Yanura and her group toured the forest for hours, already stumbling into two Trials. One of them was the Trial of Earth, where people were facing a huge, floating ball of dirt the size of a building. Everyone was told that the Golden Egg was hidden inside of it; they just had to get to it. Even Yanura's group stopped and thought about trying, but then saw as multiple groups attacked the floating sphere at once, just so their spells either were deflected or even if they penetrated, it recovered in a blink of an eye before they could do anything. After passing up on it, wandering a little more, they also found the Trial of Water, where Koadriana recognized them immediately.
"Mmmm, some familiar faces have arrived!" Her voice came from their bracelet as they stood at the edge of a small lake where Koa was floating in the middle, enjoying the water, swimming around, completely naked.
"Haaah…" Yanura sighed, "We won't participate."
"Afraid?" She giggled teasingly, "It is not hard! You just have to swim to the middle, grab onto me, and find the Golden Egg!"
"And where is it?" One of the other girls asked, but Koa just giggled an answer.
"I won't tell! You must examine me adequately and fish it out of its hiding spot!"
"Pervert." They replied as one. "And we won't fall for your tricks!" Yanura added, examining the calm lake's surface. She saw some bubbles rise from one spot before two people appeared in a flash a few meters from them. They were drenched, coughing, and vomiting water as they almost drowned a moment ago. "You and your boys control the whole lake… You vixen of a mermaid!"
"Ahahaha! Who said it would be easy?" Koa laughed loudly in the distance, disappearing under the water's surface.
"Let's go!" Yanura hastened her steps, "It is best if we leave before we are egged into something stupid!" She murmured with a grimace and a smile.
"Are we really going to walk around aimlessly?" One of her friends asked after another half an hour of traveling.
"Not really," Yanura answered, raising a hand and showing her the map. "Although they are not showing up… look. Some parts are way too symmetrical! The tree lines are trimmed, and it looks to be done by hand! I bet that those places are where the Trials are taking place!"
"Oh… I never noticed that… and the next one is?" She opened her own map and saw that they were nearing it right now, and it didn't take long to hear someone crying.
"What… happened?" They looked at each other, and as they came nearer, they found a group of their fellow students from the same 4th year. All of them were sitting or kneeling, holding the remnants of their artifacts in their hand, wailing about their destruction.
"H-hey…" Yanura whispered, and they only looked at her, nodding, wiping their eyes, whimpering, and trying to warn them.
"Be careful… The golden flames… they exploit weaknesses in your… tools!"
"..." Yanura couldn't help but gulp and glance around, subconsciously rubbing the ring on her index finger.
It was her personal Artifact, one that was not made for her, but she inherited it. It was in her family's possession for more than a thousand years, passing down among members who became powerful water mages. It was gifted to her after she cut ties with Heliett, a reward from her mother, recognizing Yanura's decision as a sign she had finally grown up. If it gets destroyed here… she would lose something irreplaceable.
"What are you thinking…?" The rest asked, watching Yanura walk closer to the Trial; as they followed, they could see a deep, long gush in the earth and a wall of golden flames rising from deep inside. There was no way over it nor around it. They had to make their own path and follow the road on the other side.
"How's your artifacts?" She asked, still watching the flames, rubbing the ring on her finger.
"Mine would be destroyed…" One of her close friends sighed, "It is good, but it isn't custom-made. That was… too expensive and… I spent my CP on other things."
"Mine is custom-made." Another of her friends spoke, but her voice could have been more confident. "But… I had to compromise on its materials. I just couldn't perform the spells with the original concept… something did not click. I don't know if that would cause a problem…" She murmured, tapping the hilt of a rapier at her side.
"I'll do it!" Yanura raised her voice in the end, looking at her friends gently. "I'll bring us over; if it destroys it, so be it! A tool is as good as its user, and if something is destroyed by a fire in a test hosted by the Institute of Eight Elements, it does not worth the name, Artifact!" She stomped as if trying to expel all her doubts from her body and mind.
"Are you sure, Yanura?"
"Let's go!" Was her firm, simple answer, striding forward with conviction in her eyes.
With a wave of her hand, her ring came to life, glowing in a blue, shining light, surrounding their group in a watery bubble that solidified when they came close to the burning gush. They looked like young girls trapped inside a snow globe, slowly heading into their unavoidable doom.
"I will need to concentrate!" Yanura said, one hand raised, holding her wrist with the other, her index finger pointing at the golden fire. "I will move us but match your steps with mine! If you fall out of sync, my protection will expel you!"
Nobody answered; they simply focused on each other's feet, moving in complete synchronization with their bodies. When the first golden flames gave a lick at Yanura's protective bubble, it sent ripples forth on its surface, but her steps never wavered. She walked forward, stepping onto the empty air above the gush. Instead of falling, she had the sensation of walking on solid ground… one that was as hot as a sandy beach under the summer sun's rays. She only bit into her lips, enduring the slight pain, and continued walking. None of her friends had the same experience as being the one protecting them; she was taking it all in, her mind focused on the fire, her spell, and her ring.
This was the first time Yanura had had this strong connection with her family's heirloom, using it to channel her mana and form her spell around them all. It was now stronger than ever before, something she would not have believed possible even an hour earlier. Every step she took was firm, and none of her friends betrayed her trust, moving as one, quickly passing the halfway mark. A few years ago, she would not have dared to attempt it. She was different, swept along with others' ideas and weird thinking. She was comfortable like that; it was an easy life, and indulging in unrealistic dreams made her happy… right until she was woken up from it.
"Glad I did…" She thought as her leg reached the other shore, exiting the golden flames with her friends in tow. "Or I would not be able to do this."
Looking back, she smiled, watching the excited expressions on her friends' faces, cheering that they passed the hurdle so easily. They were about to say something when Eliott, Lia's subordinate, appeared from the flames, walking out, unbothered by it.
"Congratulations on being the first to pass the first challenge!"
"First?" Yanura asked, gathering her breath and fishing in her holding bag for a mana potion.
"Of course!" He smiled, "Nobody else was brave enough or worked together so well with an adequate artifact at hand!"
"No… I meant… the first challenge?" Yanura asked again, finishing her potion.
"Oh! Yes, yes… this is only for screening people!"
"Only… to screen us?" Yanura smiled, chuckling, shaking her head as she was expecting something weird, so she managed to get over it surprisingly quickly. "Can you tell us about the second challenge?"
"Well… being you are the first who managed to do it, yes." Eliott nodded after pursing his lips, musing a little about what to do. "Keep doing as you were, and everything will turn out fine!"
"That…" Yanura's friends looked at each other as if it was not much of a help, but their leader simply shook her head at them.
"Thank you!" She cupped her hands before leading the rest away, heading towards the second Trial.
"That wasn't really useful!" They said after getting so far away, they were sure he would not hear it.
"It was!" Yanura countered them calmly, "We just need to work together, easy!"
"She is right! They wouldn't make a trial that can't be passed, wouldn't they?"
"Um… They… they are the Misfits… aren't they?" Another asked back, making the small group fall silent, listening to the leaves being crunched below their feet as they walked, wondering what would happen next.
…
….
……
"Oh… I did not expect this!" Shishi chuckled, standing with Keily inside a separate space between the border of reality and No-Space, created by the Headmaster. They watched the events unfold and waited for Yanura's group to enter their domain. They would control the invisible flames from there, surrounding them and trapping the group.
"Me neither." Keily nodded, watching Yanura's face with mixed emotions.
"Are you still angry at them?"
"No… I think not." The bunny boy shrugged, "It is a short life to keep grudges for no reason! And Boss already said she was on good terms with her!"
"Is she now?" Shishi tilted her head, scratching her chin.
"Boss is not someone who would hold up any kind of animosity if they could work it out!"
"Sooo… are we going to go easy on them then?"
"Of course not!" Keily grinned, "I know that Boss is bored, but she said we should be stringent with our tests! If she wanted to fight that much, she shouldn't have said so!"
"Hah! I won't argue with you! I was also bored, so… let's go!"
And with that, they both picked out a big, round pill from their holding bags. It was completely white, milky, and smelled of a sweet scent. The moment they put it into their mouth, it melted, trickling down their throat, filling them with power and a weird sensation, wanting to burst out from within. Hurriedly, they channeled the raging flames inside their bodies, letting them explode right out of their hiding space, surrounding the unsuspecting group of Yanura with invisible fire.
…
….
……
"Aren't you hot?" One of Yanura's friends asked, feeling like she was thrown into an oven, sweating and finding it hard to breathe. Looking at her friends, they all showed varying states of discomfort, nodding at her question.
"Let's stop!" Yanura said, raising a hand and furrowing her brows. She was still feeling well. It was a bit hot, true, but all things considered, it was summer already. Looking at her friends' plights, she realized something was wildly off.
"Cast a water spell on yourselves!" She waved her hand, and as everyone did so, the appearing water around them started to shizzle and evaporate, turning into hot steam. "Not good, we walked into a trap!"
"Trap?!" They looked around and soon realized what she meant.
"Shields won't do!" Yanura said before they could ask, casting a water bubble around her that immediately started to tremble and then burst open, turning into vapor. "This is invisible fire!"
"Something like that exists?!"
"It does; it was used in the Dark Ages to trap and kill Undeads many times! Damn it! I totally forgot about it! The moment it touches you, it starts burning!"
"You want to say we are on fire?!" Her friends panicked immediately.
"Yes!" Yanura nodded, feeling troubled. "It increases in intensity as it burns, starting out slowly… Unnoticed. That is why it is a nefarious fire, and by the time someone catches on, they are already starting to burn to ash!"
"What should we do? We are water mages; it should be weak against our element!" One of them argued, covering her arm with water, trying to cool it down, but it quickly bubbled up before bursting, once again, turning into steam.
"Invisible fire is fueled by the temperature it is surrounded with! We already lost the initiative!" Yanura said, furrowing her brows, "Even with our water spells… the air is already way too hot, and the fire will burn on, overpowering ours! With the hot steam in the air, it already doubled in strength, don't you feel it?"
"Are we… going to fail?" They sighed, slightly disappointed, none of them fluent in ice-based spells that could help them.
"I… can try." Yanura licked her already dry lips, starting to feel the searing heat surrounding the group. "Heliett… did teach me some basic spells… when I did some things for her. It was a good reward, but… Ah, no better time to try than now!" She laughed loudly, throwing caution to the wind.
Closing her eyes and concentrating, her mana started to swirl inside her body as she channeled her powers in a way she had learned from Heliett. She never truly mastered transforming her flowing, gentle and malleable mana into something strong, rigid, and cold. Yet, despite the heat or precisely because of it, something wonderful happened to her. The ring on her finger was letting her use it without interference, quickly adapting to her master's wishes and letting her release a cool, cold air from all over her body.
What Yanura was doing was turning her mana into tiny, microscopic snowflakes, expelling it from all over her pores, letting it drift everywhere, cooling not just her and her friends but the surrounding area in its entirety. Its effect was almost immediate as the group began to feel much more comfortable, the painful hotness was receding, and it became easy to breathe again.
"Here!" One of her friends acted in time, noticing the changes in Yanura's expression. Getting out a mana potion, she opened it, pressing it against Yanura's lips, helping her drink it while she continued her spell, concentrating solely on her 'job.' They were taking turns, hand feeding their friend, and when their water spells were finally holding, without being boiled and dispelled, they started to flood the place around them, letting Yanura turn it into ice.
"Haaaah!" Yanura gasped, collapsing almost an hour later, feeling a tremendous headache assaulting her mind, making her wince in pain. Raising her head, the surrounding trees were covered in frost, their leaves turning from green to white, while the ground was frozen solid as if winter had returned from nowhere. "I think we done it!" She moaned, unable to help and smile.
"Yes… yes, you did." Arrived a familiar voice coming from their bracelet.
"Lia… Amarin." Yanura whispered, her eyes glowing in a fierce, competitive light.
"Come," Lia said, feeling just as fired up. "It will be a perfect closure for me too!"
"Closure…" Yanura repeated her words in her head, feeling them strangely resonate with her, standing up, already forgetting her exhaustion, walking forward, wanting to face the same girl she did once.
Yanura and her group toured the forest for hours, already stumbling into two Trials. One of them was the Trial of Earth, where people were facing a huge, floating ball of dirt the size of a building. Everyone was told that the Golden Egg was hidden inside of it; they just had to get to it. Even Yanura's group stopped and thought about trying, but then saw as multiple groups attacked the floating sphere at once, just so their spells either were deflected or even if they penetrated, it recovered in a blink of an eye before they could do anything. After passing up on it, wandering a little more, they also found the Trial of Water, where Koadriana recognized them immediately.
"Mmmm, some familiar faces have arrived!" Her voice came from their bracelet as they stood at the edge of a small lake where Koa was floating in the middle, enjoying the water, swimming around, completely naked.
"Haaah…" Yanura sighed, "We won't participate."
"Afraid?" She giggled teasingly, "It is not hard! You just have to swim to the middle, grab onto me, and find the Golden Egg!"
"And where is it?" One of the other girls asked, but Koa just giggled an answer.
"I won't tell! You must examine me adequately and fish it out of its hiding spot!"
"Pervert." They replied as one. "And we won't fall for your tricks!" Yanura added, examining the calm lake's surface. She saw some bubbles rise from one spot before two people appeared in a flash a few meters from them. They were drenched, coughing, and vomiting water as they almost drowned a moment ago. "You and your boys control the whole lake… You vixen of a mermaid!"
"Ahahaha! Who said it would be easy?" Koa laughed loudly in the distance, disappearing under the water's surface.
"Let's go!" Yanura hastened her steps, "It is best if we leave before we are egged into something stupid!" She murmured with a grimace and a smile.
"Are we really going to walk around aimlessly?" One of her friends asked after another half an hour of traveling.
"Not really," Yanura answered, raising a hand and showing her the map. "Although they are not showing up… look. Some parts are way too symmetrical! The tree lines are trimmed, and it looks to be done by hand! I bet that those places are where the Trials are taking place!"
"Oh… I never noticed that… and the next one is?" She opened her own map and saw that they were nearing it right now, and it didn't take long to hear someone crying.
"What… happened?" They looked at each other, and as they came nearer, they found a group of their fellow students from the same 4th year. All of them were sitting or kneeling, holding the remnants of their artifacts in their hand, wailing about their destruction.
"H-hey…" Yanura whispered, and they only looked at her, nodding, wiping their eyes, whimpering, and trying to warn them.
"Be careful… The golden flames… they exploit weaknesses in your… tools!"
"..." Yanura couldn't help but gulp and glance around, subconsciously rubbing the ring on her index finger.
It was her personal Artifact, one that was not made for her, but she inherited it. It was in her family's possession for more than a thousand years, passing down among members who became powerful water mages. It was gifted to her after she cut ties with Heliett, a reward from her mother, recognizing Yanura's decision as a sign she had finally grown up. If it gets destroyed here… she would lose something irreplaceable.
"What are you thinking…?" The rest asked, watching Yanura walk closer to the Trial; as they followed, they could see a deep, long gush in the earth and a wall of golden flames rising from deep inside. There was no way over it nor around it. They had to make their own path and follow the road on the other side.
"How's your artifacts?" She asked, still watching the flames, rubbing the ring on her finger.
"Mine would be destroyed…" One of her close friends sighed, "It is good, but it isn't custom-made. That was… too expensive and… I spent my CP on other things."
"Mine is custom-made." Another of her friends spoke, but her voice could have been more confident. "But… I had to compromise on its materials. I just couldn't perform the spells with the original concept… something did not click. I don't know if that would cause a problem…" She murmured, tapping the hilt of a rapier at her side.
"I'll do it!" Yanura raised her voice in the end, looking at her friends gently. "I'll bring us over; if it destroys it, so be it! A tool is as good as its user, and if something is destroyed by a fire in a test hosted by the Institute of Eight Elements, it does not worth the name, Artifact!" She stomped as if trying to expel all her doubts from her body and mind.
"Are you sure, Yanura?"
"Let's go!" Was her firm, simple answer, striding forward with conviction in her eyes.
With a wave of her hand, her ring came to life, glowing in a blue, shining light, surrounding their group in a watery bubble that solidified when they came close to the burning gush. They looked like young girls trapped inside a snow globe, slowly heading into their unavoidable doom.
"I will need to concentrate!" Yanura said, one hand raised, holding her wrist with the other, her index finger pointing at the golden fire. "I will move us but match your steps with mine! If you fall out of sync, my protection will expel you!"
Nobody answered; they simply focused on each other's feet, moving in complete synchronization with their bodies. When the first golden flames gave a lick at Yanura's protective bubble, it sent ripples forth on its surface, but her steps never wavered. She walked forward, stepping onto the empty air above the gush. Instead of falling, she had the sensation of walking on solid ground… one that was as hot as a sandy beach under the summer sun's rays. She only bit into her lips, enduring the slight pain, and continued walking. None of her friends had the same experience as being the one protecting them; she was taking it all in, her mind focused on the fire, her spell, and her ring.
This was the first time Yanura had had this strong connection with her family's heirloom, using it to channel her mana and form her spell around them all. It was now stronger than ever before, something she would not have believed possible even an hour earlier. Every step she took was firm, and none of her friends betrayed her trust, moving as one, quickly passing the halfway mark. A few years ago, she would not have dared to attempt it. She was different, swept along with others' ideas and weird thinking. She was comfortable like that; it was an easy life, and indulging in unrealistic dreams made her happy… right until she was woken up from it.
"Glad I did…" She thought as her leg reached the other shore, exiting the golden flames with her friends in tow. "Or I would not be able to do this."
Looking back, she smiled, watching the excited expressions on her friends' faces, cheering that they passed the hurdle so easily. They were about to say something when Eliott, Lia's subordinate, appeared from the flames, walking out, unbothered by it.
"Congratulations on being the first to pass the first challenge!"
"First?" Yanura asked, gathering her breath and fishing in her holding bag for a mana potion.
"Of course!" He smiled, "Nobody else was brave enough or worked together so well with an adequate artifact at hand!"
"No… I meant… the first challenge?" Yanura asked again, finishing her potion.
"Oh! Yes, yes… this is only for screening people!"
"Only… to screen us?" Yanura smiled, chuckling, shaking her head as she was expecting something weird, so she managed to get over it surprisingly quickly. "Can you tell us about the second challenge?"
"Well… being you are the first who managed to do it, yes." Eliott nodded after pursing his lips, musing a little about what to do. "Keep doing as you were, and everything will turn out fine!"
"That…" Yanura's friends looked at each other as if it was not much of a help, but their leader simply shook her head at them.
"Thank you!" She cupped her hands before leading the rest away, heading towards the second Trial.
"That wasn't really useful!" They said after getting so far away, they were sure he would not hear it.
"It was!" Yanura countered them calmly, "We just need to work together, easy!"
"She is right! They wouldn't make a trial that can't be passed, wouldn't they?"
"Um… They… they are the Misfits… aren't they?" Another asked back, making the small group fall silent, listening to the leaves being crunched below their feet as they walked, wondering what would happen next.
…
….
……
"Oh… I did not expect this!" Shishi chuckled, standing with Keily inside a separate space between the border of reality and No-Space, created by the Headmaster. They watched the events unfold and waited for Yanura's group to enter their domain. They would control the invisible flames from there, surrounding them and trapping the group.
"Me neither." Keily nodded, watching Yanura's face with mixed emotions.
"Are you still angry at them?"
"No… I think not." The bunny boy shrugged, "It is a short life to keep grudges for no reason! And Boss already said she was on good terms with her!"
"Is she now?" Shishi tilted her head, scratching her chin.
"Boss is not someone who would hold up any kind of animosity if they could work it out!"
"Sooo… are we going to go easy on them then?"
"Of course not!" Keily grinned, "I know that Boss is bored, but she said we should be stringent with our tests! If she wanted to fight that much, she shouldn't have said so!"
"Hah! I won't argue with you! I was also bored, so… let's go!"
And with that, they both picked out a big, round pill from their holding bags. It was completely white, milky, and smelled of a sweet scent. The moment they put it into their mouth, it melted, trickling down their throat, filling them with power and a weird sensation, wanting to burst out from within. Hurriedly, they channeled the raging flames inside their bodies, letting them explode right out of their hiding space, surrounding the unsuspecting group of Yanura with invisible fire.
…
….
……
"Aren't you hot?" One of Yanura's friends asked, feeling like she was thrown into an oven, sweating and finding it hard to breathe. Looking at her friends, they all showed varying states of discomfort, nodding at her question.
"Let's stop!" Yanura said, raising a hand and furrowing her brows. She was still feeling well. It was a bit hot, true, but all things considered, it was summer already. Looking at her friends' plights, she realized something was wildly off.
"Cast a water spell on yourselves!" She waved her hand, and as everyone did so, the appearing water around them started to shizzle and evaporate, turning into hot steam. "Not good, we walked into a trap!"
"Trap?!" They looked around and soon realized what she meant.
"Shields won't do!" Yanura said before they could ask, casting a water bubble around her that immediately started to tremble and then burst open, turning into vapor. "This is invisible fire!"
"Something like that exists?!"
"It does; it was used in the Dark Ages to trap and kill Undeads many times! Damn it! I totally forgot about it! The moment it touches you, it starts burning!"
"You want to say we are on fire?!" Her friends panicked immediately.
"Yes!" Yanura nodded, feeling troubled. "It increases in intensity as it burns, starting out slowly… Unnoticed. That is why it is a nefarious fire, and by the time someone catches on, they are already starting to burn to ash!"
"What should we do? We are water mages; it should be weak against our element!" One of them argued, covering her arm with water, trying to cool it down, but it quickly bubbled up before bursting, once again, turning into steam.
"Invisible fire is fueled by the temperature it is surrounded with! We already lost the initiative!" Yanura said, furrowing her brows, "Even with our water spells… the air is already way too hot, and the fire will burn on, overpowering ours! With the hot steam in the air, it already doubled in strength, don't you feel it?"
"Are we… going to fail?" They sighed, slightly disappointed, none of them fluent in ice-based spells that could help them.
"I… can try." Yanura licked her already dry lips, starting to feel the searing heat surrounding the group. "Heliett… did teach me some basic spells… when I did some things for her. It was a good reward, but… Ah, no better time to try than now!" She laughed loudly, throwing caution to the wind.
Closing her eyes and concentrating, her mana started to swirl inside her body as she channeled her powers in a way she had learned from Heliett. She never truly mastered transforming her flowing, gentle and malleable mana into something strong, rigid, and cold. Yet, despite the heat or precisely because of it, something wonderful happened to her. The ring on her finger was letting her use it without interference, quickly adapting to her master's wishes and letting her release a cool, cold air from all over her body.
What Yanura was doing was turning her mana into tiny, microscopic snowflakes, expelling it from all over her pores, letting it drift everywhere, cooling not just her and her friends but the surrounding area in its entirety. Its effect was almost immediate as the group began to feel much more comfortable, the painful hotness was receding, and it became easy to breathe again.
"Here!" One of her friends acted in time, noticing the changes in Yanura's expression. Getting out a mana potion, she opened it, pressing it against Yanura's lips, helping her drink it while she continued her spell, concentrating solely on her 'job.' They were taking turns, hand feeding their friend, and when their water spells were finally holding, without being boiled and dispelled, they started to flood the place around them, letting Yanura turn it into ice.
"Haaaah!" Yanura gasped, collapsing almost an hour later, feeling a tremendous headache assaulting her mind, making her wince in pain. Raising her head, the surrounding trees were covered in frost, their leaves turning from green to white, while the ground was frozen solid as if winter had returned from nowhere. "I think we done it!" She moaned, unable to help and smile.
"Yes… yes, you did." Arrived a familiar voice coming from their bracelet.
"Lia… Amarin." Yanura whispered, her eyes glowing in a fierce, competitive light.
"Come," Lia said, feeling just as fired up. "It will be a perfect closure for me too!"
"Closure…" Yanura repeated her words in her head, feeling them strangely resonate with her, standing up, already forgetting her exhaustion, walking forward, wanting to face the same girl she did once.
