[First Phase Objective One: Survive for 5 hours]

[Time remaining: 0 hr 04 mins 43 secs]

Caleb stared at the timer, then let it fade, looking over more skills again.

[Cellular manipulation]

[Soul undying]

[Incandescent Purge]

[Erasure]

[Reconfiguration]

[Bridger of the Last Man’s Soul]

[Soul taker]

[Rejuvenation]

The excitement had faded now, replaced by hints of anxiety and uncertainty. He sighed and let the screen fall away from his vision, his surroundings replacing them.

He sat in a decently sized but bare room, the only items of note the bed in the corner, the chair he sat on, and the religious ornament nailed to the wall.

Ryan lay on the bed snoring, Eriana lay on the floor her head resting against her rolled up and still bloody hoodie, and Layla stood by the window looking out over the town. Her eyes hard to read, cast into the shadow of her brow as the sun shone down on her expressionless face.

But he could still tell something was wrong. She clutched her still wet winter coat tightly, an unnatural stiffness to her hands and the way she stood. He didn't know what to say to her to make it feel better.

He glanced to the door, still waiting. Kana had stayed in the infirmary with Sierra. She’d said just to keep her company, but he knew it was to heal Sierra and the others. That was the only reason the nurses had let her stay. He shifted in his seat, then flexed his fingers before grabbing the of the arms chair firmly.

He didn't know why not being near them made him so uneasy. He knew they were in the building, but not seeing them felt like he'd suddenly lost an important part of himself. It was strange. He sighed and leant back, tapping his foot lightly against the ground as he focused on his breaths, trying to ignore the voices of the others through the walls.

The others were all upstairs with them, spread throughout the three others rooms in this corridor. He could hear wisps of tense chatter from the adults next door, and it was starting to drive him mad. He wanted to go back downstairs, check if Kana and Sierra were ok, or just take a walk. But something was keeping him firmly planted in the chair.

Probably the fact that part of him didn’t want to move yet, because it knew once the second objective started he’d probably have to keep moving for a while. He bit his lip. It was frustrating, getting a moment of peace like this and not being able to enjoy.

He probably should've risked nightmares and just tried to sleep. Not that it would've been much easier. With a sigh, he looked back to the ground, tapping at his sunshield with a finger.

At every tap he felt the mana of it shift ever so slightly, like the warping of pixels when you pressed against a screen too hard. It was more fragile, at least more magically fragile than he’d first thought. So were the sleeves, and the runes across his body.

He frowned as his awareness parsed over the runes. They were getting weaker, the magic on them lighter and lighter. The sleeve ever so slightly too. He peered at the sleeve, then tugged it under his clothes before brushing dust off the fabric.

He’d changed from the wet silks to a simple cotton long sleeve shirt and trousers. They were slightly itchy because of dryness, and a bit big, but far more comfortable than wet clothes.

He shifted in his seat and looked back to Layla who rubbed at her temple, a small bruise still marking it.

"Layla?"

"What?"

“You sure you shouldn’t be in the infirmary?” he said.

“Yeah” she mumbled, not looking away from the window. Caleb nodded and choose not to pry further. He looked to Ryan momentarily, then to the floor and rested his cheek against a palm. His thoughts flicked back to the trial and the screen appeared in his vision almost instantly.

[First Phase Objective One: Survive for 5 hours]

[Time remaining: 0 hr 03 mins 51 secs]

He blinked it away, a sudden tiredness washing over him. It was a kind of dry tiredness, not one that made him want to sleep. Closer to a mental exhaustion of his circumstance. It just felt like too much. It was weird to think that only five hours ago he’d still been in the Endagon caves. It felt like a whole world away.

Well, it literally is, isn't it?

He turned suddenly, frowning as he felt a magic weight steadily get closer to him. He focused on it, noticing the slight difference in the minutiae of their fluctuations. He hadn’t realised before but all the weights were different slightly. He was pulled out of the sense as he heard two familiar laughs coming down the hall. Sierra and Kana.

He stood and opened the door, peering down the corridor as Kana and Sierra both arrived. Sierra was walking just fine and Kana’s sling was gone.

“Wow, you guys are all healed” he said.

[Yes. It was amazing] Kana said, smiling brightly.

“She’s not exaggerating. Her power’s really cool” Sierra said.

“She just healed you?”

If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.

“Yes and no. She put my bones back together but half of it was the nurses stuff. The magic equipment here is crazy” she said, smiling as they entered the room.

[Layla!] Kana said, still cheery, before frowning as she spotted Eriana on the floor.

“Hey” Layla mumbled back, still staring outside.

[Do you want any healing, Layla?] Kana asked.

“I’m fine”

Kana nodded, then turned back to Caleb.

[I can heal you too]

“Slow down Kana, you said you already exhausted everything” Sierra stated.

[I have a little left in the tank] she said.

“Wait, why would I need healing?” Caleb asked confused.

[Your leg might not be too good. I can check]

“No, no. It’s ok”

Kana’s expression dampened slightly, but she turned back to Layla.

[Layla you sure?]

She took a moment, furrowing her brows as she stood, still staring out the window.

“Why not? It can’t hurt”

Kana brightened and stepped forward, her hands glowing slightly as Layla turned to face her. Gently put her hands on the sides of Layla’s head, and held them there, the light changing colour slightly. Then it faded and Kana stepped back, slightly unsteady. Sierra caught her and it took a moment, but she regained her balance, face flushing red.

“I told you to be careful” Sierra said.

[I’m fine] Kana responded pulling away. She looked to Layla, smiling hopefully. [Better?]

“…not really” Layla said, still rubbing at her temple.

[That’s ok. I’ll heal you when I’ve got enough mana again] she said determined. [You too Caleb]

“I’m fine” he mumbled, sitting back down in his chair. Sierra glanced at Ryan, then Eriana and sat on the edge of the bed frame, facing Caleb, as Kana joined Layla at the window.

“I’m glad your legs are healed. That could’ve been bad” Caleb said. Sierra nodded, her smile fading for a second, before quickly returning.

“At least now I know what happens when I push full speed”

“Right, what exactly happened again? Was your a skill?”

“Yeah. Aura of Acceleration. I was already thinking about taking it and I sort of did it by impulse when I saw Kana in trouble”

Caleb nodded, then frowned.

“You’d think these skills would come with safety locks or something”

“I was probably just being stupid and reckless” Sierra said.

“I don’t think so. I mean, Michael passed out quickly, Kana nearly had a stroke trying to heal Elena and you broke your legs running faster than you were body was capable of handling” he said. “I’m pretty sure there’s no limit to some of these powers except how much you can withstand. They’re cool, amazing really, but dangerous”

Sierra nodded, furrowing her brow.

Kana stepped over Eriana and took a seat next to Sierra at the foot of the bed.

[What’s dangerous?]

“The skills” Sierra said.

[Oh, have you picked one Caleb?]

“No. We’ve got until the end of the first phase, so, probably a lot of time” he said.

[Well, you should pick one soon. You’ll get used to it faster, and level up]

“Level up?”

“Yeah. She put her stat points into mana then used her skill and levelled up”

“Oh” Caleb said, furrowing his brow.

“Your videogame theory still holds true” Sierra said with a grin.

“You know that’s not what I meant with that”

“I k-”

“There’re more” Layla said suddenly.

“What?” Caleb said, as they all turned to her.

“More people outside” Layla said. “One of them’s hurt”

They all rushed to the window and looked down into the street.

Two people in almost full armour, a girl with a spear on her back, and a guy whose hair and eyes that literally glowed, were both struggling to carry their friend, also in full armour but covered in blood down the street.

Everybody else in the street steered clear of them. When Caleb turned to look to the others, Kana was already gone, rushing down the stairs. He rushed after her, flying through the doorway then the corridor incredibly quickly before remembering the stat point he’d added in speed.

He slowed slightly, but still caught up to Kana and slowed further to match her speed. They reached the stairs together and descended quickly, bursting through the doors at stairwells base, before racing through the main hall and out the exit.

Caleb flinched, shielding his eyes as he looked around. The crowd had mostly parted, but a few stragglers still stood on the front steps, all of them looking off into the distance. He turned to where glowing hair and spear girl were, then looked to Kana.

[Go ahead] she said.

He nodded then raced forwards, his strides far stronger and faster than he’d even realised. With the town as a frame of reference he realised now, he and Ryan had been running speeds fit for a car.

He flew down the road as the townspeople stared at him wide eyed, then frantically skidded to a stop in front of the group.

“I can help” he said as they both looked at him wide eyed. He stepped forward and looked over the girl they carried, her face deathly pale. He moved to help them from the middle, picking up some of the slack. The armour was cold against his skin and she was heavy, but not heavy enough that Caleb couldn’t lift her on his own.

“Let me carry her” he said. The two looked to him confused, and he moved his hands, then lifted her easily in a bridal carry. “There’s a hospital over there. I’ll run her to it”

[Thank you, thank you] the guy sobbed, even his tears glowing.

He nodded, then turned and ran. He was slower with the girl, his steps more careful, but still incredibly fast. He glanced to her again as he raced past Kana and Sierra. Her injuries were worse than he’d first thought, pieces of blood and bone poking out a damaged part of her armour.

Part of the wound had been cauterised, but blood still seeped through, staining his hands and shirt. He looked away quickly, but the image was firmly planted in his mind.

He leapt up the church hospital stairs in a single bound, then burst through the doors. He ran for the infirmary and crashed through that door as well, stopping in front of all the surprised nurses as they attended to the now awake, final adult and the still unconscious Markus. They stared at him, their shock evident, then all at once rushed forward, barking orders at him.

It was a blur for a few seconds, then he found himself standing in the corner, watching as the nurses as they worked. Ryan, Sierra, Layla and Eriana rushed through the door he’d half broken followed by the two armoured teens.

“Shit” Sierra cursed, stopping beside him. The armoured teens rushed past, pushing forward to the side of the bed as the nurses protested. They quickly moved back, joining the others in the corner. As the seconds passed, it was clear from the nurses’ grim looks, things were bad.

[Should I help?] Kana said.

“And kill yourself? No way” Sierra said.

“I could pick a healing skill” Caleb said.

“No way” Sierra said. “You don’t have any stat points to put into mana, it'd be pointless. That goes for you too Ryan”

"I already picked one" Ryan said. "Back at the waterfall"

"Good" Sierra said, then glanced to Caleb noting his expression. "Save the skill for yourself. Trust me"

[What?!] girl shouted turning to him. [If you still have your skill you have to save her!]

“Hey, back off” Ryan said, getting between them.

[Fuck you. My friends’ dying and you won’t help her]

“I- I-” Caleb stuttered. Sierra stepped in front of the both of them.

“Fuck off” Sierra said. “You don’t get to shout at us just because your friend is hurt”

Spear girl let out a huff and turned around, clenching her fists tightly. Caleb watched her back as she breathed heavily, her shoulders trembling. He looked to Sierra then down at his own hands as the list of skills appeared almost instinctively.

[Healing Presence]

[Protective Energy]

[Hands of Healing]

[Invenet’s Disciple]

[Taker of Pain]

His eyes fixed on Hands of Healing. Somehow, he knew that if he could just use it properly, it’d help with the situation at hand. Without a thought he reached out to select it, then froze.

But what if there’s a skill that can really cure my cancer?

The thought was selfish, but powerful. He tried to push past it, but a sudden fear gripped him.

He didn’t know if taking Hands of Healing would fix him and that terrified him. Even though, he knew in some respect he was doing the wrong thing, he pulled his hand away from the screen and let it disappear.

[I need everyone out. We need space for more equipment] Hala said, looking up to them.

[You can’t kick us out!] spear girl shouted.

“Angelina stop” glowing hair said, placing a hand on her shoulder. She slapped it away, glared at everyone then stormed out of the room. The others followed into the main hall slowly, watching as she angrily kicked at a pillar and yelled.

“S-sorry about her” glowing hair said, sniffling as he turned to them. Suddenly an array of screens appeared in front of their faces.

[First Phase Objective One completed]

[Objective two: Pending]

[Objective two: Pending]

[Objective two: Pending]

[Objective two: Protect the town of Arell]

[First Wave commencing]

[Time remaining: 30 mins]