Flicking her finger across the airborne screen, Essairyn scanned the hovering words for new information on The Great Elemental War. But no matter what page she turned, or book she searched, very little was mentioned about that period in Byarnon's academy library.

Sighing, she stopped flipping through the pages and closed the textbook from her history of As'pyze class, the only book that discussed the war in any substantial length. Through the transparent home screen of the floating device, she saw Darren finishing his conversation with the head professor and knight of the intermediate classes. His face didn't look pleased when he bid goodbye and left the classroom.

"I guess it didn't go too well?" Essairyn remarked when he came near to her by the entrance. She pressed the power button on the side of her bracelet, turning off the suspended display screen in front of her. The bracelet was given to all trainees and students and allowed access to all necessary materials for study and school life. When she had first received it, she had spent hours poring over its functions and geeking out about how technologically, or more accurately, magically advanced the versatile device was.

"Yeah, if it wasn't obvious enough." Darren ruffled his hair in exasperation. "They didn't agree with me wanting to join the Farinheld mission and using that as an 'excuse' to join the advanced classes. Nothing I said could convince him."

"I see..." Essairyn deflated hearing the news. "Then did you enjoy your classes at least? How're the people?"

Darren clicked his tongue and sighed as they walked together back to the dorms. "Fine enough I guess. But the combat classes were lame. No matter how hellish Hætherin's initiation day was, it was still more fun, and I learned way more fighting those people than my current classmates."

"Well, that's not surprising considering you're in the upper half of rank Ds and advanced classes are rank C and up. So it's weird they won't let an ambitious student try to challenge himself. I mean it's just two weeks, it wouldn't hurt anybody for people to experiment."

"Maybe, but since I'm a traveler, they're being more strict. I need to be taught the 'basics' before they'd even consider me moving up."

"What? That's stupid, we're all newbies, so we're all learning the 'basics.' They can't just discriminate against you for being a traveler when travelers are historically known to generally be stronger than average."

"Right?!" Darren demurred. "It's ridiculous. Whatever, we have one week before the next evaluation, so I just need to continue excelling in my class and ask again then."

"But—" Essairyn frowned. She had wanted to take the same classes with Darren. Even if they hadn't known each other long, she still believed that they formed some kind of budding connection, so she didn't want to lose contact in these crucial two weeks.

"Did you mention that I'm also participating in the operation? Maybe they'll—"

"No." Darren's answer was firm. "I don't want to use you as an excuse too."

"That's not an excuse though I'm—"

"It's okay. Seriously. It's no big deal if it's now or one week later. Most of the classes are the same introductory ones anyway." Seeing the girl's stubbornly disappointed expression, he chuckled. "It's okay, there's no rush. I'll make it. I told you to trust me, right?"

The reluctant girl exhaled defeatedly. "Fine, then—" Essairyn halted in her step as they reached an intersection in the hallways. "No wait—I'll be back in a moment, I'm just going to stop by somewhere first. See you at the dorms later!"

"Huh? Wha—" Darren barely had time to ask where she was going before the girl ran down another corridor. "Jeez... she's always in a rush." He left out an amused breath and continued walking back to his room.

"Sorry, Darren." Essairyn apologized under her breath as she headed for the office of Byar'non Regional Academy's Chief Knight. But I just have this strange feeling that if you don't join now... She lightly shook her head. It's...not wrong for a friend to ask, too. Right. He's just being stubborn after declaring last night that he'll join the mission.

She halted her dash in front of a golden-edged white door with a silver plaque that read, "Bodraig Hannsfel, First Chief of the Southern As'pyzen Province." Essairyn stared at the tall entrance and gathered her grit. Clenching and rotating the handle firmly, she swung the door open and locked eyes with the knight who had flicked his gaze up from his desk at the bold entrance.

"Yes?" He voiced questioningly when she just stood in the doorway like a determined statue.

Essairyn moved forward as soon as he opened his mouth and closed the distance to the desk in long strides. She halted a step from the table's edge for just a breath's interlude. Deciding that she should be more assertive about the matter instead of allowing him to easily reject her request, she crossed the last step and placed her palms securely down on the varnished mahogany surface in front of his paperwork.

"Sir Bodraig, would you consider letting Darren attend the advanced courses too?" Although forceful in her tone, her words were still veiled in politeness.

A crooked grin tugged at a corner of his mouth as he laid down his pen. "You're speaking of your friend from the entrance exam?"

Essairyn's eyebrows furrowed slightly deeper. "Yes, Darren. The one whose sword you flung at me."

A low laugh rumbled within his throat at the cheeky girl. He smiled faintly and replied, "So you want him to attend the same classes as you do?"

Her left eyebrow twitched at him beating around the bush. "Yes. So please allow him to attend. I promise he'll do well!" Bodraig blinked with amused eyes. Before he could question how she could promise on behalf of him, Essairyn hastily blurted, "He's joining the Farinheld mission! So he needs to learn better skills as much as I do!"

A chuckle escaped him as he nodded casually. "All right Miss Essairyn. Although I don't fully approve of your request, especially now that I know Darren is brazenly joining the expedition, youths will be youths. I will allow him to attend the advanced courses."

Essairyn blinked. She was surprised that after his waffling, he forthrightly accepted her request. "Then, thank you." She leaned back and straightened herself before bowing and exiting the office.

Once the girl had left, Bodraig picked up his pen and tapped it thoughtfully. As one of the three Chiefs in the Southern Province of As'pyze, and one of the fifteen total across the entire kingdom, he outranked the campus headmaster of Byar'non and could overturn most decisions. No administrative official or knight except for one of the five Commanders and their directly subordinate Lieutenants in the Order could question his orders.

Bodraig had personally witnessed Darren's potential during the entrance exam despite not having him as a student in the advanced classes like Essairyn. Although growing to the required rank C from his current upper-middle D rank in two weeks was a stretch, Bodraig was curious about what these two travelers would do in this world. Every traveler he had known had significantly affected Sol'h'meyr whether as ardent adventurers or acclaimed scholars. The only times these individuals hadn't caused a stir was when they chose to live quietly in Neu'arth.

However, most travelers arrived separately and didn't encounter another until both had lived in Sol'h'meyr for a while. Thus, Essairyn and Darren arriving almost simultaneously in the same general area and subsequently meeting one another within that short window of time was beyond rare. While some fearful people might have split up the two, Bodraig wanted to see what this fateful meeting would entail for Sol'h'meyr.

This mission will be an interesting one... He faintly smiled while staring absently at the stack of papers under his hand. Ah, I wonder if I should increase the difficulty of the first week's assessment. Bodraig entertained the thought upon considering Essairyn's speculative upper C mage rank and low C knight rank. Although I was the one who had asked her to join the Farinheld mission, it's better to be harsher in order to prepare them for the reality of this world...

Fetching a particular document from his drawer, Bodraig skimmed it before smirking and whipping out a piece of official stationary. After writing a brief note in formal script, he activated his personal mailing system from the left desk menu. A transparent screen popped up, and he inserted the finished letter into the displayed outbox. As it disappeared into thin air, the smile grew on Bodraig's face. What would happen if those three met? He chuckled to himself and resumed his paperwork. It was unlikely that his request would be granted, but should it happen, Bodraig would enjoy watching the events unfold.

Meanwhile, Essairyn had been restraining herself from conspicuously trotting back to the dorms in joy. Now that Darren would be joining the advanced classes, she finally had a friend instead of being the rebuffed newbie. Since high ranks were rare among humans, none of the recent recruits had made it to the advanced classes. Most students in this class were senior cadets who had studied at the Byar'non regional campus for at least a year.

Initially, her seniors had welcomed Essairyn out of respect for making it to the advanced classes. But upon learning from the professor's formal introduction of the new student that she was a traveler who had arrived less than a week ago and didn't take the Oath, they suddenly treated Essairyn as if she was taboo.

Completely taken aback by the blatant shift in attitude, Essairyn could only awkwardly sit in the back row by herself and ignore the occasional look of contempt. From their open remarks about her, and the knowledge she learned from history class, Essairyn realized that As'pyzen people took the Knights Order very seriously. As a traveler that had rejected the Oath while studying at the Academy, Essairyn was viewed as having taken advantage of her favored status and the school's resources. It was understandable that people would dislike those that supposedly had it easy after toiling themselves to get where they were.

Usually, Essairyn disproved of acting upon such feelings and would stand up for herself. Unfortunately, she did in fact feel rather guilty because no free lunch existed on Earth, and yet here, most everything was being handed to her on a plate. She couldn't argue against them, especially since she was indeed an 'outsider.'

While she could get pay her classmates no heed and get by just fine for two weeks in their company until she never had to see them again, Essairyn felt her loneliness heighten in this kind of environment. It made her wonder whether she would be by herself yet again in this world too.

"Mmm, now it'll be okay." Essairyn cheered to herself as she opened the door to her room and flopped onto the bed. She sprawled contentedly on the blue covers before checking the time before dinner on her bracelet. Through the transparent clock face hovering above her wrist, she also spotted Akari slinking into the room through a window.

"Welcome back," Essairyn greeted while sitting up on the edge of her bed. "So how was your day out? It's too bad they won't allow you to join our classes anymore."

Akari shrugged. "Not surprised considering the distraction I posed during the mock battles yesterday. That bore looked ready to whack me off the hammock. But—" The fox licked her paw. "I think he was just jealous he couldn't recline and had to watch kids all day."

"Hahaha, Hætherin, wait—are you calling me a kid?"

A smirk played across Akari's face. "Well, when you've lived this long, any human is like a kid."

Essairyn sighed in wry amusement. "I always forget that behind your cute appearance is a spirit god that's lived hundreds of years."

"Tsk, of course! You might like this innocent appearance of mine, but I looked super cool in my prime."

The girl chuckled at the fox's overt vanity. "Yes, miss greatest spirit god in Sol'h'meyr, now, tell me, what would you like me to bring back from dinner for you?"

Akari's eyes instantly shined in anticipation and she jumped up from her perch on the table to the bed. "Meat! Bring all the meat!" Essairyn burst out in laughter. This fox was far from innocent, but she did have her adorable moments just like this one.

"How'd I know you'd say that? You're the same as me!" She winked and took the opportunity to take the distracted fox into her hands for a quick pet. Akari squeaked in discontent but soon stopped her struggle, dissolving under the expert scratches of Essairyn, making her giggle. Stopping after a half a minute passed, Essairyn got up from the bed and headed over to her desk to study a little before the dinner hour. Akari immediately missed the massage and indistinctly grunted her discontent without admitting she liked being petted by the girl.

Activating her bracelet, she linked it to the desk's display and flipped through her class textbooks. She opened several at a time, lifting the various books from the desk onto separate projected screens in front of her. As she swiped through different books and jotted down her notes on the desk that automatically processed her movements into words, Essairyn soon became surrounded by encircling, transparent screens of pages, photos, and maps.

Essairyn usually disliked studying, but this world's subjects all fascinated her. She never expected a day when she would enjoy school topics like this. The change was a refreshing spin from her past life, and had Akari not prodded Essairyn about the time, the absorbed girl might have even missed dinner. But after eating and returning with an array of various meats for Akari, Essairyn energetically resumed her studies.

The following day, Essairyn spotted a solitary Darren hanging out at the back of the crowd waiting for the teacher to unlock the field house doors. Two times each week, the advanced classes would practice combat exercises, utilizing their learning through a hands on session that lasted the entire day.

Noticing Essairyn approaching, Darren felt relief wash over him. He waved with a bright expression, making the girl smile cheerfully. He felt out of place among his new peers who had learned about his class advancement at the same time as him. A knight had fetched him from his dorm just as he was about to head to class that morning and announced the news to everyone waiting outside the field house. Unexpectedly, he received a cold response, a stark contrast to the enthusiasm and curiosity of his former intermediate-level classmates.

"Essairyn!" Darren eagerly greeted and explained why he was there. Seeing his happy face, she felt glad she had made the right decision asking Bodraig to move him.

"That's awesome! Congrats! I'm glad that someone I know is here." She jerked her head toward the posse of students by the water fountain. "They're not very friendly, haha."

Darren laughed in agreement, but before he could respond, he noticed another familiar face exiting the corridor toward them. "Leœss? You're also in this class from intermediate?"

Upon hearing the name, Essairyn turned around. Recognizing the short-haired boy who always seemed to have an annoyed look on his face, she waved with a welcoming smile. Leœss eyed Essairyn and responded with the most subtle of head nods. The corner of her mouth quirked up briefly in irritation before masking it with a smile again.

"Hm? Someone knows you in this class too, Ace?" A boy with black hair followed by a second one with curly brown locks approached Leœss from the water fountain. At the sound of his disparaging tone with his nickname, Leœss clicked his tongue and brushed the guy forcefully off his shoulder before storming past Darren.

Essairyn tipped her head to the side, extremely curious why Leœss was suddenly in the advanced classes and how these students knew him. It didn't look like they were really friends too by the way he had acted. But paying it no mind, she and Darren started after Leœss who had gone through the now opened field house doors.

A sudden expression of enlightenment arose on the rude black-haired boy's face as they passed. "Wait, are you the girl that he was talking about who made him supposedly perform badly during the first day evaluations so that he didn't make the advanced classes?"

Essairyn shrugged while sneering inwardly at the boy's attitude toward Leœss. Flashing a glance toward Darren, she stepped past the two boys leaning against the doorway.

"Oh whoa there!" The boys dramatically backed off as she went through. "So sorry to be blocking your way." Instead of responding or glaring back at them, Essairyn merely ignored their taunts and complained to Darren once they were out of earshot.

"Jeez!! What the hell was that?!" She resisted stomping her foot in aggravation. "And who the hell do they think they are? I was fine with them ignoring me up to now, but this is just—!!"

"PFT."

Essairyn whipped her head around at Darren who was desperately struggling to withhold his laughter. Caught in the act, he waved his hand, saying, "Sorry! That was just so funny! From Leœss's resting bitch face to your reaction—" He clamped a hand over his mouth and snickered.

"All right, all right, I get it," Essairyn responded dryly, the creeping smile on her face giving her away. "Well I do wonder what that was all about. I guess you weren't the only one who was moved to the advanced classes?"

Now composed, Darren murmured his agreement. "Looks like it."

"Seems like this class will be even more interesting now..." Essairyn grinned at the back of Leœss standing resolutely by himself.

But contrary to their hopes to talk to Leœss who Essairyn had now one-sidedly dubbed Leo despite the syllables being different, neither had a chance in the grueling regime that seemingly dragged the whole day. They felt like it was day one again with Knight Hætherin. Exhausted, each beelined to bed early after dinner.

The next day, Leo somehow managed to evade all their advances, so Essairyn was determined the following day to catch him. Luckily, today was the mock battle that marked the end of the school week. She was sure that he couldn't escape them during this full-day event.

"Based on the results of this evaluation, ranks and class assignments may be adjusted. So, take this seriously and pay attention to the rules or you might be disqualified."

Everyone mumbled their agreement to the knight and listened to proceeding information about the mock battle infamously named, "The War Game." It was a classic combat evaluation used by the knights across all years and classes. Today's rendition did not employ the full scope and magnitude utilized by the Neu'arth academy because Byar'non did not share the same scale and resources as the main campus. Regardless, Byar'non could erect the set in a unique location compared to other regional campuses.

After an hour of warmup at the school, students from both the advanced, intermediate, and beginner classes gathered in the forest outside of the city. The woods had been set up in advance for the mock strategic battle, and Bodraig and most of the knights were present to oversee it. Essairyn and Darren had also been placed on the same side in this 'war.'

Like a game of capture the flag, each side had to steal the opponent's device while protecting their own. The twist, however, was that it was a mobile device that needed to be 'recharged' at a station controlled by their team for at least one minute every half hour. Twelve stations were scattered across a large portion of the forest. Trees marked with red paint indicated the borders of the enclosure. Each team began on opposite sides and were given a single map of the battleground. They weren't allowed anything but this, the clothes on their back, and a basic weapon for each member. Thus, they had to be crafty and use the surrounding resources. Lastly, at least ten minutes was required for strategizing and organizing before being allowed to move from their starter station.

"I say we capture as many stations as we can with the key so that we can lure and find where the device is being held!"

"Good idea, but the other team is probably thinking the same." One person rebutted the other's enthusiastic suggestion as they all huddled together at base to start.

"The question is how to keep control of all the stations without spreading us too thin? It only takes a second for the device to negate the effects of the key and reverse the control of the station to the other team."

Another calmly countered. "That all depends on our mobility after locating the opponent's device. It's not a problem if they take control as long as we can capture the device itself while keeping at least one station in control, two to be safe, as backup."

"Yeah, the key is a safe bet; even though, its effects can be easily reversed by the other team's device. The key can easily move around and quickly capture all the stations so that it's harder for the other team to take control of the captured ones."

"But the key can also be captured too!" A person shouted from the back of the group. "We have to take that in mind!"

"Yes, but capturing the stations as soon as possible is critical because an already captured station can't be controlled with just the key. So—"

"—it may be better to hide the device and recharge at the minimum while keeping the key highly protected while it's mobile." A different student finished the other's words. Everyone was starting to think along the same lines now.

"In that case," began Essairyn suddenly as she got up from her seat on a rock just outside of the group circle. The discussion died quickly when her team heard her voice. They had been wondering whether one of the rumored controversial travelers from the advanced classes would speak. "The plan is almost a given for either team, so success lies in our execution. How are we going to split our forces, and in particular, who will hold the device and move the key?"

Everyone thought for a second and considered. One boy close to Essairyn prompted her. "How about you keep the device?" He figured that having it in the hands of someone strong would better guarantee its safety. But Essairyn immediately cut down the idea.

She explained her stance. "While it's important to keep it safe, the device can't be captured simply by killing the person holding it. As long as the team is capable and can escape difficult situations, that's good enough. It's better to have the most skilled fighters capture the stations along with the opponent's device."

Some students began nodding, understanding her train of thought. However, the raw truth was that Essairyn simply looked forward to freely capturing all the stations. Offense sounded more fun than defense in this game. She'd rather be in the middle of the action than waiting around for it to come to her.

Instead of prolonging the conversation, some team members organized themselves into smaller groups for engaging the enemy, capturing the stations, or defending the device. The few remaining tactically drew out their routes of attack and recharge onto the single map that they were given. Even though it was the most obvious decision, they would target the closest stations and increase their area of influence. Anything otherwise would be too great a risk.

"Do you agree with the plan, or do you have any other ideas?" Darren asked while coming up next to Essairyn after the circle disbanded.

The girl merely shrugged and replied indifferently. "The first plan isn't always kept entirely and sometimes changes on the course of events. If I decide something is better, then I'll do it. But for now, this is fine. "

"I see," murmured Darren. "Then I take it you're planning to join the key assault team?" After the girl nodded in response, he continued speaking. "Haha, I thought as much. That does sound more fun in my opinion. But it also sounds like the most amount of effort!" He laughed, and Essairyn smiled.

"Yes, we'll definitely be getting our fair share of exercise in that group. But if necessary or if we want, I'm sure we can always switch to another group. People get tired after all, and it might be good to confuse the enemy. Then again, if the group works well together, changes could negatively affect it too."

"True..." Darren's head was tilted down with his finger curved around his chin in thought. "I guess we'll see how it goes. I'm pretty excited. But I wonder how long it'll take for a team to eventually capture the other's device. According to what the knights said, in the past, this exercise took an average of four hours to complete. Can you imagine that?!"

Essairyn laughed breathily at his incredulity. "Yeah, well, the device is a small object that becomes invisible when 'worn' by someone after all. So it's not too hard to imagine how this 'war' can be dragged out."

"The War Game," said Darren slowly, letting the words rest on his tongue and sink into his mind. "It's a pretty fitting name considering that stations are akin to cities." Some shouts from behind Darren made him turn around and halt their conversation. "Well, it looks like they want us to come over." He jogged over along with Essairyn and told the others what group they wanted to join.

Although some people wanted to contend with the two on being allowed into the key assault team instantly due to their status as advanced students, they kept their mouths shuts and settled on the next best option: the secondary assault team. Using the key wasn't the only way to capture a station. Whether or not a station was controlled, it could be captured if a person stood in the center with a hand on the pedestal for ten minutes. That meant others had to keep guard and fight off any intruders. Because this was cumbersome, the instantaneous key was more favorable.

"Good thing they didn't limit our stamina too," commented Darren as their assault team sped through the forest to the outermost stations, leaving the closer ones to the secondary group for the ten minute capture process.

"Yeah, thank goodness that they can't affect our bodies to that degree. But I can't believe that this bracelet yet again has another use. It's almost scary thinking that they could manipulate our magic flow at any time outside of this battle though it." Essairyn eyed her gray bracelet with gold engravings in newfound wariness.

"Well, at least it doesn't hinder physical abilities including magic amplification."

Essairyn nodded at Darren's words. "True, since only so much of magic amplification can be done to a body at a time, it's not really considered outside the realms of fair. Still...this game is really disadvantageous for mages, not being able to use our magic... So what was the point of all the spells that we learned up to now?!"

Darren laughed at her incredulity. "Hey, you know that if mages were allowed their magic in combat, then it us plebeian knights could only stand by and watch you all duke it out."

"I suppose you have a point." Essairyn giggled. "It's enough that we can use it outside of fighting."

They ran north for a few minutes, skirting the left side of the forest and passing a station on the way. Once the group neared the target station indicated as number six on the crudely redrawn map on a large leaf, they paused and surveyed the surroundings. Seeing no one approaching with only the whisper of the trees echoing around them, they swiftly stalked up to the station. The circular structure was made of stone with three carved out entrances and no roof. A lone, square pedestal inhabited the center with approximately two meters separating it from the inner walls.

Their team leader, a sturdily built young man with short-cropped hair, urged the key holder to hurry with the activation as soon as the two entered. The rest of the group stayed outside to keep guard. The whole process took less than a minute, and they moved out immediately after completion.

"Whew, that was easier than I thought. My heart was pounding just now," commented a teenager who looked no older than fifteen with his small face and loose bowl cut.

"Shh! Keep quiet so that we don't alert any enemies nearby!" Their serious leader snapped with a sharp glare.

"Sorry!" The boy apologized softly, hanging his head down slightly in the process.

An ashen brunette in the group rolled her eyes at the exchange. She thought that they were both taking this exercise too seriously. Whether or not they won was no big deal as long as they put up a suitable performance. And since she was part of the advanced class, she wasn't at all worried whether she could pick off the scrawny lower classes.

In silence, they traveled to station seven. It was only a couple minutes away, and like the previous, looked to be empty. Taking no chances as they were nearing the other side, one of their members scouted the area. After giving the clear signal, the others sprung out from behind the tree trunks toward the station. They secured ownership without a hitch and moved onto the next post, going west instead of north into enemy territory.

With this station, they would successfully have captured all of the perimeter posts on their side. Once that was accomplished, one of their members would report back to the secondary assault group. This station took longer to reach than the distance between the two previous. The coast was clear around station five, and they captured it seamlessly yet again.

But instead of feeling relieved or pleased with their accomplishments, Essairyn was perturbed. She looked warily around for a second before bending over to Darren on the other side of the station entrance. "Something's wrong. We haven't seen any movements of the other team, meaning they either bypassed us, or they're not crossing over onto our territory."

Darren wrinkled his brows in thought. "You think? They could just be doing what we're doing and capturing all of their own stations first."

The ebony-haired girl frowned, murmuring, "Perhaps... I just have a strange feeling about this..."

He peered at her face which had turned away and was now staring vacuously into the emptiness of the forest. Before he could say another word in reply, their key holder had finished the task and their leader gestured for everyone to move out.

As they began running toward the next station on the opponent's territory, Essairyn asked for the map from their second-in-command. They had designated this position should they ever need to split into a smaller group. He nodded and carefully handed over a supple green leaf twice the size of a hand.

Nodding her thanks, she unfurled the leaf and traced over the engravings earnestly with her eyes. Essairyn couldn't get rid of her hunch, so she tried working it out by staring at the map and going through different tactics. Pausing on the opponent's side, a sudden spark flared in her mind. With her eyes wide, she whipped her head at Darren reflexively.

"They're placing one person at each station and moving separately."

Caught by surprise, Darren sputtered, "What? What do you mean?" His warm sepia chocolate eyes lifted in curiosity and mild alarm.

"Instead of forming teams like us, it's more efficient to move separately. It's risky, but effective if it pays off. That gives them more time to cross over to our side and spy on us." Her stern tone quickened with anticipation. A light seemed to fluoresce in the depths of her lavender orbs, a manifest sign to Darren that this girl was concocting something up in her mind.

He was silent for a second while considering her theory. Certainly, that would be the better tactic in the overall strategy of capturing the most stations. It made him wonder why no one pointed it out before. But if this was really the case, then it would explain why the forest was so hushed. At times, he did feel as if someone was watching him.

"Time-wise, they could beat us to the middle because we stopped to activate stations, but then we still should've encountered them while moving. Earlier even, so then how are they—" He abruptly stopped talking and jerked his head up sharply, realizing an absurd possibility. "The trees," he mumbled.

Essairyn looked up and gazed at the lofty forest ceiling with thick branches and foliage. Indeed, the cover was thick enough to hide and muffle any footsteps across the pathway of branches. And all the while, a bird's eye view allowed for almost unhindered access. It dawned on her that perhaps the Knights had chosen this forest for more reasons than originally thought. The sparse undergrowth allowed for great ease of movement while wide tree trunks could provide cover for two people.

"You think they're...?" She trailed off and peered at him from the corner of her eyes.

"Well, wouldn't you do something like that?" He asked with a somewhat joking tone.

She widened her eyes and blinked back up at the trees. "I would..."

Then with a gasp, she sprinted a second's distance toward their leader and announced, "I'm going back. I think they passed us." And without even looking to see his reaction much less hear his response, Essairyn pivoted and dashed off in the opposite direction.

Darren automatically slowed his steps in reaction to her decision and the wind that flew by as she passed him. With barely a heartbeat's hesitation, he joined her after waving to the bewildered leader that he too would leave.

"W-wait! You two—!!" Their leader's stifled shouts barely reached their ears as they ran away faster than when they were with the group.

The forest flew by, and they intermittently looked up at the trees for signs of movement. Instead of returning to station five, she headed for seven. From her deductions, it was more likely that the opponent would target station seven instead of five because if they had been watching them, they would go after the second to last deserted station nearest to the midpoint. It also gave them more time to distance themselves from the departing team when they did move to station five after seven.

"The only question is, how would they communicate through the treetops? Even on the ground, it would be difficult to get around quickly enough to act as messengers," said Essairyn, thinking out loud.

"Then again, who would ever think to look up?" Darren pointed out, "They could have several spies running around, and we would never hear them due to the sound of our own running and the distance between us."

However, while on the right track, Darren's guess was incorrect. When station seven almost came within eyesight, they saw people departing from that direction. Immediately, they softened and slowed their steps, shifting more to the left as they moved in order to stay out of the enemies' line of sight. With careful movements, they approached the station and observed it from the westernmost point. After detecting no activity within the station or above them, Essairyn slipped inside with Darren close behind on the lookout.

Immediately, she saw that the owner of the station had changed. Ten minutes had not passed since their assault team had left it.

"They have the device with them." Essairyn turned toward Darren with a sly grin.

His eyes flew toward the yellow neon stripe around the top of the pedestal. It glowed with the color of the opposition. He smiled. "Bingo."

Essairyn returned his smile knowingly, and they nodded at one another in silent agreement. They would clinch this game that was barely even a quarter of an hour begun. With harmonized motions, they raced in pursuit of the enemy. As far as Essairyn was concerned, she would have no trouble dealing with the group of people. Despite her external magic being bound, her physical abilities augmented by magic was more than enough to deal with them. Darren was also aware of this and while he couldn't boast the same, he was confident and eager enough to test out his limits. The magic binding had little to no effect on a 'non-magical' human like him.

"Darren, what do you think about distracting them from the left while I come from the right?"

"So that it looks like I'm coming from our base instead of from their side?"

She nodded, glad that he understood her intention perfectly. "Okay, let's split!" The two diverged and encircled the opponent from opposite directions and timing. Essairyn let Darren get ahead in order to approach them first.

In the meantime, she flexed her hands, letting the current of magic build in her palm. Unfortunately, she felt a hindrance to the magical energy collected. Sure enough, the magic binding made the summoning of her sword too inefficient. Even if it was more lax, she still wouldn't reveal her abilities to summon magical weapons. From the lectures she had received so far, it wasn't something common.

In fact, it was a unique trait of Knight-Mages, the magical warriors that the Academy had been named after besides referring to the founders who were the first of its class. Only Mage-Knights, the reverse wording, could exhibit similar traces of the skill. Instead of creating the weapons directly, they could tamper with the flow of magic in existing weapons and items. It was different and more versatile than the fixed, pre-inputted abilities of a wand or amulet that could amplify spells or physical strength. Therefore, she was glad that she had kept it a secret. Akari's words had run true yet again about keeping the extent of her magic hidden.

So, she redirected the energy back throughout her body and into her steel sword. The moment was fast approaching. She heard the cries of the startled enemies and burst forth from their back, catching them off-guard. Darren had done well and was currently exchanging blows with the second nearest opponent after knocking down the first from his surprise attack. Essairyn whirled into the heart of the group, slicing three people in her path. They gasped at the unexpected pain, and in her own confusion at their pain, Essairyn paused her assault, trying to figure out why the knights had allowed the trainees to inflict injury on one another. From what she remembered, the bracelets were supposed to neutralize injuries.

In her momentary hesitation, she was struck from the back but parried it with a swift swing of her sword while dodging. However, the movement had cost her balance and resulted in a cut on her arm from another enemy. The stinging slash reverberated in her nerves. Essairyn snapped her head in the direction of the pain. But contrary to expectation, there was no external injury.

So, it just allows us to feel the pain without actually damaging our bodies? Her thoughts cried out in astonishment. What the heck, that's actually sorta messed up! She grimaced and decided it was better to end this fight as quickly as possible, opting to deplete the "life points" of each opponent in one shot.

Essairyn spun nimbly on her toes and swayed to the left before an approaching enemy. Before the other person's sword could reach beyond the upturned position of a descending blow, she stabbed the poor fellow exactly on his heart. The bracelet prevented her sword from ever going past his clothes and into the flesh, but she hoped that he didn't feel too much pain from the phantom injury. Promptly after her strike, the boy froze under the effects of the bracelet's magic. His life points, as shown by the green bar that encircled his bracelet and only appeared when being struck, plummeted to nothing. Both the apparatus and the body went lights out. He plopped to the floor as if in a sleep.

Seeing the "dead" boy, Essairyn's eyes bulged at the realism of it. She tutted and cursed inwardly at the knights' cruel training methods. The only thing missing from this scene is blood and... With a disgruntled huff, she turned away and set about striking others at vital points. In this manner, the group was finished off in just over a minute.

Surveyed the strewn bodies in sleep, Essairyn sighed with her hands on her hips. "What a strange scene this is... they look so damn peaceful too, it's almost creepy." She cringed and shook off the eerie impression.

Darren chuckled while wiping a few drops of sweat from his forehead. "It really is, but now we know at least how the fighting mechanism works. Although, I suppose it's not of much help knowing now after we won."

Essairyn smiled and opened her mouth to reply before closing it upon realization that no device had dropped from anyone's body. Once someone was killed while holding the device, the small cube would drop near the body. So as long as a team member retrieved it before the opponent, they had lost the battle but not the war.

"Shoot." She speared her sword straight into the ground and crossed her arms. "They got us. The device isn't on this ground group. They must have returned to the treetops. Yes, that must be how they're moving about after this outcome. It's the only way. But now they must've seen us kill everyone and run away."

"It has to be because I didn't see anyone get away unless the person with the device had split up before we got to the group."

Essairyn nodded slowly. She ruffled her hair and loudly sighed. "I wish I had thought of this."

"Who knew? It's not like you can guess everything beforehand. Besides, moving through the treetops is still just a theory until we know for sure how they're getting around." Darren's words that bordered on harsh were softened by the even tone of his voice.

"Yeah..." Her head hung slightly as she leaned on the handle of her sword. "Well, let's follow them and find out if it's true then. It doesn't do us any good to stay down here."

Darren nodded in agreement, and they headed off to a more secluded area away from the station to ascend to the treetops. With the use of a magic circle, they flew up past the web of branches. What greeted them upon their entrance nearly took their breath away.

"This..." Essairyn murmured and lightly stepped off the magic circle as if in a trance. "...is beautiful. It's like a different world."

Despite having witnessed many fantastical occurrences, landscapes, and creatures in this world which was mystical in itself, it didn't diminish the impact or amazement that Essairyn felt while regarding the expansive space above the trees. While the branches and foliage looked dense from below, beyond the mostly flat ceiling, which was now the floor, was a carved out hollow in the treetops. The area stretched out as far as the eye could see with only the main trunks of the trees obstructing it partially along with a few branches traversing to the new concave ceiling. The height was no less than a story at the most shallow spots and more than two stories at the tallest points. The only gaps were around the trunks of the trees, most notably, of the larger ones. It was likely that through these, they had been spied upon.

"Just what is this..?" Darren breathed in astonishment.

Essairyn slowly walked on the boughs and even ventured past the security of the large branches to the smaller ones. The interlaced floor didn't even shake when she stomped on it, only the topmost layer quivered before bouncing back up. A quick flash of using it as a trampoline entertained her mind for a second.

"No wonder they could get around so easily. I can't hear anything down below much less for anyone on the ground to hear me."

"Hm, now the question is how they figured this secret out so quickly. Obviously, the knights know about this and purposefully withheld the information in order to add another hidden layer to the exercise." Darren paused for a moment, reflecting upon his words. "Um, no pun intended. If that's even considered a pun."

Essairyn giggled. "Haha, that was a good one though! Anyway, let's go track down that device!"

"Right." He grinned and sprinted off with Essairyn. They made sure to keep an eye on their surroundings for anyone approaching.

"Maybe we should split up to look for the guy?" Darren suggested after a minute.

"Probably. Give a shout if you find someone."

They departed in opposite directions going forward. After a few minutes by herself, Essairyn started to become concerned, wondering if she should head back in case they were too far away from one another. Now that she focused on this issue, she became aware of how similar her surroundings were. It's easy to get lost in here... So how did the other team keep track of where they were? And did the knights mark the boundaries up here too?

Hoping that she hadn't disqualified herself from the exercise by unknowingly wandering beyond the borders, she surveyed the area for red markers. Finding none, she began to become concerned whether their theory was actually true. Perhaps they were actually the ones who had discovered this area out of paranoia about the mysterious situation. So perhaps they had technically been disqualified just now.

But before she could settle on this disconcerting notion, her eyes caught notice of a leaf flying through the air. Alarmed, Essairyn chased after the zooming leaf and snatched it. The faint light particles around it trembled before dissipating. The magic had been interrupted by her actions, unable to resist against her enclosed fingers.

"HUH!" The sound was louder than she anticipated due to her chagrin at finding out how the other team could communicate with one another. So sneaky... but smart. She praised them grudgingly and gripped the leaf with determination. Although she couldn't replicate the spell without having attached a magical tracker on Darren in order to inform him of this discovery, based on the information scrawled across the leaf, Essairyn had enough time to reach him as well as catch the culprit.

The shorthand writing repeated itself in her mind as she ran. X return to station nine to recoup. Party Z wiped out by two opponents. Device is safe. Returning myself, Y. From this she garnered that there were at least two spies along with the group they had just annihilated. It seemed strange that they had created such a weak group for stealing stations, but at this point, Essairyn thought anything was possible. Although she was getting closer, she couldn't predict the enemy's strategy.

Like Essairyn, Darren shared the same concern about straying too far away from one another. He had noticed the homogeneous surroundings earlier than her and began retracing his path back from where they had split. In their eager haste, they didn't register their environment well enough before making the decision.

After passing what he believed to the separation point, he continued on for a bit before calling out her name. He didn't care if he alerted anyone at this point. It might even give him a clue to where they were if they made enough commotion running away.

Hearing Darren before she could see him, Essairyn quickly redirected herself and met him several seconds later.

"Darren! Look at this! This is how they've been communicating with one another!"

He grasped the slightly tattered leaf and scanned the contents with growing eyes. "Man, I can't believe my silly guess was actually right on the money. But wait, this means that they could potentially know where our device is!"

Motionless in thought, the girl's lavender eyes blinked once before replying, "I don't think it'll be that easy for them because of the wait time before being allowed to move. It hasn't yet been thirty minutes, so they haven't seen anyone recharging the device." She paused and then added with a half-chuckle. "At least, I don't think our team is stupid enough to do that... But they could be more relaxed in the beginning knowing it takes time to reach the base, so they recharged it before moving. Either way, going back to tell them about this finding will only let the spies and device get away."

With the advantage of the other team not yet knowing that Essairyn and Darren had discovered their secret, the two made haste for station nine. They made sure that they were on the right course by checking below the treetops through the trunk gaps. Several minutes had elapsed since entering this leafy realm, so even with their speed, catching up to the spy was no easy feat. After their surprise assault and outnumbered fight, they were starting to feel slightly fatigued due to running on full power for a length of time.

When they spotted the back of person racing many meters ahead of them, Essairyn nearly wanted to yelp for joy. No matter how clandestinely charming this treetop space was, the repeated scenery eventually became irksome, at least, while running through it like an endless maze. Keeping quiet, they watched the man jump down through a trunk gap. It seemed they had reached station nine.

Approaching the gap, they stealthy observed the situation. The man from earlier was explaining something to someone who appeared to be the leader of the group. The leader didn't seem too pleased and quickly shouted orders while gesturing. While Darren and Essairyn couldn't hear anything, it was enough to see.

"It looks like they're forming another group. Should we wait and ambush them when they come up?" Darren looked at Essairyn and she back. They nodded in agreement. It was time to clean up what they had started.

They quickly hid behind some nearby tree trunks and counted down the seconds for the enemy's arrival. A minute passed, and then two, and then four. Nearing five minutes, Essairyn finally popped up from her crouched position in exasperation.

"Just what's taking them so long?!" She exclaimed under her breath and stormed over to the tree gap above station nine.

She knelt and peered down with narrowed eyes and two palms flat against the leafy ground. To her surprise, a battle was well underway at the station. Their former assault team along with the secondary one were laying siege to the station and cutting off any means of exit for the opposition. In the time since they had left their group, reconnaissance had revealed that the yellow team had most of its forces spread out at each station under control. Unluckily for station nine, the wielder of the device happened to be also there at the same time. The opposition were caught off guard just as a new station stealing group was being formed.

Essairyn smirked in mild amusement at how they had unknowingly prompted the coincidence to occur. Seeing the girl's entertained face as he approached her after leaving his hiding spot too, Darren curiously bent over to look beyond the gap. At the sight of the tussle, he let out a snort. No wonder it was taking the spy and his new group so long to return.

"Well, I guess that's that. The game ended without us actually stealing the device ourselves. Now we just watch to see whether our team lets this chance slip by." Darren's body loosened some of the previous built up tension and crossed his arms behind his head while observing the scuffle. "Or did you want to join the fight too?"

Essairyn shook her head and smiled. "It's pretty fun watching from here. Besides, in case they miss the device, we'll have to track it so that the spy doesn't escape again."

"True." Darren leisurely bobbed his head once toward Essairyn. "That reminds me, in the fight earlier on our turf, did you notice that you feel hurt when you get hit, but there's no cut?" He stood up straighter and gestured a slicing motion across his arm.

"Yeah, I was surprised that the knights programmed it that way. They probably reasoned it's more beneficial for us to experience the physical hardships of war as they always lecture us about." Essairyn's tone was sarcastic upon speaking of the knight's fiendish training methods.

"However, that does make worried about the simulated pain of death. I can't even imagine what it must be like..." Essairyn shivered and subconsciously clutched her heart.

"Do you think that this is also part of their plan? For us to hesitate because we know how much pain we're dealing to others?"

Darren's words prompted a sigh from Essairyn. "We always knew about the horrors of war, but only now, I suppose, can we actually feel some of it ourselves. Just like the simulated deaths—they may be without blood or actual loss of life, but it still evokes a strange feeling...I can't help but feel repulsed despite knowing that I did it."

Darren exhaled deeply while tipping his head back to peer up at the leafy canopy. "Just what is this game really for? Even with their safety precautions, it still feels so...cruel. I don't understand. If this land is in a period of peace, then are they preparing for another war? But an actual full blown war hasn't occurred since the Elemental one."

Essairyn could only shake her head. "They've been doing this kind of combat evaluation for decades, maybe even centuries. We barely even know about the political-economic-social landscape of As'pyze much less across all of Sol'h'meyr. Since we're unaccustomed to everything, we might be jumping to drastic conclusions.

"That's why I want to travel this world. I feel like everything I've been reading is so limited. On the Elemental War, the goddess Cyrienne, why demons and spirits fight one another despite being born out of the same source, why elementals seem to be both revered and hated... It's like what that Lachlan dude that we met in Reisparte said, the history of Sol'h'meyr is propagated by those in power—magical power. I think..." Essairyn recalled Aispin's words on how high ranks were treated like idols and the contrasting frigid treatment from her classmates. "...this world might be more unequal and biased than I first thought."

Darren chuckled wryly. "Well, it's not like we aren't used to that back on Earth. We're all humans after all. Err, uhh, I guess not all of us are actually humans in this world, haha, but you know what I mean. We all still have flaws, so magic still can't magically make everything right."

"Yeah...and what even is right? Equality? In terms of opportunity? But people will still complain or be jealous, quick to point fingers than at themselves." Essairyn sighed and lifted her hand up to a nearby leaf on a branch. "I thought freedom in this world granted by magic could grant my wishes for an exciting life, but in the end, I'm still—"

"We don't have to find the answer yet." Darren turned to Essairyn with a serious, earnest expression. "Isn't that what life is all about? Find your purpose, your happiness, whatever it is..."

A doleful yet comforted smile traced Essairyn's lips. "Because in struggling, we are living. If life was easy, then this might as well be heaven." She chuckled lightheartedly, easing them out of a heavy mood. Darren smiled warmly at her. But before he could say anything in return, an arrow suddenly landed in-between the two of them.

Essairyn blinked at the arrow which hadn't even pierced the ground of foliage. She casually reached out and picked it up, twirling the shaft between her fingers. Spinning around to face the intruder, she whistled. "No wonder I didn't feel any threat from behind me. That was a pretty lousy shot. You might want to practice archery a little more before trying to sneak attack. Good try though, and I know you're behind a trunk three trees away from me, so there's no point in hiding now."

The man in question jerked in his hiding place, trying to remember how many trees away he was from the two members of the opposing blue team. He stood stiffly in place, still not wanting to reveal his location in case it was a bluff. In reality, Essairyn just made up any random number as she proceeded to step forward toward his "hiding spot." Hearing the girl's footsteps, he opted out of being a sitting duck and bolted away before she got near. At least, he would have the advantage of distance to run away before they caught him.

Seeing the fleeing man, Essairyn shook her head amusedly. Instead of blindly walking straight to find his hiding spot, she was sidestepping to the right in order to catch a glimpse of where he was. But the man inadvertently made her job easier, thinking that she wouldn't be able to reach him in time. With a charming grin, she raced after him. In a matter of seconds, he was prone on the ground, dead from a slash to the back of the neck.

"Well that was easy." She swung her blade as if to clean off imaginary blood and then insouciantly glanced at it before placing it back in its sheath.

"Do you think more spies are coming back not knowing the situation at station nine?" queried Darren, coming up from behind her.

"Perhaps, but now with that sneak attack, we lost sight of the battle below. Although... I guess I got distracted before this even occurred." She coughed, smiling sheepishly up at Darren. He lightly chuckled while shaking his head and waved her back to the tree gap above the station.

"Let's go join the fun then." A roguish, lopsided grin flashed across his face as he turned back to look at Essairyn. She grinned back in agreement, and the two of them jumped down from the hidden world. Essairyn used magic to slow their descent just enough to safely land beside the station. Since no one expected people to be falling out of the trees, their surprise arrival allowed them to take down any enemies within arms length of landing.

"Where the hell were you two?!" Their former assault team leader bellowed after recognizing them.

"Didn't you see just now?" Darren said mock-innocently, pointing above them.

"Ha ha. Very funny." The leader turned away with a last grudging reproach. "You could have arrived sooner. Now we have the situation under control, but we lost quite a few men."

"Jeez man, you're really starting to sound like a knight!" Darren joked nonchalantly as he fended off an opponent with a shove of his sword. Essairyn's ways seemed to be rubbing off on him. But perhaps, this was his true nature that was finally starting to relax and reveal itself.

The leader shook his head, saying nothing. He wasn't surprised by Essairyn's stunt ever since being in the same class with her. But he figured at least Darren wouldn't be the same based off his initial impression of him earlier that day. However, it appeared the rumor was true about them being travelers who arrived together. Eccentricity among travelers wasn't uncommon.

Thus, after surreptitiously observing Darren's combat abilities, the leader mentally accepted him into the advanced class. He was unlike the others who loathed such cases of partiality. As long as those who moved up from lower classes were capable, he paid no further mind to the situation. But not everyone was like the straight-laced assault team leader. Most didn't care one way or another after an initial spark of jealousy. It was the outspoken ones who ended up setting the tone of the entire class.

"If you don't want to become a knight, then why're you here?" A tall, well-built man jeered as he suddenly engaged Darren with a seamless rotation of his sword from a previously finished fight.

The swift maneuver unbalanced Darren as he sought to parry the spinning blow. Taking advantage of his teetering steps, the taller man quickly gained the upper hand. Noticing the situation nearby, Essairyn jumped in to help.

"I've got it!" Darren yelled through gritted teeth. He sidestepped to generate momentum and space in order to leap away and gain enough distance to recover his balance. If the Knights believed that he could progress enough in the advanced class to better prepare for the Farinheld mission, then he needed this kind of challenge. The weak station stealing team from earlier were not worth mentioning as more than a warmup.

Seeing the determination in Darren's eyes only increased the animosity of the other man. But even as he sped up his attacks, putting Darren more and more on the guard rather than on partial offense, Essairyn didn't interfere. This was his battle. And she was the one who had put him in this situation. If she treated him like a handicap, it would do neither of them any good for the long run if they stayed together. Besides, only he could break the limit on himself.

Just as the man was about to land a vital strike on Darren, he suddenly grasped his surroundings, noticing that he was alone. His yellow team had fled the scene in order to safeguard the device. They had been purposefully losing in order to distract their attackers and allow the device holder to slip away. So, the man inwardly cursed and leapt back to make his escape before the blue assault team could encircle him. Even if Essairyn wasn't going to interfere, that didn't mean others wouldn't.

"****! You let him get away! What if he had the device?!" The ashen brunette from their assault team screamed. "What're you even doing in the advanced class if you can't even beat the class below us?!"

Darren narrowed his eyes at her senseless outrage and lack of tact. This was only an exercise. She didn't need to get so worked up about an opponent escaping. They could easily pursue him rather than waste time to argue over a technicality. Essairyn would have chased after the man too if it weren't for the dark veil that dropped over Darren's face. As she instinctively stepped forward, an abrupt shout penetrated the budding tension.

"The device was found! A guy named Leœss picked it up after the original guy died!"

At the news, everyone forgot about Darren and the short-tempered brunette and rushed over in the direction of the voice. Essairyn watched them all leave with a stony expression before turning to Darren with a softer one.

"I'm fine." He instantly said before Essairyn could utter even a word. She weakly smiled in return. He had correctly guessed what she would say. So instead, she started speaking something ambiguous without looking at him.

"I thought living an ordinary life was enough for me. I was okay. But I was just fooling myself. Some part of me never gave up that dream."

Darren paused, staring at her with half-lidded eyes. "What're you trying to say?" His tone was curt with a vestige of curiosity.

Essairyn turned to face him. Lucid lavender eyes suffused with quiet intensity bore into his own. "Do whatever you want Darren. What others say you can or can't do... You can do whatever you want."

The words almost seemed laughable in their simplicity. Yet they stirred him, pricked his core. He fully understood her message which was like a continuation of their treetop conversation before they were interrupted. This girl was a figure who always seemed spontaneous yet sure of herself, by his side, yet ahead of him at every step. He thought he wouldn't ever be able to piece together this irregular puzzle, but in reality, she was the same as him as he was to her.

Wanting to be more than what they were. Wanting more than what opportunities were given to them. Wanting more out of life and yet never daring to take that step beyond the ordinary. They were not the only ones who had ever felt this way. Perhaps it was a smoldering longing shared by every individual that eventually dwindled to ash in light of their truth—the truth of their existence dictated by the world and their circumstances.

He didn't say anything. She could read his eyes to know that he understood. So with the faintest quirks of a smile, she gestured with her head to follow their team after Leœss.

"Might as well go see that poor guy's fate. At least he won't have to be a corpse long."

Darren returned the light atmosphere with his own smile and murmur of agreement. They unhurriedly arrived at the scene of Leœss's death and almost immediate revival after the assault team leader picked up the device from his fallen body. The game was over.

"Well, that was anticlimactic. It wasn't even an hour, and yet they boasted that this game would take us forever!" The ashen brunette harrumphed with a roll of her amber eyes and hand on her hip. She glanced at Leœss's awakening body with distaste. "Too bad the standard has lowered this round of recruiting. What a bore." With a final kick at the dirt around Leœss, she pivoted to leave.

"Apologize."

She turned around the threatening voice. It was Leœss who had now fully awoken to dirt being thrown on his clothes. Her scowl twisted into a smirk. "About what?"

"You know." Leœss stood up calmly. He stared straight into her eyes. "The Knights made this decision after evaluating that the intermediate class wasn't suitable for me."

After clicking her tongue, she scoffed and turned away. "Whatever." A secure hand on her shoulder prevented her from leaving. She jerked her head back to glare at Leœss, challenging his intentions to fight. He merely stared with the same expression right back at her.

"Hold up." Two burly arms separated the two figures who looked like they were about to exchange fists. "Enough with that. The game is over. We're supposed to wait for the results now."

The girl glared at the former assault leader. "What results?" she spat. "We won fair and square. There's no reason to deliberate!"

The leader shrugged. "I don't make the rules. Apparently something happened that made them have to reassess the results."

"Well I'm done here." Her ponytail whipped the air as she spun haughtily away. "I don't want to be around the cheats who don't belong here."

"Cheats? What do you mean?" The leader narrowed his eyes at her. His voice was low with a concealed edge of authority.

"Exactly what I said." She raised her brows lightly and pointed flippantly at Leœss and Darren. At that remark, Essairyn lurched forward at the girl, but Darren in front lifted an arm up to block her. The message he sent over his shoulder with his eyes to Essairyn told her not to get involved.

"Instead of being petty, maybe you should focus on doing something that catches their attention rather than whining." Unknowingly, Darren had struck a nerve with the brunette who had great difficulty entering the advanced classes.

After toning down her reddened face, the girl mockingly remarked, "That's rich coming from you. At least this dude was at the top of his class." She jutted out her chin at Leœss disparagingly. Seeing Darren's face mix with confusion, she guffawed. "What a way to take advantage of your connections."

"Hey, stop making the situation worse. What's with you today?" The team leader piped in again, frowning in displeasure.

"Just ask her." The girl continued with a head jerk in Essairyn's direction, ignoring the former leader. She tromped away after a final sweeping glare at everyone.

Darren followed the indicated direction and met surprised lavender orbs. He tipped his head to the side, perplexed why Essairyn was suddenly brought into this.

"What's that supposed to mean?" He said with a half-hearted laugh. But instead of Essairyn quelling the unpleasant, churning suspicion in his gut by laughing along with him, her face was serious with a tinge of nervousness. "Essairyn?"

Her brows furrowed and then loosened and then furrowed again as her thoughts wavered on what to say. She didn't want to lie, and yet she couldn't tell the truth for fear of hurting the stronger connection they had formed today.

"Essairyn." Darren's face hardened. His tone demanded answers to her silence. "Did you also ask the Knights to let me join the advanced classes?"

She looked hesitantly up at Darren, her eye contact swaying as she strove to utter reasonable words. Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She internally yelled at herself. Why can't I say anything? I should just say it casually like it's no big deal. Why am I worrying so much and acting like this? Deep down, she didn't want to admit it, that she was afraid of how he would react.

After their last argument, she was worried he would change his mind and stay in Byar'non, leaving her behind. He was the last link she had to Earth, a reminder of her past life, that she actually lived in another world, that this still wasn't a dream. So that she could remember. So that she could retain her memories of everyone. Essairyn felt that if she were the only traveler, she might just forget everything like it were a dream, as if this had been her only reality.

Wanting to forget, wanting to remember. Both freedom and confinement from her past. She needed someone with her on this journey that connected to her past, no matter how faint. But she denied this within herself because her self-inflicted amnesia in order to forget the pain of what she had lost was only just beginning.

Darren too, was the same in this balancing game of memories. But it hadn't struck him yet because of Essairyn's almost constant presence since he arrived. Unlike him, she had started alone without anyone to explain to her what happened. In this this moment, however, he could only focus on Essairyn's dubious behavior.

"You... Please tell me you didn't ask after I specifically asked you not to." His tone was accusing yet pleading to be wrong. Her silence confirmed his suspicion. "You did?" His voice softened in vehemence, underlaid with disappointment.

"Why..." He shifted his head, furrowing his brows as he struggled to grasp what he most wanted to ask. "Why do you have to decide things for me?" His eyes narrowed indignantly, desperately. He couldn't understand the girl's motive. The power separation between them was clear. Why did she have to forcefully drag him to her level and further make it obvious to everyone that he didn't belong? That... he didn't belong in this world.

"I'm sorry!" She urgently blurted. "I just thought it would be better if—"

"If I moved up when I wasn't supposed to because I wanted to join a mission I wasn't supposed to?!" Darren's pitch elevated as he stumbled on. "It's great that you can convince the Knights like that, but how about me?" Sarcasm cut his words. "I can't do that. I can't do anything that you do! I'm—!" He briefly paused as he quelled his cursory tirade and clenched his fists. "I'm not like you."

His voice dipped into a distinct whisper. "I thought... we had gotten closer. And that I could understand you now. But... I was wrong." He straightened his tense posture and stared at her firmly. "We're too different, Essairyn. ...Maybe, it's better that I don't join you after all."

"What're you, confessing?" A random boy wised off with a stifled snicker.

Darren stiffened at the inapt remark and snapped his head toward the wise-ass. "What the ****! Get out of here!" He moved as if to jump kick the boy who then coiled up at the intimidating gesture. "*****ing jackass." He grumbled under his breath and then registered the spectating crowd. "What're you all watching?" He barked, waving his hands for them to scram. After they reluctantly began dispersing, he huffed to himself and spun to walk away.

"Wait!" Essairyn rushed over earnestly. "I'm really sorry! It's my fault. I didn't think that it would turn out like this and make you so upset. Are you really not going now?"

Darren peered at her from the side, silent as he swallowed down hurtful words. You were going to pretend that the professor changed his mind—which is what I thought had happened—and never tell me? Why? Why do you go to these lengths? We don't even know each other that— His steely expression wavered underneath.

Despite his insecurities about his own abilities, he still honestly wanted to participate in the mission. He wanted to stay with Essairyn and learn more about this world. He just hated this feeling of losing out. It was just like when he tore his ACL. He could never play basketball the same anymore after the surgery. Soon, everyone was getting ahead of him. He couldn't understand why others recovered just fine, but he was falling behind. It was a minor injury, he would repeatedly tell himself. It's no big deal. He would be back to normal in a few months. But he didn't get recruited into the the college teams he desired. And he didn't want to settle for some no name group.

However, both that and the injury were excuses. He was just too afraid to go after what he wanted. Perhaps, he was never that passionate about basketball he'd tell himself. Where did people get their passion and drive from? He always wondered about that. Maybe, people just did things they were good at because others gave them compliments, and accomplishing something above average made them feel better about themselves. They thought this talent must be their calling. But then, they'd realize how small their talent was in comparison to others. They questioned themselves why they were doing this in the first place, asking if they even enjoyed doing this. They gave up because they would never be able to catch up. And the potential of their talent was lost forever.

Thus, upon realizing that his newfound superhuman abilities were like water in this world, Darren was naturally dispirited. So, he stubbornly turned away, unwilling to admit defeat to Essairyn. Unfortunately, he had met his match in stubbornness. There was no way Essairyn was going to let him leave on this sour note.

"Hold up!" She whirled around in front of Darren with her palm out to stop him. "Don't tell me that you're going to listen to them! So what if I asked the Knights? They were the ones that agreed. And you know how they are, they like putting us through misery!" Darren nearly had to bite the inside of his mouth to restrain a smile or laugh from escaping at her brutally blunt description of the Knights. "And whether or not those words are true—they're not—are up to you!" She finished boldly with a fierce gaze. He sighed. This girl was just too much.

"I don't care." He lifelessly replied and stepped around her. She swooped right back in front to block him. "Hey!" He frowned at her and dodged to the left. She shifted to mirror him.

Frustrated, but not wanting to publicly vent as he had just done before, he closed his eyes and contained it. Essairyn stared at him standing still. Just as she wondered if she pushed him too far and was about to ask if he was all right, Darren suddenly unsheathed his sword and knocked her away with a direct blow.

Completely off guard, she was swept a few meters to the side, pulling up grass along the way. Clutching her stomach from the bitter swipe, she staggered up from the uncovered dirt beneath her feet. "Haha, you didn't hold back. Good." Her eyes twinkled ambiguously. "I deserved that honestly."

Darren's forehead crinkled with mixed emotions. He didn't expect her to take the brunt of the blow. Based on her typical reaction time and casting speed, she should have blocked it with a barrier. But he had forgotten that they were still wearing the bracelets that limited external magic flow. Shoot. I just wanted to trick her in order to leave so that I could properly think instead of yelling at her again. But now I actually hurt her... But damn, I want to wipe that smirk off her face now.

Darren narrowed his eyes at her provocation. This girl had the habit of provoking him at the most unforeseen moments. Exhaling a long breath, he resigned himself up to his fate. Under these conditions, now was as good of a time as ever to spar with Essairyn whose magic was limited. He wanted to test himself, and unexpectedly, he had created the perfect situation for it to occur.

With a steady arc of his sword, Darren readied his stance. Seeing this, Essairyn grinned. Communication could also be delivered wordlessly through the crossing of swords. It was an unspoken challenge between the two of them. Whoever won would win this argument. They would fight themselves out of a fight.

Essairyn accelerated, brandishing her sword as she drew near. The collision of metal against metal resounded piercingly in the spacious forest. Quickly, another crowd formed upon hearing the exchange of blows. The spectators watched as Essairyn quickly got the upper hand, pressuring Darren mostly into defense. Even this isn't enough? He grimaced while defending against a flurry of feather-light strikes. Essairyn flourished her sword like a rapier, maneuvering the unsuitably designed weapon in a variety of techniques that kept Darren on his toes. Well, two can play that game. After dodging a diagonal swing, he readjusted his position and initiated an unusual attack.

"Huh?" Essairyn couldn't help uttering her surprise. Darren defended her next blow with the sheath of his sword while launching a coordinated strike to her vulnerable left arm with the actual weapon. The pain of the simulated slice forced her to leap back. She clutched her upper arm and let out a laugh. This was proving to more fun than anticipated. As much as she wanted Darren to not give up on the mission, Essairyn fancied the idea of sparring against him. She hadn't gotten a previous chance to witness the other traveler's skills firsthand.

In this new manner, Darren was able to reverse his defensive position to a more favorable offensive one. Essairyn struggled to block the attacks of varying patterns but was quickly getting adjusted with steadily increasing speed. Realizing that her insane adapting abilities would render him in the same position as before, Darren drew out his wild card.

A shock of energy nicked Essairyn's cheek, fleetingly distracting her at the unanticipated appearance of magic. Seizing that chance, Darren swerved the direction of his blade and hooked Essairyn's sword, propelling it out of her slackened grasp with an adroit flip. Doubly startled by the progression of events, Essairyn blankly blinked.

"Puh!" A puff of air burst out of her mouth, almost like a snort rather than a chuckle. With the loss of her sword, she could no longer fight him physically. Although she could employ magic like Darren just now by taking off her bracelet, she didn't resort to something which would have indisputably handed her a win from the very start. For Darren to release tangible magic, he must have studied and independently honed his magic ability since Lachlan informed him of the possibility. Additionally, although still crude in capability, he also surprised her with his dual wielding. These two tactics combined were enough for Essairyn.

"You win."