"...ah, so we do have last minute contestants.", a College official was standing alone in the middle of the room.

Everyone else turned to look at Nero's group for a moment.

The inner hall of the temple was wide and square; it had no furniture in it and it was well-lit by several orange lamps. On a night like that it would have had a very homey atmosphere, but the emptiness of the place, paired with the suspicious and rugged stares of surviving contestants made the air inside the precinct anything but.

The boy looked around him: Nero and Sharmon counted as only one participant, and apart from his group there were only ten other contestants, so including Khina, Luna and Selene that made fourteen contestants total.

Owen was there, and so were Leah -the unfriendly girl-, Elanee, Silvy... and the others, Nero had no clue who they were.

"See? You owe me five silver.", said a contestant who was leaning against a wall very close to the entrance they had come in from. He had a very laid-back attitude and sported long platinum hair. A peaceful, profound pair of light green eyes made themselves at home within an extremely handsome face. His white shirt and black pants suited him well; he was taller than Nero and had a slender complexion. He carried a pretty cool looking gem-decorated oak staff on his back.

He seemed very satisfied with the group's arrival.

"Ugh... fine. But I don't have any money on me right now.", said the girl right next to him.

She wasn't a very short girl, but the other boy was so tall that she did look so in comparison. What was short, however, and more than Khina's, was her hair. Her light brown bowl cut -same color as her eyes- barely made it to her jawline; and her attire gave away that she was a female warrior, consisting mostly of red and brown cloth, with metal shoulder pads and leather straps and pieces here and there tying the whole outfit together. She had a tomboyish appearance not unlike Khina's, however her face and skin looked more... delicate. There was an air of sophistication to be found in her that Khina lacked, for better or worse. Maybe both.

A very expensive looking naginata was firmly strapped to her back.

"You were betting on us making it here?", asked Nero, approaching them.

"I bet on you and your familiar.", said the guy.

"You lost me five coins.", complained the girl, crossing her arms.

"Sorry about that, I guess... so, how much is my cut?"

She grimaced, but her eyes relaxed a little bit. The other boy let out an honest laugh and extended his hand to him.

"Araven."

"Nero.", he shook it.

"And this one here is Rina."

"Nice to meet you.", he nodded at her.

"Yeah, same."

Nero turned to his group.

"These ones are... wait, never mind. I keep forgetting you all kinda know each other already."

"Yeah, it sucks that you missed out. Some tests were pretty nice to see."

"I know... by the way, you both look pretty healthy. Didn't you run into trouble on your way here?"

"Oh, we looked for plenty of trouble. We didn't have any medals on us, so we had to get some.", he laughed.

"Ah. Good thing you didn't run into us, then."

"Why's that?"

"You would have had to either let me go or lose the bet."

"I would have let you go.", said Araven immediately.

"Huh? Why?", he had gotten Nero curious, now.

"There's no way I'm losing a bet to her. I'd literally let you go and find someone else to take a medal from."

"Araven, you cretin...!", she said, indignant.

"I remember you guys being like this at the first exam, too. Did you know each other already?", asked Khina.

Araven nodded.

"She and I go way back. Played a ton when we were kids."

"Childhood friends, huh?"

Suddenly, all the temple doors shut at the same time.

Clap, clap, clap.

"Your attention, everyone, if you please..."

The official, who had stood there in silence all this time, caught everyone's eye.

"It is now midnight. I want to congratulate everybody that made it in here before the time limit. I assume you've all got your medals?"

Everyone took their medal from out of their pockets, or under their clothes, and flashed it in front of him.

"Good, good. Place them in this box, here..."

Then, Nero noticed something.

"Hey, that Leah girl...", he whispered to Sharmon.

"I did not see her show a medal."

"Should we...?"

Sharmon took the extra medal from out of his clothes and gave it to Nero.

"Be discreet."

As everyone got near the box, Nero approached the girl.

"Hey.", he said.

She turned to him.

Boy, if looks could kill.

"Look... we don't have time. I didn't see you show a medal. If you don't have any, use this one. I got an extra."

She frowned, confused, but there really wasn't any time.

He grabbed her hand and placed it in her palm.

"Thank me later."

Nero returned to his group and placed his own medal in the box. Nero saw Leah do the same with the one he had just given her and had to force himself to not give her a thumbs up that could be picked up by anyone.

The official took a look at the medals in the box and counted them.

"Fourteen medals, alright. Looks like everything is in order."

He closed the box and put it under his arm.

"Um... so, what happens to the other contestants?", asked Khina.

"Oh, they're all disqualified.", he replied simply.

"...I figured, yeah. But some were kinda injured; are they gonna be alright?"

"Yes, the medics are all attending to them. We know the locations of all contestants, you have nothing to worry about."

"You cannot afford to worry about anyone else, girl.", said Nero behind her, imitating a certain sorcerer.

The group laughed.

Sharmon crossed his arms, but said nothing.

"...I'm sure all of you are very tired, so I'll make this quick. The last stretch of today's exam takes place here."

Nero sighed. He wasn't surprised about this, but he had hoped it would all be over by now.

"What do we need to do?", said someone.

"Oh, it's very simple," he smiled.

Then, he snapped his fingers.

The ground under the temple began to tremble, and the wooden floor started to break in the middle.

"Get back...!", shouted Nero.

An enormous stone golem -at least twenty feet tall- rose up from the underground.

"You all have to fight together and try to bring down the golem!", he shouted while jumping on its shoulder.

Then, he jumped one more time and made it to the ceiling, where he opened a hatch in the roof and headed outside.

"We'll be back after the golem is down, or after all of you are knocked out...! Remember that if you get knocked out, even if the golem is brought down, you'll also be disqualified...! Well, good luck!"

He closed the hatch.

"What the...?", murmured Khina.

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

ROOOOOAR...!

The golem let out a deep cry and raised its fist.

"It's gonna slam...!", said Owen.

Nero looked to his left and right.

Everybody was scrambling away from the golem, pressing their bodies against all walls of the temple.

Nobody wanted to get hit.

"We need a strategy...!", said Khina.

There was, however, one individual who had not ran up against a wall. Predictably, it was...

"Sharmon! Get away from that thing!", said Nero.

"Hm."

Sharmon looked confident, but Nero didn't see him attempting an attack. He had simply re-positioned after the golem had stricken the ground.

The golem roared again, furious, and attempted to stomp the sorcerer with his foot.

Again, using only minimal movements, Sharmon avoided the attack.

"What are you all mongrels waiting for?", he asked.

"Huh...?"

"The golem is focused on me only. Every time he turns, the opposing wall can attack it from the back."

Sharmon narrowed his eyes.

"Why is that not happening?"

"Sharmon! Turn him away from us!", said Rina, "get ready, Araven."

"I always am.", he smiled.

The sorcerer walked in a semi circle around the enormous stone monster and prompted it to attack him once more, avoiding the strike expertly.

"Now...!"

Rina grabbed her naginata and ran straight at the golem from behind. Araven aimed both his hands at her, and...

"Her whole body started to shine...!", said Nero.

"And her speed is improving!", Khina observed.

Rina lounged forward and launched a direct attack on the back of the golem's right leg, causing it to roar and wave its arms around.

"This thing... is stuck...!", complained Rina, attempting to remove her naginata from the golem's leg.

"Look out...!"

Nero jumped forward and away from the wall and lift up a barrier to protect Rina's right flank as fast as he could.

CRASH.

The golem had twisted its upper body and directed a hand strike at Rina, but Nero's barrier, even though it broke, slowed the attack's momentum enough for Rina to jump out of danger.

The naginata was still stuck there, however.

"Damn it...!"

She took out a pocket knife and adopted an expert combat position.

"It appears to have mud inside. Physical attacks will never kill this thing.", said Sharmon.

"So, what do we do?"

"Do not attack just yet. Selene. I will provoke the golem one more time; use this chance to climb on its body and look for the weakest joint you can find. Do not bother camouflaging."

She nodded.

A small girl like her probably would never do something so risky if she didn't trust him fully.

Sharmon once again forced the golem to attack him, and when it slammed, Selene jumped forward and climbed up its warm towards its shoulder. She, too, began to shine.

Araven was boosting her physical abilities, it seemed.

GRRRRAAAAAAAHHHH....!

The monster started to wave its arms even more wildly than before.

Selene was attempting to grab onto something to avoid falling. She was about to, but then she stabilized.

Elanee was also aiming her arms at her, pushing her back onto the golem with her wind arcana.

"What do you see, girl?", asked Sharmon whilst circling the monster.

"The... the neck is too thick...!", she shouted, attempting to keep her balance.

"Look for joints.", Sharmon repeated.

"I think... the shoulders...! Waah...!"

The golem finally got rid of her by pushing her out of its back, but Elanee had caught her on time with arcana, like one of those chess peons, and deposited her rather softly on the ground.

She got up and tried to run away, but the golem began to take a step back in her direction.

"NO...!"

Nero raised his hands and hurried a barrier behind Selene, however, his barrier was unable to completely stop the foot, which hit her from behind.

"GAH....!"

She took a heavy blow and had a nasty fall, too.

"Selene...!", shouted Silvy. Nero had almost forgotten she was there, too.

Rina, who was still around, caught Selene and returned to her wall.

"Out of the way!", said Araven, kneeling down next to her, and making her face downwards.

Araven lifted her shirt without a moment's hesitation, exposing her naked back, and carefully placed his hands on top of it, almost touching her skin. A soft light began to emanate from them.

"A medic...", murmured Nero, amazed.

"Don't worry about her! Just coordinate an attack! I'll take care of this!", he insisted.

Nero nodded.

SLAM.

Sharmon had evaded another attack.

"How are we gonna defeat it, though...? It's impervious to physical damage."

"We have a powerful spell caster with us.", said Sharmon, apparently not even tired from it all.

"You mean Elanee?", asked Owen.

"I mean Luna.", he replied.

"But isn't Elanee better? She can launch a burst of magic towards a weak point!", said Nero.

"A golem is an automaton fueled by arcana, boy. Do not feed more into it. What we need... is to drain it."

Nero turned to Luna.

She didn't seem pleased with the idea of going anywhere near that thing.

"The plan is as follows, so listen well..."

BLAM.

Sharmon landed elegantly on his feet after avoiding another attempt.

"I shall keep provoking the golem. Khina and the dog boy will strike at the golem's left shoulder, and only that shoulder, repeatedly..."

CRASH.

The golem was way too slow for it to hit Sharmon, but it seemed either unable or unwilling to ignore him. Maybe it was just angry at him for being led by the nose like that.

"...Rina will attempt to retrieve her weapon whenever there is an opening. Success or failure, the attempt will further distract the automaton from the group for a moment.

STOMP...!

Nope, not even close.

"Araven, Elanee and Nero will provide support with their respective skills of healing, empowerment, wind and shields as they are needed."

"I do not know any of your skills. Do as you see fit.", he told the rest.

Leah frowned, apparently dissatisfied with not having received a clear role.

Sharmon avoided another heavy strike, and Rina rushed towards the golem to attempt a retrieval.

The golem roared, tried to hit her, Nero blocked it as best he could, and gave her time to run back to safety. The whole process allowed Khina, Owen's Maximus... and Leah, too, to jump at the golem from behind.

First, Khina.

"Take this...!", she slashed.

"Maximus, now...!", the dog bit the shoulder, shook his head, and jumped away.

"Hiyah...!", Leah jumped and smashed the shoulder with her closed fist.

Elanee softened all of their falls as best she could, though the effort was evidently taxing on her, since she was evidently panting after the group performed the strategy three times.

"It's out...!", celebrated Rina, after finally pulling her naginata from the leg.

"Join the strike force.", ordered Sharmon immediately.

"Alright...!"

For the fourth round she did, this time making sure to slash and not pierce with the blade of her weapon, and finally, Leah's vertical kick opened an enormous gap in the golem's armor with a loud CRACK.

The monster roared, and fell on its knee, apparently unable to move properly.

It was leaking visible arcana from its wound.

"Luna...! gasp..! now's your time...!", panted Nero, creating a barrier for Leah to fall on her way down and catch her, since Elanee couldn't take it anymore.

Khina covered her ears.

"You don't need to do that when she drains, you know...!", shouted Nero above her attempts to block all sound, "you did that earlier, too...!"

"I know, I just don't want to listen...!", she replied, closing her eyes very hard.

Khina really was afraid of her, after all... well, that was fair. It's not like she had denied it, either.

Luna once again elevated herself like a ghost, her hair floating as if she was underwater, raised her arms towards the golem's wound, and sapped it of its energy.

Unlike those poor contestants, the golem did not try to resist. It simply slouched until it was empty, causing the rocks to crumble upon themselves and fall in any manner gravity dictated.

The golem was no more, everyone was staring at a normal pile of stone.

Luna landed on the floor but started to wobble, prompting Nero to hurry and catch her.

Her sweet perfume made its way towards Nero's face.

"You alright?"

She leaned her head, looked at him with an inscrutable stare and nodded. He put her arm around his shoulders and helped her back towards Araven.

"How is Selene?", he asked him.

Araven sighed, pulling her shirt back down.

"...let's ask the patient herself."

He turned her around, carefully resting her on his lap.

"How are you feeling?", he smiled.

She got up immediately and ran away towards Khina.

"Huh... not even a word of thanks.", said Araven, mildly surprised.

Rina looked at him in anger.

"Of course she would do that."

Both Araven and Nero looked at her.

"Why?", they asked.

Rina facepalmed.

"What matters is that we defeated the golem.", said Sharmon.

He had quietly walked back to the group.

"Yeah. That was some good dodging.", said Nero.

The sorcerer crossed his arms.

"Such magics could never hope to lay a finger on me."

There we go again.

"You totally killed it, though. Good job!", Khina gave her a pat on his back.

"Yeah. You came up with a solid strategy on the go. I'm impressed...", said Araven.

"Hm. You did well yourselves."

"We did, didn't we? That was some good teamwork!", said Khina.

"Yup! Well done!", said Rina.

They high-fived.

"Khina and Rina.", commented Araven.

"Even their names rhyme, huh...", added Nero.

The aforementioned giggled.

I guess no matter how tomboyish, girls are still girls...

"Oh, wow. What a mess...", said someone.

Everyone turned to look at the official who had returned. He had made his way back into the temple through the destroyed south doors.

"You released a stone golem inside a wooden structure. Be glad it did not collapse.", said Sharmon.

"Ahahaha... I guess you're right, Mr. familiar."

Sharmon glared at him intensely.

"So... is the test...?"

"Ah! Yes, of course! Congratulations on passing the test, all of you."

Clap, clap, clap.

He started a small round of applause that everyone joined in.

"Heh, not everyone participated, though...", said Rina bitterly.

Basically, the other half of the contestants had done nothing. It had been the other seven, plus Sharmon, who had done all the work.

"The conditions were met. The golem is down, and they have not been knocked unconscious.", said Sharmon.

The College Official smiled and nodded.

"That's very much correct. Please do not hold it against them. If anything, you should have looked for a way to collaborate with them instead of alienating your peers. Anyway, the rest of my colleagues are on their way here to pick you up. We know it's very late, but we would like you to have dinner and spend the night here at the College and head back home tomorrow morning. Would that be alright with you?"

Everyone crossed stares.

"No more testing for the time being, I promise.", he laughed.

The surviving contestants let out a sigh of relief.

"Yeah, sure. I'm starving..."

"Aren't you always, Rina."

"You be quiet."

The mood lightened, and the group allowed itself to be escorted out of the forest by the arriving officials and, for the first time in his life, dine and sleep at the very Nycean College Of Mages.

Rina and Khina began to chat with one another while traversing the forest; Araven took the chance and caught up with Nero while on their way out.

"Hey. Can I ask you a question about your shield arcana?"

"Sure."

"Cool. I was wondering how you fluctuate your reserves at the midpoint of the cast..."

Nero indulged Araven the entire way through the forest, and were still chatting idly by the time they made it back to campus.

Finally, the contestants were in front of the College's main building.

"Ladies first.", said Araven with a rather playful smile when the officials opened the doors for them.

The girls were all too happy to walk in first -Rina raised an eyebrow at him- and the boys went in afterward.

After a long, grueling day out in the wilds, fighting and hiding, it was time for a much deserved rest.

Nero couldn't wait.