A long, dark tunnel was spread along the path to the area of the third trial.

A handful of students were left after the previous two trials, and with this trial, a large number of others would be thinned out of the herd.

Among those taking the trial, existed a quartet that had not separated through the previous trials.

Kōkatsu: [I know they said we should probably wear somethin’ that’s better for movin’ around and shit, but what’s with the lack of creativity here?]

Shiro: [What do you mean, Kō?]

Kōkatsu: [You’re wearin’ the same outfit ya had when we were trainin’, Nero’s wearin’ somethin’ similar but in black which, by the way, holy fuck ya were hidin’ some serious muscle under that coat. I might have to try fightin’ ya next just for fun.]

None of the others had seen Nero without his coat. But due to the trial they were now undergoing, they had witnessed what his body had looked like. A massive, well defined structure, that could possibly even outdo the muscle of Kōkatsu’s own body.

Nero: [I appreciate the compliment! Although, I'm not sure that I would want to follow that request…]

Kōkatsu: [Bah, yer no fun. Anyways, where was I? Oh right, and then there’s her, who is still wearin’ a damn big coat with fur on some spots like ’s fuckin’ winter. I also really hope ya got some sort of snake pants or somethin’ under there cause I don’t wanna see your snatch while we’re goin’ through the trial.]

Silvia: [Well, unfortunately, it issss jusssst the coat. But I can assssure you, there issss nothing to ssssee down there. In order to make it vissssible, I would firsssst releasssse my pheromonessss. From there I would–]

Kōkatsu: [Ya know what? I’m good not knowin’. Still, y’all are lame!]

Shiro: [You’re wearing your usual kimono though.]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah but my outfit is cool! It’s super dignified! Once we become gods, I'm gonna get a haori to go with this and make myself look extra tough!]

Silvia: [I’m not entirely ssssure your ssssituation issss different from ourssss. Hm? Wait, Sssshiro, what issss with that mark on your sssshoulder?]

Shiro: [Oh this? I got it while me and Kō were training.]

Nero: [You went that far during your training?!]

Kōkatsu: [Haha, yup! I even got one too, see?]

Kōkatsu then grabbed her kimono by the collar on the right side, swiftly moving it down to show off her scar on her right shoulder.

Upon doing so, Nero let out a gasp while covering his eyes. He was not scared of the scar, rather…

Silvia: [Oh my…]

Shiro: [Are you not wearing a bra?!]

Kōkatsu: [Hm? No, why?]

Shiro: [Hurry up and pull that sleeve back up before your boob slips out!]

Kōkatsu: [Oh, I see. Hah. Guess I should do that. Ya sure you don’t want a peek, Nero?]

Nero: [I-I am q-q-quite sure!]

Kōkatsu: [Hooo? That’s unfortunate for ya. I was willin’ to let ya especially after seein’ that bod.]

Shiro: [There are other people in this tunnel!]

Kōkatsu: [True, true. We wouldn’t want them gettin’ a free chance now would we? And back up it goes!]

Adjusting both her clothes, and then her chest shortly after, Kōkatsu’s look had returned to its normal state.

Kōkatsu: [So, what do ya think the third trial is like? All I know is ’s a situation for us to handle.]

Nero: [Seeing as the past two trials were about power and speed, those are two areas in which it’s important for a god to be effective in. So the third will likely test us on applying both, while also critiquing how we handle certain things that may occur.]

Kōkatsu: [Pretty smart deduction there Nero…Ya sure ya don’t–]

Shiro: [Kō!]

After having her nickname yelled at her by Shiro, Kōkatsu raised her hands in the air in an act of surrender.

Silvia: [I believe there will be a catch to thissss.]

Shiro: [Hm? What do you mean?]

Silvia: [It feelssss far too ssssimple to have ussss usssse the areassss we were tessssted in for the nexsssst trial to handle ssssome ssssort of dummy ssssituation.]

Kōkatsu: [Hm. That’s true. If they really wanted to go easy on us, they’d just do that. But this is trainin’ for gods. There’s no way they make it as simple as movin’ around quickly in powerful strides. They wanna thin us out, so they’ll probably try somethin’.]

Shiro: [That’s true, but what exactly would they try?]

Nero: [That’s the tricky area I suppose. We have no idea what it will be until we head in there.]

Shiro: [Hmmmmm.]

Shiro had attempted to figure out what could possibly be planned for them, but before she could…

Kōkatsu: [Speakin’ of gettin’ there, we’re here.]

The entire group of students were now lined up at the massive steel doors. Shortly after, the doors opened up slowly, with a bright white light beaming through.

The students had stepped through the now opened doorway, and bared witness to the area in which the third trial would take place.

A massive, open field that represented what had looked like a town.

Unlike with the previous trials, there was no separation between the students.

Every student was now standing with one another.

Shiro: [So this is where the third trial will take place? It’s massive…]

Kōkatsu: [Hah! That’s what she said! Well anyways, I’ll agree with ya on that. I didn’t expect a buildin’ like this to hold a room to this scale. Kinda scary thinkin’ ‘bout it.]

As multiple eyes had been gazing across the large open area, the sounds of a speaker starting could be heard.

Trial Attendant: [May I have your attention, please! We will now begin the third trial of the course. This trial will test many areas of your own skill, as well as many simplified aspects of what it means to be a god. There are two important rules going into this trial however. First, this trial will be based on a scoring system. Certain actions may grant you points, while others will lose them. Second, this scoring system, along with your own score throughout the trial, will be unknown to you. Whether an action will give you points, or retract them, is for you to determine. Your own score will be presented once the trial has finished.]

A worried look was now firmly planted on Shiro’s face

Shiro: [We won’t even know what gives us points?!]

Kōkatsu: [Oi, Shiro.]

Suddenly, Shiro was called to by the kitsune standing beside her. She could see clear as day that Kōkatsu was acting oddly serious at this moment.

Kōkatsu: [Remember what I said ‘bout those old shits?]

Kōkatsu’s gaze had then changed from looking at Shiro, to straight ahead.

Kōkatsu: [They probably had a hand in this. So all ya need to do is focus on what they would want.]

Shiro: [R-right.]

Trial Attendant: [Without further ado, the timer will be set to five minutes, and will start after the countdown.]

Shiro, Kōkatsu, Nero, and Silva had all braced themselves for what would come next.

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Trial Attendant: [Three!]

Shiro: [Here we go…]

Trial Attendant: [Two!]

Kōkatsu: [I better not see any of ya lose.]

Trial Attendant: [One!]

Nero: [I have no such plans to falter now.]

Silvia: [...]

Trial Attendant: [Begin!]

With the announcement to begin, each of the students shot into different directions, both in the air and on the ground.

Shiro had chosen the air, as doing so would gain a much greater advantage in seeing everything.

Indeed, she saw everything. There were dummy holograms around to serve as enemies, holograms that were cowering in fear or needed saving, and holograms that represented spectators. All of these holograms had been spread out across the area.

Something else Shiro had seen was that every single student was spread out. Not a single one had been cooperating with each other. Whether they did this intentionally, or they merely just wanted an advantage for the start before receiving help later was unknown. But there was something about this that Shiro realized due to both her own deduction, as well as Kōkatsu’s message.

Shiro: [They don’t want us helping each other. Therefore, if I attempt that in any way, I’ll end up losing points. How many though, I’m not entirely sure.]

Shiro then tried to deduce the situation of the holograms.

Shiro: [There’s certain things they want to see more than others. If I had to guess, it’s likely one point for helping people, two points for the spectators should they praise us, and three for taking out enemies. The spectator one will make this tricky though. They might praise us if we seem like someone friendly and helpful, but I can’t imagine it’ll be good if they fear us. No…wait…]

For a second time now, the message Kōkatsu gave her rang out in her head. Shiro grinded her teeth at the realization that occurred.

Shiro: [They want us to be feared, don’t they?! Damn it!]

She hated the idea completely. The current gods, who had been around for centuries, were interested in the might of the students and nothing else. Therefore, saving people, gaining praise, all of these were minimal in points. But when it came to taking out any threats, or being feared by others, that is where the point system would likely excel most.

Shiro had then assumed that if one were to be feared by the spectator holograms, it would likely earn you four points.

Shiro: [None of that matters though…I’ll do this my own way!]

After making that declaration, Shiro shot towards the ground, breaking rocks that were falling from the ceiling to prevent the holograms from being crushed, and taking out some of the enemy holograms with a swift chop to the neck, as to avoid any extra damage that could have her be feared.

Jumping from one area to the next, without too much unnecessary action, Shiro made quick work of what lay before her.

There were moments however, where she could not gain the points that she had attempted to gain. Students coming in to take the points for themselves, attacks from the enemy holograms slowing her down slightly, there was enough to stop her progress to a difficult degree.

Shiro: [I’m gonna use up too much time at this rate…there!]

Shiro had spotted an area in which all three hologram types existed. The perfect area to net some points.

She flew down quickly to deal with the threat that had been there….until a long golden ax came flying in from the side, striking down the foe.

The ax was then picked up shortly after, by a girl who Shiro was familiar with.

Shiro: [...Helig…]

Helig: [....]

Helig only stared at Shiro, before shooting herself back up into the area towards a new area.

The spectators who had seen the ax thrown, had a clear emotion on their face.

Fear.

Shiro: [So that’s the route she’s going with?]

Shiro had felt it was odd that their scenario with one another was the way it was. Shiro was a succubus, and yet she had preferred peace and joy, while Helig was an angel, who was using fear as a tactic to win.

Shiro: [There’s no time to focus on this, I need to move on quickly! There’s only two minutes left at this point.]

While moving to other areas, in which she both succeeded and failed, Shiro had tried to figure out how many points remained for her.

Shiro: [Let’s see, at this point I have forty…]

An enemy hologram attempted to attack her. Shiro quickly moved to the side with another swift chop to their neck.

Shiro: [...three. The amount I need to pass is…wait…they never even said how much it was! If I had to take a random guess though, I’d like to think it’s fifty, but I could be wrong. If I do turn out to be wrong, there’s a chance I’m screwed.]

There were hardly any areas left, and Shiro was running out of time.

She quickly moved to some new areas that had yet to be taken. Some of the students were headed to the same areas, but thanks to Shiro’s speed, she managed to get them first.

She was now at forty nine points.

The timer was getting incredibly close to the end.

Shiro: [Damn it! Just one more…just one…]

She had then spotted a hologram that needed to be saved, along with spectators around them.

Three points waited there.

More than enough for fifty points.

Shiro immediately tried to fly forward towards the area, noticing others had been on the move too.

Though she was fast, she felt as though she was starting to slow down.

At this rate, she would likely fail by one point.

That was until she saw someone moving towards the area.

A purple haired snake girl that she was familiar with.

Shiro: [Silvia!]

The snake girl turned slightly to notice her. The expression on her face didn’t seem upset, but it did not look kind either.

Regardless of that, Shiro had a plan.

It was not a smart plan, nor would it work. In fact she expected this to fail.

But at this point in the trial, it was worth a shot.

Shiro: [SILVIA…I NEED YOUR HELP!]

It felt embarrassing.

At this point in the trial, everyone had likely realized that helping each other would only cost them. Even more so for those who asked for help.

And now, Shiro had shouted out into the whole area that she needed help.

She had made a fool of herself in front of everyone.

But she did not care.

However, Silvia did not change her pace nor direction.

She simply continued to look at Shiro, while moving towards the area.

Until…

Shiro: [YOU MENTIONED YOU HOPED THAT I’D BE A SPECIAL KIND OF FRIEND TO YOU RIGHT?]

Silvia’s eyebrows then raised slightly.

Shiro: [I DON’T THINK YOU WERE LYING AT ALL…]

This trial was a solo act for the students.

They would likely have to not know anything to help one another out.

To help each other, would mean to likely forfeit your chances in becoming a god.

On top of that…snake people were known for lying.

They lied.

They deceived.

These were the things that had been known for.

Silvia very well could have lied about everything.

They were good at that.

This could have been just to find out who Shiro’s mother was.

But she did not believe this…

Shiro knew what it was like…to have a certain label around your race and by proxy, yourself.

Not only during a few encounters with a girl she had now known, but even before, even when she was a child. She both knew and had felt what that was like.

She knew it existed for other races.

She wondered what it had been like for Nero, with oni being the most discriminated upon demon race out there.

But none of that mattered.

In front of her, Shiro believed there was no liar.

No deceiver.

Merely someone who wanted a friend.

A friend like Shiro.

With all her heart, Shiro then shouted her next words as loud as possible.

Shiro: [...I BELIEVE YOU!]

Silvia’s eyes widened. Her intimidating gaze faded.

Her matōki appeared in a large, aura-like form around her.

And instead of shooting towards the area…

Silvia shot towards Shiro.

Shiro: [Woah!]

Quickly catching up to her, Silvia grabbed Shiro’s arm that had reached out for her…

And shot back towards the area.

Silvia was fast on land, incredibly fast at that, but at this point, many students had an advantage on distance.

Shiro: [My message there may have been a bit distracting to them, but I don’t think we’ll–]

Silvia turned to Shiro, smiling.

Silvia: [You’ll make it. Don’t worry.]

Aiming her right hand forward, Silvia prepared herself for the next move.

With all of her might, she threw Shiro forward towards the rock falling from the ceiling.

Shiro swiftly prepared herself in the middle of the air, hitting the rock with a powerful backwards kick.

Shortly after, Shiro shot towards the ground to protect the hologram from the small remains of the rock with her wings.

Shiro gazed down at the hologram, and despite there being no life within it, she calmly reassured them…

Shiro: [Don’t worry, I got you!]

The hologram had smiled, and the spectator holograms began to cheer.

A moment after, the buzzer had gone off, and the trial was officially over.

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Fifty points was the amount that Shiro had.

Losing two points by asking for help, but gaining three by completing two tasks, Shiro had landed on a solid fifty points.

Once the trial was over, all of the students were able to see their scores in a separate room.

In order to pass the amount of points needed was…

Fifty.

She was not the only one, however.

A certain girl who had helped her out, just so happened to also have fifty points on the dot.

Kōkatsu: [Haha! All three of ya didn’t disappoint! We’re movin’ on!]

Nero: [That play at the end was very powerful from you two! Excellently done!]

Shiro: [Hehe…it was nothing really.]

Silvia did not speak, but simply smiled while closing her eyes.

Kōkatsu: [Well, while it is nice we’re movin’ on, sadly the two of ya got fifty while I got ninety two and Nero over here got seventy four. So you two are payin’ for dinner.]

Silvia: [That issss fine. I’m in a rather good mood now.]

Nero: [Alright then, shall we head out for our celebration meal.]

Shiro: [Yeah! Let’s go!]

With that, the quartet had once again conquered another trial.

They were now on the hardest step yet, and simply had to wait for instructions on what to do next.

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The group had walked towards the restaurant they were headed to for the night, but while the others were walking on ahead, Shiro had slowed down her pace.

Nero, Mena, and Kōkatsu continued talking with one another, but within the group walking ahead, someone had stopped moving, only starting again once Shiro had caught up to them.

That person being…

Shiro: [You alright, Silvia?]

Silvia: [Thank you.]

Shiro: [Thanks? I don’t think I really did anything that…oh. OH! I mean, I just said what I really believe. I was kinda just speaking my mind at that moment.]

Silvia: [I am glad you did. It made me feel quite nisssse. Is there anything you would like to eat, Sssshiro? I will pay for the bill mysssself.]

Shiro: [Huh?! No, no, I can pay for some of it! There’s no problem there. You don’t have to pay me back for fully accepting a sort of friendship request. The request itself is enough.]

Silvia: [I would like to pay you back ssssomehow.]

Shiro: [You don’t have to do anything! Really! Having you as a friend is enough.]

Silvia: [Hmmm. Perhapssss I will think of a method for the future then.]

Shiro: [You’re really persistent with this, aren’t you?]

Silvia: [Of coursssse. It’ssss one of my defining traitssss.]

A wide smile rose on Silvia’s face while the two of them continued to walk forward silently.

Silvia: [Sssshiro?]

Shiro: [Yeah?]

Silvia: [I’m aware I already ssssaid it, but…thank you.]

Silvia wrapped one arm around Shiro’s waist, giving what could only be referred to as a one armed hug.

Shiro: [No worries.]

Shiro gave the same action back, and once again, the two of them continued towards the restaurant.

Despite her worries when first coming to the school, Shiro had made excellent progress in making new friends.

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After a fun night of chatting and eating, Shiro and Kōkatsu returned to their dorm.

However, Kōkatsu shortly after remembered something that she had apparently been told, and left the dorm.

An hour after that moment had passed, and Kōkatsu returned.

Shiro: [Oh hey, you’re back. So what’s up? What happened?]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah, sorry, I forgot they’d ask me ‘bout this stuff since I’m the oldest out of the two of us in this dorm, so they wanted to know some shit but–]

Shiro: [Wait, hold on, this is confusing. What happened exactly?]

Kōkatsu: [Oh sorry, basically they called me over and wanted to sign up a team for the next trial. Cause that’s what the whole thing involves, ya know? A team takin’ on a real situation. Although I guess ’s apparently a separate one per person but still–]

Shiro: [Wait, team? What team? Who are you referring to when you say they? Also the next trial?]

Kōkatsu: [Huh? Oh, yeah, ya know, a team. I signed us up.]

Shiro: [....Eh?]

Kōkatsu: [Yeah. Me, ya, Nero, and Silvia.]

There was silence for a few moments, before Shiro quickly broke that silence.

Shiro: [EHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH?]

The fourth trial would soon be underway.

Without even knowing it, Shiro, Nero, and Silvia were all put into a sign up request with Kōkatsu.

Not a single one of them was aware of the journey that would soon lie ahead.

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