The swirling sound of a portal opening fills the forest as a gust of wind blows across the trees. Elizabeth steps out first, while Ace tumbles forward from the portal. "Argh," he yells, but Elizabeth catches him by the back of his shirt.

"Thanks," he says, steadying himself.

Elizabeth laughs. "Forgot to tell you, portals actually push you out."

"Well, that was a terrible experience," he mutters to himself.

"You'll get used to it eventually," she says, still chuckling.

"You're back," Inara calls out, walking towards them with a tall man whose head is that of a deer's.

"Sorry for taking so long. I was catching up with an old friend," Elizabeth replies.

Looking shocked. “is that real or just a mask?” He blurts out

Elizabeth looks at him, surprised. "Do you have any filter on you?"

"What?" Ace asks, confused.

"You have a dog with three heads, and Himey's where you draw the line?" Elizabeth says.

"In his defense, he's all dog. Not half-dog, half-something else. And in my defense the centaurs back home are human from the waist up. " Ace argues.

"Please, just shut up," Elizabeth says, sounding exhausted. "Anyway, Inara, this is Ace. Ace, Inara. You'll be taking the test together."

Ace walks up to Inara, and they exchange greetings with a simple "Hi."

Nice, I'm not the only one taking the test.

Elizabeth pulls Himey in closer, presenting him to the kids. "Himey will be your supervisor, and if anything goes wrong, he'll be there to fix it."

"Wait, you're not coming with us?" Inara asks.

"Sorry. If the test venue were somewhere here on Plict, I might have been able to, but it's in the Second Realm. I'm not allowed there without permission."

"Persephone did say she's a troublemaker," Ace thinks to himself.

With a deep voice, Himey starts talking. "I've supervised many of these tests. You'll be judged fairly and—"

"I did not expect you to sound like that" Ace exclaims loudly, pointing to Himey while grabbing Inara's arm.

She slaps him in the stomach. "Ouch," he groans, holding his stomach.

"We're really sorry about that," Inara apologizes.

"I swear to God, no filter," Elizabeth comments, laughing at Ace clutching his stomach.

"Hey, are there any more guys like him?" Ace asks Inara.

"I know a guy with six arms who can change his face to a lizard," she says coyly.

Ace stares at her in horror. “Is he a virtuoso?”

“Yes, I'm surprised you know what that is” Inara says

"Never judge a book by its cover" Ace replies.

Inara just shakes her head.

Elizabeth laughs as she walks towards them. "You're in for a rude awakening, little man," she says, handing Inara a bracelet and Ace a sports wristband.

"What are these for?" Ace asks as they put them on.

"They're pockets," Himey replies.

"Pock what?" Ace asks.

"Think of them as mini-computers used for communication and the like. You'll also receive the details of the test on them," Himey explains.

Taking a look at his and Inara's, Ace asks, "Oh, that makes sense. Do the symbols on them mean anything?"

"What symbols?" Himey asks.

"Like, there's a butterfly on mine and a snake on hers," Ace points out, showing his wrist to Himey.

"Those are the squad guardian creatures. You'll meet them someday, or see them, more accurately. But for now, don't worry," Elizabeth says.

"I didn't even notice the symbols," Inara says.

"Hehe, I have wonderful eyes," Ace says, sounding proud of himself.

Elizabeth claps her hands, getting everyone's attention. "Now that introductions are over, I'll be sending you on your way," she says, opening a portal for them.

"Shall we?" Himey says, nudging them forward.

"I don't think I'll get used to this," Ace mutters to himself, shaking a bit as they walk towards the portal.

Inara notices and asks him in a low voice, "Are you scared?”

He thinks for a moment before replying, "Honestly, I'm just excited."

This tale has been unlawfully obtained from Royal Road. If you discover it on Amazon, kindly report it.

Inara laughs softly. "You're a character, that's for sure.”

"Good luck!" Elizabeth yells as they walk through the portal, which then closes.

A short time passes as the portal opens up in another forest, and everyone steps out comfortably except Ace, who stumbles forward without anyone to catch him this time.

"Ouch," he says sarcastically.

Inara offers her hand to help him up, which he gladly accepts. "You're really new to this, aren't you?" she asks.

Dusting himself off, he replies, "Believe it or not, that's my second time going through a portal.”

"That's actually believable," she says.

Ace finally notices that their clothes have changed from what they were earlier. "Okay, why are you dressed like Little Red Riding Hood?" he comments, gesturing to the flowy maxi dress and coat Inara is wearing.

Inara looks over her dress and asks, "Is something wrong with it?"

"Of course not. I'm just wondering why you look good and I look like a peasant," he says, flailing his arms to show his tunic and patched pants.

"I'm actually starting to see a resemblance now that you mention it," Inara remarks, turning her attention to her bracelet.

"At least someone's having fun," Ace mutters to himself.

Inara shows him the screen from her bracelet. "Look, we're in the Second Realm, medieval times?"

Ace taking a look at the information.

Hmm It doesn't specify when or where.

“I would've preferred somewhere more modern," he replies.

"You surprisingly know a lot for someone not born in plict." Inara says.

Ace shrugs. "I don't know much about Plict, but, the other realms I know a lot about. “How did that happen” asks Inara.

“Hades has a lot of books on them. Surprisingly not about Plict though. He says he hasn't been there enough to write about it." he replies.

"I'll keep that in mind," Inara says, swiping through the screen on her bracelet.

Hmm, why is he just standing there?

Walking towards Himey, Ace calls out, "Mr. Himey, are you okay?”

"The forest is quiet," Himey replies.

"Uhm, okay," Ace responds, confused.

"Too quiet," Himey adds.

Okay, this is getting weird.

Wearing a puzzled expression as he walks back to Inara.

"Find anything?" Ace asks.

"Yeah," she says, showing him the details on the screen. It reads:

'A monster is loose in Hans Village. It's already caused some damage to the village and injured some residents. You have three days to track and capture it. Best of luck, and oh, you can also ask the citizens for help, especially the mayor, chief guard, or priest. Show any of them the emblem at the end of this letter, and they'll be more than happy to help you out. P.S. If it gets tough or you get in trouble, just shout Himey's name three times; he'll get you out of there. Enjoy. Yours truly, Elizabeth.'

After reading the message, Inara and Ace look at each other with flat expressions. "Well, it was definitely written by her, that's for sure," Ace says bluntly.

"We don't even know what exactly we're trying to catch," Inara says.

"Well, let's just head over to the village and find one of the three she mentioned," Ace suggests, starting to move.

"Wrong direction," Inara comments.

Ace stops for a moment. "I think I'll let you lead the way while I figure out how this works," he says, pointing to his wristband.

"Sure. And it looks like Himey's gone," Inara notes, glancing around.

Ace walks over to where Himey was standing. "Oh, he left a note."

"What does it say?" Inara asks.

"'Call my name in case of an emergency. I'll be watching you from afar. Good luck,'" Ace reads aloud.

"Urgh, we already know that," Inara says as she gets up and starts moving, following a map on her screen. "Looks like the mayor's house isn't far from here."

Ace starts to follow her. "Where are we right now, though?" he asks, fiddling with his wristband.

"We're in the mayor's forest. Two fingers, just swipe towards you," she instructs.

Ace swipes with two fingers, and a screen pops open from the wristband. "Thanks," he says.

"No problem," Inara replies.

As they walk, Ace casually browses through the screen. "Hey, do you think what Himey said earlier was a clue?"

"What did he say?" Inara asks.

"He mentioned the forest being too quiet. Do you think that could be a clue?"

"I doubt it. But what do you think?" Inara asks, glancing back at Ace, who is fully immersed in figuring out the screen.

"Hmm, this is the mayor's forest. So I'm just wondering why there aren't any animals. You know, for hunting or even as pets," Ace questions.

"Or his own personal farm. But let's keep that in mind when we have more clues to work off," Inara suggests.

"Sure," Ace agrees.

"Great, Himey now has me scared for no reason. I wonder if there are any games on this thing," Ace mutters to himself.

"Hey, Inara, are there any games on this thing?" he asks aloud.

"Yes, I'll show you where they are after we pass the test," she retorts.

"Mood killer," Ace says to himself with a sulking expression.

"Let's play a game with Inara," a voice whispers.

Ace looks around, startled, searching for the source of the voice. He quickly walks up to Inara, tapping her on the shoulder. "Hey, did you hear a little girl's voice just now?" he asks, sounding uneasy.

"Uhm, no. Are you okay?" Inara asks, looking at him with concern.

"Yeah, I must be thinking too much," Ace says, awkwardly brushing it off.

"Sure, let's keep going. We're almost out of the forest," Inara says, resuming her walk.

"Great, now she thinks I'm weird or, worse, crazy," Ace mutters, lightly slapping his face to focus.

A few moments later, Ace and Inara arrive at the edge of the forest, where two guards immediately take notice of them and approach.

"You two, how did you get in there?" one guard shouts, pointing his spear at them.

Inara quickly shows them the symbol on the screen from her bracelet. "We're on a mission. I'm sure the mayor or priest will recognize this symbol," she says calmly.

After examining it, the guards murmur among themselves. The word "witch" can be heard in their discussion.

"Hey, I hope we're not in the medieval times that burns witches at the stake," Ace whispers to Inara, a hint of worry in his voice.

"You know, I didn't think of that, actually," Inara replies, sounding slightly concerned.

Ace looks at her with wide, shocked eyes. "Well, let's hope you're ready to run," he sighs.

The guards, done with their discussion, turn to Inara and Ace. "Father Kayden will be with you shortly. Please wait here," they say in a more respectful tone.

"Would you look at that," Ace whispers, teasing Inara.

"Just leave me alone," she sighs.

A brief period passes before Father Kayden arrives, accompanied by another man.

"Why does his face look like that?" Ace murmurs to Inara, noticing the sharp features of the approaching man.

"It's called having sharp features," Inara says, lightly hitting him.

“Afternoon, I'm Father Kayden, the priest of Hans Village, and this is Radcliffe, the chief guard," Father Kayden introduces them.

"Inara," she says, before hesitating. "And this is uhm—"

"Partner," Ace completes the sentence, extending his hand for a handshake.

Upon shaking hands with Father Kayden. His expression hardened. Visible chill runs across his body as he hears a deep voice.

“We need to leave now”

“What?” Ace says barley audible.

Breaking off the handshake, Father Kayden asks,

“Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I'm fine, I just got a little light headed for a moment” Ace replies soothing his hand.

“The weather is hotter today than usual. Please wait here let me get you some water” father Kayden says, making his way towards a maid.

Meanwhile Inara taps Ace “Are you good” she asks.

With a heavy sigh he replies.“Yeah I'm good.” Hiding his hand behind him.

“Might just be the heat getting to you” she says.

“Most likely” he bluntly replies. Clenching and unclenching his hand.

Only problem is my hand is cold and I don't feel hot right now.

"Nice to meet you both. You're here for your test, right?" Radcliffe asks.

Ace stares at the heavily armored man with a red lush beard.

How is he holding up in that if it's so hot.

"Yes, and we were wondering if you could show us any sites of the monster attacks," Inara says.

"Of course, it's our job to give you as many clues as we can," Replies father Kayden handing Ace a cup of water.

“Thank you” Ace obliges.

"A lot of people who have taken the test didn't need much to complete it. Funny enough," Radcliffe adds.

Ace and Inara exchange surprised glances. "We're not the first?" Inara asks.

"Oh no, Hans Village is one of many locations used as test grounds," Father Kayden explains.

"So, no need to worry, you're in good hands," Radcliffe reassures them.

"Okay, that's good to know. If you don't mind, could you show us the places where the creature attacked?" Inara requests.

"Of course. Let's head down to the village center; from there, it's not far," Father Kayden says, gesturing for them to follow.

As they begin walking, Ace asks, "Will we get to see the mayor?"

"Not at the moment," Radcliffe replies.

"Is something wrong with him?" Inara inquires.

"Sadly, he's been bedridden for quite some time," Father Kayden answers, then adds, "Oh, that reminds me. I hope the animals in the mayor's forest didn't give you any trouble."

Ace and Inara quickly exchange glances.

"Not at all," Inara responds. "It's like they weren't even there," Ace comments.

"Good to know you can handle yourselves," Father Kayden says.

You have no idea.