Something was different about this bus ride. Just earlier the two Captains were joking around, but now they look really serious. Their facial expression was almost scary.

Still, seeing the large mass of buildings and the people walking about the city made up for it. A few students wondered where everyone went off to with their busy lives.

The driver went over the occasional bump in the road. Even in a city like this potholes were still an annoying problem. The force of impact causing some students to rise into the air.

Some concern was seen when they arrived at the Gate of Terra. A large reinforced metal door to keep intruders out. A few other Seer members were seen signaling the bus to prepare as the giant doors were opened long enough to permit them a safe exit.

What’s going on? Is the next exam site taken place outside?

Believe it or not but not many people have seen the outside world. Nearly everyone in Terra lived a reclusive lifestyle and that’s how people enjoyed it. The outside world was dangerous. There weren’t many reasons to wander out and about and no one truly wanted to.

The engine on the bus sped up once the Gate was opened enough to release them. It seems like the proctors were in a rush to get somewhere.

Students could be heard mumbling to their friends about the situation and how curious they were about what was going to happen. These parts ran deep so who knew how long this ride would be.

An hour passed and the bus finally stopped and it’s a good thing too as everyone was getting tired. Sitting still for too long could sometimes drain the energy from you more than actually being up and about.

“Everyone off the bus, let’s go!” Roy shouted.

Everyone followed his orders and got off the bus, surprised by their new surroundings. Some people were quite scared of the change of scenery.

Instead of man-made roads, there was nothing but nature made dirt trails and trees, lots and lots of healthy trees with bright green leaves.

“I hope you all had a nice travel.” Jace looked over at Captain Roy.

“Uh, where are we, sir?” A frightened student asked.

“We’re outside of Terra. Miles away to be precise. Located deep within these necks of the woods.”

“W-what’s the point of this? Are we going for another run?”

“Oh no. Nothing like that. For this part of the exam, all you have to do is find your way back home!”

“You’re fucking crazy! What!? How can we do that without a map or a compass or anything!?”

“Figure it out.” Roy waved at them before proceeding to get onto the bus.

“No, this isn’t right! This can’t be real! You’re not leaving us! This is crazy!”

“You’re free to hop on board with us. Just know you’ll be labeled as a failure and won’t be able to live your dream as a Seer. Is that what you want?”

“N-no..”

“Roy, I believe the money I sent into your account will cover for this as well?” Noel asked.

“Sorry, but this is one test you can’t bribe your way out of.”

“What!?”

“Three days is your limit. Longer than that and we’ll consider you dead meat. Come on Jace.” Roy signals to Jace to hop back on the bus before it started to drive off.

“Quick! Let’s follow it!” A few desperate students actually attempted to follow and keep up with the bus but were soon left in the dust and collapsed from exhaustion.

No one muttered a word after seeing this. Not because of how pathetic they looked, but because they were slowly taking in the situation.

Noel was the first one to break. His hands waving off to the side before he gripped at his curly black locks. “This has to be some sick joke… there’s no way they’d leave us in the middle of nowhere... just no way!”

He started to pace back and forth while still gripping tightly at his head before he started to make some strange wailing sounds. “No, no, no, no! What am I supposed to do!? I shouldn’t have to do this! I shouldn’t! I have money! I’m not a peasant like the rest of you!”

His words may have been out of fear, but this didn’t bode well for the class who stared daggers at him.

“You all don’t understand!? I don’t even know how to survive out here! I don’t know how to! I don’t even know how to wipe my own ass! How am I supposed to survive out here! Help me…!” It was clear just how desperate he was becoming, but the other students were just in shock.

“Somebody help me, please!” Pretty soon, a fist was sent flying into his gut, the force rattling his insides and quickly causing him to fall unconscious.

Looks like Yadon heard enough of Noel’s whining. He knocked him right out in one shot before he swung him over his back to carry the lightweight.

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

“Alright…” The behemoth who stood at five foot eight struck intimidation into the rest of the students. “This is the moment I was looking for. Another way to test my skills and surpass my limits! Now the rest of you pansies can get stew in your juices, but I know what Quin and I are about to do. Along with our sleeping beauty here. We’re going to be the first ones to make it back to Terra!”

“Have fun eating our dust guys!” Quin added.

No one seemed pleased with this declaration, but Yadon soon strutted off like a wild animal, kicking up a cloud of dust. His girlfriend soon followed in his footstep, darting off with impressive form.

Just what were they thinking? Was running off so quickly the best decision to make in a time like this?

Team morale was low… everyone was seen falling onto their behind or pacing on their own.

Things aren’t looking so good… What do we do in a situation like this?

As if Junji was reading his mind, he spoke. “Ok, look guys. We’re in some pretty hot water right now, I get that. Normally, I’d be all worried, but things are different today. Today we have to prove ourselves to our Captains and to everyone else who is putting their faith what we can accomplish. Most importantly though we have to prove ourselves to ourselves if that makes sense. If we put our heads together then I’m sure we can think of something to get by this.”

Junji’s words always give me courage. Now’s not the time to be scared. Things are going to get harder from here on out so I have to be strong.

“Junji’s right. This is a test to see what we’re all capable of. Let’s not mess up after all the work it took us to get here.”

Some students got the message and settled down until one’s negativity got the better of.

“Big words, but none of that matters now. We have no food and no water. We’re tired from the obstacle course. It’s better if we just split up. Less conflict that way.”

“Splitting up isn’t really the ideal situation now. We’re better if we work as a team.” Junji mentions.

“I’m taking my chances.” The student heads off in the same direction the others went and started to follow him one by one and pretty soon everyone had gone on ahead.

Now it was just five of them left. Kinda sad that’s all who decided to remain. Maybe things would work out better this way. Positivity was the best thing to have during moments like these.

“Isaac... I don’t know what to do from here. I figured everyone would come to their senses, but things didn’t turn out well.”

“Geez… I honestly don’t know what to do either!”

“How did things turn out so horribly! If I knew all this would happen I’d have brought so much stuff to prepare!”

Looking around the area, Isaac notices that the remaining three are all females. Nothing wrong with that in the slightest, but… one of them who remained was the same lightning girl from earlier.

There was something strange about her. Why would someone who could move so fast be here with them?

Is it wrong to look at a girl like this… she’s just kinda cute with the way she’s scowling…

Keianna had her arms crossed under her breasts she appeared to be sweating from the heat and from the layers of clothing she was wearing which included a black jacket made from leather and purple capris. Her violet hair was also tied back in a ponytail.

Her hair’s really long and pretty… I’ve never seen anybody with violet eyes and hair before…

Isaac quickly looked away and rubbed the back of his head while whistling awkwardly as her gaze met his.

“Is there a fucking problem?”

She certainly had a bad attitude about this! Isaac fidgeted and then responded. “Uh, no, I was just wondering why you decided to stay? You’re so fast that you could have caught up and passed the bus in fact.”

“You truly are an idiot aren’t you?”

“H-huh?”

Keianna shook her head before sighing. “The bastards obviously planned this. I don’t have the mana to continuously zip across anywhere. I’m also uncertain where to go and you can imagine how fucked I’d be if I ended up deeper in the wrong direction.”

“That makes sense.”

“You know what happens when you use up too much mana.”

Since mana is essentially life-force then if one uses too much of it they die.

“I do. Looks like we’ll all be working together.”

“Don’t get the wrong idea. I’m doing things on my own. Taking orders from you guys is not part of my plan.”

“It shouldn't be too difficult to get back home from here, as long as we're smart enough about this.” Another one of the girls would finally speak, solidifying her presence.

Hmmm… who’s this girl? Her voice sounds familiar.

“Oh wait… I know you! You’re Claire!”

“Claire Callaway reporting for duty.” She replied, giving a playful salute for a greeting. Claire was a fiery redhead, whose hair was tied back in a ponytail with medium length. Unfortunately for her, she wore a full long sleeve black top, as well as a jacket, which didn't help in the heat. Her attire, including her slim pants, held an asymmetrical design, with the right half of her jacket being red and the left being white, while the pants were opposite. She had quite a style.

Junji approached the group with a pleasant smile. “I guess we should introduce one another. It’ll put us on friendlier terms. I’m Junji Ochiai. A pleasure to meet you, Claire.”

Junji did come off as natural when it came to talking to girls.

“You as well, Junji. Glad to make your acquaintance.”

“And… just who are you?” Junji pointed to the last girl in questioning.

However, this last girl doesn't reply, and instead just stares at him briefly, before looking away.

“Uhhh… you shy or something? I find that surprising especially for this job.”

“She’s probably scared. It’s alright if you don’t want to tell us your name. I’m Isaac though nice to meet you.”

“I'm not scared of anything.” the girl said in response, though still refusing to state her name.

Isaac started to sweat a bit, not used to interacting with difficult girls. Apparently, this class had a lot of them.

“Yeah, it’s cool. You going to tell us your name, Keianna?”

“If you already know my name why do you need me to say it?”

“I’m just going by the fact that we mouthed our names out. It’d be nice if you did the same.”

“No.”

“Gosh, you always gotta be a pain.” Junji sighs before wiping the sweat off of his forehead. “So, what do we do?”

“Well, I don't know about you guys, but I paid attention to the way we came once we left Terra. I think I know the general way to go.” Claire states, pointing over at the trail. “I say we go as far as we can and take a rest once it gets darker. I don't feel like it'd be smart to be up and about at night.”

Junji gasped and seemed really surprised by the girl’s response. “You paid attention!? I clocked out after the first 15 minutes. Weren’t we driving for like two hours?”

“I think it was more like one hour.” Isaac chimed in.

“Ha! What a nerd.” Keianna snickered.

“There's nothing wrong with being a nerd, as long as it'll get me out of here. What I'm wearing was obviously not the best choice for today.” Claire sighed, taking off her jacket to wrap around her waist. “And of course I'd pay attention, always pay attention to your surroundings.”

“I think it’s pretty cool that you’re observant.” Isaac smiled as he complimented her.

“Oh, we stripping now? Honestly, I think that’s the best idea.” Junji takes off his shirt and wraps it around his waist, revealing his light skin complexion to everybody along with his toned shape. “It’s hotter than the boy’s locker room out here. Isaac lose the layers man.”

“U-uh, it’s alright, I’m fine.”

“Come on, do you know what a heat stroke is?”

“I’m fine…” He really wasn’t fine, he was wearing a dark green vest along with a long sleeve shirt. His body was moist in a variety of places.

“Don’t be shy, even the girls aren’t afraid to strip in front of us boys!” Junji begins to approach Isaac who slowly backs away.

“I wouldn't say it like that.” Claire comments, rolling up her black sleeves and hating her outfit choice for the day.

“I-I’m fine really. I’m not even hot.”

Eventually Junji tackled Isaac to the ground and the two wrestled, they struggled for a while, but in the end, Isaac’s top was removed.

“See nothing to be shy about.”

“T-that’s not the point!” His body was quite lithe it looked as if he didn’t get enough to eat at home which was far from the truth. But, it was easy to see why he didn’t want to go topless his ribs were basically showing.

“Claire, he doesn’t look bad, right?”

“No judgment.”

“We’re about to be Seer’s, you gotta be confident in yourself. Puff your chest out like me. Now I’m no Yadon, that guy’s a freak of nature, but I’m comfortable in my own skin.”

“Can we just stick to the current plan?”

Keianna could be seen unzipping her jacket and wrapping it around her waist, revealing a purple tube top which caught the eye of Junji because of how much skin is revealed.

“Oh, wow, smart idea Keianna. You picked the right top for today.”

She didn’t seem amused, after flipping Junji off she started to head on ahead.

“Ok, let’s move on ahead then. We have some ground to cover.” Junji starts walking off as well, signaling for the others to tag along.