26 VENTURE

In the time since passing their first "test", the students traveled in relative silence.

Juli hid behind Finn's bulk so no one saw her cry. For good measure she also kept her head low, letting her hair mask her face as she used her sword like a cane to march the sand hills.

Xander and Emma went over plans in hushed whispers, both to conserve energy and avoid Burp's abrasive remarks.

The others, like Claude, Ursula and Stella kept more to themselves.

They'd crossed at least twenty small islands. The cold of the oceans was a distant memory. Now it was just water. The sun was growing hotter as midday came in excess, drying their uniforms every-time they breached land. Birthing beads of sweat on their skin everytime they had to overcome vicious terrain in the form of uneven forests and rocky slopes shaped by age old tsunami's.

In the distance, just over the horizon, Claude could see Tangents of all colors, like stars fallen and frozen right before ocean impact.

It was almost beautiful. But then he remembered what awaited inside. What would come out and brave the waters to reach them. Would they lose half their group again? Did the other groups of students face the same? Such a waste.

Claude had to stop himself from thinking of the dryads when another forest island welcomed them— this one more jungle like in its heightened warmth and curling massive leaves that fanned the grounds below.

"Can we stop here??? My legs are finished!" Finn exclaimed. He looked like their sort of out of shape, middle aged, chaperone at the front of the group beside Burp. Then he jogged ahead to pluck flowers and lost all perceived maturity.

"Did you forget our time limit or are you just stupid?" Burp asked from his left as he swept his greasy black hair out of his eyes. All the while he kept his sluggish uneven gait at the same pace— limping almost.

"What? We already crossed twenty islands. No big deal, right?" Finn questioned.

"We still have at least ten more. The earlier we get to the supplies the better. Maybe we can work trades with Ronin's kids and join up… I heard they've been here a while."

"Where the hell did you hear that?" Stella asked from Xander's left, just behind them.

"It doesn't matter. Let's keep moving."

Juli stumbled as she weakly climbed over a log in the middle of their path.

If Claude could've dragged the three students that stayed on the island he would've. If he could've sent Frosty home back in the forest, he would've.

The lack of eyes on him may have also helped soothe his usual anxieties.

"We need to stop here." Claude said.

The group was fractured.

Ursula stopped, making Claude do the same as she grabbed his arm, making his body match his words.

Xander stopped a few steps ahead, making Emma do the same. Stella seemed to be keeping close to them out of increased survival chances.

Finn didn't stop, but he wasn't moving forward with Burp either.

They spread out down the walk path.

"If you're tired just say that." Burp looked around, seemingly avoiding facing Claude's eyes.

"I'm tired." Claude said, "So is everyone else. You're also limping like you broke a toe, and the next island is more of a mountain than an island. If we take a break, we can regain some energy, find food and make something to better protect your feet. I don't think the point of this portion of the test is speed."

"Then why is it timed, scarface?" Burp asked.

"To make us stressed."

Everyone was already taking seats.

Burp cursed and took a seat on the ground, facing away from everyone as they formed a circle.

Claude remained standing, looking like Burp only seconds ago as he walked around studying the jungle landscape.

"What is it, Claude?" Emma asked as he pushed past a leaned over tree and studied the bark.

"There's no animals here….. but there was..?" Claude stepped aside and pointed to the tree so everyone could see the clumps of hair stuck in the cracks of the shingled bark.

"Maybe they left? Like birds in winter." Juli mumbled as she drew in the dirt sand mixture they sat on.

"Bears this large don't migrate or just disappear. We should smell a carcass….. or see signs it was eaten. Where's the bird droppings?"

"Mystery for another time. I know you didn't ask us all to stop just so you could keep walking around picking at the trees. If you fall out on the mountain nobodies going to be like you and go back for y—"

"Speak for yourself." Ursula kept her eyes on him even if he wouldn't meet hers. "By the way, do I know y—"

"You don't." Burp scooted further away from the group.

Claude couldn't ignore the callouses building on his feet. He'd ran further every morning. But the swimming, the wet terrain, the intensity he had to tackle every task with. It doubled the rate of movement and its effects easily.

He took a seat beside Ursula, pinching himself to assign some sort of feeling to the mental note that the islands wildlife wasn't right.

Minutes passed in more silence. It felt wrong to not hear people panting and sniffling away quieted cries.

Claude shifted uncomfortably as he sat on the ground. The sun warmed the island earth as it danced across the blue sky. Their planetary timer went on in the silence.

He could almost hear the ticks in the warm sunbeats.

"If I still had the demon-blood in my system I would've died here…" Claude thought as he got up and walked to the edge of the jungle bordering their walk path.

The grass wasn't like that of his home. A different species. It was massive and multi limbed like green greasy wheat.

Between it, flowers had begun to bloom, trailing from the rivers further behind like magic botanical breadcrumbs.

Claude stomped in the grass like Frosty once did.

His movement got the others off the ground despite their tiredness.

"Cmon, Juli! Let's go look for edible berries." Finn hopped up. "I could eat three horses but I don't think those exist here."

"Ugh…Wait for me." Stella followed after them.

"Now hold on." Xander held his hands out like a composer holding silence between songs, "Is splitting up the best option here?" His long hair tied in a low ponytail at his back was a frizzy mess.

"Dude, it's an island. We would've noticed any danger already— we were just sitting ducks for twenty minutes. The enemies come from the water now, we're fine." Stella waved him off as she followed after Finn and Juli.

Ursula got up and joined Claude.

He held his hands to the earth, fingers interlocked with the stems of the jungle flowers bordering the walk path.

"There were fifteen…." Claude thought— he suddenly realized what the numbers on his draft letter were for. Green fiery magic spilled from every pore in his hands and soaked into the earth.

Five flowers grew abnormally tall. Over two feet with huge fanning multicolored petals and thick antenna tipped by the most golden pollen ever seen. It sat under the sun like solar dust in priceless boxes of velvet and blue satin.

"Graves?" Ursula questioned as she squatted down beside him.

"Something like that." Claude took his hands off the flower, ears warm from the music of the jungle.

"Let's make it last." Ursula ran her thick calloused hands across the petals, coating them in a glacial layer of ice to hold the plants at the peak of their existence. Forever the same age after magical rebirth. Just like the fallen students.

Claude marked an x in the ground under each flower.

"You know how to make splints?" Ursula questioned.

"Yea."

"Be careful." Ursula whispered as she looked back to Burp. "I'm not sure about him."

"Where are you going?" Claude asked as they both stood.

"Nature calls…. Just not in the way of beautiful flowers and stuff. I gotta piss." Ursula slapped his shoulder and walked off.

"Right."

Claude headed over to Burp.

"Can I see your foot?"

Burp looked off towards the waters, "Just tell me what supplies to get I'll do it myself."

"Do you know how to make a splint?" Claude asked while thinking, "How are you more weird than me?"

"Obviously!" Burp barked.

"Then why do you need me to tell you what supplies to get?"

"...…"

"...."

Ten minutes later and Claude was seated across from Burp with his foot in his lap.

He could hear Finn laughing in the distance about something. Better than screams of terror or death rattles in shock.

Ursula's heavy-footed stomps grew closer on the other side of the island.

Xander and Emma watched Claude work.

He had five sections of wood. Small. Arguably useless. Along with the wood he had six strips of overgrown grass.

In a rush, he began placing the wood pieces around his middle toe. Like all his toes, it was covered in warts and callouses.

"Stop moving."

"Stop being so rough. You got a problem with me?"

"Yea." Claude replied.

Burp tried to pull his foot away but Claude held it in his lap.

"Why are you so rude?"

Burp scoffed dismissively, "Kindness is performative. Like your little graveyard over there. I don't do performances."

"….sure you do." Claude tied the splint down with the dried grass and plant fibers. "The same way you go out of your way to be a dickhead, I go out of my way to make sure people who died unjustly are remembered. By your words everything is a performance."

Burp sneered as he threw his head back and looked at the sky, "What good is your memory for them?"

"Influence. It's better than nothing." Claude said.

"Sure it is." Burp spat.

Ursula stepped out of the green then, throwing a dirty root into Burp's chest.

It had a mild ginger-like aroma beneath the damp earthy clumps. Maybe even a tangy tint of orange.

"Where'd you find tumeric?" Claude asked as he looked back at her.

"The trees. I also saw cinnamon, but I don't think he deserves that."

"What, you want me to eat this?" Burp questioned.

"It'll bring down the swelling in your foot. Yes, we want you to eat it. You could say thank you— preferably after you finish chewing, I don't want to have to knock your teeth out." Ursula said as she wiped her hands off on her pants.

Before Burp could say anything, the others returned.

Finn and Juli used their overcoats as bags to carry bunches of coconuts.

Finn wore a hallowed out one as a helmet. He stuck two flowers in the holes at the top, giving him plant antenna… or bunny ears.

"Thank the gods— I was starving." Ursula joined the others in grabbing a coconut.

She tossed one back to Claude as he lingered.

"Be careful. Some of them were bad." Juli mumbled.

"How so?" Xander inquired as he crouched down beside her and studied his coconut.

"Old and mushy. They stunk like a they had a disease. We avoided those trees entirely."

Ursula looked back at Claude. He shrugged before using his aura to cut his in half and began drinking the hydrating fluids inside.

It was then that he realized the others were waiting for someone to eat first. Unfortunately Ursula was hungry, and Claude's mind didn't work that way. So, they'd become the test dummies.

"Are you guys serious?"

"It's... erhm— fine. Crops catch sicknesses regularly. It can come from bugs… tainted soil." Claude explained as he wiped his mouth off. Trying to avoid the discomfort of so many eyes on him.

"But the test—"

"Be serious." Ursula interrupted Xander, "You're going to go insane by the next island if you keep thinking everything we encounter is a test."

"Insanity isn't that easily triggered unless it's an inherited illness on my end." Xander sent a pulse of icy air through his coconut until it burst open, spilling coconut slush.

"If he sticks his nose up any higher, he'll be smelling the clouds." Ursula whispered to Claude as she got up and stood next to him.

He had to stop himself from laughing. He'd thought the same thing ever since they met half a decade ago.

Then he remembered where he was…

Burp seemed to read his thoughts.

"Let's leave in five. We've wasted enough time."

***

They left three minutes later. The coconuts were more energizing than a shot of lightning to the heart. Metaphorically. Mostly.

With fresh legs and filled stomachs, they moved at a quicker pace than when they started.

It was warmer. And without the cover of jungle trees, they could feel every bit of it. Even as the icy ocean winds swept over the islands surfaces with outstretched hands, all it did was briefly cool the sweat coating them.

The temperature fluctuation was unreal.

So too were the sights. As they trekked closer to the apex of their next mountainous island, more of the other islands became visible.

"They've been busy." Burp commented as they all eyed the islands.

Small islands lay in waste— jungles overtaken by desert storms, forests toppled by landed whale-like creatures long dead . Some were steaming heaps of burnt sand and foliage. Purple embers glowed like the eyes of some evil entity hiding under the rubble.

"Who are they exactly?" Finn asked casually.

"The ones who got here before us, use your brain, grandpa." Burp spat.

"Samuel." Claude recognized his dark-fire like a wolf recognized the scent of blood. Even all these miles away where detail died and speculation reigned. He knew he was on the mark.

Ursula stiffened beside him, telling him she too recognized his work. His power had grown exponentially since being Reborn. It almost didn't seem real…

Somewhere in all the destruction, Tai's work was probably just as visible. Perfectly out of his brothers way, but just as damaging. Like a physical shadow more evil than its owner.

Center-Island loomed, three islands away. He could see the hazy lump of boxed supplies sitting at the edge of the hybrid biome.

They continued moving. Thankfully, walking down a mountain slope wasn't like swimming in glacial waters. The final stretch didn't last a decade. It was quick and easier than the way up, allowing the burn in their legs to fade and them to reach Center-Island by the afternoon.

Claude was first to touch land. Burp had fallen out of leading position and took up the flanks with their Tank, Reagan, Emma and Xander.

The supply drop wasn't much. Just six boxes under a haphazardly thrown tarp that blew loosely in the warm mid-day wind.

"Well, I'm confused." Finn scratched his head. His unbuttoned top fluttered as the winds blew.

"And I'm hungry, coconut juice is NOT what I call a good lunch." Ursula rushed past Claude, literally pushing him further back as she approached the supply drop. "Reagan, you like steak? Come get some you gentle giant."

Awkwardly, Reagan hobbled over to Ursu—

"Stop."

Reagan paused just a foot ahead of Claude.

They all watched silently as he emerged from the trees.

Back at the academy he flaunted his status with expensive armors and lavish swords. He stood out like a star in the night sky.

Now, he looked like anyone else. He looked just like them. His new anonymity was even scarier. The grime marking his cheeks and scars hardening his knuckles gave him a warriors edge in place of his previous nobility.

Rips and tears marred his uniform. He lost his usual samurai sword and only held a black metal shield.

"You're not very smart, Ursula." Samuel said casually as he stood on the other side of the supply drop.

"I do what I can." Ursula shrugged. "What gave me away?"

"Tank in the back. His reaction— you've probably never spoken to him before. Not enough to know he likes…. What was it? Steak? Bringing all the defensive classes to the front isn't exactly a unique formation. What do you know?" Samuel replied.

Claude noted the same thing. But his conclusion was simple. She was preparing for combat. Only there were no signs of monsters. Just Samuel.

"I know you." Ursula replied.

Samuel shook his head, "No you don't."

For a moment they stared. Then, Samuel's eyes lingered over to Claude. Only for a second.

"Hey, do the supply drops come with weapons? Prof. Brennan said the ocean awakens at sunset and we have to be ready, you know?!" Finn yelled up to Samuel as he stood behind Claude.

Samuel looked at Finn. "Sure."

"Great!…"

Claude looked at Finn. The setting of it all. The destroyed islands. The dark-fire gleam in Samuel's eyes. Ursula's balled fists. It was all so obvious it was beginning to breach even his innocent mind.

"Uhm…. So let's dig i—"

"No." Samuel interrupted.

"What?"

"You get no weapons."

Claude could now hear the others in the trees. No more than three… maybe four? Five? The wind was ruining his count. Either way, they were lightweight and focused. "Not showing themselves…. Staying still. Most likely archers. Simply back-up. We're not outnumbered but Samuel doesn't seem bothered at alll…"

"H-how are we supposed to survive without weapons?" Finn asked.

Samuel raised his eyebrows in offended shock. "Is this guy serious?" He asked Ursula, "How old are you thirty?"

Finn didn't reply.

"My father once told me, if a man is only as good as his weapon, then without it he's nothing. Are you nothing without a weapon? I'm not. I'm Reborn. I'm a hero. No sword, no gun, no arrow….. here, no shield." Samuel took off his shield and threw it to Finn.

Ursula didn't realize the play until his hand exploded into bright purple flames.

"I'm still a Dark-Knight."

He threw the fireball. The simple flash of it blinded Ursula as it whistled past her face.

Claude dove out of the way as the fireball hit the shield in Finn's hands.

The superheated black metal exploded like an impact grenade, sending glowing shrapnel at everyone.

Reagan took the brunt of the large shards but his bulk wasn't enough due to his slow speed.

It happened so fast.

Claude hit the ground in a roll, putting out the small purple flames nipping at the magic fabrics of his university sleeve. He could feel his blood running. The dark-fire's anti-healing effect already making the wound fester in that unique way.

He ripped out the small piece of shrapnel as he got to his feet, gaining coherence amidst the chaos.

A tornado of dark steam like OldWorld engine smoke plumed from the supply drop where Ursula tempered Samuel's flames with ice.

The archers in the trees tried to shoot through the smoke, blindly. Their hail storm of arrows fell in the sand around the students as they scrambled.

Claude didn't bother checking behind him. He knew who was there.

He dove into the waters, ignoring Burp calling after him as the icy waves somehow slapped more alertness into him.

The tide pushing into the island, allowed him to stay close to shore as he looped around, emerging less like a shark given legs and more like a wet dog.

His legs were already tired. His clothing— loosened by the elements and combat, sloshed as he sprinted for the trees.

He entered the forest, slapping his hands against the first volley of trees, boosting the growth of the branches just enough that it further interrupted the balance of the archers resting there. It was so much more difficult to do in real time. Even so, three archers fell from the trees in his wake.

He kept moving.

There were no beasts in the wild. He had no traits to borrow and empower himself. He was crippled more than everyone else. Still, a semblance of thylacaleo muscle memory rested within him.

He mounted a cone-shaped sort of evergreen, climbing just high enough to grab the leg of an archer aiming for Ursula in the distance.

He didn't plan well.

They both fell, hitting every branch and leaf before slamming into the dirty sands.

The archer landed on top of Claude. A cream-skinned boy with his curly ginger hair pulled into a tight ponytail. Dirt streaks camouflaged his face. Claude could still see the terror.

"On the ground below Trey!" One of the archers yelled.

Claude grabbed Trey and pushed him into the tree before joining him.

A volley of arrows fell into the grounds they previously occupied.

Trey looked up at him, "Thank—"

Claude punched him. His weakness didn't make sense. Even for an archer….

Dazed after one blow, awful accuracy. None of them were even using their (Avian Eye) marksmen skills. But they were all Reborn before them. Statistically they should've been stro—

"Stop! S-stop… you win. Please." The archer held a hand out and tossed the bow from his other.

"What?"

"It's not me. He said he'd kill us. It's the guild-maker bands." Trey weakly pointed to the white band around his upper arm covered in runes, "He said— he'd kill us if we didn't wear them and work for him. He made us fight. Everyone lost. We had to. You can't survive out here alone, man…"

Claude stuffed away the thousands of appalled thoughts and ripped the guild-maker band off Trey's arm.

Before he could take off, Trey gripped his wrist with a new strength that fit his age of awakening.

"ERHM…..You look a little weak, fifth-waver. I know, ironic coming from me. But I know you want to be strong. Sometimes that's all it takes— if you become an Island-Lord, come find me. I'll join you."

From where Trey held Claude's wrist, a vibrant teal healing pulse radiated. He could feel the burning wound on his forearm begin to close as the magic condensed there, fighting against the darkness.

[100% HP Remaining.]

He took off, running past the other archers, ripping off their guild-maker bands before making a b-line straight for Samuel.

The heat of battle- partial realization of a world different from what he was told, and Samuel's dark-fire flames, reminded him of another battle beyond his capabilities.

Not the plated-snakes.

The buck and the dryads.

He pushed away the memory of his abject fear. Ripped past the memory of Frosty defeated, and focused on how the runes etched into the beasts skin were so explosive.

He wondered how Samuel would fare against runic explosions without his overpriced armor…