Team-work(s?)

I was in front of the podium and finally managed to avoid all the traps. The ones to greet me were Cerene and Issac, as they reached a few minutes before me. they had managed to use the traps for their own advantage to get here swiftly. {Gotta do that as well}

"give me a hand.'' Terrence stretched out his hand. When I pulled him up, he immediately laid back and went for a nap. More people joined us while I was taking a nap in the back. I saw Sarah arrive, totally dehydrated. Tom was laid out flat near the curtains. Rose went to check on Sarah, so I decided to talk to others.

"Who's left?" I asked Jin. He was with his team. They apparently got to the podium together. they all looked out of their wits.

"Everyone is here, except Seraphina and Eve." he handed me a water bottle. "Robin got up just before you woke up."

Eve was having a hard time but was avoiding all the traps. Seraphina was smoothly using the traps for her own advantage and closing the gap steadily. All of a sudden, Eve disappeared from my view. as I was looking for her, Seraphina jumped on the stage.

"Oh no. It seems like someone was left behind." Lucian's voice echoed throughout the room. "as per the rules, all of you have to restart. you have thirty minutes to prepare." I blacked out for a second and hit my back on some grass. {what?} We all were transferred to the front of the Gymnasium door.

"what just happened?" Sylph asked.

"We failed the test." Terrence stood up. "What were the conditions for passing?"

"to not leave anyone behind." Sarah answered, "and to not get injured."

"and Eve got injured." Robin held even, she was passed out and had a bruise on her head.

"alright. everyone!" Aisha, unable to bear the silence, shouted. "We need a plan. I am not good at leading, but I am sure we need one leader." her voice had gotten everyone's attention at once. I turned to Jin, and he was already forming a plan.

"I have a plan." he gathered all of us, "before I solidify it, I need your input. what do you think of this test?"

"We all need to work in teams. at least two people on each squad. we can counter the 'leaving behind' part that way." Terrence shared his thoughts.

"I don't think it will be easy for us to get injured if we work in teams. that can cover the 'not getting injured' part as well." Finley added.

"then it's all good.'' Jin gave a satisfied smile, "I am going to divide us into teams. If you have any questions, please wait till I am done." he then began dividing us into teams of two, three, and four. the teams were:

1. Me and Tom

2. Rose, Sarah, and Seraphina

3. Robin and Issac

4. Jin, Cerene, Finley and Anya

5. Terrence and Aisha

6. Sylph, Evan, and Eve

With that composition, we entered the gymnasium. things were going on smoothly initially. Then, we failed.

Again.

Again.

And again.

This went on for the entire day. we entered, we failed. each time, injuries were increasing, but so was time to get the first injury. we were getting closer to clearing the test with no injuries on each attempt. The moon gently looked over us as we recovered our energy. The sunrise looked like it was mocking us after twenty-five failed attempts. I had blacked out multiple times throughout the night, and this was getting tiresome.

When the door opened again, we all rushed in with nothing spoken. After spending the night suffering, we didn't even need words to communicate our next actions. climbing over jin's shoulder, I reached for the invisible trap trigger.

We all changed places, and Sylph had reached the podium. She cast a spatial circle two meters in front of her, the other end was behind her. others followed, creating a chain that worked as a quick passage to the end. "Fin!!" I called out to Finley, who was closest to me, and we entered the circle together.

reaching the podium together, we completed the test. Evan and Seraphina were jumped in last and closed the casted circles. this time, all the lights in the gym went off. {what does he want now?}

"Congratulations." Lucian was in front of us, his face lit up by a purple flame burning on top of his palm. "It took you a little over fifteen hours to complete the test. you all got control over the mana leakage." he was dragging something behind him, "and earned your weapons. come pick them up, if I haven't broken any of them."

We all slowly and carefully, by which I mean fighting over each thing, pulled our weapons out of the sack. the moment I got hold of my staff, my heartbeat got faster. the staff was incredibly hard, yet stupidly light. I jumped back to freely wave the staff around. It was much taller than me when I put it next to me.

"This is really something," I commented as the staff was orbiting me, rotating at full speed. "What material is this?"

Lucian, standing just out of my range, answered, "it's wood, kind of."

"What?" the staff certainly didn't feel like wood, "no it's not."

"It is wood from the wyvern forest. due to high mineral accumulation there, wood absorbs more minerals than regular trees. After processing, it gets as hard as steel while retaining mass akin to wood. most trees die after growing only for ten years because of that." Lucian explained.

I had ten staff assigned to me. each felt a little different from the other in regards to sturdiness or the distribution of mass. lights were turned on now and I noticed that my uniform had turned back to the original color. We packed our weapons and gathered in front of the podium.

"As some may have guessed, the uniforms absorb surrounding energy and change the color according to it. as most human-made facilities are made to prevent leakage of the energy, it changes to that artificial blue shade." Lucian explained, sitting on top of the podium, "all of you have decent control over leakage and will be able to use this to your advantage."

Eve, who was thinking for some time asked, "I have never been in the Wyvern forest, but it is fine to assume that there is a high density of mana there. Is this why you gave us these? to get camouflage?" her tone felt much more polite than yesterday.

"Exactly! But we are still not sure what will be the entry point assigned to us on the opening day. so be prepared for the worst, just in case." he gave us a file each. "this is all the information we have regarding the venue. Please go through this only after your exams. take it easy until then, and make sure to rest properly. I can't afford to lose any of my teammates." He dismissed us with a brightening smile.

I returned home after packing up all the bags and was welcomed by mom. Her face looked relaxed, but her eyes showed the worry she was trying to hide. entering through the door, I was hit by a bitter-sweet aroma of food and my stomach growled loudly.

"Maybe you should eat before taking a bath." Mom gave a caring smile. "put the bags in the corner and come eat first."

She had prepared a swamp newt curry with pyre berries. and it took around fifteen bowls to fill me up. After dinner, I went ahead and took a warm shower and put away all the extra things on the shelf. falling in my bed, I fell into a deep sleep quickly.

I was in front of Scribe. "Hey." I waved to him, fully prepared to be kicked out.

(Sit down, Ray. We need to talk.) He formed a table and two chairs facing each other.

"What happened? you usually kick me out." I took a seat with him.

(Yes, I usually do that, but today's different. I think you are getting careless.) he poured us a cup each.

"What do you mean?"

(You are going to work in a team now, how much do you trust them?)

"I… don't know. I trust Rose, Tom, and Sarah. Maybe Jin and Terrence. and Robin too…"

(Exactly. you only know only a few members of your team.)

"What are you getting at?"

(Spend time with your other teammates. get to know them for things other than this particular test.)

"Why should I? isn't just knowing this much enough?"

(Really?) he sighed. (Tell me, can you trust Eve with your life?)

"What? of course not. I hate that bit-" he slapped me before I could finish the sentence. his speed was unmatched, I couldn't even see what happened, just felt the pain on the side of my face.

(Keep an open mind and try to get along with her. your carelessness would end up in your loss. keep this in mind and be nice to your team, or I'll have to take over you again. got that?)

"Okay." I gulped, "but why did you slap me?"

(To discipline you. your language is getting vulgar and crude.) Having said that, he sent me back. I woke up to the sound of my phone alarm ringing.

"Alright, time to prepare for the exams."