Back at the main headquarters, Terrisia and the other Fortextiles watched the monitors.
One of the women spoke urgently. "Madam, twenty cadets have suffered fatalities… and the numbers keep rising."
Terrisia remained unshaken. "As expected… and it's only been a single day."
*****
Reol and Rugal stood face to face.
"Judging by the weapon you carry, you must be an Enhancer," Rugal said.
"Way to state the obvious."
Rugal's face twisted with anger as he lunged. "I'll wipe that smug look off your face!"
He struck with his hammer, but Reol blocked. The ground cracked beneath them as Rugal unleashed a barrage of heavy swings. Reol parried, ducked under a strike, and countered—his bat slamming into Rugal's torso with a sickening crack.
A rib fractured.
Rugal staggered, clutching his side.
Reol followed up instantly, driving the tip of his bat into Rugal's stomach. The impact sent him flying. He crashed against a tree and rolled as leaves rained down around him.
Rugal's eyes widened.
"He's a Honeybadger… so how is he this strong…?" He gritted his teeth. "This will not stand!"
He raged as the ground trembled beneath them, then slammed his hammer into the earth, which erupted into giant shards that shot toward Reol. Reol leapt back, but the earth followed, jagged pillars rising and twisting, aiming to skewer him midair.
Mid-flip, Reol planted his foot against one of the rising slabs, ran down the tilted earth as it surged upward, and swung—his bat crashing into Rugal's temple.
Rugal's eyes rolled back as the energy flickered out of them, and he collapsed to the ground, out cold.
"Well that takes care of that... honestly I thought he'd but up a bit of a fight."
Reol walked back to check on Selene.
*****
Lukas lunged, hurling his disks. Geno parried, but they curved midair, swerving in different directions. He weaved and dodged, parrying again as sparks flew.
Miranda leapt in and lashed out with her whip, locking around Geno's arm as a disk flew toward him—but he yanked Miranda in front of him. The disk halted mid-flight before whipping past them.
Geno spun Miranda and flung her into Lukas, the two crashing into each other, dust swirling.
Miranda and Lukas pushed themselves to their feet. Miranda gritted her teeth. "Dammit, he's a Honeybadger. Dealing with him should be a cakewalk."
"We were sloppy and underestimated him. Now we fight for real," Lukas said, eyes narrowing.
Miranda's whip slashed in every direction with blinding speed, carving lines into the ground as she lunged. Geno parried with his twin daggers, barely keeping up with the relentless barrage. One strike tore through his shoulder coat, drawing blood. The whips carved the earth beneath him as he dodged, fabric ripping with each near miss.
Taking a gamble, Geno dissipated one dagger. With precise timing, he caught the tip of the whip in his bare hand, wrapped it around his palm, and yanked her forward. In the same motion, he sliced the whip apart with his remaining dagger and drove a kick into her gut.
Her eyes widened from the impact, spit flying from her lips as she hurtled into a tree. The trunk rattled as she slid down, her eyes fading back to normal, her Whiplash dissipating.
Lukas froze in shock.
"These aren't guys to mess with… we need to retreat."
He grabbed Miranda, slung her over his shoulder, and fled into the trees.
Geno's eyes turned back to its normal color and his remaining dagger dissipated.
"Those guys were actually tough."
He glanced down at his outfit.
"Great. Now I'm all dirty, and my coat's completely messed up," he groaned.
*****
Reol made it back to the cave, where Selene was still lying among the corpses, visibly disgusted as she tried to play dead.
"You can stop playing dead now," Reol said.
Selene immediately jumped up, her expression twisted in agony.
"This has to be one of the worst experiences of my life… lying with dead bodies."
Reol chuckled. "But hey, it worked out. Good job playing dead, Selene."
Selene rubbed her fingers together awkwardly, chuckling softly. It felt strange being complimented by someone outside her branch.
Geno returned soon after, his coat torn, blood staining his shoulder.
Reol glanced at him. "Seems like they gave you some trouble," he said mockingly.
Geno scoffed. "Well, you only fought one guy, whereas I took on two of them."
"Okay, fine. Fair enough."
Selene looked between them. "So… what's our next plan of action?"
"It's almost nightfall," Geno said. "We need to find a place to camp. We can't stay here, people might come looking for crystals."
"That's a good point," Selene agreed.
They dug up the hole and retrieved the crystal before leaving the cave to search for a campsite.
As time passed and night descended, the forest grew heavier with darkness. The deeper they ventured, the more fallen Fortextile bodies they encountered—blood splattered across tree trunks, uniforms torn apart, faces so mangled they were barely recognizable.
The metallic scent lingered in the air.
Selene turned away, covering her eyes.
After hours of searching, they found higher ground overlooking part of the forest—a clearing with a river running through it and bushes filled with berries.
"Nice. This place has water and fruit," Reol said.
"Yeah, but we should remain vigilant at all times," Geno replied. "Voletiles could pop up from anywhere."
Reol nodded. "We'll take turns keeping watch while the others sleep."
"That's a good ide—"
Selene and Reol had already cozied up before Geno could even finish.
"You bloody—!" Geno groaned.
*****
Back at the main headquarters, Terrisia sat watching the monitors.
'This year's cadets are promising. I expected more deaths…
And as for the Honeybadger squad… they've exceeded my expectations.
But surviving one day is hardly enough.'
A woman came rushing in, panic written across her face.
"Lady Terrisia… we should call off the exam immediately!"
Terrisia remained calm and composed. "It's the B-rank, isn't it?"
"Yes. The cadets are not fit enough to challenge a Strider."
Terrisia was unbothered. "The exam will not be called off. On the field, unexpected situations tend to happen. Adapting to the unforeseen is one of the traits a Fortextile must have."
She turned her gaze to the woman.
"If they die here, they were never worthy to begin with."