“Let's rest here while focusing on our breathing.” Elijah calmly said as he laid Alexia against the wall. “Are you okay?”

“Y-yes, just a bit dizzy. My throat and eyes hurt…”

Elijah hated seeing Alexia in this state. These symptoms came about extremely fast, probably due to the larger and faster breaths that were taken during the ambush, and the time crossing the waterfall.

“Why do you think Cora attacked you?” Niko asked a question that Elijah was already asking himself.

“No idea. She didn’t seem like herself when I looked back from the cold temperature that was close to my back. She must have gone mad. Maybe the toxic gas?”

“The gas wouldn’t affect her like that. I think she had a reason.”

“Yes, you may be right. But since we don’t know, there is no point in thinking about it.” Elijah ended the conversation.

After twenty minutes of resting and slowly moving their way through the dimly lit and colorful tunnel, Elijah broke the silence. “Trey, how can you assure me you won’t say anything about what happened?”

Trey was holding onto the seemingly lifeless Cora, and let go of his grip.

Bam!

The body slammed onto the floor with the head rebounding against the hard stone floor. “She is dead.” Trey’s short brown hair and innocent face hit Elijah’s heart. A boy had just witnessed the death of a fellow citizen, a citizen who may have betrayed them, but still had their own life in the kingdom. What Trey didn’t realize is what this truly meant, and only later in his life would he understand death.

Alexia moved closer to Elijah’s side at the sight of something they all knew was coming. The question was, would this kill affect Alexia positively, or negatively.

“I understand. I think there could have been a specific reason why Cora did what she did, so please don’t speak of this. We may have gotten involved in something we know nothing about…”

“I promise you with my life to never speak a word about anything that happened in this exam.” Trey stared straight into Elijah’s eyes and told the truth.

One thing surprised Elijah was how different the children acted compared to when they lived in the outer region, and the inner city. The inner city was practically overpopulated, and caused everyone to grow up quickly in order to support their families. Most children from the inner cities directly went to the junior knights, and if they failed the exam, which happened quite a lot, they would resort to mining in The Catacombs for affinity crystals through the Miner Guild until they passed.

The familiar cavern with rock formation and the different colored blood pools passed into their sights, along with a horrible stench of blood in the air.

Loud footsteps were heard by the four children who immediately stopped in their steps. They had not gotten rid of the body, but instead held two bodies while slowly walking to safety. For their own reasons they were nervous as to what would happen, but Elijah calmed everyone’s nerves. “We are saved.”

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“Halt! People ahead!” A deep voice resounded through the dark tunnel and entered the large rocky cavern full of small pools of water.

“You idiot, those are obviously kids.” A familiar voice cut through the echoes. “You guys are alive. Oh, well most of you are…”

Elijah was the first one to speak toward the figures covered by darkness.

“Why did you leave us…”

“I am sorry. I failed as your protector. Something happened outside the walls that called for my help. Powerful lives are worth more than childish lives.” The words coming from Alessia, who gracefully jumped off the ledge into the lit cavern, intrigued Elijah. Another massacre must have happened.

“This counts as a pass right.” Niko tore through the emotional tension with a comedic and ignorant outburst.

Alessia responded gleefully. “Hahaha, of course. How far did you guys travel?”

“To the gas cave!” Niko’s smile widened with confidence.

“How impressive. Based on that pool of blood over there. I assume you went there with only five people?”

“Yes. We only struggled in this cavern because of an orange core beast…” Elijah intentionally tried to make the examiner feel guilty.

“Again, I am extremely sorry, but there was nothing I could do… Please follow me and the hunters back to safety. When we return to the guild, you will each receive your own personal pendant that will signify you as a Junior Hunter. Congratulations.”

The sight of light blinded the newly wed hunters. They all assumed they went well past an hour, maybe even two by themselves in The Catacombs. Without any source of drinkable water, they were yearning for their taste of the liquid of life.

A new covered carriage brought them to Western Hunter Guild building. Just like the time they left, the building had retained its craziness as people walked in and out of its doors, and into the line on the right side of the building. After being led out of the carriage by Alessia, an uncountable number of stares hit the now group of four that were slugging two dead bodies over their shoulders. One was missing a limb, and the other, had a gaping hole in its chest. Even with both covered by a large tan cloth blanket, everyone knew what had happened.

The examiner had been too late. Twice!

“Ahem. Quickly follow me to my office.”

The doors opened to people on the left and right that quickly moved away from the stench that had just walked inside. The organic wood, stone, and plants that made up the guild building could not mask the scent of death.

The group of four slumped down into the chairs of the sage green office filled with more different plants than you could count on one finger. Elijah and Trey previously handed the bodies of Cora and Ben to two older hunters who brought them who knows where. By this time, the effects of the sulfur had mostly subsided, leaving the four poor souls with itchy and bloodshot eyes.

Knocks were heard on the door of Alessia's office on the second floor, and were quickly let in by her soft voice.

“Hello, young lady and gentlemen. I hope you know my name, but if you don’t, it is Lorsen Creveron, the West Hunter Guild Leader. I was informed of what happened to you during your exam, and I just want to apologize. Unfortunately, I can do nothing to reprimand this lady who was supposed to be watching over you all because of the reason why she left. So all I can do is compensate you for the exorbitant amount of danger and mental trauma you faced by allowing you one wish within the Hunter Guild that we can grant you. Weapons, gold, access to exclusive training buildings, potential mentor’s, and anything that is within the Hunter Guild’s access.”

Elijah was genuinely impressed by the compensation possible. However, with his dirty hand holding up his head as he slouched in his chair, he could only think how they were all useless to him. Elijah was already able to tell Amaris, the Ice Judge was keeping an eye out for them. He would no question teach him some tricks not as a mentor, but as a friend. They both had something in common that was not seen anywhere else in the kingdom. The desire to explore the unknown outside the walls. Training buildings wouldn’t suit his need if he was to use his space affinity, gold doesn’t mean anything to him with his family’s special relationship to the Weltor’s, and a new weapon or multiple isn’t what Elijah had his eyes on. He never even used his knife he had stashed away in his spatial storage because his affinities did not align with imbuing his weapon in mana.

Elijah was the first to speak the first possibility that came to mind.

“Guarantee me a spot on the frontlines!”