The forest, once filled with deafening shrieks and explosive destruction, had finally fallen silent.
After a grueling yet surprisingly short battle, the defeated Reflezard crashed to the ground with a heavy, lifeless thud.
Dom collapsed beside it, gasping for breath while his battered body trembled violently from pain and exhaustion.
A strange silence then settled over the clearing.
The kind that only came after true chaos.
After near-death.
A tensed yet gentle peace that usually followed true chaos and near-death.
For several heartbeats, nothing moved an inch…
Then Dom groaned and forced himself onto a knee.
His breathing came out ragged and uneven as his tired eyes drifted toward the massive corpse beside him. A weak, almost disbelieving smirk tugged at his lips.
Several meters away, Dae remained slumped against the corpse of another beast, his head lowered while his chest rose and fell heavily.
"You alright?"
Dae slowly looked up.
Dom staggered toward him, one hand pressed against the shallow wound on his stomach while blood trickled through his fingers.
"You took a nasty hit back there," Dom added, genuine concern in his voice despite his own wounds.
Dae scoffed weakly.
"You should really worry about yourself first," He muttered, voice strained as he tried to sit upright. "I thought you were dead."
Dom let out a shaky laugh.
"So did I…" He admitted while glancing toward the trail of destruction his body carved through the forest from the Reflezard's first attack. "I blacked out for a few minutes…but I'm still alive and kicking."
"Obviously," Dae grumbled, his teeth gritted as he tried to stand, only for his injured leg to twitch painfully beneath him.
But before he could fall, Dom reached out a hand.
Dae stared at it briefly before finally accepting the help.
"I'm honestly surprised you survived that," Dae admitted as Dom pulled him upright.
"It'd take a lot more than that to put me down," Dom declared boldly.
The moment he straightened fully, however, a sharp pain shot through his bruised ribs, causing him to wince instantly.
Dae noticed Dom's visible pain, then his gaze shifted toward the Reflezard's corpse in the distance, a mix of disbelief and exhaustion in his tired eyes.
"If I didn't see it for myself," He murmured, "I would never have believed you could defeat a Reflezard."
Dom patted him on the back, making Dae wince again. "It was a team effort." He said with a proud smile. "I couldn't have done it without you slowing it down first."
Dae stared at him for a moment.
Then, despite himself, a faint smile crossed his face.
Suddenly, a distant explosion echoed through the forest, and the ground trembled beneath their feet.
Both boys stiffened in realization.
"Shit. I totally forgot about the exam," Dom muttered, rubbing his head with a heavy sigh.
In the chaos of surviving this A-class beast, he had completely forgotten why they were there in the first place.
"How much time do we even have left?" He asked, glancing toward the position of the sun.
Meanwhile, Dae attempted another step before grimacing sharply. He looked down at his injured leg, twitching with every attempted movement.
"It doesn't matter." He grumbled, drawing Dom's attention. "I can't run anymore." He admitted, frustration and exhaustion etched across his face.
"Then I'll carry you," Dom replied immediately, his confidence making Dae flinch. "I'll take you and Sam to the goal. Where's he?" He asked, scanning their surroundings.
Dae pointed weakly toward a bush, where Sam remained hidden among the leaves, unconscious and unmoving.
"He should be fine if he stays hidden," Dae said quietly before lowering himself back onto the ground, then looked up at the sky. "We still have maybe an hour and a half left."
Dom smiled. "Then… we still have time." He said as he started towards Sam, but Dae's eyes narrowed at the limp in Dom's gait and his already fading mana.
"My injuries are not as bad as his," Dae said. "If you can carry Samuel to the goal, then the trainers can-"
"I'm not leaving you, Dae," Dom snapped as he stopped beside a tree, briefly resting against it to catch his breath while he stared at Sam, now a few feet away. "I'll just… have to carry… both of you."
Dae's eyes flared with frustration. "Don't be stupid, Dominic." He snapped back. "You can barely walk on your own. You won't be able to carry both of us and Samuel needs immediate medical attention. I'll slow you down."
"I can…" Dom breathed heavily before forcing himself upright again. "… I'll save Sam and…"
He turned toward Dae with a tired grin.
"We'll pass this thing, too. We've come too far to stop here, partner."
Dae's eyes widened slightly.
Even now--covered in blood, bruised from head to toe, barely able to stand--Dom's eyes still burned with that same absurd determination.
The same determination he used to kill that beast.
Dae lowered his head with a defeated sigh. "Do what you want." He muttered tiredly, his dimmed eyes fixed on his still trembling leg. "I can't stop you anyway."
Dom laughed weakly before continuing toward Sam.
Meanwhile, Dae rested his head against the ground… and a small, exhausted smile crossed his lips before his eyes slowly closed.
Some time later…
At the center of that massive training field, two battered recruits finally emerged from the forest.
Their bodies were covered in blood, dirt, burns, and bruises.
Together, they staggered toward two towering black pillars standing at the center of the clearing.
Between the pillars swirled a familiar gigantic blue portal.
They shared a fleeting, exhausted smile before stepping into the portal—and arrived back among the waiting trainers and recruits.
Medics rushed forward instantly, expertly tending to their wounds.
In the background of expecting trainers and other successful recruits, Johan checked his pocket watch, frowning. "Ten minutes left," He murmured, just as Sandra approached.
"Don't you think it's strange, sir?" She asked, eyes flicking across the gathered recruits. "Despite being our best, they're still not here yet."
Johan lowered his watch with a sigh. "I was thinking the same thing."
Sandra turned back to the portal, concern etched across her face. "Do you think something happened to them?" She asked.
"Who knows?" Johan replied calmly, lighting his cigarette with a neutral expression. "Whatever happens out there, they're on their own. If they fail… then so be it."
Sandra frowned at him. "Isn't that a little cruel, sir?"
"We're soldiers, Sergeant." Johan answered while exhaling smoke into the air. "Cruelty comes with the job."
Sandra sighed quietly and turned back to the portal, a hopeful look still on her face.
As the minutes passed, tension steadily filled the area… most notably because two of their top best pairs were nowhere to be seen.
A female recruit whispered a nervous prayer beneath her breath, hoping for her friends to survive… just as a hand touched her shoulder.
She turned to find Roger standing beside her
"There's no point in worrying so much," He said with a fake sympathetic frown. "If they've not made it here yet, then they probably failed. It's unfortunate…but these things happen."
The girl visibly cringed as she tried but failed to pull away from Roger's grip.
"Don't worry." Roger continued while attempting to pull her closer. "As the next strongest team, we'll be sure to-"
"Roger." Levi said, tapping his back.
Roger's brow twitched irritably at the interruption. "What?" He grumbled before noticing Levi pointing at the portal. He followed the gesture and watched with everyone else as the portal distorted again.
But this time… an exhausted Dom stumbled through with Dae and Sam slung across his back. Blood and grime covered all three of their battered bodies.
Sensing the change in the atmosphere, Dae's eyes cracked open as he recognized the training grounds. "We… made… it," He whispered weakly.
Dom forced a trembling smirk.
"See? I told you…" His voice faltered. "We won't… f—"
His legs finally gave out on the next step.
Dom crashed heavily onto the stone floor, sending both Dae and Sam tumbling off his back.
The entire hall erupted into motion.
Medics rushed forward immediately, separating the three injured recruits while nearby soldiers cleared space around them.
"Damn," One medic muttered as he rolled Dom onto his back, taking in the bruises, cuts, and feverish sweat covering his body.
"Dom…Dae…Sam," A recruit whispered uneasily while the medics checked their vitals.
Shock spread through the gathered recruits.
"They're supposed to be the strongest…" Another recruit commented, adding to the tension.
Even Roger and Levi exchanged stunned glances.
Roger himself swallowed hard, his mind struggling to imagine what kind of monster could reduce all three of them to such a state.
Then a trembling voice cut through the noise.
"Where's David?"
Dom slowly lifted his gaze, and immediately met the eyes of the praying girl from earlier, her gaze filled with desperate hope.
"Where's David?" She asked again.
Dom's eyes widened with recognition.
As the image of her lover's severed head haunted his mind, his expression darkened, a sight that cracked her already fragile hope.
Especially after Dae's exhausted eyes mirrored the very same grief.
"Move back!" Sandra ordered as she pushed through the recruits alongside Johan and the other trainers.
Then, they stopped once they fully saw the condition of the wounded trio.
"Jesus…" One trainer muttered quietly as a medic quickly stitched Sam's exposed wound while another applied healing magic to stabilize him.
Johan's gaze remained steady as he looked at the two conscious mages. "What happened?" He asked calmly.
Dom whispered through groans, "We… got jumped… by… an A class."
"A Reflezard," Dae added through clenched teeth while a medic disinfected his injured leg.
Several trainers visibly stiffened.
Some recruits gasped in recognition of that deadly beast.
And even Johan's eye widened slightly in disbelief.
"That's impossible," One trainer blurted out. "Reflezards are rare, High A-class Magic beasts. We never sent those in. You must've-"
"It was… lizard-like…" Dae interrupted weakly, his tired eyes narrowed as he recalled that terrifying frame and shriek. "It was fast and powerful. And it had a hard shell which reflected my spells."
Silence fell immediately.
Everything he described matched the beast's features and abilities perfectly.
Johan narrowed his eyes suspiciously while Sandra shook her head.
"I personally reviewed and cataloged every single beast we sent into the field, including the ten A-class. There's no way I would make a mistake like that." She said.
Johan then calmly dropped to a knee, eyes glowing as his gaze pierced through their eyes while his mana reached into their minds.
Within moments, he accessed Dom and Dae's memories, reliving their experience like moving pictures. The battlefield…the destruction…the Reflezard.
Several seconds later, Johan stood again. "They're telling the truth," He said, while releasing his spell.
"Are you sure?" Sandra asked quietly.
Johan nodded, exhaling a thin stream of smoke as his glowing eyes dimmed.
She then turned back to the wounded two, her gentle face now etched with regret. "I am so sorry." She said. "I thought I double-checked everything before the exam. I must have made a mistake."
"I doubt that, Sergeant," Johan said, his eyes narrowed as the image of the beast lingered in his mind. "You're not at fault here."
Sandra frowned slightly at his words, but before she could respond, one of the recruits hesitantly stepped forward.
"Um, are they going to be okay?" A girl asked, nervously glancing at Dom, Dae, and Sam.
Johan looked toward one of the medics. The man gave a reassuring thumbs-up while continuing his healing spell, easing some of the tension hanging over the clearing.
Then--
A loud bell echoed throughout the hall.
Everyone turned toward the portal as its swirling blue light flickered violently before collapsing inward.
"Time's up," One trainer announced grimly.
The female recruit from earlier stiffened. "No." She whispered, her trembling eyes shifted towards Sam's unconscious body, then toward Dom and Dae.
"What about David?" She asked again, tears already streaming down her face. "Where is he?"
Dom closed his eyes tightly, pain etched across his features. "I'm… sorry," He mumbled, the sight of David's remains made his stomach twist.
The girl sank to her knees as sobs tore from her throat. Several recruits hurried toward her, trying to comfort her as she cried openly.
"This is a mess," One trainer muttered under his breath.
Sandra frowned deeply, unable to disagree.
Johan, watched the grieving recruits in silence before letting out a slow sigh.
"Start gathering the remaining recruits from the field." He ordered calmly.
Sandra nodded, despite her frustration.
Johan's eyes then glowed intensely, sending a wave of green mana across the room instantly.
"I've just applied my spell on the beasts so they won't cause trouble anymore." He said, then pointed at some soldiers. "You five—help her out."
"Sir!"
The five other trainers saluted before quickly moving toward the terminal station as Sandra worked on reopening the field portal.
Johan then turned his glowing gaze to Dom and Dae. "Regardless of the mix-up," He said. "I'm honestly impressed that you two managed to kill a Reflezard."
The surrounding recruits stiffened again at the reminder.
"That's a monster that even A-class Magic Knights struggle against—and you did it while protecting someone else."
Dae and Dom weakly glanced at Sam, now lying on a gurney, being rushed away, while two other gurneys were brought in for them.
"You worked as a team, achieved your objective, saved a recruit, and are the only ones to kill an A-class," Johan added with a small nod. "Well done, soldiers,
Levi looked toward Roger, who immediately clicked his tongue, unable to hide the frustration twisting across his face.
Just like a few of the survivors, Roger and Levi ran into one of the other A-class beasts, an ice-breathing Wyvern, more commonly known as a Frost-Spitter.
And despite Johan's warning, Roger felt the need to prove himself against this overwhelming beast until he watched that monster wipe out an entire segment of the forest with one single breath and ran away in fear.
And yet… these two managed to kill an even more dangerous monster. Once again, he was out-staged…
But…the praise barely registered for the two mages in particular.
Dom's frown deepened as he stared at the girl sobbing uncontrollably, guilt weighing heavily in his chest.
Meanwhile, Dae simply closed his eyes, his exhausted face hollow and distant as medics strapped them onto their gurneys.
Johan sighed again, his gaze sweeping the room, noticing some resentful stares from his wards.
A recruit finally found the courage to step forward. "With all due respect, sir…" He said through clenched teeth, "Don't you think you're being a little inconsiderate?"
Johan looked around, noticing others sharing the same sentiment.
However unmoved by their stares, he replied calmly, "I do feel bad about what happened… but that won't change anything."
The recruit clenched his fists in frustration.
Johan folded his arms, continuing in the same measured tone. "I promise to get to the bottom of this, but… in some strange, fucked-up way, I still consider this a lesson."
"A lesson?" Roger asked, raising a brow.
Johan's gaze returned to the medics, who were finishing the final straps on Dom and Dae, who had both finally succumbed to unconsciousness.
"Not everything goes according to plan. Operations fail. People die. Unexpected variables appear." He said, voice even, as the boys were lifted.
"I said it when we first met, remember?" Johan added, turning back to the recruits. "What we need from you is the power to complete any operation, regardless of the risk. This is a practical example."
Silence spread across the clearing.
Harsh as his words were…nobody could deny them.
Johan closed his eyes briefly.
"I hate that it happened like this, but unfortunately… that's just how things work," Johan said, closing his eyes as the medics carried Dom and Dae away.
As the other trainers and recruits watched them disappear toward the medical wing, Johan spoke again.
"Now then," He said, addressing the remaining recruits. "Of the forty recruits deployed into the field, only twenty-nine returned before the deadline."
A heavy silence followed.
"But only twenty-two achieved the full requirement."
"Damn it," One recruit cursed, eyes glistening as she remembered her partner killed by a Gorback.
A few others shared similar expressions of grief and disbelief, their partners ripped apart or devoured during the exam.
"The remaining seven recruits, including those still stranded in the field, will be given another examination opportunity in two months," Johan explained, turning to them fully.
"As for the rest of you…" His sharp gaze swept across their faces. "You are no longer recruits. From today, you are fully authorized Magic knights."
He raised his hand in salute, with the trainers following suit.
"On behalf of the Royal Council and Royal Army, I congratulate you."
A few recruits returned the salute automatically.
Most didn't.
Some stood frozen in shock.
Some looked conflicted.
Others simply stared at the ground, grieving the people who never made it back.