The cadets were struggling in the scorching heat outside the prison, fighting and trying to evade the burning corpses of their fallen comrades. Despite having just breathed in the fresh ocean air, they were now suffocating in the middle of a tropical island, devoid of any greenery except for the sedimentary rock. The escape ship still awaited them on the north coast, but the climate of Malazen hindered the regeneration of the Elixir of Dream in their bodies. Dozens of Bloodguards had surrounded them, forming a tight circle and blocking their path to the coast. The guards were armed with spears for melee and bows for long-range attacks, and they had cleverly chosen their positions ahead of time. For hours, the cadets had to keep moving and dodging arrows, trying to find an opening but, no one had been able to break through the solid defense of the siege strategy implemented by Manseto in his palace. Even though the warden himself was not present on the field and was waiting in his room, the cadets were still unable to find a way out of the deadly situation.
Vandam, the Bloodguard leader, wore a red Cuirass and wielded a giant shield like a formidable defender. He signaled his subordinates, "Thirteenth arrow strike! Ready! Three... Two... One...!" and then shouted, "Shoot...!!!"
Hundreds of arrows rained down on the cadets, who scattered to avoid the sharp blades tearing at their skin. Thani managed to dodge by jumping and twisting in the air, but upon landing, two arrows stuck to his back. Karanzo also dodged like Thani and somersaulted several times before landing unscathed. The ninja from Shinra lived up to his village's reputation.
Karanzo looked at Yuria, who had also survived without getting hit by an arrow despite several cadets dying around her. She took the initiative to run toward the front line of the guarded defense. Hundreds of arrows were aimed at Yuria alone, but she used the corpse of a fallen cadet as a shield for cover. After the rain of arrows subsided, she elegantly dodged the shots aimed straight at her, impressing Karanzo and the other cadets with her skill. Though the sun was shining in their eyes, Thanistor caught the signal right away.
"This is the time! As long as the girl is bait, we must attack them at the same time!" Thani ordered.
"Stay in position!" cried Vandam. "They can't withstand the sun!"
The upcoming battle between Thanistor's leadership and Vandam's strategy promised to be tough. Thani followed Yuria's lead, ignoring the two arrows lodged in his back, and the other cadets quickly caught on. Some of the leading cadets used fallen comrades' corpses as shields as they charged toward the spears and the sun. Fierce melee battles erupted between the cadets and the speared guards, plunging the coastal area into chaos filled with screams and scuffles.
Someone lay leisurely on the ship's deck, gazing at the beautiful view of the battle while blowing smoke rings from his pipe. Aleister, a Moon-Elf with long silver hair and pale white skin, was already dressed in his loose blue garment that reached his knees. As the ship faced the direction of the sun, the cadets looked equivocally at it and turned away, not wanting to risk having their eyes burned. Meanwhile, Aleister enjoyed watching the entertainment with a smile and blowing smoke rings; it was his hobby.
Zain burst out of the prison gates, his face streaked with charcoal, and shouted with the force of a gust of wind, "All of you, run to the ship! This place is goin' up in flames!" Those struggling to escape could feel the wind of his passage and hear his voice, but they were also taken aback by his sooty appearance. Zain's body was covered in dust from the ruins, making him look like a survivor of a fire. "There are hundreds of guards in the prison who will be here soon!" he shouted again, urging the others to flee quickly and warning them of the imminent danger.
The cadets realized that they were facing less than a hundred guards. Thanistor was reminded of the conversation he had overheard between the guards. According to the information he had gathered, thirty percent of the guards were stationed outside, while seventy percent were inside the prison. If they did not act quickly, they would be doomed. "Everyone, ignore these guards and get on the ship!" Thani ordered, waving his hand to gesture toward the ship.
The triplet of Viking cadets, Hugos, Yugos, and Lugos, who were comrades of Zain from Valhalor, managed to escape to the ship by tricking the guard line with synchronized movement, proving that it was not impossible. Several others followed suit by avoiding the fight and running, screaming to their comrades to join them if they wanted to pass the next exam. They knew it would not be easy, but they were aware that the Bloodguards would not simply let them go. Karanzo helped his overwhelmed partner Joel by grabbing his hand and running with him, while Yuria landed after defeating two guards. When she saw Karanzo, she too made her way to the ship. However, dozens of Bloodguards formed a circular formation from the direction of the ship, blocking the cadets' path. As a result, several cadets were pierced to death by the spears, one by one, due to the guards' strategic formation.
Knowing things were getting worse, Zain continued to help the fallen cadet from behind, while thinking, ("There's no time! Hundreds o' guards inside will soon be comin' here, while Fenrius is holdin' 'em back by himself!") He looked back at Fenrius' words.
* (Flashback)
Fenrius' hands were stained with the blood of the Bloodguards, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest. He knew what he had to do, even if it meant sacrificing himself. He bent the two steel bars in his hands and dropped them, then continued to pick up the torches from the walls spaced between each cell.
“What are you doing with those torches, Fenrius? You can't be thinking of..." Zain paused, his voice trailing off as he struggled to find the right words.
"Go away," Fenrius growled, his voice low and menacing.
Again, Zain thought Fenrius' voice sounded really cool, like the manliest of men. Zain felt jealous and resolved to match his voice in the future since no cadet had ever heard the voice of this crazy cadet.
"Are you certain, Fenrius? You'll be holdin' everything here?! Is that why you let the others flee first?" Zain pressed, still not wanting the third test to end like this.
Fenrius ignored Zain's question. The man was back in the lost voicebox phase. The Viking saw the indentations of the two steel bars that Fenrius had thrown, forming the letters G and O, which meant ‘GO’. It was a clear message to the other cadets that they needed to leave now before it was too late.
"Hey, what about you? You won't be passing the test afore leaving this island, aye?! Answer me!" Zain shouted, his voice trembling with fear.
Fenrius furrowed his brow and shook his head, nearly in a rage. Question after question, like routine invasive torture. Zain was no different from any other newcomer who had not yet learned who the mad cadet was in the ten years he had been at the academy. Why did everyone think that mute people enjoyed being talked to? Did amputees enjoy having balls thrown at them? Even if it was unintentionally cruel behavior, Fenrius knew that some people just wanted to prove that he wasn't dumb, deaf, disabled, or completely insane, even though Zain really only wanted to hear his manly voice...
In addition to his voice, Zain now fixated on Fenrius' piercing snake eyes: resolute like a blazing torch in the reflection of his gaze. Knowing Zain was adamant to leave him alone, Fenrius rolled his torch down to the side of the crooked steel bars and then proceeded to take more torches from the wall. Zain saw the word GO! (with an exclamation point). It turned out that the crazy cadet was more determined than he was. That person's confidence was an unstoppable force that left Zain with no choice but to leave him behind for the other cadets to escape.
***
* (Present)
Within the confines of the prison, a multitude of guards descended upon Block D from all directions: Bloodguard troops from Block A, Beastguard troops from Block B, and Boneguard troops from C, all with the sole objective of capturing the mad cadet. The news of this predicament had reached Chief Warden Manseto through intelligence gathered from Baron of Shinra, who had subsequently dispatched his army of Beastguards and Boneguards. This must be done as soon as the other cadets had left the prison, as it was known that the mad cadet was intentionally tardy. Each team leader was instructed to capture the mad cadet using any means necessary, whether dead or alive.
Stolen from Royal Road, this story should be reported if encountered on Amazon.
Furthermore, the assassination was also supported by Lucia of Falenas and the seniors. Lucia had requested two of her fellow instructors that she wanted the sample of Fenrius, and she was willing to give up all of her possessions to achieve that. After the mission was accomplished, she planned to reason with the swordmaster that the clone of Fenrius would definitely bring success to the military academy's assets in order to defeat the chthonians.
In addition to the human guards, Manseto had also released dozens of Hellhounds into the deepest dungeon. If they managed to trap the mad cadet there, it was certain that he would never see the sky of Runeverse again. Hellhounds were demon dogs with overheated bodies, teeth, and hooves of fiery blades, as well as lava-coated tendons and ligaments. They moved fast like automatic killing machines and possessed the predatory instincts and intelligence of a wolf, the aggression of a tortured bull, and the ferocity of a hungry bear. These hundreds of B-tier monsters had been gifted to Manseto by Baron long ago and were intentionally left unreleased from the start of the test because they could easily grind the cadets to dust.
The Beastguards had just arrived at Block D when one of them heard a small roar coming from around the corner. They quickly went to investigate, only to discover dozens of Bloodguards lying on the ground, their armor shattered and blood soaking through. Above them, blood dripped onto the hair of the Beastguard leader, Barzan, a burly man in his thirties and the brother of Baron. Traces of blood decorated every wall like ink on canvas. After examining the guards' deep wounds, it was clear that they were no longer alive.
"By Ereborn, who could have committed such violence?" Barzan exclaimed.
"Look at this broken armor! How barbaric... It's impossible for a cadet without weapons to have done this," one of the Beastguards replied.
"Hey! Look! I saw a shadow! Someone's shadow just walked over there!"
Without a second thought, they ran to the end of the prison and turned left, where the shadow had headed. They were shocked to see a cadet with bloodstained hands holding a torch in each hand, staggering toward the last cell at the end of the hall.
"You! Stop right there!" Barzan snapped, pointing his grenade launcher at the cadet. "If you pretend not to hear us, I'll blow your head off!"
The cadet ignored them and appeared to be drunk when viewed from behind. It was clear that he was the crazy cadet that the Chief Baron had warned them about. His bloodied hands were proof that he must have been responsible for the violence in the prison. As Baron had said, he seemed more like an ungrateful bastard than an innocent person begging for mercy.
Barzan knew that attacking the cadet together in the narrow passage would be difficult, and his grenade explosion could cause a fire in the prison, whether the cadet was dead or alive. Therefore, the main objective was to surround and capture him, even if it meant killing him. There seemed to be no more cadets left in the prison, but they couldn't take any chances with this one, as he had killed many guards.
"Go ahead and beat him up!" Barzan ordered.
The three Beastguards in the front row nodded and ran to stab the cadet in the back at the same time.
*
As they managed to escape from the guards, they boarded the pirate ship one by one. Thanistor pulled the flag string, and it fluttered loudly in the wind. The wind indicator on the ship's mast showed that the wind was coming from the side, providing an advantage as it allowed the sail to catch the full force of the wind and propel the ship forward. To keep the sails in a constant position and control them, a cadet watched them from a position perpendicular to the wind, knowing that the wind wouldn't blow from a constant direction for long.
Thanistor, who was on the top deck, saw several cadets still struggling on the coast. He instructed, "Don't leave yet, there are still some of them who can survive!"
"But Zain said hundreds of guards are coming here!" replied a cadet who took the wheel and turned around.
"You're always thinking about something else, aren't you?" sneered Lucius, who had just boarded the ship. "Your heart is too soft for a knight!"
"Let me handle 'em! Keep the ship runnin'!" exclaimed Zain as he jumped into the fray, clearing a path for the cadets still fighting.
Yuria, who had been leaning against the wall with her eyes closed, opened her eyes to see Zain's rash action.
"They're almost at the main gate! There's no more time!" exclaimed another cadet to Thanistor.
"Okay, set sail!" Thanistor ordered, pulling the anchor chains together.
The impact and thrust of Zain's steel body shattered the armor of the Bloodguards in front of him, sending them flying like limp fish out of a pond. Zain led the rest of the cadets from behind to escape, leaving no one behind except for those who had fallen in battle. As Zain ran, a guard without armor managed to keep up with him and grabbed him from behind. However, before the guard could do anything, an iron arrow flashed as fast as lightning, hitting the guard's head and killing him instantly.
Zain looked up at the ship where he saw a figure of a girl watching him. It was Yuria, his classmate. She walked away from Zain's sight, and the ship's speed increased as the remaining cadets fled to safety.
"Zain, catch this!" Thani called out, throwing a rope down to the remaining cadets on the coast.
One by one, they climbed the rope onto the ship, relieved to have made it to safety. On board, the cadets gathered their belongings and put back on their clothes and fighting gear. Those who were injured tended to themselves with bandages, herbal leaves, and medicine.
To celebrate their victory in passing the test, the cadets held a party on the ship. With the title of Dawnstrike Assassin now within reach, they raised twenty flagons of mead in a toast to their success. As the ship sailed on, the cool breeze of victory lulled some of the cadets to sleep, and they dreamt of escaping the continent of Malazen, far from the constant threat of death.
"Look, they are not after us no more! Let's raise a toast, aye!" exclaimed Lugos to his two brothers and the rest of the cadets.
“It doesn't matter if we're enemies or not. What's important is that we passed this test!" said Thani, causing Lucius to look away in disgust.
"Aye, me mates! Let's hoist a cheer to all!" shouted Hugos with tearful joy.
Yuria, Kirana, and Ischel were engaged in a discussion at the stern of the ship. Although they rarely saw each other at the fort, they had grown close after spending a day in prison together. They knew that if this test was not based on teamwork, the final outcome would be disastrous and would end in bloodshed. However, they also knew that the academy would not destroy its own assets after investing so much time and resources in their training.
Despite this, the test was still inhumane. They had to escape from prison with their hands and feet tied in shackles and were not allowed to use any weapons, not even a small object such as a lockpick. Moreover, they had to contend with the Bloodguards and Warden Manseto, who had reportedly threatened to commit genocide if they were unable to escape within a day.
"Is that true? It sounds really scary," Ischel gulped. "Surviving this island is a cruel rule. Thani said nearly a hundred cadets had died."
Zain approached the three girls, particularly Yuria. "Still givin' me the cold stare, aye? Thanks for helpin' me earlier," he said.
Yuria looked away and closed her eyes as she replied, "It's fine. You were brave enough to save them again. I appreciate your foolish act."
"Hah! You call it a foolish act, do you? We don't know what the next exam will bring. There is no point in competing anymore. Our goal is to survive now. Letting them die like that will only make the next test more complicated," Zain retorted.
“Good words. I hope you don't regret what you did until the last test,” Yuria replied sarcastically.
"Tch! Thank you for the kind words," Zain ended the conversation and went to a corner.
Yuria smiled inwardly, realizing that the foolish Zain who had always been selfish in the class had changed his attitude to care about others. Now, the girl secretly admitted that Zain was not completely foolish when facing a precarious situation. Without him, the majority of the cadets probably wouldn't have survived if they had to face off against seventy percent of the guards inside. That's why Yuria couldn't stay silent when she saw Zain's life in danger, and maybe this was the last time she would care about someone's life.
Zain went to the bow of the boat, and a light breeze blew his bangs up. He hummed, enjoying the vast sea view, and occasionally glanced glumly at the prison. Thanistor approached Zain from behind and said, "You look lethargic unlike usual. You didn't even go to the drinking party, even though we already passed. What's the matter with you?"
Zain wants to counter Thani's question as he didn't join the drinking party either. However, he understood that Thani was a leader with a big heart or some shit who pretended to be fully responsible to his comrades. Zain admitted that Thani never slept despite relying on some tasks from others, and if anything happened, it would be this person who gave the orders first.
"Nothing, please don't mind me," Zain answered simply.
"What about the cadet in that last cell? Did you manage to save him?" Thani asked.
Recalling it made Zain full of regret. He shouldn't have left that person there. If Thanistor knew about the last cell, the bastard Aleister would have told him. However, it seemed that they still didn't know whether or not there was a cadet in that last cell. Zain bit his lip. How could he reveal the truth to Thanistor? It might destroy his pride as a Northern Viking. He was nothing more than a loser who ran away or stabbed his comrades in the back. He didn't want to be equated with a swindler similar to Aleister. Moreover, if everyone knew about his actions, it would tarnish his name on the list of featured cadets. For now, he would rather lie and replace Fenrius' role there.
"Nay, there be no one in the last cell."
"Wait! I smell something!” Thanistor exclaimed.
Zain's eyes glazed over with smoke, and he immediately realized it. He looked at the prison. It turned out that the mad cadet was still alive! The cadets suddenly panicked, noticing the smell of smoke from nowhere. One of them pointed at the prison where the fire almost devoured half of the building from below. Seeing that rare sight made them gawk together.
"Fire! The prison is on fire!!”
“That must be Instructor Manseto! It's a good thing we've escaped!” Thanistor left Zain and warned everyone to stay alert. Even though the island was still visible, Thanistor sensed that anyone could still attack this ship at any time until they landed.
"Where did that fire come from?" mumbled Kirana. "There's no way anyone would dare to do something like that, right?"
Yuria and Ischel were unable to answer as they were still in shock and glued to the strangeness before their eyes.