Just as the last panting contestant made it back after storing his team’s gear, Ronav announced the hour was up. He stepped out of the way, and his team parted to allow access to the testing site beyond the gate. Those who had been able to stay and listen to the details of the test made a mad rush for the opening, desperate to secure a good spot.

“Wait,” Ruena commanded, “We don’t want a base that will be coveted by others. Let them waste their energy and we will pick up the unpolished gems they ignored.”

Her wording reminded Soral of her nobility that he sometimes forgot. “If there aren’t any good spots, we can always make one,” he added. He couldn’t imagine there would be too many good spots missed over with the amount of teams that had rushed inside. The area encased inside the wall wasn’t that large.

The moment they stepped through the gate, Soral realized how wrong he was. The first thing he saw was the towering mountain that rose high above the outer walls, yet they had not seen it from outside. The base of the mountain was surrounded by dense forests to the left, and a chasm filled with churning rapids to the right. Between the gate and the mountain’s base was a wide expanse of rolling hills with no cover to be seen, nor even path to walk on.

“I know the perfect location for us,” Ruena said with a smirk. She guided them to what was likely the tallest of the hills that stood almost perfectly in the center of the impossibly vast arena. “I can’t believe so many passed up such a central location just because it lacked cover.”

“Do you want me to build us some?” Soral asked.

“We need to make our base,” Ruena confirmed, “They never said anything about construction grade earth magic being against the rules.”

“Does everyone want their own room?” Soral asked.

“This is wild,” Flame mumbled as the full implications occurred to him.

“Why is it crazy?” Rosalie asked, “We have to live here for a week, so we might as well build a house.”

Ember shook her head and patted her brother on the arm. “We’ve known from the beginning that his way of thinking is both bizarre and infectious. That is why we are here.”

For some reason, Jazz seemed oddly proud about her… praise? He helped Soral mark out the floor plan with a little earth magic of his own, making sure to add all the appropriate nooks and crannies he could use to his advantage as a cat.

The other teams finally started to take notice once Soral raised the earthen walls of their new hideout. From atop their hill, the gathering onlookers looked like a swarm of angry ants. That image made Soral chuckle slightly as he continued to build their temporary house with magic.

Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.

Before long, Ronav arrived to inspect the building for anything against the rules. “Who made this?” he asked.

“I did,” Soral replied, not afraid to admit it. If it was against any rules, none of them were rules that had been stated.

“You have powerful magic, lad. Be careful how you use it. Murder on these grounds is still murder, even if it looks like an accident.”

“This house is for living, not trapping enemies,” Soral told him.

“Rivals, not enemies,” Ronav corrected, but cleared the house as acceptable for the test. Needless to say, not everyone was pleased with the decision.

==========

Ruben Phasta, a proud noble of the kingdom of Farfalle was furious. The information he had obtained by using everything he had was supposed to give him an overwhelming advantage over the other contestants. It would have if it wasn’t for that ragtag group of foreigners. How had they found out the real starting time of the test? They were clearly hopeless fools. They had even brought a cat and given it some ridiculous title.

Head of espionage? Just what kind of information could they possible get from a cat? Even if another member of their party could somehow speak to them, cats did what they wanted. What use would such random information be?

“Captain Ruben, what are we going to do about that team? At this rate, they are going to take all the points for themselves.”

Ruben scowled. Unfortunately he agreed. Even though they weren’t competing for points, if one team greatly excelled above others it would skew the scale that points were awarded on.

“We have to make sure they are disqualified somehow,” Ruben replied, “You saw that earth magic. It was so powerful, and he was willing to waste it on building some fancy house for them to stay in. Even if we could replicate it, we wouldn’t have enough magic left for the rest of the week’s tests.”

“How are we going to do that? Every time we tattle on them, Ronav looks at us with those eyes…”

Ruben shivered as he recalled the look in question. The strange mix of disappointment along with the will of a patient predator. Ruben had to remind himself that he had just as much noble blood as their test keeper.

“We take advantage of their weakness,” Ruben replied, “I will take all of the blame if this goes wrong.”

“Captain Ruben?” another of his team asked.

His team consisted of fourteen members, including himself. All of them had chosen to follow him and he could not let them down. That also meant he could not tell them his plan, just in case he got caught. Anyone who took part in the foul play would be banned from being a mercenary forever, and he could not take that from them. Unlike them, he had other options as a noble.

“I can’t tell you anymore,” he answered.

“Why are you so desperate? Couldn’t we just wait until next year?” his vice captain asked.

“We can’t,” Ruben dismissed, “Farfalle has been discussing disbanding the mercenary test to prevent more mercenaries from appearing. Many other kingdoms are doing the same. It must be now, or it will be never.”

“Then let us help you. If this will be our only chance anyway.”

“You won’t just be banished from future tests,” Ruben contradicted, “It will stick to your reputation forever. You’ll never be able to find a job with a black mark like that.”

“Reputation is even more important for a noble like yourself,” the vice captain argued, “Let us help you so we can succeed together. If we become famous mercenaries we can bring back the faith the kingdoms lost and the tests will continue.”

Ruben smiled. He wanted to believe that was true, but his skeptical noble bred mind told him it was just wishful thinking. There was no winning against a monster team like that without dipping into the gray. Still, if they were so insistent, he would not be able to stop them.

“Fine, I will tell you my plan,” Ruben conceded, “We need to target that cat.”