Combat Trial (6)

Within the forest, half way up the mountain, was Layla, who, after eliminating forty recruits, decided to head up the mountain and finish the trial.

She sprinted up the mountain at a speed no normal human could run at, running at a speed that only slayers with years of training could. She had been sprinting for the last several hours, but she still hadn't shown any signs of fatigue. As for the ones who had been watching her, they were shocked and worried. They were worried that she hadn't slept during the entirety of the trial and shocked at the fact that she didn't show any fatigue.

This time she wasn't traversing through the trees, as it would've been tougher to climb a mountain than to travel by ground. There was one problem. Traveling by ground exposed her to ambushes, such as now, where she heard the faint sound of rustling coming from the bushes 500 feet in front of her with her keen hearing.

Layla didn't show any reaction after hearing the rustling, as it would notify the recruit that she had noticed their presence. She kept sprinting without changing her direction, not caring at all that she would be ambushed in a matter of seconds.

'There are eight of them in total.' Layal thought, hiding her grin.

Once she made it to the center of the octagon they formed, all eight of them protruded their guns out of the bushes enough for them to get a clear shot and fired.

*Bang! Bang! Bang!

They stopped firing once they noticed that she had disappeared, striking confusion in them as they knew they weren't hallucinating and it wasn't an illusion. One of them noticed a small black etheric device in the shape of a ball, where she once stood. Its light kept flashing on and off. It flashed on and off faster and faster with each second.

When the man closest to the etheric device realized what it was, he shouted, "Run!!"

*BOOM!!!

It was too late. The man who shouted barely had time to turn around before the etheric device blew up. It was the same Aether bomb Layla used to kill herself in an attempt to escape the clutches of Camilla, but on a much smaller scale. It might've been weaker than the one she used back then, but it was enough for the situation she was in.

As they lay on the ground, in pain, the golden barrier enveloped them, teleporting them out of the trial.

…

Meanwhile,

Hundreds of feet further up the mountain was Layla, who sprinted at the same pace as earlier, but she had a small grin on her face after hearing the explosion from behind her.

Hours passed.

She reached the peak of the mountain without much trouble, besides running into a few small groups of recruits, who were eliminated quickly, bringing her elimination count to 264. She had spent two days within this combat zone and had eliminated enough recruits to equal one-fourth of the recruits participating.

At the peak of the mountain It was empty, set for the teleportation platforms engraved into the flat peak of the mountain. She stepped onto the teleportation platforms, appearing on the teleportation platform outside of the dome.

Unlike the ones who were eliminated, her suit lit up with a golden light. Once the automatons noticed her, one walked up to her and said, "Congratulations on passing the trial. Please hand over your ID card for it to be updated."

She handed her ID card over to the automaton and thought, 'I didn't think they would update my card immediately after I teleported here.'

The automaton ran her ID card through an etheric device that emerged from her forearm before returning it.

Layla looked at her updated ID Card:

[Name: Layla

Age: 16

Sex: Female

Occupation: Slayer Recruit

Affinity: Shadow Magic]

Once Layla put away her ID card, the automaton said, "Since you have gained your slayer permit. Follow me, I'll take you to the place to get checked up on."

'I don't have any injuries, but it would be best to follow her, otherwise it could raise suspicion.' Layla thought, following the automaton.

She reached the clinic, where she entered the line of recruits. waited for a half hour until it was her turn. It only took a few minutes for her to be checked. Instead of being told to come in for a checkup weekly like Owen was, she was told to only come in if she felt any symptoms.

Once her checkup was finished, she exited the small clinic, and found an area next to a wall that was mostly isolated from others, and leaned against the wall.

'I'll have to sleep here tonight, assuming that there will be an announcement for all the recruits who participated in the trial. No matter if they passed or not.' Layla thought.

Hearing the footsteps of four people walking up to her, she turned her head to face them. She immediately recognized them as the first party who attempted to ambush her at the foot of the mountain.

They seized their movements once Layla looked at them. Their legs could be seen trembling along with some fear in their eyes, especially in Leia.

It was silent. No one dared speak, until Layla said, "Are you going to say anything? The silence is beginning to get weird."

Owen, the one in front, came out of his daze and said, "O-oh sorry."

"It's fine. You don't need to apologize."

They were afraid of her at first, but after exchanging a few words with her, their fear dissipated. They walked up to her, trying to be friendly with her. Leia, the one who was the most frightened, was leaning against the wall adjacent to Layla with a bright smile.

'They must've thought I was some kind of emotionless demon, but once they exchanged a few words with me, they realized that I was friendly, changing their opinion of me.' Layla thought, smiling.