“Hey jackass,” I yelled over the growling upperclassmen. “Why exactly are we fighting? There’s six Scrollguards, yeah? Just go find your own.”
Marcus twitched. His face looked…demonic. Four jagged eyes of red light glared at me across the opening.
“Don’t get involved, recruit,” Fan said through gritted teeth.
“No, I’m serious. Are you just trying to be an asshole?” I looked back at Marcus.
“It seems your entire house is filled with bitches, Fan. What kind of show is Waelid running over there? Such a shame that a Chapter Master of his strength has to put up with mouthy brats like them.”
I tilted my head, tightened my jaw, and held back an assault of curses. “Alright, whatever you say, big man.” I relaxed and let out a chuckle and looked up at his recruits. They were just other sixteen-year-olds. Kids.
—After seeing how strong they can get, I guess there really is no need to hold back. I thought. I can shake off the guilt for what I have to do to protect my class, and to become stronger. I told you we would have to form powerful alliances, right, Fern?
—‘You did. Yes, and by beating them all down into the earth and showing them how much stronger we are, we will earn the respect we deserve,’ He said, a wild tone rang in his voice.
I took a deep breath and shook my head. I didn’t have time to teach him how those kinds of thoughts border on hate. I had to use his strength with mine to win. For the moment, I let his comment slide. I would have to address it later. What mattered now was to protect everyone.
I was almost positive that House Enlil wouldn’t resort to killing. They heard what I had said. There was no reason to fight with us when this trial could be won without violence. What he wanted now was violence because of some hatred he had for Waelid.
“I told you Erik,” Fan said. I looked over to her and saw her shadow grow like Marcus’. She was pulling on more strength from her blood infusion. I took a step back as Fan grew. Her limbs extended five or six inches. She looked less and less human.
—‘I-is this what Infusion does to you? How could that be like what we have?’ Fern’s voice shook with fear at seeing the upperclassman transform.
Opposite of us, Marcus also grew. His limbs grew thicker, and his body grew wider. Then he vomited. White ichor splattered from his mouth, and his hands grew larger.
—I hope not, they’re…kind of disgusting. We are the upgrade for sure, I said, trying to rally his confidence, and mine.
It must have worked, because I felt my heart beat pump twice as hard again. I looked around at the recruits on both sides. The Enlil students had lowered their bows and weapons and were standing in awe of their
captain's transformation.
“They’re distracted,” I whispered to my group. Ruriel stood next to me and shook his head slowly. I turned slightly to see Rinka nod. Her silver hair, now tied up, revealed her burn scar. She wasn’t so ashamed of it these days. I looked over at Amani, Habr and Silas, who also met my eyes and shook their heads.
“What do we do?” Silas mouthed.
“Head for the small tree path over there,” I whispered and pointed with my nose at a small winding path between thick vegetation. “On my mark, we will lose them in the trees and draw them into an enclosed space. Let’s let Fan handle him.” They nodded and tensed up, ready to dash away.
I shifted my legs, building a firm base for support. I switched my stance, holding the bo staff on its end. And I raised my staff to crush the dirt in front of me.
WHACK
Dirt exploded around us, and a cloud of brown dusts filled the air. I heard Marcus road and Fan sprinted forward.
“Now!” I sprinted down the path I pointed to, leading the rest of my group into the thick forest.
----------------------------------------
We weaved through the underbrush, leaves and branches whipping past us. The sounds of Fan and Marcus’ fight were like small thunderclaps. When I heard the stomping slow and the cursing grew, I smiled.
I signaled for everyone to climb up a small hill on the side of the small path. We pushed through the bushes of thorns without care. One thing to be thankful for of Waelid’s training was his insistence on being able to barge through no matter what the terrain is.
“Catch your breath,” I whispered, panting slightly. “Here’s what we will do.”
Amani and Habr stood close together, their eyes scanning the path behind us. House Enlil was far away, but they were coming. Boot camp made us faster than the other house. By a good measure, it seemed.
I looked at everyone and lowered my voice. “Amani, Habr, I need your help.”
They turned toward me, focus flashed across their face.
“Find some rocks, sticks or whatever you can throw and disorient them when they come up that bend,” I said, pointing down the path we took. “Make them think there are more of us than them.”
A flicker of a smile crossed Amani’s lips, and Habr’s eyes softened. They exchanged a brief glance.
They nodded in unison.
“Be careful,” I added. “Work together.”
Without a word, they slipped into the bushes. Habr hopped across to another small, steep hill on the other side of the road. Watching them, I felt a surge of confidence. I could do this.
I turned to Rinka, who was checking, helping pull a few twigs out of Silas’ mechanical arm. “Rinka, can you find a vantage point up in the trees?”
“Oh, we’re not killing them, right?” she asked, concern bending her eyebrows.
“Of course not.” I said. I looked around at my three classmates, Rinka, Ruriel, and Silas. “Listen y’all, the rules seemed clear to me. No killing. Said nothing about hurting them to secure out victory.”
Rinka seemed worried still, while Ruriel was already pulling out a throwing knife out from his belt. Silas seemed…twitchy. He looked over his shoulder and back at me.
“The odds are like 10 to 3 or something, Erik! How are we going to take them down?”
“Just trust me. I’ve got plenty of strategic options.”
“How?” He asked again.
“Too late. Just trust me. Ruriel, go with Rinka up in the trees. Aim for their legs or dominant arms. We want to take them out of the battle, not torture them. Silas, you come with me. We have them right where we want them.”
“Hmm, not sure how to feel about ya bossing me around mate, you know I like to work alone.” Ruriel said with a smirk. He looked over at Rinka, who frowned. “Don’t mean I won’t join ya.” He aimed his grapple gauntlet up at a large branch, twenty feet above us.
THWIP
He flew up into the tree and pulled out more knives. He held them between his teeth. Rinka still looked unsure.
“I…I just don’t know if I can do that to them. They are like us.”
“Look, Rinka. It’s a game of confidence. You’re right, those kids are feeling the same way as us. This is likely the first time they’ve seen their upperclassman transform like that, just like us. This is the first time they’ve seriously drawn weapons at someone that’s not a monster. Just like us, they are new to this. But we need to win. If it helps us achieve our own goals and dreams, then we need to do what they won’t. Whoever acts first wins. And that’s us. They thought they won when they ambushed us. But now, it’s our turn.” I gave her a confident smile and held up my fist out towards her.
She looked at me for a moment before nodding her head quickly. She bumped fists with mine and looked up at the tree branches.
A high-pitched whistle rang in the air. Amani.
“I can’t believe I’m going back up…” Rinka let out a sigh and launched herself up to a branch opposite of Ruriel. She leaned against the trunk of the tree and prepared to draw an arrow.
A second high pitch whistle. Then, I heard the crash of or branches and leaves. Amani and Habr were starting the distraction. I heard confused shouts down the path and twisted my head towards Silas.
This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.
“We are going to go in when they panic. Aim for their ankles. Run fast.”
“Easy for you to say, Erik. You have a staff. I have to actually slice them. You know, draw blood? The thing that makes you barf,” He hissed as we crept through the bushes towards the yelling. We stayed on the high ground, out of sight from the path below.
“Look, man, think of it this way. They probably have some version of special healing muffins like we did. So they will only bleed a little. They will heal. Trust in your big bro Erik.”
He adjusted his mechanical arm, the gears clicking as he extended the blade on his arm. The blade slid out from his metal palm just over a foot long.
“Sure, sure. Just tell me where to go. Also, aren’t we the same age?”
From above, I saw Rinka stand slowly, still obscured among the branches. She nocked an arrow and drew her bowstring back. I crept up to the steep bank of the hill and watched as the first of House Enlil approached. They were covered in scratches and cursing.
I turned back to Rinka. She aimed at a recruit and whispered to herself. For a moment she hesitated, but then drew back the string.
She released the arrow. It soared past the recruit’s shoulder, startling him and causing confusion among their ranks.
Taking advantage of the distraction, Amani and Habr threw more rocks on either side of the group of kids. House Enlil screamed at each other to group up. The group of about twenty pushed each other into one gigantic mass of students. A perfect target.
A throwing knife whirled down from above on the right of the group.
“Aieee!” A scream came from a recruit struck in the leg by Ruriel’s knife.
I looked up in time to see him launch himself to another tree above them, using the moment to reposition himself.
Another arrow whizzed by from behind me. It found itself inside the shoulder of a tall boy. He screamed in pain and fell to the ground. Several of the House Enlil students dropped their weapons and tried to push past the rest of their classmates.
—Nice hit Rinka! I thought.
Silas and I weaved forward above them. A group of two House Enlil students ran back down the path they came up, and Amani and Habr descended on them from their hiding spots. Both the Veclan kids slammed their metal covered knuckles into the jaws of the two enemy recruits. They fell like a sack of potatoes before Amani and Habr dove back into the overgrowth.
Another throwing knife found its target as a girl screamed out in pain. Followed by an arrow which hit a metal shield.
A loud voice bellowed.
“This is how House Anu fights? How cowardly and dishonorable,”
Amani and Habr threw more large rocks, causing the group of Enlil recruits to be distracted. Silas and I slid down the hill. I channeled my strength and speed. I focused and made sure each step and each push of my feet felt focused and precise. Prioritizing speed and accuracy over power, I aimed for their ankles.
Like a dancing tornado, I struck down recruits one by one.
We came from behind them and hit their back line. I twisted and turned as I ran. Five shins I shattered, five calfs Silas cut as he sprinted behind me. We used our grapple gauntlets to launch ourselves back into the canopy.
Habr stepped forward as two recruits charged at him in the bush. One swung a sword at him, which he deflected by punching their wrist. The other, Amani dove onto before blunting his face with the knuckles. The boy was knocked out.
A sudden commotion drew my attention. Ruriel had engaged with several recruits on his own. Some had seen Silas and I use our grapple gauntlets to jump away and had copied us. They were on Ruriel’s branch. He held off one, knocking a short boy off the branch into a thorny bush. But more were closing in on him.
“Ruriel!” I shouted, and shot my grapple gauntlet towards him.
He glanced back, a flicker of annoyance in his eyes, but didn’t object as I moved through the air to assist. I hit the release switch on my gauntlet and used my momentum to slam into the shield of one of House Enlil’s recruits. The kid crashed into the trunk of the tree and I used my staff to pivot before I slammed the wood into the recruit’s arm, breaking it in two.
The loud crunch and pained scream from the recruit sent a shiver down my spine.
—This is brutal, I thought, shaking my head. Was this the only way I could have solved it?
—‘What do you mean?’ Fern asked. ‘Don’t you feel great? We can do things now one else can. We are like Fan, Waelid, Laska and them. We are like gods!’
I took a deep breath and pulled myself together. I couldn’t have a moral conundrum with Fern right now. I pushed the thought aside, and I watched Ruriel fend off another recruit.
“Working alone isn’t always the best idea,” I remarked.
He gave an annoyed nod. “Noted.”
We shot ourselves down to the ground. House Enlil had scattered, but we had taken out a good bit of them. They will be scared, and they do not know how many of us there are.
Habr and Amani came out of the bushes and waved over to us.
“Do you know where the rest went?” I asked, calling over to them.
An arrow whizzed past me, grazing Habr’s arm. Amani immediately pulled him behind a large log for cover. Ruriel and I sprinted over to them and pressed ourselves behind the fallen tree.
“You okay?” Amani whispered.
He nodded, clutching his arm. “Just a scratch.”
“No more wounds, yes?” she whispered.
Habr looked at her and winced as wrapped his wound. He says something in their language and she nodded in reply.
THWIP THWIP
Two grapples buried themselves into the ground next to us and Rinka stood up. Silas landed next to her.
“Get down!” I yelled, “Archers out there.”
“Not anymore, brother,” Silas smiled and jerked his thumb at Rinka. “Ace, over here, landed an arrow right in their archer’s hand. The rest retreated after that. We are in the clear. They headed the opposite way as Fan and Marcus. I think they are abandoning him.”
“So much for the House of Loyalty, huh?” I laughed and stood up. “We all good?” Everyone nodded.
I smiled and patted everyone on the shoulder one by one. “Amazing job everyone, wait till the others hear about this. That prize is ours,”
We used our grapples to hurry back to the upperclassmen’s battleground.
----------------------------------------
What we saw was pure destruction.
The road we had been on was ripped apart earth.
Fan stood on one good leg while her other dragged behind her. Her body was cracked and chipped in places. Marcus was equally damaged. His body was bruised and bloodies, his deformed face was missing teeth. The two stood facing each other when Fan saw us in the corner of her eyes.
“Looks like my kids won,” she said, coughing out black liquid. “Look now, House Anu, at the very power you will achieve. Believe it, you are not limited in this world! Witness my infusion!”
“Not so fast!” Marcus bellowed and charged towards Fan.
The ground shook around Fan. Her skin turned oil black. The cracks sealed, and the chips in it were replaced. On Fan’s back, a growth shot out the back of her spine. A long black tail with a hooked stinger on it. Her muscles grew and her face become concealed by a bright white mask. A symbol painted on the mask was that of a scorpion.
Marcus froze mid-run, his monstrous eyes narrowing. “Showing off for your students now, Fan?” he mocked in a guttural tone. “Is this your idea of leadership?”
Fan tilted her head, the scorpion mask gleaming ominously. She didn’t respond, her silence more intimidating than any retort.
I couldn’t hold back. I really didn’t like this fucker. “At least she has students who stand by her!” I shouted across the shattered clearing. “Look around, Marcus! Your recruits have abandoned you. They have no loyalty to you. Just give up!”
His eyes flickered with rage. The realization that his team was nowhere to be seen seemed to hit him hard. “Silence!” he roared. “Do not lecture me on loyalty!”
He convulsed violently. His body swelled, muscles bulging grotesquely. Massive, jagged claws erupted from his forearms. A hardened, black shell encased his torso, shimmering with an unnatural sheen. A pure white mask enveloped his face, bearing the symbol of a crab.
“He’s been pushing himself beyond his normal limits,” Fan hissed, her voice distorted behind the mask. “He should have stopped long ago. Marcus has not trained for this form like those of us of the third awakening have. Something is driving him further.”
I was immediately suspicious. Did he take something to strengthen him but lose himself? “Focus up, guys!” I called out to my team. “We can’t sit back and watch. Remember the Scrollguard we killed? Let’s do the same—legs and shell, got it?”
They nodded, and we grappled to the ground.
Marcus let out an otherworldly scream and lunged at Fan. The two collided with a force that shook the earth. Monstrous forms clashed in a blur of dark limbs, a tail and claws. The two stood well over twenty feet tall. Their monstrous forms made me more curious about what the beast was that they infused with.
“Now!” I shouted.
Silas and I sprinted forward. Amani and Habr flanked us, their brass knuckles shined in the setting sun. Marcus focused on Fan, leaving his lower body exposed.
“Go for the legs!” I urged.
Silas reached him first, his mechanical arm hummed as he drove the blade into the back of Marcus’s segmented, crab-like leg. Sparks flew as metal met shell. I drew back my staff and slammed it into the newly cut leg. Amani and Habr struck simultaneously at his other leg, their coordinated punches aiming for the joints. Their heavy blows cracked his shell.
Marcus staggered, roaring in fury. “You insignificant gnats!”
He swung a massive claw downward. We scattered just in time. The ground where we’d stood exploded into debris.
“Erik, keep him still!” Rinka shouted from above.
“Got it! You two hit his shell!” I commanded. I looked over at Amani and Habr and nodded. I called out to Silas. “Help me hold him steady!”
Silas ran up. We wrapped our arms around Marcus’ long right leg while the Veclans did the same on his other leg.
From the treetops, arrows and knives rained down. Rinka’s arrows found the cracks in the back of Marcus’s armor, while Ruriel’s knives embedded themselves into vulnerable spots.
Cracks began to spiderweb across Marcus’s shell. He thrashed violently, trying to focus on Fan. The two were still stabbing tail into claw and slamming carapace into shell over and over.
“His shell’s weakening!” Silas yelled.
“Fan, we’ve got an opening for you!” I called out.
She didn’t hesitate. She pushed Marcus at an angle, causing him to lose his stance. Her stinger tail arched over her head, poised like a scorpion ready to strike. With a swift motion, she drove the stinger into the largest crack in Marcus’s shell.
CRACK
Marcus froze, a guttural gasp escaped from him. The shell cracked apart, and his monstrous form crumbled. But before he gave in he slammed his claw into the side of Fan’s body. She let out a pained yelp and fell.
Marcus’ hardened shell disintegrated into ash, and his claws receded. The white mask shattered, revealing his pale, exhausted face.
He collapsed to his knees, eyes glazed over. Then, he fell to his side.
Fan struggled to stand, her own form reverted back. The blackness faded from her skin; the tail retracting into her spine. The mask dissolved, exposing her face—pale and etched with fatigue. Cracks and chips marred her skin, and she staggered. On her left rib side, there was a massive hollow hole. She had no insides. And yet she was still one of us. Fan stumbled.
I rushed to her side. “Whoa now, easy there. Are you alright?”
She gave a weak nod. “I’m... fine,” she whispered. “But I’m done fighting for the week. The infusion... it takes an immense toll. I’ll need a whole new side and a good few days in the kiln to heal up.”
Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed a movement among the trees. House Enlil recruits were hiding, watching us cautiously.
“Fan,” I murmured, “we’re being watched.”
She glanced subtly toward the foliage. “Let them watch,” she breathed. “We’ve defended what we needed to.”
I looked back at Marcus. He remained motionless, but his chest was moving.
“Let’s go,” I suggested to the group. “Let them try to get a bit of that loyalty back.”
Fan nodded. “Agreed.”
As we retreated, I heard the rustling of leaves and hushed whispers—House Enlil returned to tend to their fallen leader.
----------------------------------------
As we trekked eastward toward the looming mountains, the dense forest thinned. The air grew cooler, and the sounds of wildlife faded into an eerie silence. Fan led the way, her steps more deliberate as fatigue weighed on her. We scanned the trees for signs of Waelid’s camp.
“Over here,” Ruriel called softly, pointing to a small notch carved into a tree trunk—a subtle arrow pointing northeast.
“Waelid’s markers,” Fan acknowledged. “We’re close.”
We followed the trail of notches, each one guiding us deeper into the rugged terrain. My heart quickened with anticipation—and unease. After what felt like hours, we emerged into a clearing nestled against the base of a cliff. It overlooked the entire first floor. I could see the Mouth, where we entered in the center of the forest. Up above on the ceiling of the floor were hundreds of hanging trees. Like the minral formations inside a cave, they grew from the roof. Just like during Professor Rennals class, when he drugged us. So he was creating a...replica?
When I turned from enjoying the vista to the camp, my blood ran cold.
Waelid’s camp was in disarray. Tents lay torn, supplies scattered.
Lucius lay on a bedroll, passed out, and bandaged from head to toe. The rest of our class looked just as bad. Their bodies bore fresh wounds and deep gashes. Tevin stood up and shuffled over to us.
"Friends, you're alive!" He coughed as stumbled up. "I am so glad. We... were all...worried." Tevin stumbled and before he collapsed on the ground, Zenobia rushed forward and held him up on her shoulder. The much smaller girl was more than strong enough, after all our training, to hold up her friend.
Rinka screamed and pushed everyone aside. Her hair whipped me in the face as she ran past. Sora sat on a tree stump and gave her twin sister a weak smile. A thick bandage draped over her left eye.
"Sister! Wha-what happened? Are you ok? Here let me see-"
"Stop! Stop. Its ok Rinka," Sora said, tears forming in her eye.
"Is...it, gone?" Rinka asked
Sora nodded, and Rinka began to cry.
Vahim ran up to Habr and Amani. He had several long cuts along his body, that were coated white from some Pillardust he put on them. His whip sword draped from his belt.
Waelid and Mel stood together. They were going over a battle strategy when we came up the hill. Mel's body, like Vahim's, was covered in thin cuts all along her toso and legs. Her heavy battle axe sat on the ground next to her. She turned to us counted and smirked before turning towards the fire Zenobia has started.
Waelid walked up to us. His usually vibrant eyes were dulled with exhaustion. A makeshift split held his right arm against his body.
“By the Pillar,” Fan whispered, her voice barely audible. She held her open side and limped up to Waelid.
A weary smile tugged at his lips. “You made it,” he said. His eyes shifted down to Fan's injury and widened. "What happened? Fan, are you okay?"
“I'm fine. What happened here?” Fan demanded. “What the hell left someone like you injured, Chapter Master?”
Waelid exhaled slowly. “A Guardian,” he replied. “It’s here. On this floor. Took us by surprise.”
A chill settled over me. Memories of the Guardian near Ash flooded back—the overwhelming terror, the sheer power that radiated from it. Laska’s words echoed in my mind: It would take a hundred Cinders to bring one down.
And yet, here was Waelid—one of the few to have ever defeated one—wounded. If a Guardian was here, what chance did we have? We had to run. To get back down the Mouth and back into the Academy.
Silas voiced what we were all thinking. “A Guardian? Here?”
Waelid nodded grimly. “We fended it off, thanks to the other two Houses. But, it won’t stay away for long. It's killing anything that tries to go back down.”
"Killing?!" I blurted out.
"Yes, killed two of House Nin already...poor kids.
My gaze drifted to the forest down the hill from the camp. The shadows seemed to stretch and twist as if something unseen was watching us.
I turned back to Waelid and stood up straight. “We need a plan.”
Waelid met my eyes. “Agreed recruit. Because if we don’t find a way past it, none of us are leaving this floor alive.”