One by the candidates were given their own rocks, each engraved with their names, Leif ran his finger across the rough surface carved with his name, after all of them had their own stones the main figure stepped up and begun.

???: [Aspirants Amelia Carter, Nathan Hale, Rowan Fiske, Elara Monroe, Victor Sanders, Kira Langston, Dorian Vance, Selene Hart, Marcus Liddell, Iris Vaughn, begin!]

The first batch was sent off, and as soon as they all jumped down and stepped onto the beach, fights erupted, and most ran away into the forest, but some stayed and began scrapping for an easy opportunity to get some stones, after 5 minutes the main figure stepped up once more.

???: [Aspirants Tobias Grant, Lily Winslow, Finn Roscoe, Edward Elsun, Ewan Kincaid, Tessa Morgan, Kallun Thorne, Zara Quinn, Theo Madds, Elise Dalton, begin!]

Another batch was sent and amisdt them Kallum went, he was the first one to disappear, even thought others begun to fight before even getting down from the boat, and that included the tall and tan Elsun, who managed to take two stones before 5 minutes passed.

???: [Aspirants Damian Frost, Mira Caldwell, Ellaine Northwell, Leif Crows, Hugo Barnett, Lila Cross, Nyssa Draylin, Lyra Brooks, Seleena Ville, Calla Hayes, begin!]

He jumped off as far as he could, and as soon as he felt his boots hit the sand, he dashed off towards the trees without even glancing towards anyone else, through the leaves and bushes, jumping over the roots of the trees and duxking away from the low branches, he could hear people shouting and screaming all around, something he was more then accustomed with, he dashed straight but as soon as he found a clearing in the forest he stopped, looking around for a second he smiled, he could see a obvious trap like this from a mile away, theres no way hed step into clear view, he dashed towards the right and didn't look back, staying away from the islands center was the best way to stay safe anyway, and from what he could see the island was enormous, from a distand he could easily see two tall mountains that stood over the entire landscape and for a island to have even one single mountain it had to be huge.

If Leif had seen correctly to the west of the island the forest seemed to extend over the mountains, that was the best place to be, there he could easily find a place to hide and make traps, he would make that his territory and everyone until he had enough stones to assure himself he had enough stones to pass easily, he set traps in atleast 100 meters all around his hideout, fake floors to cover holes and ropes hidden by leaves, he'd find some kind of hole to dig out and hide inside, he had no idea how long he'd have to stay there for so it would be even better to find so place to hunt and gather some stuff to eat, even if he had to stay a week in there he'd easily survive off a bunny and some fruits, a couple months back he could easily stay a whole week on a hungry stomach before having to eat something, after finding somewhere to safely drink water would be more then enough, the most difficult part would be actuslly finding anyone with that style of playing.

He turned towards the West and closed his eyes imagining the energy fill his legs with its warmth as it flowed from his core, dashing through the trees and throught the branches, fast like the wind, taking care to not trip over the roots as he flied over them with eaxh step, in less then a hour he already had reached the best point he could find, foot of the second smaller mountain to the east of the huge one in the center of the island, he checked around, trying to find somewhere to stay, and he did, the best place possible he could find, a small concave space hid beneath layers of moss, leaves, dirt and rocks, and even better secured by the roots of a small tree with a thick and twisted trunk, it's roots where thick and tightly grasped the dirt making the hideout even more hidden and secure, he looked up, the red light of the sky beamed throught the branches, the sun was begenning to set, he crawled inside, it was quite spacious to be fair, much better then what he thought a hole on the ground would be.

He gathered a good amount of sticks and dry leaves, a couple handfuls, with a single swipe on the flint stick he had a small campfire going, he would have it there for a few minutes, having a fire lit in the night, even inside a hole like, specially while others where actively hunting him, he leaned back into the dirt taking out his sheathed sword and holding it tightly against his chest, after less then half an hour he kicked some dirt over the fire to set it off, tomorrow he'd spend the entire day doing what he needed to, but after all that running all he wanted was to rest, if he spent more energy then necessary he wouldn't be able to fight back if anyone attacked, as the darkness begun to fill his mind, he tightly embraced his sword, pushing the sheathed blade against his chest, enjoying its warmth as he sliped into another dreamers night of sleep.

Even before the first ray of sunlight pierced the clouds he was already up for more then an hour, he had easily memorized the trails he made as he explored the west side of the island, setting up quick traps all around, digging hole just deep enough so a leg would fit in and covering it with small branches and leaves, he could dig a whole filed of these in less then a hour, sadly he had no ropes so that was the best kind of trap he could make, after one and a half hours he finally found a way to drink water, a small creek that ran down the mountain, the best way to be completely sure he would be drinking the safest water he could was to walk up the stream until he found the source, he ran up the stream on the edge of the river, but then he felt a presence coming his way, he was barely able to duck down as a spear came his way, being aimed directly towards his head, the boy jumped back and positioned himself for a battle when a figure started to step out of the tree line, tall boy with no eyebrows, his long mane of dirty blonde hair held back by a bandana, in his hands a spear, it's hild made of polished black wood, plated with engraved gold, Leif noticed that on the base of the spears blade was a small engraved rune, "Fì", meaning fast.

???: [I see, i see... you're one quick bastard...]

Leif quickly unsheathed his sword, preparing himself for a battle with a seemingly powerful enemy, the wild looking boy twirled the spear in his hands.

???: [I've been looking for someone to fight for the past day or so, I wanted to fight that big guy or that one blonde girl, but they both disappeared!!]

In his mind, Leif thinked of every step he could take to defeat him, what should he do in this scenario where the enemy had the upper hand, with a spear he had a way longer range then him, but that was a very easy advantage to take away, he dashed towards the trees.

???: [H-hey!! Don't run!!]

The enemy followed him and Leif was actually surprised by his speed, the only reason he didn't catch up to him was because he had to be more careful when carrying a weapon so long it would get caught in the branches, then Leif had finally reached the spot he had run to, a tiny clearing with the ground covered in sticks and leaves, Leif made sure to step on the right spots to fly throught the clearing and as soon as the stalker steped on the clearing his left leg went through the ground, he was immediately trapped in place, Leif turned around, stomping down with his left foot and pulling his right foot back as hard as he could, with a single kick that resonated a powerful crunch, blood squirted from the boy mouth, his upper lip had been torn open and one of his front teeth had flied out and the boy was out cold, Leif searched the boy throughly, until he found the small rock with his name on it on the left pocket of his red leather vest, "Theo Madds", the first rock he'd come to collect, and on the small satchel on his belt he had collected 3 other stones.

He simply went on with the task he had before, following the creek up the mountain to find its source, after about 30 minute he finally reached it, a small clear pond that poured all the way into other bigger rivers down the river, when he got there it was a little past midday, he leaned in and tasted the water and when he felt it tasted pretty clear he chugged a good amount before turning down to the mountain, thankfully the creek didn't even lead up to half of the mountain and going down took less then 20 minutes, he made sure to leave plenty of traps around as he traield back to his hideout, lots of small holes, he stayed on the lookout specially for small animals he could take with him and was lucky to find a small rat animal, after catching it a single twist of the neck he managed to kill it, back on his hideout he skinned it with one of the knives he had, lighting a fire with the flint stick he managed to roast the meat and that night he ate very well, saving most if the meat and burying the useless parts like bones, bad organs, skin and pelt.

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He was sure he already had enough to pass this test, but then he started to ponder on the tought he had started to wonder about right when the examiners explained the rules, it made no sense that such a prestigious academy would have such low standards for this test, a single rock was enough? It was clear to Leif that the rules explained where not the only there where, he didnt know exactly what they where but there was clearly a second test going on along with this one, a test to see wich of the candidates stood on top of the others, a test to separate those who will dominate this island, he drifted off to sleep clutching his sword once more, but was woken by a small yelp coming from out there, he quickly dashed out and checked the traps closer to his hideout, in there with both of her legs sinked into one of the bigger traps was a girl, he tried her best to squirm out but wasn't able to do anything at all.

???: [P-please... don't hurt me...]

The girl looked up at Leif as he stepped out of the shadows, with big round green eyes, her skin was a dark caramel and her face covered in freckles, Leif didnt respond, simply reaching over his palm, the girl looked at it and stayed in silence for a few seconds.

???: [I... I... want to offer you a deal!]

Leif: [A deal..?]

???: [Y-yeah! I'm working for a group... If you... let me go, i'll tell all about them!]

Leif: [Right.... go ahead...]

Lyra: [First... tell me your name? I'm Lyra Brooks...]

Leif: [Leif Crows, now tell me.]

Lyra: [Its a group of 20 people, where all working for this guy named Kallun.]

Leif recognized that name, the same tall, blonde, green eyes boy with a soft voice as before, the girl told him about where they where staying and at wich time they begin to move, who else was scouting like her and how many rock each of them had and even what weapons they had, after she was finished Leif just stepped past her.

Lyra: [W-wait! You're going now?]

Leif simply turned to her and smiled, he dived into the darkness of the forest, he pulled the cloaks hood over his face.

Leif: [It's time to hunt.]

He traveled all the way down to the humidity qart of the forest, southwest of the island, on the dark of the night, he stalked throught the forest, silently creeping and lurking around in search of the camp they had made, and when he found them, a large group of dozens of candidates sleeping around a large campire that made the whole clearing shine bright, he stalked them, all around, 15 of them where sleeping, the rest guarding around, Kallun himself was calmly resting with his back against a tree, for how relaxed they were Leif was sure they had to have collected enough stones to pass, all of them, but Leif had to be patient, he stalked around in the woods, he had learned to use his surroundings very well in the war, after a few minutes he was sure the group had made worst decision possible, a couple dozen meters right behind their camp there was a dozen small and big pits of tar mixed with mud, after a bit more then two hours he was ready, dashing out of the bushes and into the group.

???: [Fuck an attack!!!]

???: [Get up!!!]

With the shouting most of them had already woken up, but by then 2 of the guards where already on the floor, Leif swiped the first legs and as he fel he was hit with a punch on the neck, the second recieved a blow from Leif's sheathed sword right on the shoulder then a punch to the chin, when a few begun to rise Leif had already passed on to the next he didnt have to unsheathe his sword to make the next three fall, with only punches and kicks as they uselessly charged at him, just then he stopped right before Kallun, his eyes where still closed, he was awake but unbothered by Leif's presence just in front of him, then he notice the others begin to rush at him, a dozen others who had finally gotten up, he dashed back into the woods, this time on the opposite side, the group followed him, with screams and shouts, each bringing their own weapons, Leif jumped over the rocks and roots, taking them all right into the place he wanted them to be.

He jumped over the rope with ease, flying over the trap he had sat and quickly running away, but the others didn't see it, their feet getting tangled up as they fell deep into the mud, their hands and knees sinked into it and simply refused to pull out no matter how much they tried to fight it off, Leif slowly stepped out of the bushes, in less then 20 minutes he had already searched their bodies, over 10 stones that easily, stepping around the puddle of struggling candidates he walked back into the clearing where the other 6 or so where lying on the floor, some unconscious and others groaning in pain, Kallun hadn't lef the spot near the tree but once Leif came closer he stood up, lowoking at him once more Leif really noticed how smooth and spotless his skin was, and how clean and silky his golden hair was, how he managed to keep so clean after the past day was a mystery.

Kallun: [Do you wish to cross swords, Leif?]

His gloved hand rested on the fancy and decorated handguard on the hild of his sword.

Leif: [Are you willing to pass your name stone without a fight?]

Kallun: [Very well.]

Leif watched silently as the man unsheathed his blade, he had never seen a blade like that, it was very long and even more thin, with a guard over his fingers, it was beautifully polished and pure silver, the took their positions, their blades slowly drifting towards eachother and as soon as they touched it seemed that hundreds of strikes happened in a single moment, sparks flied throught the air as their blades met again and again dozens of times faster then the eye could see.

Leif: [[ÍlHy.]]

Kallun: [[Dúr.]]

The sharpened and the hardened blade met, creating a cloud of sparks flying off as the two edges crossed, a competition of strength as they pushed one against the other.

Kallun: [You have recieved royal sword training, not what I expected from a Cithroan swordsman.]

Leif: [Shut your mouth and fight!]

They continued to swing at eachother, each furious attack being met with a powerful defense, but this time each attack had the strength to kill, little by little Leif found himself more frustrated, he didn't expect a swordsman who was so powerful, Kallun was a fast and as powerful as him and had a similar capacity of enhancement, but the blonde had a much better technique and handled his sword with much more finesse, once a attack passed throught his defense, a small cut being made in Leif's cheek he had already grown inpatient, holding out his palm in Kalluns direction.

Leif: [[Fár!]]

The boy screamed out, a could of parks and flames erupted from his palm, engulfing everything in front of him and setting the tree and grass ablaze, jumping back a few meters he realized Kallun had managed to evade his attack by jumping on top of a branch of the tree he was leaned against and wich was now beggening to catch fire, although the white coat he threw away had been bruned.

Kallun: [You have an exquisite amount of energy output, Leif.]

Leif: [Tch...]

He jumped down, sheathing his sword.

Kallun: [Tell me, Leif, would you wish for a deal?]

Leif: [You're the second person to say those words to me just today.]

Kallun: [I had imagined so.... But allow me to explain my plan, i imagine you have already begun to question the main ideas surrounding this test...]

Leif: [It's a test to rule out the best of the batch...]

Kallun hummed in delight.

Kallun: [Indeed, and it's safe to assume the examiners are watching us at this exact time.]

Leif: [But it's difficult to tell exactly what they want us to do....]

Kallun: [I would say it's quite a simple matter, they're examining our ability for combat, the name stones are merely a formality.]

He had imagined that, the stones where simply a matter of allowing more candidates then the strongest to pass the test, they wanted to test them all around, not only their physical capabilities but their strategical thinking and their overall knowledge of combat.

Kallun: [So what do you say, Leif, do you wish to join forces with me, and dominate this island?]

Leif thought for a second, but after the blonde reached his hand, covered by a smooth white leather glove, his mind was made, even if Kallun could barely be considered trustworthy he was a powerful ally to consider in this test, he reached forward, the brown leather gauntlets meeting his white gloves.

Kallun: [But for now, we should definitely get away from here...]

???: [Kallun you bastard! What are you doing shaking this bastards hand??]

Yelled out one of the members of Kalluns group as he got up from the ground, the blonde simply looked at him and flashed a kind smile before dashing into the forest and disappearing into the shadows of the night, Leif took him all the way to the hideout he had back on the foot of the second mountain, helping him trail around all of the traps he had laid.

Kallun: [I have to admit, you where much more prepared for this then i had first thought.]

He said, looking down at Leif as he crawled into the concave space under the tree roots, a few seconds later the both of them where inside, once more his hideout had proven to be more spacious then it seemed, after Leif roasted the remaining meat he had kept the two slept for a few hours, replenishing the energy they had wasted with the earlier fight, and when the sun had started to rise they where both up, Leif was trully surprised someone could match not only his combat ability but his sleeping habits aswell, he made sure to show Kallun the small creek he had found and the both walked all the way up half the mountain to its fountain, after resting and having a few chugs of clear water they both had decided to make a bet.

Leif: [Edward Elsun and Seleena Ville, those are the two who kept fighting for the entire test isn't that so?]

Kallun: [Indeed, i'm sure they are both the most combat prone and probably the ones who have to most amount of stones around, everywhere combat is you can find them and i'm sure if we find the people they're around we'd be nicely rated by the examiners.]

Leif: [I'm sure i'll be able to collect quite a lot of stones then.]

Kallun: [Hmmmmm... are you perhaps implying that i won't?]

Leif: [You're putting words in my mouth.]

Kallun: [I believe i'd be able to collect much more stones then you, to be honest.]

Leif: [Not in a hundred centuries.]

Kallun: [You trully wish for a competition, how childish.]

Leif: [Oooh... I'm making you swallow those words.]

Kallun: [Let's see...]

The two warriors positioned themselves on the edge leading down the mountain and dashed off full speed.