Chapter 8: Why Do I Keep Running Into You?

Night had come and gone, and now the sun was up in the sky once more. Qianlong had gone to wake up Kaito.

[Hey Kaito, suns up! I made some breakfast.....well it's really just some of our leftovers from last night.]

Still half asleep, Kaito woke and gave a blank stare to Qianlong before a sudden, loud blaring noise jolted him awake.

[Hello there everyone! Testing! Testing! This is Lionel.]

A loud voice echoed throughout the forest as if amplified through unseen speakers.

[I'll assume everyone can hear me. Anyways, announcements will be made every morning until this portion of the exam is complete.]

Hearing this, Qianlong muttered,

[What's the point of this? This entrance exam already feels pretty extreme.]

The voice continued to echo as if responding to the questions that they had.

[Now you may think this is rather pointless, and it probably is, but it could serve to demoralize you or boost your morale.]

From the inside of a broadcast room, Lionel gestured to an assistant holding a stack of documents and someone in front of the control panel. After receiving the documents, he continued.

[Let's see here....are you serious?! That's pathetic! It's only been a day, how did half of you get eliminated already?]

Lionel was truly bewildered by the results he was reading in the reports. Throughout the night, many of the examinees had encounters with monsters that they couldn't fend against. Some didn't even make it through the first day, let alone the night. There were some entrants got lost and walked off a cliff while others fell for traps set in the area. Others got washed away after falling in water while some misidentified plants when eating them, causing them to require medical attention. Lionel looked at the assistant that handed him the papers and asked,

[Hey hey, these guys were screened right? The first 2 parts of the exam were to make sure those that remained had a sporting chance at passing this one. We just started the second day. The distance they have to cover isn't even that far.]

The assistant pushed up his glasses and responded in a monotone voice.

[Yes sir they were screened. However, a majority of them only barely qualified and were deemed able to partake in this portion of the exam. The results so far as expected.]

Hearing this, Lionel let out a heavy sigh and slouched down in disappointment.

[Ugh fine. Well let's finish up this announcement.]

He nodded his head to the man at the controls and continued speaking into a microphone.

[Hello? Hey you disappointments, you should be able to hear me. Anyways half of you have already been eliminated, if you look up in the sky, you should see something that looks like a leaderboard. It will have all your faces displayed. Anyone with a crossed out picture has been eliminated. Nothing has changed, your goal is still the summit of the mountain. You have 5 days left.]

While the announcement was going on, Kaito was busy packing up and getting ready to move. Qianlong asked him,

[You not going to look at those left in the running?]

[It's not my business. We should just focus on reaching the summit in the first place.]

[True enough. Lead the way then.]

After walking for a further 5 hours, Kaito and Qianlong had managed to cover a 2 kilometre distance. On the way, they had come across a horde of small monsters the size of a common house cat. They had green scales, two heads, a spiked, blue turtle shell, and the head of a rat. They were rather weak so the two boys had dispatched of them without much effort. Though because of the number, they could not cover much distance and were starting to get tired. Just as they were about to take a break, screams of help reached their ears.

[Hey Kaito?]

[Yeah, let's go help them.]

[Right.]

The two boys quickly ran through the thickets until they saw a clearing. There they saw a fight between a beast and two girls. The beast was bipedal and was about the size of a bus when it stood upright. It had glowing green eyes, sharp fangs and claws, and armour plating along its head and back. In the centre of its dog like forehead, was a ruby that emanated a sinister aura. Both parties were covered in wounds but the beast still seemed full of energy. As for the two girls, one was putting pressure on her wound while lying against a tree. The other was desperately trying to fend off the beast and protect her friend. Upon seeing them, Kaito realized who it was that they ran into, Alice and Sylvie.

Kaito began strategizing with Qianlong.

[We need to draw its attention if we want to take it down. One party needs to keep it focused on them, while the other deals with it from behind. Judging from the state of the battlefield and the current situation, I'd say one clean hit should do the trick.]

Looking at the ground and surrounding area, Kaito noticed that parts of the ground was gouged out, forming large pits while the immediate surroundings still had the embers of magic staining them. As Kaito was about to go out, Qianlong stopped him.

[Hey let me be the bait, I got the perfect magic for the job. Let me show you what I can do.]

Before Kaito could object, Qianlong had already rushed out, screaming at the monster.

[Bet you can't hit me you dumb beast. Nya haha!]

Qianlong was making faces and slapped his own butt while making fun of the beast, though he was unsure of its intelligence. Luckily for him, or unluckily, the beast understood it was being mocked and abandoned trying to take down the heavily injured Alice. It turned its attention to Qianlong, lunged forward, and with an open jaw....crack...the sound of its fangs and claws shattering could be heard.

[Heh heh, got ya.]

Qianlong was smirking inside a dome barrier seemingly made of water. The beast kept striking at the barrier, trying to reach Qianlong. While it was fruitlessly struggling, Qianlong continued to insult the beast, making silly faces at it.

At first, Kaito just watched with a bewildered expression, before regaining his composure and preparing his attack. The pendant around his neck gave off a subtle flash of green, barely visible to the naked eye and lasting only a fraction of a second. His eyes flickered with the same green light. Kaito clapped the palms of his hands together and started to pull them apart. In between his palms, a lance had started to form.

He then took the opportunity Qianlong had made and snuck up behind the beast. The beast was glaring at Qianlong, eyes full of rage and hate, until Qianlong stopped making faces and just stood there smiling. The next moment, the beast fell flat on the barrier before its lifeless body slid onto the ground. Kaito had driven the lance straight through its head, killing it. As soon as it was dead, Qianlong let down his barrier.

[Hey nice going partner. You really are good at everything aren't you?]

[Not really.]

As the two boys were talking, a thud could be heard behind them. With the rush of adrenaline and the danger gone, Alice had collapsed on the ground. Noticing this, Qianlong quickly called out.

[Hey hey stay with me.]

He rushed out to Alice and cradled her in his arms.

[Kaito, we have to hurry. You know how to treat their injuries?]

[Yeah, we're going to need some supplies though.]

The two boys helped Alice to get to where Sylvie was resting, still struggling to stay conscious. Qianlong offered to stay behind and watch over the two girls while Kaito went to look for supplies.

[If I go, I wouldn't know what I'm looking for. If there's any trouble, I'll yell for you immediately.]

Just as Kaito was about to set off to search for supplies, he felt a presence watching them. Since he was unsure of who or what it was, he quickly formed a dagger and threw it in the direction of the presence he felt. The dagger flew across the air quickly into the trees.

[Oh my, I didn't think a potential student would be good enough to notice me already.]

Sitting in the trees observing, was a certain lavender haired woman.