Matt was tending Natz's wounds again. They had returned home and found several golems and living clay statues terrorizing the Genshin Impact characters. Matt had originally told everyone to stick together and take out the enemies one at a time but Andres did not listen and continuously split off from the group to clear out rooms on his own. However, their numbers easily overwhelmed him and forced him to retreat to the group with a large number of enemies on his tail.

Because of this, the team was quickly surrounded and overwhelmed by the number of foes. Thankfully, Lance and Anna managed to summon a few dragons that eliminated their enemies but injured everyone in the process.

Everyone used up all of their MP points so any healing had to be done via food. Still, there wasn't enough for everyone to be restored to full health so Matt had to choose who to heal and who would have to wait. Regardless, the entire house was a complete mess so now one was making any food for now and while the EBF characters regained health over time, the process was a slow and inefficient one.

"Here," said Matt. He handed Natz a coconut slice. "This is the last piece of food that we have left. It might not be much but it will help nonetheless."

He then turned to Andres.

"What were you thinking?" asked Matt angrily.

"Hey! I didn't expect to run into this many foes," complained Andres. "Besides we took them all out so I don't see a problem."

"Yes but if you stuck to us, the amount of damage that we've taken wouldn't have been as bad as it is now." Matt gestured towards the rest of the team who were still recovering from the battle. Lance had numerous cuts and bruises over his body and his uniform had been torn. Anna's dress had several cuts and was missing one of her hair bobbles. She also had a black eye. Edward was wrapping his right arm with a bandage while looking for a lost shoe. Matt was alright but he was completely out of MP points while Seth and Andres were the only two who were fully recovered from the fight.

"Our fighting ability has been reduced to 50%. We are in no condition to continue pursuing Darius until we can get more supplies."

Matt put away his Heaven's Gate and sat down on a chair that miraculously survived the battle.

"Matt, do you think we can find a slime bunny anywhere?" asked Natz. "If we find one, then our supply issue will be solved in almost no time at all."

"I don't know but it seems possible considering the things that made it through. Lance, can you use your drones to scout various areas and find a slime bunny?" asked Matt.

Lance nodded and pulled out his radio to instruct his drones.

"I don't know about you guys, but I'm going to the next portal. I'm not going to let Darius get away if I have the chance."

Andres got up and began heading towards the door.

"Andres. We need you to wait. Going alone is suicide and not an option. Besides, if you get hurt then how will we continue the fight? If anything, we're going to retrieve the slime bunny once it's found," said Matt.

"Sheesh. Who put you in charge?" asked Andres.

"It doesn't matter who's in charge. What matters is how we will deal with the issue at hand and the possible solutions that anyone can provide."

"We are not letting Darius get away!"

"And we are not going to survive unless we can retrieve something to replenish our supplies," argued Matt.

"Look, I took on the Protector and destroyed it."

"And nearly got yourself killed in the process."

"Matt, why don't we split the team?" suggested Anna. "It will allow us to accomplish two goals at the same time."

Matt thought about it before nodding.

"Alright then, Andres, Edward, and Seth, you're with me. We will take care of Darius. Natz, Anna, and Lance will retrieve the slime bunny. We'll rendezvous at my home once our missions are done."

Matt and his chosen team left while the remaining members remained behind to help clean up the mess.

Second Portal Location…

Matt, Seth, and Edward were watching Andres fight from the sidelines. All three of them had been injured by Andres' trial which Matt was still trying to identify. Additionally, Matt was now missing his Heaven's Gate which was being used by Andres in his trial while Andres' Gaia's bow rested nearby.

"Hurrah!"

Andres swung the sword at his trial but missed. He then got kicked and pushed over his trial who resembled him but was wearing a viking suit and using a blue sword with many symbols written on it.

"Why? Why can't I beat you?" asked Andres. He swung and missed again.

At the sidelines, Matt finally managed to identify Andres' trial using the scanner.

"Got it. This trial is practically Andres but with my skills and weaknesses. Apparently, those who go through it are supposed to learn humility and acceptance of a leader. Just like Seth's trial, we can't intervene at all."

"Why does Andres have your sword though?" asked Seth as he continued to watch the fight

"It's part of the trial. He will have to face his opponent as if he were me or the person he wants to be in order to learn the lesson," responded Matt. "Since I can't interfere, that means that I can't get my sword back either."

"I'm not sure how that is supposed to teach him but this probably would've ended earlier if our friend here was more accepting and willing to listen," commented Edward.

They watched as Andres continuously swung the sword but every time he did, he missed his swing or was parried by his clone that also countered and even stopped his attacks by punching Andres.

"This fight would be a lot easier if I could just land one blow on this guy," commented Andres. Still, every single swing missed the clone. Finally, Andres was grabbed by the clone and thrown to the ground. The resulting force caused him to release Heaven's Gate and slid him all the way to his bow.

"Andres!"

"I'm going in."

Edward got up to try and enter the arena but was thrown back the moment he put his staff inside the combat zone.

"Dang it! It's not letting me. Matt, what should we do?"

Matt helped Edward back to the sidelines before answering.

"We must let him complete this fight on his own. The next blast could end all three of us if we aren't careful."

As this happened Andres looked up and saw both Matt's Heaven's Gate sword and his Gaia's Bow in front of him. On the blade of Heaven's Gate, Andres saw his reflection reaching out towards the blade. He quickly realized that he was doing it himself as well so he stopped and looked at his bow.

"Was I meant to be a leader?"

Flashback

Andres was chatting with Mr. Enriquez about their latest film project. As they were talking, Andres pulled out an SD card.

"Thanks for returning this. By the way, I heard you were having trouble with some of your team members."

"Yeah I have been," responded Andres. "Some guys just don't want to listen to me even though I'm giving them good advice. I literally know more things than them yet they don't want to listen. Even our team leader has told me to stop working on certain parts of our project just because he thinks it's good."

"Andres," said Mr. Enriquez. "Sometimes, you need to let the team leader do his job instead of you doing it for him. You may have more experience than the rest of the team but that doesn't mean you're able to lead them. I choose team leaders not by experience but by their ability to make the right decisions and relate to the rest of the team. The greatest leader won't be able to get anything done unless he is able to connect to all his team members. Likewise, the greatest projects of experienced members are useless if they don't perform their assigned role and it doesn't align with the best interest of the rest of the team."

End of Flashback…

"Mr. Enriquez is right. I shouldn't be trying to be the team leader because I am an experienced leader and can do things on my own."

Andres turned away from Matt's sword and picked up his bow. "Matt's our leader because he can relate to our team and make the right choices. I'm a member that was given the job of ranged support so I will do my best as one!"

A new symbol appeared on Andres' skillset. "A new skill? The timing couldn't have been better."

Andres activated the skill and aimed his bow. The arrow he had notched began to glow and emit a large amount of white energy.

"Power Blast."

Andres released the arrow and watched as it struck his trial and created a large blast that threw him back. The resulting explosion also tore apart the clone with its remnants turned into various pieces of earth that scattered around the combat zone.

"Is it over?"

Matt entered the battle area to retrieve his sword. However no consequences or barriers prevented him from retrieving the weapon.

"Yep. Andres has completed his trial."

Andres nodded before putting away his bow.

"I'm sorry for how I acted. My actions put us all in danger. I will accept any disciplinary action given."

Matt nodded and put away his sword. He then put a hand on his friend's shoulder.

"I believe you've learned your lesson. If you wish to prove more to us. Don't do it by words but by your actions in the battles to come."

He then gestured to the rest of the team.

"Let's head home and recover. I hope the others managed to accomplish their mission as well."