Everyone has scattered throughout the forest pretty soon after the horn signaled the start of the hunt. It was only me, Reilly and Nima now standing at the starting point. Saxa tried to use her power against me to get rid of me but for some reason her powers didn't work. I wanted to test this theory but since I can't really control or summon them, I was useless. I looked at the girls and they went to try out theirs. Reilly walked up to a tree and tried to punch it but she only stumbled back holding her fist and yelping in pain. I run to her and yell at her for what she did. But then she told me one of her powers is enhanced strength. I blinked at her and then only nodded like it made sense but actually didn't. But then I remembered she was always strong and fast at school. Carrying around heavy stuff when teacher asked, dominated PE class or scared off the bullies who tried to get to me. I was holding her forearm while she waited for the pain to pass while Nima was crouching and playing in the dirt with her fingers. Then she sighed and stood up. We looked at each other and then we realized that the powers must be blocked off for the hunt. It only makes sense, since the level of skill is different and the hunt is shared with Aveus students too. It didn't make any difference for me since I wasn't planning on using them anyway. At least not intentionally and I doubt I could magnetize trees or animals or zap anything with a bolt of lightning. We gather up together and then decide to walk deeper into the forest to find whatever we are supposed to.

It is starting to get darker after the sunset not to mention we were pretty deep inside the forest now. The place was quiet besides those little animal noises or the howling wind. We haven't met anyone in a while which felt kinda nice. To take a break from people and just chill alone with friends even though we are in a forest and could get attacked by a bear or something. I wondered how the girls from Aveus are doing and if there was a way for us to find each other. But there was another problem we had to solve first. We still had no idea what to look for to win this hunt. It was just trees and nothing around. No signs or anything. Do we have to dig up something or is it hanging somewhere on top of the tallest tree?

Walking for a few hours we started to feel tired and our feet hurting. Luckily there were some big rocks around the area we were in right now. Big enough to sit down on them and rest. Reilly plopped down on one as quickly as she could to rest her feet. Since we didn't have much time before the hunt, we didn't have a chance to change our clothes or shoes and she was wearing heels, her soles must be on fire. You would also think that not eating and drinking for that long would make us feel weak too but now that I think about it, I feel fine. Is it another enchantment over the forest for the hunt alongside with the power block for us to not drop dead while trying to find this treasure? I sit down on a rock close to Reilly and let out a sigh. Nima sat a bit further from us but she was still looking around and thinking about the hunt and what should we do next.

Nima: What do you think is the main purpose of this hunt?

Me: Isn't it showing your skills to the professors and proving yourself?

Nima: Yes. But we can't use our powers so I guess it's not to show them how we can control them. What could be the thing we are supposed to find?

Reilly: I don't care honestly. I am too tired already but it must be something unusual. Doubt they would just put a random chest let's say like in the middle of the forest and let us race to it.

Nima: What is it then? You girls have any idea?

Reilly: Does anyone remember the riddle? Kaitlin?

Me: Wait let me see. Uhm... something about what is it they seek and a treasure that's hidden but not in a chest.

Reilly: Well that answers our question. It is not a chest or a thing. Could it be like an enchated animal?

Me: No I don't think so. It also said their prey is not flesh. That means we are not looking for an unicorn or... a glowing wolf.

Reilly: Glowing wolf? That is oddly specific but funny.

Me: No. There is a glowing wolf just looking at us.

I point my finger into the distance where the wolf is just standing on a spot, peeking from behind a tree and staring at us. The girls turn to the direction I am pointing at but as soon as they do, the wolf disappears. They look back at me and then Reilly says it must be just my imagination playing me since we have been walking around for too much. But Nima only squints her eyes and takes a deep breath, tilting her head to the right.

Nima: It could be a Komuri.

Me: A what?

Nima: A Komuri. It's a sort of a spirit of an animal that serves as a guide to lost people. Something like a will-o'-wisp. Everyone sees a different type of animal but their purpose is the same.

Me: Do you think it's trying to help us with the hunt?

Nima: No one really knows why they appear. Sometimes people pray for them when they get lost. They come to help but many times they don't. But I guess it wouldn't hurt to follow it.

Me and Nima stood up from the rocks and started to walk in the direction I saw the wolf but then we hear a groan. I look back to see annoyed Reilly not wanting to stand up. I chuckle and then walk up to her, grabbing her arms and pulling her up. Her head falls back and he steps are sturdy and small. I tease her about being a work out psycho but can't handle this little walk in the forest. Eventually she gives in and joins us to continue the hunt. We arrive approximately to the spot where I saw the wolf but it wasn't here anymore. I look around to see if it appears again but I saw nothing. Then Reilly yells out and points somewhere into the forest, saying she saw a glowing deer. She starts to run after it and with Nima I try to catch up with her. We almost had her but then we heard rustling of leaves on the ground and suddenly something crashed into us. Losing our balance, we fall on the ground and groan out in pain.

Familiar girl voice: Watch where you going. That rabbit is ours! Wait. Kaitlin?

I look up to see who did we hit and it was Jess. And there was Enko catching up after her while dragging some other girl by her hand. She looked familiar too but I couldn't place her at first. After Enko helped me get up, our faces got closer and I could see her white eyes. Then I remembered that it's the girl from the infirmary.

Jess: What are you guys doing here?

Reilly: The hunt.

Enko: Well yes. I guess that's obvious. Oh guys, this is Gaia. We met her wandering in the forest and then realized...she can't see.

Me: Hi. My name is Kaitlin. I know you. I was in the infirmary when they brought you.

Gaia: Oh were you? I am sorry. I was blinded since that day and haven't seen you. But it is nice to meet you.

Me: This is my best friend Reilly and Nima.

Gaia: Ah yes. I remember those names from the beginning of the year.

Jess: Oh no! The rabbit is gone! We can't win now.

Nima: Was it glowing?

Jess: Yes. We think it's the thing we need to win the hunt so we tried to catch it but it got away now.

Nima: It is not the treasure. That thing is called a Komuri. It is a type of a guiding spirit and it was showing you the way. It was either showing us a way to find the treasure or wanted us to meet.

Gaia: I heard about them. There is a legend saying, they were created by Artemis to help people who are lost. She asked Hades to lend her souls of deceased animals and she turned them into guiding spirits. But no one knows their true purpose or how and why they appear. I would like to help you with them but our powers are blocked.

Me: Yes, we figured that out at the start when Saxa wanted to attack me. But how would you help us out?

Gaia: I am a descendant of Hades. I might have been able to connect to the souls if I could access my powers.

Nima: It's ok. I am not much of a help either. I am an Artemis descendant. I could have connected to the animals but can't either.

Me: Girls. That's totally fine. They want us to figure it out without our powers so let's just try our best and search for the treasure.

I try to hype up the girls who sounded like they are giving up on the hunt. It is hard without their powers and also we are supposed to find something which we don't know what it is yet. It was just a blind and mindless running around the forest for us, until we come across the actual treasure or we figure it out from the riddle.

Jess: We should have just followed Ledon and others.

Reilly: Are they powerful magicians?

Enko: A bit more powerful than us but that's not really the reason. We heard them laughing and standing at the starting point while everyone else ran into the forest. They seemed like they know something about the hunt.

Me: They do. I saw them bothering older students for information and then leaving with a smug after they got it.

Jess: I guess that means they probably already found the treasure.

Everyone just scoffs as we are all standing in a cirle but then Jess spotted a glowing rabbit again. I turned into the direction she said she saw it and I saw the same wolf sitting and looking at me. But soon after Jess started running to catch the rabbit, the wolf moved and walked away. I told everyone that I see the wolf and Reilly agreed that she is seeing the same deer as before. We all nodded at each other and decided to follow it but then I remembered Gaia. I looked at her as she was just standing on a spot, tilting her head and trying to listen in and figure out which way she is supposed to walk. I grab her hand which made her jump and yelp but I said it's just me and that I will help to guide her while we follow the spirits. She thanked me and apologized for being a burden but I didn't mind helping her. The girls ran after the rabbit and deer but me and Gaia just walked slowly. The wolf seemed to be calm, wasn't running at all. Instead it walked at a steady pace and stopped from time to time, looking at back me and Gaia to make sure we are keeping up with its' pace. It was so mesmerizing that we lost track of where we are and followed it blindly. Suddenly the wolf disappeared and we find ourselves in the middle of a luminescent garden. It was full of flowers that were glowing and shining in different colors resembling a clear night sky full of stars. The girls stopped hunting their Komuris too. They were a few metres ahead of us but after the guide spirit evaporated, they looked around to search for us. We were just standing there in the middle of this field of flowers like we were in a trance. I guided Gaia to walk through the flowers while Enko and Jess started picking them up or playing with them. We almost reached the girls when we heard a little squeek. Everyone was confused by it but then we looked down only to see a small figure lying on the ground. It wasn't bigger than a Barbie doll and had little wings. Not to mention the skin color was pinkish, changing to lilac when illuminated by the light coming from the garden. It was a small and adorable creature. I apologized to it, not knowing if it can understand me and then it only shook his head and flew up. Suddenly it used its little fingers, three on each hand, to whistle. Then we heard soft rustling of the flowers. We looked around to see what is going on when similar creatures like the one we stepped on started to pop out from the flower bed. They started to fly in our direction and surrounded us. A few of them started to play with Reilly's hair, making little giggling noises.

Me: I think they like you Reilly. Maybe you remind them of a flower.

Reilly: Hahaha. Not funny. But what are they?

Me: Don't look at me. I have no idea.

Nobody knew what creature this is but they seemed harmless. A little mischievous but that was about it. Reilly flung her arms around trying to get rid of them but everytime she made them go away they sneaked back to her and continued to play in her hair, plucking a few strings and cuddling with her curles. Focusing on the other side of the flower field, Nima saw something and made us all look in the same direction.

Nima: That place there looks like some kind of ruins. Could it be a building or something?

Reilly: You are right. It looks like a doorway too. We should go look at it. Maybe the treasure is hidden inside.

Familiar female voice: Don't you dare. I won't let you losers win this hunt!

We all turn to the left, in the direction where the voice came from only to see Saxa standing with her arms crossed in front of her chest and some girl standing next to her. It was the same girl she was talking to in the hallway before we went to the library. Maybe it's her best friend or sister. Reilly and the girls took this as a competition and started to fight to win for real now. They started to quickly walk towards the arch made out of stones, covered in moss and something that resembled poison ivy. Saxa wasn't gonna let that slide so she started running towards the doorway, making the girls slowly pick up their pace. We all ran next to each other so it was really tight to see who could win this. Reilly grunted and then started to run even faster despite her feet hurting in those heels, leaving all of us behind. She would have won but suddenly she tripped and disappeared under the flowers. Saxa started laughing at her as she passed the place where Reilly dropped but then after few more steps she tripped too. Or did someone pull their legs? We quickly stop running and I yell out Reilly's name to find her. She was replying to me at first but then her words got muffled. We all looked around to try finding them and helping them only to see the beautiful flowers loose their shimmer and turning dark, then changing into those flowers that eat flies. Everyone started screaming and then we tried to go inside that old building as fast as possible. It was hard because our clothes and the cloaks were pulled and eaten by the plants. Not to mention those fairy-looking creatures turned into something demonic too. Their skin is now dark blue, eyes full black with a little antennas sticking out of their heads, and they are looking like little aliens. The more we try to fight our way through them, the more they attack us.

Reilly: That place must be the goal. It seems they are protecting it and preventing us from getting inside.

Me: Must be. But how do we get in there. Does anyone know how to fight these things?

Saxa: What even are they?

Nima: I think I read something about them. I didn't realize it at first but I remember seeing similar drawings in the books while we were talking in the library. They are called Look- something.

Enko: Oh yes. Lokis! Professor Halloda held one class dedicated to them. Ugh... but what was it? That's it. They are addicted to fly amanita mushrooms.

Nima: In the book I was reading it said they are scared of eagles too!

Me: Great. How are we meant to find an eagle inside this forest? Let's just look for the mushrooms somewhere.

All of us back away from the old ruin of a building and drop on our knees, trying to rummage through the biting flowers and find some mushrooms that we could use to fight those creatures. My hands started to bleed with all these cuts created by the flowers but I didn't mind. We had to keep looking and try to fight those creatures. There was nothing on the spot I was searching through so I look up to find another place that I could look for the mushrooms. I saw Nima look up, and then she stands from the ground and starts slowly walking out of the garden to a tree. Looking into the branches she starts talking to someone or something and asking them for help. I called her name but she didn't respond. Few seconds after, Jess and Enko yell out that they have found some of those mushrooms so we run up to join their spot and tear the mushrooms out of the ground. Suddenly we hear whooshing of bird wings getting closer and closer to our location. A few eagles started sitting down on the branches and Nima tried to get closer to them. She actually managed to find an eagle without her powers. One of the eagles bowed its' head to Nima and then one by one started to take off from the trees and fly directly at the Lokis, picking at them with their beaks. The little creatures yelp in air and scatter around trying to hide under the flowers. We take this opportunity and start running to enter the ruins again. Few Lokis find a way to get to us despite the eagles flying around but we quickly shove the mushrooms into the air and after they smell them, they start to act like on they are on drugs. Their wings dropping down, their arms just flopping in the air and their bodies bouncing up and down. The amanita mushrooms calmed the Lokis almost like a cat on a catnip. Reilly grabs Gaia and we try to run to the rock arch. We reach the door and wanted to open them but they were stuck. Using our body weight, we all start pounding on the door for it to open. Eventually they budged after a few hits and we walked inside. One by one we entered the place but then I heard a scream. It was Saxa who was at the back and somehow the Lokis found a way to grab her. They were all over her body, pulling on her hair and her clothes. I turn around and Reilly is telling me to get inside but then I look again at Saxa and grunt. I tell the girls to go ahead and I ran up to Saxa. I was fighting the Lokis with the mushroom in my hand and trying to calm them but one mushroom wasn't enough for all of them. I managed to get to Saxa, remove the Lokis from her body and help her get up. Then we got distracted by a sudden voice.

Announcement voice: Magician adepts Jessicah and Enko passed the hunt. Demigod adepts Reilly, Nima, Gaia and Reira, passed the hunt. One spot remaining.

Saxa looks at me and I can tell she is up to something but I couldn't react in time. She pushed me and I fell on the ground. The Lokis focused on me and gave Saxa a free way into the old ruin. She ran as fast as she could and jumped inside the building, making the door slam shut and lock behind her. I tried to push away the Lokis and some of the eagles flew to help me which allowed me to stand up and run to the building. I banged on the door with my fists and I could hear Reilly's voice resonate from the other side. Then I heard the announcement again.

Announcement voice: Demigod adept Saxa passed the hunt. All winning spots taken. The hunt is over.

I sighed. I didn't really care about the hunt, but having and opportunity to choose a professor that could help me with my powers and maybe help me track down my parents would be nice. I slouch and sit on the ground. I sighed and pressed my legs to my chest. I hug my bent legs around the knees and drop my head on them to rest. At least it was over and I can back into my room to crash down and sleep for a whole week. Then the door abruptly opened under the weight of my body leaning against it. I fell on my back and my head hit the ground. I blinked a few times only to see Reilly's face hovering above mine. Wondering what happened and how did I get inside she extends her right arm to help me get up. I stand up from the ground and girls help me brush my clothes and the cloak from the dirt and leaves. Then the announcement resonated once again throughout the hallway that was illuminated by torches.

"Exception made. Demigod adept Kaitlin...passed the hunt."