*** Chapter 11: If you can't do the time ***

"Welcome! You did very well on the last challenge; very creative!" Clay praised, focusing entirely on Eren. It was as if he couldn't see Lyra or thought she was irrelevant to Eren's success. Presumably, he wasn't referring to the battle with Nole; but the actual Trials themselves. “My name is Clay; I'll be your next examiner.”

Clay wasn't much to look at. A short man with muddy-brown hair and eyes, he was the type of man to fade into a crowd. The only unusual thing about him was his glasses. They were well made magical spectacles. Without them, he was all but blind. Thanks to their enchantments, his eyes were much sharper than any ordinary human. He claimed he could read people's emotions thanks to them, though Lyra doubted this was true. He just liked making people feel vulnerable.

Clay then explained the test. Eren and Lyra had to each enter a room. Inside, they would each have to find a key to open the next door to move on. Simple.

Lyra knew this test would be anything but; Clay’s shit-eating grin gave him away. Regardless, she obeyed, entering her room and beginning her search. What else could she do? He was the examiner. Inside, she found no sign of a key. Is it invisible?

Lyra's thoughts were cut off when the door slammed shut behind her. Turning sharply, she rushed over, trying with all her might to force it open. It didn't budge. No matter how much strength she used, it stayed put.

Loud, nasal laughter sounded throughout the room. "He-he-he! I can't believe you fell for that! It was a trick, and you didn't suspect a thing!"

Lyra rolled her eyes. "Now for the real challenge. Turn around!" A loud rumbling sounded as if the earth itself was splitting in two. Turning to the source, Lyra found two small buttons had appeared on the wall, one red and one blue. Hardly rumble worthy. "No more tampering with the door to your cell, or you'll be disqualified. To leave, you will have to play the game."

"The game is simple. As you can see, there are two buttons. A red 'betray' button and a blue 'share' button. If you both share, you'll be forced to wait for a half-hour, at which point I'll give you the keys to open your doors and you'll be allowed to leave. If one of you chooses red, then that person's key will appear instantly, letting them move on alone; but your teammate will not be given their key until the trials are over!" Clay then laughed again, even more nasally than before. "But if you both choose red, neither receives their key!"

His instructions concluded the voice cut off, but Lyra could still hear the irritating noise of his stupid laugh through the walls.

"Eren!" Lyra shouted as loud as she could, then paused for a response. Nothing. If he was trying to contact her, she certainly couldn't tell. So she had to decide alone.

"Wonderful." Her first instinct was to go blue. It was the right thing to do. The fair thing to do.

Unless Eren picked red. Could she trust him? She had only known him a day. Although weirdly, it felt like so much longer. They had been together almost the entire exam. Solving the puzzles together; fighting side by side. Almost dying.

Clay expected her to pick red. She frowned at the thought; she didn't want to prove him right. But no, she wouldn't base her decision on Clay. She had to decide the right thing to do by herself.

Acting quickly, she made her decision. She couldn't afford to waste any more time dithering. The moment she hit the button, she regretted it.

A loud rumble sounded ... then nothing.

Her door didn't open. No key appeared.

***

Sitting in her cell, Lyra eyed the door resentfully. She was trapped. Eren had chosen red, and now she was stuck. She couldn't even try to break down the door. Tampering with it would only get her disqualified.

At least Eren's also trapped.

Lyra let herself smile briefly at the thought. But the smile soon turned to a frown. She had betrayed him, too. They both tried to win at the other's expense, and both lost because of their greed. It was only fair.

She could practically feel Clay's mocking laughter. But she didn't care. Nothing she did would have made a difference, so feeling bad was pointless.

A grey spot formed on her door, flowing through the keyhole. Lyra blinked. It looked like Eren's iron, but tampering with the doors was illegal. Why wasn't Clay stopping him?

Looking closer, she noticed it wasn't just a solid block sitting still. It was moving. The sound of the lock clicking rang through the room. He'd unlocked the door.

The door was unlocked!

Could she open it? That was tampering, too. Wasn't it?

As it happens, it didn't matter, as a moment later, a block of iron formed leaning against the door. Slowly falling, it pushed the door open, leaving Lyra staring at the empty hallway.

Clay turned to her and smiled. "Ha! That actually worked. Well, guess you can come out; you didn't tamper with the door, after all," he said with a wink.

Lyra stood unsteadily, wondering what to do. Eren had saved her. She was sure she had lost, but now he was helping her move on. But he was still trapped. She couldn't just leave him there. Sure, he betrayed her first, but she did too. Resolved, she stepped forward, ready to return the favour.

"So I can do whatever I want to his door, right?" That was the trick to the test. They couldn't tamper with their own doors, but they could do whatever they wanted to each other's doors. Eren had figured it out. Again.

"Sure, if you want to, that is." Lyra nodded, ignoring the second half of his sentence; she had already decided to help Eren. She owed him. Only a monster would abandon him after he helped her.

Then she noticed it. Bars were blocking the doorway to the next test. "Hey, what are those?"

Clay smiled brightly. "Why are you asking me? I'm an earth mage; I didn't make them."

Gaping, Lyra turned to Eren's door. "You! Why did you do that? I would've helped you either way!" She didn't care that he couldn't hear her; she wanted to yell.

"Hey, if you'd just picked to share, we'd have moved on by now," a muffled voice called back. Apparently, Eren could hear her, if only just.

"Hey, you did it too! We're both at fault!" She couldn't believe it. He was trying to put all the blame on her. Off to the side, Clay was nodding along, as if he was listening to some great wisdom.

"No, you don't understand. In case you didn't notice, I freed you without Clay's help. It would've been even easier if I could leave this damn room, too."

"That's… Oh." Lyra sighed. So it was her fault. He had a plan, and she just got in the way. "Well, whatever, I'm going to break you out! Step away from the door!"

Lyra waited a moment. When she got no response, she began. She didn't have a way to pick the door's lock like Eren, but that didn't matter. She would break it.

Thrusting her hands in front of her, she began charging her attack. Lightning danced over her fingers, coalescing into a ball between her palms.

"Heaven's fury!" With a mighty call, lightning flashed into life. With a loud crack, it struck the door. Smoke and dust hung in the air, obscuring her view.

Shielding her eyes, she waited. When the dust settled, she saw the result of her handiwork.

It was underwhelming.

A black burn mark about the size of her hand. That was all she had to show for herself after shooting her potent attack. "Well... that's not good."

"What just happened?" Eren's muffled voice asked.

"He-he-he hahaha! Amazing. Just amazing; you even named it! And it barely even scolded my wall. Did you actually think you could break my wall with so little power?"

Lyra turned to Clay. "You made this door? So, does that mean you can dismiss it?"

"Hey, don't ignore me. What's going on?"

"Of course. But it wouldn't be much of a test if I did." Clay smiled brazenly. Lyra wasn't surprised. Obviously, Clay wouldn't help. "You should give up. My rock's unbreakable. Your friend’s iron, on the other hand…"

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Lyra looked at the bars blocking her escape. She probably could break them. Lyra doubted Eren was as strong as Clay, not to mention it was iron magic. Certain mana types were naturally vulnerable to others. Iron mana, for example, was weak against lightning magic; it would naturally enhance her attack the moment it made contact. Clay's earth magic was the opposite, naturally countering her lightning. Even if Eren was stronger than Clay-which, from what she had seen so far, he most certainly was not- she would probably be able to break his gate.

But no. Lyra wouldn’t abandon Eren. Thinking about this was a waste of time. She needed to focus. Clay made the door; that had to be significant.

"Seriously, Lyra. What's going on?" Eren said, breaking her out of her thoughts.

"I'm working on it!"

She could try to knock him out. Wait, no. That wouldn't help; any half-competent conjurer's creations would continue to exist even after they were knocked unconscious. Lyra doubted she could beat Clay, anyway. She needed to focus on the door. It had to have a weak point she could abuse.

The hinges! They were the smallest part of the door; they had to be weak. If she could break them, the door would have nothing holding it in place. But her lightning wasn't up to the job. She needed something else.

"Hey, Eren!"

"Yeah?"

"I need you to make me a hammer and chisel!"

"What for?"

"To break the door's hinges!"

"Hey, nice idea! Not as good as breaking those iron bars, but still…" Clay chipped in, smiling mockingly.

"Doesn't that count as me tampering with the door?" Sighing, Lyra turned to Clay. He nodded with a shit-eating grin. Turning back to the door, she eyed the hinges. It was weird; the whole thing was made out of rock. Yet despite this, it otherwise looked like a regular door. Did that mean it would have a removable pin, like non-magical door hinges? Even if it did, she couldn't use Eren's tools to remove it.

"Can I use Eren's tools if they don't touch the door?"

"Yeah, but don't go covering it in mud or any nonsense like that. You're already bending the rules pretty far." Lyra nodded; her plan was a little smarter than that. Grabbing a nearby rock, she eyed it closely. It was vaguely cylindrical but not quite nail shaped. Not that it mattered, she could change that.

"Alright, Eren, I've got a plan; I need something to shape a rock into a nail. And then a hammer."

Eren was silent for a beat, then spoke. "I can't do that."

"Why not?"

"I still haven't recovered from the fight with Nole; I'm out of mana."

"Then dismiss the bars at the door! That'll free up some mana." Eren didn't respond. His bars didn't disappear either. "Look, Eren, I'm sorry. I should've trusted you earlier, but I'm not going to leave you here!"

Nothing; he didn't even respond. Then, to make things even worse, Clay's obnoxious voice sounded. "Yeah, I wouldn't trust her either; once a traitor, always a traitor."

Lyra growled but didn't react. She didn't need to convince Clay of all people. "Eren, I promise I'll stay. Even if I can't free you, I'll lose with you!"

"No, she won't; she's been like this ever since she was a kid! She's untrustworthy!"

"Shut up, Clay!" Spinning around, Lyra levelled him with her harshest glare. He just grinned wider, pleased he was getting to her.

"She's just using you! She didn't even need to take this exam; she got in on familial benefit. This is all just a game to her!"

"It's more complicated than that, and you know it," Lyra said, meeting his eyes dangerously.

"Oh please, princess. You honestly think I'm scared of you?" Clay said, stepping forward; he looked down his nose at her. "Mommy isn't here. It's just you and me."

Lyra broke away from his gaze. "Examiners can't attack contestants."

"Unless it's part of the test or ... they attack first." Clay stepped forward again, forcing Lyra to take another step back, her back literally against the wall.

"So, wanna try your luck?" Lyra got the feeling this was why Clay volunteered to be an examiner. He didn't care about any of the other contestants; he just wanted to mess with her.

Taking a calming breath, Lyra tried to relax. Clay was only as tall as her, but he was much more muscular, making for quite an intimidating visage. The rock mage deliberately put pressure on her with his aura, forcing her own to spark around her in response. It was the closest thing he could do to attacking her.

"No." But Clay didn't move. He was having too much fun making her feel uncomfortable, daring her to attack him. But she knew the moment she did, he wouldn't hold back.

Maybe that was the solution to her problem? This whole time, Lyra tried to think like Eren, trying to solve the puzzle in front of her. But she wasn't good at that.

She was good at tricking people. Clay was spoiling for a fight. If Lyra gave him half a reason, he would attack without a moment's hesitation or thought. She could use that.

A stray spark in Lyra's aura lashed out, scolding Clay's nose.

"Wrong answer!" Without a crazed expression, he pulled his fist back, rock from around the room flying to coat it. Panicking, Lyra dodged, but not fast enough. His fist clipped the side of her face, knocking her for a loop before continuing through the wall.

A loud crash sounded, the wall collapsing from the single strike. Sprinting away, Lyra didn't think about where she was going, as long as it wasn't near Clay. "What's wrong? Weren't you going to show us all your str-agh?" Clay's taunt was cut when he collapsed, his glasses flying off his face. Around his legs were a pair of iron cuffs. Lyra didn't know how Eren had managed it, and honestly, she didn't care. What mattered was she had a chance to escape? Clay pawed at the ground, desperate to regain control of the situation. But with his glasses off, the enchantments failed, leaving him blind. "Do you have any idea how much those-ah!"

Lyra didn't let him finish that sentence, hitting him with all the lightning she could summon. Eren didn't know he was blind without his glasses, but he was bright enough to not miss such a golden opportunity. Diving through the hole and towards the door to the next test, rapidly catching up to Lyra. Lyra didn't know when he removed the bars, and she couldn't care less. Even blind, she didn't feel confident in her chances of beating Clay. But he wouldn't be allowed to follow them to the next test. If they made it through the door, they would be safe.

Daring to look back, she saw Clay snap Eren's iron chain like it was spaghetti. Thankfully, he hadn't found his glasses yet. But he looked pissed.

"Wrong answer!" Digging his hands into the ground, he pumped more mana than Lyra had in her entire body into the earth.

The earth beneath their feet shifted. Churning and twisting, trying desperately to trip them up. He couldn't see them, but he didn't need to. He was going to shake the whole place apart. Eren had caught up to her remarkably fast, but when the ground shook, he tripped. Lyra knew that if she didn't do something, Clay would bury him alive. He didn't have any armour to protect him this time.

With no better idea, she leapt forward, tackling him.

***

Groaning, Eren tried to sit up, but found he couldn't. Lyra was still on top of him, squeezing him so tightly he struggled to breathe. Her eyes were scrunched shut in terror. Cautiously, he spoke.

"Lyra," he began quietly, but she didn't respond. "Lyra... we're safe."

Finally, her features relaxed. Tentatively, she opened an eye. "Wha- oh, we are! Good-good." A strange blank look overtook her for a second. "Thanks for saving me."

Eren quirked a brow. How had she reached that conclusion? He was the one who was about to fall when she tackled him. When he tried to ask, he was cut off by someone clapping.

"Well done. That was a lovely dramatic entrance. I enjoyed it a lot," a dull, feminine voice said.

Returning to her senses, Lyra glanced up. "Hi, Yuki; nice to see you."

"Nice to see you too, Lyra. I see you made a friend," Yuki said, eyeing Eren pointedly. Lyra climbed off him awkwardly, finally letting Eren stand too.

"Yeah, we got put together for the second test and then decided to stick together."

"I see. Well, that's not important right now. What matters now is what happens next," Yuki announced, standing straight and clearing her face of any emotion.

"Not so fast!" Turning to the source of the voice, Eren saw a rock covered man storming towards them furiously. "I'm not done with them yet!"

It was Clay. He must have followed them after recovering his glasses. Taking a ready stance, Eren refreshed his iron armour. It was thinner than usual, but it was the best he could do. It took all the mana he had available, but he was ready. If he wanted a fight, Eren was more than happy to oblige.

"You with me, partner?" Eren asked, stepping forward to guard Lyra.

"All the way." Even if Lyra had stayed silent, he knew she had his back. She was his partner. Hearing the crackle of her lighting behind him, Eren smirked. They were both completely exhausted. There was no way they could win a fight with someone as powerful as Clay. But they wouldn’t give up without a fight.

But before Clay could reach them, he stopped on a dime. Turning, he looked at Yuki's hand on his shoulder fearfully. A loud cracking sounded, his armour splitting all over. The cracks spread, fog pouring out of them, a layer of ice flowing out from Yuki's hand.

With a gentle smile, she spoke. "Clay. They passed your test."

Clay's rocks fell away, revealing his slight frame, quaking in fear. Or was he shivering? Although the actual height difference couldn't have been more than a couple of inches, Yuki now looked like she was towering over him. Clay stared at the floor; like a small child being scolded. "Understood."

Releasing him, Yuki smiled serenely. "Good. Now back to your post; you haven't been permitted to leave yet."

For a moment, Clay looked like he was going to protest. But whatever he was going to say died on his lips when he met Yuki's eye. Turning, Clay slowly walked back to the doorway Eren and Lyra had come through. It was blocked by a wall of rocks spilling out, but he walked through them like they didn't exist. The stones shifted, flowing back into the cave, creating a passageway, followed by the door fixing itself.

Yuki's composed voice brought Eren's attention back from the casual display of awe-inspiring magic. "Now, where was I..."

Eren slumped, his armour fading into nonexistence. He had only maintained it this long because of the imminent threat of Clay; with him gone, it felt like he had no energy left in his body.

"... oh yes! I was about to tell you about the final Trial." Eren's heart sank. He knew he didn't stand a chance. The last test would, presumably, be the most difficult. With no mana left, he wouldn't stand a chance. He had no choice but to surrender.

"It's tomorrow." Or not. "For now, get some rest, and I have more good news for you. Only the first four contestants through the tunnels are in the final, and of them, two are guaranteed a place in the guild."