After two hours of running, most students were on a teacher's back since they were tired. But there were some students still trying to push themselves.
"Jeez, how can they move for so long without getting tired? I mean, I lasted longer than most, so I guess I'm getting up there—" a girl student said, but then she stopped when she saw a group of seven just playing around. The dark-skinned girl seemed to be mocking someone.
"Oh yes, Mister Bull, I am single," Tessa said, mocking Jordan.
"God, that's never ever going away, is it?" Jordan said, facepalming.
"Nope," they all said in unison, laughing.
"Didn't know you were such a man's man," Joey added.
Jordan looked annoyed, but that annoyance turned into laughter. Everyone was confused.
"What's so funny?" Joey asked with a nervous smile.
"No, no… it's just—I'm happy to see you making jokes and laughing instead of looking like an outcast like you usually do," Jordan said, smiling at Joey.
"I guess I am," Joey smiled. "But truthfully, it shouldn't be me you should be saying that to. It should be Wren."
When Wren heard Joey's words, she looked at the boy like he was crazy.
"What does that mean?" Wren yelled back.
"He's right. I mean, at first it seemed like you always had a stick up your—" Before Harkel could finish his sentence, Wren kicked him, causing him to bounce off the ground and fly out of the formation the students and teachers were running in. Harkel quickly rejoined the group like nothing happened.
"Ouch!" Harkel yelled toward the girl with short black hair.
"Watch it," Wren said back, her eyes slanted. Lightning began to protrude from her hands.
"Like I was saying before I was rudely interrupted—you did get better at communicating. Originally, you just said one word or 'hmm,' but now you're full-on laughing with a smile," Harkel said with a big grin.
"Yeah…" was all Wren said, looking away.
Joey then got behind Harkel and shoved his head downward.
"Hey! What was that for?" Harkel yelled out.
Joey leaned in close.
"She likes you," Joey whispered in a playful tone. But before Joey could run away, Harkel grabbed him under his armpit and started ruffling his hair with a fist.
"Shut up, dude," Harkel said, laughing. She likes me, Harkel thought—but luckily, no one heard it, since Riven had turned the telepathic link skill off.
Sable turned around and said nothing. He liked seeing kids being kids instead of fighting for their lives.
"Hey Luka, we didn't really get to talk after you came back. Man, it's good to see you alive," Joey said.
"Yeah, it's good to be alive. Especially since I thought my life was over with that—" Luka stopped when he heard a cough, signaling him to watch what he was about to say. It was from Sable.
He still didn't want the other students knowing that there might be another wolf out there.
"—with that beast we ran into," Luka said, correcting himself.
Joey held out a fist bump, and Luka bumped his fist with Joey's.
"But enough about me. Dude, what was that back there with the last wolf?" Luka asked excitedly. "I mean, you awakened, then you started dishing out blasts left and right, healing everybody who was injured. That was crazy. Didn't I think I saw the Kraken?"
"Looks like you're starting to get a fan club," Riven said beside Joey. "Hey, fall back a little bit. I wanna talk."
Joey fell back from his group, telling Luka he'd talk to him later.
"So, what did you wanna talk about?" Harkel asked. In response, Riven tapped his head, signaling that he wanted to speak via telepathic link.
"So?" Harkel asked again.
"We need to expand our group," Riven said in their minds.
"Expand our group how?" Wren questioned.
"Easily. With the only students who were able to somewhat keep up with us," Riven replied. He was referring to Nico, Luka, Jude, Skye, and Kira—students who had also awakened.
"We all kinda got a good look at their characters, so why not?"
"I'm cool with that. Plus, we owe Kira—and most likely Luka as well," Harkel replied.
"Why Luka?" Wren asked.
"Because Luka said he ran into that red-eyed werewolf, which was more powerful than all three of the others combined. And the way your teams went down… it's likely that that wolf was following our team. If that sixth wolf hadn't left, we would've had to deal with it along with the black-eyed one," Harkel explained.
"Leo, Tessa, you guys had Jude. What do you think of her?" Riven asked.
"She's alright. Kinda a sucker for the rules, but her heart's in the right place," Tessa said.
"I think the same," Leo agreed.
"And Skye?" Riven asked Jordan and Wren.
"A bit of an idiot," Wren said bluntly.
"Okay, I wouldn't say idiot, but when we were getting dragged by that orange-eyed werewolf, she did try to help. That counts for something," Jordan added.
"Okay, fine. It's been decided. They'll be joining our group," Riven said with a smile.
Then Riven, Jordan, Joey, and Harkel all sensed something. They entered their true awakening forms and rushed ahead of everyone else, breaking out of the formation. But before they attacked, they realized who the figure was.
"Whoa whoa whoa—keep it in your pants, jeez du—" Damien stopped mid-sentence when he saw the four boys. "What? What happened to you four? How did you acquire your second awakening… and not only that—you've unlocked your true awakenings as well?"
"Mr. Damien!" the boys called out.
"Yes, it is I," he replied as Mr. Sable and the other teachers and students all approached with weapons ready. But when they saw the man, most of the students dropped to their knees in relief. With this man here, they knew they could get out immediately.
"Sir Damien," they all said in unison.
"Yeah, it's me." As soon as Damien finished speaking, everyone disappeared into one of the teleporters. "Now, Sable—I want a report on what happened here. And what happened to most of your team?"
Sable agreed and told Damien everything—from seeing Riven and Nico chase the beast, to the final battle, including the true awakenings of Riven, Harkel, Jordan, and Joey.
Damien was pissed. He hadn't liked the idea of sending first-years here in the first place. But hearing that the beast had wiped out half the teams made his blood boil.
"You students should've never been sent here. And even though the results were more impressive than Darius expected, that still wasn't worth human lives," Damien said. He looked at the four boys. "Go through the portal. It'll lead you back to the academy. First aid should be waiting for you… though it seems you don't need it. I thank you for protecting each other—and not dying. I'll stay here and retrieve the rest of the students and teachers. Most are likely to be split up."
With that, Damien vanished.
The remaining students—Team B, 3 from Team C, 3 from Team A, and 3 from Team D—all entered the black portal. When they emerged, they saw dozens of people in nurse uniforms checking the students. Darius stood nearby with his arms folded, second and third years behind him. They looked annoyed, clearly unhappy about having to wait while the first years finished their outing.
When Sable saw Darius, he couldn't contain his rage.
"You knew!" Sable yelled, grabbing Darius by his white collar. "You knew those beasts were too dangerous. You knew they adapted to your power and still sent these students—sacrificing their lives for your dumb cause!"
Darius didn't flinch. He lifted Sable with one hand, holding him in the air effortlessly. Sable kicked him, but it was useless. Darius stood like stone.
"Look me in the eyes when I say this: I don't care. These students need to get stronger. Those who couldn't keep up? They deserved to die. The strong will continue." Darius's voice was cold. "But luckily for you, I'm a nice person. I'll let this slide. Try it again, though—and I will kill you."
With that, Darius gently put Sable down like he was nothing.
"Now, for the rest of you students—go to your rooms and get some sleep. If you're hungry, there's a buffet in the cafeteria… though it's probably cold by now. Go warm it up. Other than that, you're dismissed. In four weeks, your results will be in from your teachers. After that, we'll do something special for the top ten students—across all years," Darius said with a smile.
As everyone walked to their rooms, they could hear the other students whispering:
"God, why do we have to be here just 'cause these guys couldn't handle themselves?" one student muttered.
"I know, right? Like, your class is weak. Why do we get punished 'cause you guys died?" another added.
When the four boys heard that, they unconsciously activated their true awakening forms.
"You wanna say that again?" Harkel asked, stepping forward.
"Oh, now this is a surprise. Four first-years with true awakening forms. And this is just the first day of being back. Most of you will awaken after a good rest," Darius said, then clapped. The sound was like a shotgun in the room. "Enough. You'll have time to fight later. I'll make sure of that."
Annoyed, the first-years walked off to their rooms—to finally have their first good night's sleep in two days.