The Academy's airship continued it's flight over the realm. At this speed, it would take some time for them to get there, more than enough for the students to begin talking once more. Many even began laughing, joking, or chattering amongst each other. As those aboard the ship found themselves bored, many turned their attention toward the ground below. They watched as they passed over the crop fields that laid within, and past the walls.
As they continued their flight over, one could take note of ruined buildings, some of which barely had any signs of their existence left. After all, they had been left in disrepair for many years. Eventually, however, the small vestiges of the past city were no longer in their sight. Now, left only with the verdant green grasses. Which swayed gently in the breeze.
Eventually, after about 30 minutes of travel, the airship came upon the Ibascin mountain range. Upon reaching them, the craft began to descend, touching down just outside of a dense forest Filled with Mahogany, Wenge, And Agaba trees.
"Here we are, Junon Forest..." Inorema said aloud.
"Let's cut to the chase. I'll be here keeping track, So get in there and get started." Oma stated.
With these words, the large group of students made their way off of the airship, entering the forest, and splitting up into their teams. Inorema was no different. Kutinhira slung the pack containing their supplies over his shoulder, with Mheni soon exiting after them. They trudged into the treeline, the grass under their feet crunching as they ran through, pushing through the brush. All the while, Oma looked at the students' rapidly disappearing forms. "Well then..." she muttered. "...let's see how far they can go."
Inorema and his team continued to make their way through, their eyes darting around, as they searched for any danger. They eventually found themselves in a circular clearing between the trees. And after that, It didn't take too long for their search for danger to become a success, as they heard a high pitched screech, as well as the flap of wings above them. The gazes of all three flew up as they attempted to figure out what the source was. As they saw it land on one of the many branches they recognized it immediately. It had red feathers, long talons on its feet.
With a tail covered in sharpened thorns. It's length is just above the height of the average man.Two glowing yellow orbs set within its head. Scratching itself behind the neck, it started to walk towards them. It was followed closely by another, identical bird. A monster known as a Rilisaur.
A common beast that appeared all over the Western world. If the fact that they tended to eat crops and livestock wasn't enough, it was their intelligence, and aggressiveness that gave them their reputation as pests.
Such aggressiveness was displayed, as the two Rilisaurs swooped down upon the group members. The first came to Inorema, Making him swiftly jump out of the way, letting the beast move past.
"Looks like we walked into their territory!" Inorema shouted.
Mheni quickly leaped up from his spot, flying above the Rilisaur, and jabbing a kick into the back of its head. This caused it to fall over onto its side, but before it could start moving again, Mheni kicked it once more, this time causing it to roll across the ground.
"One down!" Mheni yelled. Jumping to get at the next one, Inorema doing the same... However, before they knew it, another Rilisaur descended from above, the beast curled its feet, knocking him away, as it clashed with him Mid-air, leaving his body to barrel away, slamming into a tree trunk, sending dirt and leaves everywhere.
As he groaned, Inorema glanced at him, but quickly turned his attention back to his target, who came at him as well, a talon swipe ready.
"Crap!" He yelled, maneuvering himself, and getting out of the way. Letting the beast go behind him,, which led to its claws slicing through the trunk of a tree. Thankfully, not his body. But, this beast did not go much further afterward. Kutinhira, dropping the pack with their supplies, jumped into action. Beginning to show his status as the most agile of the three, leaped on a treetop, before zig-zagging between the trunks. Only stopping, as he found himself above it. Landing with perfect precision, and jabbing his fist behind the beast's head. Something that made it lose control of its wings, and made it unable to change his flight path.
It was only then that Kutinhira jumped off of its back, landing on a branch. Letting it’s head slam into the larger of the three trunks, which shook from the impact, making leaves rain from the branches. Just like that, it was out of commission. He began leaping back to his teammates, who still had the third looming over them. As they took a look at its feathers, they took note of the green markings across it, signifying it's status among the trio.
"That one must be the Alpha." Mheni Commented.
Inorema nodded at this. "So we gotta take out this one before the rest get here, eh?"
Soon enough, landing by their side, was Kutinhira, who smirked at this. "Sounds about right, Let's do it!"
Now the alpha Rilisaur began to descend upon them, its talons poised to strike at any of them. They nodded at each other, before leaping out of the way, letting the beast fly past them. Before it could turn around, however, they were on it, Leaping mid-air, ready to press the attack"Yah!" Mheni shouted, jumping at its back, kicking hard into the base of its neck, before he continued to pummel it with punches.However, it was quick to spin mid-air, throwing Mheni off. Before, it turned around, and began to descend upon Kutinhira. who had yet to land, or even touch the ground. The beast began to slam into him, knocking him down. But, Kutinhira was able to just barely avoid the beast with his speed, landing on its back. He knew very well that he needed to be quick. And, as such, he ran across the beast's back, slamming his foot into a joint on it's left wing. Making it fall to the ground, as he landed on top of it, using his weight to force the joints to break. Leaving the beast helpless, and open to attack.
Soon enough, all three heard the faint sound of screeching, identical to the ones they'd heard near the start of the battle. More than enough to make Mheni and Inorema rush toward the beast. "We got in on the ropes, Let's finish this!" Mheni yelled. They both jumped onto it, and unleashed a flurry of attacks on it. Using their fists and feet against the soft flesh of the creature. It tried to defend itself with its tail, swinging it like a club, but all three avoided the attack, before it was finished with a kick slamming onto the top of it's head, courtesy of Kutinhira.
And, just like that, it was over for the beast. The screeching they'd heard in the background faded. Clearly a sign that their plan had worked. "Alright! We're done here!" Inorema said. With that, they walked off of the beast's dead body, which now lies motionless.
"Area's clear, do we set up camp here?" Asked Mheni, making Inorema nod.
"We could, after all, for all the other guys know, it could've just been some monsters fighting."
Unbeknownst to the three, however, that wasn't the case. Just far enough away to keep them in sight, but stay undetected given they were careful, another team lied. Wesumango, Nkomo, and Pukui observed from their positions, kneeled within the bushes. They’d been following them for some time, since they made their way in, in fact. A chuckle came from Wesumango, as he began to speak.
"There you are, Inorema... This time, we have the element of surprise. We're gonna beat them for sure!" He grinned. His eyes scanned through the area, looking for anyone else nearby. Seeing none, he stood up, and continued to watch the group as they set down the heavier objects, taking the clean water they had stored in canteens. Before, they began to move through the trees once more, searching for more monsters to eliminate, all the while, Wesumango's team followed.
As one would expect, within the rest of the forest, the teams moved across the forest, fighting any monsters in their path. The situation was no different for Elicinia, Ngarwa, and Piurze. They stood in a tight triangle formation, making sure to watch each other's backs. A defense against the monsters that surrounded them. Elicina held two daggers in her hands, while Purse had his Bakatwa drawn, Held in one hand, with a steel shield in his other, while Ngarwa stood with his fists in front of his chin.
The beasts around them were ones mostly exclusive to Junon, and the wildlands surrounding the forest. Known as Cepoads. They stood on four muscular legs, With massive claws at the end of the four digits on their feet. Their bodies spotted fur, in shades of red to brown. But most notable A single horn coming from the center of their heads.
Pierce was the first to attack, rushing at one of the beasts, ready to swipe at them with his blade. While Elicina jumped at the same monster as well, bouncing past the beast and diverting it's attention, allowing for Piurze to jab his blade into his throat, ending it instantly.
This made the other Cepoads bare their sharp teeth, charging with their heads bowed, and horns aimed at the two. Something Ngarwa noticed as he looked around.
"Break up!" He yelled, prompting Elicina and Piurze to jump out of range. And, as the beast's took note of the fact that they'd attack each other, they quickly skidded to a stop. Only for Elicinia and Piruze to jump around them, one by one, slashing through their bodies.
Elicinia then ran towards a third Cepoad, leaping atop it, stabbing it right between the eyes. She landed amongst the corpses of the others, giving herself an open path to run across the ground, heading straight for the last of the creatures. As she neared, it turned to face her, but she continued forth, jabbing one of its legs. Only for her dagger to be stopped by its thick hide. Leaving her open to any retaliation. Or, that would’ve been the aze, had Piurze not joined in, piercing the beast’s skull with his blade.
The two jumped away, landing by Ngarwa, as the beast went limp.
"That's a group down, should put us ahead of the others." Ngarwa noted, gaining a nod from Piurze
" Good job guys- let's get moving!" Elicinia shouted excitedly. No sooner did she get a grin and a nod from both of her team members. They weren't too surprised by this action. After all, most knew she was always in high spirits. Her and Inorema were alike in that way, something people noticed. Though, it was something that was welcomed, especially with the pressure on like it was now. More than could be said for some of the other teams, who were undoubtedly struggling, if the yelling that echoed through the forest was anything to go by.
While these battle continued, Inorema, Kutinhira and Mheni continued their advance, apparently unaware of the trio shadowing them. Something that only worked in Wesumango's favor. His team began to move through the brush, splitting up. Thankfully, quiet enough to avoid notice.
"So, What's our goal from here? Should we focus on fighting the other teams, or focus on the monsters?" Mheni questioned. It seemed like a simple question, but it would have a big effect on their chance at passing, no doubt. Inorema brought his hand to his chin, tapping it with his finger in thought, for a few moments. Before he snapped,and began responding.
"If we take care of the other's, that's more monsters for u-'' He was cut off, as, appearing above him, was Wesumango, poised to strike him with a hand. That quickly transformed, as it expanded in size. Followed by the skin itself changing, becoming thicker, before black fur appears to cover the hand, with long claws extending from the digits.
Inorema ducked out of the way, as he put his gaze on his old rival.
"I think you mean more monsters for US." Wesumango corrected, as he jumped to take another strike, only to be stopped by Mheni, who charged at him shoulderfirst, knocking him away from Inorema.
No sooner did a certain lanky man, Nkomo, jump out of cover. Prepared to make his own assault on Mheni. He launched a single fireball at the latter, which nearly outsized his body. The flames blew against Mheni, causing him to stumble backwards. But the moment he got back onto his feet, Nkomo had already sprung forward again. This time though, not attacking directly, instead using the opportunity to leap over Mheni's head. Bouncing off of a tree trunk behind him, and extending his leg, landing a kick into the small of his back, and sending him flying forward.
Nkomo followed after him, only for Inorema to jump in his path.
"Not so fast!" He called out, slamming a right hook into Nkomo's cheek. The blow knocked him off his feet, sending him about 20 feet away, before he rolled to a stop, just in front of Wesumango. The boy leapt over him, his hands changing to that of a beast's once more. Before, he charged straight for Inorema, ready to slash his chest with a swipe of his claws, but Inorema stepped back, avoiding it, only for Wesumango to swipe again, with the same result. Now, the two were locked in a melee. Though, in the midst of all this, there was a question... What happened to Wesumango's third?
As this question crossed Kutinhira's mind, Pukui emerged from the bushes, dual-wielded blades in her hand. Swinging them at Kutinhira, which made the man leap out of the way… Though he should've expected to use this power beforehand, now they’d made it known that it was absolutely necessary.
"Alright, it's time for chaos!" He yelled. Followed by him extending his arm, his palm facing Pukui. Before, blue arcs of electricity flew outward, hitting Pukui full force, before dissipating. More than enough to knock her back. He fired another, hitting Wesumango, and yet another for Nkomo. Now, all three were thrown back, in different directions.
"Good job, Kutin! Now it's my turn! Time for you to see my arcenos, Wesumango! BOULDER STRIKE!!" Inorema called.
Soon enough, a large piece of earth shot out from the ground, under all three of the members. Something that quickly made them move from their spots, away from the attack. No sooner did they begin a swift retreat. Inorema snapped in frustration.
"Danm, gone just like that."
His friends came to his side, attempting to track their disappearing forms. Though, they would find nothing.
"I thought we could've taken care of them there... Guess it wouldn't be satisfying if that were the case, though." Kutinhira muttered, looking up at the sky. Mheni nodded in agreement.
"Nothing we can do about it now, Let's just find some more monsters.. We'll have to keep watch for any others like that, of course." Inorema remarked. They began to move along once more, searching for any other signs of life. As of right now, nothing came to their attention, save for a battle in the skies. Between an Alpha Rilisaur, like the one they saw earlier, and another winged beast around the same size, that was more reptilian in nature. It's shape almost resembling that of a dragonfly.
It had thick,dark green armor-like scales covering its body, ones that made the Rillisaur's attacks ineffective.
"That must be a Muragga...." Inorema mumbled. It was strange, indeed, he'd never seen one with scales that thick, or at a size equalling an Alpha Rillisaur, hell, even a normal one. Had he just never seen adults before? No, that didn't make any sense, that would mean no one would have. Apparently, feeling the same suspicion, Kutinhira spoke out.
"That Muragga isn't normal... What's going on here?"
"I'm not sure... Whatever's going on, we can wait until they wear each other out." Mheni commented.
The Rillisaur continually flew by, trying to cut, and cut with its talons but found the attacks doing nothing.It was then that it curled its digits, switching to punching with it's feat, continuing its flyby. This proved to have some success, disorienting the Muragga, but the two continued their battle regardless, neither willing to give up the territory. The fight went on for several minutes, both creatures flying through the air, avoiding each other's blows. But soon enough, the Rillisaur caught it's enemy off guard, slashing with its feet, making contact with the Muragga. However, the blow did little damage, and the Muragga only stood still for a few moments after. After which, it used its tail to counterattack, knocking the Rillisaur down to the forest floor. With its own balance upset, the creature fell onto the dirt below. But, no sooner, did it spring back into the air, letting out a screech, ready to resume the fight. At the least, until they were both knocked away by a sudden gust of wind, slamming into two separate trees, and breaking them in half with the force of their impact, before lying unconscious in the ones directly behind.
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"What?!" Inorema questioned, his gaze flew around, until he looked to his left, and observed Ngarwa standing on the branch of a tree, with his hands outstretched, making it clear that he was the source.
"Looks like Ngarwa just took out our targets, cant have that, now can we?!" Kutinhira shouted, as he jumped out of the bushes, firing arcs of electricity at Ngarwa.
"Ngh!" Ngarwa cried out, taking the attack head on.
Soon enough, Inorema ran forward, ready to press the attack, only to see something moving in the corner of his eye. Something that made him turn his attention back, as he saw Piurze jump toward him, shield up in one hand, blade prepared to swipe at him in another.
Inorema ducked underneath, before rotating his body, slamming a kick into Piurze's side. The boy was knocked off-balance, but quickly recovered, placing his shield in front of him to defend from any further attack.
Something that was followed by Inorema rushing to continue his attack, sidestepping to his opponent's left, and sending his fist at him. Only to be met with a shield in his fist's path that stopped the punch in its tracks. His frame shook from the impact. Piurze began a counterattack slashing at Inorema's abdomen, leaving a small cut on his side, before stepping back, and changing his blade’s angle, ready to thrust at him. However, before he was able to do so, he found the faint sound of sparks echoing in his ears. Something that made him pause, and get ready to move away, but he was knocked away by Kutinhira's lightning. Piurze slid to a stop, as Inorema began running toward him only to be intercepted by yet another opponent, Elicinia.
"There you are Rema, I was thinking we were gonna fight eventually!" Elicina called out.
"Yeah.. Let's have a good fight!" Inorema responded.
Now, Inorema and Elicina began exchanging blows, Inorema finding himself with minute cuts over his body, a result of Elicina's strikes. However, no sooner did he begin launching punches, though, with lessened effect due to her speed, as she shifted her body to mitigate the force. Elsewhere, Kutinhira continued to fire electricity from his palms, which wildly flowed through the trees, directly toward Ngarwa and Piurze. But, the two boys had clearly taken notice, as they managed to get out of the way of the bolts, before they began moving through the trees.
At the least, until, above them, Mheni stood on a tree branch, letting chaos flow through him, making the forest around him vibrate. Something that did not go unnoticed. Inomera and Kutinhira pulled away from their current battles, covering their ears. It was only then that the other team realized what was going on, their hands began to move to protect their ears, but it was much too late.
An ear piercing screech reverberated through their ears, downright causing pain, and disorienting them. They moved their rather shaky vision to glance around, until they saw Mheni descending from the trees. Ngarwa gritted his teeth
"That kind of mistake could've gotten us killed in a real battle... We should've taken care of Mheni first!" He thought. No sooner did he attempt to regain his focus, and prevent the attack from continuing. But, he had no such luck, as he began to feel a heat build behind him, rapidly, infact. If that were not enough, it seemed to be getting closer. He swiftly turned around to see it, one of Nkomo's fireballs!
He did not move quickly enough, and found himself knocked to the ground by the attack, the cloth on his back singed. His eyes darted about, looking for Nkomo, but all he saw was nothing. Either way, this didn't bode well, that meant Wesumango and his team had joined the fray, a battle the other teams could take advantage of.
If there was any good side to this, it was that he found himself able to move freely once more, the sound in his ears having dispersed. As his gaze flew to Mheni once more, he saw Wesumango, his hand transformed into the club-like end of a smashing the club-like end of a Rilisaur's tail. Serving to both cut, and strike his opponent. After this, Mheni jumped back, landing on a nearby branch, before his gaze went down to his red-stained clothing. Clearly a direct result of the attack. The boy said nothing as he rushed back to Inorema's side, with Kutinhira doing the same. Now, all three found themselves re-grouped.
"So, it looks like we have a three-sided battle on our hands, Eh?" Inorema questioned, now that everyone had returned. "But, I think we can handle this." Inorema added, not waiting for an answer.
As the nine prepared for their battle, Oba watched from above, though, not directly, instead, through a drone. Which appeared on a camera feed, viewable by the tablet in her hand. Just beside it, there was the ranking for the teams. On top were the Inorema, Wesumango, And Elicina teams respectively. Though the other teams weren't far behind.
"Looks like they're as good as I was expecting... Let's check on the-" the woman quickly paused, as she took note of something on camera. a large blur moving through the trees, knocking them down as it moved along... Something didn't sit right with her, there shouldn't have been anything on that level, at the least, not in this area of Junon, what was going on here? Suddenly, a loud roar came across the airwaves, a sound that also reverberated in the space the three teams prepared to battle in. Something that made them stop their attempts to attack one another.
"What was that?" Elicinia questioned.
Inorema replied, a bit surprised, "I don't know..." He looked around, trying to gain the beast's location, but still found that it was nowhere near them. It then seemed to disappear, leaving only silence. When the group heard the noise again, they could hear footfalls approaching fast.
The student's gaze flew to the east, the apparent direction of the sound, and it was then that they heard trees snapping, along with the ruffling of leaves. Not long after, a low growl reverberated, as a beast burst from the treeline.
The beast itself had a stocky body with a wide tail and neck. Half of its body was covered in heavy blue scales. But the same could not be said for the other half, which was covered in metal, and machine parts. On the end of its tail is a clublike extension, with some spines. It's short, thick limbs had five closely-mounted digits on each foot that ended in long claws. It had a dragon-like head, the scaled side had a normal eye, while the mechanical had glowing metal. It had a noticeable lack of wings. Bony knobs surrounded its nostrils. And two long horns extended from its forehead.
"What is that thing? I've never seen a half-metal monster before!" Mheni questioned.
"Whatever it is, I don't think it's friendly..." Elicina commented.
"If you ask me, We should probably run away." Piurze suggested.
Almost as if it understood that, the creature began sprinting towards them, tearing up trees as it went. Prompting for Inorema to let the chaos flow within him, as he prepared to fire out an Arcenos.
"Stone Wall!" He shouted, causing a wall of stone to erupt between the students and the beast. The beast ran into the barrier, and smashed through, something that made his eyes widen. Soon after, Wesumango leaped in, a club formed on his hand. He smashed it into the scaled half of the beast's skull, only to find that it did nothing. After a moment, Wesumango retracted his hand, before he was smacked away by the beast's tail, going through not one, but multiple trees. Laying with his face bloodied in the last.
Now, Kutinhira jumped in, firing arcs of lightning at the beast, to very little effect. He tsked at this, as Mheni jumped forward, as the area around them began to vibrate once more.
"Cover your ears! I-"
Before Mheni finished, he found himself flung across the ground, landing hard, a result of the beast charging him.
Elicinia and Pukui leaped in soon after, bouncing around the beast, trying to catch it's attention, and yet, it seemed undisturbed, striking at both with its tail at a great speed, knocking them both away. Soon after Ngarwa leaped in front of it, before invoking two words.
"Infernal missile!"
Firing out a stream of flame that smashed into the beast, and, even so, it did nothing.
"What?! Were my flames not hot enough?!" He thought.
After that, it became abundantly clear that their attacks were doing nothing. Something that the tactician of them all, Ngarwa, did not like in the least. Its attacks were devastating on top of it's defense. What chance did they have?
Eventually, his eyes drifted to the metal half of its body... It looked like this thing needed to survive off of its cybernetics… Especially given that half a monster usually didn’t survive. if that were the case...
"I got it... Poke a hole in that armor! Kutinhira, Shoot in some arcs when the time comes, we'll short it's circuits!" Ngarwa called out.
Kutinhira nodded, as Inorema leapt out, just barely dodging the claws that came flying at him. It
"Right!" He yelled, as the students began to take action. Inorema began to leap around the beast, constantly jumping back and forth onto it's metal side, punching and kicking the same spot over and over, before being knocked away. Meanwhile, Elicinia and Pukui jumped up towards it, grabbing hold of its legs to try the armor open, a failure, with both launched back.Following up, was Piurze with his blade, swinging at the same spot Inorema hit earlier. However, he too failed, he found that the beast reared on him, threatening to place him it's sharp tooth lined maw, with his eyes widening after. Thankfully, this was stopped by Wesumango, who enlarged his hands, holding the beast's mouth open, just long enough for Piurze to slip out, before he jumped back himself...
All the while, Kutinhira glanced down at the silver rods on his belt. He grasped one within his left hand, before throwing it in the air, before his hand shot out, his palm facing the rod.
"If I disorient it enough..." He trailed off, as he fired another spark at the rod, now, arcs, much larger than beforehand, flew through the clearing, many of them, crashing into the beast, as he expected. It's muscles began to twitch, and convulse, as the beast stopped moving.
"We have our opportunity, strike now!" Ngarwa yelled. "Let's go!" Inorema shouted in response. Now, the students rushed forward, beginning to strike the same spot Inorema had earlier, whether the swipe of a blade, or the slam of a fist or foot, the effects were clear, this continued until the beast began to move once more, promptly smacking all of them away with a spin.
But, by that point, it was already too late, Kutinhira put both of his hands forward, as sparks coiled around his palms.
"Shock Lancer!"
Now, a heavy bolt barreled toward the beast, smashing into the circuits below the broken armor. And then again, and again, until finally, it broke the beast's defenses... The beast fell limp, dead, with the red "Eye" the machine going black. It was then that the members of each team regrouped, smiles crawling onto their faces.
"Alright, that's a win for us!" Inorema yelled, raising his hand for the one closest to him, Elicinia, gaining a high five in response.
"Yeah. Guess it's time to get back to the test. I'd say we did pretty good, though!" She responded.
"Yeah. I wish you guys good l-" Ngarwa began, pausing as he heard a mechanical whirring just behind him. Apparently, something not unique to him. It was soon after that a robotic voice sounded.
"Targets reclassified as High-risk... Limiters, off."
Now, a hiss filled their ears, accompanied by red-hot steam that could've burned them, had either been close enough, as the beast came to its feet. Now, the metal that formerly covered half of its body, grew to encompass all of it. Along with them came the changing of the beast's shape, the muscular legs began to get longer, as opposed to its earlier stockier build, something that was clearly more adapted for agility than it's previous form. Even so, the bulging muscles remained. If it wasn't clear already, the battle wasn't over yet.
"Limiters? You're telling me that wasn't that thing's full power?!" Wesumango questioned.
"This looks like it could get bad." Pukui mumbled.
However, before the beast could continue it's attack, all nine heard a womanly shout from above, causing them to look up, to see a rapidly descending blur crash into the beast. Leaving a large dent in the metal, and leading to a crater forming under it. Followed by dust and debris flying outward. The winds kicked up making them struggle to stand. After some time, the winds calmed. The students looked back to the landing zone, attempting to see who was the source of the attack. It took some time, but the dust eventually cleared, and they saw it. On top of the beast’s carcass, was Oma herself! Her eyes were locked straight ahead, onto the injured students...Her gaze as stern as usual, she began a slow, deliberate walk toward them.
"You all could've gotten yourselves killed fighting that thing, count yourself lucky I came in time...A reckless act like that can kill..."
The students went silent at her words, as if, acknowledging that this was fact. Given its lack of agility, it would've been possible for them to split up, apparently, something that they did not consider... Or, simply decided not too, in a rush to prove the strength they had. Something the woman took note of. But, even so, before they knew it, the stern look on her face was replaced with a slight smile, as she began to speak once more.
"You all did well. Ngarwa, Your strategies just might have saved this group. The rest of you were quick enough to allow for it to be carried out... If it weren't for that transformation, I'm sure you all would have won. You all have potential, and I'm sure there will be plenty of opportunities for you to show that potential. That said, don't go overboard..."
To gain praise from somebody like Oma, who never seemed to let her stern persona fall, was a surprise to all of those there, but it was a welcome one...And so, the woman stepped off of the beast, before she began to head toward through the trees, beginning to make her exit.
"Come. The exam is over... You all passed." She stated. And then without looking back, or waiting to hear any sort of response whatsoever, she made her way through the forest, and they moved to follow her, with the mood among them clearly having changed, to a more jubilant one.
As they made their way back to the airship, they found that there were a variety of moods within sections of the ships. While teams like theirs were in high spirits, others... less so. Elicinia leaned back into her seat as she spoke.
"We finally did it.." She muttered softly.
"Man, I can't wait to tell my folks about this!" Another student in the ship yelled, a smile on his face.
"I can..." Another mumbled.
"Looks like we didn't get to finish our battle, Inorema... But don't worry, we'll handle that eventually." Wesumango stated.
Something that made Inorema smirk.
"You're damn right..." He responded. The rest of the ride went mostly the same, with discussions about what monsters they'd encountered, or battles between themselves and other teams. Some had even begun to mention the names of the three teams' members themselves. Apparently, word had gotten out quite quickly. Though the details of how the battle went varied depending on who told it. It was something that made a feeling of pride bubble within Inorema, even as they touched down back at the field, and began to make their way into the academy's internal courtyard, ready to do something that had become a tradition. As they entered, the school's staff stood in the marble-floored hallways, holding silk robes, green in color, made to drape over the wearer's clothing. They began to hand them to the students as they walked by. Their names stitched into them. Having since been prepared prior to the ceremony.
Around them, in what looked like bleachers, the students in the years under them sat, cheering, as well as much of the family of the graduating class. Most notable was the line of the fourth year teachers in the front, one that included Oma, who was just a step in front of them. They stood tall, as if awaiting the signal to start the event. All eyes fell upon the main stage, where several large screens showed various scenes projected onto them. One such scene displayed the faces of the four most recent graduates, while another showed the entire school itself, filled with cheers and applause. Eventually, the graduating class began to make their way down an aisle between the crowd of observers, grasping a card that was marked as "Certified Warrior."
Inorema was no different, grasping one as well, and receiving a curt nod from Oma. He was once again filled with glee as he walked away... The same could be said for those around them.
"I hope we see eachother again, Rema!" Elicinia stated, bringing him into a quick hug, before running off. In the process, running past the three that walked just in front of them, Ngarwa, Piurze, and Kutinhara walked beside one another.
"You're good with that lightning, Kutinhara, make sure you develop it more." Ngarwa commented.
"You kidding? That's a given!" he responded. They all continued on their way outside, and began to return to their respective homes.
Nearly a day had passed since the end of the Exam, since night had begun to fall on the village, many who were planning to go on their adventures, already had. Wesumango and his team left in a trio, a surprise to nobody. Elicina would leave next, apparently going back to visit her homeland. Piurze and Nagarwa were no different, leaving the city, with their destination's unknown. Hopefully, either way, they were prepared for any trials ahead. By this point, all that remained of the teams that fought the beast, Were Inorema, Kutinhara, and Mheni.
They stood in front of the large, ancient city gate that protected Asakan in it's old days. The moonlight washed over them, serving as the only source of illumination.
"So, this is goodbye, eh?" Kutinhira mumbled.
Inorema nodded.
"We talked about it so much, yet, we never considered it happening..." He responded. This made Mheni nod as well.
"Then let's do the other thing we talked about... Two years, Two years, and we can return here to meet each other." Mheni added.
Of course, all three remembered this. When they first entered the academy, their ideas of what they would do when they finally left were already in their heads. And, with that, came the promise of seeing each other once again. One that they were more than willing to make. The three made a circle, and bumped fists between them. Nodding, as they formed a line once more.
"I'll see you guys later..." Kutinhira commented, being the first to walk off.
"Yeah." Mheni responded, walking off as well. Soon enough, Inorema prepared to do the same, until he remembered something that his brother had told him just earlier... How could he have almost forgotten that?
As he made sure the two left, he turned on his heel, making his way back into the village. Continuing to trudge his way through, until he reached a field that was lined with square stones, names engraved upon them. The boy continued onward, until he reached two in particular... Marked Zvakasimba Pasi, and Jamean Pasi...
He kneeled at the graves, sighing, as certain memories began to come to him. For some time, he was silent, as if thinking of what to say. After a few minutes, he eventually spoke once more. "Mom.. Dad... I'm not at your level, not just yet. But, I'm one step closer... Just one step closer. I miss you, no doubt... But, at least you're in Jachin now." He got to his feet, as he began to walk the other way, a determined look falling upon his features.
"I'll do it... I'll become a warrior that will make you proud! I'll keep pushing and pushing, until I get there..." He finished. Now, he retraced his steps, continuing out to the city's gates, before he dashed away.