All of the cadets trembled—then forced themselves to stand firm. None stepped away. As her gaze swept the crowd, a few figures stood apart from the fear: a silver-haired boy with half-lidded navy-blue eyes, unnervingly calm amid the chaos; a brown-haired girl, absorbed in her book as if the threat were nothing more than background noise; and a hulking man whose grin suggested he had been waiting for this moment.
Her eyes slid sideways and settled on Reol and Geno, their crests marking them instantly.
So… Honeybadgers, she thought.
One cadet hesitantly raised a hand. "Excuse me, uh—Lady Terrisia. When you say death… you mean failure, right? Not actual death?"
He tilted his head, a shaky chuckle slipping out. "I mean… that would be ridiculous.
Her eyes remained indifferent as she spoke. "I have already given my warning. I will not repeat myself. In your applications, it is clearly stated that the organization shall not be held accountable for any unfortunate loss—or death."
Her gaze swept over them. "I trust your respective commanders reviewed this with each of you before you signed. Did they not?"
The Cadets panicked a they whispered to eachother.
"This Exam will take place in the Zahara Forest, a place known for keeping Voletiles E to C rank for study. But for this particular exam they will be your foils along with your fellow Fortextiles." She said.
Her eyes remained indifferent as she spoke. "I have already given my warning. I will not repeat myself. In your applications, it is clearly stated that the organization shall not be held accountable for any unfortunate loss—or death."
Her gaze swept over the cadets. "I trust your respective commanders reviewed this with each of you before you signed. Did they not?"
Whispers spread through the group as panic rippled across their faces.
Then she paced up and down, her coat drapped over her shoulders moving with her.
She continued, "There will be multiple Crystals scattered across the forest. You will form a team of three—failing to form a group of three results in instant failure. Your task is to secure a Crystal, protect it for five days, and then, on the sixth day, return with it to the safe point. Returning any sooner or later will also lead to failure.
She walks back into the building. Multiple vans waited for the Cadets to load them up and take them to the Forest. The Cadets all scattered looking for partners, naturally they teamed up with their fellow branch mates while Reol and Geno stood looking for a third partner and their reputation as Honeybadgers were doing them no favors. Goodluck .
"Shit, no one is even looking our way," Geno muttered.
Reol frowned. "Relax. We just need to approach them."
He stepped forward, but the cadets moved silently away, some shooting scornful glances, others ignoring him completely. A shiver ran down his spine.
"What's with these jerks?!" he exclaimed.
Geno closed his eyes and folded his arms. "Well, since you're new, I might as well enlighten your ignorant ass," he said grimly. "Among all ten branches in the province, we Honeybadgers are known as the rotten fruit. Even the main company treats us like crap. I don't know why. My point is… everyone's wired to ignore our branch. Failure is a high possibility already."
The realization hit Reol like a boulder. "Th-theres no way? Just like that?"
He then desperately looked for looked for a partner, he asked professionally but the Cadets pushed back and shrugged, half already left the site and on their way to Forest. As time went on, more and more left until Reol and Geno were left alone.
Reol fell to his knees eyes widened "No... this is so unfair..." His eyes darted everywhere.
The instructor watched from the window as she thought. 'They won't even fail the exam,' she thought.
'They'll never enter it.' as she walked on.
Geno clenched his fist. "Not again..."
Then, there was a girl, with violet long hair and big violet eyes, she was small in stature, and she looked frightened as she looked around, her body trembling, then she slowly walked away, she was planning to drop out, Reol glanced at her as he quickly approached,
"Wait!"
The girl flinched, as she walked faster, Reol caught up as he grabbed her by the arm.
"Please just hold on." Reol said.
"No, I'm dropping out, I'm not stepping into that hell! "she trembled. "Your heard her, she said death is all but guaranteed for most."
Reol could feel her trembling body, he realized he couldn't just force someone to risk their life. But still he pressed.
"Look, I know it's selfish for me but we need you. I promise I'll protect you."
The girl recoiled "even so, it will do you more harm than good to have someone like me."
Reol looked her in th eyes. "Even so I still want you. No, I need you. Don't you have a reason to do this too? You want to participate, if you didn't want to you could've left immediately when you had the chance before. But you stayed."
The girl looked at Reol. "But… but… I'll just be dead weight…"
Geno cut in immediately. "And that's alright…"
Her eyes shifted toward him.
"I can't guarantee some miraculous change during this exam," he said seriously, "but I can guarantee we'll all make it out alive… and if you happen to die… I'll slit my throat myself. I refuse to live knowing I broke a vow."
He bowed slightly. "Please… join us."
Reol extended his hand with a smirk. "Same goes for me…"
The girl looked at them, seeing nothing but unwavering confidence. Something in her yearned for that kind of courage, that kind of boldness. She took his hand.
"But… please," she whispered, "can… can we not let it get… that…?"
"I was never planning to. This guy's just dramatic," Reol said.
Geno gritted his teeth. "Shut up, you asshole!"
As they bickered, the driver's voice cut through sharply. "Hey! You punks coming or what?!"
"Right!" they both said in unison, sprinting toward the van.
"Full speed ahead, driver!" Reol called as they leapt inside.
Both Geno and Reol exhaled in relief once the doors shut.
"We may have a teammate now," Geno said, frowning, "but we're still at a disadvantage. The other squads probably already secured prime spots in the forest… heck, they may have even found Crystals."
Reol shrugged. "Yeah, who cares? We just have to find our own. Easy."
The girl hesitated. "I… I don't think it's that simple…"
Both turned to her. She continued, voice tense. "The instructor said… we might have to fight Voletiles and Fortextiles. She said it like… inevitability. And the Crystals are limited… so…"
Geno's eyes narrowed. "We have to steal them from each other."
Reol smirked and gave her shoulder a playful smack. Her eyes swirled in surprise. "And here you said you'd be dead weight…"
"Stop that! You're making her uncomfortable!" Geno snapped.
Reol blinked. "Oh… right, my bad."
The driver lowered his cap, a faint smirk on his face. "So, you kids are part of the Honeybadgers branch, huh?"
"If you're gonna tell us all this is pointless for trash like us," Reol replied coolly, "then save it."
The driver's gaze lingered on them. "Tell me, why so persistent? I watched you struggle to get a partner… even nearly broke down. Why go so far? There's always next time."
Reol's voice was steady. "If we gave up just because of an obstacle like that, it would go against everything we stand for. We always find a way."
The driver's smirk deepened as he recalled a memory of a man in a uniform with the Honeybadger crest.
'I see… the way of resilience, huh…'
He said softly, "These kids… their determination… no doubt they follow Commander Zackery."
"Okay," he said finally. "I'll do you a solid. I'll drop you at the most likely place to find a Crystal. I've transported cadets before, I know the forest."
Geno and Reol exchanged surprised looks. "Why go this far?" Geno asked.
"Let's just say… I owe a debt to your Commander. What better time to repay it than now."
The van plunged into the forest. The other vans were parked outside, but Joshua—driver extraordinaire—rode deep into the woods, dodging roots, rocks, and Voletiles that lurked in the shadows.
The girl spoke hesitantly. "Wait… isn't this cheating?"
"Nope," Joshua said calmly. "We drivers can drop you wherever you need. There's no rule against it. Other drivers just don't want to risk going in and facing Voletiles."
After navigating deep into the forest, they reached a spot most likely to hold a Crystal.
"Well, this is it. Lady Terrisia never changes her methods," Joshua said.
They climbed out. Reol grinned. "Thanks a lot… you really helped us out of a bind."
Joshua tipped his cap. "What are your names, kids?"
"Reol."
"Geno."
"Selene."
"I'll be looking forward to your return," he said. "Oh, and I'm Joshua."
He drove off. Newborns lurked, attempting to attack the van, but Joshua swerved and knocked them off, plowing through the forest. One leapt onto the roof; she shook it off as blood dripped from its forehead.
*****
Reol, Geno, and Selene stood before a cave. Ten Newborns crawled toward them, and two pairs of Fledges blocked the entrance.
Reol drew his bat, Geno's eyes shifted black as his Manifesto manifested into twin daggers.
Reol smirked. "Time… time to get active."