“Today’s class is pretty packed huh?” Lily said.

“No kidding,” Rai said.

Nearly every apprentice was present, except Gaius and Neptus.

“Why couldn’t Neptus make it?” Alan said.

“Mochi mochi,” Mochi said, standing beside the lot.

“After the mission they asked Neptus to take some time off,” Lily said.

“Hey everyone,” Chloe said, appearing by the many apprentices gathered outside a forest.

“CHLOE!” they said, running over to her; all except Kiku, who was sleeping, Inari who was gazing off into the distance and Kenji who simply didn’t seem to care that much.

“They finally released you,” Lily said.

“Glad to see you feeling better,” Ayame said.

“Mochi Mochi Mochi!” Mochi said, bending backwards, head slapping against the ground.

“How’re you feeling?”

“Much better,” Chloe said.

“What happened? If you don’t mind me asking,” Rina said.

“I’m not sure… I just remember hearing something in the woods, and then everything went dark…”

“Forgive me!” Jack said, bowing at a 90-degree angle. “I should have been there.”

“It’s okay, really. Sorry I got you disqualified,” Chloe said, twiddling her fingers.

“There will always be another,” Jack said.

“And Alan… I’ve been out for so long, we’re probably in last now…” Chloe said, dropping her head.

“Its just some stupid point system, no big deal” Rai said.

“We’re actually not that far behind,” Alan said, pulling out his badge. Activating the hall point icon, a hologram shot out revealing everyone’s placement.

“What?! How in the heck did you pass us?!” Rai said.

“Just a point system,” Lily said, mocking Rai.

“Whatever,” Rai said, folding his arms behind his head.

“It would seem Neptus’s deeds on his mission gave us a considerable boost,” Alan said. Neptus, Alan and Chloe were with elites under the Kingdom of Excalibur, so their hall points were allocated together.

Haruki, turning to Lily, “Good job, we’ve taken first because of you.”

“Not just me, all of us,” Lily said.

“Way to go,” Takumi said, patting Lily on the back.

“Great… Now that we’re in first, people are going to expect me to try more…” Peon said in a dull tone.

“How did we end up in last place…” Rina said looking at her badge.

“Last?!” Seppe said, his mustache curling into a ball.

“As if I’d ever let our hall end up in last,” Kenji said, their hall was now in second.

“Our points went through the roof because of your last misison!” Jack said to Kenji. With Fu removed from the apprenticeship, they were the only three under the kingdom of Keltzer who could allocate hall points.

“This is not a good look,” Ayame said with her hand on her face shaking her head. “What’ll my followers say…” Her badge buzzed showing a text from Zach, the terec champion of the skyward finales they met at the water park.

“Is that?” Rina began.

“No,” Ayame said, quickly tucking her badge away.

“Hey Chloe, I heard you were getting out today, so I brought you this,” Daichi said, handing her a candy bar.

“Thanks, Daichi,” Chloe said.

“Ooh, Daichi, how nice of you,” Rai teased, causing Daichi and Chloe to blush in embarrassment.

“Ah, very good, just about everyone is here,” Mr. Briggs said, stepping out of the forest. With him, Hanabi and two other girls. “Everyone, I’d like you to meet Hanabi, Becca and Suki. They are Links like myself, and they will be assisting in today’s class.”

“Hello,” Suki said.

“Nice to meet y’all,” Becca said, wrapping her arms around Suki’s shoulder’s.

“Hanabi?” Rai said, and she waved happily at him—but a shove on his back shoulder caused Rai to look to his left.

“Keep your eyes elsewhere,” Kenji muttered.

“Hey Hanabi,” Lily said waving.

“Hey,” Hanabi said waving back.

“Before we head into the forest, I’d like to thank you all for coming, especially you Rai,” Mr. Briggs said.

“Why’re you singling me out?!” he blurted.

“We all know why…” Lily said, meanwhile, Alan was whistling, trying not to point out the obvious.

“You got something to say?” Rai said, squinting his eyes at Alan.

“No,” Alan said, looking away, still whistling.

“To start today’s class, we’ll be going over the basics of flux force, but before that, can anyone tell me the difference between Abminus, Links and Nefarian in how they utilize flux?” Mr. Briggs said.

“Abminus utilize the flux within them to access their powers, while Links utilize the flux around them. Nefarians on the other hand can do both, but their abilities vary from the other two in the same way a Link isn’t able to blink, whereas an Abminus can,” Alan said.

“You should really consider teaching yourself Alan,” Rai said.

“You think?” Alan said, and Rai and Lily nodded.

“Terrific answer Alan,” Mr. Briggs said. “As Alan stated, Abminus use the flux within them, often channeling the energy down to the earth, normally through the feet or their hands, so long as they are touching something infused with flux, and, as long as there is enough substance for the roots to nestle within, they will emerge, thus allowing Abminus to access their full potential within their root abilities.

“Is that why roots form just about anywhere?” Jack said.

“Mhm. All things stem from the world tree which is where flux force resonates strongest. Tree’s, buildings, even the clothing you wear, however, those don’t emit enough flux or have enough substance for such roots to emerge from. Links on the other hand use the flux around them, bending it much like Nefarians, however, unlike Nefarians, Links have a special connection with flux in which they can heal our core from within, mending the damage present,” Mr. Briggs said.

“How does that work exactly?” Lily said. “I remember you stating that to Hanabi, it looks like she’s standing in a different realm of sorts, within us?”

“Let’s see… what would be the simplest way to put it? As you’re familiar, Abminus can become one with flux force, phasing through it in an ability known as Blinking. You can say Link’s do the same, except instead of phasing through flux in the outside world, they phase within cores. However, since their body still remains in the physical realm, only their consciousness and core go within. Hanabi, care to explain further?”

“Sure, Master Briggs,” Hanabi said. “Abminus pull flux from their core, which can damage it, potentially risking their lives, however, when entering another’s core, as Links are known to do, it’s a different story. Generally, Links aren’t meant to leave the material world, in any form, and it puts a great deal of stress on our core when we do. It’s important that a Link attempting to heal another’s core is also capable of simultaneously healing their own, or they risk shattering it. The deeper we go in, the thicker your flux within you core is, and it becomes a battle of attrition in trying to combat it, kind of like how cells work to fight off a disease. Unfortunately, even if we’re there to help, the other’s core or ‘cells’ in this example, can’t tell the difference, attempting to force us out by building the pressure the deeper we go.”

“Thank you Hanabi. What’s more,” Mr. Briggs continued, “is that if your core ends up too damaged, it becomes nearly impossible for a Link to heal at all. There are three walls to the healing process. The first wall, is known as the Sanctum. This stage is something any regular Link should be capable of healing. The second wall is known as the Axis. This area is the largest of the three, and can vary from cores that have sustained severe damage, to those whose core have been overused, but never treated. In this stage you should seek a Link to have your core healed whenever you get the chance. Not doing so can hinder one’s growth.

“Sorry to interrupt, but when you say hinder, what do you mean?” Haruki said.

“Normally, when cores crack, after being mended, they grow back stronger, much like bones,” Mr. Briggs said. “So as you can see, Link’s are directly related to your goals.”

“I see, thank you,” Haruki said.

“The last wall that can be healed, which is also the most difficult to repair, is known as Limbo. This place is somewhere Links should avoid traveling too, even Master Link’s like myself and those as skilled as Hanabi here are at risk of dying. It’s a perilous task…”

“It’s true,” Hanabi said, sighing.

“Beyond that wall, is what we Link’s like to refer to as Purgatory,” Mr. Briggs said. “In this area, normally the person whose core has reached this point, should be dead; however, if they survive, it’s likely they will suffer some sort of backlash. This can vary from many things like complete paralysis, loss of brain functions, and of course, the inability to ever use flux again—or they risk killing themselves. Any Link who goes here, is very likely to die.”

“So no one has ever healed someone from Purgatory?” Daichi asked, throwing some popcorn into his mouth.

“No one has every successfully brought someone back from Purgatory, however, there has been a Link who has returned from trying, which in itself was a miracle,” Mr. Briggs said.

“Who’s that?” Rina asked.

“Lady Yui,” Mr. Briggs said. “Hanabi’s grandmother.”

“Seriously,” Lily said. I didn’t know they were related. She had never met Lady Yui, but she hears talk of her all the time. She’s very well respected among all the kingdoms and the empire.

“But enough of Links, let’s discuss a little of Nefarians. Tamarri, Lily, could you both explain the difference between your blood lines and how you utilize flux?” Mr. Briggs said.

“Of course,” Tamarri said. “I’m a Nefarian of the Solomon bloodline, as you all know. Unlike Kalumi, I’m unable to bend flux from the outside, nor am I able to have legacies; in turn, however, we usually are given greater strength, and more often than not, speed as well. That and the natural ability to utilize powers without the need to attend any sort of ritual to unlock them.”

“Hey everyone, as you know I’m of the Kalumi bloodline. To be honest, I’m still kind of learning a bit about it, however, from what I’ve seen, Kalumi can bend flux, using it as a means of attack or defense, though, not all Kalumi Nefarians can, only some are able. They can also utilize different abilities related to their Minus, depending on the amount legacies they have. At least I think that’s how it works… Sorry Mr. Briggs.”

“You did just fine Lily,” Mr. Briggs said. “Thank you for sharing.”

“Aren’t you half Solomon?” Rai asked Peon.

“I resemble my mother’s side the most, however, my abilities lie with the Kalumi bloodline,” Peon said.

“Have you undergone the Ritual as well?” Lily asked.

“Unfortunately, no.”

“Does this mean you can’t use your abilities yet?” Chloe asked.

“Unfortunately, yes… But my flux control is pretty good, which is why I was selected to be an apprentice.”

“Flux control?” Lily said.

“Flux control, is the ability to utilize the flux within you to strengthen certain points of your body. Anyone with a flux core can do so, even Link’s who usually use the flux around them. Top ranking elites like Eloise, normally keep a flux guard up at all times. Tossing a rose from the flowers upon his head, it stabbed into the earth at Rai’s feet. “One of you, please throw that sharpened rose at me.”

“Nope, I’m not falling for this again,” Rai said, squeezing to the back of the class and turning around, arms crossed. After his last two times volunteering, he wasn’t having it.

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“Allow me,” Seppe said, with a confident glare, swooping up the rose—it was a sharp as a dagger. “Here goes!” and he threw it at the chest of Mr. Briggs, in turn, it bounced right off flying backwards and everyone quickly ducked!

“YAOOW!” Rai shouted, as it punctured his left buttock.

Everyone held their hand up over their mouth, saying, “Ohhh.”

Tears in his eyes, “And you wonder why I don’t show up to class anymore…” he said, rubbing his butt as they continued discussing.

“As you can see, raising one’s flux guard can help in preventing injuries that could be rather dangerous,” Mr. Briggs said.

Lily glanced at her wrists which were wrapped in medical tape, recalling her conversation with one of the doctors in the Illuminus Empire.

The doctor, analyzing test results stated, “If the empire had known the mission would have been that dangerous, they would have sent a Link along with you… It’s a good thing Eloise was the one to accompany you. Who could have known the Vanguard would have shown up.”

“That’s twice now…” Alderai said, standing beside Lily.

“And supposedly, Jimbuu was never found,” Reezo said.

“You did well holding your own Lily,” Alderai said.

Nodding, she looked at the Doctor. “So, will I be able to fight still?” Lily said.

“The damage was pretty extensive... I’m guessing you’ll mostly recover, but not fully. You must take great care in making sure you never exert yourself to that extent again, or the damage will only progress further,” the doctor said.

Back outside with the apprentices, seeing Lily spacing out, Mr. Briggs said, “Lily, is something on your mind?”

“No sorry,” Lily said, focusing on the class taking place.

Nodding, Mr. Briggs said, “Now there are also the Nephilim, however, since there are so few, and even they themselves are unaware of their bloodline, being that most of their history has either been lost, or remains within the Axien Church, we won’t be addressing the topic today. Unless you have something you’d like to add Inari?”

“I do not,” Inari said.

“Oh well…” Rai muttered under his breath. He was hoping to get a better grasp on his opponent in the tournament being held as the final stage of the placement exam.

Taking out a seed from his pocket, Mr. Briggs said, “Today we will be working on your flux control using these seeds here. I’ll explain further, but for now, please follow me into the forest.” And so, everyone followed him in.

“Hey Seppe,” Rai said. “Isn’t Gaius in your hall now under the elite Mu? Where is he?”

“Hm,” Seppe said, folding his arms and holding his head high. “Who knows. I’m rather glad he’s not here. He has quite the terrible taste in art if you ask me.” Seppe recalled a time with Gaius and Mu.

“Gaius, your outfit is absolutely wonderful,” Mu said, admiring at Gaius royal demeanor.

“Indeed, worthy of true art!” Seppe turning over a canvas, revealed a painting of Gaius. “What do you think of my art, beautiful no?”

“Hm,” Gaius responded, not given even the slightest bit of interest as he walked away.

Seppe in return was furious, his face boiling red. Back in the forest, his face was still boiling red as he swung around his giant paint brush. “I’ll show you!”

Meanwhile, Kenji walking up to Hanabi, his cousin, said, “You shouldn’t associate with them.” He was referring to Rai and the rest.

“Kenji, what happened? You were never like this growing up… Why’re you always so uptight about Rai and the rest?”

“Tsk, fine, if you want to hang with a bunch of weaklings than go ahead,” Kenji said, walking away.

“Kenji…” Hanabi muttered as he left.

“Hey Rai,” Alan said, moving up beside him. “I’ve got to talk to you later, if that’s okay.”

“What about?” Rai said.

“Its about a book I found in the library…” Alan said in a hush tone. “But later, maybe after class.”

“Okay, that sounds fine.”

Haruki, walking up to Lily, said, “Are you prepared for your match in the placement exam?”

“You bet,” Lily said confidently, staring at Kenji, her opponent.

“Kenji’s no pushover. I heard he’s gotten a lot stronger in the time since the second round of the placement exam. Be careful.”

“Thanks Haruki. How about you?” she responded.

“I’ll be fine, though, I wish I could have seen him in combat during the exam,” Haruki said, gazing at Mochi. “I’ve still got a few tricks up my sleeve he better be prepared for.”

“Alright!” Jack said, slapping Daichi across the back. “We’ve got to get you prepared for that tournament coming up. You’ll be facing the emperor’s son, so I’m sure the entire world will be watching that match!”

Daichi hearing this, started to fill sick, slouching over, “The whole world…”

After they arrived to the area, an open space with many trees present, the teacher had them all separate into different spots, spaced evenly from each other.

“Now, will you all place your seeds into the ground,” Mr. Briggs said, and everyone tossed their seeds into the floor, which dug through the surface, nestling comfortably within the earth. “In the same way I gathered flux in and around my chest to deflect the rose earlier, today you’ll be working on flux control by pouring it into the seeds within the earth. These seeds in particular grow when flux is inserted into them. Once the bud has bloomed, you are dismissed from class.”

“Um, Mr. Briggs,” Lily said. “What’s a bud?”

“Sheesh, what a stupid question,” Kenji said.

“Kenji,” Hanabi said not liking his response.

“On the contrary, there is no such thing as a stupid question Kenji, just opportunities to learn,” Mr. Briggs said.

“Whatever” Kenji said, turning his head in the other direction.

“A bud is a young, undeveloped shoot or flower of a plant. It is typically a small, rounded growth that can be found at the tips or nodes of a stem. Buds contain the potential for new growth, either as leaves, flowers, or stems. In botany, buds are an essential part of a plant's life cycle, representing new growth and the continuation of the plant's development,” Mr. Briggs said.

“Oh okay,” Lily said. “Sorry, where I’m from there isn’t much plant life around.”

“Yeah, the further west we went during that mission, the more dead the surrounding plant life became,” Rai said. “Atlas was literally a wasteland.”

“Atlas never stopped razing the plants and trees around them after the shattering,” Mr. Briggs stated. “They wanted nothing to do with the Minus and flux storms, so they practically uprooted everything they could.”

“That makes sense,” Alan said, having studied a bit about the agriculture there.

“Alright, if everyone’s ready, you may begin,” Mr. Briggs said.

Everyone placed their hands on the ground, inserting their flux into the seed beneath, but almost right after, the ground shook and a large tree with flowers on it emerged.

“What the—!” Rai said, falling to his butt. Inari’s seed had immediately blossomed, even catching Mr. Briggs off guard.

“Master Briggs, are these all meant to grow to that size?” Hanabi said, sweat dripping from her forehead as she gazed up in astonishment.

“N- Not exactly…” Mr. Briggs said nervously.

“May I go?” Inari said.

“Y- Yes, of course Inari. Well done,” Mr. Briggs said, and Inari left.

Rai, gritting his teeth, watched as Inari left. Gulping he faced his seed with new determination! “Alright!” Forcing flux into the ground, and everyone else restarted their attempts.

About an hour had passed, and only Haruki had finished a little while after Inari, blooming a plant maybe a foot high. All the others apprentices however, hadn’t even seen their seed break the surface.

“This is exhausting,” Lily said, falling to her back.

“Here, let me help,” Suki said, placing her hands on Lily’s upper back where the core was located.

“Thanks…” Lily said. Like her, others were also being helped by the other Links present, once their core started to strain and crack that is.

“So, Suki, you and Hanabi are both Links, how do you like it?” Lily asked.

“I love it,” Suki said. “Eventually I want to move to Aurahelm and open up my own practice within the kingdom, helping children and elderly who happen to have flux cores. All those people who ended up with Root Root as their root, still have cores that need repairing. Being that most Root Root Abminus still have abnormal strength, speed and durability, they take work as Fallers, uprooting the tree’s that still greatly populate the world outside of the empire; or they join the military. With a growing number of them, there’s going to be a high demand for Link’s like myself!” she said, gripping her arm and flexing it confidently.

“I love that for you,” Lily said. “How exactly are Links born?”

“Ah, it’s kind of the same as Abminus, the only difference is that we don’t register a root, and obviously are abilities differ from the get go.” Having mended Lily’s core a bit, she removed her hands asking, “How’s that?”

Getting on her knees and placing her hands on the ground, Lily said, “Thanks Suki, it helped a ton!”

“Don’t mention it,” she replied happily.

Daichi, lying on the floor out of breath, muttered, “Why… is this… so hard…” he looked over at his bag of chips which was empty. “And I’ve run out of snacks…”

Mr. Briggs, addressing the difficulty, said, “This is because of the tree’s surrounding us.” Plucking a flower form one, he placed it on his hand, and everyone watched as the flower slightly wiggled, sucking away. Suddenly, the stem from which he plucked it, started to grow longer. “Silent sappers are small cup shape flowers that leech onto other things to absorb flux force. Doing so allows them to grow. Beneath the earth, the roots of these sappers are virtually everywhere, taking from the flux you’re distributing. Naturally, placing flux within the seed is going to be a lot more difficult.”

“I don’t see how this is helping us concentrate on strengthening our flux guards when everything I’m pushing out is just being taken by the roots lying around,” Rai said, plopping on his butt.

“Let’s use the elite Knox as an example. When he’s lifting weights, say curling a barbell. In order to gain the maximum benefits, he must concentrate on the muscle group, in this case, the bicep. He never breaks form or concentration in the muscles he targets, and as a result, with consistency and the right meal plan, he even won gold in Mr. Illumina, the world’s biggest professional men’s body building competition. Normally, when people get tired, they tend to start using other parts of their body to lift the weight, leading to incorrect form and a lackluster workout, maybe even an injury. Similarly, when in battle, you must concentrate on certain points of your body throughout the entire thing, otherwise you will end up spreading it to other area’s when your concentration breaks, which can be fatal if your life is on the line.”

“That makes perfect sense!” Jack said, propping his head up.

Mr. Briggs, continuing, “The roots may be making it harder to infuse flux, but if your flux control is pinpointed, rather than all over the place, you should be able to make it bloom.”

“It almost sounds like, art…” Seppe said, considering all the fine details that go into his paintings.

“It reminds me of cooking,” Tamarri said, recognizing how even the slightest grain of salt can alter the perfection of Crumbly Cattaneo’s dishes.

As the day progressed, one by one the apprentices made their seed bloom, until only a few remained.

“Finally,” Lily said, gazing at a small little flower in front of her. Standing, she walked over to Alan and Hanabi. Everyone in class had already been dismissed, even the Links.

“Dammit! This is stupid!” Rai said, breathing heavily on the floor. Standing, he stomped on the ground a couple times where the seed was. “What is wrong with me!”

“Don’t beat yourself up too much,” Alan said.

“Yeah, I mean even Mochi hasn’t gotten his to bloom yet,” Lily said.

“Mochi Mochi…” Mochi said, slumping over in defeat.

“Ahh to hell with this!” Rai said, storming off into the woods.

“Rai…” Lily said.

“I’ll get him,” Hanabi said.

Gazing at the sun setting, Mr. Briggs said, “Hanabi, it’s getting late, go ahead and let Rai know that class is over for today.”

“Got it,” Hanabi said.

“Mochi, you’re also good to go, class is dismissed,” Mr. Briggs said.

“Mochi mochi!” Mochi said.

Before Mr. Briggs left, he happened to notice something far away within the forest. An enormous tree loomed over every other. “That’s strange, was that tree always there?”

Further into the forest, Hanabi, approaching Rai, said, “Ri Ri, how’re you doing?”

“I’m great! Can’t wait to get face wiped across the floor by Inari during our match coming up. Just look at her flux control, its way better than mine!” he said, punching a tree, causing an apple to fall out, plopping off his head. Falling to his butt, he leaned against the tree, closing his eyes, lifting his head to the sky.

“Why didn’t you bring Plu along?” Hanabi said, sitting beside him and picking up the apple.

“I left Plu with Tofi in the empire,” Rai said. He had summoned it back, inserting flux into the earth. Apparently, the range wasn’t an issue.

“Oh, well, I still feel plenty fine, if you want to keep going, I’ll support you as long as you need,” Hanabi said.

Gazing at Hanabi, he said, “Thanks Hanabi, you’re the best, but it’s okay. I’m actually worn out enough as it is.”

“Okay, we’ll do you want to go back with everyone else? Mr. Briggs already dismissed class.”

Sighing, Rai said, “Yeah, that’s probably for the best,” and they both left back to the ports.

The flux class took place in the Kingdom of Keltzer, however, everyone else agreed to meet after, within empire on the upper level’s where the apprentices gathered every once in a while to mingle and relax.

“Hey you’re back,” Jack said.

“Bout time,” Fu said, sitting with Tofi.

“We were all thinking of going to the Bonsku Hotsprings in Thundertyde, do you want to come?” Ayame said.

“Sure,” Hanabi said.

“Yeah, I guess so,” Rai said, he really needed a break from all the training.

Suddenly, Eiji appeared, walking beside Daichi and Alan and Plu.

“Eiji what’re you doing up here?” Rai said.

“Well, after I lost my job as a gear-bearer, I decided to pick up work as a Janitor around the empire. It quickest thing I could grab to pay rent…” Eiji said.

“Rent? You have your own place now?” Lily said.

“I know right?!” Eiji said. “It took forever for something to open up around here.”

“More like it took forever for you to move out…” Rai said. He finally got the chance to sleep in peace, without Eiji being on his bedroom floor snoring.

“Where you guys going?” Fu asked.

“We’re going to Keltzum Beer Fest, it only takes place once a year in the Kingdom of Keltzer,” Alan said.

“Eiji said there’s going to be a ton of beautiful women carrying around large wooden jugs of beer to everyone, and even more, there’s countless food stands,” Daichi said, his mouth drooling.

“Huh, is that what Eiji said,” Lily muttered, crossing her arms and gazing at him.

“Gotta go!” Eiji said, hurrying toward the ports, followed by Daichi.

“B- Beautiful women… Wait, take me with you!” Fu shouted.

“Nope, you have a date with Izzy’s friend,” Tofi said, carrying Fu away.

“NOOO!” Fu shouted, as he was forced to leave. “I want to go with them!” imaginary tears in his eyes as he disappeared around the corner.

“Inari, are you coming?” Suki asked. Links also had special access to these area’s.

“No thanks,” Inari said, turning to leave.

“Hm, well guess that’s that,” Rina said, rising off the couch.

“I’ll tell you about what I found tomorrow,” Alan said quietly to Rai, before leaving.

“Sounds good,” Rai said. Leaning over to Plu, “Make sure they don’t get into too much trouble.”

“Plu,” Plu said, before waddling away.

***

“Ahh, this is amazing,” Lily said.

“Sure is,” Hanabi said, sinking further into the hot springs.

“Mhm,” Ayame said in agreeance.

“Chloe, you coming in?” Becca said.

“U-Um…”

“Oh come, don’t be so bashful,” Rina said, whipping her towel off of her.

“Ah-!” Chloe blushed, covering herself with her arms.

“We’re all girls here, there’s nothing to be embarrassed about,” Hanabi said.

“Tanabe?” Ayame said, gazing behind Chloe.

“T- What?!” Chloe said, lunging into the hot springs; it wasn’t until a bit after that she realized she was tricked.

“I hear these springs are perfect for recovering one’s core,” Lily said.

“That’s right, they contain a special type of nutrient that helps mend the cracks, though not as much as Link, it’s definitely great, post-training,” Suki said.

“Not to mention the wonder’s it does for ones skin,” Ayame uttered.

“So, Hanabi,” Becca floated over to her, “How’re you and Rai?”

“Wha- M- Me and Rai? What do you mean?” Hanabi said, blushing.

“Well, you guys seem pretty close is all,” Ayame said with a smirk, appearing on her other side.

Face red, Hanabi sunk further into the water.

A wooden fence separated them from the boys on the other side.

“The perfect body recovery,” Jack said, Haruki, though silent, nodded in agreement.

“Ah, now this is true… comfort,” Seppe said, slipping further into the springs.

“Rai, are you ready for your upcoming match with Inari?” Tamarri said

“Don’t remind me,” Rai said. “But truth is, I’ve got something up my sleeve. Plu and I have been training since we got back from Atlas, but guess we won’t know until the match.”

“Her being a Nephilim, you’re going to have your hands full,” Haruki said. “Have you studied them at all?”

Relaxing his arms on the outside of the hot springs, Rai said, “Nah, there’s practically nothing in the books on Nephilim in the library. Your guess is as good as mine.”

“We’re back!” Eiji said, swinging the sliding door open, sporting towels of their own.

Alan stumbled in, “Hey—hic—er-body,” falling into the hot springs head first, where bubbles soon emerged.

“Alan?” Jack said.

They pulled him out before he drowned.

Plu came stumbling in right after with Daichi whose face was flushed red from beer. It waddled to the left, then to the right, similar to how a drunk might. “Pluuu,” It said as it struggled to stand still.

“Plu can you even get drunk?” Rai asked, and Plu immediately stopped swaying, looking forward as if to say, ‘oh yeah, you’re right.’

Hearing the girls on the other side giggling, Eiji’s head perked up, and a malicious grin spread on his face. Whispering into Diachi’s and Alan’s ear, the same look appeared on Daichi’s face.

“I—hic—don’t know,” Alan said.

“I hear Eloise is on the other end,” Eiji said, flicking his eyebrows up twice.

Moments later, Daichi was holding Eiji on his shoulders while Alan awaited to climb next.

“Alright—hic.” Eiji quickly covered his mouth.

“Did you hear that?” Lily said on the other end.

“No,” Rina said.

Whispering, Eiji said, “Alan, you’re up,” and Alan started to climb up Daichi.

Daichi, still very much under the influence swayed a bit to the left.

“This can’t turn out good,” Rai said.

Haruki, grabbing his things, decided to leave.

“Stay still,” Alan whispered, struggling to get onto Eiji’s shoulders.

“Plu,” Plu said, standing beside the lot, looking up, wondering what they were doing. Seeing Daichi sway in its direction, it panicked, running around Daichi to avoid being stepped on.

“I probably better stop this,” Rai said, getting out of the springs.

“Almost there,” Alan said, moments away from peering over the top.

“Hey guys,” Rai began standing beside them, however, Daichi was about to crush Plu, causing Plu to poof into an apple in defense.

“Waaah,” Daichi stepped on the apple, causing his foot to slip back. Rai tried to hold them up, but it was too late—the fence came crashing down with all of them!

“RAI!” Hanabi shouted and a slap echoed throughout the entire kingdom of Thundertyde, making many believe a storm was coming…