAAEHHEHUGH!!!" He screamed. The distance wasn't enough to kill, or perhaps seriously harm a person, but for someone like Dion, it was still scary. His hair and clothes fluttered against the wind, gravity bringing him down. Though he still screamed, Dion managed to focus on what was important as he approached the target itself from the skies. In mere seconds, Dion fell atop the target, causing it to fall with him, a single finger pressed against the bullseye.

"S-shit...d-does this count...?" He said feeling some back pain in response.

Bishop gazed down at the bow and arrows supplied to everyone for this first task of the exam. “Crude.” Then, his eyes shifted to the target. The thing he was meant to strike. One thing was for sure, Bishop wasn’t of physical aptitude to properly use this bow to strike the target. And that wasn’t because he was necessarily weak, he just wasn’t trained. But then another look at the rules. Perhaps he didn’t need to be good with a bow.

Bishop gripped the arrow with his barehand, looking at the target before him with a calm and determined gaze. A silver liquid dripped onto the floor with a plop, the arrow’s body seeming to melt in Bishop’s grasp. “Let’s get this over with.”

Reeling back his hand ever so slightly, Bishop gently tossed the arrow forward. However, where the arrow should’ve fell, it didn’t. Small brown or silver puddles were left on the ground as the arrow soared towards the target. It didn’t just fail to slow down, but also gained speed with each passing second. The arrow would make contact with the target, solidifying itself on impact.

Although the arrow didn’t hit a bullseye, it was still relatively close. One circle or layer away from being a perfect shot. After all, Bishop thought it fair to give the others a chance to shine.

Fen glared at the target ahead of him. A 50 metre distance, and the rules expected him to use a bow and arrow?! He looked at the holographic emcee, a bright smile plastered onto its face. It looked so stupid, so dorky with that damn hat and suit. Fen clenched his fists and grit his teeth as he looked back at the target. He had no experience with archery, and they wanted him to hit the target from here? Was this just a scam so that only the Noble’s would succeed?

No, Fen wouldn’t accept that. He would follow those rules, but he’d be a prick about it. He walked to the line, and stood by it. But he had no intention of using the damned bow and arrow he had been provided. Instead he pulled out the spear on his back, twirling it with his hands before stepping past the line and adjusting his hands to properly get a one handed grip on the weapon.

He charged towards the target, quickly covering the distance before thrusting his spear into the target. Fen pulled out his weapon, stabbing into it again. And again, and again, and again. He had rendered the target in various holes in moments, his anger at the uselessness of the task. Fen had seen others shoot the bow, others had used their flashy magic for it. But not him, he was stuck having to manually charge at the damn target.

Panting heavily as he stood on top of the fallen target, Fen sheathed his spear onto his back before screaming into the sky at the top of his lungs. “FUCK THIS BULLSHIT TASK!!!”

He moved his head around violently, like a beast locked in bloodlust. Fen's eyes settled on another target with an arrow embedded into it. Without waiting another beat the boy sprinted forwards with his spear, stabbing at the target repeatedly. Several puncture wounds now spoiled the hay target, Fen turning his eyes for another. Yet another target was laid victim to his blind and stupid rage before he yanked himself away and stomped back to his station.

"This exam is FUCKING RIGGED!!!"

Zephyr had been one of the first to arrive to the event. It had helped him calm his nerves, yet unlike yesterday, he wasn’t actually scared. In fact he was anxious for the tests to start. He was glad he had gone to the gala as he had felt it benefited him for the future. As the participants entered, Zephyr merely looked for Gray, who he saw in the distance. Once the only “friend” he had made came in, his sole focus now was on himself, the time to worry for others wasn’t now. He was going to pass, and all the advice he had been given the day before he’d take to heart.

The instructions were vague to say the least, but having dealt with a man of few words for around two years, Zephyr wasn’t batting an eye at the instructions. They were clear enough. He walked towards the line and glanced at the bow and arrows next to him, while others did the same, yet again, Zephyr seemed to have gone into a deep focused state that seemed rather out of character for someone as outgoing as him.

“From this distance I could if I use that...but still.” Zephyr’s fingers cracked before he pulled out his grimoire. “Use your strengths, Zeph.” He rallied himself as he swiftly flipped through a page.

The sound of thunder rumbled. A dark stream of clouds began manifesting around the boy, cracks of electricity slightly visible every now and then. The air changed around the boy, while a dark cloud formed in front of him, as the condensed formation of water and ice enlarged, Zephyr leapt and landed on top of the cloud itself, which gave the impression that he had landed in a comfortable cushion.

“Alright, let’s do this.” Extending his left arm forward, the cloud suddenly released more contained streaks of electricity under it, before launching itself from where it stood at high speeds, leaving behind a gust of wind that caused dust to rise. Zephyr rode his thundercloud which shortened the distance at great speeds, passing the 25 meter mark incredibly quickly. As it did, the boy placed his extended arm on top of the cloud, as the electricity continued to crackle, and converge on the front part of the cloud, which also extended slightly into a sharp front. Zephyr had declared he was going to give it his all and prove himself, even such a menial task he would do in the most effective manner he could accomplish at the moment.

Instead of launching a bolt of electricity as many would expect, Zephyr used his limited control over it to charge up his thundercloud, especially within the sharp edge he had extended in the front part of the cloud, the electrical energy gathering around and in front, serving as both a shield and spear he had developed for multiple purposes. Increasing in speed at the last 20 meters remaining, Zephyr’s body was slightly jerked back at his cloud’s increased flight speed, allowing him to ram straight through the target, rather, aiming to pulverize it into countless pieces as the boy would look back at it and smirk, still riding atop his thundercloud. The sharp, electrified front of the cloud disappeared, and the electrical charges ceased, leaving the boy floating comfortably within his lane, wondering if it was actually the best course of action he could’ve taken. He shrugged as he finally turned to glance at several of the participants, each one accomplishing the task in their own way.

“Oh well, what’s done is done.”

One arrow and a bow. A single target.

"Okay. I can already tell this isn't going to be good," Gron mumbled to himself as he reached for the bow and arrow.

Gron tapped his foot into the ground and licked his finger which he stuck into the air, checking to see if there was any interrupting or influencing winds going through the coliseum at his turn. Gron looked to the distance and back to his position, before lifting his bow and holding the arrow steadily in place, slightly tilting his upper-body upwards and so the aim of the weapon as he pulled back the arrow onto the bowstring. He clutched the bow tightly and slightly bounced it up and down, mumbling some words to himself before tilting it a little more upwards to the sky. While Gron looked like the last kind of person to know how to use a weapon, he was certainly quick to learn, especially after watching most of the others take their turn, even if they ended up using another method.

"If I tilt it upwards a bit more, I should be able to reduce the risk of the arrow hitting the ground too quickly. That with the force, I think I should be hitting around, well, definitely not the bullseye," He continued talking to himself.

"Winds don't look like their going to interfere, but just incase they do," Gron said before moving his upperbody to face slightly left, "I guess there's an increase of twelve percent to actually hitting the target."

With everything in place, Gron proceeded to let go of the arrow, and allowed the bow to propel the projectile forward into the air. The arrow soared upwards and forwards, before becoming embedded into the upper portion of the target, seemingly in the middle with the same distance between the bullseye and the upper edge. The sight seemed neither disappointing or encouraging, with Gron only placing the bow down and scratching his chin whilst he squinted at the target.

"Maybe I should have aimed a little lower," Gron nodded his head, "Or perhaps pulled back a little bit less."

Walking towards his respective station ,stopping in front of it, Geahrd closed his eyes and took a deep sigh swallowing once and for all the feeling of insecurity that persistently tried to swallow him since he left Bella Revenwine , muttering before stepping forward:

"You can't let anxiety botch everything now..."

Picking up a bow and arrow, Gehard went to the line marking the spot where the shot should be taken, with his arm extended and held the bow firmly, positioning the arrow, but at first he didn't tense the string and didn't shoot either, facing the target 50 meters away, the boy couldn't help but feel uncomfortable, because even though he was used to target practice using daggers he had never done it at such a distance, and neither using a bow and arrow, which led him to grumble:

"Damn it is a considerable distance, especially for a completely inexperienced archer like me...", without ceasing to be hesitant Gehard got into the proper position , and with the arrow at the height of his he finally pulled it ,along the line towards him , closing one of his eyes he aimed at the center of the target, and finally fired the arrow.

The arrow ripped through the air at a surprising speed, above the average of a common shot, which was not for less since young Silva had applied all the force he could when tensioning the thread, and perhaps if it were not for this force the arrow would not have kept its rectilinear trajectory and hit the center of the target in full .

"Oh Yeeeah!" exclaimed Gehard, contemplating his achievement with a broad smile on his face.

Rebekah couldn't help but smile at Fen's barbarianism. It seemed like spending so much time with her brother wasn't exactly the most productive. Hell, she could feel Samson scream in excitement and support. However she understood Fen's frustration more than anything else. They were side by side when their grimoires came to them. And she could remembering the explosion that followed when he saw his magic. But although she was annoyed by his roars and endless demands of a do-over, which then turned into him trying to trade his grimoire with others, Rebekah felt a hint of jealousy. For he possessed a magic so pure....

Either way, now was the time for Rebekah to prove to the world why she deserved to be a lioness. And more importantly, prove how much she**didn't** need his constant overbearing muscles hovering her every decision. She finally had all eyes on her for once and not as the famed Clover Kingdom's **Spirit of Battle'**s little sister.

Archery? Simple enough. She heard the crowd's whispers about how a member of the Tribe of Solomon should ace this task. Others retelling stories of those savages spending endless summers hunting giant monsters for food. Rebekah almost thought about fucking this up on purpose. Almost. That tiny little piece of pride wouldn't let her. She sharpened her gazed, pulled the string and took a deep breath.

**Skin Reinforcement Magic: Aether Amalgamation**

Her body glowed with a light aura for an instant before vanishing. Her skin started tingling as her sense of touch grew well beyond her body. Every vibration. Conversation. And the slightest change in the wind's direction. However, Rebekah closed her eyes in an attempt to drown out all the excess noise. She just needed to focus on the wind itself.

The arrow pierced the bullseye

She lowered the bow as her spell deactivated. *"Use what I have to hit the target."* Rebekah thought to herself.

## The Second Task

With the first task concluded, the emcee floating far above waved his hand. The stations broke apart, fading into the ethereal. His voice boomed out and echoed in the coliseum, audible for all. “Well done!! You’ve all finished the First Task! If you remember, however…there is a matter of those who are being disqualified…”

“I have the list,” the emcee flicked his wrist and conjured up a note board. His eyes faced the paper, his voice still thundering down. “The number of applicants that have been disqualified…is 0! You all followed the rules, and some of you went for the loophole. After all, I never said you had to use the bow. Or even stay at the line. You’ve all been assigned points based on how you’ve done!”

The emcee spread his arms wide. “This year, we handed out to each of you orange coloured tokens! Our top three scorers will find their tokens glowing a gold, silver or bronze! Kingston Draconus, first! Dion, second! Fen Monroe, third! Well done!”

“Do not let that discourage you all, you’re all quite close to them in points…the standings can and WILL change dramatically in our second and final task of the day!!!!” the emcee was yelling at the top of his lungs. A wave of his hands, and several portals opened up via Spatial Magic. But there weren’t enough for each applicant. The next moment, glowing numbers appeared across all of their heads, a brilliant orange.

“Find those who’s numbers you match with for this team-based scavenger hunt for a set of obsidian rings!” he clapped his hands together. “Discuss your plans with your teammates, and head into one of the provided portals to begin. We wish you luck! Glory to Clover!!”

### Royal, Broke, Honour

Fen wasn’t sure what to make of this exam. How was the final task a glorified search for a bunch of toys?! There had to be more to this. Maybe there was only one set, so only one team could win? Or maybe there was only one of those rings, so the teammates would have to duke it out. Whatever the case way, Fen had a bit of pride glistening within him. He had scored in the top three! Clearly the Captains had recognized how much of a badass he was. Even more impressive, Dion was second. And despite Fen’s competitive spirit, he wasn’t envious of Dion. It simply gave him another goal to surpass him.

After a bit of searching, Fen found his way to a tall armoured figure with a similar glowing “1” as his own. “Holy fuckin’ shit!” Fen yelled. “You’re tall as shit, dude. You drank a lotta milk or somethin’?”

"Greetings Sir Monroe," Frozen responded with a stiff bow at the approaching teammate. "And I do when I have it available. A balanced diet is essential to living a healthy lifestyle. I would not be as effective if I did not keep such habits. I am glad that you have noticed. Thank you."

Frozen looked around for their third team mate, only seeing them due to it appearing that the three of the tallest applicants were on one team, only Whiskey outheighting them. "But I suppose we should probably meet up with our third team member before we discuss a strategy." They said before the armored giant began trudging in that direction.

"Er, yeah. You're welcome I think?" Fen replied. But he agreed with Frozen and began to walk alongside them as they made their way towards Kingston. "So, uh. What's your name?"

"Frozen, Frozen Shogun," The giant stated calmly.

"Your parents must've fuckin' loved you!" Fen burst out with excitement. They weren't that far from their third member now, he hoped. "That's such a badass name, bro. What even is a shogun?"

"A great warrior, though I do not know much more. I only had a single book in which it was mentioned." Frozen responded.

Kingston stood by his lonesome. After being split away from who the one who seemed to be his only friend, he was forced to socialize with people he didn't know, something he hated above all else. However, after the announcement of his standing as number one in their last trial, he refused to let his dislike get in the way of standing at the top.

With slow steps he approached the group with a lazy wavy, "Yo. So, we hunt, we find, we win. Pretty simple right?" Kingston said, inserting himself into the conversation.

Fen nodded in greeting back. This was the boy ahead of him in the rankings, not counting Dion. While Fen knew that he’d have to try and defeat him eventually, for now he respected how to the point he was. Fen didn’t want to have to talk to people if he didn’t have to, making friends wasn’t exactly his forte. He was honestly lucky that he even had three to begin with, four if he counted his uncle.

“Hey. Should we talk magic before we hop in?” Fen began, gritting his teeth as he thought about his magic. “My magic…is pretty much useless. All it’ll do is make sure all of us don’t stay down. But I’ve got a spear that can’t break.”

Frozen nodded to Kingston before responding to Fens' Question. "I use Glacial Magic. It is a subtype of Ice Magic, though it trades speed for enhanced power and high durability. I doubt anyone besides the royals among the new recruits can break it." They paused for a second before continuing, "We may wish to talk and move though, I do not foresee people waiting too long before entering the portal."

Fen simply nodded, jutting his head towards one of the portals. "Lets go, Shogun." he called out as the pair entered the vortex.

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

“GAAAAAAAHHHHHH WHAT THE FUCK!!” Fen’s voice was a roar that echoed throughout the halls of the Labyrinth as he fell to his knees, hands grasping his jewels. Spatial Magic was absolute bullshit as far as Fen was concerned. Once upon a time, Fen had actually wanted this magic. And now that he had experienced it for the first time, he swore that he’d backhand any Spatial Magic user he met.

He stumbled to his feet, using the wall as support as he glanced around. A long hallway laid before them, paths leading to the front and behind them. Fen unsheathed his spear and brandished the weapon outwards at the sound of the monsters, even allowing a grin to curl onto his face. He craned his neck back to his teammate. “Which way?” Fen asked. He paused as he noted that he hadn't been followed. Was that their plan? To use him as a pawn?

He clenched his fists angrily. "GAAAAAH. FUCKIN' ROYAL PEOPLE AND FANCY FUCKS THINK THEY CAN USE ME LIKE THAT?!" he roared. "I'LL BEAT THE FUCK OUT OF ANYBODY WHO GETS IN MY WAY-"

A mighty figure crashed into him, ramming him repeatedly through the walls.

Frozen frowned as their feet touched the ground again, knees threatening to buckle, the spatial magic making even the stoic figure grimace for a moment as they got their bearings, though the mask prevented it from showing. As they regained their balance, they looked about, only to not see the spearman around them.

"Did Fen run ahead and leave me behind?" Frozen asked out loud for a second, recollecting that Fen had far outpaced the armored swordsman on their way to the portal. Frozen generally did not move quickly over distance, and Fen had nearly sprinted into it. The giant looked around for a moment, noting the sign on the wall, and more importantly, the hole in the wall.

"I do not think that spear broke the wall," Frozen stated observantly. "So it was either there when he got here, or something broke through it and Fen followed." They finished as the giant noticed the sounds of more broken walls coming from the hole, "I should probably follow." Frozen stated further, before drawing their sword and moving with as much haste as they could muster to follow the sound of breaking rocking and swearing knight.

### Out of Town

Making his way towards Dion and Zephyr with a smirk on his face, Gray waved to the duo clearly happy to see that his new team consisted of his new best pal and Dion. "Yoo Dion you lucky bastard, you ranked second !!" He called out excitedly towards his bubble user as he neared his team for the exams. Turning to Zephyr he gave him a glare as he was a bit put out that his partner had arrived later than they agreed upon.

"Your late Zeppy!!"

"HUUUUUUUUUH?! I GOT SECOND?! WHAT THE FUCK?!" Dion screamed out loud. His badge shone a silver color, it made him slightly stressed to have such a high placing, especially since he was above Fen, and this caused Dion to walk mindlessly across the arena, only stopping once Gray had met up with him and Zephyr. His eyes were reminiscent to spirals.

"Dude you been totally holding out on us!!!" Gray exclaimed as he patted the other teen on the back to try to help him calm down. "It seems you beat out Fen who got Third" he congratulated with a friendly grin.

"H-heheheh...it was just luck man...I can't even believe it myself..." Dion said, scratching the back of his head as he blushed. "But keep the compliments coming...anyways!" Dion shook his head. "What is it we gotta do again guys?!"

Zephyr glared at the announcer as he walked towards his selected group. “Tch! Not even top three? C’mon...” He grumbled under his breath. Should he admit it or not, he realized there was a competitive nature within him he had forgotten about.

He smirked once Gray began complaining about something, he had ignored every word, something about being late. But then he looked at the one beside him, a puzzled look from the one that had just been announced as the number 2 in ranking for the tests.

He looked at Gray, then back at Dion, before bursting into a chuckle. “This dumbbass really-Hahahahahaha!” Zephyr grabbed his stomach as he hunched down from the pain of his laughter. He wiped a tear from his eye and then walked closer to Dion.

“Pheewww! Man, this test is really full of surprises, eh?”

"We are participating in a scavenger hunt or something, gotta locate some Obsidian Rings but for some reason I have this nagging feeling that that ain’t all we gonna end up doing." Gray commented as he glared at Zephyr who bluntly ignored him before turning his attention back Dion.

"Pay no attention to our idiot of a partner, we prolly should get moving before we end of behind the rest of the teams." He suggested as he closed his eyes in a effort to sense the other squads utilizing the nature around him among his other essential ability.

“H-hey…what’s so…funny?” Dion said to himself posture slouching once more as his hands immediately sought comfort in his pockets, eyes darted everywhere. “I-I’m not a dumbass man…come on…”

Amidst his eyes moving, he noticed once more his two friends. Fen and Bishop. Would they have taken such an insult to their person? No. The answer was as clear as day. They wouldn’t. Fen would probably stab Zephyr while Bishop would say he was under him. They’d both reprimand Dion…

“W-what’s so damn funny?! Keep on laughing like that and you’ll never rank higher than me!” He screamed at Zephyr. It wasn’t that he hadn’t taken in Gray’s words, in fact he seemed like the most knowledgeable out of the three but something inside Dion didn’t like Zephyr’s taunts.

“Tch!” First, his head turned towards Gray, pointing at him with a slightly annoyed yet comical expression. “Oi! Don’t call me an idiot just cause I like to joke a bit, sheesh.” He then switched to observe Dion. He looked at the flustered boy up and down with a more serious expression than he had, but then crept up a slight smile.

“Heh! I guess you’re not a fluke after all. Just means I gotta work harder.” He raised a thumbs up to Dion, completely unfazed by his stressed behavior.

“Name’s Zephyr. And don’t worry, I may look idiotic and Gray may be a nerd, but we’re sort of dependable. Let’s devise a strategy as we walk there, okay?”

*”W-what the hell…that actually worked?!”* Dion thought to himself, so that was how Fen did things, maybe standing up for himself was something he should’ve done more often! Shaking his head, before he sighed with relief, a small smile overcame him as well.

“Right, right. Strategy, what exactly are we doing? I guess…we need to know where we’ll be going?” Dion noted.

“Well the weird announcer said a scavenger hunt.” Zephyr pointed at the portals that had manifested as he walked. “He said to head into one of these. He didn’t specify which, and I’m not sure if they close after a team has gone in.” He shrugged.

“But I guess we shouldn’t waste too much time devising a plan and go ahead and tackle our task, right? We can strategize on the go, since we don’t got much to work with anyways.”

"Yeah sounds good to me, but. Wonder if we gonna clash into other teams?" Gray questioned as he began walking forward beckoning the group to follow him.

“Not sure…I hope not, fighting is not really my strong suite…” Dion added, the trio finally reaching the portal.

"Whelp we best get to it then because this here is our entrance." Gray said as he looked at the portal in front of them before poking a finger at it. "Shall we?"

“H-he’s so cool….” Dion said out loud, eyes glittery. “R-right, let’s do this!!”

Yanking to the duo in the Portal, Gray took charge wanting to get this over already.

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

Dion saw no tunnel, no lights, and no bricks, much less the words scratched on the walls. All he saw, and all he tasted...was dirt. Travelling through Spatial Magic was something Dion had never experienced. It felt completely awful, like he was going to puke his gut out, and following that, once they had reached their destination, the damage to his privates had been completely unreal. His body plumetted against the earth, and for a few seconds, Dion remained there. "A-are we there yet..."

Zephyr had passed through spatial portals once or twice during his travels, and he always hated it. At that time, he used certain tools to provide an artificial “Mana Skin” to protect him against that and the dense environments he was usually exposed to, but passing through it without protection made his stomach twist and his ears ring. He pushed through it, unlike his teammate, stepping into the corridor yet breathing slightly heavy.

“Ugh, It’s not worse than being exposed to his magic power, but it still made me feel weird.” Zephyr grumbled, using his senses to see if Dion was alright. His Ki was stable, yet slightly disturbed. “Yeah, I think we’re-“ Suddenly, the roar of a creature caused him to become alert, as a drop of sweat fell from his forehead.

“Hey, bud. I know it’s annoying but, stay on your toes.” He said. “I can’t pinpoint its location yet, but we’re definitely not alone here...”

"I don't know man, the ground seems kinda comfy now that I think about it..." Dion said, body tightening at the creature's roar. He turned his head to look at Zephyr, noticing that unlike him, he wasn't on the ground.

"What the fuck dude, you didn't feel none of that stuff that portal did?"

“Course I did!” Zephyr said as he reached for his Grimoire. “Honestly It’s taking a lot to not fall into the ground like you. But this feeling...”

He sniffed the air and looked around, forward and back. “This place feels like one of those weird tombs Mal and I investigated. Which means we cannot let our guard down.” He said sternly, his jokester behavior being replaced by seriousness. Holding out his grimoire, with the slight rumble of thunder, a puffy dark cloud manifested from thin air. It would crawl under Dion and lift him, the young man surely feeling as if he was floating in the most comfortable pillow. However, Zephyr noted something even stranger.

“Mana’s dense here...even my most simple spell, is taking more out of me than usual. This definitely feels...” He gulped. “Like a dungeon...”

Dion felt the ground underneath him become soft, and soon enough his body had been lifted from it. Somewhat scared, Dion rearranged himself, only noticing later that it was Zephyr's magic power that allowed this. Dion dusted himself off, sitting comfortably, criss-crossed on the cloud. It was impressive magic.

"Mal? Who's that?" Dion asked, eyes moving everywhere, he too felt that the dungeon was terrifying, whether due to mana or not.

The earth quaked, rumbling. Dust began to shudder off of the walls as writing seemingly sank into the bricks. The sound of dense nails scratching over a chalkboard echoed out as they'd all see a wall appear several metres in front of them, slithering out of the hallway they were in and cutting off the passage ahead. Monstrous giggles echoed out once again, but this time they were louder.

Zephyr stopped on his tracks as the hallway shook and the wall blocked their path. “Tch!” He glanced at Dion. “He’s a Vice Captain. I’ll tell you all about it later, we got trouble.” He turned back to face the wall ahead, pondering on his next actions. “Gray! What do you make of this? Should we try and break through and see if we can continue ahead, or turn around and go the way they seem to want us to take?”

"That’s a stupid question, if we make our own path we might encounter something far bigger than whatever is here with us." Gray stated with narrowed eyes as he monsters giggles continue to echo. "But at the same time this is an exam and we ain’t get no rule stating that we gotta follow the path laid out before us." He suggested before glancing at his team.

Frowning a bit Gray knelt down and placed his palm against the cold ground before closing his eyes a bit and releasing a soft stream of mana into the earth below. From the inner pocket of his jacket a soft green glow could be seen emitting from Grimoire as he utilized a bit of his mana to manipulate the growth of plant life beneath the ground of the labyrinth in a attempt to map out the structure and possible get a good understanding on what was around and where to avoid. "Give me a moment you two, I want to test something." Gray stated once he began mixing his sense with the expanding plant root that was digging and spreading throughout the area in a spider web like manner.

"If we could avoid running into any unnecessary situations before we find the rings then it would probably be for the best." He suggested.

Dion noticed the green glow from Gray’s grimoire and said not a single word. To say that he was thoroughly impressed would’ve been an understatement. Gray looked both calm and composed, while Dion continued to sweat profusely. “Badass…” He inferred, from his concentration, that some type of sensing was going on from Gray’s part. The group moved slightly forward, Dion still looking everywhere. It was his first time seeing a dungeon after all.

“Excuse me…errr…Won’t they expect us to take that pre-determined path?” Dion noted. “I’m guessing this dungeon’s been supervised before, to make sure it’s safe and everything…which means that path is a sure fire way…but then again, this is a labyrinth. Maybe it’s constantly changing….” Dion got lost in his own thought and to test his theory, he remained motionless while Gray continued to sense, keen on finding out if the dungeon moved again.

“Well, I guess just walking won’t do much. If things get ugly, we’ll just get on top of my cloud and scram.” Zephyr said. Under Dion, the cloud he sat on began to charge up electricity, and while the magic knight prospect would remain unaffected, he would certainly feel the vibrations and energy being generated.

“I don’t know if we’re on a time limit, so let’s just risk it, don’t ya’ think?” He said as his Grimoire switched pages, the electricity continuing to build up as he prepared for a spell. “I know you guys want this as much as I, so let’s just take on whatever they throw at us!”

To stand still in such an echoey chamber. Were they confident in their abilities? Or perhaps too busy thinking of a plan to act. The answer didn’t matter in the end, for they’d be the first group to understand a fundamental truth about these hellscapes. It all came down to skill. Rationale meant nothing.

A blur of blue skin burst from the ground beneath them, bricks already moving to repair themselves as this grotesque creature roared. At eight feet tall while hunched over, a puffy and messy scarlet mane of hair while wearing nothing more than a loincloth…a Magic Beast had appeared. The Hobgoblin. It giggled, the same noise they heard earlier, as it scratched its metallic fingernails against one another.

The giggle suddenly deepened in pitch and distorted as the Hobgoblin pounced, bringing down its claws at Dion.

It was only thanks to his earlier acting’s of linking with his sensory roots that allowed Gray to act fast and utilize the magic he infused with the ground and portions of the wall, reacting faster than his other two teammate Gray willed a collective of thorny tendrils to burst from the ground and wrap themselves around the Hobgoblin while simultaneously allowing a plant root to hook around the ankle of Dion, yanking him backwards and out of the Hobgoblins clawed hands should his throws vines fail to hold the beast in place.

"Zeppy!!" Gray shouted out towards his friend hoping he would understand what he wanted and launch an attack towards the Hobgoblin.

The appearance of the Hobgoblin from underneath them was truly surprising. The creature’s life force became apparent from the moment it emerged, and its intent was easy to read. It wanted to attack, whatever it encountered on its way.

While reacting a second after Gray, Zephyr was able to spring into action quickly. The beast had appeared almost right after he questioned their predicament out loud, as if an answer to his inquiry. The Hobgoblin aimed for Dion, and casting a spell would take too long, enough time for the creature to rip apart his teammate. Luckily, Zephyr had both his grimoire out and his thundercloud charged up, in fact, he had infused enough mana into it before, as he awaited his team’s response to whether they blasted through the wall in front or chose the other path. With his thundercloud being charged up, Zephyr merely needed a swipe of his hand, to finish the spell he had prepared, and unleash the built up energy within the cloud.

“This will tickle a bit!” Zephyr exclaimed to Dion, as the magical electricity would prickle the young man at the very least, while underneath, the cloud released a single lightning bolt towards the Hobgoblin. Manipulating the electricity’s direction with utmost precision was still beyond the scope of some of Zephyr’s spells and ability, but in this case, the Hobgoblin having targeted Dion worked in his favor, as he was able to release the focused energy in a single bolt that would target the incredibly close enemy. The cloud itself flew towards the direction of Gray’s vine on the boy’s ankle, being pulled away with Dion in tow in case the bolt failed to meet its mark, but also as if keeping its protection over Dion as well. After the strike, a thunderous shockwave would rattle the vicinity, the sound of thunder following behind the bolt, such a combination surely affecting the broken floor should the spell be strong enough or miss the Hobgoblin.

“**Thunder Magic: Thunder Charge**!!

In an instant, so many things had happened that Dion nearly peed himself. A monster came towards him, weapon in tow, and before his scream could even escape his lips, something seemed to move him.

“AHHHH, WHAT’S GOING ON?!” Dion screamed as he was lifted from the cloud. For the brief time that he was airborne he could see the charged lightning that escaped from Zephyr’s cloud. And as he fell towards the ground, still screaming, the cloud served as a landing spot once more.

It struck. Lightning crackled from the cloud and into the Hobgoblin as it screamed in pain, writhing as it halted its attack. It screeched and screeched, until the cries of pain became a horrifying laughter. The lightning was no longer crackling around it, but on its metallic nails. Each nail popped off and fell to the ground, carrying the lightning with it.

And with such an opening being made and Zephyr being close by, the Hobgoblin pounced at the boy to clamp down on his shoulder with its sharp teeth before spitting him into a wall.

“Eeeeek! That’s scary!” Zephyr pointed out, visibly flustered after his confidence seemingly vanished as the beast began to cackle. It wasn’t the first time he’d come across such creatures, in fact, it was this experience that helped him react quickly, but now he had realized, there was no longer an experienced Knight at his side. It was him, and two other prospects, who individually, probably wouldn’t stand a chance against a Hobgoblin. He realized that he had to be more cunning than ever if he hoped to survive this world, yet also trust his own instincts more than ever.

Zephyr placed his hands in front, quickly gathering mana and manifesting a dark cloud in a moment, providing something to stand between him and the Hobgoblin for the time being. The Hobgoblin still would’ve pushed the cloud alongside Zephyr with his strength, the boy’s back hitting the wall that had blocked their path. Yet the cloud had grown larger and “puffier” at an accelerated rate. The Hobgoblin wouldn’t have been able to see Zephyr underneath the growing cloud of fluffyness that he would lie upon.

Underneath, Zephyr’s grimoire had turned to a page he didn’t intend to use under this circumstance, as he had planned to cast the spell in a different way. While enlarging, the cloud’s density shifted constantly, between a soft and bouncy texture, to a dense and absorbing one. The cloud aimed to keep the Hobgoblin in place with the power of its softness, almost as if it were cotton, offering a chance for his team to capitalize, keeping his spell prepared to be cast at any moment.

Zephyr had succeeded. The Hobgoblin ran right into the cloud, swiping it at as its shifting densities began to hold it still. An intelligent maneuver on his end that would allow him and his party to gain an advantage. Or they should have. From within the cloud, the beast’s ears twitched. Absurd hearing was a Hobgoblin’s best sense.

It dug its hands into the ground, scooping up chunks of stone and brick that began to repair itself. With its hearing, it could hear Dion’s scream. Zephyr’s breathing and the fluttering of the Grimoire. And with two fell throws, the Hobgoblin threw rubble at both Zephyr and Dion.

There was a brief moment of hesitation, where Dion appeared to take no action. He gulped, glad that it was Zephyr that was attacked, and not him. He was out of danger, hand moving immediately to his mop, as if that could defend him. In fact, with Zephyr having used his clouds to slow the creature down was his perfect chance! He could make a run for it.

“AHHHHH!” Dion ran towards the creature, even going past it, for a moment, it seemed as if he abandoned his teammates completely, he ducked when a piece of stone came towards him, barely dodging it through sheer reflex, though a slight grazing manifested on his cheek. Once he had reached the creature’s side, Dion instead turned around, using all the momentum he gathered as he grabbed onto his mop’s handle. Bubbles formed at its strands, gathering within.

“Fuck you!” Dion cursed, and he attempted to hit the goblin with his enhanced weapon, though rather than simply strike once, Dion instead began to….wipe? It was almost as if the hobgoblin was full of filth, the way Dion moved his mop, After his first attack, what followed didn’t even appear to be damaging, all it did was bother, if not tickle the goblin, leaving traces of soap and water behind, even washing over the cloud if the creature didn’t react. Still, Dion seemed determined.

“Zephyr, light that fucker!”

Zephyr blinked several times from disbelief at Dion’s unusual fighting style. It was one of the strangest things he had seen in a while, yet due to his slight distraction, he forgot to focus on the “Ki” of the incoming bricks, one of them hitting him on the forehead, slightly dazing him as he crouched.

“O-Okay!” Zephyr responded to Dion. He extended his palm outwards, both the puffy cloud near them and the one in the back used for transportation both reacted. The one in the back launched itself at the beast, while the one that had shielded Zephyr also flew towards the other cloud, and with their trajectory, they’d quickly run and slam into each other, attempting to force the Hobgoblin in between for a flashy conclusion, hopefully.

It was clear that Zephyr had expended quite some mana, breathing heavily as he bleed from his forehead, yet he wasn’t about to give up just yet. His desire for being top three in the test wasn’t nearly as great as his drive to succeed and realize his goal. He had to be smart, strategic and capable, just to even be considered for this journey, but if he didn’t put his all into this obstacle, even if there were greater ones further ahead, he’d regret this decision for some time to come.

The clouds aimed to meet, as once again, they would discharge an exorbitant amount of electrical power, hoping this time the Hobgoblin’s masochistic behavior aided in its downfall.

“**Thunder Magic: Pulse Shocker!**”

A brilliant flash of lightning crackled forwards, the Goblin wiping at the bubbles and soap that had been scrubbed into it. Inadvertently spreading it further across its body. It had finally ripped off the cloud, just as lightning struck it. What happened next was almost instant. Lacking its metal claws, and made even more conductive by the water across it, the lightning instantly fried it. Navy blue skin became charcoal, hair fried off as the beast fell to its knees, dying with one final giggle.

A flash of purple as the creature broke apart into chunks of sludge, revealing a single floating obsidian ring.

“H-HOLY FUCK, DID YOU SEE THAT?! HOLY SHIT! ZEPHYR!” Dion couldn’t even believe it, he grabbed on to the ring, jumping happily, though not before falling into the sludge and hitting his head. “Damn it….”

“Puhahaha-ow...” Zephyr couldn’t help but laugh at Dion’s antics. He clenched the side of his head in pain, taking deep breaths as both clouds dispersed.

“That’s cool and all but, anyone got some juice or something?” He said as he felt nauseous and weakened, having expended quite a bit of mana during the brief exchange.

While both Zeppy and Dion stood frontal in the confrontation, Gray stood back providing the support by focusing on keeping the Hobogoblin restrained with his vines thus allowing Dion and Zephyr to deal the heavy damages to the creature. "Good Job ya two" Gray praised his partners as he made his way closer to them. "Good thing I planned in advance or that coulda been bad." He stated while his Grimoire erupted outwards again and split open.

"Now hold still a sec let me heal ya up a bit." He said to Zephyr and Dion as a soft green/yellow glow encircled their tired bodies and began to heal and revitalize them from their exhaustion seeing as they were still technically located at the entrance of the dungeon. After finishing healing the duo Gray tossed them a small drink he kept stored in his floral pouch he carried around.

"Drink up quick and let’s move seeing as we got attacked at the start means we might be encountering more before we hit the central." Gray stated before once again burying his palm in the ground once more Grays grimoire erupted again as a group small humanoid plants quickly bloomed from the ground and began scampering all around the cave.

"These are ma Plant Babies, walking pouches of healing mana and other stuff." Gray explained to Zephyr and Dion as he handed the duo a pair each. "Hang on to them they gonna be real handy." He finished as he began walking forward after waiting a bit for them to finish revitalizing.

“O-oh yeah, thanks!” Dion said, lowering his head for an instant. The cut that had opened up closed once again, almost as if it had never happened. Whatever the drink was he gulped it down, and surprised by Gray’s magic, he grabbed onto one of the pouches. “Not just for the healing but y’know, saving me back then. Would’ve died without you two…” Dion said awkwardly looking around.

"Don’t ya worry bout it, we’re a team and friends ain’t we?" Gray stated with a nonchalant wave. "Besides even if we ain’t, I couldn’t let ya be killed just for an exams that ain’t real Magic Knight like." He finished with a friendly smile.

Dion nodded, remaining over where the ring previously was. “We need to find a set of obsidian rings, huh….” Dion thought out loud. “Guys, I don’t think we should move on forward.” He noted. “I think…if the rings come from monsters, and that one attacked us from underneath….” Dion pointed at the ground. “Then that’s where we should go.”

"You want us to dig ….down?" Gray questioned as he started at Dion with a tilted head trying to ensure he had in facts heard correctly?

“Dig, punch, whatever you guys can do. If that…ugly thing came down there, chances are, there’s a bunch of more ugly things where it came from. Meaning we can get that set of rings quicker.” Dion noted.

"Well that might be a problem." Gray began as he glanced towards the ground with a frown. "Earlier when I attempted to spread my roots, they failed to penetrate he lower layer of the ground." He continued as his mind tried to put together the pieces of the puzzle that lay before him mental mindscape.

"Either that Hobgoblin was way stronger than what we initially thought, which I find a bit off considering it was a E-Ranked beast." Gray continued as he glanced towards where the Beast was slain. "Or it appeared there instantly, which I find more realistic as I didn’t sense it until after it appeared even when I was connected to my roots."

Frowning and glancing around slightly with narrowed eyes Gray tired to find any odd indentation or structures in the are. "Perhaps, And I know this might sound weird but what If something or someone is spawning them in our location." He finished questionably.

“Woah...” Zephyr said as he grabbed the drink and pouch, feeling his stamina recovering and his head wound healing. He continued sipping on his drink as he walked around the area of where the creature died, walking past it and reaching the hole it popped out from. Zephyr squinted his eyes below, then back at the duo, then below, took a sip of his drink, and pointed downwards.

“Or...hear me out. OR...” He put the can in the bag. “We can just hop down this hole.” He snickered.

“Gray does have a point, creatures like that just don’t “pop” rings out. Those things are weird though. We might just follow where it came from.” He put on a devilish grin and looked at Gray.

“Yo, so since I carried us on this first win, you wanna’ help us get down?” His eyes then switched to Dion, the real person he was referring to, as he contained his laugh as much as he could.

"Guess it’s down the hole then." Gray mumbled to himself feeling a bit of headache coming on. "So Dion, we going down?"

Dion scratched the back of his head. “I don’t really get the spawning thing….if this is a game then it’s a damn bad one…” Dion told the other two. “But you’re smart Gray, so I’ll trust you. Now, as for getting down there. I have…no idea how to do it!” Dion clapped his hands together.

“So if you two, clearly superior mages could blast through, that would be awesome!”

Letting out a tired tired sigh, Gray summoned a few vines from his Grimoire when he then manipulated into the shape and form of a ladder that lead down the hole. "If we die, I’ma haunt ya both for eternity." He grumbled as he indicated towards the created ladder.

"Onwards I suppose."

“Woot! Hehe! Race ya’ll down!” Zephyr said, having recovered a bit of his energy and jumping on top of a small, puffy cloud he just created. Closing his grimoire for the time being, he went on ahead, using the slight sparks of electricity from the thundercloud to light the path below.

And as the three made their way down the hole gingerly, everything seemed fine. Despite the creeping darkness as they descended further down, there seemed to be no issues. Eventually they’d see light from below them that peeked past the shadows that had coiled alongside the walls. Light that shone through some sort of jagged hole. Had the Hobgoblin really been able to cover this much distance in a single leap? But once they got closer, their answer would be solved.

They were all pulled down further into the hole by an overwhelmingly powerful surge of gravity. The vines tore, the cloud began to weigh heavily. They were shoved down towards the light source, and through the jagged hole. They fell towards the floor, and then gravity flipped, their stomachs being jostled around as they found themselves no longer falling, but on the ground…next to the jagged hole. The floor they had been falling towards was now a ceiling. Gravity had been inverted completely the moment they passed through that hole.

Looking around, they were in some other section of the Labyrinth. Except this one was a single square room. Four unlit braziers hung from each corner of the wall, with trails of red in between the cracks of each brick. From each crack there was a slight sulphuric smell, though it wasn’t overwhelming. From the ceiling dangled a chandelier to light up the room. Floating in the center of the room were two spheres, each with an obsidian ring in it. And floating above those, a holographic ticking timer that was counting down from 7 minutes. Energy crackled by it, creating scarlet tufts of fur or hair by it.

What the hell was this Dungeon?

"Fuck be sideways with a rake" Gray cursed as he tried to figure out what had happened. "I Told ya we should of went forward, but nooo we just had to go down." He grumbled angrily at his teammates.

Dion felt like puking once more, butterflies filled his stomach when they fell, and reverting that motion had made him almost release his breakfast out onto his teammates. “W-what the hell?”

Dion moved around the room, hole to his side. The smell of sulfur assailed his nose, as soft as it was, eyes moving all over the room. He moved closer to the rings, face almost making contact with the sphere.

“Interesting…Gray, you might’ve been right.” Dion called out.

Zephyr’s nausea returned. This really reminded him of his dreadful adventures with Mal. “Ugh...it feels like we’re inside the belly of some beast...” He blurted out as he complained all the way until they reached the room.

He looked around, noticing the strangeness of the room, yet of course, the orbs with rings caught his attention, ignoring everything else except the clock.

“Yo! Let’s hurry up and grab em’ before anything else pops up!”

"Don’t be an idiot Zeppy." Gray called out as he pointed to the sphere. "Am I the only one seeing the creepy Spheres and Ticker?" He questioned the others.

“Pfft!” He waved at Gray as if stating the obvious. “Y-Yeah! That’s why! Let’s hurry UUUPPP!”

“That’s the thing.” Dion said. “Zephyr said beasts don’t usually come with these rings right? And this timer’s giving off some strange energy reminiscent to fur. There’s also the fact that there’s two rings, which is exactly what we need to have three. Question is, how’d the goblin thing reach us?” Dion thought out loud.

"Zeppy if you touch that thing before thinking, I swear imma turn ya into a shish kebab starting mouth first." Gray called towards his trigger happy best pal with a look of irritation on his face.

"Clearly the time on the ticket means something, so let’s not fuck this up yeah?"

Turning to Dion Gray gave him an surprised smile at the thought process. "I knew ya had a brain in there, but I stand by my spawner theory, something is controlling their spawning location."

“G-gray…” Dion pointed at the ground underneath him. “This IS the spawning location, maybe.”

"Which is bad for us ain’t it?" Gray questioned.

“Guys...Guys! Analyzers! Your intelligence is stunning...Now, can we just blast them?” Zephyr pondered nonchalantly.

“We gonna just wait until another one pops out or the timer ticks down? Let’s ZAP ZAP!”

He exhaled and contained his energy slightly. “Look, this WHOLE place has a weird Ki. I swear it feels alive. It’s giving me weird vibes, so let’s hurryyy!”

"How about we hold off on your trigger happy fingers and use one of these little guys." Gray questioned as he pulls out one of the Plant Babies he create earlier. "We can have it try to get the rings without any unnecessary and potentially dangerous risks."

“I-I mean we’re still in the room…but,” Dion gulped, “You’re right! Let’s do it, Zephyr, Gray!” Dion claimed. He was done thinking, it was time for acting.

Pointing towards the spheres Gray ordered the Plant Babies to move towards them and try to get the rings. "Get ready for anything, because I feel that if we do manage to get the rings so easily we might have to fight our way through a hoard for 7 minutes or something." Gray theorized as his mini creations reached the sphere.

Glancing up at them the group of 6 Baby Plants quickly attempted to reach the spheres.

As each Plant Baby made there way towards the spheres, all seemed find. Up until they touched the spheres, which caused the spheres to release two pulses of potent Fire Magic. It consumed the plant babies and turned them to ashes, while the flames reached out to burn the trio. It crackled, sparking against the cracks as the flames grew larger.

"Dion Bubbles!!!" Gray shouted towards Dion wile his Grimoire bursted open and a stream of plants erupted around the trio in a effort to protect them a bit even if the plants started to burn.

"Zeppy!!"

“Sheeesh!” Zephyr sprung into action, already being riled up on his own. He grabbed hold of his cloud, swiping it in front as if it were a blanket. In a second, he held a smaller version of the cloud on each hand, having quite literally ripped apart the bigger one.

His arms extended and facing the incoming inferno, he broke in a cold sweat, yet smirked. Last night’s conversations with Gray gave him more ideas on how to use his thunder magic, learning further on how storms and clouds work. Using his mana, he had the potential to bring several of these phenomena into his magic, and he was about to try. Thunder and storms came in different ways...

“Let this work!” He exclaimed, using his mana covering the clouds on his palms as the flames sought to consume him. But Zephyr, unknowingly, had used one of the unique traits of his thunder magic. Besides being able to alter their density, lighting generation, form, and others, he was also able to alter the composition of his clouds, as thunderclouds varied greatly.

While the flames still affected Zephyr, his arms suffering the smoldering heat, he used that same heat, that fire mana to enhance his clouds, altering them into a new form... **cumulonimbus flammagenitus**, thunderclouds that form usually from intense heat produced by volcanoes or wildfires.

The clouds began to spiral, taking in the flames as the sound of thunder rumbled, gusts of wind even forming around it due to the miniature storms Zephyr had manifested.

His eyes glimmered as his mouth widened with awe. “W-With this kind of power...” Unaware of it, Zephyr had taken a peek into the potential of his magic, and as the heated clouds spiraled around his arms, releasing streaks of lightning and increasing winds, Zephyr’s own magic power seemed to rise, seeking to contain the unstable magic around his arms.

Arms half burnt as he hadn’t the ability to protect himself in a layer of magic, Zephyr groaned in pain, before raising his head once again towards the two floating orbs.

“TAKE THIS!”

While it seemed a feat of mana control, it was actually the unstable and moldable nature of his magic that allowed such a technique. Zephyr blasted his vortex shaped clouds from his palms, essentially containing the power of two small firestorms, releasing everything it had into an incredibly loud and explosive piercing clouds, enhanced by heat and electricity. The clouds shot from his hands, drilling through the air at high speeds as his intent continued to be the same ever since he step foot in the room.

To destroy the orbs and get the rings.

As the clouds shot from his hands like cannon blasts, he aimed to pierce through the orbs with superior firepower, seeing as Gray’s sneaky attempt had failed, he figured the orbs could be destroyed if damaged enough. Even the walls and surely the chandelier would suffer from the attack should it hit. Zephyr however, would barely be able to witness the results of his gamble, as he had nearly drained his entire magic power in the attempt, beginning to fall on his back as his vision went blurry.

An absurdly powerful display of power. Chunks of the chandelier broke off, the flames from Zephyr sparking across the ground to create even more flames. They completely consumed the spheres in a conflagration of violent and vicious fire. As the flames faded, revealing the spheres within...they seemed unchanged.

Yet some of the fire had reached a corner brazier, igniting it. And upon ignition, it seemed the as if the glowing spheres that encased the rings became dimmer.

And of course, the entire room was set ablaze as the phosphorus and sulfur that trailed between the cracks ignited. Ready to consume everything and everyone inside of the room.

Whistling at the display of Power Zephyr had put on, Gray’s crimson eyes had immediately sought to see if anything had changed with the spheres. At first he noted not much had changed other than the room being engulfed but upon taking a closer look He noted that the glow and dimmed somewhat.

Still keeping the wall of plants surrounding them, both feeding and dispersing the sea of flames that was consuming the room, Gray placed him hands on the floor before pushing a large amount of mana into it.

**"Tropical Rain Forest"**

A few seconds later they would find the room they were in completely surrounded by a large garden of "thick" looking plants, which seemed to releases a thick syrup like liquid that began raining down on the flames and smothering them beneath its surface, forcibly putting out the flames, while simultaneously release a sweet smelling pollen that seemed to absorb and consume the smoke and some sulfuric scent in the room.

Narrowing his eyes as after he thought he managed to clear up a bit of the disaster, Gray’s eyes immediately shot upwards to the ticker to see if anything had changed with the displayed time.

While it wouldn't be enough to douse all of the flames, it was able to put out enough of it so that it wouldn't consume the entire room. The thick plants were still burning at the moment, as the flames were inadvertently arcane in nature.

The timer hadn't changed drastically, thought it was now counting down from 5 minutes. Enough time had passed while they were down here.

"Alright I’m not sure if you noticed but after that last attempting we lost some time but the glow on the spheres did seem to dim a bit." Gray called out to his teammates while he began healing up Zephyrs Arm. "I feel it’s gotta be something with fire maybe we gotta light something in here?" He suggested feeling that the orb getting dimmer after the fire spread was a key somehow.

Zephyr fell on his back. Heavy breathing as he raised a thumbs up. “Just burn it all...give it...indigestion.” He eerily said, using his arms to push himself into a seated position at least.

"Try to rest up a bit cuz we gonna need ya power again." Gray commented as he continued to heal Zephyr. "It would be dangerous to burn the entire room again, seeing as how I can only use one or two more large range spells before I’m done."

Dion gritted his teeth angrily, once more, he was unable to act. Gray had asked him to utilize his bubbles, but in fear, Dion did nothing. Nothing but stand there, the powers of his two more powerful teammates saving him. Rosanne’s words resonated in his head. Power. That’s what he needed, the power to deal with any situation, wasn’t it? What if he didn’t have that?

Ohdove, Bishop, Fen. If they all had one thing in common, it was the fact that they wanted to inspire confidence in Dion, that was what he lacked. *”I need to fight in my own way….”*

Dion gulped, he’d barely used his magic. Grimoire opened, settling on a single page. Interestingly enough, his hands went to the fire that had spread. Mana gathering at his hands. Ordinarily, Bubble Magic was one that merely created mana filled bubbles, usually with soap and related substances to aid the user, but in truth, it was a magic that went far deeper than that. Perhaps because he had less than average power when compared to many, he had created this spell.

“Bubble Magic: Recyclosphere!”

Under certain conditions, the bubbles Dion created could act differently. Inspired by Zephyr’s own use of the flames for his cloud, Dion sought to use its remnants to create “flaming bubbles” akin to those formed out of propane and the like. His bubbles were small, meaning that he could more effectively control them, and so, creating three of them, he sent each one to each corner of the room, where the braziers were.

Each bubble from Dion ignited into existence, gently floating their way to the three remaining braziers. They floated above them, before popping and falling onto them. Sparks flew as the three braziers were now lit. The flames on them grew, and the barriers around the rings faded. They had succeeded in their attempt, and the Dungeon was over.

“**0 seconds remaining**.”

The holographic timer displayed no time remaining as it fizzled out as the growls and giggles of a creature was heard. Peeling itself from the one of the walls as if it had been stuck there was a two-headed Hobgoblin, which greedily reached out and grabbed the two rings. It looked at Dion, snarling with one maw while the other smiled. And the beast leaped at him.

"Great another one." Gray mumbled as used the burning plants that he had created earlier to form a pair of large thorny made from the very same burning plants to try and strike the two-headed Hobogoblin.

"Dion if you have anything left in ya, follow up on my attack to minimize its chance of retaliating while Zeppy tries to recover." Gray ordered once more taking charge of the situation the fastest. "We just gotta kill this thing and we’re done."

After giving the order, Gray used a portion of his Mana to once again sprout a thick band of vine to try and wrap around the creature. This time these vines were thicker and stronger than the previous ones and had the added effect of being a thorny to inflict piercing damage.

"Zeppy once you feel good enough, I need you to launch an attack faster Dion." Gray then called out towards Zephyr.

“Right, right, got it!” Dion nodded, though he didn’t quite get the last part of his instructions, so far Gray had proven to be reliable, skilled and talented. He was someone Dion could trust, once more saving him from the hobgoblin that jumped them.

Mana pulsed from his mop, Dion holding it as if it were a gun. “Lazy Barrage!” Dion called out, as from the mop a multitude of bubbles came out, almost as if it was a machine gun. Were they to pop against the Hobgoblin’s body, nothing would happen, nothing but its physical abilities being weakened. Senses becoming dull, and body heavy. That was the magic Dion used, to make others weaker, lazier than himself!

For the fists, the Hobgoblin's four ears twitched as it simply fell to its knees and scurried forwards beneath the fists, before shooting back up to its feet.

The Hobgoblin wrapped its arm around the vines, tearing them from the ground with a strange noise. Laughter from one head, a deep growl from the other. The thorns cut through but it still seemed unbothered.

But the bubbles began to pop against it, imbuing small bits of mana over and over again. Small amount per bubble but the sheer quantity of them made up for it. Weakening Magic made it drop the vines for it was unable to support their weight, the Magic Beast trying to shield itself from the bubbles but to no avail.

“Heh...” Zephyr chuckled, finally standing up straight. While his mana was low, his physical ability hadn’t taken that big of a toll just yet, with the exception of his burnt forearms and hands of course.

“I’m too low on mana...however.” He began to dash, leaping towards the beast as he leapt through the vines, passing by Dion and appearing beside the beast.

“I’ll go old-school.” Manifesting two compact clouds around his arms, he focused on its density and power, instead of its size. Red’s, rather, Rosanne, hinted about how he could focus his powers better. His magic’s great versatility and the force he could discharge was great, but it was still all new to him. He wasn’t used still to all this calculated thinking nor magical analysis, so he decided to go back to his roots.

The uncontrolled discharged ripped part of his shirt and more of his arm sleeves, revealing underneath a sculpted body truly fitting for a traveler. He clenched his fists, compressing the thundercloud further, as he went to ram the first strike onto the Hobgoblin’s leg, and if successful, he would follow with another strike. Again if successful, another to its abdomen, aiming to consecutively pound the beast with his own fists, using his magic to act as a protective layer and enhancer. More of a technique than a spell, Zephyr used his hand to hand combat knowledge to make better use of his low mana, seeking to deliver a seemingly endless barrage of punches towards the beast.

His senses alert to the creature’s moves, Zephyr aimed to hop around the creature and deliver combo after combo of thunder enhanced fists, using Dion’s weakening magic to his advantage. Yet unknown to Zephyr, each strike would actually deliver a dual impact should they hit. His fists, electrified and enhanced by the clouds acting as gloves, would be followed by the impact of thunder that came afterwards.

With every movement of his arms, unbearable pain surged through his body due to the burns. Tears rained down his eyes from the pain, but the drive to get out of this horrid place kept him going.

“GRAAAGH! LETS GOOO!!!” He yelled at the top of his lungs, a declaration to keep himself going.

The beast went to protect itself. Half of its body moved into a defensive position while the other half tried to attack. One saw the weakening Magic cast earlier as a reason to protect, the other a reason to strike before they were useless. But unable to coordinate ruined their chances, as Zephyr released strike after strike. The mana consumption would likely be significant considering how much mana Zephyr had consumed earlier.

But it wouldn’t matter.

The Hobgoblin continued to wail in pain as it eventually fell to ground, still suffering blow after blow. And with a final strike, the beast’s chest was caved in. Two rings shot out to the ground as the beast died. The Weakening Magic on Dion’s end had truly made a difference, Gray’s distraction, and coupled with Zephyr’s unyielding offensive strike despite his exhaustion…the monster never stood a chance.

Dion grabbed on to the two rings, before matching Zephyr's energy. He couldn't even believe it. "LET'S FUUUUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!"

The moment Dion grabbed onto the rings, they flew out from his grasp. Their original ring accompanied the new ones as they floated around the trio as violet sparks of mana crackled from them. A giant flash of violet light consumed them, and the rings fell to the ground. The light faded and they were gone.

They had passed.

### Dirty Honesty

Ferrah seemed to drag his feet as he walked around the venue, looking for the other people with a "3", floating above their head. He sighed. teamwork wasn't his strong suit, he certainly didn't enjoy the presence of others. It didn't take him long to find one of his new compatriots. "Who are you?" he asked bluntly.

Sora had come to stand before one of the portals, getting a view and starting to theorize as to what may lurk behind these magical gateways. She simply stood there and observed. Both the portal so well as the contestants around her. The three best had been announced to the public, but it was interesting to think about who might be close follow-ups. There wasn't much time left to consider these thoughts when she heard a voice call out.

Turning around to find the source of the voice, she soon came face to face with a pale man with a face mask. She remembered him within short. It was the same guy from before with the dog. In any other instance, she would have tried to play friendly with him, but with the tone and attitude he took, it wasn't going to happen. "Sora. And this is Flakes." Sora said with a thumb poking to her Python "Flakes" on her shoulder and around her neck. Looking up above him, she noticed the number which matched her own. "I guess we are a team then?"

"Would seem so," said Ferrah. "Oh hey! I remember you! You were that clumsy girl with the snake! Kukukukuku! You couldn't watch where you were going!"

Whiskey wandered over towards Ferrah and Sora. Chewing the filters of his unlit cigarettes, he wiped his hands on his shorts before crossing his arms and offering a hand to both of his new comrades. "Whoohoo, the three of us huh? Unbeatable. Unbeatable. Scarf man and Blonde woman, we're gonna crush them." Rubbing the back of his head, he smiled slightly. "So we're finding some kind of ring or something, yeah? I wasn't really paying attention. Doesn't matter though." He shook his head. "My magic is the best, so we'll win. No problem. My first thought is we cause some problems with the other groups, get their hackles all... a-hackled. And when they're weak... BAM! We jump them and steal their rings. Ideas? Thoughts? Critiques? Please remember I hate criticism so only say positive things about my ideas. Aaaand go." He grinned widely, waiting for a response."

Ferrah let out a giant sigh at the arrival of Whiskey, another moron in his group, this one bigger than the other. But before he could insult him, he suddenly said something that piqued his interest. "Wait a minute, that might not be that bad an idea Penstacheio. Maybe you're not as dumb as you look! Kukukuku!"

"It's all fair and good until we face someone better than us." Sora spoke, deciding to be the cynic in the group. It wouldn't do them any good to just charge headfirst into anyone who just so stumbled upon the ring. "Maybe it would do us good to know about what each and every one of us can do before we go ahead and start making big plans. I have Snake Magic. I can feel what my snakes feel. With the proper senses and circumstances we can both find rings and people with ease."

Whiskey listened to Sora and nodded along with her, chewing a cigarette before eating it whole. "Someone better than me? You must be high because that shit's not flying here. You want to just assume that people are better than us? Screw that." He started stretching, cracking his neck before taking a drink from his hip flask. "Maybe it would do us good to know that I'M ALREADY ENOUGH MAGE TO WIN THIS ON MY OWN. I'm only helping you two out because you gots assigned to my group." Listening to her magic, he grinned again. "Cool magic. Not as cool as mine, but it's neat." He turned his attention to Ferrah. "Well I'm glad you think I'm smarter than I look. Wish I could say the same thing about you, but that scarf has already said enough of your behalf, Fashionista. Nothing says 'I'm a cool guy who likes cool things' like wearing a lady scarf around your neck in public. Do you think I could be as cool as you if I wore panties over my face?"

He knelt in the dirt, drawing a bit with a finger. "Now that we know what 'Snake it to the Limit' can do, we can focus our search using her fancy dancy Snake tongue magic. If you two can find the rings, I can run interference. Make sure others can't get ahead of us. It's not enough that we succeed, we have to make sure the others fail. Makes us look better. Yeah yeah." He glanced to teams three and five. "Although there ain't much competition for us here."

"Kukukukuku!" Ferrah laughed, "that's a new one! I guess people need to find different things to make fun of when you cover up the most notable issue! Kinda like your giant ass body doesn't match up well with your scrawny ass build! What are you 45? You fail this exam 27 times already, or is this the first time you were man enough to try?" Ferrah kept laughing to himself. "It doesn't matter though, Ms. Snake Charmer, if you've got such good control over your snakes, do like the *experienced gentleman* suggested and fan out the search for the rings. When you find one, the big guy can head over there to help transport it, while I stay with you and make sure we keep our main stash safe. I don't wanna tell you what my magic is quite yet, cause we might end up becoming enemies in the next round, but just know my magic's pretty good at making traps.

Whiskey looked at Ferrah before chuckling and nodding. "Damn dude, you're super funny if you're laughing at your own jokes. All the cool, scarf wearing guys laugh at their own jokes." He turned to Sora. "The Scarfette is right to cover up what his magic is. If my magic was making cool scarves, I'd be embarrassed too. Dicks aside, though, between snakes, traps, and the great me, we shouldn't have a problem getting through this." He ate another cigarette. "All we have to do is work together long enough to get through the second round. Let's call a truce until then and get through this as a unit. After that, though..." He smiled at Ferrah. "All bets are off, Scarving Children." Sitting down in the grass, he leaned back and took another drink from his flask.

She hated every single second that she had to spend in this man's presence. Not that he struck her as much of a man as is either way. His maturity levels seemed to be subpar to even a pre-teen, yet she was not about to say such things out loud, unless she would suddenly become a pariah in the group. "Sounds about right then. Spy the area, cover our tracks with traps, and some strange distraction techniques. Should work well enough for the purposes of the task, *Sir Unbeatable*." She finished, letting some of her agitation slip out of her, but mostly contained behind a tone of humor. But considering who she was talking to, it seemed likely for him to be so high off of his own gas to make any complaints about it.

Ferrah kept chuckling as Sora spoke, the words of Whiskey were so amusing to him. He would've made another retort, but at this juncture he was more concerned with finishing the task at hand than knocking an old man down a peg. "Alright, so we got a strategy. Should we head through the portal then?"

Whiskey snapped his fingers and nodded to Sora and Ferrah. Their irritation with him washed off his back like water on a duck. "Alright. Portal is up. Let's go through and we'll wrap this up nice and quick so none of us have to work with each other again." Pulling the long leather case off his back, he untied the top to pull out a three-piece fishing pole, heading towards the portal. His skeevy eyes took a serious glare to them as he marched forward, not waiting to see if the others followed. "Fucking Knights..."

Ferrah's chuckles finally died down as he placed his hands in his pockets, walking with a slight slouch as he followed Whiskey through the portal. "Just don't get your ass beat. That's be embarrassing for you and bad for us."

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

Having been hit by such a strong shift by the Spatial Magic, Ferrah was on his knees, just about ready to throw up. He swallowed it down as he stood up straight. "What kind of Spatial Magic was that?" Gathering his faculties he looked around. "Guess that original plan of ours won't work to perfection, I can make a few alterations. Both of you guys, come over here."

Whiskey was not as strong stomached as Ferrah, and lost the drink that he had been sipping on all day. Barfing in the corner, leaning against the wall with a hand, he nodded weakly and wiped his mouth. Staggering over to Ferrah, he sat on the ground and washed his mouth out with a sip of the flask. "Blech... Well, no plan stands when meeting with the enemy." Looking to Ferrah before glancing around the dungeon, he swallowed a bit. "A dungeon. And monsters. Cool. Okay, new plan. Let's work together. Enough fuckin' 'round by me for now. What's your idea, mate?"

"Don't move," said Ferrah bluntly. He touched his finger to Whiskey's chest, dragging it quickly along his frame as if drawing something on him. A magic circle briefly appeared before fading away, invisible to all but the one who had drawn it. "It'll activate automatically if you're under attack." He walked over to Sora and did the same thing as well, except on her back. "Whiskey can go in front and Sora can stay in back as she sends out her snakes to scout ahead."

Sora came out the portal in a daze, her stomach figuratively in her mouth, and unlike Whiskey who had at least managed to move his way over to a wall before unleashing the content of his stomach, she didn't last a second before spilling out her latest meal. She didn't take long to recover, but by the time she did, she was quick to shuffle through her bag, finding Flakes in a state of borderline shock. "It's okay, honey. Take a rest for now, sweetie pie." She whispered to her friend before getting up and listening to their change of plan. Feeling a bit awkward about him touching her, even in a purely pragmatic and 'innocent' way, she nodded along to the changes made. "Alright, let's get to it." She said before slamming her palm into the ground, causing six snakes to manifest. They were rather small and inexpensive to make, but they would serve their purposes well. Three snakes slithered down and three more upward. Through them she would shift between their senses and direct them toward whatever directions would be beneficent for them. To an outside source, she might just have looked a bit crazy with her eyes looking left and right and all over the place. At the slightest hint toward threats, dangers or paths towards the next step, she would notify them immediately.

Whiskey headed inside, nodding to his allies. His mana started bubbling up as he prepared his spells, manifesting a Vector Arrow on each shoe as well as one on his fishing arm. His sense of mana and magical auras was next to nothing, so he would be prepared for anything, his Thief Senses ready. Every step he would take he would leave an Arrow pointing backwards, but they wouldn't do anything unless magic was poured into them. "So what do you two think we'll see? Traps? Monsters? Dinner?"

The earth quaked, rumbling. Dust began to shudder off of the walls as writing seemingly sank into the bricks. The sound of dense nails scratching over a chalkboard echoed out as they'd all see a wall appear several metres in front of them, slithering out of the hallway they were in and cutting off the passage ahead.

Monstrous giggles echoed out once again, but this time they were louder.

"Well that was sudden and somewhat ominous," said Ferrah, "anyone got any bright ideas? Bash down the wall? Find another way around? I'm all ears."

"Unless any of us have the strength or power to do so, I suggest that we turn around and hurry out." She said as she dismissed the three snakes behind the wall in front of them, causing them to disappear. Now with only three snakes left to focus on, she had an easier task to keep track of the paths and vibrations. With the quaking that just occured, Sora would be made privy most things within the vicinity that were either affected by or caused the tremors. "Whiskey, in the front, Ferrah in the middle and me in the rear. As previously agreed. Unless Whiskey has any brighter idea of his own?" She asked as she began to reorganize herself to their previous formation while switching between the snakes for any report of interest.

Whiskey's entire demeanor had changed as soon as he entered the dungeon. Keeping his stance low, he had marked their path with the Vector Arrows Spell with every step. Staring at the wall, he nodded and rubbed his chin. "If you don't mind, I'd like to try something. If it doesn't work, another path will have to be found." Rubbing his hands vigorously together, he pressed his hands against the wall, a large black arrow appearing on the wall pointing left and another arrow pointing right. "Vector Arrow: Twenty Percent Filled." The arrows glowed pink and a mighty force of momentum and strength would appear to try and pull the wall apart down the middle. He wasn't sure if anything would happen, but he wanted to try something. Once his spell had been cast, he looked at Sora. "No brighter ideas here. I said I'd follow your lead and I will."

Ferrah's grimoire floated by his side, the pages flipping as he thought about his next move, but just as quickly closed his grimoire. "Yeah, I don't have any spells to break through that thing," he said, a slight twitch being seen beneath his mask as he said so." His mask once again shifted as he watched Whiskey perform his next move. It was hard to see, but he was grinning. "Vector Magic? Never heard of that before. Seems pretty useful."

Stone shook, and cracks littered the walls. Powerful magic of course, but it seemed this Dungeon’s walls would take more effort to break through than expected. Only a moment passed before the cracked wall was drawn into the ground while a wall descended from the ceiling and replaced the previous structure.

There was no giggling, but the sounds of nails against a chalkboard came from beneath their feet.

"Well, that didn't work," said Ferrah, his previous smug laughter all but disappearing, "nice try though." He clapped Whiskey on the back in appreciation as their group reversed their formation to head back the way they came, down one of the other paths that were still available to them. His grimoire, glowing silver and floating beside his person, primed and ready for any obstacles they might encounter. "So, Snake Girl, picked up anything with your magic yet?"

"I have-" She cut herself off as they began to move towards the other pathway. Two paths are cut off from us... Right it is then! But..." She hesitated to speak, fear being struck into her as the walked. "I advice that we pick up the pace. I feel... Monsters. Everywhere. Below, above, left and right, ahead, behind... So, may I suggest that we hurry this up?"

Whiskey watched as Sora paled with fear. He chewed the inside of his lip a little, nodding in agreement. "One thing I've learned is that you follow your gut instinct. Right it is, and let's go quick like a bunny, yeah?" Waving his hand, the arrows disappeared from the wall and he headed down first, moving at a brisk pace. Removing all of the arrows from behind him, he kept himself ready to spring into action. "Snake, Scarf, you see or feel anything? I'm not great at sensing magic energy and I could use your eyes."

As they continued walking, despite being in the middle of their formation, Ferrah still seemed to drag his feet, just a little, making strange movements with them as he continued to walk along, like he had been doing at their starting venue earlier. "Nah, sensory skills aren't my specialty. At least not without a little help," he said.

To move so slowly in such an echoey chamber. Were they confident in their abilities? Or perhaps too busy thinking of a plan to act. The answer didn’t matter in the end, for they’d be the first group to understand a fundamental truth about these hellscapes. It all came down to skill. Rationale meant nothing.

A blur of blue skin burst from the ground beneath them, bricks already moving to repair themselves as this grotesque creature roared. At eight feet tall while hunched over, a puffy and messy scarlet mane of hair while wearing nothing more than a loincloth…a Magic Beast had appeared. The Hobgoblin. It giggled, the same noise they heard earlier, as it scratched its metallic fingernails against one another.

The giggle suddenly deepened in pitch and distorted as the Hobgoblin pounced, bringing down its claws at Ferrah.

Sora was quick on her feet, having anticipated the potential of a sudden attack at any given moment. As the hobgoblin came into view, stumbling a bit to regain her footing from the sudden burst of rock. The sound of the sick cackle and nails scratching didn't make matters better, but to her, this was the time to show her bet foot forward. She could feel the shuffling in her bag. He was ready for action. "Just a moment buddy." She whispered to him as she conjured two more snakes of larger stature. The size of two colossal Boa Constrictors of nine feet in length. This, sadly, is however her limit when it comes to her conjured snakes. Not that they would be lacking for strength. Flakes when enhanced to this size is way stronger still, but she is not about to risk her companion for a quick win. "Ferrah, I hope your traps got some juice in them even when fighting! Whiskey, whatever your arrows can do, make sure to put them to good use now!" She called out to them as her two magical snakes leapt forward with great speed. "I'll try to tie this thing down. Mow it down with whatever you can."

Ferrah did his best to jump back, both in surprise of the sudden eruption from the ground as well as the creature itself once it had appeared. Ferrah had never seen a Hobgoblin before, and the first one he had seen was suddenly attacking him. But the first thing that had come to his mind wasn't how he was going to protect himself. "*This thing's even uglier than me.*" Fortunately, Sora had sprung into action, restraining the Magical Beast before it could harm him, and a massive grin took hold of his face.

"Hold him right there!" Ferrah shouted, with a small amount of glee. It was time to use his magic. His Grimoire was already open at the right page, he just needed to cast the spell. A massive set of jaws appeared in front of him, glowing silver as they opened up wide. "**Jaw Magic: Flash Fang!**" And in an instant, the jaws had flown forward, aiming to gouge out a segment of the Hobgoblin's stomach in an instant. It was the same spell he had used to break his target earlier, practically erasing the matter from existence. While he imagined a Magic Beast's body would be more durable, his spell was still designed to gouge out both normal and magical matter with its strong jaws, practically eating whatever it had come in contact with. And even if the first jaw didn't serve to defeat the beast, with Sora restraining it, he was sure that a couple more bites would surely be able to take out the beast.

Whiskey watched as his allies sprang into motion. Eyes narrowing, he sprang to the side, giving room for Ferrah to advance and Sora to retreat. With one hand extended to the left, he moved faster than he normally would be able to in a single lunge, his free hand bringing out his grimoire. He kept out of reach of the Hobgoblin, trying to flank it and move around to the back despite the narrowness of the hallway. Either way, he would move inwards towards the Hobgoblin, holding his breath and swallowing his fear. The black arrow he was using the move around extended out from his hand, trying to land on the beast. His own momentum would slow to normal the instant the arrow would touch his target.

The Hobgoblin simply continued laughing with its horrendous laughter, grabbing onto the snakes as they leapt at it and tightening his grip around them. But the Magic Beast had been too distracted by the snakes, and since E-Rank creatures weren't the smartest, the Jaw Magic had almost struck it. It brought down the massive snakes to try and intercept the Jaw, though it still managed to cut into its arms.

But that left Whiskey completely hidden, and able to attack.

The arrow struck the creature, and the creature felt magic pressure surround it. A sudden surge of direction launched the beast away from them, crashing into one of the walls as it screeched in pain. But it stood once more, giggling maniacally as always.

Whiskey kept his Grimoire open, his free hand extended towards the beast. He grinned widely, the arrow glowing and re-enacting the powerful magical force on the beast, slamming it into the wall over and over again. The arrow would slither around the beast, yanking it by the nose, the finger, the ankle, randomly forcing it around in random directions. "**Vector Magic: Compass Rose**." Keeping his hand extended, he spoke to his friends. "Go past him. I'll hold him down for as long as I can. I t-told you guys, my magic is the b-best." Sweat was already beading on his face. "Quick like little bunnies, right?"

The Hobgoblin kept screaming, digging its hands into the ground to grasp onto bricks to try to slow down its constant abuse. And after a moment, it threw the rubble and bricks at the trio, like a torrential rain as Whiskey continued to attack it.

"**Flash Fang!**" Ferrah called again, generating another set of jaws to devour the bricks as they were thrown at them, albeit this one was much larger than the first, eradicating just as much matter so that he and his teammates would be safe. He looked at Whiskey, seeing the sweat dripping from his brow as he continued to flail around the beast. He sighed. "I've got a better idea." A another set of jaws created itself, floating in front of its creator with its maw open wide. "Can you speed up spells too?"

Whiskey scoffed, a brief flash of arrogance across his face. "M-my spells don't j-just speed up th-things, they..." He shook his head. "To answer your question, yes! I'll have to drop my Compass Rose spell, so you better have a way to stop him from running roughshod over us." He started going pale, eyes flickering over towards Sora. "I'll trust you to hold him back." Releasing his spell, the Hobgoblin would regain control of its momentum, the arrow disappearing from its body.

Focusing his remaining magic, he generated an arrow that covered the floor in front of Ferrah. The arrow would glow pink for a moment before Whiskey rushed towards the Hobgoblin, swinging his fishing pole. "Go, Jaws! I'll distract it!" He waved his arms, trying to catch the beast's gaze in case it was focusing on Sora and her snakes. "Oyaoyaoya! Over here! Over here! The great me is just waiting here!"

Sora rolled to the side and angled herself to the Hobgoblin so that she was behind and beside the creature. "Don't forget about me! Holding things back and constricting is my specialty!" She shouted as she conjured two more snakes, one purely for constricting, able to choke and clamp down with half the strength of an anaconda. The other one was considerably more slim and clearly weaker physically, but this one would serve a different purpose. While the thick snake would tie down and choke, this second one would bite a fleshy spot and inject a paralyzing venom. The thick snake lunged forward first, aiming to tie around its neck and shoulder before starting to suffocate the creature. With it occupied, the second began to move to bite its ankle and chew in the venom.

The Hobgoblin's assault had failed, unable to strike with its bricks. It was wrapped down by serpents as its constant ramming against the wall came to an end, weakened by it and unable to move. Then came the Fangs, which chomped right through the creature. If not for the consistency of that Vector Magic, it would've been a far more difficult of a fight.

The beast contorted for a moment before it broke into chunks of sludge, revealing a singular floating obsidian ring. Coming from the wall where the beast had been slammed into, from the cracks emanated a bright violet light.

Ferrah’s jaw disappeared, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. “Dammit, I wanted to do something cool,” he grumbled. He walked over to the ring, resting on the ground. His Grimoire still at the ready should there be any additional traps, he knelt down and picked it up. “What’d those instructions say again? Can we leave yet?”

"I would assume so. Unless we want to risk it and delve further inside?" Sora came and replied, dispelling her snakes and being grateful that she didn't have to pull out lil' Flakes. "And don't worry about that Ferrah. Gives you something to come with later that will be a bit more surprising." She joked, though also with sincerety as it did indeed allow for him to keep an ace up his sleeve. But then again, with Flakes, so did she. As she thought about what to do next, she couldn't help but notice the odd glow from behind the bricks. With a click of the tongue, a new snake was manifested of the same size, making her hate herself for having dispelled her previous one. With this snake she began to hammer against the bricks, hoping to break them off. "Ferrah, Whiskey, mind helping out? There is... Something, behind here."

As Sora had begun to joke, Ferrah was barely listening. That violet light, through the crack in the wall, despite its dim color was incredibly difficult to miss. It wasn’t until Sora began removing the bricks that he started listening to her. “Move out of the way,” he said, his jaws forming once again. As soon as Sora was clear, another pair would fly forward, aiming to eat away the bricks of the wall, and hopefully reveal what was creating that violet light.

As the Hobgoblin's body had destroyed and done most of the damage to the wall, it was much easier to take out the bricks. Which revealed two more Hobgoblin's with wires stuck throughout them that sank into the back wall. In the middle of their exposed chests, a hole right through aforementioned chests, were two more rings.

They had luckily, due to how they had dealt with the first beast, found where some of the others were stored.

Whiskey took a knee, breathing heavily as his magic faded from the surroundings. His eyes narrowed suspiciously at the other two, breath coming to him slowly. "I... suppose this is the time where we split the treasure up into equally pieces, hmm? Or are we going to betray each other and try and impress the judges?" He got to his feet, storing his weapon away and catching his balance.

“Eh, no point in fighting over anything, really,” said Ferrah, “There’s one for each of us anyway, and I don’t think the proctors will appreciate us devolving into savages over some rings.” Drawing a magic circle on himself as he moved forward, just in case, Ferrah reached forward to grab the rings out of the hobgoblin’s chests, seemingly the source of their power and life force.

As soon as Ferrah grabbed the two rings, they flew from his grasp. The first ring they acquired floated out too. The three rings began to swirl around the group as mana crackled around it before a bright flash overtook them. The light faded, and they were no longer within the Dungeon.

The three of them had passed.

Elsewhere
Samson took a break from watching Rebekah and Fen. He opened another screen to check on the other rookies and their progress. "That Vector brat is dangerous." Samson said to himself. "Not because of his magic but his personality. Although I'm more interested in the snake girl and Jaw brat."

### Big Rich Boom

Xiomar looked around then noticed Judas as his eyes widen then facepalmed himself. He began to recalled the number of girls surrounding him which made him groan in annoyance but tried to muster up a smile.

"Well, surprising I'd bump into you again," Xiomar said approaching Judas.

Judas turned over to face the crimson haired fellow that had approached him, and was quickly disgusted with how his eyes perfectly matched his hair. "Bloody hell." The words slipped out of his mouth, as he used both hands to cover it. "Excuse me, I was charmed..." He said trying to deter his attention from his rude statement. "Surprising indeed, but I believe this is the first time we've met, and it is common courtesy to introduce yourself first when approaching someone."

"Riiight, anyways, my name is Xiomar Blaze, Explosion Magic user, and you are," Xiomar politely smiled.

”Judas Eisenheart, and I’m here to warm your heart with Love Magic! I guess you could call us…EXPLOSIVE LOVE!! AHAHAHAAHAHAAAAA!!” Judas preached, placing both hands on his hips and his shoulders bounced uncontrollably. “Now who is our last teammate?” He stopped suddenly, turning to face Xiomar with a ferocious glare.

Coming up from behind, Gron Xavier in his ever so small stature slipped in between Xiomar and Judas with his number in hand, looking at both with an unamused face with dead eyes. "I suppose these commoners will do," he thought out loud, paying no mind to whether they could hear him or not.

Reaching into his coat, Gron retrieved a vial from the outside of his bag, having slipped it carefully from its hold before he proceeded to examine the liquid inside with a careful swirl. This looked to awaken the mixture within, as blobs of colour spun around lively within its glass container. Taking a deep breath, Gron closed his eyes and moved the opening of the vial to his lips, using his thumb to pop the cork top of the vial off and tip the contents down his throat. Everything moved down as smooth as air and Gron finished by wiping his mouth with the back of his wrist before he returned his dead glare to Xiomar and Judas.

"Let's be done with introductions and be on our way."

"Oh, well hello little guy. Are you lost? Let's find your mother." Judas said as he turned his body, leaning down towards the small green haired child. Placing his hand on the top of his head in an attempt to comfort him. "Our task has started already and we haven't even stepped into the portal. Isn't that something." Flabbing at the gums while he patted the the child's head softly.

Gron simply rolled his eyes and sighed deeply through his nose, "For the sake of the team, I'd ask that you take this a bit more seriously than you seem to show. A commoner such as yourself should desire to pass the exam just as much as the other examinees do, so we should already be on the other side of the portal by now."

Walking out from under Judas' hand and getting ahead of both team mates, Gron walked closer and closer to the portal before glancing back at the two, "So, will we be on our way?"

“Mm mm” Clearing his throat, Judas prepared himself for speech. “O-Of course, my little green friend! Apologies for mistaking you as a child..” He said with a body as straight as an arrow. “Let us be on our way!” He said marching oddly towards the portal, being the first of his team to enter the unknown.

Xiomar looked at Judas with a confused expression on his face but sighed as he shrugged it off. "Might as well get going now," Xiomar sighed to himself as he headed toward the portal, "no reason to sit around, let's hope none of you will mess this up at least."

Having waited for his two team members to pass through on before him, Gron looked back out and released a loud sigh. He clutched at his chest without a wince and looked back to the direction that everyone entered the coliseum through. "Glory to Clover, I guess," He groaned before walking through the portal.

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

"Backwards or forwards. Backwards or forwards. Backwards becomes forwards, and forwards becomes backwards," Gron chanted to himself as he walked close to the brick wall and ran his finger across its surface, "How will we proceed then? Shall we split up and move in different directions to cover more ground? Or stick together in case we come across, trouble?"

“Sticking together would be the wisest option, considering that monstrous laugh just seconds ago.” Judas said in reply, turning to face Gron. He place his chin i the crevice of his right closed fist, as if he was thinking hard. “Let’s take a vote in the direction we should go. For all we know one could be a dead end.” Judas explained, welcoming the opinions of his teammates.

"That would be the wisest thing," Xiomar nodded in agreement then placed his finger and index finger underneath his chin as he thought to himself for a second. He weighed out the possible scenarios of the paths they would need to go until he decided which would be best. He then looked up once he got a valid answer. "Think we should head forward and at least mark where we're heading, if we end up lose, we'll at least be able to know where we were the last time," Xiomar suggested.

"No need, I'll remember the path," Gron rolled his eyes, "Besides, if we do mark it out, and if there are possibly other examinees here or anything else, it could lead them to us."

“I’ll trust that you’ll remember, but we should still mark just as a precaution.” Judas said, stumbling a over to left wall. He was obviously still feeling the affects of his first time through spatial magic. “Will you do the honors, Xiomar?”

Xiomar thought it through for a second then remembered that if he did go through with his idea, then the outcome would be in their favor. "I think for now it would be best not to mark our path, we should keep going," Xiomar pointed out.

“Hmm, it seems like I’ve been outvoted. Let’s proceed forward then.” Judas sighed, turning his body to walk forwards.

Before joining the others on their venture forward, Gron knelt onto the ground and placed his ear to the floor, moving it from place to place with his eyes straight to the side. His pupils darted from corner to corner as the wizard became captivated in his focus to the task, mouth slightly open as he murmured whispers to himself. He may have been a noble, but he was surely the strangest of the group. As he continued, Gron found the sounds of his breaths annoying, and quickly pulled his mask over his face to muffle the sounds to preserve his concentration. Moving his ear from spot to spot, Gron was seemingly looking for something on the ground, just not with his eyes.

"I can ignore the footsteps of them two in front of me, just need to know if something is on the move," Gron wondered out loud in a muffled voice through his mask, "I wonder, I wonder, where you are."

After a few seconds, Gron pulled himself up and dusted the front of his jacket and shirt, waving his head and looking on wards to join Judas and Xiomar. A disappointed frown laid bare on his face as he neared them, all the while Gron shoved his hands into his pocket with focused eyes to his front. "The only thing I'm able to say with a hundred percent certainty is that whatever is inside this dungeon with us is on the move, so we should too."

Xiomar squinted his eyes trying to get a better look at what Gron was looking at but to no avail. He had no other choice but to follow suit as well. "If that's the only option then I guess we should move forward and hope for what's to come," Xiomar shrugged.

“Well then, let’s not keep it waiting.” Judas chimed in, while a mischievous smirk itched onto his face. He began to play with a few strands of his long black hair that laid closest to his face. Starting to become restless, he wouldn’t stand another moment in silence. “So, do you too think it’s human? Or maybe a magical beast?” He spouted, breaking the immediate silence.

"Could be either or," Xiomar shrugged, "whatever the case maybe, should be ready for what would come out at us." Xiomar looked around making sure no one was around to come out and harm him nor the others. He had an strange feeling but at the same time felt nothing of it.

To move so slowly in such an echoey chamber. Were they confident in their abilities? Or perhaps too busy thinking of a plan to act. The answer didn’t matter in the end, for they’d be the first group to understand a fundamental truth about these hellscapes. It all came down to skill. Rationale meant nothing.

A blur of blue skin burst from the ground beneath them, bricks already moving to repair themselves as this grotesque creature roared. At eight feet tall while hunched over, a puffy and messy scarlet mane of hair while wearing nothing more than a loincloth…a Magic Beast had appeared. The Hobgoblin. It giggled, the same noise they heard earlier, as it scratched its metallic fingernails against one another.

The giggle suddenly deepened in pitch and distorted as the Hobgoblin pounced, bringing down its claws at Xiomar.

Gron's eyes flicked from side to side, and was the first to react to the creature's appearance, as he immediately turned to face the Hobgoblin and waved his wrist after he noticed the way it moved its body. Before the claws could reach Xiomar with the strength of the creature behind them, a cube of mana appeared around Xiomar's position with the mage inside, having provided them a front row seat to the claw colliding with the cube that contained them. The sound the claws made when hitting the cube was like a solid object hitting a thick sheet of glass; really, really strong glass. Gron tiled his head to the side and raised an eyebrow as he looked to the hobgoblin before them, crossing his arms with one hand under his chin to support his head.

"A Magic Beast, oh my. You don't get to see these types too often around the Clover Kingdom. At least this kind has the decency to wear some sort of clothing," Gron nodded his head, "So I guess that means there's a sense of intelligence with the creature. That, or wearing undergarments is as far as their intelligence reaches. I wonder if humans have a genetic link to these creatures-"

The mage's words trailed on, like he had forgotten there was a threat before him. And forgotten that Xiomar was still inside the cube he had made to protect them with.

"What in the..." Before Xiomar could say anything he looked to Gron with a serious expression on his face, "get me out of this damn thing, I'm going in!"

"Now, now. Let's not get too rash. We should see if it has the capacity to choose another target, or continue to pursue the same target," Gron waved off Xiomar's request, "Or would you rather me actually removing the barrier keeping you from getting hit and becoming once more vulnerable to the big bad creature before you?"

The creature simply began to giggle with its horrifying laughter as it continued to slash down at the barrier. It's metallic claws grew in size after every slash, cracking the cube more and more as time went on. Despite the joyful noises it made, its face contorted into one of anger.

As the hobgoblin continued, Gron's fascination with the beast only grew. The mage sat backwards and landed on a cube that formed underneath him as a seat, allowing Gron to get comfortable as he analysed the creature. "Strange. Despite me and Judas' presence in the area, the creature seems to still pursue Xiomar. That and the claws it bares seem to grow; a possible effect linked to an instinct to evolve so that it has a better chance to harm? Maybe an emotional link from the anger on its face? Or is that growth the result of some other reaction?"

Gron's eyes darted all over the creature's body, looking at every inch, detail and surface that came into sight from where Gron sat. Though he did share some glances to the cube that protected Xiomar from the beat down that the hobgoblin sought to give him, they were easily outnumbered by the quick looks that Gron gave to the Magic Beast in his moment of interest. His eyes followed every movement of every swing that the hobgoblin delivered to the cube, the curiosity within him flared up almost literally through his eyes, before Gron finally stood back up and pointed to the hobgoblin.

"I WANT ONE OF ITS CLAWS," Gron exclaimed as the cube barrier around Xiomar was beginning to barely hold up around them. "AND MAYBE ONE OF ITS HAIRS!"

“While the creature is truly fascinating, you need to pull yourself together..” Judas said, lightly chopping Gron’s skull. “This barrier won’t hold much longer, so we need to accumulate a plan of action.” He went on, unclipping the lock on his grimoire’s resting place. The pink and red book would begin to radiate a magenta hue, as it rose from it’s carrier to levitate in front of him.

The green haired mage rubbed the top of his head and glanced at Judas from the side of his eyes. "I've got some ideas, but there's one I'm particularly curious about," Gron said as he shifted his focus to the floor."

"The moment I saw the beast appear, I saw some bit of the flooring move, as if rebuilding over a hole the creature left when it broke through. I want to see if maybe we can send the creature back underneath, or if perhaps we can go beneath the floor instead to avoid this confrontation and continue the dungeon from there. Just a thought though, incase you don't want to exchange swings with a thing like that," He continued before ending it with a glance to the hobgoblin, having wanted to check if it had noticed them yet.

“You’re right, as you never know what the mission could be. For all we know, our mission could be to bring the goblin back alive.” Judas added. The pages of his grimoire began to flip rapidly, as if they were blowing in the wind. “Aha.” Judas shouted, obviously excited about what he had found.

"...The mission was stated clearly before we left. Unless this creature is one of the obsidian rings we needed to find in this dungeon, I say we save our energy for actually searching for the objects than wasting it on useless fighting," Gron rolled his eyes, "Unless one of the rings is inside the beast..."

“Or it could just be a random hobgoblin. We might be putting too much thought into the task at hand.” Judas said, massaging his forehead. He would run his right hand down his face before, sighing deeply. “Either way, we need to get out of it’s striking range.”

"As long as its got its eyes on Xiomar, we'll be fine. Just gives us time to prepare what we need to do," Gron shrugged before looking to Xiomar still inside the cube, "It can't hit what it can't see, Xiomar, just incase the cube breaks; aim for the eyes. Hopefully, this thing doesn't have the mental capacity to understand what I said."

Waving his hand, another cube appeared behind the hobgoblin's legs, close enough that if the hobgoblin was to be pushed back, would find itself tripped onto the ground. Gron scratched the top of his head with his other hand on his waist, still intrigued with the beast before them.

"I'm getting those claws one way or another," Gron mumbled, "Better not ruin those specimens before I get them."

Using his left index and middle finger to press his lips, Judas had conjured a bow made of Love Magic and Mana. Setting his sights onto the hobgoblin, Judas pulled back on the bow to form an arrow. **“Love Goddesses Arrow!”** He projected, releasing the arrow in direction of the goblin’s left foot.

The arrow struck the beast's foot, to which it howled in pain. A surge of magic rushed over it, it's eyes glazing...until it shook its head and colour returned. It continued clawing at the cube, trying to reach Xiomar within.

“I-Im-Impossible!” Judas yelled frantically. He couldn’t comprehend what had just happened. The goblin shook off his magic like it was nothing, like he hadn’t shot the arrow at all. “This thing just shook off my spell!!! It should be charmed right now!?!?!” He yelled as he tossed his bow to the ground, causing it shatter into mana particles.

“Either this creature has the worst case of tunnel vision, or there’s something about Xiomar that’s causing it to target them despite others also being in range,” Gron thought out loud, “Maybe they think Xiomar is the biggest threat out of the three of us.”

Gron brought his hand forward just as fast as he pulled it back, causing the barrier around Xiomar to dissipate into the air instead of smashing from the pummelling the hobgoblin gave it. However, with his other hand, several more cubes appeared over Xiomar to act as obstacles in the path of the hobgoblin’s claws, not entirely leaving Xiomar out in the open, but letting the mage do what he needed to do.

”There you go, Mister Blaze. If you get the chance, I’d like to take a peek at what’s underneath the floor of this dungeon,” Gron said nonchalantly, in a disturbingly casual tone that underplayed the threat still to Xiomar.

"Finally! Now!" Xiomar glared at the Magic beast as his gaze became more serious. His grimoire began to glow.

"**Explosion Magic: Detonate**!"

With his magic, orange yellowish orbs surrounded the magic beast then began to explode around it! Smoke filled the air blinding the area around the group making it hard for anyone to see what was happening.

The varying orbs combusted around the beast, creating large clouds of dust that filled the air. The clanging of a metallic object bouncing against brick was heard as the Magic Beast screamed, clearing the clouds of dust. It was fast, leaping towards one of the walls as it opened up and swallowed it whole. But lying on the ground where it had been, was a single obsidian ring.

Xiomar looked down at the ground noticing the obsidian ring on the ground. "Hey, over there! I see a ring," Xiomar called out. He ran over to where the ring was as he quickly grabbed it then looked to the others with a confident smirk on his face. "Now what were you saying about me still being a target," Xiomar asking in a cocky tone.

A bright flash of purple consumed the trio before they could say anything. The last group in their dungeon to find the three rings. The flash faded, and they were no longer there. Whether they had passed or not…was still up in the air.

### Legacies

Bishop approached a girl with long black hair that faded to red. While scouring the crowds for someone who's number matched his own, it was her that he saw first. As he drew closer, some of the other examinees cleared from his path, understanding who he was or at the very least his status. Bishop's gaze fixed onto her, his eyes narrowed a tiny bit as he asserted himself. "You dress...frugally. Anyway, it seems we're partners for this exam. Any idea where our third is?" Bishop inquired, noticing that most of the other groups seem to be made out of three.

"Huh," Bella replied looking to Bishop with a shy expression on her face accompanied with an apparent blush. She looked around wondering where the third partner was nervously then turned her attention back to him. "N-no, I don't," Bella shook her head.

"Well, let's hope they show soon." Bishop sighed, placing his fingers on the bridge of his nose. Regardless, he quickly regathered himself. In the end, one companion would be fine if that's all he had to work with. "If not then it's fine, I'll cover the slack." Bishop mused, his smile growing a bit, his eyes falling on Bella. "Ah, but where are my manners. Kindness is a virtue, even towards people not as fortunate as me."

Bishop extended a hand, offering a greeting. "Your name?"

Bella shyly extended her hand to Bishop's gripping onto it as she looked up at him. "M-my name is Bella Ravenwine," Bella answered in a stuttery tone.

"Bella." Bishop repeated to himself. His observations remained true as far as he knew, that Bella herself wasn't a noble. Or at least not of a family worth remembering. "I'm Bishop Quintrell, nobleman of House Quintrell. However, I'm sure you already knew that." Bishop mused, pulling his hand back to his side. His eyes traced Bella's features, and to be far, his next observation wasn't something it would take a genius to notice. It was pretty blatant to say the least. "You're quite anxious, aren't you?"

"I'm here." Rebekah said as she finally managed to find the two she'd have to learn to deal with. However she was just grateful for passing. As well as Fen being ranked in the top three. "Rebekah."

Oh how she hated that awkward pause in lack of a last name.

Bishop looked at the girl who'd approached, announcing herself as the group's third. He looked at her for a moment after she gave her name, almost as if expecting something more. "Go on, we'll wait."

Bella was puzzled by the girl's name. She didn't have a last name, because usually to her, most people would have a last name to identify themselves but this was a first. "Hm? Do you not...have a last name," Bella wondered tilting her head to the side ever so slightly curiously.

If looks could kill, there'd be a massacre. Seeing as Rebekah stared at her two teammates with fiery eyes. These foolish Clover snobs! Members of her tribe didn't need last names. Family was identified by crest branded into the skin at birth like true warriors. A name means nothing. Its just a word. Actions are stronger than words.

"Even if I had a last name, it'd be none of your concern." She responded. "We're just here to pass this test. Nothing more, nothing less."

Bella slightly whimpered as she immediately bowed with a look of remorse decorated on her face. "I'm sorry if we offended you in anyway, it was uncalled for," Bella apologized as parts of her hair draped down along with her head.

Bishop raised a brow as Rebekah's sudden out lash. To think someone could get so heated over such a simple inquiry. She was much like Fen in that regard, quick to act and speak out of anger. At that thought, that's when he remembered the gala and Fen pointing at a girl much like Rebekah. And as one would expect, he had a realization. "Oh? Did we hit a nerve?" Bishop spoke, his eyes arrogantly gazing on Rebekah's figure. It was probably best Bishop's magic had nothing to do with his eyes. If they did, well, people would probably feel his condescending gaze on a whole different level.

"No point in infighting, keep your ego in check. I've got nothing to do with whoever made you so insecure about not having a surname." Bishop responded, stepping back to analyze both of the women. It was almost like he traded Fen and Dion for their gender-bent counterparts. Was there so escaping those two? "So, Bella, your anxiety won't translate into your skills I hope."

Bella immediately got back up then looked to Rebekah with confidence in her eyes shaking her head. "N-no, I won't let my timid side bring myself or any one of you down. That I promise! I want to become stronger and prove my worth as a Magic Knight," Bella replied with bravery in her voice though her face still had a small blush on her cheeks.

Bishop tilted his head, one side of his mouth raising as he gave a smirk. An amused "hmph" sound resonating from his being. "And I'll assume Rebekah won't let her outspoken attitude towards surnames get in the way." Bishop looked towards the portal, noticing some groups seemed to have left by now. "Seems others are getting a leg on us. We don't have much information to go on for this task, so we'll just have to come up with solutions on the fly." Bishop spoke, commanding the group as well as their attention. A true speaker.

"So, are you two ready?" Bishop inquired, stepping closer to the portal. He looked over his shoulder towards the girls, the magical power radiating from the portal causing his clothes and cape to waver in the wind.

Bella noticed Bishop heading towards the portal as her eyes widen looking at the portal before her and Rebekah. She looked around seeing as the other groups were heading towards the portal as well and decided to follow suit. Bella patted her hands towards her cheeks as she put on a confident face. "*Alright, it's time, no going back, let's do this!*" Bella told herself as she headed towards the portal following behind Bishop.

Rebekah had ignored Bishop's faux therapy sessions. Instead rolling her eyes at the two of them. "I don't know who decided to make you leader but as long as you don't get on my nerves more than you've already have, we'll be fine." She said following after Bishop towards the portal.

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

Bella looked around feeling her heart pounding out of her chest as her breathing became heavy. She let out a slight whimper as she felt sweat drip from her forehead and her eyes widen from hearing the giggles echoed that sent shivers down her spine. "W-what is this place," Bella whimpered.

Bishop's wrist covered his mouth as his eyes wavered, as if his body was still adjusting to what it had been put through. Traveling through Spatial Magic, there's no way it felt like that all the time. Was it? "It's...It's a uh..." Bishop's posture slouched more and more as he went on, almost like he was about to keel over from what he was feeling. Suddenly, Bishop's body shot up, regaining his original cocky and nonchalant demeanor.

"It seems to be some type of dungeon. Quite interesting that this is how they're doing the exams this year. It's a lot more...intense than before." Bishop looking around at the surrounding, mapping out whatever he could.

Rebekah kept her composure. Or so she tried as she felt her innards rush to their original areas. Rebekah rubbed her stomach and took a deep breath. Her eyes were back to their regular sharpness. But she noticed Bella's queasiness and rubbed the girl's back softly. A gentle touch many would think impossible for Rebekah to possess. Especially considering the endless calluses covering her palm.

"I mean...it says dungeon." Rebekah said to Bishop. "But that's no surprise. My brother told me there's been some trouble in the higher realms. Its whatever...our job is to collect these rings."

She took several steps forward, stepping out of her shoes. She was now barefoot. The cold stone pressing hard against the bottom of her feet. "I can extend my eyes to cover us...just..make sure nothing happens to me. This spell has a horrible drawback."

**Skin Reinforcement Magic: Aether Amalgamation**

A dark red aura enveloped Rebekah before settling and leaving her skin a dark crimson hue. She could feel every shift in the air. When the creatures moved, the resulting wind told her exactly how swift they were as well as which direction they were going. Every step against the floor. She felt it. And more importantly, due to the wall's connection, she felt when anything pressed against it as well.

"Usually Labyrinths are like tunnels...The wind blows through from the outside. I should be able to guide us there."

And what Rebekah sensed was something she would've seen only a few times before through the help of her "elder sister". A large source of mana crawling throughout the walls from the sides and even above and below them. A similar amount of mana as an E-Rank Magic Beast, something Rosanne had once shown to Rebekah to warn her not to fight these until she was strong enough.

Now here she stood with allies, surrounded by them without either party knowing the others were there.

"They're everywhere." Rebekah said to herself. However she recomposed herself...How many of these monsters has Rose slaughtered? She wouldn't be afraid. Especially not in some second rate dungeon! "But the nearest ring is this way. Bella, I need you to walk ahead of me." She said with a soft, nurturing warmth. Rebekah knew she couldn't put her behind them since that'd expose her the most. "Bishop, you'll be our rear guard...Both of you need to protect me. Understood? Now go forward and then take the next left."

Bishop silently agreed to Rebekah's plan, positioning himself behind the two girls. After all, rearguard was pivotal in ensuring the group didn't get surrounded or blocked with no escape. So he was fine taking the spot, even if it wasn't ideal.

Bella tried to keep herself calm as she followed next to Rebekah. She felt uneasy but tried to push down any negative feelings though it was impossible. She personally didn't like the idea of being in front of Bishop but didn't have much of a choice due to not being someone who was vocal. "*Come on Bella, focus, focus*," Bella reassured herself, "*Focus*!"

The group carried forwards, Rebekah constantly sensing the immediate vicinity around her as they did. Mana of the magic beasts constantly shifted from within the walls. But fortunately it seemed as if everything was fine so far. Rebekah was likely picking up on the swirl of mana that cascaded into what was presumably the center of the labyrinth, made possible due to her affinity. Yet when they turned left, she'd sense it. A powerful source of magic crashing towards them from the walls to her left.

More mana than an E-Rank creature.

"Something's coming!" Rebekah screamed as she looked left. "It's very powerful..Not something we should try to fight."

A mighty figure burst through the wall to their left, causing bricks to splatter outwards like a torrential rain. At least 10 feet tall with crimson skin and black tufts of fur, a set of orange scarlet horns from the side of its head, it released a proud scream of might and dominance as it halted by the trio. This was a Minotaur. It raised its foot stomping down on the ground to release slight tremors and to clear the cloud of dust that had formed. Rebekah had been right, this wasn’t something they should fight. And yet...

“I’LL FUCKIN’ KILL YOU, BIG ASS COW BITCH!!”

Laid opposite the beast, pulling himself from the indent in the wall was a familiar face to Rebekah. Blond roots with primarily black hair, a simple shirt and a jacket hanging by his shoulders. Brandished in a hand was his spear, untarnished. He pointed it at the Minotaur, his brows twitching and neck veins pulsing. “YOU RAT BASTAAAAARD!!!!”

For Bishop, everything seemed to slow down as the Minotaur burst through the walls. He shielded his eyes as debris and bricks flew everywhere, the sluggish perception almost allowing him to see every bit of detail on a brick as it lobbed past his face. Time gradually caught up, Bishop feeling his body automatically pull itself away from as much of the falling structures as possible. His eyes fell on the figure that seemed to accompany the Minotaur's arrival. Fen? Then his eyes fell back on the Minotaur, it's sheer presence radiating enough magical power that Bishop seemed almost jealous. A rare emotion for the noble.

The ground beneath the Minotaur's feet suddenly became soft and mushy, a liquid like consistency that would make it harder for the beast to get a proper foothold. "Doesn't look like we have much of a choice." Bishop muttered, his grimoire emerging from it's satchel, giving a faint glow beside him as it's pages shuffled.

"Fen!" Rebekah screamed as he emerged atop the monster in the only way she'd ever expect him to appear. But what was supposed to be a moment of hidden joy was immediately overwhelmed by worry. She quickly deactivated her spell before her grimoire reappeared. This time changing to what one would assume to be its second chapter.

*"I...I won't use that spell. I'll never use it!"* She hesitated. Her grimoire's pages spinning once more. She refused to acknowledge that side of her. The side she inherited from that bitch...

*"We both come from a troubled bloodline..."* Samson's words emerged from deep within her psyche. *"but we're not them...Rebekah. We can choose to live our own lives."*

"Fen! Get off of it right now! We need to escape."

Fen turned his head to face Rebekah as he called his name. His anger subsided for a moment as he saw the familiar face. “Beks?” he began. “The fuck are you-“

He was quickly cut off by the Minotaur as it slammed down its hand towards him, forcing the boy to quickly roll to the side. His roll itself was awkward at first due to the addition of having to wield a spear in a single hand as he did so, making his recovery even more awkward. In that time, the beast simply kicked Fen in the gut, causing him to spit out blood as it sent him flying to a wall.

The Minotaur turned towards the trio, sliding its foot against the ground as it released heavy exhales. And in a moment it began to charge at them, brandishing its horns at them as if trying to pierce through whatever it could first.

Bishop watched as Fen was thrown back, and while it probably made sense to check on him, the charging Minotaur proved more of a concern. While his previous trick didn't seem to work, Bishop had no intent on retreating, at least until they had a way to slow this beast down. After all, with it's massive size and likely improved physique, there was no way these four trainees could outrun the Minotaur.

The ground beneath the trio became softer, elevating and swerving around the path of the charging Minotaur. The work of Bishop's magic. At the same time, as the trio moved along the ground, bricks and debris and some portions of the ground were becoming collected, merging with the mobile platform of liquefied earth to increase it's size. "I'm not going to have to do all the work, am I?!" Bishop shouted, "Outrunning this thing is going to be impossible if we don't find a way to cripple it first!"

“I GOT THIS!” Fen screamed, standing once more with his spear. Blood was still dripping from his mouth, but he seemed to be focused on this monster ahead of him. The Minotaur had charged right past the trio, Bishop’s magic allowing them for a swift path to avoid the strike. Yet the beast simply pivoted off of its foot, its shoulders crashing into the walls due to its size.

Once more it began to sprint at the group, its speed meaning that it’d eventually easily overcome whatever distance Bishop had made. But once again, the beast would find itself facing against Fen as the boy had sprinted over, occasionally stumbling from the sheer insanity of the blow he had suffered. The Minotaur continued to charge, horns brandished towards Fen. A cocky grin curled onto the boys face as he ran towards the charging bull.

He dug the spear into the ground, the shaft bending towards him. And once the beast was close enough, he pole-vaulted up above the hunched beast. That was his plan, avoid the horns and strike from above. If not for Fen’s acrobatic build, such a feat would’ve been far more difficult. But his plan would not succeed, as the Minotaur simply moved its head.

Digging one of its horns into Fen’s gut.

Fen screamed, his voice echoing throughout the hallways as the beast continued its charge. It flicked its head to the side to throw Fen and his pierced gut to the side, barely gripping onto his spear. And the beast reached out to crush the trio in its palms, the distance practically gone.

Bishop eyed the Minotaur as it approached. Luckily, which eliminated the factor of outright dodging the attack, Bishop's next attack relied on it getting a bit closer. And, even if he was forced into this tactic out of his inability to outpace the Minotaur, it was a tactic he preferred regardless.

The platform that he maneuvered the group upon had reached an appropriate size, so when the Minotaur was close enough, Bishop shot the liquefied ground towards the Minotaur's head in the form of a pressurized blast, wide enough to cover the entirety of it's head, and strong enough to hopefully force it to close it's eyes. But that wasn't all, once the liquid had all been around the Minotaur's head, Bishop would release his control over the liquid. This in turn, would cause it to solidify, encasing the Minotaur's head in a thick casing that would restrict it's sight, smell, hearing and breathing. Furthermore, the casing's weight would be unevenly distributed, causing it to always pull the Minotaur backwards rather than forwards, almost as if urging it to fall on it's back.

The fix wasn't permanent, but it would hopefully have caught the beast by surprise. And while it would be forced to use it's hands, strength and time to remove the casing, Bishop and the others would use this as an opportunity to escape. "Fen, stop slacking! Fighting like this, there's no way you could ever equal me as a rival!" Bishop shouted, a callback to the day the two boys first met. He knew Fen's magic had something to do with healing, and that Fen would only be nipping his potential if he refused to acknowledge this ability of his.

Rebekah had froze. Of all people, she was the one to actually hesitate. She didn't know what to do. She wanted to jump in and join Fen in battle but...Rebekah hated fighting. And what's more, she hated monsters.

*"Brother?!" Rebekah called out. The young ebony girl woke up in a child's bedroom. "Brother?!" She got off the pink sheeted bed and ran to the door. It wouldn't budge. The building shook. An explosion? What's going on? This was supposed to be a scouting mission. It's the only reason he even agreed to let her tag along. But one minute they were undercover in a Diamond Kingdom village...the next...she was here. Rebekah ran to the window and pulled away the curtain. Her hand wrapped around her mouth as she tried muffle a feared scream.*

*A monster. A colossus. Rampaging throughout the village. Each step completely crushing men, women and children alike. Its massive hands swatting away spells. Wrist smashing away guards and civilians alike. Mighty roars that shook the ground and sky itself. Rebekah squinted. She made out small men and women wearing green robes...the Green Mantis Magic Knights! "But...But why aren't they stopping that monster?" She asked herself. "Why are they helping it?" Rebekah watched as familiar Magic Knights who she called siblings, who fed and clothed her, joined in on the slaughter. It wasn't until she saw the monster's red eyes that-*

Rebekah snapped out of it when she heard Fen's body hit the ground. "Bishop, keep that thing distracted!" She ordered while running towards Fen. Rebekah immediately located the wound.

"Fen you fucking idiot! Stop messing around. You want to be a Magic Knight? There's more to it than throwing away your life for a needless battle. Now come on!"

Pain. There was so much pain coursing through Fen. His gut felt numb, weakly glancing down to see the hole that had found its way through his body. He was still holding onto his spear, he refused to give up so quickly. The Minotaur had its head wrapped in stone, slamming its head against the wall to break it off. Any moment now, Fen knew. It was too strong not to.

He saw Rebekah run to his side, kneeling by his side. Fen could barely hear her, his ears were ringing too much. Something about wanting him to stop throwing away his life. Did Fen need a plan of attack to take on this creature? Rationale pointed out that this was a ridiculously strong creature, for it felt stronger than those beasts Samson had shown him. The Minotaur broke off the stone, first spotting the duo to the side and charging towards Rebekah and Fen. He should’ve had a plan with details, but his was much more simple. Attack.

Fen hurriedly pushed himself to his feet, clenching down tight on his spear. The Minotaur raised his fist up to slam down towards them, and Fen thrust the shaft of his spear out to catch the blow. Impact coursed through Fen, the sound of his bones breaking. If his joints hadn’t been locked from the force of the strike, he would’ve fallen down. “BEKS!!!” he screamed, unable to hear himself or his friend. “BISHOP!! GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE!!”

Fen tried stepped towards the beast in a show of strength, but was unable to make the beast budge. Fen was too hyper focused on the fist ahead of it to spot the second fist that slammed down on one of his shoulder, the sound of tearing skin echoing so that all in the hall could hear. Fen stumbled back, the Minotaur rearing back to charge for another blow. His spear clattered to the ground.

Fen’s severed arm landed by Bishop.

“Ah...” the boy mumbled. He fell to his knees. And then he collapsed. “Shit.”

"F-fen..." Rebekah mumbled. Her voice trailing off as he fell into unconsciousness. She watched as blood splurged from his shoulder like a waterfall. What was this? "This is supposed to be a test...W-why are we fighting so hard?" She looked at Bishop panicking as Fen wasted their one chance of escape. And saw Bella quivering in fear. Her stomach burned.

*To also love something so much you'd be willing to do anything...and I mean anything to protect it.."*

Her mana erupted throughout her body. Rampaging as it coursed through every ounce her being. Rebekah's grimoire jumped from her bag and started hovering to her side before bursting open. The sound of pages violently could be heard. The beads around her neck glowed a bright pink.

**Skin Reinforcement Magic: Dharma Submergence**

Magic permeated Rebekah's skin and dyed it a deep crimson. It hardened. Layers grew atop the initial armor before hardening into a deeper red. Causing her body to grow in both layer and density. Becoming stronger and unbreakable as her vast magical power fueled the spell. She appeared more kin to the minotaur before her.

*"We are the defenders of this country. And if you want to push yourself to protect your country, you belong here.”*

Rebekah jumped into the air, launching herself with an explosion of magical power at the minotaur. She slammed her fist down towards the beast's head with an arm that would've been confused with a massive deep reddish gauntlet. But what looked to be extremely heavy was as light as a second skin. Allowing her to swing her body around.

"Oh god! Is that an arm?!?!" The sounds of Bishop panicking as Fen's dismembered limb fell next to him. He seemed to cover his mouth, fighting the urge to gag. The ground beneath the hand turned soft, allowing the hand to phase through as Bishop looked away.

Rebekah’s massive arm was powerful. The mana that composed it had an ineffable weight, and the girl carried it as if it were nothing more than a feather. It came slamming at its skull, a resounding crack echoing out as the Minotaur’s head was jerked to the side. Blood steadily dripped from its head as it looked towards Rebekah, tilting its head in confusion. Surprised that there were other humans that could harm it. An exotic sensation for such a creature. It began to pound at its chest, roaring to intimidate those watching.

But by Fen’s limp body, his Grimoire floated high above his head. Pages flipped furiously, before settling on one. Fen laid on the ground, only one thought repeating itself constantly in his mind. “*Get up.*” he told himself. His body was broken, but he couldn’t stay down like this. How could he become a Magic Knight Captain like this? How would he prove to the world that he was worth something? How would he make Samson proud? And the thoughts returned. “*Get up. Get up, get up, get up, get up, GET UP, GET UP!*”

“**Restoration Magic: Helbrede**.”

The bloodied and battered Fen rose to his feet as his Grimoire shone. Broken bones repaired themselves, bruises and marks vanished, the hole in his gut closed itself. And from his nub of a shoulder came a new arm. Muscle, bone, tissue, veins. All of it restored as Fen grew a new arm, sprinting towards the Minotaur as he grabbed his spear from the ground. He felt brand new, in fact he felt better than before.

The Minotaur spotted him coming, its low intelligence causing it to redirect all attention towards the boy. It sent another kick towards Fen’s gut, the same one that had sent him flying earlier. And yet when it struck him…Fen groaned and coughed blood. But he wasn’t sent flying. The blood was already fading from him as he looked at the monster with a cocky grin once more, this time more deserved. He raised his spear, thrusting it forwards with both arms through the base of its leg. The spear itself was unbreakable, and Fen found himself with more strength than before, especially from the arm that had been severed.

The monster screamed, but Fen screamed louder. “LETS FUCK THIS SHIT UP!”

Elsewhere
The games had been well underway. Of course the captains were in a more comfortable location. The exact opposite of a dungeon. Food and drink served by magical servants made of various elements. Some felt bad that they could enjoy such a moment while the rookies suffered. But that's what being a Magic Knight meant. To live through hell to keep heaven for others.

"That's my boy!" Samson screamed as Fen got up. He jumped up as well with a fist fired at the screen. But something stood out. Something that brought his fist to his face as he stroked his chin. *"I thought your magic was regular healing but...even the most talented healing mage cannot heal limbs. Especially as a rookie."*

*"And Rebekah is finally using her true power. But the two of them are going to cause problems if they keep going at this pace."*

"REBEKAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!!!" Rosanne was screeching, doing a little shimmy as she observed a girl she had come to see as a younger sister unveil her power. "LETS GOOOOOOOO!!!"

Bishop stepped back, his eyes suddenly drawn back to the Minotaur as he felt the surging of magical power within the area. Rebekah. Fen. So this is what those two were like when they weren't holding back? He was glad to see that his predictions, his earlier observations stood to be true. Not only that these two seemed to be alike in terms of attitude, but they both seemed quite powerful as well. But, in the end, that simply meant Bishop would have to crank up a notch not to be washed out.

"So, you two are finally done playing catch-up? For a second I thought I'd have to do all the hard work myself." Bishop mused, his body surged with magical power as his Grimoire received it's first command. The ground beneath and around the Minotaur began to liquefy and rise, Bishop exerting his control upon the elements.

"**Liquefy Magic: Wustenlilie.**"

From the ground, liquefied ground shot up from the earth like jagged rocks, their liquefied forms concentrated and jetted up with enough force that they intended to impale the Minotaur. There were several such structures, each of varying sizes and forms, but all of which aimed to dig their way into the Minotaur's body. Striking vital organs, or simply causing wounds that would gravely injure the beast through the amount of blood drawn.

As Bella watched, she felt herself on the verge of tears watching Bishop and Rebekah taking on the Minotaur. She clutched onto her head whimpering while on the ground breathing heavily. She felt helpless, weak, what was she supposed to do? Suddenly, something inside of Bella stirred inside as she felt an untouched power from within. She stood up as her eyes glowed red along with her grimoire. "No...no more, I don't want to be the weaker one anymore," Bella muttered, "I'm done being the one left behind, I will become a Magic Knight! I will fight!!"

"**Blood Magic: Blood Daggers**!"

Using her magic, Bella shaped the blood surrounding the area into daggers each of them stabbing the minotaur into every crevasse of its body. Bella panted from how much mana she used, she was on the verge of almost passing out.

"**Glacial Creation Magic: Three Ronin Dancing Under the Frozen Moon.**" A voice echoed out from the minotaur's handiwork, a light frost falling on the shattered stonework that had marked its passage.

An icey blue chain rattled as it soared from the tunnel, wrapping around the stoned coated minotaur's horns, an ice-clad monk following a moment after as it raced past the monster. The frozen monk pulling on the chain as it sought to pull the creature down upon the spears of earth rising upwards, a chain-wrapped Kama rolled around its hand.

A monk soon joined by its two brothers, one carrying a long staff, the other a massive club. Even as their brother pulled, the two monks ran forwards, icey footholds marking their passage as they ran up the walls, the two monks leaping from the walls in unison as they raised their weapons high. The constructs fell, each aiming to slam them down on the monsters shoulders as the three brothers sought to pin the beast down long enough that the assembled examinees could finish it off.

Frozen had finally arrived, and their retainers had wasted no time leaping into the fray.

“GYAHAHAHAHAHA!!” Fen howled with laughter as he saw the constructs of ice move. He only knew of one individual with some sort of magic like that, and his confident smirk became a grin. “SHOGUN! THAT WAS BADASS!”

The Minotaur was roaring with pain as it was assaulted time and time again. Rebekah’s gauntlet against the creatures skull. Fen’s constant assault against the beasts legs, somehow having enough strength to thrust his spear throughout the limbs of the Minotaur. The red-head’s rain of bloodied daggers, the giants spikes that pierced into the Minotaur, and now Frozen’s constructs aiming to pin it down. Even as it swiped away chunks of the earth piercing it to free itself, the Minotaur was kept in place by the assaults. Legs too ruined to move forwards, its head dizzying and too many puncture wounds from Bella and Bishop.

Frozen’s constructs brought the beast down onto its back with a resounding crack. This was it, their opportunity to take out the creature. It should have been, until the creature began to roar and slam its arms against the ground. Tremors shook the ground, as a purple glow burst from within the creature’s chest. Fen was personally too distracted, constantly stabbing at its legs as he had been.

In a flash of light, the Minotaur was drawn into that purple glow; sucked within. Now floating in the air where the monster had been, three obsidian rings floated. And they fell to the ground.

With the beast gone and the rings that they all were sent in to collect falling to the ground, Bishop wasted no opportunity securing them for himself. A piece of glob left over from the spell Bishop used quickly scooped up the three rings in it's form. The goop would fly towards Bishop. Upon making contact with his hand, the glob would part around it, falling to the ground until only the three rings remained in his palms.

Then, Bishop noted an issue. Despite the fact 5 individuals took part in the defeat of the Minotaur, only three rings were rewarded. "Hey, Fen." Bishop spoke up, not showing off the rings but also not making an explicit effort to hit them. "Where's your other partner? There are supposed to be three of you, right?"

Rebekah was about to be the one to finish it off, coming down with a warrior's roar while swinging her massive fist back at its chest. But the purple light threw her off guard. She quickly flipped away. Landing near Bella while deactivating her spell. Her beads returning to its normal blackness. They drained enough of her mana, after all.

"T-the rings..." She said to herself but quickly turned to Fen. "YOU IDIOT!" What should've been a moment of joy turned into Rebekah launching at Fen as if he fought alongside the minotaur himself. But rather than attack, she simply wrapped her arms around the boy and drew him into a hug.

"Stop being stupid, dammit!"

The Minotaur had died. Or vanished. Whatever it was, Fen was glad. He saw Bishop steal the rings for himself and the boy sheathed his spear, walking towards his friend when he was tackled into a hug by a much smaller figure. The familiar voice of Rebekah yelled at him, scolding him which caused him to wince from how loud she had been.

“GAH!” Fen yelled in surprise, but he quickly settled for hugging her in return. He backed away, hands on her shoulder as he smiled. Fen gestured to himself, where his wounds had been and his new arm. “Don’t sweat it, Beks. I don’t have a single scratch on me.”

Fen patted her head as he looked towards Bishop, nodding. “Yeah, I don’t know where he went. Toss me a ring though.”

“You see, I’d love to Fen, but there’s a bit of dilemma.” Bishop tilted his head. “There’s three rings, but five people. And we were supposed to come in teams. Frankly, I think you deserve one despite the-“ A quick cough in awkwardness. “-beating you received. But honestly, I’m more worried you won’t make it out if your next scuffle. There’s also the fact giving you one means I have to give one to this Shogun, and to be honest they didn’t really contribute much.” Bishop trailed on, his eyes becoming softer as he grew a bit more tired with the moment passing.

“Nevertheless, we need to figure out how to split the loot.” Bishop finished, leaving the terms open for discussion for everyone else.

"Bro, I just grew back a fuckin' arm." Fen began. "I can deal with my next scuffle. As pissed as I am that you snatched those fuckin' rings...whatever. I'll just kill the next one of those big bastards. I'm strong enough. Just make sure you give a ring to Beks."

“Yea, and the fact you had to grow a new arm is what concerns me. Do you even have enough mana to do that again? Or what about enough to just use your magic in general?” Bishop spoke. His behavior became more rigid and firm. “I’m not just gonna leave with the rings until we have an open forum about this. We at least need a majority agreement before we actually split the rings.”

Fen shrugged, extending his arm out. His Grimoire floated by his side, flipping through pages. "Only one way to figure it out," he said. "Chop off my arm and we'll see if I grow another one."

Bishop’s face fell flat. “Do you not see how counterproductive that is?”

"I'm still trying to figure out who made you our leader." Rebekah spat at Bishop. "Everyone did their part...Whose to say the three of us would've been enough to handle that minotaur anyway." She looked at her teammates with eyes similar to her older brother. A gaze befitting the younger sister of Clover Kingdom's **Spirit of Battle**.

"The goal was to find a set of rings, not find an individual ring for ourselves. While they come in three, whose to say that each ring's value is per person? We completed the task." Rebekah sighed. "So here's our options...we can either go find another set but I doubt *any* of us has enough magic power to go through that again." She looked at Fen with soft eyes before continuing. "That's why I'm proposing we form an alliance. Either we all pass or we all fail. But in order for this to work, we need to be in agreement." She stared at Bishop.

"We found a set of rings. **All of us.**"

"I...I should be able...to keep going if you need me to," Bella panted from exhaustion, the intensity she used from her spell that she used on the Minotaur took a lot on her. She was about to collapse onto the ground feeling weak but managed to catch herself, "I can...still fight...I'm not giving up."

"I agree with Beka." Fen said. "Let's be giant smartasses. That shit works, its why I haven't been beat up yet."

He turned towards Bella, spotting her fatigue. Fen awkwardly looked away, whistling with arms behind his back. There was no way he was going to heal someone else.

Bishop sighed, Rebekah did have a point. There was no rule that each group needed to find a set of rings equal to the amount of members. “Fine, we’ll all go through together.” Bishop stepped towards Bella, passing the rings to Rebekah as he walked past her. He bent down, throwing one of her arms over his shoulder as he lifted her off the ground, holding her in his arms like a child. Although she definitely didn’t weight like one.

“You see Rebekah, no one made me leader. I was just the one who acted first.” Bishop replied.

Fen's Grimoire flew down to his holster, sheathing the book. "Yeah, yeah." he waved his hand dismissively. "Everybody remove the sticks from their ass, lets just keep going."

Before anyone else could speak up, a swirling purple vortex opened ahead of them. Stepping out from it was a familiar figure to all, a white suit and pants, a handlebar moustache and a white top hat. The emcee had appeared, his arms spread. "You've found three rings!" he exclaimed. "That's a set! I never did say it was one ring a person, did I? If you all teamed up to get the rings...you've passed!"

"Hop on in," he said. "It's time for each of you to join a Squad."

Rebekah couldn't respond to Bishop. For the first time since she met him, there was something reminiscent to respect...and understanding. He had a point. He was always the one to act first. From the minute the test started, he kept a calm composure and did what he needed to do. So she couldn't rebuke him...even though she wanted nothing more.

Instead she turned to the purple vortex, nodding as her hypothesis proved correct. "At least we're finished with this shit." Rebekah mumbled as she grabbed Fen's arm and dragged him through before he tried to use this dungeon as a training space.

"Agreed." Bishop spoke, Bella still in his hands. Much like everyone else, he'd been through enough of this trial that he wasn't willing to stay much longer. For a final time, he looked back to where Fen's arm had fell next to him and subsequently, where Bishop had buried it beneath the stone floors. Perhaps some things were best left untouched.

With Bella in his arms, Bishop stepped through the purple vortex, done with this hell hole of an exam.

*“You see Rebekah, no one made me leader. I was just the one who acted first.”*

He smiled. His deep crimson eyes staring at the screen before him. He'd change the focus from Rebekah and Fen to this noble brat who he, at once, thought was nothing more than the usual pompous rich kid. But...now Samson knew something greater rested within. Something that Rebekah lacked.

"Impressive. Definitely one of the stars of this generation."

### Uncommon Folk

"I can't believe that I missed those loopholes or that we could use magic." Aria thought to herself out loud. "Dang."

"Ha! Not so smart now!" Ale said proudly and laughing at Aria.

"You realize you fell for it too right?" She said annoyed at him.

"Yeah but I'm an idiot what's your excuse?"

"Looks like I found my people." A different voice rang out, interrupting the pair's banter. "My name is Alev Rainier, it's a pleasure meeting you." Greeted the red-haired boy, his arm outstretched to Alessandro to shake hands.

"Nice to meet ya pal! I'm Alessandro but everyone calls me Ale!" The young mage replied taking his hand. "This sour puss is my sidekick Aria."

Just after saying that Aria pinch the back of his head and made Ale to fall face first. "Idiot!"

"Looks like we're a group of A's, huh," Alev chuckled, taking the friends' antics in stride and taking Aria's hand. "Now, let's talk magic." The nobleman's grimoire floated in front of him, presenting itself to the pair. "I possess Lava Magic, an affinity perfect for both offense and defense. If there's any kind of danger in the maze my spells will help protect us."

Depending on the size of the area your magic may be a little dangerous to use freely though." Aria points out as her grimoire flew upward, "I use wind magic. The idiot there uses sword magic. Though we both use swords."

Alev perked up a bit when Aria mentioned her magic affinity.

"Wind magic? Are you versed at all in mana sensory?" Alev wanted be sure they could use every advantage they had.

"Yeah actually," Aria replied, "Ale isn't too bad at magic manipulation. It was what he excelled at in our training."

"Perfect. You guys ready to rock this challenge?" Alev asked with a grin, putting his hand in the middle of the two friends.

Ale placed his hand over Alev's, then looked over to Aria with a cheesy smile. "Come on Aria, it's team time."

"Let's just say I did the whole team cheer and we just move on with the test okay?" She said, looking over in the other direction. "Come on you two."

Ale then whispered, "That's her way of saying we can do this. Aria may be smart but she can be kind of a-" Before he could finish Aria grabbed his ear and lifted him off the ground, "-ow ow ow ow."

"I said let's go."

Alev laughed as they all began walking towards one of the many portals in the coliseum. He was happy he had been teamed up with two good friends; Even if they turned out to be weak during the next task, teamwork would surely help them succeed.

Aria and Ale both walked toward the portal sharing the same internal thought, "*No matter what this test is, I will pass city!*" the two childhood friends dreamt and aimed for the same thing. Despite their constant bickering, neither were willing to admit just how much they were nervous of what's to come.

After less than a minute of walking the group found themselves right in front of a portal, the magic giving off a slight buzz...or was it a hum? It was difficult to tell. Alev narrowed his eyes, not taking them off the portal as he addressed his teammates. "You guys. I need to pass this exam. I know you want to too. Once we get in there, no joking around, okay?"

Travelling through Spatial Magic, especially one that covered an absurd amount of range would be a confusing feeling for them all. Their stomachs would rise in their guts, reaching further and further until it felt like it was in their mouths. And then the feeling vanished as it plummeted back down, the sensation of being kicked right in the genitals would surge through them. But they had successfully travelled through, and the portal faded.

Looking around, the walls were simple. The floor and ceiling followed a similar composition. Brown bricks for it all, floating blue lights perfectly spaced across the ceiling. They were currently in a long hallway, presented with the option to go forwards or backwards. Scratched on the wall to their left were two words; “Dungeon - Labyrinth”. Below those words was a sentence, instructing them to find their rings and make their way to the center of the Dungeon to pass the exam.

A moment of reprieve as they read the words, before they heard the monstrous giggles that echoed throughout the halls. And the resounding barbaric roar of a creature far, far away. Becoming a Magic Knight…appeared to not be as easy as one thought.

"Did you guys hear that!?" Ale asked rather excited at the sound of the Beast's roar. "So cool! I can't wait!"

That's not the task you should be focused on dimwit." Aria said as she took a breath to take on the area they were now at. "That portal made me feel sick but I'll start working on getting a sense for the area."

"Right. You'll be our key in identifying any threats. Hopefully these walls don't inhibit mana detection, or we'll need to watch out for more than just those rings." Alev said, peering down the front-way of the hallway.

Aria closed her hands together in a prayer position as she began to allow the mama in area surround her. "There's a small breeze coming from behind us." Aria said as she could detect a pool of mana. "Which means there's something in that direction."

Alev turned about face, looking down the other side of the hallway. That mana could belong to a dangerous magical creature, which made him want to immediately run to get closer to it. He understood that while there could be threats simply wandering through the labyrinth, it was quite plausible that some might be guarding the rings for the trial.

"I think we should go for it." Alev spoke earnestly, taking a step in the direction but looking back to his team. "What do you guys think?"

"Well, we're supposed to find the rings, so it would make sense they'd be near a pool of mana." Aria said as she started walking too.

"Let's goooo!" Ale cheered as he ran past Aria with excitement in his every being. "Come on guys!"

"This idiot will be the death of me one day." Aria muttered to herself.

And as they moved towards the source of mana, walls were constantly moving. Shifting. Writings on the walls shot by in foreign languages, even the pure script of arcana itself. The trio would march forwards, before they found that nearby source. A swirling portal that thrust forth a single figure, a silver-haired boy with markings on his face.

Gehard Silva.

But before he could say anything, the sound of nails against chalkboard came from beneath the floor they stood on.

"*Wow, so this is a dungeon...*" Gehard thought to himself, amazed at the vast and incredible environment he had just come across. However before he could even recover from the daze caused by the trip behind the portal or could comment on anything regarding the environment, the young Silva had his attention stolen by the annoying creaking sound coming from the floor. Putting both hands over his ears with a grimace that illustrated all the annoyance felt by Gehard, he grumbled,

"What the hell is that?"

Walking in the opposite direction of the portal, he continued with his hands under his ears, trying to escape the infernal noise coming from under his feet, without success. But it wasn't long before he found himself with the other Aspiring Magic Knights. Noticing that they possessed the same number floating under their heads that he possessed, the young Silva can't help but relieved sigh, after all after much searching the colosseum he finally found his group .

"Hey Guys !" Exclaimed Gehard in order to get Aria and Alev's attention and then running in the his direction, he approached, and waving and greeted them; "Forgive me for being late, I am Gehard Silva. It will be a pleasure to work with you."

This was unexpected for Alev, to say the least. Not only had the floor started making a hellish noise, a new member of the group had apparently just popped out of a portal in front of them. Cringing from the horrid scraping sound, Alev shut his eyes and covered his ears for a moment before he just barely heard a voice over the din. Opening his eyes and lessening the pressure on his ears, he took in the appearance of this new member. *"That hair..."* Alev's jaw dropped once he recognized the silver hair nearly all in the royal family possessed.

"Are...are you a Silva?!" He shouted, a combination of genuine shock and an attempt to be heard over the noise.

Both Aria and Ale stood with stern faces, "you heard that right?" They asked each other as their grimoires flew Infront of them before they drew their respective swords. They couldn't ignore the horrid sound filling the area.

"Yes I am…, but you don't have to be so shocked. You also don't have to treat me in a special way; after all, everyone here is in the same position of Aspiring Magic Knight and we have a common goal, to win this task !" Roared Gehard, answering Alev's question and shouting as loudly as his companion, intending to be heard clearly.

"Hey what do you intend to do with those blades ?! "Gehard questioned, seeing the actions of his companions. He persisted with his hands over his ears to protect him from the noise, which seemed to get more and more annoying by the moment, even starting to cause a migraine in the young Silva, making him saw his teeth and launch another question before the first was answered, "...What do you think may be causing this infernal noise?!"

Aria lifted her hand and pointed it in the direction where the sound was coming releasing a small gust outward, hoping for some reaction from its source. "*Hopefully this gust at least semi bothers whatever is making the sound. If it's something living, it should at least flinch to some degree. I can't use any spells yet cause I need to converse magic power.*" She thought to herself hoping her plan had some results.

The wind struck the ground below, and the horrendous sound stopped for a few moments. But soon after a blood-curdling giggle now came from below them for several seconds before it too faded away.

Gehard took a couple of steps back and just watched Aria's actions, with no honest expectation of success, and was taken completely by surprise to see that her slash of air had silenced the infernal noise.

But he barely had time to breathe a sigh of relief, for it was enough for him to take his hands off his ears for the mysterious laughter to reach his eardrums, making every hair on his body shiver, putting him immediately on alert to the point that he didn't hesitate to unbutton the support that held his Grimoire to his waist, releasing it and making it float beside him while coated by a light blue glow.

Alev lowered his hands to his sides, sighing with relief.

"Thank you for that. Now, would everyone like to do a proper introduction?"

Staring at the ground without taking his eyes off it, keeping all his senses alert and waiting for the mysterious being below them to give another sign, after some time getting only silence, Gehard swallowed dryly and staring each of his companions in the eyes, he said:

"Whichever way we proceed we must do with caution, but whatever is down there laughed for some reason. Whether it was the one we got wrong or right we will know only if we follow that; after all, it seems to be the only clue we have to follow, but I cannot alone decide whether we focus on the source of that strange noise or just ignore it. So tell me you guys, how do you think we should proceed?"

"I think we should rely on Aria's mana detection. Unless anyone else is able to accurately track mana or procure some kind of map of this maze, I believe she will be the key to our finding our way through this labyrinth." Alev spoke with confidence. While he hadn't known his team members for long, he knew everyone had to rely on each others' strengths if they wanted to score well on this test. "Whatever was making those terrible sounds likely has a bite to match its bark, and I for one want to show off my skills in combat." The nobleman grinned as his own grimoire floated in front of him, bathed in a fiery red light.

"I really think you're overestimating my abilities here." Aria said as she calmed her breathing. "*Master was only around once every couple of months so he taught me all he could in that short time.*" Aria thought to herself, relaxing her nerves, letting a soft breath out again. Slowly the image appeared to her again, the image of a steady stream of mana appeared in her mind. Slowly more images gathered as three different colored streams were also seen coming off of her teammates, then a final one appeared, one leading down the way the way they were headed initially. "We were going the right way, let's continue."

"So if everyone is in agreement, let's go ahead. What do you think about clearing the way for us, miss?...." Gehard said, facing the others, being interrupted by his own thoughts that alerted him to the fact that he did not even know the names of his teammates; Even realizing that Alev had warned him about this a few moments ago, acting immediately to correct this, adding, "...Well, I just realized that I introduced myself but I still don't know your names; so what are your names?"

"Alev Rainier, of House Rainier." The nobleman said with a slight bow.

To move so slowly in such an echoey chamber. Were they confident in their abilities? Or perhaps too busy thinking of a plan to act. The answer didn’t matter in the end, for they’d be the first group to understand a fundamental truth about these hellscapes. It all came down to skill. Rationale meant nothing.

A blur of blue skin burst from the ground beneath them, bricks already moving to repair themselves as this grotesque creature roared. At eight feet tall while hunched over, a puffy and messy scarlet mane of hair while wearing nothing more than a loincloth…a Magic Beast had appeared. The Hobgoblin. It giggled, the same noise they heard earlier, as it scratched its metallic fingernails against one another.

The giggle suddenly deepened in pitch and distorted as the Hobgoblin pounced, bringing down its claws at Alev.

While he had read about various Magic Beasts during his upbringing, Alev had never seen any in person before. Eyes widened in surprise and grimacing at the monster's ambush, the young nobleman kept his cool. Unfortunately for the Hobgoblin, he had already taken out his grimoire.

"**Lava Magic: Igneous Wall**." A thick wall of molten stone rapidly formed between him and the Hobgoblin, heat pouring from the defensive spell in every direction. With luck, the beast wouldn't be able to stop itself as colliding with the semi-solid wall of lava would spell serious damage for those without protection or proper armor; even worse, a well-nigh guaranteed death for creatures who found themselves unable to free themselves.

Aria moved in, using her ability to maneuver herself toward the legs of the creature while it was enhanced with it's stroke at the lava wall. "*This thing is huge, but that can work for us...*" Aria thought to herself before her grimoire began to glow with a bright green light. "**Wind Restraining Magic: L'abbraccio Di Hera!**" she called for her spell as a swarm of serpent like dragons emerged from her grimoire, aiming to quickly wrap themselves around the Hobgoblin's legs, hoping to make it lose its balance.

Because he had retreated cautiously earlier and had not completely let his guard down, Gehard could perceive and move away in time to avoid being hit by the debris thrown by the monster as it erupted from the rain, or swallowed by the crater it had left.

Quickly recovering, Gehard immediately tried to bring his grimoire close to him, witnessing the combination of Aria's and Alev's blows he instantly understood what his companions' intention was, and soon tried to do his part to contribute to the goal of taking down the Hobgoblin under the wall of Lava, leafing through his grimoire with one hand raised he recited:

"**Ice Creation Magic: Ice Bird Feather Storm** !"

Soon a cold air circled all around Gehard and accumulating in specific points began to take the form of dozens of ice feathers, so sharp that they were shining, and with the gesture of closing his hands the young Silva gathered them all before him and shaking his arm fiercely shot them all in the direction of the Hobgoblin's back, knowing that it would not be able to bring down the creature if the force of impact was not concentrated, so he all in the center of gravity of that being located in the middle of his body.

And targeting that point, Gehard swung fiercely, arm firing the dozens of blades toward the Hobgoblin, they tore through the air with a speed comparable to the most powerful arrows fired in the first task performed by the aspirants that day, and with the force generated by the acceleration added to the almost impeccable sharpness of each of the feathers, they could easily pierce the toughest leather, making it difficult for anyone wearing something less resistant than a chain mail to protect themselves from being cut or pierced. So that if Gehard failed to take the monster down, he could hardly avoid having his skin and organs perforated if he was hit.

The Hobgoblin had tried to avoid the lava wall by stepping back, but it found its legs wrapped by the winds. And as it fell, chunks of ice pierced through its back to force it forwards into the wall. In moments, they had gotten rid of the creature. And a single ring of obsidian floated in the air.

Alev sighed in relief as he closed his grimoire, the wall of lava dissipating into nothing. The charred remains of the Hobgoblin crumbled into dust as they hit the floor, no longer held in place by the wall of molten rock.

"That was so awesome guys!" Ale cheered with widened eyes, "Awesome team work!" Despite his cheering, Ale was quickly met with a fist to the top of his head.

"We're supposed to have worked as a team idiot! Where were you at?! Watching us do the work or something!" Aria yelled as she turned her lunch into an aggressive nuggie.

"Ow! Ow! Ow! Come on! Let up! Jeez!" Ale complained as the two continued their back back and forth. "Quit it, we're not even done with the test yet."

Aria pulled away then nods, "you're right." She then dragged him over to the rest if the team. "Anyway, let's speed introductions shall we? I'm Aria Alanis of house Alanis. This idiot here is Alessandro something something."

"Hi!" Ale said while on the floor, his upper body being dragged by Aria. He then blinked his eyes noticing the ring that remain suspended on the air. Without a second thought he got out of Aria's grip, reached over, taking hold of the ring.

"Three A's, an interesting coincidence. Alessandro, Alev, and Aria, names as good as the skills of their owners." Said Gehard, facing his companions with a sympathetic smile.

Keeping his Grimoire close to him, Gehard approached where the monster had emerged, looking at the complementarily reconstructed ground where there even appeared to have been a huge hole and added, "The task is to get four rings of obsidian, this monster just dropped one of them. I'm pretty sure we'll get others of them similarly, or at least face a challenge of equal difficulty. The question is where our challenges and their respective prizes are. What I mean is, where do you think we should go now, whether we go down where that giant Goblin came from or continue looking for clues on the surface?"

"I feel like we should keep it going." Aria said, "We've got to kick things up a bit..." she then looked over to Alessandro, "why do I feel like that was something you'd say."

"Yeah actually." Ale bluntly agrees, "but what do you two think? We can always use Aria's mana sensing to help us get around."

"I think we should continue through the labyrinth. If we're able to take out one lesser monster in just a few seconds I think our best bet is to search for some more- or better, something challenging. Let's stand out to the captains and go after some big game." Alev responded, a sly grin starting to play across his face. The young nobleman knew he was capable of so much more, and he wanted to show the observing captains. In a half-serious half-bow towards Aria he continued, "If you'd kindly point us in the right direction, m'lady?"

Aria rolled her eyes in annoyance before closing her eyes and feeling the mana in the area. "*Its strange, now that we've dealt with that monster this entire labyrinth feels oddly like it. Kind of like...it was...coule it be this place isn't natural? Maybe the byproduct of someone's magic?*" She then thought to how the area where the Hobgoblin came from repaired itself. "*So that explains that. Maybe any spikes or larger accumulation of magic power would lead to another monster to manifest. In that case...*" Aria then deepened her concentration, slowly the images of a visible gust of air appeared in her mind. "That way," she declared before taking off, taking an upcoming right turn, following this breeze she could see.

"Thank you for showing us the way Ms. Aria.", Gehard said in appreciation to Aria, following in the same direction as her, keeping walking close to her.

With each step Gehard checked every corner of the path keeping his eyes as well as his other senses alert waiting for a surprise attack that could come from anywhere, keeping his open grimoire floating at his side, being able to instantly defend himself at any sign of danger.

Eventually, the group came to a dead end. The path they had walked from had been sealed off the moment they looked behind. On the wall ahead of them, inscribed into the wall were a series of words. At first they were indiscernible, but they slowly shifted until actual language formed.

"*I run, but I have no legs. I have a bed, but I do not sleep in it. I grow in the storms, and shrink in heat. What am I?*"

As they all finished reading that statement, a circle opened in the wall. As if waiting to receive the answer within.

Having taken up the rear of the group, Alev read the inscription and something immediately pinged his memory. This sounded so familiar, yet he couldn't remember the answer!

"...I want to say 'flower', but I know that can't be it." He spoke as he tapped his chin. "It has a flower*bed*, grows from rainstorms, and withers in the heat, but I don't think flowers can run. Can anyone else think of something with 'bed' in its name?"

"Hmm..." Aria pondered the question, the riddle given to them did have the group of aspiring knights a little stumbled. "That flower one was a good guess. I would've never thought of it myself." She said, tapping her chin trying to think of an answer.

"Hm? Oh!" Alessandro eyes widened and walked over to the circle without notifying any of the others in his group. He wrote down "River" as the answer. "There we go!" As he turned around smiling he was met with an intimidating glare from Aria.

"Did you just answer it without talking to the rest of us?" She said while cracking her knuckles.

Ale gulped at the sight of his angered friend, "yeeeessss?" He nervously replies before taking a step away, "I mean unless you knew a hundred percent certain, your guess is still a guess."

"That is both good yet horrible logic and it only made me hate you more." Aria replied with a deadpan attitide.

"That's fair."

"...run,...a bed,...grows in the storm and shrinks in the heat,... Maybe it's a river or a sea, but that hole in the wall, I don't know something doesn't seem to fit..."Gehard remained silent, keeping himself absorbed in hesitant thoughts, trying to guess what the answer to the riddle was, but before he could express his conclusions he saw Alessandro take the initiative and write with his finger the word *River* below where the question was written.

"Wait, Mr.Alesandro don't act it without asking the others opinion!"  Exclaimed the young silva scolding his companion for the precocious manner in which he acted.

Facing every corner of the small room where the quartet was with a cautious look, waiting for something to come out of the dog or the walls or even for them to open and allow his passage, an expectation that was completely frustrated, since after moments nothing happened . Giving a heavy sigh that mixed relief and anxiety, he stared first at the hole in the wall and then staring at the riddle written on the wall and set himself to thinking again.

"*Surely the answer is not a river, not least because I am quite convinced that that hole is for us to deposit the answer, and we would not be able to fit a river there, if we follow that principle it has to be something that we have with us or that we can create." He then looked at Aria, Alev, and Alessandro from top to bottom, analyzing if something they carried with them could serve as an answer to the riddle, until a brilliant idea invaded his mind, and he couldn't help but verbalize with an excitement illustrated on his face:*

"Hey guys, reason with me ! The lava of the Sr. Alev run similar to the waters of a river...even though they have a sheath, the swords of the Sr. Alessandro do not rest in battle. Just like the rain, the wind of Ms. Aria only increases in the storm and my ice decreases when melting in the heat.  I mean that the answer of the riddle is our spells and we must deposit them in that hole!"

"Gehard, you're a genius!" Alev cheered. "Ahem..." Recomposing himself, the young nobleman concentrated for a moment, conjuring a small globule of lava that floated just above his cupped hands. Approaching the riddle, he guided the floating lava towards the hole and was about to put it in when he stopped and turned to the rest of his team. "Do you guys think we should put them in one at a time or all at once?"

"Maybe we should try putting them inside at the order given to us in the riddle " Ale replies.

"Right." With verbal reassurance from his teammate, Alev guided the floating sphere of lava into the hole and released his control over it. Nothing happened as the molten rock sat in the hole, as if the riddle was waiting for the rest of the answer.

Alessandro began to conjure up his magic power to form a small sword bringing it to the hole and releasing his control over it. It sat in the whole awaiting for something to happen. "Hope this works." Ale said before Aria stepped up.

By spinning her index finger to form a palm sized tornado before clicking it outward to sit comfortable alongside the miniature sword. "I have to agree with Ale. Hope this works."

Putting his hands together Gehard concentrated his mana in his palms, causing a cold air to concentrate there, he pulled them apart slowly, causing a small ice crystal to form in the middle of them, walking towards the hole he placed his creation inside, next to the others, he took a couple of steps back and facing his group mates, he sighed and said, "Whether it will work or not, we will find out soon."

And so they had formed it. Gehard’s intelligence allowed them to quickly come to the solution, much quicker than originally anticipated. An arcane “river”, formed by using their magics. The flow of magma, running down volcanoes. The bed of the sword, their sheath. The increase of winds during storms, and the melting of ice during the heat. Their magics were absorbed into the hole, before it closed right in front of them. Crackling into existence soon after were two more obsidian rings, the bonus seeming to come from the fact that they had solved it on their first attempt.

Their first ring flew out to join the other two as they circled the quartet. Mana sparked, light consumed them, and the rings fell. When the light faded it revealed that they were no longer in the dungeon. They had passed.

## For the Future

Flashes of purple as groups reappeared across the coliseum, the emcee floating high above them with a bright smile as they appeared. An impressive batch he noted, for they had solved their situations rather quickly. Whether it was pure luck or skill, maybe perhaps a mix of both, would up for the Captains to decide. For now it was the moment they had all been waiting for, even the emcee himself.

“WELLLLLLL DOOOOONNNEEEEE!!!!!!” he yelled at the top of his lungs, Sound Magic making it even louder than anticipated. “YOU’VE ALL MADE IT THROUGH! OUR CAPTAINS HAVE REVIEWED EVERYTHING, AND I MEAN EVERYTHING YOU’VE DONE DURING THAT TASK!”

He cleared his throat, waving his hand as nine orbs manifested behind him. “I will be calling you up, one by one. The captains will relay to me which of them want YOU in their Squad!! Now...it's time to claim your future!!”

After some had made their way through, the emcee pounded his chest to clear out phlegm. "AHEM!" he coughed. "Bishop Quintrell! Step forwards!"

As the young Noble made his way forwards, some of the orbs shifted. One turned into a peacock, another a bull. One a lion, a mantis, and a deer.

The emcee smiled. "Make your choice!"

Stepping forward, Bishop watched as the orbs shifted between the Squads who’d decided to take him in. He smiled, his pearly white teeth revealing a charming and confident smile. Five Squads, huh? Simply a lose for those who didn’t want him. In the end, one of the squads he was most interested in joining had showed interest. And that was all that mattered.

“I choose the Crimson Lion Kings.” Bishop spoke loudly with confidence. His face showered in pride. His journey just beginning.

"Zephyr!"

The young foreign mage was up next, parading up towards the emcee. Behind the latter the orbs began to shift and take shape again. A lion, a bull, a mantis, and a deer.

"Make a choice!"

Zephyr gulped. It was finally time. He was here, and he had garnered the interest of four squads. He wanted to scream in excitement, it seemed the pain still coursing through his body paid off. He would’ve been grateful if even just one picked him. But now, he had a choice. His mind wandered to the night before, when each squad gave their descriptions, and later when Gray spent almost an hour trying to re-explain it so he understood better.

Bulls was his master’s own squad, what better way to support him than there, a squad literally full of “wild cards.” Deer was the squad of the lady that made cool gadgets he had even used at times. They seemed to do a lot of exploration and investigation, something he was good at. Lady Red’s squad, someone he perceived as being dangerously ambitious and mysterious, she really went for what she wanted, and he admired her after their first meeting. And Mantis, a squad that performed crucial missions while hiding away from the fame and prestige.

The young man took a deep breath. He had decided. Zephyr looked at the emcee with a determined expression on his eyes.

“I truly appreciate all of your offers.” He said sincerely. Zephyr then turned to the Lion symbol, not knowing if somewhere behind was the woman that showed so much interest in him. “I really do…” His voice seemed to tremble.

“I choose Green Mantis!” He exclaimed decisively. “Thanks.”

Next up was the masked samurai, with their unique disposition and presence.

The orbs behind the emcee began to dance and shift colour and shape. A lion, a bull, and a deer made themselves visible. Now all that remained was Frozen's choice.

The rimed giant stared at the three orbs. A small part of them had hoped for more, but the rational part of Frozen's mind realized just how little they showed during the course of the exam. Only the brothers had been revealed, and they were by far the least representative of Frozen's magic of their spells.

"I suppose that I deserve this," Frozen mumbled as their hands fidgeted in an uncharacteristic burst of energy, "But at least I could give this some flair,"

Frozen's hands moved with uncharacteristic speed as they drew them through the air, drawing a shape that only the giant could see as their voice echoed out. "I thank you for the opportunities that you have given me," A slight pause was drawn out as Frozen continued their symphony of silence, "And I have made my choice."

The armored giant's hands clapped together as they gave a bow, crystals of ice coalescing in mid air around their frozen form as a statuette of ice formed in front of their armored form, finishing as Frozen announced loudly, "I choose the Crimson Lion Kings," They finished as the statuette solidifed, a stylized lion dancing upon a pillar of glacial ice, humbleness returning to their voice as they simply stated, "Thank you."

Next was the young girl with the penchant for calling herself a "snake mage".

For her orbs also shifted and dance as they took on their forms. An orca, a deer, a peacock and a bull. And she just had to pick one.

Sora was in a state of dismay and deep concern when she was asked up. Just because she was asked up it didn't mean that she would get picked by anyone, and she knew more than well that compared to many others, so well as her teammates within the labyrinth, that she had likely not made that much of an impression. Opening her eyes and looking forward, hands clasped behind her back so she was forced to stand straight before the captains people gathered and the orbs in front of her, she waited.

What she saw was more than she could ever have hoped for under these circumstances. She wanted to cry. To shed tears of her happiness for this success. But she was not about to appear weak before them now, not after what she had already displayed. She was not sure if the captains stood somewhere where they could hear her speak, but if they did, she would let her voice be heard to them. She had previously been set on the idea of the Peacocks or Orcas, but after seeing one particular voice who wished for her, she couldn't help but be filled with such pride as to be swayed by it. Indeed, at this very moment she was ruled by emotions and pride rather than logic of who to choose.

The fact that this person had picked her told her that there was a potential in her that she wanted but never believed in, that someone else saw and had hopes in. Picking up the volume of her voice, she called out: "I am beyond honored of these opportunities presented to me. I will always remember this moment. But in the end, there can be only one pick... I pledge to the Black Bulls!" She called out, almost forcing the words out of her as to not be overwhelmed by uncertainty.

"Gray Roland!!"

The young plant mage was brought forth, watching as the orbs took shape for him. A peacock, a deer, and a rose came into existence. Just his choice remained.

Looking at the choices with a frown and narrowed eyes, Gray flared his nostrils in dislike at the choices he received. All choices he had no interest in joining, annoyance quickly flared into his veins and anger took shape as she started a the orbs. "I refuse to be apart of any of the selected Squads, if this is all that wants me then I quit the exams." He stated with a bland voice as he looked around for the exit not wanting to be here anymore.

"Wasted time and opportunity." He mumbled to himself feeling a bit disgusted and disappointed in himself, if he wasn’t selected for a gif of the squads he wanted then he might as well just give up and return back to the farm, after all he had joined the exams to join one of the Squads he had in mind not be forced into some leftover squad or a research focused one, albeit he could of done well in them.

The boy with the disfigured face was called next, orbs taking on new shape. A deer, a peacock, and an orca. Three options from prestigious squads, yet Ferrah could only choose one.

Ferrah stroked his chin over his mask, looking at his options, lost one thought. After a few moments, he snapped his fingers. “It would be an honor to join the Aqua Deer!” he announced. It was finally done, Ferrah was a Magic Knight now. So all he had to do was sit back and relax… or at least that’s what he thought.

Bella was brought forth next. For her the orbs danced and shifted before unveiling the Squads that had chosen her. A bull, a deer, and a peacock. She just had to choose.

Bella swiftly swiped her hand across the orb while thinking of what squad would fit for her. She felt that she came a long way but still needed the confidence to continue on her path of becoming a Magic Knight. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath as she made her choice. Once Bella opened her eyes, her cyan blue eyes beamed with confidence knowing her path had been chosen.

"I've come a long way and I know have my doubts on my magic but I won't let that stand in my way any long for I have now made my choice," Bella spoke out with sheer confidence, "I choose the Coral Peacocks!"

Aria was called up next, the orbs changing. An orca, a deer and a rose. Now she had to pick.

As she looked at the orbs, while externally her eyes were locked on them, looking them over again and again, she looked deep in thought. But internally her heart felt broken, like if it broke and sank. "*D-did I do something wrong? That he wouldn't pick me for his squad?*" she thought to herself, not showing how she truly felt as she knew the captains would be watching.

She opens her hand and reached out, "I pick!" She grabbed the orb with the rose on it. "Blue Rose!" She announced confidently in her decision. "*Even if you don't pick me, I'll still become a splendid knight.*" while she tried to encourage herself in her thoughts, she still felt the pain in her heart of being passed over by the captain she wished for.

Dion was told to make his way up, orbs twitching as arcane power made them shift and transform. A deer, a bull, a peacock, a rose and an eagle showed for Dion. He simply had to choose.

Mop attached to his back, head gazing down at the ground, and his posture initially slouched, Dion walked towards the orbs, looking at the various options that had presented themselves. In all honesty, he didn't expect to get more than one, and so, as the orbs shifted into various animals, a massive smile formed on his lips.

*"I-I did it! T-that's crazy!"* Dion looked back at Fen, then wherever it was Bishop stood, giving both of them a nod. He knew, that somewhere, Ohdove was watching, and along with her, many of the Captains, including Rosanne. If it wasn't for all of them, Dion wouldn't even have participated in the exams! The realization that he had to pick dawned on Dion. Sweat building at his temples, and legs shivering.

His eyes went over the deer first. He didn't exactly talk to the Vice-Captain, and while it was certainly a squad that he wouldn't have to risk his life in, he wasn't really one for research. Quickly, the option was dismissed.

They then moved to the Black Bulls. The man who had given him hope. *"So yes Kid even right now you can still become a Magic Knight, a very pussy one but a Magic Knight."* A smile began to form on his lips.

The rose followed, Dion remembering their conversation once more. *"The least you can do is look at them straight in the eye not on the floor. Showing this posture will only make those you try and form allies with think you're not strong nor confident."*

The eagles were last, Dion took a moment of deep thought, blushing slightly as he remembered Lucielle. All the Captains believed in some sort of potential, that much was clear, but the way they approached it was different, and that's what allowed him to make his choice.

"B-before I choose, I just wanna say..." Dion gulped, remembering Zahir and Feuer's words. Dion's posture straightened, his eyes looking far beyond the coliseum. "I proved you wrong! Rosanne! I-I might be a coward, and I definitely hate working hard, I'll tell you that! You were right, you can't be a Magic Knight without risking things! I definitely risked things to get where I am, I risked my job, today, pretty sure I risked my life even though I hate it...s-so what I'm trying to say is...I'll prove you wrong again! I-I'll be the next...I'll...I'LL BE THE NEXT MAGIC EMPEROR SO I CAN BOSS YOU AROUND AND LOUNGE ALL DAY! I'll work hard now, so I don't have to work hard later! And for that purpose...the squad I choose are the Silver Eagles!"

His choice was one that may have seemed surprising. He definitely would've joined Blue Rose, after all, Dion was good at talking, but he didn't want to clean up after female knights, not if he wanted to be an Emperor. Perhaps any other day, he would've chosen the Black Bulls as well, but there was something about what Lucielle said to him, something that drew him in.

"S-shit, I can't believe I said that out loud..." Dion gazed around, noticing that nobody had responded, and he began speed walking off the stage. Head held low.

Alessandro was next. For him the orbs showed only a single creature, a peacock. Would he accept it or would he run like Gray?

Instantly without a second thought Alessandro reached and grabbed the orb. "Yes! Yes! Yes!" He exclaimed at the top of his lungs in excitement. He could feel it, the gaze of the Captain he had hoped would recruit him. "*Master picked me!! I can't believe it!*" he thought passionately inside before looking over at Aria.

Quickly Alessandro noticed the pain in her emerald eyes, despite how confident she stood, how proud her appearance was, he could feel the hurt that his behind her eyes. "*He didn't pick her...*" he then saw her smiling and giving him a soft clap for him.

Alessandro then smiled, grasping his sword from his side and raising it to the air! "Yes!!! Coral Peacocks!"

Judas was the next to be called up. Orbs shifted and reformed themselves into an eagle, a peacock and an orca. All that was left was his choice.

Stepping up to further exam the eagle, peacock and orca orbs, Judas displayed a visible favor towards the peacock. The inspiring words of the Coral Peacock’s captain replayed in his his head. *”If you're strong be strong, if you're proud, then be proud. But no matter who or what you are, never forget, there could always be something bigger than you around the corner. When you understand that, you'll truly know what it means to be a Magic Knight.”*

A mischievous grin grew on his face, as he extended his arm towards the peacock. “I choose Luci and the Coral Peacocks!” He shouted, whilst his fingers coiled around the peacock. “I need to charge him for damaging my skin..”

Following Judas, Whiskey was the next to be called up. Orbs blinked and shifted, taking the shape of a Deer and a Mantis. Which choice would he make?

The pinchthief stepped forward, yawning and taking a drink from his hipflask. He would hide his excitement and self-pride. Not only had he passed, he had landed exactly where he wanted to be. Well, besides the squad with all the women. A man could dream.

Holding up his hands, arrows black and pink would form into a twisted symbol of a Mantis. "The Great Me will lend his great aide to the most worthy, the Green Mantises...es. Drinks are on Ferrah!"

Fen was brought up next, still rubbing his arm. Had his magic always been able to do that? While it may have been useful…Fen still wanted a cooler magic. Something like Time, or even Lightning. He’d be fine even with something stupid, like plants or grass. Fen sighed, watching the orbs as they danced and broke apart, taking upon a new shape. A bull, a lion, a mantis, a peacock, a deer and an eagle. Six options laid across for Fen.

He tightened his fist, nails digging into his palm as blood began to drip from the new wound. He should’ve been ecstatic that so many squads had wanted him. But he was livid. Golden Dawn hadn’t wanted him. Had all of his work been for naught? A year of constant practise to raise his physical abilities…meant nothing. And it was because he didn’t know how to use this stupid magic of his.

The blood began to vanish as his magic innately kicked in, Fen looking up at the orbs with gritted teeth. The Bulls were weird to him, too barbaric. Plus their Captain seemed too much of a dick during the gala. The Peacock’s were a definite no. He’d never dedicate himself to having to embrace his magic to heal other people. The Deer were the nerds, so that was an even easier no.

But the option of being a Crimson Lion. As much as he could’ve...should’ve taken that chance, he wouldn’t. Did he want to take a defensive role? Even more so, did Fen want to end up in the same squad that he knew *she* would pick? She’d spend too much time trying to make sure he didn’t do anything stupid, and wouldn’t have a chance to shine herself. Nor would Fen, if he was being coddled all the time. So he couldn’t join them.

To be a Mantis. To work under his uncle and have more time to receive more of his tutelage. Despite all the benefits, he knew he’d hate himself if he joined. Mantis was bound to pick him, Samson was his uncle. Fen would never let himself move past that fact if he joined the Squad. So it had to be a no for this squad.

And then the Eagles. He knew they were the police force of Clover. That at least meant he could fight people. In all honesty, it was his only choice in the end, as ridiculous as that may have sounded. Fen sighed, looking up into the air and screaming.

“GRAAAAAAGH!!!” Fen roared. “FUCK THIS SHIT! Gah...fuckin’ Silver Eagle it is.”

He gave a salute, before walking away from the stage. Head held up high.

Gehard was summoned forth. Orbs shifted, revealing a deer and a peacock. He just had to choose.

Gerhard stepped forward, his face stamped an excited smile, after proving his sagacity in the second task, the young Silva was especially confident that an opportunity would be given to him in one of the most prestigious squadrons, but all he got in response to this feeling was a genuine disappointment, disappointment that reflected even his looks on his face .

"Support and research, even after training so hard and apparently doing so well in the tests, .... "I honestly expected more ..." grumbled Gehard, staring at the insignia before him with an unenthusiastic look ,and bantering he plunged into the myriad of his thoughts, "*Maybe if I gave up like that Gray guy, trained harder and came back next year ..., no, I can't afford to wait any longer, I can't afford to waste a year training while my mother is persistently tormented, besides my father wouldn't be proud in the least if on a whim he wasted this opportunity .*"

Giving a heavy sigh that suppressed his disappointment, he stepped forward, and before finally making his choice, muttered, "Even though I'm not a squadron fighter, I'm going to give it everything I've got, I'm going to shut the mouths of the bastards who belittled me, shut the mouths of those who insulted my mother, I'm going to do it by being the best, and in the end it won't be so bad to have Ms. Bella and Mr. Alessandro as companions."

Pointing at the peacock insignia, with a serious expression that contrasted with the determined gleam in his eye, he shouted: "I choose Coral Peacock!!!, and listen well Nobility of the Clover Kingdom, prepare to swallow your insults because Gehard Silva, the son of Conrad Silva and the commoner Adalgisa, the bastard to whom many of you turn up your noses, is swearing to become the next captain of this squadron!"

And as Alev stepped forwards, an orb changed shape. Revealing a deer that looked down at Alev. All he had to do was accept it or run.

*"I hadn't even bothered to think about this Squad, they were so low on my radar. Looks like my mission is to become so strong I'll make the rest of the captains regret passing over me."* Disappointed, Alev reached for the orb, but pulled back before grabbing it. *"Unless..."*

"...It was surprising, the lack of combative challenge in that labyrinth. Even moreso the single option given to me after I so easily crushed the resistance within." The young nobleman spoke up, raising his voice for all to hear. Alev's mind was racing, reaching and grasping at a chance to perhaps persuade a captain from a more combat-oriented squad to reconsider their choice. He stood straight up, held his head high, and slapped his hand onto his chest in a two-fingered salute. "My dream is to protect the Clover Kingdom with all my power!" He shouted at the top of his lungs. "My magic is powerful and destructive, and I'd rather put it to good use serving this country by risking my life to protect its citizens! Give me a chance and I'll prove my worth!" He stood there, eyes blazing as he held his salute, and waited for something to change.

There was no way to detect it. Not in change of mana or any other way Alev would have access too, for it simply outsped his senses. Now next to him was the emcee. The towering man hunched over as he whispered into the young boy's ear. "You've been given an honour. The honour to be a Magic Knight. If you so badly wish to transfer, do it later in your career."

"Disrespect the Captains' ruling like that again, and I doubt they'll even consider you for Aqua Deer anymore."

And just as quickly, just as undetectable, the emcee appeared back in the sky. Waiting for Alev's answer to change.

Ears burning red, the young mage lowered his head and grasped the orb with his left hand. *"I'll become so strong no plebian can dismiss me like that; So strong that the captain of the Crimson Lions will* have *to take me!"*

Gron followed. Orbs shifted, revealing a deer and a peacock. He just had to choose.

"My choice had been made from the start," Gron said as he reached out to one of the orbs, having grabbed it just as quickly as it shifted.

The orb displaying the deer rested in his hand as Gron looked towards the ground with a raised eyebrow, his face expressionless and bland. He glanced up to the sky and quickly pulled up his mask over his mouth, swiftly hiding the slight smirk that began to form on his face. The question of whether he'd pass the exam or not was long gone, the only thing left to know was how he'd fare as a Magic Knight. An answer that Gron was more than eager to figure out.

"Now then, *Captain* Madelynn, let's see what kind of brain is leading Aqua Deer," Gron thought aloud quietly, his voice slightly muffled by the mask he wore over it.

Xiomar was the next to be called forth. For him, a single orb shifted into a Deer. The question of whether he'd accept or not was all there was. Xiomar's eyes widen from the only choice that was laid out for him. However he couldn't complain, the path was laid out for him, there was no going back.

"*Only one? Guess there's no turning back*," Xiomar thought to himself.

Xiomar swiped his hand over the orb with a determined look on his face. "I accept, I will join the Aqua Deer squad," Xiomar proclaimed with pride.

Rebekah would watch as four orbs took upon a new shape. A lion, a rose, a mantis and a deer. But her choice was obvious.

Rebekah smiled. She'd done it. Of course the Mantis was the one that stood out most proudly. However she didn't give it much more than a smirk. Rebekah knew he knew her choice. And she...kinda felt that he would be unhappy if she *did* choose him.

What mattered most is that she managed to win over the person she wanted to prove most to. The person who represented everything she believed in. She remembered that day...it felt like a dream. Her head resting against a tree as a flash of light rushed at her. It was but a second...but their eyes connected. And then, that flash dove right into a nearby lake.

She protected her kingdom. But she would never needlessly risk the life of others for that which she loved. And for that reason...her immense selflessnes inspired Rebekah. A fiery power that exploded through her voice.

"I choose...Crimson Lion!"

As all the Rookies had finally chosen their squads, the emcee spread his arms wide with a smile. "WELL DONE, ALL OF YOU!!" he proclaimed. Fireworks popped from behind him, clouds shifting and dancing to reflect his exuberance.

A wave of his hand, and their new Magic Knight robes apperated across every single one of them. "The rest of the day is all yours!" he said. "Tomorrow you report as a Knight, but tonight you celebrate!"

"GLORY TO CLOVER!!!!!"

## Party Folk

As the newly inducted knights began to leave the coliseum for celebrations of their own, Fen was still upset at his fate. Unable to reach the squad he had desired for most of his life. This magic of his should’ve been stronger. If only he had Time Magic…he kicked the ground and kicked up some dust, before turning and beginning to leave himself.

He didn’t have much to do if he stayed. He’d just keep wallowing and kicking at the ground, screaming till his voice couldn’t handle it. Instead Fen walked with clenched fists towards the exit, prepared to find someway to let out all of his rage. But from the corner of his eyes, he spotted a familiar face. Anger subsided as Fen realized that there was a distraction right there.

“D-money!!” Fen yelled, waving his hand above his head aggressively. He began walking towards him. “We’re in the same fuckin’ squad!”

Dion, who attempted to find Lucielle, or any signs of his teammates looked at the familiar voice that called him. “I-I guess we are…heheheh. Surprised you went for this one, honestly. I thought you wanted to be a Lion.”

"I get to be a cop this way." Fen replied. "Go around and beat up bad people more, I guess. Plus, I don't wanna have to work under Auntie Rose and Rebekah. Beka would just try to keep me from getting into fights..."

Fen crossed his arms, eyes squinting. "The fuck did you end up doing in that Dungeon to get like, 5 squads wanting your ass? You got some crazy ass magic?"

Dion laughed awkwardly. “Well, since we’re teammates. I guess I can show you.” Dion opened his palm, soap and bubbles forming upon with a flicker of blue. “It’s not the best…but it does the job. But you’re not so bad yourself, huh. Ranking third on the first test, then having what? Six squads gunning it for you?”

"Bubbles?! So you can like trap fuckers in there?! That's kinda dope..." Fen rubbed the back of his neck, feeling envious of Dion's magic. It may have been simple, but in his eyes it was far more flashy than anything Fen possessed.

Fen waved a hand dismissively. "Yeah, I did pretty fuckin' dope. But your ass got second! And Golden Dawn only asked for that Kingston kid...he dipped from me and Frozen as soon as we got in that Dungeon shit."

“It’s not quite there yet, I’m afraid.” Dion reached for the back of his neck, still attempting his best to smile. “And don’t worry about that guy, or Golden Dawn. You should be proud Fen. You made it through, more than that into one of the most prestigious squads. You gotta give yourself a break man…that’s what I always do!”

Fen sighed. "You sound like Beks...this the kinda shit I'm gonna hear all day? GAAH. Okay. Okay, we're good. Sure. I'll try to let it go."

A moment of silence as Fen looked around. "Wanna go celebrate or some shit?"

“Hm? Celebrate how?” Dion asked.

"Fuck if I know!" Fen burst. "I don't live here. There any good places to like...I don't know. Party? Or maybe we can go around introducing your ass to women. Since that's your dream or whatever."

“For the last time Fen, that’s NOT my dream, that’s part of it. Woman. Singular, not women.” Dion clarified. “As for places we could go to….now that we’re Magic Knights I’m sure we could go to more than a few places.” Dion grinned mischievously.

"Marriage and shit, yeah. But you gotta meet women first for that!" Fen exclaimed. His brows furrowed as Dion continued to speak. "The fuck does that mean? You ain't thinkin' of perverted shit, right?"

“N-no! Y-yes…m-maybe?! A bar. I was thinking about a bar! We could go celebrate and shit, or maybe eat again with Bishop! Yeah!” Dion exclaimed.

Fen jabbed Dion in the shoulder. "I'm pullin' your fuckin' leg. I don't care if you wanna be perverted, just don't be a wackjob."

"Speaking of Bishop!" Fen yelled loudly, leaning onto the tips of his toes as he looked around. "Where the fuck is he?!"

“No idea.” Dion responded. “Probably met up with his own squad I’m guessing.”

"Were there any other fuckers that joined the Eagles?" Fen asked.

“Uh…” Dion tried to remember any names. “I think it’s just us? Weird, I really though Gray would end up with us…or at least as a Magic Knight.” Dion seemed saddened. They’d probably never meet again.

Fen tilted his head. "Who the fuck is Gray? That book guy?"

“Dude, YOU spoke to him! The one that kidnapped nobles and shit, y’know? Real smart guy.” Dion claimed.

"Yeah, book guy!" Fen snapped his fingers. "Fuckin' robbed rich people..."

Fen's eyes widened. "You think they'd let us into rich people places?! Since we're fuckin' Knights?!"

“I-I’d hope so. I mean, we still have to keep a low profile.” Dion noted.

Fen leaned in close. "We gotta get you to meet some rich girl." he whispered. "So you get a family AND money."

“YESSIRR!” Dion responded instantly.

"No hesitation..." Fen mumbled as he lowered his head. But as he raised his head, his eyes glistened with a mischievous smirk on his face. "THATS HOW YOU DO IT!"

“Definitely, definitely!” Though Dion rose his fist, it wasn’t him that spoke. No, the voice was sweet, akin to a child’s. A woman with messy green hair, and glasses rose her arm along with Dion, appearing seemingly out of nowhere.

She wore an Aqua Deer robe atop bundles and bundles of clothes that made her seem like a street rat. “Family and rich girls, that’s the way!” She said excitedly.

Fen nudged Dion's shoulder. "See?!" he exclaimed. "She gets it. And she's a Knight. Thats all the confirmation you need, my guy!"

"Lady," Fen turned to face her. "You know any single girls? We gotta get Dion into the scene, ya know?"

The woman blinked. “I’m single!"

"Dion!" Fen turned to face him. "Drop a pickup line on her. Get some practise in!"

“W-what dude! I can’t perform under pressure, don’t put me on the spot! Damn it…” Dion muttered underneath his breath.

“Heheh, you newbies are so cute!” Madelynn noted clapping her hands. “How about I try one on the both of you? Where’d you both get those weapons?” She asked.

"How're you gonna meet women if you can't drop a line?!" Fen sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. It'd take practise, he guessed.

Looking up at the woman, he tilted his head. "Yeah, we are mad cute. I got my spear from a friend. You *should* drop a line on Dion, though."

“Oh yeah, right, right. Umm…how about-“

“Please stop, don’t listen to Fen, he’s a dumbass…the person who made these. Her name’s Ohdove Heartslamb. She owns a smithing shop in Kikka, and I think she’s somewhere around here.” Dion clarified. “How’d you know someone modified these?”

“Oh, well that’s simple. You probably would’ve gotten seriously injured without that mop. And your friend wouldn’t have done as good as he did either!” She explained.

Fen looked down at his feet, before raising it to the sky in a sharp movement. "GAAAAAAAAAH!! SHES RIGHT!! WHYS MY MAGIC SUCH ASS THAT I NEEDED A WEAPON?!"

“W-wait…thinking about it, h-how’d any of you know how we did? Weren’t we in a dungeon or something? Unless that dude’s Spatial Magic let him track us all along…” Dion wondered.

“Heheh, you catch on quick! Kinda! That’s why I chose you!” The woman continued. “Anyways, you two can visit me anytime, I’ll be watching you all! Kudos!” And with that she went away, in search of the so-called Ohdove.

"Lady!" Fen yelled out. "What the fuck is your name?!"

“Hm?!” The woman turned her head to look back at the angry kid. “Madelynn!”

Fen's eyes widened, looking back at Dion. "H-Hey d-money..." he mumbled. "Why does t-that sound familiar..."

The realization came to Dion. The way she had assessed the two of them, the details she noticed in their weapons. The robe she wore. “T-that’s the Aqua Deer captain….FEN YOU FUCK YOU ALMOST MADE US HIT ON A CAPTAIN!”

"US?!" Fen exclaimed. "NAH, I ALMOST MADE YOU HIT ON A CAPTAIN! MY HANDS ARE CLEAN!"

He turned to the woman, an awkward smile on his face. "H-Hey miss...sorry about that shit..."

But by then, Madelynn was gone, leaving the two of them confused, if not regretful.

“I-I’m so…fucked.” Dion noted. “Though that begs the question, where are the others?”

"Probably being badasses or something..." Fen spun on his heels back towards Dion. "The Captains can do what they want, right?"

Fen wrapped a shoulder around Dion. "Speaking of asses...the fuck was up with you yellin' about being the next Magic Emperor? You serious about that?"

“Hm? I said that? Fuck, I did say that, didn’t I? Shit….” Dion began to sweat. “Yeah I was serious? I think? I don’t know man. It felt like the right thing to say.” He noted.

"Yeah, you also yelled at a Captain and a Royal..." Fen squinted, before letting out a loud laugh. "You've got more balls than I thought!"

“Ahhh, god damn it! I didn’t mean to do any of that…” Dion cursed.

Fen grinned mischievously. "You did though. So you better live up to it, or I'll sabotage all your relationships with women."

"Right, right. Whatever you want Fen...let's go hit a bar or something. Celebrate with Bishop and the guys. Hopefully, I can find Gray..." Dion noted.

Madelynn’s giggling could be heard as she moved out of the stage, “Ohdove, Ohdove! So that’s your name!” She said to herself, many of the knights celebrated, some of them moving to the exit, but it wasn’t any of them that Madelynn wanted to find, no. It was someone else. A so-called “blacksmith” that had assured the passing of not one, but two students.

Madelynn wanted her.

“Err...are there any Ohdoves here? Ohdove Heartslambs?! No?! Man….I should’ve asked what she looked like…” Madelynn thought to herself.

Ohdove was enjoying the festivities, the celebration of Knights and their successes bringing the common people together. The qualitysmith was already deep into her drink, dancing in the street with a few others and drinking sake and wine while eating fresh roast meat off the bone.

Ohdove was happier than ever. Her weapons had proven high quality, their users passing with flying colors. The increase in business this would bring would support her through any deep winter. Clapping and dancing, she turned as she heard her name.

"Oh, kenenene! Ohdove? That's meeee! The Quality Queen! What can I do for you?"

"Ohdove! Pleasure to meet you!" Madelynn exclaimed happily. "You can join my Squad, please!" Madelynn requested.

Ohdove's eyes widened and she giggled, patting Madelynn's cheek. "Oooh, no no, noooo. No thanks. I don't want to go through a test. Thanks though!"

“Test?” Madelynn tilted her head slightly. “Who said you had to take a test? I’m recruiting you. Me, Madelynn, Captain of the Aqua Deers.”

Ohdove ah'ed. "Right, right, Aqua Deer. Um... no thanks. I tried my hand at trying to be a Knight in the past. I'm just not... Knight material."

Madelynn’s smile only grew. Amongst one of the few tables outside, Madelynn sat criss-crossed, not too far away from Ohdove. “What happened last time?”

Ohdove grabbed a few drinks from a table, setting both tankards in front of her and drinking from the first one. "I failed, okay? I didn't make it through the dungeon. Thanks for bringing that super fun memory up though!"

“Ah, so that’s what happened.” Her smile turned into a grin. “Heheh, that’s funny. I failed too!” Madelynn replied. It wasn’t a lie, she’d failed, multiple times even.

“The first time, I tripped and my opponent beat me…the second time, I couldn’t even fight! I was physically exhausted. God, it was awful.” Madelynn said, remembering those memories brought comical tears to her eyes. “Tell me, Ohdove. What is it that you want?”

Ohdove grabbed a few drinks from a table, setting both tankards in front of her and drinking from the first one. "I failed, okay? I didn't make it through the dungeon. Thanks for bringing that super fun memory up though!"

Madelynn got closer, face inches from Ohdove’s on. “There’s weapons, there’s passions and oh! Your desire to be a Magic Knight. You’re really gonna let a couple lame-os decide if you’re Magic Knight material? I’d expect more from the person that made that cool spear!”

Ohdove hiccuped and stood, drunkenly glaring at Madelynn. "That's the Thrice-Tipped Holy Spear, a spear than can-hiccup-pierce the heavens! But does anyone else see that need? Hmm?" She grabbed the table, flipping it in drunken anger, sending food and drink everywhere. "The Knights think they can bully and scream at people and then reject them!" She staggered a little.

“Ehhh?! Don’t tell me you’re one of those that makes generalizations! Oh god, maybe this was the wrong call…” Madelynn thought out loud. “I’m a Knight, and I’m here before you, begging you to join me. Believe me, god knows how many times other Knights look down on me. Even now, they barely respect a witch! But that won’t stop me, and it sure as hell shouldn’t stop you.” Madelynn nodded to herself.

Ohdove listened and thought about it. Her mind wandered back to her anger and rage at the Knights, but all the good they did made her mood up. Sighing, she nodded to Madelynn. "I'll do it. I'll join your Crew. But on some specific conditions."

“Oh? And what are those conditions, Ohdy?” Madelynn asked.