Glistening Water

Hanzo Jin was officially expelled from the Seiei Academy. Him aside, the past few days passed in a blur.

On the other hand, Atsumasa Ayumi in the past days was under the council's protection. And now in this exam, she is participating.

Now, it's seven in the morning, and all the students find themselves right outside the hotel. The clouds were dark, and the wind was cold as if a storm was about to come.

The students lined up based on their sections in the front, facing the forest area.

The council gave each student a red, triangular badge with the logo of the school on top, and a black screen on the middle, indicating the student's ID number.

KYOSUKE RYO, SD:0934

Not long after, in front of the numerous lined-up students, the Second Seat walked in front of them.

She wore a white coat that covered her full body, and at the top right part of that coat, was a mark, reading "Second".

Her face was open, lacking her usual hat and she tied up in a high ponytail that extended up to her feet, but not long enough to reach the ground. Her face displays a stoic expression.

Then, in a loud, clear voice, she spoke.

"First of all... I would like to greet you all with a pleasant morning. The awaited entrance test has arrived. Hopefully, the four days of preparation, along with the given high-tech training pieces of equipment within the facility sufficed for each individual's preparation needs. Kajiyashaki Ryujin, the examiner, is a skilled magician. Any tactics are allowed, with the exception of "cheating" ways. The exam will last from 7 in the morning, to 12 in the afternoon."

Everyone was serious, and some were nervous. Some eyes were determined and fierce, while some were relaxed, and a few, were in great fear.

"Without further ado, let us step onto the battlefield."

The students were guided into the deep forest, where the recent incident regarding Hanzo Jin occurred.

Then, once all were inside, the sounds of cranks and machines functioning echoed, revealing that the "forest" was just a platform, slowly descending.

Down below, is a wide, huge, underground forest battlefield. The platform is the middle part of the battlefield.

The students looked out in amazement as the battlefield slowly unraveled.

After a few seconds of descending, the platform finally reached its point. It perfectly blended in the battlefield, as if it was a part of it all along.

Then, the walls lit up, it was screen monitors all along.

It lit up on a white background. Then, the face of the second seat popped up. From the council office, she sits behind her desk, and there, she speaks through a camera.

"This is the exam field for our entrance test. We will give a 15 minutes preparation for you all to spread around, and plan your tactics. Everyone should know that there is a button on the right side of the badge, which will manifest a hologram to show the location of the hunter. That is all. We will inform you all if the time is up."

With those words, the screen turned black again.

Ryo met up with the rest of his group: Hina, Airi, Haruto, Arata, and Kyouko.

Currently, they are at one corner of the battlefield.

All of them are sitting on a fallen log nearby, excluding Kyouko and Ryo who are standing up, and Arata, who is sitting on top of a tree to look for other spots.

"What should we do?" Hina asked. She feels slightly nervous.

"For now, let's stick together and work as one, this will increase our chances of winning," Haruto suggested,

"Sticking together, then what?" Ryo nonchalantly asked.

He vividly remembered his first interaction with Ryujin. The feeling of terrifying excitement resurfaced in his mind.

Just from speed alone, he is superior. Surely, sticking together is not the only thing that they ought to do.

It could cause early eliminations.

Everyone went silent, thinking of a way to survive.

"Think of yourselves as hyenas, facing up against a male lion. Facing the lion's physical prowess alone is a guaranteed defeat. However, a pack of hyenas would give a fight, and the chances of winning will increase." Kyouko said in a serious manner.

"I'll spoil you all a bit. Ryujin's skills revolve around speed and both short-range and long-range vicinities. He's much stronger than me and Kyosuke-san combined." She added.

"Much stronger?!" Everyone blurted out in disbelief, except for Ryo, who was unsurprised.

"B-But, how do you know that...?" Hina asked curiously.

"He's my co-member in the council."

"Co-member..."

After a short while, her words hit them.

"You're a member of the council?!" They all blurted out in unison, with Arata even falling from the tree in surprise.

"Yes," Kyouko replied calmly.

"W-Wow... We never knew that!" Hina remarked, her eyes glistening in excitement.

"Back to the topic. He's a lion, like I've said. However, he's also just a student. A correct sequence of defending and attacking could unfold a weakness."

"But how exactly?" Haruto asked.

"Firstly, consider the terrain. A forest is full of trees, which could be used for ambushes and escapes. One sequence could be Akamine-san trying to freeze him while being hidden deep within the terrain. If that doesn't work, while he's occupied with Akamine-san, Takahashi-san will attack from the other side, and so on. Just remember to not lump it into a single place. Disperse, yet still have a vision of him from all around. Do you all understand?"

"So basically, combining our strengths together?" Haruto asked.

"Precisely. Although it doesn't secure victory, it is a method where there'll be winning chances."

"Eh-heh, this is where I come in!" Arata proudly exclaimed as he stood up, puffing out his chest.

"What do you mean, Takahashi-san?" Kyouko asked.

"I have the telepathy magic! I could contact you guys through your minds!"

Telepathy. This is where through imagination, the user could send telepathic messages to the imagined person, and that person in return, could talk back. However, this has a certain distance limit.

"That's a good magic. We could split up and still have a look out for each other."

...

Just then, a female voice, specifically the vice president, which seems to be coming from a speaker, echoed throughout the forest.

"Attention. The test starts in a few seconds. Summon your badge hologram to see the location of the hunter. The hunter can't see your location, so use that to your advantage. QThe test is starting... In 3, 2, 1...."

"4:59:58"

"Good luck to us all!" Haruto exclaimed while clenching his fist, as everyone, excluding Ryo and Kyouko, raised their fists up in the air, determined to win.

Ryo pressed his hologram to see the hunter's location. He was spawned in the middle of the battlefield.

Then, to Ryo's amusement, the red dot flickered all around the middle part of the map, as if he was disappearing and reappearing.

Following that was the same female voice earlier, announcing each eliminated student.

Students 1023 0484 0009, are eliminated!

It announced in a monotonous tone.

Ryo looked at the others. They all shared a nod.

The first plan is to run away and keep as much distance as possible, and to only engage in battle if necessary.

Ryo thought to himself as they all ran in the opposite direction of the hunter.

However, as if done on purpose, many hours have passed, and only an hour remains, yet, they haven't had a face-to-face encounter with the hunter.

Whenever the hunter is near, it always turns around in direction, as if it knows who's ahead, and decides to avoid them.

But at some point in all the running, they split up.

Right now, Ryo is with Kyouko, whom he stumbled to earlier.

Both of them were tired from all the running and were sitting on a nearby fallen log.

"How can Kajiyashaki-san run for hours and not get tired?" He said between catching his breath.

"It's because he's that strong." Kyouko calmly replied. Even she was already out of breath.

No fight between them happened yet, but they're already tired.

"Still, that's inhumane."

"That's just the fourth seat. Imagine what the other echelons could do."

I know. It's pretty crazy that a mere teenage student is this strong and full of stamina. I'm starting to be amazed.

Ryo thought to himself. He then took a peek at the map hologram and saw that the red dot was coming in their direction.

"He's coming. Let's go."

Kyouko firmly nodded, and they both ran away from the incoming hunter.

They ran through tree branches and rocky terrain. However, Ryo felt something was off.

The echoing sounds in the forest were the sound of their feet rapidly going through the ground underneath them.

But, there was another distinct sound aside from that...

It was the familiar sound... Of the quiet splashes of water.

He turned his now nervous gaze towards the hologram, and to his horror, the hunter was only a few meters from behind.

"He's here!" Ryo yelled out.

But just like last time, Ryujin's speed was unpredictable. In a matter of seconds, he closed the distance between him and Kyouko, instantly appearing right in front of her.

"Hello there, you two."

Kyouko stopped in her tracks as she tried to immediately turn her body around, and run.

But, Ryujin was always faster. He immediately swung his sword towards the badge on Kyouko's left chest. He was so fast, that both of them were almost unable to react.

Defeat and expulsion were nearing Kyouko. Ryujin's blade is just a single inch away from the badge.

In that sole second, Kyouko tightly closed her eyes, greatly expecting defeat.

However, at the last second, milliseconds even, Ryo ever-so swiftly draws out his sword, and with a firing blaze, he parried Ryujin's blade and completely pushed him away,

A momentary shock flashed through Ryujin as he was thrown away before he smiled in excitement.

"Let's go!" He hurriedly grabbed Kyouko by the arm, and they ran away.

"S-Sorry..." She apologized sincerely as they ran.

"Now's not the time." He answered, He hurriedly pressed his badge and looked at the hologram.

As expected, Ryujin was quickly coming after them, like a wild lion, swiftly chasing its prey.

Ryo clicks his tongue as his face turns serious.

Both of us weren't almost able to follow his speed. We can't win if we fight him head-on.

He thought to himself as he was trying to frantically think of a strategy.

"Let's run faster."

Both of them increased their speed, and the ray of escape began manifesting. The gap between them was getting bigger.

But, as they were running, they noticed many small water bubbles floating all around them.

Kyouko's eyes widened as she instantly recognized this attack.

"He's going to attack from behind!" She yelled out.

Both of them stopped in their tracks and turned around, and as she anticipated, Ryujin was high up in the air, holding his blade tightly.

In the next second, all the floating water bubbles shoot towards Ryujin's blade direction simultaneously. This enhanced the strength of his attacks.

"Let's try something big!" Ryujin yelled out. He raised his sword high in the air, and it began gathering energy in a vortex. Then, he forcefully swung it downwards, which caused the vortex of energy to launch downwards towards Ryo and Kyouko, turning into a water serpent as it flew towards them.

"I'll handle this!" Kyouko said determinedly. She unsheathed her sword and summoned her lightning to her blade. Then, swiftly and smoothly, she dashed through the air, summoning invisible footholds, and slicing the water serpent down into small pieces.

Ryujin looked at her astonished. Both of them landed on the ground.

"That's one strong spell, Kyouko." He complimented with a smile.

"Thanks." She calmly replied.

"The students earlier were boring. They didn't even try to bring me down. All they did was care about themselves. Good thing I saved the best for last." Ryujin added. His smile was filled with excitement for a battle that he knew he'd enjoy.

"Sure, whatever. Let's do this." Ryo nonchalantly said, albeit with a slightly excited heart.

Magic is boring, usually. It's a hassle, usually. But today, I'm feeling quite energetic. Maybe it's because Ryujin is strong, and I'll learn along the way. Either way, I'll take this seriously."

"Alright, Ryujin. You asked for this.",

Ryo and Kyouko pointed their swords toward Ryujin, clearly determined and serious.

"Then, let's battle!"