Part 1

Sounds of several people panting intermittently echoed around a forest located eight kilometers from the military facility grounds - my own included. And no, we're not doing anything morally questionable. We're still undergoing training under the supervision of the lovely (deadly?) Ms. Keynes. 

It seems we've finally graduated from simple physical drills and moved on to traversing this lush artificially grown obstacle course. During the briefing, we were told that this was one of the very first areas to be terraformed during the colonization of the Rhone system. The colonists went a bit overboard so there are a lot of strange plants growing within this green maze. Apparently, quite a number were botanists. 

Go figure... 

The only saving grace is that the animals in here are actually pretty harmless.

The task was simple: Traverse this large expanse of forest spanning several kilometers and get out within the allotted time. Unfortunately, completing the said task wasn't nearly as simple. The terrain was challenging enough, but the plants were a very unwelcome annoyance. Lots of them carried poisonous substances with diverse effects. Some even shot off poison laced thorns whenever you get too close as a defense mechanism. To make matters worse, the thorns were also hard and sharp as hell and easily tore through our training suits. 

I'm actually no stranger to traversing forests. Heck, back home, I'd been dumped in lush forests teeming with monsters as part of training too. There were even carnivorous plant monsters trying to ingest you whole. This forest, however, had none of those. But that also meant my previous experiences aren't as useful here. 

I was unfamiliar with most of the plants here. Thus I was unable to decide which ones I needed to be wary of except for the obviously dangerous looking ones. I'm also not that proficient at detoxification spells so my magic wasn't of much use. The first time we entered this area was the worst. Most of us didn't even get halfway through and collapsed due to fatigue and plant poison. 

The transmitters embedded within our gear allowed for swift recovery and medical aid, so the danger wasn't really that prominent. But becoming incapacitated or being made to hallucinate because of these damnable plants definitely didn't feel pleasant in the slightest.

This is our third foray inside this crazy garden. For the mean time, we are actually doing pretty well. None of us have been poisoned at least. 

"H-Hey Kou, we're actually on a roll today aren't we? There's that large boulder we passed by yesterday. That means we're at the halfway point already. We might just finally nail this thing!" quipped a timid looking young man running right alongside me.

"H-Huh? Oh, yeah... We just might, Kent."

It took me a good few seconds to reply. I'm still getting used to my current identity. I still sometimes fail to realize people are actually referring to me whenever they call me out using my current name - Kou Mikagami. 

My face is practically identical to the one I had in my previous world except for some slight differences like narrower eyes and paler lips. My hair is also jet black as opposed to its previous brown color. My eyes are also a darker shade of brown. My skin has always been a shade paler than my peers back in Lindorf village, owing to my dads northeastern nomadic tribe lineage. My height's unchanged, nearing six feet. 

All in all, I'm still in awe over just how much the resemblance is, despite some differences.

"Hookay. I'm going to kick it up a notch. I don't know why but I'm feeling pretty confident today. It's like I'm in top form!" 

My companions lively ramblings suddenly snapped me out of my current thoughts. His name is Kent Stoner;  a relatively short, unassuming guy who has this habit of turning just a wee bit too eager at times. He also has a tendency to talk a lot despite the timid first impression he gave off - something which lands him into trouble quite often. He's currently wildly sprinting beside me with great vigor. 

He actually turned out to be my bunk mate in the barracks. We hit it off surprisingly well. Perhaps his energy and enthusiasm rubbed off on me and eased my accumulated stress somewhat. Or maybe it's because I felt he's somewhat like a kindred spirit.

We sped up and ran through the forest like our asses were on fire. We have never completed the full course but we're afraid that Ms. Keynes would just order us to run through the forest again if we didn't arrive on time.

"Heeeey! Hey guuuys! Wait up a bit will you!" a frantic sounding voice called out from behind.

Kent and I turned around to see a guy with golden blonde, slightly curly hair fiercely running after us. We're supposed to be displaying traces of fatigue on our faces given our fast pace, but this guy still has a refreshing(?) smile plastered on his well featured mug. And is it just me, or is he actually giving off sparkles?

This blonde pretty boy is Gustave Rommelin, another fellow test pilot recruit. Apart from me, he's one of the other two who directly graduated from state run military pilot training academies. However, his appearance and demeanor didn't give off even an inkling of proper military discipline and training - a truly incomprehensible fellow.

Oh, and I only treat myself as a graduate "on paper" since I don't even remember my time in my former alma matter. Rather, I'm actually a different guy! At least, I think I am. To be honest, it's all becoming muddled up. I just try not to think about it too much.

Gustave soon caught up to us and we continued to run close to each other as we traversed the forest. 

"How'd the thing with Instructor Keynes go yesterday Gus?" Kent suddenly asked. 

Gustave, who Kent familiarly called by his nickname, smiled even more brightly. Now there are even flowers fluttering about him in addition to the sparkles. My eyes are playing tricks on me again...

"It was the best! It looks like I'm finally getting through to her. Last time, she just shot me down with an overhead shoulder throw. Yesterday however, she circled behind me and made me pass out in a choke hold. She's now willing to have a bit more skinship with me. Isn't that amazing progress? I was previously jealous of Roan for getting a head start but now I'm finally catching up!" 

Gus went gesticulating excitedly while describing his "intimate" encounters with our formidable lady instructor. Kent and I looked at each other and ended up laughing awkwardly while shaking our heads.  

Oh, and the "Roan" Gus referred to was the guy "assaulted" by Ms. Keynes during the first day of training, Roan Kirsch. To actually be jealous of that treatment... He really is quite extraordinary in a way, this guy...

Suddenly, a large black shadow ran past us with fierce momentum. 

"The heck are you idiots doing? We're going to be left behind at this rate." 

The owner of the annoyed voice is precisely the one who ran past us. He's another test pilot recruit, Gregory Lane. He's honestly a bit chubby. But his looks are quite deceptive. He's actually really nimble and agile and the sight of him leaping and running freely across the forest is both amazing and a bit surreal.

He has this competitive streak and wore a perpetual scowl on his face, but he's a good guy. 

"C'mon Greg. Lighten up a bit. it's not like we're that far behind." Gus quipped in a carefree manner, prompting Greg to scowl even more. 

Before it turned to another shouting match between the two of them, Kent intervened and ran faster after tapping both their shoulders. I followed suit and ran ahead of them as well. Greg and Gus gave each other a cursory glance and quickly went after us. 

Part 2

"Whoah! Spikes incoming from 2 o'clock!" Kent warned. The rest of us frantically dodged while trying not to drop our speed too much.

We've come quite deep into the forest and the number of dangerous flora is increasing steadily. We already managed to catch up to the rest of the group and are now acting in concert to watch out for danger. Gus is visibly elated because the group now includes women.

"Heads up Yuuna!" a valiant looking raven haired female shouted in warning.

"Eh? K-Kyaaaah!" a cute squee rang out. 

A young woman who had her dark brown hair tied in up in rather cutesy twintails fell on her butt while clutching her right shoulder in a grimace.

"What happened Lin? Is it Yuuna again?" a bespectacled lady with a short bob cut went over and inquired in a slightly annoyed voice.

"Here. Chew on this. It'll prevent you from getting paralyzed."

A lady sporting a healthy tan handed out an assortment of several leaves to the fallen girl which she gratefully accepted.

The raven haired girl with a sharp look is Linnette Hsien or "Lin". The cute girl sporting twintails is Yuuna Suzushiro. The glasses girl with a bob cut is Eun Hee Park. And the tanned beauty is Daumiera Renvis, who has the rather common nickname "May".

These four ladies are the only flowers amongst us thorns.

Lin gave an impression of a cool, calm beauty. She's a graduate from a state sponsored military academy like Gus and I, but properly looks and acts the part. 

She has a professional air about her. But it also makes her seem quite detached. Her lustrous black hair is currently tied up in a tight bun. Her tall, lithe physique holds a certain fierce charm. 

Yuuna, on the other hand, doesn't seem to be fit for things like piloting or weapons development. Her appearance and demeanor is that of a lively and clumsy innocent young girl. Her naive and klutzy personality is quite the contrast compared to Lin and the other two women.

She's been struggling to keep up since the start of the training. But her eyes still burn with unyielding determination no matter how many times she fails. There must be something that's pushing her to go so far. I'm quite envious to be honest.

Eun has this intellectual air about her which is only emphasized more by her half rim glasses. It's quite a rare sight to see someone wearing a pair of glasses in this day and age, or so I'm told.

She can be a bit blunt. But she's not really that cold. Nor is she condescending. She's just quite harsh on herself and that reflects in her treatment of other people.

That became more evident when you interact with her. At least, that's what I felt the few times I spent talking with her. I was not hitting on her though. It was plain curiosity. She kinda reminds me of my father, though I can't quite place why. 

May has an air of mystery about her. Her silvery hair reminded me of the songs and stories about high elves the bards used to perform and tell back in Lindorf. She has exquisite tanned skin and a toned figure, not unlike those of female adventurers I used to welcome to the village back home. 

Her knowledge about the medicinal properties of various plants is what allowed us to steadily advanced inside this strange forest. She was also a victim of this green hell the first time we attempted crossing it. But she gradually found ways to deal with the various poisons by using several mixtures of different herbal plants to counter their effects.

And she did so only relying on her tenacity and instinct. It's honestly quite impressive.

All in all, they are certainly an interesting group of women.

Part 3

Yuunas complexion gradually recovered after chewing the herbs. After covering her wound with first aid nanospray, we resumed our trek. We were forced to slow down our pace since the density of plants which scattered toxic materials substantially increased in the area we arrived at. 

We also caught up with the two guys who went ahead of the rest of the group earlier on - the previously mentioned Roan Kirsch and Shinjou Hiratsuka. It seems they also had trouble with the dense plant poison which hung in the air like mist. 

"Shin kun! Shin kuuun!" Yuuna hollered as she waved at the two excitedly. More precisely, she's waving to Shinjou who's apparently an acquaintance. 

"Quit yelling Yuuna! I can hear you just fine. Can't you stop being so annoying for once?" Shinjou spat in irritation.

"Eh?! That's real mean of you Shin kun. Meanie!" Yuuna retorted indignantly.

"What's his problem? Talking to her like that..." a faint voice muttered from behind me. 

I turned around to see Kent making a bitter expression. He gave fleeting glances at the pouting Yuuna and glared fiercely at the indifferent Shinjou. 

This guy... Is he actually...

I smiled bitterly myself, shook my head lightly and sighed. Oh well. It's not my business to meddle in other peoples love lives anyway. I can only wish Kent luck silently.

"Okay, that's enough you two. We have more pressing matters to discuss. May, if you please." Lin interjected and nodded towards May.

May moved towards the center of our group and gave a quick glance at the poison mist up ahead. 

"I can account for 80 to 90 percent of the  harmful effects. The rest, we'll have to leave up to luck and perseverance." she said confidently. 

"Well? That's what she said people. We have to decide if we're gonna risk it or go the safe route and completely avoid this area by circling around it. Either method runs the risk of severe time loss or outright failure if we screw up." Lin stated matter-of-factly. 

Each of our brows knitted while pondering over the options. Talk about being between a rock and hard place. Geez... 

Part 4

In the end, we decided to go the direct route. 

We didn't know how much distance we had to cover if we did circle around the area with poison mist. Thus, we decided to gamble on May's expertise. 

But there's also something else that made us ultimately decide to charge through. Call it a gut feel of sorts. Everybody seems to have felt it. Even the usually composed Lin had this feverish glint in her eyes.

After a while, I somehow formed an idea as to the source of that feeling. 

I've actually held suspicions regarding our training program ever since day one. 

It started out as something vague. 

I felt something oddly familiar about the physical drills we underwent during the first few days of training. At first I couldn't quite place what was so familiar about it. But something happened that took me by surprise and left me wondering if it was just a freak coincidence or something intentional. 

I underwent the motions of the prescribed physical drills as per usual during the third day of training. Then "Bam!" there it was. The mana within my body suddenly became quite active even without me entering into a meditative state or casting any spell. It rapidly circulated all throughout my body's mana pathways and gradually made me reach an optimum mental and physical state.

Then it hit me. These physical drills greatly resembled the basic exercises novice mages did when they first started on the path of the magical arts! 

The movements allowed novices to effectively accumulate and circulate ambient world mana even if they haven't mastered "True Breathing" - being able to gather and purify world mana within the body with ones own will. 

At first, I couldn't make a connection because the routines were slightly different and a tad more intense. I was also under the impression that magic in its truest sense was a total unknown in this world. It only exists as a concept widely used in popular fiction. The so called "magicians" here are merely professional entertainers who perform seemingly impossible feats through the use of tools, wits, trickery and sleight of hand. 

So how exactly did these sort of movements come about? 

Come to think of it, what they call "high-phonon" particles here are basically mana particles. And the barriers the military employed also utilized crude magic formulae. 

Dr. Saionji attributed their development to scientific advances, but I'm not so sure about that now. 

Things definitely aren't as simple as they seem. 

The situation we're in now adds further weight to these speculations. 

To put it simply, my companions are currently under a heightened mental and physical state brought upon by the circulation of mana within their bodies. The effects are more pronounced because they most likely haven't fully unlocked their mana pathways. And now, their bodies are akin to sponges soaking up as much energy as possible, serving to gradually unlock their latent potential.

If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

Not everyone can use magic. If you don't have a natural affinity then no matter how hard you practice, you won't be able to use it. You won't even be able to sense mana at all. 

But all of my fellow recruits are able to unlock mana pathways and absorb mana. So all of them are actually latent mages? Was this actually the criteria for selecting the people here?

And the poison mist surrounding us is also quite suspect. In its unadulterated state, it causes harm to the body and mind. But after ingesting the herbal mix prepared by May, it actually feels like this supposedly poisonous mist is aiding in the refinement and absorption of mana. 

Consequently, doesn't that make May quite suspicious as well? 

There are apparently a lot of points I need to take note of. But right now, I'll just focus on getting out of this peculiar forest in one piece.

Part 5

We've been running for quite some time now. According to the holo-map on our snap-on mobile terminals, we've nearly reached the edge of the forest. Fatigue has been building up steadily, even under the tempering effects of the weird mist. 

The faces of my companions are gradually showing signs of tiredness. I'm a bit better off because of the physical reinforcement magic I discretely cast earlier on. I also prioritized efficiency while circulating mana, so I have quite a bit in reserve. 

We finally broke through the poison mist after a few moments. Just one final push and we're home free. We spurred ourselves on as we gradually neared the end of the course.

But suddenly, a cute yelp came from behind me. I looked over only to find Kent holding on to Yuunas waist. Judging from their positions, Yuuna probably fell over and Kent hurriedly caught her from behind.

Kent helped Yuuna to regain her bearings with a look of genuine concern on his somewhat childish face.

"A-Are you okay? You need to be more careful." he gently warned. 

"Y-Yes... Thank you..." Yuuna replied in a quiet voice.

Both of them glanced at each others eyes but hurriedly lowered their gaze while blushing innocently. Kent was the one to regain his wits first and, in a move that surprised everyone present, took hold of Yuunas left hand. He then gestured forward and urged Yuuna to start walking again. Yuuna blushed scarlet but didn't jerk her hand away. They walked hand in hand towards the exit of the forest under our astonished gazes. 

What the heck! What is this? Stockholm syndrome?! I just recently learned that term but I didn't think I'd get to see a firsthand example so soon. And how old are you guys? Why are things suddenly turning into a strange teenage rom-com scenario?

I turned to Shin to gauge his reaction only to find him gazing indifferently at the path ahead. The heck? He doesn't even care. The brewing love triangle scenario just got shot down early. Seriously...

I sighed and started walking towards the edge of the forest myself. We have just about ten minutes left on the clock so we're safe. I just hope Ms. Keynes doesn't suddenly say "Not good enough idiots!" and make us do this all over again. 

Eh... 

Wait... 

Why is my vision spinning?...

Why am I suddenly up in the air?...

I hurtled upward a good several meters before falling down painfully on the rough forest floor. I clutched my side in pain. Blood trickled down my lips. 

What the heck happened? 

A loud and furious roar resounded in front of me. I struggled to regain focus and saw the cause of my current sorry state.

A huge bipedal lizard-like creature bore down on our group as it bellowed in wild rage. Solid looking silver hued armor plates covered its back, head and forelimbs. Its tail ended in menacing purple spikes. It had long hooked claws situated on its long forelimbs that propped it up like a gorilla. Razor sharp teeth jutted out of its mouth and a large horn-like y-shaped protrusion grew out of the tip of its snout.

What in Goddess Almas name is that?! 

Part 6

The savage creature continued to roar aggressively. I propped myself up on a protruding tree root with difficulty and looked at the others. Most of us lay sprawled on the forest floor. Kent and Yuuna were the furthest away so they were spared from the initial attack and stood still, frozen in shock.

Just what is that thing? Why was I unable to sense it despite the creature being this aggressive?

I've been constantly on the lookout for danger the moment we entered this place. My senses were in a state of heightened alert all this time. Not to brag, but after going through grampa Galvans hell training course, I've gained an acute sense for detecting hostility or killing intent. Even the most stealthy monsters couldn't completely erase traces of hostility when they move in for an attack. 

This acute sense for danger is a must when one sets out to be a full fledged adventurer. Mine can already be considered as pretty good and is one of the rare things I excel at. So why was I unable to detect even a sliver of hostility from that damn thing? It caught me completely by surprise!

The others have already begun recovering and were trying to get their bearings back. Greg, May, Shinjou and Lin were the first to get up and eyed the creature with steely gazes. 

The creature had stopped roaring and looked at us with baleful eyes while snarling intermittently. It seemed like it was sizing us up. Then it charged without warning.

Fast! 

The thing was insanely fast despite its bulk. It immediately brought itself in front of Lin and swiped at her with its left forelimb lined with razor sharp claws. 

Lin managed to barely avoid the claw swipe by rolling on the ground. But the creature didn't give her time to recover and immediately followed up with bringing its right forelimb down in order to crush her. Things seemed hopeless, but Shinjou managed to drag her out of harms way at the last moment. He apparently sprung to action as soon as he saw the creature attack Lin. 

The creature was about to renew its attack but was suddenly hit by a large rock on the side of its head. It turned towards the perpetrator in fury. 

"Hey lizard breath! Over here!" came a taunting shout. 

It was Greg. He waved his arms frantically, trying to lead the creatures attention from the rest of the group. The creature roared madly and dashed towards him in a frenzy. It reached him almost in an instant and attacked him with its claws. Greg dodged each swipe with great effort but he hadn't managed to avoid all of them completely. His gear became torn up in a lot of places after several swipes. Red blood began trickling down his training suit. 

"Greg that's enough! Fall back!" Lin called out. 

"No can do ma'am! Somebody needs to get her out of here first!" Greg replied and nodded towards his left. Eun laid helplessly a couple meters away, apparently unconscious. 

"It's okay. I got her. Now get out of there! Watching you get mangled to death by that monster would give me endless nightmares!" came a frivolous sounding shout. 

Gus ran over to where Eun was and brought her away in a "princess carry". Greg heaved a sigh of relief. 

"Good. Now fall back Greg. I already sent an SOS transmission. Base camp isn't that far from where we are. Hiratsuka! Renvis! Come with me. We'll stall for time until the cavalry arrives. The rest of you get as far away from here as you can. And for crying out loud Mikagami! Snap out of it and haul your sorry ass outta there!" Lin commanded the group in a steady tone. 

Huh? 

What the heck am I spacing out for? Lins chiding didn't quite register to me. I was preoccupied with the metallic taste spreading inside my mouth. 

"This... This is all real right?..." I mumbled incoherently.

Well shit! I thought I've already accepted my situation for the most part. Turns out I subconsciously still didn't want to admit it. And I ended up snapping out of that last strand of denial through the worst wake up call imaginable!

I struggled to get up after slapping myself awake. Just as I was about to help out in distracting the creature...

"Ack!"

"Greg!" we all screamed in horror.

The creature managed to grab hold of Greg and brutally swung him around. It then threw him right at Gus who was still running away with Eun towards the edge of the forest. Apparently, it has a good aim. Greg hit the two of them squarely in the back and all three sprawled to the forest floor.

Before Lin and the rest could react, the creature already brought itself in front of them. Its massive forelimb swung in a backhand blow and mowed all of them down.

Before I realized what I was doing, I already ran towards the creature in all haste. 

It already turned its attention towards Kent and Yuuna who were running away hand in hand. It ran after them like a violent gale. 

Kent, realizing they won't be able to shake it off, grabbed Yuuna and pushed her away from the creatures path. He ended up bearing the full brunt of its attack alone.

The creature slammed its clawed forelimb right on top of him, crushing Kents body underfoot.

"Eh? Nooooo!" Yuuna shrieked in fear and grief. 

"Gaaah! Aaauhg!..." a muffled cry resounded from beneath the creatures forelimb. Kent managed to avoid its sharp claws but still had the creatures massive weight bearing down on him. 

"Raaaah!" came a ferocious sounding shout. Out of nowhere, Roan suddenly sprang out of the undergrowth and swung a huge tree branch at the creatures head. 

"Wha-? Ooof!" 

The creature didn't even flinch. Its thick serpentine tail lashed out. Roan flew several meters away and slammed on a large tree. He coughed up blood as he slid down its trunk.

Having taken care of the slight distraction, the creature turned its attention back to the helpless Kent. It brought its hideous head down towards him and opened its large jaw. Yuuna attempted to attack it with stones but was easily flicked away.

I was still a few meters away. 

"Shit!  I'm not gonna make it!  Not gonna make it. Not gonna make it. Not gonna make it! ..."

"LIKE HELL I WON'T!"

I cast my most potent physical enhancement magic and focused most of the mana on my legs. Bringing all my weight and power to bear, I leapt out and gave the damn monster a flying kick to the side of the head. 

It finally gave a noticeable reaction. Heck, it staggered away a few steps, consequently freeing Kent from its claws. Even I was surprised by the power of my blow. 

Yuuna, who was only flung lightly, responded quickly and went over to drag Kent away. The creature recovered quickly and focused its attention on me. Most of the team had already recovered their bearings as well. 

"Get going guys! I'll hold the fort!" I volunteered.

"B-But..."

A trace of hesitation floated on Lins face. 

I infused mana into my voice.

"GO!" I shouted. 

Lin finally resolved herself and signalled for the others to follow and escape. The creature noticed their movements and attempted to intercept. I hurriedly cut it off. 

"You're not going anywhere big guy." I taunted. The monster snarled at me in obvious hate and contempt. I circulated my mana once more and poured most of it on my four limbs, focusing the effects of the physical enhancement spell on them. 

We stared each other down for a few moments. It was the monster who broke the silence first. It attacked swiftly and brutally, swiping and hacking with its claws and lashing out its barbed tail. 

I endeavored to avoid its attacks while trying to find opportunities to counterattack. It's quite hard because of this monstrosities peculiar characteristic of not having any trace of killing intent when it attacks. That forced me to only rely on my physical senses to avoid - something easier said than done. 

I finally managed to run up its left forelimb and gave another swift, hard kick to the side of its head. It seemingly got even more enraged and delivered a backhand blow many times faster than any of its previous attacks after I landed. Since I judged I couldn't evade, I braced myself and prepared to take advantage of the impact to gain some distance.

It worked!

Although my hands became a bit numb, I managed to mitigate most of the impact by leaping back before before the blow landed. I flew back several meters and rolled on the forest floor. I hurriedly stood up and steadied myself after the momentum of the blow dissipated. I raised my left hand and aimed my palm towards the creature.

I started to chant a basic fire spell. 

"Resplendent flames, gather upon my person and smite my foe! Flame- WHAT THE HELL?!" I guffawed despite myself, interrupting the chant. 

The damn monstrosity closed the distance practically in the blink of an eye. I already knew it was fast but THIS FAST?! I already shortened the chant by quite a bit, but that was proven to be of no use. In desperation, I just tried to fire off the spell as is. 

"FLAME BOLT!"

A projectile made out of fire sped out of my palm and hit the open maw of the speeding monstrosity, exploding in a grand fashion.

"Did it work?..." I mumbled in trepidation.

*Ruuuaaah! 

DAAAMN! Looks like it didn't! Just how tough is this thing?!

It came in front of me in the blink of an eye, slamming down its foreclaws. 

"Aaargh!"

I ended up in the same situation as Kent earlier, pinned under this things claws, gasping for breath.

Shit! 

Is it really gonna end like this? Again, just like this? 

No... 

NO! 

"AAAAAAH!!!"

I mustered all the strength I had left and brought my palms up towards the monsters gaping jaw. 

"RAAAAAAAAH!!!!"

I fired of a series of flame bolts aimed towards the creatures throat. 

Two bolts.

Three bolts.

Five bolts.

Ten... 

I eventually lost count of how many spells I fired off. I just fired them with abandon. I let loose until all my reserve mana was spent... 

"Haah... Haaah... Aaah..." 

I panted intermittently in exhaustion. I continued to stare at the creature with a burning gaze. When the dust cleared, I was treated to a peculiar sight. 

The creature was deathly still... 

It bore down on me like an immobile statue, devoid of all life. But I'm sure it wasn't due to my spell barrage. It barely took any noticeable damage from them. 

"What the hell happened?..." I asked to no one in particular. Then, another even weirder thing occurred.

The creatures body crumbled and turned into minute silvery particles. The particles moved away from my body like they had a life of their own. I turned to the direction they went to only to find another unexpected sight. 

There was a large suitcase made of some sort of alloy that opened up and received the silvery particles. After retrieving them, it automatically shut itself.

I then heard the sound of several footsteps. I sat up and turned towards the direction the footsteps were coming from only to find Lin and the others heading towards me with complicated expressions on their faces. At the head of the group was our strict lady instructor, Lisa Keynes, who had this faint smile on her lips. 

She continued to walk towards me and crouched down when she reached me. Her face was only a few inches from mine. I could hear her faint breaths and smell her sweet perfume. Her eyes had a curious, inquiring look and her cherry colored lips were curled into that faint smile.

Finally, she touched my cheek with her left hand and patted it lightly. A sweet voice emerged from her lips. 

"Hey there rookie. Nice job."

I looked around the surroundings with knotted eyebrows. There was that weird metal suitcase. There was Ms. Keynes with her enigmatic expression. There were Lin and the others who had bitter smiles on their faces. 

I plopped back on the ground powerless and started laughing in spite of the situation. The same thoughts actually occupied all of us test pilots minds at that moment.

"Damn!  Were we just f*cking trolled?... "

- Chapter 13 End -