“Rai wake up, class is going to start soon,” Lily stated.

“Mmmm,” Rai responded grumpily, turning over in the corner of the carriage. “Fill me in,” Rai responded, dozing off.

“Class is about to start,” Alan said.

“He did say to wake him no matter what,” Eiji added.

“Fine, Eiji, go ahead,” Lily said, causing Eiji to warm his hands together maliciously.

Alan, taking out his badge, cycled over to the Lu-Cam feature.

“Wow, that thing has a camera too?” Lily said.

“Yeah,” Alan said, trying not to wake Rai. “It’s used to capture new plants and Minus we may discover, but can be used for more conventional means,” Alan said, snickering.

Dripping his finger in saliva, Eiji said, “And this little piggy went…”

Rai’s scream echoed far outside the carriage.

“Gross,” Rai said, now half awake.

“Alright, if everyone’s ready,” Alan said, pressing a button on the badge, and in front of them, a hologram of a man with red hair and a funky mask covering his face; the badge allowed them to size the hologram to fit their needs within the carriage.

“How do I work this thing!” the guy stated, his hologram poking at the air.

“Neat,” Eiji said, peering in from the front seat.

“Oh, it’s online. Ahem. Hey everyone, glad you could make it! For those of you who don’t know me, my name is Roomba. I teach the ‘Roots Class’.”

“Roomba was the number twelve elite before Tofi claimed his spot. Since then, he’s moved into a teaching position,” Alan said to the group.

“Today we are to discuss the nature of roots. Roots are categorized as follows. Surface-level roots, which make up eighty-seven percent of all plants, include those that Abminus and Minus fuse with. The next twelve percent are roots only the Nephilim can access, ancient roots. These roots are considered the first to have sprouted from the World Tree, shaping the world we know today. Lastly, one percent of roots belong to the World Tree original root, given the name, ‘Root Root’.”

While Roomba continued to talk, Lily asked, “Rai, I never asked, what type of root do you have?”

“Root Root,” Rai replied.

“Hey, I thought that Rooty guy said that root was essentially useless,” Eiji hollered from the front.

“Yeah, he said it was a four-star root, but since it’s impossible to find…” Lily said.

“You end up a powerless Abminus,” Rai continued. “Well, not totally powerless. You can still access flux force, making you stronger than the average person, but any chance of getting powers like Aegis or some of the apprentices out there, is zero.”

“Then how’re you able to ikken, let alone summon Plu?” Lily said, curious.

Plu’s head popped out of the large pocket hiding under Rai’s hoodie.

“Summoning?” Alan said. “Ikken?” He started to flip through his book, but couldn't find much, but he did find something on ikken. “WHA- Hold up! Are you telling me you found Root Root?!” Alan knew Rai had the root, Root Root, making him only able to utilize flux since the empire didn’t have one compatible with him. This would mean the most ancient of roots was discovered!? This would be groundbreaking!

“Whoa, hold on,” Rai said, calming Alan down. “I have no idea why I’m able to summon Plu or use ikken. It just happened one day. I can’t remember a time I even encountered such a root…”

“You’re not half Nefarian, are you?” Eiji asked.

“Not according to my blood results from the empire…” Rai said.

“Strange… So, you’re able to utilize some secret technique of Nefarian, carry the qualities of a special graded Link like Marco, and, you still can utilize your powers as an Abminus… SO COOL!” Alan’s eyes lit up with stars. “You sure not a Nephilim?”

“Again, blood tested remember,” Rai said.

“Oh right, sorry,” Alan said.

“Besides, Nephilim aren't able to utilize Nefarian abilities to manipulate flux, like ikken for example; at least that’s what the Elder said,” Eiji added.

“Hey guys, you might want to check this out,” Lily said.

Focusing on the hologram, Roomba said, “In the forest, you’ll be attending, you’ll be facing all sorts of dangers. The entirety of the landscape has been checked for any signs of enemies or Minus by one of your overseers, Eloise of Thundertyde,” a hologram of her appeared, waiting at the placement exam alongside Mr. Briggs.

“Look!” Alan’s eyes lit up with hearts.

“Hey come on Alan,” Rai said, trying to get him away from the hologram.

“They’ll be waiting for you at the site,” Roomba continued.

“Eloise!” Alan's nose burst with blood as he fell over in a daze of love, incapable of moving.

“Okay onto the next subject. Now, we will be discussing the essence of gravity roots. Gravity roots are roots that have weaved their way into mountains. Many centuries ago, these roots ripped a large mound of the planet away, and now encompass what we know as the floating mountains of Bonsku.”

“Hey that’s where the Terec Races take place,” Alan said.

“Already got tickets for this year’s Skyward Finales,” Rai snickered.

“No way, take me,” Alan whimpered, but then the carriage bumped into a large object causing everyone to almost get thrown out of their seat, and for the badge to accidentally disconnect.

“Sorry!” Eiji called.

“I guess that’s the end of that,” Lily said.

On the other end where Roomba was, he was staring at a screen disconnect, though many others were disconnected as well; in fact, all of them were. “Aha… Was it something I said?” he said. Every single apprentice had disconnected their call with him.

Traveling in another carriage, far off from Rai and company, Kenji had just disconnected the call.

“You turned it off?” Peon said. Kenji spared an extra spot in exchange for the many herbs he needed.

“Why would I want to listen to an elite who lost to a child,” Kenji spat. Crossing his arms and closing his eyes.

Back with Rai, Lily, and Alan, they were discussing the upcoming placement exam.

“Rai, what can you tell us about the last one?” Alan said.

“You weren’t there?” Lily said.

“No, I usually forfeit and take the lowest rank,” Alan said.

“Wonder what Eloise will think of that,” Rai jerked. Alan’s eyes opened wide. “No, but I can’t tell you much. The last one was a battle royal.”

“That’s where Kenji wiped the floor with Rai,” Alan inputted.

“I did not! I got a hit in…” Rai said, stubbornly tilting his head away. “Anyways, the final two turned out to be Tanabe and the now number seven elite, Yukio.”

Alan frowned, “He’s the only signature of the Elites I don’t have.”

“Yukio, I feel like I heard that name somewhere before. Oh, that’s right! He’s the one who took down Reezo to claim the number seven spot within the Illuminus Elite. After Reezo took over the 13th spot once the other elite stepped down. I saw it live while working at the bar with my parents. It was amazing!” Lily said.

“What gets me is it didn’t even look like he broke a sweat,” Rai said of Yukio. “It’s no wonder Tanabe lost.”

“Well, it looks like we're going to have to wait until we arrive at the placement exam to see for ourselves,” Eiji said, sitting with the crew in the carriage.

“Eiji, if you’re here who’s at the reins?” Lily asked.

“Plu’s got it,” Eiji said.

“PLU?!” Rai and Lily both stated.

“Pluuu!” The sound of the reigns cracked through the air as the horses lunged forward, jolting the entire group into the back of the carriage. They tumbled over one another as the carriage rocked violently on its way to the placement exam.

***

A couple of days later, they were arriving at the site of the placement exam, as marked on their badge map.

Lily was comfortably sleeping, head lying against the carriage window, however, the sound of a light snoring caused her to wake up. “Eiji, knock it off will you.” She attempted to doze back off when a heavier snore jolted her awake again. “Eiji…” Once again, she attempted to sleep, but another loud snore caused her to tense up, punching Eiji in the face.

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“Ow,” Eiji said, rubbing his cheek, wide awake now.

“Sorry-” a snore interrupted her.

“Huh?” Lily said. Looking around, Rai and Alan were sleeping as well, and Plu looked to be stuffed away in the coat, its little leg sticking out as the coat inflated every other second. Another snore caused Lily to look up. It’s coming from up top?! The other night, they decided to camp in the carriage, getting as much rest as they could before the next day.

“Eiji, did you hear that?” Lily whispered.

“Yeah,” Eiji whispered back.

“Rai,” Lily said, shifting his leg.

“Wha- Huh, ikken…” Rai said, chopping his lips before going back to sleep.

“Uh,” Lily said, stepping outside of the carriage. Looking, she noticed a strange fluffy bird. It lifted its head, its eyes glaring at Lily, causing her to yelp and fall out of the carriage waking everyone.

The bird turned out, to just be the strange hoodie of the apprentice known as Kiku.

“Hey, it’s the girl from the apprentice gathering,” Lily said while on the floor, rubbing her butt from the fall.

Rai stepped out with everyone else, confirming what Lily said.

Kiku blinked twice, gazing at them as a child might. Her outfit seemed to have slightly changed since the last time.

“Oh, you’re talking about Kiku,” Eiji responded.

“Kiku?” Lily said.

“Yeah, when I went to take a piss last night, I came across her sleeping in a tree, upside down of all things. So, I invited her to stay at the carriage, in case any beasties showed up.”

“Hey, Kiku’s your name. What’re you doing out here by yourself?” Rai said.

Kiku, unresponsive, pointed in the distance.

The group turned, in sight, a grand forest with an assortment of colors protruding from it. Even large critters could be seen lurking above some areas of the woods.

“What is this?” Rai said in minor disbelief.

“This is the site of the placement exam,” Duke said.

Jogging from behind, Jack. His pink hair reflected brightly in the sun. “He guys!” he said having caught up to Duke. Jogging in place, he said, “Looks like we all made it in time.”

“Hey Jack, how’d you manage?” Alan asked.

“I jogged here,” he replied.

“JOGGED?!” Lily and Alan stated.

“Yeah, and with Daichi. Ain’t that right pal?! Told ya we could do it,” Jack shouted, turning around.

Lying on the floor, heaving heavily, the earth beneath him was completely soaked.

“Did he merge with the water root?” Lily said.

“No, that’s just dedication!” Jack stated proudly.

Daichi's ghost started to leave his body, so Jack freaked and ran over, pushing it back into his body.

“The placement exam begins in a couple of hours. Once it does, the next time we meet, it’ll be as foes,” Duke said to Rai, before walking towards the meeting point.

Daichi, now rejuvenated, bitten candy bar in hand, stood beside Rai, saying, “I hope I don’t run into him during the placement exam…”

“Ahh come on, Daichi,” Jack said, placing his arm around him as he directed towards the meeting point. “Focus on the good things—be positive and strive for the best.”

Daichi moaned along the way, although Jack's spirit never wavered.

“Well, it looks like it's time we head out,” Rai stated.

Lily and Alan nodded.

“I’ll wait here and keep watch over the carriage,” Eiji said. “Good luck!”

With that, the team split up, leaving Eiji behind as they approached the site of the exam.

As Alan scanned the gathering crowd, Rai leaned forward, squinting at the horizon. “What are you looking for?” he asked.

Alan scratched his head and let out a frustrated sigh. “I'm looking for Eloise, but I can't spot her anywhere.”

“Don't sweat it,” Rai said, casually. “She'll show up when the time comes. Right now, let's focus on the task ahead.”

Lily brushed her hair as she surveyed the apprentices around them. The tension in the air was intense; each one seemed to be bracing themselves for the upcoming challenge. She noticed Haruki standing alone, his gaze fixed on the imposing forest ahead.

“Haruki,” she said, quietly.

“Yeah,” Rai replied, his eyes following her gaze. “He'll be fine, I’m sure. But you’ll have to watch yourself. This place is dangerous, I can tell.”

Their attention shifted as a loud voice called for the apprentices to line up. Mr. Briggs, the other overseer and teacher of the Flux class, paced in front of the group, his hands clasped behind his back. “Line up, everyone! Form your ranks!” he said.

Lily, Rai, and Alan quickly took their positions, finding themselves between Kenji and Chloe.

Lily shot Rai a grin, which Rai returned with a competitive smirk, nodding.

“Ready to lose again?” Kenji taunted, his eyes locked on Rai's.

“Keep dreaming,” Rai responded. “I'll make sure you remember this one.”

Chloe shifted nervously beside them, her fingers fidgeting with her tunic. “I hope I don't trip on anything,” she muttered to herself.

“You'll be fine,” Lily reassured her, offering a kind smile. “Just stay focused, and don't let the others distract you.”

Neptus, staring at Gaius, frowned. I’ll show you, just wait.

As the apprentices settled into their places, the morning sun began to rise higher, casting long shadows across the field.

The light, reaching just the right point, blinded everyone, causing them all to wince or look away, all except a couple that is. In that instance, a thunderous strike of lightning resonated out of nowhere and Eloise appeared next to Mr. Briggs.

Just about everyone had missed her entrance.

“Eloise!” Alan shouted.

“Quiet,” she commanded.

“Yes ma’am,” Alan quickly silenced.

“A moment. That’s all it takes for your life to end. In that moment, most of you would be dead,” Eloise said. “Mr. Briggs,” she said, allowing him to continue.

“Apprentices, as you know, the purpose of gathering here today is to secure the empire and its kingdom futures in finding experts able to defend it from the Minus, among other threats… To do that, we need to make sure you are capable of holding your own and so the placement exam was constructed to find the strongest of you, someone who would take the place of an elite, should they die.”

Lily wore a look of confusion. Die? I thought the placement exam was how you became an elite.

“Wait, so winning this won’t make me an Elite? What gives?!” the puppet named Fu hollered.

Mr. Briggs reiterated, “For those who aren’t familiar with the placement exam, it goes as follows. Whoever places highest in the placement exam is considered the next candidate to be an elite. This does not, however, mean that you have become an elite, instead, it implies that should an elite die, you will be the one who moves into the thirteenth spot, as every elite before their death is moved up.” Lily, understanding how everything works, nodded confidently. Mr. Briggs, pressing a button on his badge, caused a diagram of the entire forest to appear. “You will be paired in teams of two, determined on your draw. Each color represents who you will be paired with. With your partner you must make way your way through the forest, arriving to the other side at the meeting point, before sunrise the next morning.”

“I’ll tear through that forest in no time,” Rai stated confidently.

“I’m glad you think so,” Eloise said, with a smirk, tossing Rai a collar.

“Hey wait a sec... Ah!” Rai dropped the collar weaved with roots. “I’m not putting that thing on again!”

“Again?” Neptus muttered.

“You don’t have a choice,” Eloise stated. “You will cross the forest, wearing these collars. They seal one’s flux force, however, these have been programmed to unlock should your lives be in mortal danger. Say a Minus appears. On top of that, you’ll be tasked with taming a wild animal and riding it to the finishing point. Only then will you have been considered to pass the first stage of the placement exam? I should also mention, two teams, regardless if everyone makes it, will be eliminated. So do try and keep a steady pace.”

“Is there anyone who wishes to drop out before the placement exam begins? There is no going back once you’ve entered the forest,” Mr. Briggs said.

Everyone looked around, but no one wavered. Alan on the other hand was sweating, torn between his fear of the placement exam and disappointing Eloise.

“Something the matter?” Eloise asked Alan.

“No ma’am!”

“Very well, commence the drawing,” Eloise said.

Mr. Briggs held out a pottery made of vines weaved tightly together.

It was passed around the apprentices. Each one reached in and drew a small piece of parchment. As they opened their papers, they revealed their team assignments to one another, each color-coded.

Rai unrolled his parchment revealing the color green. Alan had the same. Turning to Alan, “Looks like we're a team,” he said, clapping Alan on the back. Alan gave a tight smile in return, trying to hide his nervousness. “Don’t worry, we’re going to ace this thing.”

“Right,” Alan said.

Across the group, Fu, the puppet, and Daichi glanced at each other. Daichi seemed unsure.

“Listen here fatty,” Fu started, the person carrying him walked over. “I don’t want you slowing me down you hear. We’re going in, kicking ass, and we’re out. Got it.”

“Got it,” Daichi said, nodding quickly.

Lily and Haruki walked up to one another, as they realized they would be teamed up. “Looks like we're going to be a team after all,” Lily said, giving Haruki a confident nod.

“It’s very fortunate that we wound up on the same team, being under the same hall. I look forward to working with you,” Haruki said, shaking Lily’s hand.

In the distance, peering in with a telescope, Eiji. “Wha- Bu- That’s not fair!” he cried, falling back.

Duke and Gaius locked eyes, the tension between them apparent. Duke's stern expression was matched by Gaius's smirk. They didn't exchange words, but both knew they were there to win.

Peon, his dull slightly hunched expression, waved casually at Rina in the distance.

“Do I have to team up with the weirdo,” Rina asked Mr. Briggs, causing Peon to slump over even more, an aura of depression hovering over his head.

Jack greeted Chloe enthusiastically, his positive energy lifting her spirit from her normal timid self. “Let's smash this exam!” Jack said, earning a laugh from Chloe.

Tamarri, dressed in his chief attire, exchanged a friendly smile at Ayame, but she was too busy on her badge, utilizing its camera feature to snapshots of herself. “It's okay, I’m used to it,” he said, bashfully scratching his furry beard.

“So, what are you exactly, part bear or?” Ayame said, walking up to Tamarri.

“It doesn’t really work that way...” Tamarri responded nervously. The girl before him was an influencer and he didn’t want to do anything that could harm his father’s business, Crumbly Cattaneo, based in the heart of the Kingdom of Celestria. “I’m a Nefarian of Solomon dece-”

“I’m gonna call you bear, it’ll be cute. Trust me. Okay. Come on bear, my necessities are right over there next to my bags,” Ayame said, walking away.

“O- Okay,” Tamarri said. “Hopefully this goes by fast so I can get back to cooking for Tofi,” Tamarri muttered, sluggishly walking towards Ayame’s things.

Neptus and Mochi walked towards each other.

“Neptus,” he spoke, reaching his hand to shake the figure, Mochi.

“Mochi!” Mochi snapped its back, shaped now like the letter n, gazing at the sky.

Neptus, unsure of what to do, asked, “Everything okay?”

Mochi responded by lifting one leg to the sky, rapidly saying, “Mochi Mochi Mochi!”

Inari exchanged a glance with Kenji, though she seemed disinterested in the pairing, in everything.

Kenji grinned confidently. Didn’t matter who he teamed with.

Seppe walked up to Kiku, who had been sleeping this entire time. Seppe took note of Kiku's sleeping habits and hoped to keep her focused during the exam. “Ahem, Ms. It would seem we are partners. As everyone else has teamed up, and you are the only one to have yet to reach for the remaining parchment.” Seppe said.

She remained asleep.

“Hello? Do you know who you’re speaking to? I am of the royal bloodline of V. Seppe V. Caspiotto Aligar VIII,” Seppe stated proudly, however, Kiku remained asleep, baffling Seppe.

With the teams now determined, Eloise spoke to the group. “Remember, your team is your lifeline in this exam,” in the meantime, everyone clamped the collars around their neck, sealing their flux. “Stay together, watch each other's backs, and work as one. You must reach the meeting point by sunrise, and remember, the forest is unpredictable. Good luck, apprentices.”

Facing the forest, Mr. Briggs called. “You will leave in the order in which you arrived, with five minutes’ separating you from the next pair. Whoever arrived the later within your pairing, is who you will go off of.”

“What?!” Rai said. “But that means-”

“We’re last,” Lily muttered. Gazing over at Haruki whose arms were crossed, eyes closed, she said, “Sorry.”

“No need to worry over things we cannot control,” Haruki said.

“Dammit, had we known, we could have pushed the extra mile,” Rai said.

“A lesson in its own,” Eloise said.

“Seems the placement exam started the moment we stepped foot out of the empire,” Rina said. “Good luck Ayame!” she shouted.

Ayame, turning, pointed her badge to capture a shot of her and Rina before the start of the competition.

Capturing the shot, she looked at the picture saying, “Darn, I got the entire apprenticeship in it.”

“Apprentices,” Eloise's voice thundered over the rest. “You’ve already lost five minutes, I'd suggest you get a move on.”

Hearing this the first group quickly took off. One by one each group left, five minutes after the other.

Lily gazing at Rai, nodded as she departed into the forest.

For the order of those who arrived at the same time, it was then determined by their partner’s arrival.

Second to last, was Seppe, however, his teammate Kiku was still sleeping.

Yanking the hair out from his mustache, Seppe shouted, “Wake up, we’re losing time,” yet Kiku remained asleep, no matter the effort he gave.

The timer was up, and the next group could proceed. “Let’s go!” Rai shouted. He and Alan were the last to go.

“What was I thinking!” Alan shouted, tears streaming from his face as he rushed into the forest beside Rai.