Finding a place to hide turned out to be a little bit more difficult than Nero had anticipated.

Simply put, he had a very hard time finding a place where he could observe without leaving himself exposed.

At that rate, it was only a matter of time until...

"Oh, hey! Found ya!"

Nero turned around immediately.

Khina was looking at him from above an enormous tree root.

Nero let out a sigh of relief.

"You scared me there..."

She laughed.

"I figured I'd go looking for someone with a medal, too. You know, team up and have a better chance?"

Nero blinked a few times.

"That's... actually a pretty good idea. I hadn't thought of that."

She jumped off the root and landed in an athletic knelt pose.

"What was your plan, then?", she asked, as if she hadn't just jumped a good seven meters like it was nothing.

"I... was actually considering hiding and heading out towards the temple at nightfall."

"Hm... gonna have a hard time with that. There ain't really a place to hide here.", she said, placing her hand on her forehead and checking her surroundings like a lookout.

"Yeah, I was thinking just that. What do you think we should do, then? Approach the temple now, or wander around here for a while longer?"

"Lessee...", Khina crossed one arm and rested her other elbow on it, scratching her chin with a finger,"maybe we should look around some more? There might be contestants without medals waiting in ambush near the temple."

Nero also crossed his arms, too.

"You're right; we're gonna have a higher chance at sneaking past them after dark..."

"Then, it's decided! Go, go, go...!"

With Khina leading the way, the three of them resumed their exploration of the outskirts of the forest.

----------------------------------------

Toc, toc.

"Yes, come in."

The door creaked open, and ser Eldrich quietly entered the room.

Headmaster Arlana stood up to meet him.

"How did it go?"

"The test has already begun. They should all be exploring the forest by now. You don't have to stand up every time I walk in, you know...?", smiled the elder.

Arlana took her seat again.

She sighed.

"Are you worried?"

"Yes. It's my first time getting involved directly in the testing... I'm just hoping everything will be alright."

"Why wouldn't it be? You had some great ideas."

"Ha,", she scoffed, "yours were the only good ones."

"Well, I think your proposal of the forest was very good.", said ser Eldrich.

"...I just read something similar in a book, and took the idea."

She took her glasses off and rested her face on her palm, looking disappointed at herself.

"I'm not good at this at all..."

Her long, silky dark blue hair fell beautifully over her shoulders.

"...he would have done much better."

Ser Eldrich gave her a very patient smile.

"Nobody doubts Creonte would have thought of something amazing."

"He always did."

"...but you are all we have right now, Arlana. Remember, you are not here to fill in his shoes, but to leave your own mark in this place."

She closed her eyes and took in ser Eldrich's words.

"Thank you. I'll try my best."

He smiled again.

"That's all I've ever asked of you."

"So, regarding today's exam...", continued Arlana.

"Yes?"

"I was thinking that I'm not satisfied with the test I designed."

"Well, it's already underway."

"I know... say, what if we were to spice it up a little?"

A brief silence took over the Headmaster's Office.

Then, ser Eldrich smiled.

"What do you have in mind?"

----------------------------------------

"...so I hit the wooden log with my sword, and CLANK! My hit bounced so hard it threw me to the floor!"

Khina was telling Nero about the test she had passed the week before.

"Really!? That's crazy!"

She gave herself a soft pat on the waist, where her sword rested.

"Well, my blade can cut using arcana to empower it, but that thing was magic resistant, and the more arcana I used, the harder the wood returned the hit."

"So how did you cut it, then...?"

"I shut off most of the arcana flow towards the blade."

"I'm sorry, what?"

Khina smiled.

"The wood was only blocking my strikes because it was reacting to the big amounts of magic I was using. I lowered it to a minimum, still using arcana, but so little that the wood wasn't able to defend itself from, you guessed it, the normal edge of the blade!"

"Wow, that's amazing! I would have never thought of that!"

"Well, I never thought about summoning a familiar... and another mage, too. That was very weird.", said Khina.

"Haha, yeah, I know..."

He couldn't tell her that it hadn't even been a normal summoning in the first place. Sharmon had prohibited him to.

"But, still, it was amazing how he beat ser Eldrich at that chess game! I thought he would lose for sure when the whole board started trembling, but he made his comeback right then and there!"

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

"...yeah, it was really awesome. You hear that, Sharmon? You should thank her for her wor-"

Nero stopped.

"Hm? What is it?, Khina looked around her.

The masked sorcerer was nowhere to be seen.

"Did we lose him...? I thought he was with us a few moments ago..."

Oh, no.

"Sharmon! Where are you...!?", he shouted. He had a terrible feeling about this.

"Is it normal for him to do this?", Khina asked.

"No! He never leaves my side!"

"Even when you take a bath?", she raised an eyebrow.

"He waits outside when I bathe. Wait, that's not important right now...!"

Khina chuckled.

"Relax, he'll show up. He probably got lost somewhere."

"And that's good for us...!"

"What...!?"

All of a sudden, two people rushed at them at full speed.

"Step back!", Khina shouted.

Nero jumped at the last moment, avoiding the swing directed at him.

"A wooden branch...?"

"You guys are Brad and Selene!", said Khina.

Brad was very tall, had short, blonde hair and black eyes, and had a pretty fit body shape.

Selene, on the other hand had very long and unkempt brown hair, eyes so clear they almost looked like silver, and was extremely short and skinny.

"You both were not given a medal...", remembered Nero out loud.

"That's right," said Brad with a smile, "but that's just fine with me. Running away doesn't really suit me, ya know?"

He swung his wooden branch menacingly.

Nero looked at Khina.

"What are their abilities?"

"Brad can see living things behind objects with some form of thermal vision...", she replied.

"So that's why he relies on a makeshift weapon; he can't use arcana to fight.", said Nero, getting ready.

"Yeah. And Selene..."

She disappeared.

"What...? she went invisible!?", Nero looked around but couldn't find her anywhere.

"Hahaha, you idiot...! Selene can camouflage, and in an environment like this she's impossible to find...!"

At that moment, Khina received an attack from behind her.

"Ack...!"

Brad jumped at Nero again.

"Give up your medals! You're both done!"

He swung his branch again, but Nero dodged him swiftly.

Khina took out her blade and performed an agile spinning circle attack. Wherever Selene was, Khina had forced her away for the time being.

"Focus on Brad! I'll distract Selene as much as I can!"

"That's right, loser...! Focus on me or you'll be knocked out cold...!"

Yet again, Brad swung his branch, and once again, Nero avoided him.

He gave Brad a cheeky smile.

"You damn rat, don't make fun of me...!"

He plunged again.

Meanwhile, Khina was struggling hard against Selene. She tried swinging here and there, but her hits weren't connecting.

Selene seemed to be armed with a branch, too, albeit smaller than Brad's, but she kept aiming at Khina's joints: her wrists, elbows, knees, and left ankle were all getting swollen by the unblockable beating.

"That's it....! Take.... THIS....!", she shouted, loading a bunch of arcana into her sword and releasing a shock wave in a circle around her.

The shock wave's shape didn't modify as it flew away from her some three meters, meaning she hadn't hit Selene, but it had probably forced her to avoid the wave, since it stopped her attacks momentarily.

Khina took this second of respite to close her eyes and take a very deep breath.

If her eyes wouldn't help her against Selene... then she wouldn't use them. Closing one's senses sharpens the other four; everybody knew this. She focused on her ears, and the feel of the air around her. Focus, focus...

Tap, tap, tap...

"Now...!"

Khina swung her blade to her left, and hit something!

Selene had reacted in time and blocked Khina's counterattack; nonetheless, her hearing could more or less predict the direction of the next attack. It was something.

"Just... get... hit already...!", said Brad, swiping his branch furiously at Nero.

"Heh, don't make me la-uwoah!"

Nero had tried to make fun of him while stepping backwards, but had tripped against a hidden root and fallen on his butt.

Brad burst out laughing.

"You're done, moron...!"

He directed his next blow directly at Nero's face.

No time to dodge...!

CLASH.

"What the shit...?"

Brad's makeshift weapon had hit a solid arcana barrier.

Nero undid it, and launched a kick at Brad's stomach.

"Guk...!"

The boy got up again, panting.

"What's wrong?", he asked, "can't hit a moron...?"

Brad clenched his teeth in anger and ran straight at Nero, wielding his wooden stick with both hands. He swung one, two, three, four times... but couldn't land a single hit.

Honestly, compared to Sharmon...

"You're just...", he said, reading his fist, "too slow...!"

SMACK.

A direct punch on the nose forced Brad back and away, tumbling and almost falling to the ground.

"Why you little shit...! James! Oliver! Get him!"

"What, so you brought backup...!?"

Nero turned around and...!

No one showed up.

"Nero, hurry up and help me...!", complained Khina, who was trying her hardest to block the unseen attacks, unable to fight back properly.

He then looked back at Brad, who seemed as confused as he was.

"James! Oliver! Hurry the fuck up already...!", he shouted, while cleaning the blood on his nose.

THUD.

Someone had dropped from the tree tops above, but...

It hadn't been an elegant landing like Khina's a while back.

A contestant had fallen like a rag doll and hit the grass... and he wasn't moving, either.

"O-Oliver...?", asked Brad.

"What in the...?", Nero had no idea what was going on either.

"James...! JAMES...!", shouted Brad.

"Forget about the other one, mongrel. You do not have the luxury to worry about others right now.", said a voice.

Nero knew only one person who spoke without contractions like that.

From the trees emerged a dark figure, shrouded in black clothing and leather; a metal mask and a top hat hid his face, though the yellow gleam of his eyes could be seen from the darkness under his attire.

"Wha... what the fuck... it's you...! What did you do to James...!?", Brad got up as fast as he could, branch in hand.

"Drop that thing and I will let you walk away.", Sharmon's voice was full of contempt and his eyes were narrowed.

Khina looked around her, panting. Where had Selene gone?

"Sharmon, look out...! Someone here is camouflaged...!"

Brad smiled.

"That's right, ya idiot...!"

Brad jumped straight at Sharmon.

"Dodge or block my attacks all you want, she'll hit you from behind when you're busy...! Huh?"

Something weird was happening.

A yellow wall of arcana had materialized right behind Sharmon.

Khina noticed Nero had his arms up and forward, conjuring the barrier.

"I got your back...!", he shouted at his familiar.

Sharmon tightened the grip on his cane.

"Grrr....! YOU BASTARDS....!"

Brad raised his branch and prepared to swing vertically at him, but Sharmon sidestepped and Brad lost his footing, tumbling forward and overshooting the sorcerer, who landed a quick blow to the back of his head with his cane, causing his opponent to slam his face against Nero's barrier.

Brad, too, dropped to the floor and stopped moving.

"Awesome...!", cheered Khina.

Sharmon turned to his left, and walked some ten meters before stopping in front of a big tree.

"Enough hiding, girl. Come on out."

Then, a small figure materialized itself in front of him.

Selene hadn't, in fact, tried to blindside Sharmon, but was attempting to get away instead. She didn't even had her branch on her anymore.

Her whole body was trembling with fear.

"Please... don't hurt me...", she murmured at the tall figure that stood in front of her.

Her eyes were tearing up. Sharmon stared at her in silence.

"I told that other brat to drop his weapon -he said that word with noticeable irony- and that I would allow him to walk away freely if he did so."

Selene pressed her lips. A thick drop of sweat was running down her cheek.

Sharmon accommodated his cane to his belt and crossed his arms.

"I did not get the chance to propose any terms to you, so I will do it now. You may go unharmed on one condition."

"What!, asked Khina.

"But she almost took our medals...!", complained Nero.

Sharmon was still staring at Selene.

"Are you interested in hearing my terms?"

Something in Sharmon's tone let her know that he would only give her one chance to make a decision.

Selene looked back at him for a moment... and nodded.

"You will remain with us, now, and assist the group with your camouflage skills. In return..."

His eyes shone brighter than ever.

"I will procure a medal for you."

"What...!?", asked Khina for the second time.

"Do not question my methods.", said Sharmon, without turning to them.

"Can I... can I trust you?", she asked, looking up at his bright, yellow eyes.

"You do not have an alternative, girl.", Sharmon replied.

Selene gulped.

"Fine, I'll... I'll do it.", she relented.

"Hm. You have made the right choice," nodded Sharmon, "follow me."

He turned around walked back back to Nero and Khina with Selene tailing him.

"Dude, what the hell are you promising...!?", Nero reproached him.

"She is able to completely hide herself from view. We can get a lot of use out of this clever skill."

"Yeah, but she may use it to run away! Or even steal a medal from us...!"

"She will not," Sharmon turned to stare at Selene, "she knows I can detect her."

The girl nodded hurriedly.

"But still...!"

"That is enough, brat. Were it not for me, you would have been ambushed and defeated by a group of thugs."

Khina took a deep breath.

"I guess he's right... thanks."

Sharmon turned his head at her, and nodded.

"This girl owes us a favor, now. She will work for us, and we will keep our word and aid her in passing her test."

"Speaking of which... do you have any idea how we're gonna give her one of the medals?", Nero asked.

"Well, we're gonna have to take it from someone, won't we...?", said Khina.

Sharmon nodded at the tanned girl; there really wasn't any other way, after all.

"And by the way... is that other guy...?", Nero turned to look at Oliver and Brad.

"They will live.", said Sharmon.

"They don't look like they will, if you ask me...", said Nero.

"Much like I told that mongrel, you do not have the luxury to worry about others either, brat. Focus on your test," Sharmon looked at him in anger, "we spent an entire week preparing for it."

"Right, of course..."

Nero couldn't argue with that, nor did he want to.

Sharmon crossed his arms, and addressed the group.

"We cannot stay here for long. Our scout will go on ahead and observe the terrain, as well as look out for traps and signs of other people. Our priority is to locate any nearby contestants, medal or no, and I will trace our route based on the intelligence she gathers. Give me a bottle of water, boy."

Was Sharmon finally gonna drink something? Nero handed the sorcerer a bottle and he, in turn, gave it to Selene.

"Are you ready?", he asked her.

She gulped some water and nodded. Then, she offered the bottle back to Sharmon.

He shook his head.

"Keep it. Scouting in an arc around us will likely take you over an hour."

She clenched the bottle and pressed her lips. Nero could tell Selene was quickly growing fond of the sorcerer.

She kinda reminded him of Luna, too... Nero wondered how she was doing.

"I'll be back as soon as I can...", she said.

Sharmon nodded, and then...

Selene vanished once more, seemingly into thin air.

"So... what do we do in the meantime?", asked Nero.

"The answer to that should be clear to you, boy. We must cover our tracks."

"Meaning...?"

"He's saying we have to hide the bodies.", said Khina.

Nero scratched his head.

"But, how...?"

"It is possible to do so with enough leaves and a good location between the roots."

Sharmon walked past them both.

"Let us get to work."