*** Chapter 7: Trust ***

Eren and Lyra walked in silence for a long time; they were focused entirely on finding their way through the tunnels. But evidently, Lyra didn't like the quiet.

"So, what made you want to join Odin's Eye?"

"Do I need a specific reason? It's part of the big three." The big three guilds were acknowledged as superior to other guilds. This naturally made joining them very appealing. The sheer resources they could provide meant its members were often propelled to wealth and power.

Among the big three, it was also the oldest- it had existed for over a thousand years; it was older than the country of Sune itself. Naturally, during that time, it had gathered several magical secrets; another reason its members were so powerful.

Knowledge is power.

"Oh, don't be like that; we're going to be working together for a while. We might as well get to know each other a little." Eren just shrugged, still focused on the map. "Alright, I'll go first. I want to become one of the Nine Mage Knights."

The Nine Mage Knights were the nine strongest mages in the entire country. In theory. The first king of Sune formed the Nine to ensure order throughout the country. No one would question his authority if all the strongest mages were loyal to him personally. To be offered a position in the Mage Knights, a mage only needed to be strong; it didn't matter what clan or guild a mage was from; as long as they could prove their strength, they could earn a position.

While getting into Odin's Eye wouldn't help her get a position directly, the guild's reputation was well-earned. Three of the members were members or former members of Odin's Eye.

"That's a difficult goal," Eren said at last. Seeing the expectant look on Lyra's face, he sighed, putting away 'his' map.

"I want permission to study in the Great Library." The mages of Odin's Eye had been stockpiling knowledge since its inception. The Great Library contained more information about magic than anywhere else in the world, even the royal library. If you had a question that needed answering, that was the place to go, but access was strictly restricted to its members.

"Huh, didn't take you for the bookish type," Lyra muttered. Eren just shrugged.

"Knowledge is the true source of magical power," Eren replied, scratching his chest absentmindedly. He continued in a more subdued voice, "Working hard will only get you so far."

"So you got those muscles to carry books, eh?" Lyra smiled coyly.

"Something like that."

***

Jin looked into the room cautiously. She knew better than to assume anything was safe during this exam; caution was a must.

But the room looked perfectly mundane. Just a cuboid of hard stone, with one door on either side obstructed by nothing. The ceiling was high, but nothing dangerous seemed to hang from it.

"See anything dangerous?" Jin asked, turning to Kena beside her.

"Nope."

"What should we do then?"

"I'm going to go in."

"I don't think that's a good idea; it could be a trap."

"Oh well." Shrugging her shoulders, Kena walked into the room. Nothing happened. "Yep, it's official; these Trials are trying to bore me to death."

Jin gave Kena a mild look. She could have at least pretended to listen to her concerns. Sighing in defeat, she moved to follow her, only to stop short, pressed up against absolutely nothing. Stepping back, she raised a hand, pressing it against the invisible barrier searchingly. "It's a magic barrier," she said, trying to sense something from the barrier's mana. Nothing. It was exceptionally well made. "It must've been triggered by you entering the room. Presumably, it won't disappear until some sort of condition is met."

"Right. Well, I'm going to check the other door, and see if that's blocked, too. Wait here."

"Ha. Ha," Jin drawled, unimpressed.

"Genius never was appreciated during its time." Kena shrugged, walking away.

Walking over, Kena found a similar barrier blocking the way out as well. "There's a barrier here too, but don't worry, I've got a plan."

"Please don't say you're going to blow it up."

"I'm going to set it on fire," Kena announced proudly.

"How is that going to work?"

"No idea, but you said I can't blow it up. I only have two speeds, woman!"

Jin facepalmed. Why did she choose to partner with Kena again?

"Fireball!" Throwing her arms forward, Kena launched a flaming sphere at the passageway. It exploded on impact, the force of the attack overwhelming. Despite this, Jin didn't feel a thing, safely guarded by the barrier.

Smoke briefly blocked her sight. When it cleared, she saw Kena on the floor, coughing painfully with tears in her eyes. Seriously, why am I with her?

"It won't work. You can't break the barriers; all the walls and roof are reinforced as well," a raspy voice sounded out from down the hallway. "Don't worry. They are simply to prevent damage from the test spilling out. If you wish to leave, simply turn around and go back through the entrance; I won't stop you."

From the darkness, a tall, slender man emerged. His features were sharp, matching his well-cut suit. Hardly battle attire, Jin thought, eyeing the new arrival closely.

"I'm not running away; I don't care what the test is. A true warrior never backs down," Kena announced, fire burning in her still-watering eyes. The regal man didn't seem very impressed by this.

"Very well. My name is Dominic. I shall be the examiner for this portion of the test. The test will consist of three parts. To proceed, you must succeed in all three. That barrier will only allow one contestant to be inside the room at any given time. If you wish to switch contestants, the one inside must first leave. Furthermore, the barrier will only allow each person to enter the room once, so think hard when deciding to switch. If you choose to face a challenge and fail, you must both turn back."

So the trick was picking the right person for each test. But the problem was they could only switch once, meaning that doing so prematurely could leave someone facing a challenge they were poorly suited to. Jin wanted to ask if they could switch freely before the first trial, but Kena spoke first.

"I'll take on the first test," Kena decided unilaterally. Dominic sighed slightly.

"At least let me tell you about the first challenge before deciding you will do it…" Taking a deep breath to compose himself, he resumed. "I call the first test Bat Panic. I'm going to release a multitude of bats into the room, one of which will have a small token attached to its leg. Your goal is to get the token as quickly as possible. There is no time limit."

Dominic held out a small bat token, showing Kena what she was looking for. The trick was obvious; it was all about wasting time. The token was tiny and inconspicuous, barely an inch across at its widest, with so many bats figuring out which one had it wouldn't be easy. Not to mention that the bat would hardly take kindly to being grabbed out of the air to remove the token.

"Kena, are you sure you want to take this test?" Turning to face Jin, Kena grinned confidently.

"I let you solve the puzzles! That's your thing. But this, this is my thing. So stand back, and watch."

Clearing his throat to get their attention, Dominic announced the beginning of the test. "Begin!" The moment he said it, bats began flowing into the room from a small hole in the ceiling.

Jin couldn't believe how fast they were; clearly, they weren't ordinary bats. Screeching loudly, they swarmed the room, moving like a tornado. Kena just stood still, watching the dizzying movements of the bats. Jin couldn't blame her. Trying to identify a single bat in that mess was hopeless.

"Kena, let's just turn around. We'll find a simpler test." Kena ignored her, still watching the swarming bats. "Look, it's not your fault. I couldn't have done it either."

Finally, Kena turned, meeting Jin's eyes for the first time since the trial began. For the first time since she had met her, Kena looked dead serious. "You and me are nothing alike. I don't lose. And I never, ever, give up."

Kena shot a small fireball at the bat swarm. The explosion knocked a few bats out of the air, but far more were unharmed. And angry. As one, the cauldron of bats swept towards her, a wave of wings and clashing teeth. Screeching, they attacked, biting, scratching and clawing at her. There were simply too many of them to resist. Being assaulted from all directions, all Kena could do was cover her face.

Jin couldn't watch. It was too awful. She hadn't known Kena for long, but seeing her suffer was disturbing. There was no way she could defend against so many things at once.

"Hey, do something. Stop the exam; she's going to die!" Jin tried to get Dominic's attention, but he ignored her, focused on the bats savaging Kena.

You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.

"She's not beaten yet."

"What?"

"Watch."

***

Eren and Lyra stood at the end of a muddy tunnel, the end of which dropped off abruptly. Stretching out in front of them was a gaping chasm. They tried shining Lyra's light into it but couldn't see the bottom; it was too deep.

"I got an idea," Eren said, summoning a small iron block. He dropped it over the edge into the chasm. "That's not good."

"What?"

"I can feel my iron; I figured I could use that to figure out how deep this is. But I stopped feeling it after about twenty meters." Eren looked over the edge contemplatively. "My range is usually better than that. Either something dismissed it forcefully, or something's blocking my link to my creations."

"Okay, so I guess abseiling down there is out."

"We certainly can't use anything I make," Eren agreed.

"I guess we have to try and get across somehow," Lyra said, illuminating the other side of the chasm.

Across the chasm, there was a small platform jutting out from the wall. Beyond it, there was a tunnel leading deeper into the caves, on two sides of it was a metal rail. "Could you make a bridge?"

"Maybe," Eren kicked at the muddy floor, digging some of the soft dirt up. "My iron is certainly strong enough, but I'm not sure if the ground here could hold our weight." Lyra stared at Eren dryly. "Okay fine. It wouldn't hold my weight. Happy now?"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Lyra said, turning away from Eren with a mischievous grin. "Couldn't you just dig deeper into the ground?"

Eren paused briefly, mulling over the idea. "I don't know. I've never tried anything like this before. It might work, or…" Eren glanced down into the seemingly bottomless chasm. Looking down at it, he couldn't help but imagine what it would be like to fall. Plummeting into pure darkness - with no magic - was not an appealing thought. "... It might not."

"Maybe we should just turn around." Lyra turned on her heel. A door made of rock slid down from the ceiling, blocking her path. "Or we could think of another way."

"Well, when you put it like that." Eren looked around for anything to help them, but there wasn't much. Just the muddy ground and the rocky walls of the tunnel behind them.

Another door shut, cutting the tunnel even shorter.

"What do you think happens if we get caught between the doors?" Lyra asked, stepping back to join Eren at the edge.

"I don't know. And I don't think I want to either."

***

The bats were all under Dominic's control. If Dominic thought Kena was beaten, he would stop the trials in a heartbeat. He wasn't the sort of man who would torture a downed contestant for no reason.

This wasn't the situation. Dominic knew when a fighter had given up; Kena wasn't even close.

Crossing her arms in front of her, Kena closed her eyes tightly, shaking as she prepared... something. Her mana was building rapidly.

"Flaming vortex!" Spinning around, counter to the swarm's movement, Kena released wave after wave of fire from her body. The waves of flame formed into a tornado of fire, running counter to the motion of the bats.

The bats began screeching loudly, trying desperately to escape. But the firestorm held them in place, sucking them in as they cried out in terror. The poor creatures were fried, falling to the ground, unmoving. "Now, where's that token?"

When the smoke cleared, Dominic finally got a good look at Kena. She was covered in cuts and bites, blood all over her body. It was a harrowing sight. But she didn't seem to care at all.

"Oh, there it is. Hey, it's a little bat, cute! I love bats," Kena said without a hint of irony. Grinning widely, she turned to Dominic and presented her victory token proudly. "What's next?"

"I didn't tell you to kill the bats," Dominic muttered morosely, looking at his pet bats' lifeless bodies.

Kena snorted. "You didn't say not to neither."

***

The doors were closing faster by the second. Eren didn't know how long they had, but it wasn't long. They needed to do something fast. Despite this, the duo was standing still, bickering.

"Just build the bridge!"

"It'll fall; this ground is too soft. It won't support us," Eren said, stomping down. The mud sloshed around his boot.

"I'll go first to test it!"

"Well, that'll make me feel so much better when I fall to my death," Eren said, eyeing the dark chasm nervously. He knew he had to weigh at least twice as much as Lyra, if not more. Her being able to get over using his bridge wouldn't be enough to reassure him.

"Do something!"

"Why don't you do something? You're a wizard, too, in case you didn't notice."

"Oh gee, thanks, yeah, I'll just make a bridge out of lightning. Great idea! Or maybe I'll make a lightning chain to swing us across; that'll work great. Except wait, making stuff is the entire point of your magic!"

Eren blinked. "What do you think those railings are made of?"

Lyra frowned, some of the anger leaving her expression. Turning, she eyed the railings across the chasm. "They look like metal. Why?"

"Do you think they could hold our weight?"

"It's kinda the point of railings!" Lyra yelled, another door slamming shut, punctuating her words.

"Alright, well, it's worth a shot," Eren said, summoning a chain with a grappling hook at the end. Holding the other end to his chest, he linked it to his armour. Swinging it around a few times for good measure, he threw it across the chasm, aiming for the railing.

He missed.

"Second time's the charm," Eren said, ignoring the sound of another door slamming shut. He pulled the chain back in, getting it ready by his side. Swinging the chain around, he focused hard, aiming carefully before releasing the grappling hook.

He missed. Badly. Even worse than the first time.

"What are you doing? Aim for the railing!"

"I am. Let me focus," Eren said, trying to sound as calm as possible. Again he pulled the chain in, getting it ready to throw. Carefully, he began spinning it. This time he had to get it; the doors were getting close. He couldn't afford to miss. With practised precision, he threw the grappling hook.

The amount of force he used was perfect. Eren focused, remembering everything he had ever been taught about throwing. The chain hit Lyra in the face.

"What is wrong with you?" Lyra cried, holding her sore face. Sheepishly, Eren began setting up for another throw.

"Sorry," Eren muttered. He really couldn't think of anything else to say. He never was very good at throwing.

"Give me that!" Lyra snatched the chain from Eren's hands. Behind them, the second to last door slammed shut. Giving it a quick spin, she threw it.

It soared through the air unabated. The chain followed behind, its clanks echoing loudly throughout the chasm. Eren and Lyra both watched with bated breath as it flew; they knew they couldn't afford for this one to miss. The next door would trap them.

It flew through the gap in the railing. Eren sent a burst of mana to snap it open and grow it, so it caught on the railing.

"Okay, now let me just check it's secure on my armour-hey wait!" Eren's protests were cut off when Lyra tackled him into the chasm, holding on as if her life depended on it, screaming all the way. The door slammed shut the second they moved.

Turning, he braced his legs, absorbing the force of their fall as they hit the wall. Fortunately, the link he'd made to his armour was secured. Contrastingly, Lyra relied only on her grip around Eren's shoulders to keep her from falling to her death. Quickly he formed a harness made of chain around her, hoping to stop her screaming.

"Okay, you can let go now. The harness will keep you attached to me as I climb," Eren explained, forming a climbing pick to help him.

Lyra did not let go. She also didn't stop screaming.

***

The Hidan tunnels were the location of the Trials of the Valkyrie. For years, the Cact clan had controlled the Hidan tunnels. Being the fastest way through the White Mountains, they were naturally popular with merchants. Thanks to this, the Cact Clan was always wealthy, living off the tariffs they charged for safe passage through their tunnels.

Unfortunately, the Cact clan had died out fifty years ago. A pack of rogue monsters had made its way into the tunnel system, slaughtering its members as they tried to defend their homes. Not long after this, with no one to stop them, various monsters moved in. In the end, it became just another breeding ground for dangerous beasts.

Eventually, the king decided action had to be taken to clear the tunnels. Odin's Eye was called in to clear out the tunnels. It had been a long and challenging job; the Cact clan left no maps or details of how to navigate its depths anywhere, at least not anywhere anyone had looked. But despite this, they had succeeded and so were awarded stewardship over the tunnels by the king. They had complete control to use it as they pleased, provided that when the king or any of his subordinates needed passage through the tunnels, it was provided without tariff.

The guild's members had spent countless hours inside the tunnels. Mapping it out, studying the unique creatures that made it their home, and training. They discovered a litany of secret rooms - as well as shortcuts between the various rooms.

This, among other reasons, was why the guilds council decided it was a perfect place to conduct The Trials of the Valkyrie. The examiners used the secret tunnels to move wherever they needed to, but the contestants could not. Between this and some strategically placed surveillance balls, they could watch everyone all the time with ease.

Immediately after Kena ran away, Yuki made her way to one of the Hidan tunnel's many secret rooms. From there, she watched as Eren and Kena took on their tests in her personal crystal ball.

She was surprised to see how quickly the pair had found teammates. Particularly Kena, who didn't seem the type. But then again, the Trials were designed to force a certain amount of cooperation between the contestants. Very few could make it through entirely on their own power.

"Those the kids that caught your eye?" Ash asked, peeking over Yuki's shoulder. Just a moment ago, he hadn't been there, but Yuki didn't react. "Looks like the kid got your hint."

"The sword of justice, it must strike all equally," Yuki recited, closing her eyes briefly. "Winter spares no one."

Ash chuckled lightly. "Yeah, sure, whatever. Hey, I'm not judging. I gave the kid a hint too. We are allowed, you know?"

Yuki didn't respond. Yuki had been in constant mental communication with the other examiners throughout the duel. They voted five-four that Eren's surrender was valid. She had no choice but to follow the ruling. It seemed he had caught up to Kena and would be approaching his next challenge shortly. Even so, she couldn't help but feel it was unfair. Ash had been the one to cast the deciding vote.

"That was a pretty close call; if he was any slower, he would've had to fight again."

Eren didn't seem to have realised it, but he avoided being caught by Cand and Nole by mere moments. The tunnels only let a certain number of people use each path, so when Cand and Nole tried to follow Eren, the failsafe blocked them. While the pair broke down one door, they had given up when they realised how many more there were.

"Their battle is not fated," Yuki murmured.

"Oh, I wouldn't say that. Those two are an impressive team; they're not a pair that will be beaten so easily. And their rivalry goes deeper than just today's events," Ash said, smiling in a way he probably thought made him look mysterious. Yuki always felt it made him look like an overly excited ten-year-old. "But they have some time at least. It's Kena who's in immediate trouble; Dominic's test is hard, even for two. For someone like Kena, it might just prove impossible."

"She is an incredible mage, perhaps the strongest contestant in this section of the Trials," Yuki muttered dismissively.

"That's for sure," Ash said. "I wouldn't be surprised if she's the strongest in all the trials. But that's not what I'm talking about."