"Kyren, please, let's fight this. I don't want that to happen again," Hiro said.
Kyren remembered Hiro's frustration when they got robbed by Carlos.
"Yeah," Kyren replied, hardening his grip on his sword.
"Come get us," Hiro challenged, pointing his sword at the ambushers.
"So, you guys aren't going to listen?" one of the ambushers sneered. "I guess you leave us no choice."
The three ambushers charged in. Hiro moved to the front, parrying each attack from the enemy, while Kyren searched for an opening, using Hiro's distraction to his advantage.
As the sword clashes continued, Hiro felt their training kicking in. He focused on creating the right moment for Kyren to counterattack, just as they had practiced.
When one ambusher lost his temper, Kyren saw an opportunity. He pierced through the man's leg, bringing him down. As the remaining two looked at their fallen ally, Hiro smashed one ambusher's head with the back of his sword, rendering him unconscious. The last ambusher dropped his sword and surrendered.
"Hiro, I'll get the ropes to chain them up and look for Patricia," Kyren said, heading back to their caravan. Before he got there, their feet were suddenly trapped by the earth, forming a barrier that immobilized them.
They looked around and saw someone approaching, maintaining the earth root spell that trapped them.
"You managed to defeat them, but you won't defeat me," the newcomer said, his hand controlling the earth roots around their feet.
"Hiro, this one is on another level," Kyren warned.
Hiro struggled to escape, but the more he resisted, the tighter the earth roots grew.
"Why are you doing this?" Hiro's frustration surged.
Before the earth root wielder could respond, they heard a shout.
"HORYAAAAA!"
Patricia charged at the earth root wielder, smashing into him with her shoulder. The impact knocked him to the ground, coughing up blood, and quickly dispelled the earth roots.
"Patricia!" Hiro exclaimed, relieved to see her unharmed.
"Oh, fool, you thought you could play tricks on us?" Patricia said, standing over the fallen earth root wielder.
Kyren and Hiro quickly tied the four ambushers to a tree.
"Come on, boys, we don't have time to be reporting them. Let 'em rot here as a lesson." Patricia said, hit the earth root wielder on the head one more time.
As they resumed their journey, Hiro smiled. "I'm glad you're okay after that needle hit your neck."
"It doesn't affect me," Patricia smiled.
Kyren and Hiro looked confused.
"I just acted like it did so y'all could test your skills." Patricia explained.
"What?" Hiro was still puzzled.
"I knew they were on your level, so I let y'all show off your training. I'm real proud of y'all for handling them like that" Patricia said.
"I see, we are really improving, the efforts are paying off." Kyren thought, looking at his hands.
"That will be your final training before entering the academy." Patricia said.
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Hiro's confidence started to rise. "Kyren, Let's do this!" offered a fist bump.
...
As they finally arrived in Arramaya City, Patricia took care of arranging their accommodation before bidding them farewell.
"Alright, boys, it's all on you from here. I'll catch up with y'all in three months," Patricia said, passing them some silver coins for their meals.
"Thanks a lot, Pat. And make sure to tell Alaine that once I graduate from this academy, I'm going to confess my feelings to her," Hiro declared with a foolish smile.
"You better not say that if you don't mean it, or I might just smack some shit into you," Patricia warned, her tone firm and serious.
"I'm just kidding, Pat." Hiro reassured her, attempting to placate her with a gesture of his hands.
"Thank you, Patricia," Kyren chimed in, expressing his gratitude.
Patricia responded by giving Kyren a shoulder bump. "Just remember what you've promised... All those favors from Alaine," she whispered cryptically before walking away.
"Wait, Patricia where's my bumps, are you still angry? I didn't mean it like that... I mean, I did, but not in the way you're thinking... Wait, what am I even saying?" Hiro stumbled over his words, realizing belatedly that his joke might have hit a nerve with Patricia.
"Whatever, boy," Patricia replied dismissively, already walking away, leaving Hiro to ponder the implications of his jest.
"It's okay, Hiro, I'm sure Patricia understands," Kyren reassured his friend.
"I mean, Kyren, I really meant it," Hiro confessed, his voice tinged with sincerity.
"What do you mean?" Kyren asked, curious about the sudden shift in Hiro's tone.
"I mean... after seeing Alaine again after all this time, my feelings for her haven't changed. I used to think maybe it was just because we were close when we were younger, but... I think I might be in love with her," Hiro admitted, his words heavy with emotion.
"Then maybe we really need to succeed at this Academy. We have a lot riding on it, don't we?" Kyren suggested.
"Definitely. I don't want to let anyone down, especially not Alaine. I never mentioned this before, but I regret not acting sooner on our dreams. Alaine has always been so far ahead of me," Hiro confessed, a hint of remorse coloring his words.
...
As the evening meal concluded, Kyren and Hiro retired early to ensure they were fully rested and prepared for the upcoming events.
...
The opening ceremony for Batch 4 of the Sky Academy commenced, and Kyren donned his usual attire—a black cloak paired with long rubber pants, his Gladius held lightly in hand. Hiro, on the other hand, wore a light bronze-colored armor and wielded his trusty Claymore. Together, they made their way to the registration area, where they encountered the girl in charge from their previous encounter.
"Welcome, aspiring protectors of our realms. Can I have your names, please, so we can verify your enrollment information?" the girl asked politely.
Kyren and Hiro introduced themselves, and the girl quickly confirmed their enrollment.
"Alright, everything seems to be in order. Follow me, please," she instructed, leading them towards the main event hall of the Sky Academy.
As they entered the hall, Kyren and Hiro were taken aback by its immense size. It was filled with aspiring warriors and sorcerers of all ages, ranging from young children to seasoned veterans. The atmosphere was charged with anticipation, and Kyren and Hiro couldn't help but exchange glances with some of the other participants, noting the intensity in their gazes. Despite the tension in the air, they remained composed, ready to face whatever challenges lay ahead.
As the minutes passed, the once-empty stage began to fill with hundreds of sorcerers, each wearing the official uniform of the Sky Academy—white with gold linings—and donning masks to conceal their identities. Their badges ranged from two-starred to three-starred sorcerers, indicating their levels of expertise. Then, a boy with fiery red hair stepped forward onto the stage.
"Hello, everyone. I am the Vice Leader of the AL Guild, known as the Handsome Prodigy," he announced, his voice echoing throughout the event hall.
Though Kyren was positioned at the back of the hall, he couldn't see the Vice Leader's face, but he recognized the name as someone to avoid.
"Today, we will proceed to the qualification exam. But first, let me provide you with some information. There are exactly 10,300 of you gathered here, all aspiring to become warriors or sorcerers. The Sky Academy is just the first step on your journey. But do you think it's easy to become one of us?" the Vice Leader questioned, prompting murmurs among the students.
"But it can't be helped. We've designed this qualification exam to determine who is truly committed to becoming one of us and who is simply fooling around. Your mission for this exam is to find your way back to the academy," he continued, as officials distributed protective buttons to each participant.
"Return to the academy without pressing that button, and if you pressed that you will be instantly teleported to the statue in Arramaya City. This signifies that you've given up the challenge and have failed, don't make a stupid complain on you accidently pushes you that its useless, you are in charge of that button, Those are the rules. Now, we will begin the qualification exam," the Vice Leader declared, as the masked sorcerers cast a spell, teleporting all the participants to a faraway, isolated, and unknown forest.
Kyren and Hiro found themselves suddenly transported into the depths of the forest, surrounded by towering trees stretching endlessly in every direction. The forest was so vast that there was no sign of any other students within their sightline, leaving them completely isolated within its depths.