They moved as fast as they could, which wasn’t fast at all. Lanston and Sebas took turns dragging Robert after the others. Sebas didn’t have much muscle being a pampered noble, dragging him along for mere moments before complaining about his aching arms. Lanston had more endurance, being the son of a knight, but the heaviest weights he’d lifted during his initiate year were heavy books. He moved slowly and with labored breathing. Orphelia and Cecile matched their pace, ready to protect them, though the fire caster was just as tired as the boys.

Orphelia directed them to take shelter in the shadow of a hill. Lanston sighed in relief as he laid down his burden, the others dropping to the ground. “Lanston,” she snapped. “You still have your spyglass?”

“Ah!” He reached for his waist where he kept it tied, nodding when he found it. “Yeah.”

“On top of the hill. Make sure nothing is creeping up on us.”

“Sure, got it.” He scrambled up the hill as fast as he could.

Orphelia waited until he was perched over them with the metal tube to his eye before she crouched beside the nearly catatonic Robert. She stared at his blank expression for a few moments before slapping his cheek. “Not the time for you to fall asleep, Quintana,” she said as he sputtered.

Robert blinked rapidly. “Thor…”

“Due to your reckless decision to engage a manabeast you know nothing about, your mount is dead. A beast worth thousands of crowns and, more importantly, our supplies were just swallowed by a damn slime.”

She made a sound of disgust as she grabbed his wrist, ignoring his wince. She examined his wounds with a critical eye, poking and prodding his torso. “Congratulations, you’ll live,” she said drily.

“Give him a break, you heartless bitch.” Sebas looked up with a scowl. He was exhausted but uninjured. His body barely had the energy to move but that didn’t include his tongue and Orphelia made herself a perfect target for his mounting frustration.

“None of us can afford a break. We are trapped in an area with an above average population of manabeasts. Again, with no supplies and no adequate shelter. Our strongest fighter is useless—” She jostled Robert. “—our second, you, suffering from mana strain. I would appreciate it if you could get your pompous ass off your high horse and focus on reality.”

Sebas scoffed. “I would expect a lowborn noble to overthink a situation. The instructors are watching us. While I’m not thrilled to have this embarrassment witnessed, we are in no danger. They will not allow the blood of the king and their golden egg to be food for monsters. They’ll be coming any moment now!” He raised his head and screamed the words at the sky.

It didn’t answer.

Orphelia carefully prodded Robert’s sides. “Once again, you overestimate your value.”

“I am one of twelve null casters in the entire kingdom!”

“Which means there are eleven others who make you obsolete.” She ignored his scowl and got to her feet. “Worse than your undeserved ego is your underestimation of the Hall’s determination. They have trained the best of the best for centuries. They didn’t do so by holding casters’ hands.

“If they say we have been left to fend for ourselves, there is no reason to think help is coming. Leaving us without a guide was an acknowledgment of our ability. Clearly, a mistake.”

“You!”

“Will you shut up?!” Cecile yelled. Like Sebas, the worse she had to deal with was mana strain. She seemed more concerned with her ruined appearance than their possible impending deaths. “We have a real problem. I don’t think a monster is going to stop because you waved your bloodline in their face,” she scolded as she stared at her mirror.

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“You can relax, dear. Your crush isn’t going to die.”

She snapped the mirror shut. “No, we all are if you keep fucking around. Saints, why are you so useless?”

“Stop yelling,” Orphelia hissed. “Words aren’t enough to get past his ego but will draw monsters.”

“Sebas.”

They all stopped to look at Robert as he spoke softly. He slowly tried to sit up, progress halted by pain. Orphelia knelt to help, lifting him to his feet. His usual steadfast gaze was unfocused, his words halting. “My roc…was just swallowed by a manabeast Lanston couldn’t recognize. A unique evolution he thinks. If the instructors were watching, I think they would have swooped down then. If not to save Thor, then to collect such a creature.”

Orphelia nodded. “I agree. The Beast Sanctuary treasures monsters more than men. Unlike you Sebas, that creature may truly be unique.”

“Oh, quiet!”

“We…” Robert said forcefully before the other boy could start on a rant. “…need to rest. My ribs—”

“They’re bruised but not broken.”

He grunted in acknowledgment. “Still, I can barely move, my mana will need a day before it’s replenished, and I’ve lost my sword.”

“We need to retreat.”

Robert laughed, the sound cutting off in a wince as a hand went to his side. “Do you know the way to the gate? Or how far we are from it? I don’t.” Another oversight made due to his overconfidence. He never thought to remember the way, trusting his mount.

Orphelia dipped her head in acknowledgment. “Understood. Which is why we should get moving as soon as possible.”

“You want to run into a monster like this?”

She sighed. “You are nearly as bad as the delusional royal. Robert, you may be the most talented caster on this team but we were all chosen due to our ability.”

“Really?” Sebas sneered. “And what ability does a mediocre water caster from a baron’s house have? I didn’t see you throwing any spells at the creature that was eating our ticket out of here.”

For the first time, Robert and Cecile transferred their scorn to Orphelia. She bore their glances without flinching. “I didn’t. I may be a baron’s daughter but I have a working pair of eyes. Using them, I concluded that it would be a waste of time to throw magic at a creature that seems immune to it. Or were you not paying attention when Robert threw practically every drop of mana in his body at the thing without it flinching?”

She stared at Sebas until he turned his head with a scoff. “Because of this decision, we still have a member that has all of their mana in the event of a monster attack.”

“Oh, I feel so safe with you.”

“With that much energy, I’m sure you can fend for yourself. Cecile and I will focus on attack, Lanston will support and defend Robert.”

“You have all the answers, huh?”

“Sebas, you aren’t helping,” Robert snapped. “We need to find another team.”

“What are you thinking?” Orphelia asked.

“We don’t know where we’re going. Best strategy is to find another team. They have a guide that can get us out of here or maybe contact an instructor. But that is the last resort. I would prefer that we work together with another team to complete the qualifier.”

“You still want to do this stupid test?” Cecile said. “I am completely done with this place. There is dirt where dirt shouldn’t be and I just watched a ball of goo eat our friend.”

“Stop being overdramatic, dear. It was a pet.”

“And you’re an asshole!”

“And we’re initiates!” Robert said strongly. “These are our initiate qualifiers. We may have been given leeway because of our ability but we are still here. They still expect us to pass. What do you think will happen if we hobble out of the Beast Sanctuary having gotten our asses kicked without completing our objective? What will your father say, Sebas? Or your grandfather, Cece?”

Both stiffened at the mention of their patriarchs. “Fuck,” Cecile muttered.

“…Robert has a point,” Orphelia acquiesced. “You all are worried about a scolding. Imagine the worst possibility. What if we leave and the Hall fails us? Could you dare be so arrogant if you have to repeat your initiate year? I wouldn’t be surprised if your patrons simply discard you.”

The three paled at her words.

“Good. Then you understand. We are going to find another team and we are going to humble ourselves—” She purposely looked at Sebas. “—and hope they can keep us from embarrassing ourselves further. All in agreement?”

“Aye,” Robert said.

“Fine,” Cecile echoed.

Sebas didn’t say anything but his lack of refusal was as good as they could expect.

“Then let’s get moving. There’s no time to waste.”

She called down Lanston. He quickly put one of Robert’s arms over his shoulders and they started off, Orphelia and Cecile at the front with Sebas bringing up the rear. All their heads remained on a swivel, anticipating the next disaster, no one more than Robert.