*** Chapter 8: hide and seek ***

"Kena, I can take over for the next round," Jin offered. She was beginning to realise Kena really did intend to take on every test. Kena already looked terrible, blood dripping down her face and body from the litany of cuts all over her.

"Thanks, Jin. But this party's just getting started." Kena grinned confidently. "I did promise to get you through the exam, and I always keep my promises, babe."

Jin couldn't believe Kena took that promise so seriously. Jin knew Kena hadn't been lying, but she hadn't expected her to go to such extreme lengths. If Kena got hurt - or rather more hurt - she would feel terrible.

"But there are three tests. I should take over; so you don't get tired." It was just good sense; Kena's last attack had used a lot of her mana. Providing light for the tunnels must have as well; anyone would be tired.

Kena shook her head, her frazzled red hair slapping against her bloody face. "Sorry, Jin. I'm not done yet. Bring on the next test!"

"... once again, you may know what the challenge is before agreeing to do it." Seeing Kena was ignoring him, Dominic heaved a long-suffering sigh. "Baby mages, all the same. Very well; let's move right along then." That said, a slot appeared in the wall, opening to reveal a small room the size of a closet. Nothing came out. "The game is hide and seek. You have five minutes to touch Envi; if you cannot manage such in the allotted time, you lose."

Jin's eyes widened in understanding. Her opponent was invisible, and in such a big room, he - she? They? - had lots of places to hide. Kena was strong, but that wouldn't matter in a game like this.

"Kena, switch out with me! I'm better suited to this game," Jin advised earnestly. Kena scowled harshly.

"No. Stop asking."

***

With an overly dramatic grunt, Eren pulled himself over the ledge. He got to his feet, letting Lyra out of the chain backpack. This platform wasn't as muddy; the floor was made of stone slabs, so he didn't get dirty.

"Thanks," Lyra said, her voice slightly hoarse from all the screaming.

"Don't mention it," Eren said, smiling awkwardly. "Sorry about hitting you with the chain." Based on Lyra's face, Eren would have probably been better off not mentioning that. "Let's move on."

Rushing away, Eren opened the door, expecting another long, featureless corridor. Instead, he was greeted by large rooms filled with boulders and a single red wolf with golden eyes.

"Behind me," Eren ordered, Lyra rushing to obey. Not wasting a moment, he summoned two long swords. A wolf wouldn't be strong enough to break through his armour, so a shield wouldn't be worthwhile. What he needed was offensive power, and lots of it.

Red wolves began appearing from behind the various rocks. Each of the wolves split in two, forming a whole new wolf each. This was the power of a pack wolf, to divide near endlessly when threatened. It seemed this one was prepared for a fight, having already divided itself and hidden around the room.

"Lyra, in order, I want you to shoot ones’ trying to get past me, then those trying to sneak up on me, and finally, whichever is farthest away that you can see. Whatever you do, just don't hit me or anything I'm touching."

Eren didn't have time to confirm Lyra accepted his plan. The first wave of wolves was upon him in an instant. Normally, attempting to fight this many of anything, Eren would be overwhelmed instantly, but the doorway made a perfect bottleneck. As they approached, they were forced to bunch together. This made it easy for Eren to fell several in a single strike.

As soon as Eren's blade made contact, they disappeared - only a tiny amount of damage was needed to destroy the clones. But they were replaced too quickly for it to matter. The wolves at the back rapidly split, over and over, sending the fresh clones to replace their fallen. Eren knew one of them had to be the Alpha.

There are two reliable ways to beat a pack wolf. The first way was to just keep killing them; eventually, they would run out of mana - leaving just the Alpha behind. Usually, it would then try to run away. Eren was currently attempting this method and suffering from its fundamental flaw: it was horribly inefficient. Regular pack wolves could create over a hundred copies. Eren suspected this one wouldn't be normal. The greenback at the start of the Trials hadn't been.

The second was to take out the Alpha. The Alpha was the creator of all the clones, the main body. If it was knocked unconscious -or killed- all the others would disappear. Unfortunately, the Alpha was not stupid; it hid among its pack carefully, letting its pack fight rather than risk the Alpha. If Eren was lucky, one of Lyra's guesses would be right. He had the feeling that wouldn't be the case. With so many hiding places available, the Alpha would be a fool to reveal itself unnecessarily. Pack wolves may not have human-level intelligence, but they had instinctual knowledge of how to hunt and fight with their magical abilities.

A coordinated attack by several wolves caught Eren off guard. He felled the initial wave with ease, but they were mere sacrifices to make him commit. The moment he initiated his attack, a wolf jumped at him, attacking his exposed flank. Eren fell back roughly.

"Look out!" Before the wolf could follow up, Lyra blasted it.

But more were coming, aiming to catch his legs. Creating a blade in the tip of each shoe, Eren stabbed each one through the skull.

Moving to a sitting position, Eren grabbed both swords, swinging wildly to make some room. Wisely, the wolves kept their distance, waiting for him to tire out.

Eren extended his blades. Several wolves were felled, flashing out of existence in a single swing. They had been taken off guard and were now paying the price. Rushing to his feet, Eren once again assumed a defensive stance.

"Eren, this isn't working! There's more than when we started," Lyra yelled, throwing another bolt over his shoulder, dismissing another wolf.

She was right. The wolves weren't slowing down; if anything, they were speeding up. They were learning, too. It was only a matter of time before they got past.

"I have an idea, but you'll have to take the front line for a while."

"Okay, I can do that," Lyra said, shifting her position to let Eren fall back. "Easy"

"And you can't use your lightning," Eren said, handing her his long swords, adjusting their size to fit her as he did so.

"Less easy."

***

Kena's injuries were mostly superficial. The bats had left wounds all over her, but the cuts were shallow. Most of them weren't even bleeding anymore. She could still fight.

"Sorry, Jin, but a warrior never surrenders," Kena smirked, her mind drifting to Eren's pathetic surrender when she was beating him up. Her smile turned to a frown, though, when she remembered what followed. "Let's just get this over with."

Moving back, she stood with her back to the wall. Kena watched the room for any sign of life. There was none. Her invisible opponent could be right in front of her, for all she knew.

"It's Envi, right? Cute name. Don't suppose you want to drop the invisibility thing and play this magic free?" Silence. Not surprising; Kena hadn't given her any reason to do so after all. "You see, I'm about to burn everything, including you, but you can stop that just by revealing yourself."

Still nothing. Oh well, Kena thought, shrugging her shoulders. "Wall of flame!"

Holding her hand out in front of her, she made a stream of fire. It wasn't her usual style, but she could use her magic to make a wall of flames stretching across the room and halfway to the ceiling.

Sweeping her fire around the room, she kept the power up the entire time, watching for any sign it was being blocked or tampered with.

Kena never saw any sign of it, however. Her fire just swept through the room, unopposed, as if no one was in there at all.

"This sucks," Kena muttered. The smoke from her attacks hung in the air; the barriers stopped it from escaping.

"Kena, you need to try to sense her magic; that's the test," Jin advised. Kena turned to her and stared blankly. Was that some sort of joke? "Well, then try to sense her with your fire!"

"How would I sense magic? Or fire?" Jin's expression fell.

"You're a conjurer; you should be able to feel your magic even after its form changes." Kena just shook her head, baffled.

"What's a conjurer?"

"A conjurer is someone who makes stuff with their magic."

Isn't that what all magic does? "Oh, like us!"

"No. Like you, my plants already exist. I just grow and manipulate them; I'm a manipulator." Jin demonstrated this by growing a quick plant on her fingertip. "Since you're a conjurer, everything you make with your mana is just a mana construct. Since it's made of your mana, you should be able to feel it."

"I don't do any of that complicated stuff. I just use power; that's all I need," Kena said, smiling victoriously.

"But this isn't a test you can win with power alone?"

"If you can't solve a problem with force, you're not using enough force," Kena countered. Elestine had told her that.

"Kena, don't feel bad. You're just not well suited to this test. I am. I can use my plants to break the room into parts. It'll be easy for me." Kena rolled her eyes. Jin had made a plan of her own.

Where's her faith? Kena had got past the first test with ease. Not that it mattered. Jin could doubt her all she liked; the best way to deal with others not believing in you was to prove them wrong by doing it.

"I don't need your help," Kena spat, steam rolling off her body. "I can do this by myself. You just sit there and watch me."

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"Three minutes left; if you're going to do something, I’d recommend you do it fast," Dominic added unhelpfully.

"Wow, you think? Thanks for the advice, mister," Kena said in her best approximation of a child's voice. Growling, Kena threw a fireball into the centre of the room.

Then another. Then another.

Kena threw her attacks endlessly, shot after shot, aimed straight at the middle of the room. The explosions rocked the walls. Fortunately, the walls and roof were reinforced with powerful magic; nothing Kena could do would break them.

***

Jin had teamed up with Kena because she could feel she was strong. Her mana was so deep and rich; it felt like she could do anything.

Power isn't everything.

Jin felt this more than ever as she watched Kena seemingly lose her mind. Jin wanted to believe this was part of some genius master plan; she really did. But she just couldn't see what. What possible good could it do to attack the floor over and over again? All it seemed to be doing was digging a hole and making smoke. She wasn't even attacking different spots. She just kept shooting the same patch on the floor. All Envi had to do was stay away from that spot. Kena was just wasting her mana pointlessly.

The clock was ticking. Soon Kena would leave, and they'd be forced to turn around. Would they be able to find another path through the tunnels in time? Even if they did, Kena might insist on facing all the challenges herself then too.

Of course, that depended on the nature of the tests. Not every test would have a restriction that only one could fight at a time. Jin wished she could just break the barrier, but Dominic made it clear she wasn't allowed to.

Except Dominic didn't say that. He just said she wouldn't be able to. He never said she wasn't allowed to or that he'd punish her in any way if she did.

But that would only be useful if Jin could break the barrier. There has to be a way.

***

Cand had been following Nole's lead for close to an hour, slowly mapping out the path as they went. At one point, they hit a dead end, but Nole's nose wasn't so easily beaten. Following the scent in the wind, they found another route through the tunnels and were once again hot on Lyra's heels.

Nole sniffed the air, his face scrunched up in confusion.

"What's wrong?" Cand asked, hands glowing a deep purple for light.

"Lyra's partner is still with her."

"What, are you sure?"

"At first, I thought it was just residue or something, but this is too distinct. He must be with her, I'm sure of it."

"How's that possible? I dropped a cave on the bastard!" Cand was seriously regretting not going all out against him. If he had nailed him with Purple Lipstick, there's no way he would still be running around.

"He must have warding magic of some kind," Nole said. He rested his hand on the hilt of his sword. "Did you see any indication of what his magic was?"

Cand shook his head. "Other than his size, he seemed perfectly ordinary. He even tried to use the map as a shield rather than cast a spell."

"His magic must be slow. Or sensed your Purple Lipstick was too strong." Nole huffed, kicking the floor irritably. He seemed distracted.

"Are you okay?"

"He smells familiar."

"What? Have you met him before?"

"No, I don't think so." Nole frowned. "It doesn't matter; this doesn't change anything. All this means is that now we'll be getting revenge on both of them."

***

Kena explosions had blown a crater into the centre of the room. Her attacks had also created smoke. Lots and lots of smoke. With nowhere to go, it slowly drifted up to the top of the room. It formed a thick cloud, forcing Kena to crouch slightly to avoid it.

"If you wish to resign, you're free to do so any time you wish," Dominic advised from outside of the room.

"Nah, I'm good," Kena replied, seemingly completely at ease despite the thick smoke. "This'll be over soon."

She was right. There were only thirty seconds left. Even if she didn't resign, it'd be over soon. One way or another. Despite this, Kena didn't show any sign of distress.

Still in the corner, she shot fire along the wall. Her smoke choked her fire, limiting it to just a thin stream as she brought her hands together. As she did, she watched closely, waiting for any sign of movement.

***

Eren's longswords were something else. They'd shrunk in Lyra's hand, changing to match her size perfectly. They were both perfectly balanced and unusually light. Swinging them felt amazing; they cut through the wolves like they were made of paper.

But no sword, no matter how well made, made a swordswoman. Lyra wasn't a complete amateur; she had been given basic sword training as a child. But this was something else entirely. The wolves were too fast, too constant to fend off with mediocre sword skills.

If she could use her lightning, she would be okay. She could cover her mistakes, zapping anything that got close. But as it stood, she just had to keep swinging, going as fast as she could so the wolves couldn't find an opening.

At least it was working; the wolves seemed to have been cowed by Eren's demonstration of the growing blades. They were fighting conservatively, waiting for her to tire herself out. Fortunately, they didn't know she couldn't do the same.

Unfortunately, she was getting tired. "Are you done yet, Eren?"

"Nearly," Eren said. From his tone, one would be forgiven for thinking he was relaxing at the beach, not in a deadly fight. Lyra assumed he thought it was comforting, showing he was in control. But when she was on the front line, it instead annoyed her. A bit of concern wouldn't be amiss. "When I say, unleash all the lightning you can into the ground."

"Okay!" Lyra didn't ask what his plan was. She was too focused on trying to stay alive. A wolf jumped at her, instinctively she batted it away with both swords.

Big mistake. Three wolves raced forward, looking to avenge their fallen comrade.

"Now." Lyra was already casting. Her swords abandoned, she formed her lightning, downing all three of her attackers in one shot. But it didn't stop there; it flowed into the ground. Only now did Lyra notice the ground had turned grey. And metallic.

The moment her attack made contact, it spread out, flashing through the iron with shocking speed. Understanding, she continued pumping more power into the attack, flooding the iron-covered floor with electric power. All around her, wolves began disappearing. Howls sounded for a mere moment, then halted.

The wolves were gone. Only one remained, lying down in the corner, beaten.

They had won.

***

Envi was a good hider. She wasn't just invisible; she could hide all traces of her presence. Sound, body heat, smell. Nothing gave her away.

She could stand within an inch of someone, and they'd be none the wiser. She didn't, of course. That was just asking for trouble. For one thing, people walked into her when she did it... which she never did. She always told people when she was using her powers, unless she was using them for a mission; she never spied on her friends. And if she did, it was their thought for acting so shifty; it was only natural she would get suspicious!

She kept her distance. Avoiding Kena's 'Wall of flame' was laughably easy. A quick jump and it went right under her, easy. It wasn't a bad idea, all things considered. If she could reach the roof, it might have even worked. Might. Since she couldn't even sense her fire, Envi wasn't so sure of that. Kena was a rank amateur.

Envi didn't know what she was hoping to achieve, freaking out like a petulant child. She broke the floor and spread the broken pieces around a decent amount. All that did was make Envi have to be a little more careful where she stepped, so she didn't move something.

Still, the smoke was annoying. Envi suspected that was Kena's actual plan. Get her to cough, and she'd reveal her location. But the smoke wasn't thick enough to do that. All she had to do was keep her head low and breathe steadily.

Then Kena did another sweep of the room. She was getting desperate. Envi jumped out of the way of the flames; into the smoke. It irritated her eyes a little, but she just held her breath to avoid coughing. Landing silently, she was sure the test was over.

And it was. Because Kena ran right at her with unnatural speed, body coated in fire, arms spread wide for a clothesline.

How-?

***

"Gotcha!" Kena yelled, gripping her invisible prey.

"How? What! Hey, that hurts!" A young girl's voice cried, breaking out of Kena's grip.

"Challenge two completed. Kena has tagged Envi, so passes the second challenge," Dominic announced. A loud huffing noise sounded next to Kena, presumably Envi. "And with mere seconds to spare."

"Hey, sorry if I hurt you. I just got a little excited," Kena said, looking in the direction she assumed Envi would be in.

"The game was tag; all you had to do was touch me. You didn't have to grip so hard!"

"Hey, I said I was sorry; stop being a baby!"

"Just saying sorry doesn't make it okay: I'm probably going to bruise from this! I bruise like a peach I'll have you know." Kena heard a loud stomp, emphasising Envi's point.

"Whatever. It's a fight, things happen; you get injured. It's part of being a warrior," Kena dismissed, now thoroughly bored with the conversation.

"I'm not a warrior. I'm small and dainty; cute girls like me don't fight!"

"Then you should've thought about that before you agreed to do this." Kena waved her hand dismissively. She was rapidly losing interest in talking to Envi. What sort of loser is proud to be weak?

"The. Game. Was. Tag! How was I supposed to know you would spend the whole time trying to kill me? What the heck is wrong with you?"

"Hey, it worked, didn't it?"

"That's not the point!" Kena held her ears dramatically; Envi sure had a set of lungs on her. It was hard to believe she stayed silent throughout the entire test. "How did you even see me, anyway?"

Kena grinned widely; she had to admit she was feeling pretty pleased with herself. Part of her wanted to brag about how she won. Another part wanted to take the opportunity to taunt Envi. "Hey, you're meant to be the examiner. Can't you figure it out yourself?"

A strangled sound came from Envi, but she stopped herself short. "It's part of the exam," she explained. "You have to tell me how you did it... so I can grade you."

"Envi!" Dominic sounded scandalised, glaring at Envi (probably). "Envi, you did well, but the challenge is now over. As such, you are no longer needed. Would you please make your way out of the area so we can move on?"

"Fine. I don't want to stay talking to this loser, anyway!" The invisible girl yelled, stomping over to Dominic. "I hope you lose."

"Envi, need I remind you examiners are supposed to remain impartial at all times," Dominic scolded, looking down at his side where seemingly nothing was. He must have been able to see Envi, as a second later, he recoiled in shock. "I'm going to pretend I didn't see that. Perhaps you should retire to your quarters; take some time to calm down. I believe I can handle the rest without you."

"Whatever." Footsteps sounded going down the hall, signifying her exit.

***

Dominic sighed after Envi left. Envi was an impressive mage, but she needed to act more mature to be an examiner. He was confident she could figure out how Kena saw her with a bit of time and effort.

It wasn't complicated once you knew the trick. Kena's destruction of the floor had been a feint meant to throw Envi off. The real danger was the smoke she had kicked up. Her observation skills were impressive, seeing the movement of the fog in response to Envi's avoiding the blast. Utilising her speed further improved upon by her explosions to catch her before she could move again. It was an elegant plan, well thought out, and well-executed. Dominic was impressed.

"Gramps, what's the test?"

Dominic couldn't help but feel a little slighted at that. He was only thirty! Sure, his hair had started to go a little grey, but did she have to call him Gramps? It was just spiteful. He has been nothing but fair in his judgment of her and this was how she treated him?

Taking a moment to regain his calm, Dominic spoke again. "I feel I should remind you; you may still switch contestants, quite the boon at this late stage," Dominic commented. Kena just rolled her eyes; she had no intention of doing so. Dominic grinned with just a hint of schadenfreude as he said the next part, "The last challenge is called In Deep Water."