Serepto Fields, Humanoid Territory

The field was now completely empty aside from Hex and his new friends. Night had fallen and only light cast from torches and the moons lit the valley.

Every other Humanoid and Monster species had been led away, the last group leaving almost an hour ago.

They totally forgot about us... No one ever thinks about the slimes.

Professor Blackbeard finally stood and stretched. The buttons on his extravagant overcoat nearly popped as he arched his back. "Alright, yal. It's our turn ta head out."

Florimell—who’d returned a few minutes before from a lengthy disappearance—leapt from his shoulder and flew back over the canopy of the forest in the direction the other Monsters had left.

"Are ya ready?"

Most of the slimes nodded. One yawned. Anything was better than sitting here and waiting a minute longer.

Professor Blackbeard led them into the forest. Between the darkened sky and the thick treetops above, the scenery was ominously close to pitch black.

Hex could feel the awkwardly close Yolo shaking beside him. Shadows hopped to and fro between tree trunks. A pair of green eyes appeared occasionally. Just night critters. Hopefully... Nothing too terrifying about that.

The dwarf professor eventually lit a lantern, which eased some of the tension. That is, until they arrived at their destination.

Hex gaped. A large stone structure stood before them, at least four times the size of his dad's hovel back home. The dim light from Professor Blackbeard's lantern reflected off the marble pillars at each corner. Carvings in the walls popped out of the shadows as if they were alive. Humanoids and Monsters battling Heroes.

An elderly human man in a violet robe stood by the entrance. It wasn't anyone Hex had ever seen before—not the Headmaster or one of the professors from the field. He caressed a pointy grey beard as he waved them onward with a flat expression.

"Well, follow me then," he said.

Professor Blackbeard nodded to his charges. "Talara and I'll be waiting out here for ya." He waved to Hex specifically. "Good luck, Zoopy!"

Hex sighed. I really need to have a conversation with that pirate... He followed the others into the strange structure, catching Talara's twinkling eyes as he passed by.

They entered through a small opening in the marble cube, right below a threatening carving of an axe slicing down at them. The room within was completely barren, save for a hanging candelabra and a single door-sized monolith standing upright in the center.

Florimell sat atop the object, peering down at them through her beady eyes. She cawed, acting peculiarly bird-like for once.

"It's literally a sarcophagus," Bleu said. "I can't believe it."

"Quiet." The robed man pulled the door of the sarcophagus open, revealing a shimmering puddle-like aura that filled the insides. "Who's first, then?" he asked in his unenthusiastic monotone.

Wow, no fanfare, huh? This guy's a drag...

No one moved.

Yolo nudged Hex from the side and smiled. Many of the other slimes were looking at him expectantly. Oh. No... You don't really think—

"Hex will do it," Rey announced.

Gnoll tits.

Others mumbled in agreement.

"Show us how it's done!" Yolo said.

Hex bounced forward reluctantly. His warm, gooey center churned faster. I don't think I'm ready for this. The portal burped before him, causing a ripple in the blueish-silver puddle. I'm absolutely not ready for this.

"Very well," the monotone man said. "In." He pointed at the liquidy portal.

Hex gulped and took a deep breath.

"No items," the man added, pointing to the bag on his back.

He placed it down next to Yolo and heard the clunk of Rupert's axe within. Professor Blackbeard had told them all belongings would be moved to their dormitory for them following the welcome feast, but Hex didn't trust someone else to handle this particular item.

He stepped back toward The Sarc towering above him.

Skel's words popped into his head. Imagine yourself as who you want to be. That felt like ages ago already.

The other slimes were watching him eagerly. They all viewed him as brave. Somehow. He had to as well. If not for himself, then for them.

Hex closed his eyes.

Then he stepped into The Sarc.

Invisible forces pulled Hex in every conceivable direction. His mind and body were stretched outward, every piece of him tugged in three-hundred and sixty degrees—so much so that he felt completely disconnected from himself. Sucked out of his own physical form. Eyes ripped to nothing, mouth stretched so far it wrapped back upon itself. Gooey center obliterated.

But only for an instant.

Then he was standing in a barren scene, unharmed. There were zero residual feelings from the transition through the portal, which somehow made him feel even more empty. How can I not feel the pain of being torn to pieces? Is this how it always feels to travel through the World Gates?

The ground around him was a burnt rust color all the way to the horizon, where dagger-like mountains sliced into a grey sky. Wind kicked dirt particles into the air and carried them along like tumbleweed. A few scraggly trees dotted the landscape, appearing as if they'd crumble to ash at a single touch.

There was nothing behind him that might have been either an entrance or an exit. No portal, no sign of his arrival. Simply more of the same.

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Hex sat on a boulder, waiting for something to happen. Anything. He waited for several minutes with no observable change.

Time continued ticking on.

He picked at a little divot in the rock. It was shaped kind of like an axe if he tilted his head and squinted a bit.

An uncomfortable feeling tugged at his gut, like he'd eaten rotten fruit—except worse.

He scanned the environment again. Something isn't right. I'm missing something important here. His stomach sunk.

I'm failing.

He didn't know how or why. But the test clearly wasn't supposed to be just sitting around.

'No one fails' Skel had said.

No one except me and blind Uncle Metatarsus. Wonderful.

He needed to try something else.

Hex hopped off the rock and picked a direction. It's as good as any.

Eventually he came to another boulder resting beside one of the dying trees. The tree looked exactly like the one that had been near where he arrived. Even the twisting and bending of the branches appeared similar. No, not similar. The same! Now that he thought about it, all the trees in the distance looked like this too.

The boulder was the same size as the one he'd rested on before. He hopped up on it. The same axe-shaped indent was there. Dozens of boulders were scattered across the landscape. Each looked like it was probably the same size and, if he were to guess, probably had this same marking too.

That's so odd. Almost as if they're all replicates of one another.

"What are you doing?" a voice whispered.

Hex nearly fell off the boulder, startled. There was still no one here. The landscape remained barren. Then where...?

"Up here."

Far above, a translucent blue bird glided in a circle through the grey sky.

"Don't you recognize me?"

"Florimell?"

The raven swooped down and flew straight through his body, as if he weren't there. She sat on a branch of the deteriorating tree nearby.

"I'll ask you again, young Hex. What are you doing?"

He watched the dust continue to blow off the cracked ground. "I think I'm failing. Waiting for something to happen."

"Follow the waypoints."

"The what?"

She cocked her head to the side. "The glowing yellow circle on the ground over there. With the giant pillar of light piercing the sky. Literally ten feet away. That's a waypoint."

Hex followed the direction she gestured, but there was nothing there. "Is this a trick? Part of the test?"

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm helping you pass. You've been in here far too long."

Hex shivered. So I am failing.

"Why are you all glowy?" he asked.

"Not really pertinent to the current predicament, Hex." She sighed. "I'm a spirit raven. I sent my spirit through the portal so no one would know I came to help you."

"Oh..."

Florimell squinted down at him. "You truly see nothing?"

He shook his head.

"Curious." She hopped side-to-side on the branch and ruffled her transparent feathers. "I'd wondered..."

"What does it mean? Did I fail?" I definitely failed.

Florimell launched off the branch. "Follow my lead. And speak none of this to anyone."

Hex followed the raven out into the expansive wasteland. For several minutes, they travelled in an unnecessarily sweeping curve across the cracked ground, rather than a straight line, which would have been much faster to get to the same spot.

Eventually Florimell stopped leading the way and circled overhead. "I'll leave you to the rest on your own," she said. "And, Hex. I mean it. Do not tell a soul." Her ghostly form dissipated into the air.

Not ominous at all.

Anddd alone again.

He was now in a nearly equivalent location to the one he'd just left. The same boulder and tree waited nearby, as if they'd followed to watch the show.

But the air did feel a little colder here. The wind more fierce. Dark clouds roiled in the sky like boiling water, threatening to bury him in mist.

He jumped as lightning sparked once and the bolt flashed to the ground far too close for comfort.

A human materialized where the lightning struck. He wore shimmering gold armor and carried a long sword with a red aura around it. He thumped it against his shield as he stalked forward in a defensive crouch.

Hex stood there, mouth agape. Is this a real Hero?

His wonderment didn't last long, as the warrior accelerated to a sprint and charged toward him. He drew his sword back over a shoulder to swing.

Instinct begged Hex to run, but he needed to pretend to be brave.

He balled his appendages into fists.

The warrior swung down.

Hex rolled to the side and the sword missed him. I did it! I actually dodged it!

The warrior was far less proud of his accomplishment and sliced in a wide arc with his sword.

He was too slow this time, and the hit sent him tumbling backward in the dirt. He lifted himself back up, ready to face the swordsman again, but the opponent had vanished.

Another crack of lightning zapped to the ground.

An elven mage appeared, wielding a black staff with a brilliant emerald glow. His elegant robes flowed with the wind as he swirled his staff in the air.

The clouds burned red as flaming meteors burst through them.

"Nope!" Hex yelled, and hopped as fast as he could in the opposite direction. "I'm not brave! I'm not brave!"

The fireballs were far faster than him though. They pummeled him into the ground.

Hex lay in the center of a sizzling crater, his outer layer of goo steamed and bruised. Pain throbbed through his entire body.

Three more flashes lit the edge of the crater above. Three orc hunters with evergreen hooded capes stepped into view, each with a Monster companion. A bear, a wolf, and a... slime. The hunters each pointed at him.

Their pets charged.

He tried to fight back, but it was useless with no weapon—no means of attack or defense besides his own fists. The pets bit, clawed, and smacked him until he curled into a ball.

Then they stopped.

Blackness overcame him, but he was still conscious. A strange sensation tickled and stitched across his body, as if he were being put back together. He gradually felt more whole, as the world slowly faded into view.

Hex fell forward and landed outside The Sarc.

Everyone stared at him.

"Congratulations," the grey-bearded man said with approximately zero excitement. "You've managed to set the record for longest testing completion time ever for a slime."

Hex's insides liquified and sunk into his stomach. Longest ever? He peered over to Florimell who still sat above the sarcophagus. Even with her help, I'm going to fail.

The man handed him a small parchment.

"W-What's this?" Hex asked.

"It's your updated registration slip."

"My... what?"

"Now move along." He brushed Hex to the side before beckoning the next slime forward.

Yolo, Rey, and Bleu hopped over.

"Hey, you did it!" Yolo said, handing Hex his pack.

Hex stared down at the parchment, which had a simple checkmark next to the words 'Entrance Exam Complete.' "I-I passed?"

"Well, of course you did, silly," Rey said. He patted Hex on the back.

Florimell cawed once and flew out of the room.

She's the only reason I passed. Because of her guidance. I cheated. Otherwise I'd be just like Uncle Metatarsus. He didn't know whether to feel grateful for her or ashamed of himself. He couldn't see these waypoints she referred to. Whatever they were.

Despite that, she still felt he deserved to be here. At the Academy. Otherwise she’d have let him fail. So it can't be that important, right? But it didn't exactly sound like the inability to see waypoints was a common occurrence, either.

Well, I'm here now.

He just couldn't tell if that was going to end up being a good thing or a bad thing.

Only time will tell.

The remaining slimes entered The Sarc, and each passed their tests. Everyone described the exact same scenario Hex had experienced—minus one critical detail. As he expected, they all followed the yellow waypoints that were somehow invisible to him.

They exited the marble structure and escaped the dull presence of the grey-bearded man—who had never even introduced himself.

Professor Blackbeard and Talara congratulated them, but Florimell was nowhere to be seen.

Talara bounced over to her siblings—and Hex, by association. "Great job, everyone," she said. "Let's go celebrate your victory."

Sure, if you consider being completely obliterated by a bunch of simulated Heroes a 'victory.'

"Thank the Creator," Rey said. "I'm starving."

The three siblings hopped away, following Professor Blackbeard as he led them down a lamp-lit path.

Talara lingered behind, waiting for Hex. Probably to watch the rear of the group and make sure no one gets left behind.

He followed the group, bouncing side-by-side with her. One of her swan-like wings brushed against him. His gooey center did about a million somersaults.

"Good job, Hex," she said without looking at him.

He nodded and stared at the ground. "Thanks."

It didn't feel like a victory.

But at least it didn't feel like a failure either.