There was smoke and dust everywhere, obstructing Ren's view as he urgently moved toward the haze without avoiding it. He shut his eyes and waved his hand to disperse the dust. As he drew nearer, he made out the blurry figure of someone standing in front of Yota. This person had black hair, matching eyes, and wore familiar clothing. It was Ric, the one who had halted Yota's punch and deflected the Aqua bullet with his barriers.

In the midst of this chaotic situation, Ric initiated a conversation with Yota. "Hey, are you stupid?" Ric bluntly asked Yota, who, just moments ago, had been both surprised and relieved by Ric's presence. This abrupt question triggered Yota's anger, and he retorted, "Hey! What do you mean by that?!"

Ric continued to tease Yota, deliberately stoking his anger. "Why didn't you move out of the way? Do you really think your puny fire could have done anything against that attack?"

Yota, attempting to justify himself, responded irritably, "What do you mean 'puny'? I didn't have much mana left!"

Ric, adopting a calm and nonchalant tone, offered a suggestion. "Well, then you should have at least used that remaining mana efficiently."

Yota's frustration was still evident as he retorted, "Then what should I have done?! How should I have used my mana effi.cien.tly?!"

With a sigh, Ric continued, "You had enough mana to cover your hand, right?"

Yota responded by rolling his eyes, his anger slowly subsiding. "Yes, obviously."

Ric then posed a rhetorical question that left Yota dumbfounded. "Then why didn't you use that mana to protect a rock and counter with your meteoric blast?"

Yota realized his mistake and replied sheepishly, "O-oh, yeah, you're right. I didn't think of that... hehe, sorry." He scratched his head, his expression now apologetic.

Meanwhile, Jeff and Fray, the other two participants in the confrontation, had been observing this exchange. They were both filled with incredulity, wondering, "What the %#*@?! Who is this guy? He stopped our powerful attack just like that?" Jeff exchanged a glance with Fray and gestured for them to make their escape. Fray nodded in agreement, and Jeff stealthly took the unconcious Desos. Then they leaped to another pillar, attempting to flee.

However, Ric was not oblivious to their escape attempt. He inquired, "Hey Jim, are you done? Or do you want my help?"

Jim was slightly irritated by this question but remained focused as he completed his chanting, declaring, "With words of might, I call upon the mightiest quake, TERRA TREMERE!"

Unauthorized duplication: this narrative has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

As Jeff and Fray believed they had successfully evaded notice and were running away, they were in for a rude awakening. The pillar they were standing on suddenly shook violently, inducing terror. This abrupt jolt caused them to lose their balance, and they tumbled to the ground in disappointment and frustration. The ground was starting to tilt, cracks appeared on the pillar and the trio started to slip towards the crumbling rocks. They desperately started to climb to save themselves from beign eliminated. Jeff was near the edge and was much closer to falling down, so he took desos off his shoulder and yelled “Fray! Catch this idiot!” He threw Desos towards Fray, and Fray caught him frantically and said “What the &%*@ are you doing! You know I am not strong enough to hold him for long!”

Jeff smiled and said “I am heavy so I may be the first to fall, I don’t think I can save him. You know we both don’t have families. But that guy has a sister, No matter what! make sure he survives!” He yelled out, his emotions echoing within his voice.

Meanwhile, Yota took the health potion Ric gave him. Feeling satisfied, he asked “Hey, this is good! Almost all my injuries are healed and I recovered a bit of mana too. Where did you find this Ric?“

Ric immediately thought of an answer and exclaimed nonchalantly ”Well, there was a guy who helped me find my missing locket and he was also the one who gave the health potion.” As he added to his thoughts “It’s partially true though”.

Yota started pondering, as he exclaimed “Hmm… he must be a good guy! I hope I could meet him.” A gentle smile appeared on his face and he asked “Hey, why didn’t you brought him here? We could have another member to our team!”

Ric kept a calm demeanor and said “I can’t force him, can i? he said he was already a part of a group”. Listening to this, Yota’s curiosity aroused and he asked “oh, what group is he a part of? If we know the name then we can meet him after the exam.” Yota’s questions annoyed Ric as he thought “Ugh, why does he ask so many useless questions?!” But regardless, he needed to answer, so he quickly started thinking of a name and responded “Yeah, he said he was a part of the ‘Falling worms’ group.”

Yota felt somewhat sad and dissapointed as he said “Well, we can’t do anything about it.” Yota sighed in dissapointment. he shook his head and coincidentally glanced towards the pillar and saw the sight of Jeff throwing Desos, he heard what Jeff yelled out to fray. After hearing that they were orphans too and witnessing the loyalty between them, Yota’s heart couldn’t allow him to let the trio be eliminated. Whereas, Ric also witnessed this, he came forward and sighed as he exclaimed in a nonchalant manner “Let’s put them out of their misery, I think two shots would be enough to make the pillar crumble.”

Ric raised his arm and pointed towards the base of the pillar which was filled with cracks, he started getting ready to launch his barrier shot. But, Yota interfered and caught Ric’s hand to stop him from going further as he exclaimed in a serious tone “No, Let’s go and save them”

Ric confused by this, asked Yota “Didn’t they try to eliminate you? Why do you want to save those scum bags? It’s not worth it.” Ric’s tone unyeilding.

Yota got irked by this and exclaimed in anger “What worth? Look how loyal they are to each other!” Yota Pointed towards Jeff, trying to prove his point. Ric sighed and tried to speak, but Yota interrupted him and said “Stop, I know you will say something like ‘tHiS is illOgiCal’ or so. But I won’t listen to you this time! I am going to save them no matter what!”