GL (GalaxyLight): Time to get back to this one! Dunno why I got back to this, must have been having trouble getting through things. Anyway, time to continue the mid-terms exams of Elder Junior High School. Let's do this!
Elsword's PoV
The next day begins the mid-terms exam of Elder Junior High School. Elesis and I studied and trained hard to complete the rest of the exams especially with physical strength and the hunting event. Because we're going on a team hunting test and also a team monster fight. We'll have to keep and work together if we're going to win.
Specifically, in the team hunt test, you are allowed to form a team of four before the test starts. Of course, Elesis already established that she's going to be with me as her teammate which was pretty obvious. I have a feeling, Rena and Aisha are coming with us to the hunt too. Well, at least we won't get any strangers with us, it'll be a pain if we go with a random person, especially with Elesis since she's uncomfortable with new people.
"Let's hope things won't get harder in this test." I gulped. Elesis just cuddled me.
"Don't worry, Elsword. We've been good at hunting ever since we were young. There's no way we would fail to something like this."
"I guess you're right, now mind getting off me?" Elesis let go of me as we entered the school.
"Good morning, you two!" We heard Rena say to us from the entrance.
"Good morning, you're quite later than usual." Aisha told us making us sigh in frustration.
"Sorry, we had breakfast late, due to... the toaster having problems." Elsword frowned. "To think it would break today of all times."
"I'll make sure to fix by the time the exams end." Elesis reminded herself. That's when we heard the bell ring.
"Uh-oh! It's time to go soon, we gotta change now." Rena told us as we need nodded. The three headed to the girls changing room while I headed to the boys changing room, from our school uniform to our battle gear. We were told the hunting grounds would be at Shadow Forest, so we headed there by transport since it was a long way.
We were all gathered up at the entrance of Shadow Forest which was blocked by a fence gate. There was a massive crowd here, we could hardly move anywhere properly. It's a good thing the four of us are at the front so we can now listen to what our teachers have to say. Our instructor for this test is Stella, one of the PE teachers at Bethma.
"Alright, you all! I hope you had a good sleep last night, because todays test of mid-terms exam is Team Hunt, where you must form a team of four members and work together to make your way through the Shadow Forest. Anyone who cannot go any longer in the forest will have a rescue team to collect them to safety. Anyone who betrays their teammate will be disqualified for not following the rules."
"Your job is to find four types of el shards; the fire el shard, the water el shard, the earth el shard and the light el shard. Once you find each of them, find a way to get out of the forest without using the entrance. The Shadow Forest isn't a place for fun and games. It's a maze that'll get you lost for hours, so don't get any ideas about going to a random direction. There is also a possibility that you will meet some soldiers waiting for you to prove yourselves worthy to earn an el shard in their game, so don't keep them waiting for too long. We won't provide you a map so you'll need to rely on your own skills to find your way to the end the forest. When you are ready, just ask me at the gate leading to the forest and I'll let you pass. You may all begin!"
After hearing that, everyone gathered together to find a four-man team. Some tried to actually find Elesis due to her strong status and skills but it was already decided that she would go with me, Aisha and Rena. Most of them frowned in disappointment making me snicker a bit. Of course, they would try to find one of the strongest ones in this school. Sucks to be them.
"I'm sure we'll be perfectly fine in this hunt, I'm pretty great at it. In fact, I started hunting when I was only 6." Rena smiled.
"Wha-!?" The three of us gasped when we heard that.
"I know that elves tend to hunt in their early age, but that age is way too low!" Aisha blabbered out.
"We elves have a thing for nature so we tend to study a lot about it and the forests so we can venture ourselves through them, besides we're allowed to hunt whenever we like, right?" Rena smiled.
"That's saying something." Elesis remarked.
"We'll talk more about it as when go to the forest. Come on already!" I grunted. They didn't appreciate my impatient attitude which I really didn't care for such. We told Stella we were ready to go and she opened the gate for us. We thanked her as we headed inside the Shadow Forest.
Elesis's PoV
None of us have actually seen what the Shadow Forest looks like. Apparently, it was blocked by gates all the time. It's said that it was too dangerous for anyone to come here so the school had to lock it so they can make sure it is safe for those who can enter. When we arrived inside the Shadow Forest, I understood why they blocked it. The place was completely different than I thought it would be. The sky was completely dark even though, it's morning. The trees were purple which I've never seen any trees like that. And the atmosphere is quite unsettling, it even made me shiver a bit.
"This... is something I really wasn't expecting." Aisha commented.
"You aren't the only one. This place somewhat gives me the creeps." Elsword followed.
"Well, at least it's not a bushfire or anything." I muttered.
"What was that?" Rena, who gave me a threatening smile which made me shiver a bit, asked me.
"N-Nothing! Let's go and find the el shards and be on our way." They nodded as we proceed, but Rena was still giving me the dark glare. I just hope she gets over it, besides I didn't really mean it like that. Elves sure like nature, though a bit too much.
We walked our way pass the trees. It was very quiet here, making really hard to feel comfortable, sometimes I can see shadows with eyes staring at us. We kept preparing our weapons to see what is there, though it turns they were just bats and snakes... who tend to attack us. We were forced to slash our way through the horde of animals. I know this seems cruel, but this is technically a test to survive in a place like this. If you're ever stuck in a stranded forest, always fight your way and collect supplies as much as you can. That's the key to survival.
As we travelled longer, we found a court with four Elder soldiers playing with a ball, where one of them shoot through the ring. The court had two rings at the end of the court in each side. The court was surrounded by a wood fence so people know they're in the court without notice. We became confused to what they're doing until we saw a fire el shard, meaning this is some sort of game we must win in order to take that. When we came to them, they came to greet us.
"Greetings, fellow students." one of the soldiers said to them. "If you want to have that el shard, you must play a game of Pelota."
"Pelota?" Elsword asked unknown to the name.
"Pelota is a sports game where you run to the ball and pick it up, then must throw it to the ring in order to earn points." I explained to him. "You'll also need to steal your opponents' ball by to prevent them from getting any goals. It's great for physical training when facing your opponent and getting past them with a possession you carry."
"Ah, I think I get it now." I smiled as he understood. He was very good with physical strength as well as his speed. Although I can't really say the same for Aisha and Rena.
"The first team to score 3 points wins. Good luck, you'll need it!" The four of us gulped as we were about to face strong and professional soldiers and we're just mere students.
We readied ourselves as the left side, which was our side, and our opponents were waiting for us on their side. When the bell which automatically rang from out of nowhere much to our shock and suspiciousness, we all dashed towards the ball which was in the middle, while the soldiers did the same. I was surprised with their speed but compared to us, they were no challenge. Rena, who was the fastest out of all of us, managed to snag the ball and sidestepped away from our opponents.
"Impressive movements." One of the soldiers smiled as he attempt to tackle Rena only to stop when she passed the ball to me, who I was close to our opponent's goal, and wow did she have a good aim and throw. I caught the ball and threw it through the ring, earning us a goal.
"Not bad, but you still need 2 more." One of the soldiers reminded us. We nodded as we went back to our positions as the next round starts. This time they were getting harder to pass through.
'Did they go easy on us on that last round?' I thought to myself. I let my guard down as they easily scored a goal. To make it worse, they scored they second goal as well.
"What's wrong? I thought you were suppose to beat us, not play around with us." They taunted making us twitch in anger. They are so going to get it now.
Starting the next round, they had the ball again and easily passed through Aisha and Rena. But as he threw the ball to the ring. I jumped high up and caught the ball stopping it from getting through the ring. The thrower's eyes widen as I landed back down to the ground and threw it at super speed passing through the players. Just as it was about to hit the fence, it was suddenly caught by my brother who was near our opponent's goal and made a smashing dunk to the ring, despite it being vertical.
"Whoa! How did you know?" Rena asked me.
"I actually planned this and told Elsword about it. Sorry, for not telling since it's only needed for me and him."
"Ah, I guess that's okay then." Starting the last round, the soldiers were not making anything more easier, but in fact opposite. They were using all they got in this last round. We need to go all-out with our strength and speed if we're going to win. Our opponent's got the ball and I was blocking him out of the way.
"You're a persistent one." He grunted. "Why don't you give up when you have no chance of winning?"
"You may be stronger than us, you're just simply underestimating our skills." I smirked. He was confused at first until the ball was swiped by Aisha.
"What!?" He gasped.
"You never said anything about using magic, so I decided to block so she can use her teleportation magic to steal your ball without notice." I explained. Aisha shot the ball giving it a magic boost through the ring. At last, the game was over where we were victorious.
"Congratulations, you four. You did very well for young examiners. Here's your prize." The soldiers began clapping their hands as one of them handed us the fire el shard.
"Thanks, and what happened to that arrogant talk back there." I asked firmly.
"It was just to encourage you to go full power on us symbolizing that you need to do that in order to win. Besides, we don't like people going easy on us, it's very boring."
"Fair enough..." I took the el shard and placed it into my inventory.
"Good luck with finding the rest." The four waved goodbye while we did the same and left.
Aisha's PoV
Searching for the next el shard we looked around and around and found a big pond. "What do you suppose you'd find around these waters?" Elsword asked.
"Who knows? There could be an el shard somewhere." Rena suggested. Elesis looked around and then her eyes widen when she found something. "Hey! I see something over there, in the middle of the pond!" We took a closer look and found out she was right. There was a water el shard floating in a small land surrounded by water. Why the heck does something like that exist?
"Who the heck puts an el shard in the middle of a land surrounded by a pond?" Elsword grunted. Well, I'll be damned.
"I guess we should swim our way there, but I don't really want my clothes to be wet..." Rena frowned looking at her clothes with worry.
"Of course you don't..." Elesis facepalmed. Rena may be a elven hunter but she doesn't like getting her clothes wet. Of course, I don't want my clothes to be wet either. "Besides, I don't think swimming is a good idea anyway. Look." She pointed to the pond and we gasped as we saw alligators in the pond. They were moving suspiciously odd though and they looked quite slow.
"Well that's just great! Now what!?" Elsword groaned. I have an idea, and it's probably an easy one.
"...I'll be right back." I said to them.
"Huh? What do yo-" I cut him off as I teleported away to the small land.
"Here it is." I smiled as I grabbed the water el shard before teleporting back to my team. "I'm back!" They gasped when they saw me with the el shard in my hand.
"Wha-!? How did you-!?" Elsword tried to put into words until I interrupted.
"Oh right! None of you know that I've mastered teleportation, except Elesis. I can teleport from far distances like that one, and I'm quite glad for that. If I didn't have enough range to get there, then there's no way we can get that."
"That's amazing, Aisha! I should expect nothing less from a magician." Rena clapped her hands.
"And I should expect nothing less from someone who has something that big..." I grunted looking at her chest.
"Eh?" Rena was disoriented of what I said, but Elsword and Elesis knew as they sweatdropped.
"Aaaaaanyway... Let's go and find the last two. They should be close." Elesis went to change the subject.
"I hope so, I mean it's not like one will move pass us as if it was being taken or anything." I firmly said until a monkey just went passed us. We turned to it and our eyes widened when we saw it was carrying the earth el shard.
"You just had to jinx it, didn't you?" Elsword groaned. The monkey then started jumping from tree to tree.
"Hang on! I'll go get it!" Rena exclaimed as she started chasing the monkey from tree to tree.
Rena's PoV
That monkey is faster than I thought. Even though I was keeping up with it, I can't seem to get any closer to it. 'Grr. There's gotta be a way to stop it from moving again.' I thought to myself as I tried to think of an idea. That's when I got one as a light bulb appeared on top of my head, dinging. I stopped moving and took out my bow, I then took out an arrow and began steadying myself. Despite that the monkey was getting away, I already found my target and was ready to shoot.
"Guided Arrow!" I shouted out as I fired three arrows at the monkey. It smirked as it dodged out of the way, but now I was smirking. "You underestimate my arrows, monkey." I chuckled darkly. Those arrows are no ordinary arrows. After the monkey dodged them, the arrows slowly made a U-Turn and were flying back to the monkey. It couldn't see them because it was too busy spitting his tongue towards me. I was still smirking making it confused for a second until something bright was behind it. As it turned around and found out the arrows were back, it screamed in agony as the arrows got it and exploded into natural energy.
I did a fist pump when I saw he monkey knocked out from my arrows, but my emotions changed when I saw the earth el shard rolling out from its hands and fell down from the branch. Needing to act now, I leaped out from the branch I was standing on and reached my hand towards the el shard. In no time at all, I caught it, giving me a relief, but there was one problem; I was still falling. I freaked out and tried to find something to grab onto, but I lost my balance when I got the el shard, I was constantly rolling back and forth. My eyes widened when I then noticed the ground getting closer to me.
'Oh, this is going to hurt...' I thought when I knew what's going to happen next as I let out a groan before meeting the ground. I closed my eyes, ready to feel the pain... but I didn't feel any. Rather, I feel like I've been caught by someone. Confused, I opened my eyes only to see a familiar face in front of me.
"R-Raven!" I squeaked in surprised.
"You should be careful, this forest isn't a playground." Raven said to me. Why the heck is he here? Rather, what is he doing here? I wanted to ask questions until I realised I was being carried, bridal style. I blushed deep red as I began stammering like crazy. "Oh! I'm sorry! I should put you down..." He put me back on my feet gently. Since when was he a gentleman?
Dusting myself off, I saw Raven wearing some kind of battle gear of his own. he wore a black and red jacket except his chest and abs were exposed, not that I appreciate his body or anything. Although his chest is covered with bandages, I wonder why. He had a iron bracelet on his right hand. He wore black pants with white straps shaped like a cross in each side. He wore armoured shoes as well. His hair had a little white colour in the front, which confuses me because I didn't see it, since the last time we met. As for his left arm, which scares me a little, it had a black pauldron and the arm looked like it was fully armoured with a mechanical claw, making it look more like a robotic arm than a human arm. He had a sword which had a sharp edge, is it what they call a 'blade'?
"What are you doing here?" I demanded for answers. "Aren't students and the rescue teams only allowed to be in the forest?"
"What are you saying? I AM part of the rescue team." My eyes widen when he said that.
'Wait! He's a fighter as well, he looked like janitor at school but judging by what he's wearing now, it kinda makes sense. But why is he hiding his identity?' I thought to myself.
"And I came here to settle down a monster who got loose in one the cages." He continued.
"Monster?" I asked disoriented with that statement. Just when I was about to ask more, I felt the earth shake a little. Was it just my imagination? It wasn't, I felt it again, and it was getting heavier and heavier. I suddenly felt something dark behind me as I saw a huge shadow in front of me. I also heard a growl behind me. I gulped as I slowly turned to see a gigantic phoru staring at us. I covered my mouth, in order to not scream.
"That monster." Raven gritted his teeth as the giant monster roared at us loudly in anger.
GL: I'm going to end this chapter for now. This fight is going to take much longer than you think so I'll stop there. I'll see you in the next chapter as the pair faces off the loose monster.