The Forest (Pt.1)

~ The next day ~

Stretching out, I let out a moan of a mixture of pain and pleasure, as I loosened the constricted muscles that had binded themselves as I slept. Hopping off my bed I pull out and look at the outfit I had purchased with Lyric. We were allowed to wear whatever we wanted for the training, since we were going to experience some actual life or death situations and needed to wear things that we felt comfortable actually moving in, and protected us. Unfortunately I had no armor, but I didn't really deem it important either, I'm not built to get hit much. Putting it on, I did some light stretching in it to check it's rigidity. I tested if pants were flexible enough to not impede fighting, and if I could properly move with the extra cloth that may get in the way. I couldn't see it impeding normal function much, so I decided to go for it. After all, I looked freaking adorable in it, and it was the only clothing I had that was resistant to tears and the such. It was nice to finally be wearing pants again.

Walking out the door, I was met by the silent halls of the girls dorm rooms. With a slight skip, I hopped across the hall and down the stairs to the main floor of the adventures guild. The main hall was empty, devoid of all people except the one desk attendant that took the night shift. They were slowly falling asleep, even though their shift was still going to go for another hour.

" How do I look." I call out after bounding up the stairs flashing a pose towards the silent Kline who was doing whatever he does behind the counter. I honestly doubt he has a reason. He just likes it there.

" You look great, and not ready for work. Go get changed." He gestured to the room I typically change in, with no change in expression at all, not even glancing up to actually look at me.

" Buzz kill." I mutter and leave to change for work. Putting on the outfit, a dazzling smile for the customers, I bound out the door, and begin my shift.

The morning shift was more deserted than normal, as the few people who were there I didn't really know, or weren't around too often for me to really get to know them. I was a little worried but I just assumed the regulars were out working. The typical customers worked as adventures with the guild and some quests could take an upwards of a week or two to finish in transportation and other time consuming hinderances along the way, so I wasn't overly worried about anyone in particular, but having so many gone was slightly unusual. Something must have happened. I don't know what everyone is up to on a daily basis however, so I'm sure it's nothing too serious.

Finishing my shift I got a few complements over my apparel, before setting off to school.

" Alice." I heard call from behind me. Turning I saw Ravi, running to catch up. Ravi was looking pretty intimidating, as she wore a dark set of armor that covered her chest and shoulders as well as a matching pair of arm guards, plated pants, shin splints, and boots that had metal covering her more than just her vital parts. The armor was also slightly spiked, overall, giving Ravi a rather bulky and intimidating appearance.

" Morning." I greeted, and slowed my pace so she could catch her breath. "What's with the getup?"

I heard Ravi grumble, before replying, " Morning, Alice. My father made me wear this, he said I needed to have something to protect me if something catches me off guard."

" Well, you look great!" I exaggerate, trying to keep myself from laughing.

" No I look ridiculous. Not to mention it's so heavy. This is just dumb." Ravi complained

" How did you sleep?" I asked, patting her on the back and diverting the conversation. " You just recently moved into the dorms correct? Are your roommates treating you well?"

" They're nice. I still feel a little uncomfortable, but they aren't that bad. I still am having trouble sleeping however. I miss home already." Ravi lowered her head looking conflicted. She was showing an impressive amount of boldness, and I was proud of her for it.

" Don't worry too much about it." I wrapped my arm around her middle and pulled her in close, matching her strides. " You'll get used to it. Remember, when we first met and you couldn't even talk to Lyric without running away."

" Yeah, It is a little embarrassing to remember." She replied looking away.

" Now look at you, your here, with a bunch of new potential friends. You were able to keep yourself from running, and you even had a wonderful introduction yesterday." I encouraged, lifting her face. " Now stop looking do gloomy, we get to go out and explore today ... I think. Let's just have some fun ... with the other people in our group ... that we still haven't met up with yet."

Realizing we never met up with the other's we immediately hurried along to the field we were supposed to meet at, before venturing into the forest. Hopefully we would get some time for introductions before going out. I haven't paid much attention to anyone in our class, so I needed some brief help in determining a formation, and Ravi was new so we would need to have introductions all around on that front.

Tracking down our group I let out a sigh of relief. There was only a few people there, most likely the ones who were anxious to get started or the irresponsible ones, like us, that didn't prepare before hand.

" Teller, Carmine" I called out waving over to the two people standing around talking to each other.

" So, you finally decided to show up. You think your all high and mighty, miss ' Princess of the first years'. You're nothing more than a favored little girl getting special treatment." The girl of the pair growled at me. She had fiery red hair and burning crimson eyes. She was probably a fire mage of some sort, however she was wearing armor more similar to Ravi, just not so extra, so maybe not. Hearing her insult me, Ravi gave a glare that caused her to recoil slightly. I was tempted to do the same but I stopped myself before I escalated things further.

" Carmine! What did I tell you about picking a fight the first time you meet her! Sorry about her, she's not always like this." The boy had brownish hair and yellow eyes. He wasn't quite beautiful, nor was he cute, but he definitely had something going for him, and based on the hostility I felt from the other girl, he has himself a girlfriend too. He was wearing a light cloak and some robes that would allow him movement if something tried to attack him, but not much protection.

" Sorry about yesterday, I was busy and forgot." I apologize, carefully to not let my annoyance at the girl show. " It was unprofessional of us to not meet with you yesterday, yet as things stand we don't have time for the arguing, so I'll start with the introductions. I'm Alice, Pleasure to meet you. I am a mage, who is good at close range fighting and Excells in close to mid range combat."

I extended my hand as a show of good will, but the girl just turned away rolling her eyes and crossing her arms, as the guy could only sigh before shaking my hand. " I'm Teller, but you already knew that. I am a mage that focuses on barriers and buff magic. It is a pleasure to be on your team."

" Teller, stop sucking up to the 'princess' it's gross to watch." The girl snipped " I guess I'm up next. I am Carmine, a melee combatant that can use fire magic. Don't get in my way 'princess' I'm not going to save you if you get in trouble."

" Carmine! Stop belittling her! She's not the first for no reason, She's strong." Teller yelled at her. " Didn't you see her during the competition in Haven? She won first place."

" Wow, how much of an ass kisser do you have to be to win something like that out of pity." She snarled. I felt the smile on my lips falter. " I bet she's the reason that boy died, Eric right? Probably died saving her ass."

The smile I was wearing before returned with a malicious vengeance, as numerous ways in which I could tear the little slut apart ran through my mind each one more painful than the last. The hysteria seeped into my voice as I spoke. "Bitch, you're asking to get killed aren't you?"

" Alice, no." Ravi held me back. " S-she's on our team. Deal with this later." Looking into Ravi's eyes my sanity returned, and I shook off the temptation to kill Carmine. Thinking about what I would have done, a shiver creeps up my spine.

" I'm Ravi. Good with melee weapons and fire magic. Nice to meet you." Ravi introduced herself stiffly. I could only shake my head, and let out a slight smile. She was making fast progress with people, but sometimes it was a bit funny watching her socialize.

Miss Hemiko's voice called once everyone had arrived. Her tone held a seriousness that felt uncharacteristically off from her normal chipper temperament, unnerving me slightly. "Alright, everyone, are you all ready for today? If you are not then, do not enter the forest. We will never force you to, but do remember there are a specific amount of practical tests we do every year and you can only avoid so many, so if you are not prepared then be smart, do not walk into your deaths. If you feel that you cannot safely participate, come forward and you and your groups will return to the school. There will be no punishment if you cannot participate." Only one group decided to turn in and head back, because one member was having a complete breakdown, otherwise we all stayed put. Whether out of peer pressure, confidence or pure stupidity we remained.

" Now that that is out of the way I'll go over the rules. You will have three hours in the forest to collect thirty points. The points are calculated simply. Rabbit horns are worth one point a piece, Snapper Maws are worth two, Ringed Raven beaks are worth one, Leaf gecko tails are worth three, and goblin horns are worth two point a piece. If you see something that you can't handle run. You can enter and exit the forest as you wish, but remember you only have three hours to work, starting from the moment you all are given permission to enter. For the points, it doesn't matter the condition of the part, but you do need to make sure we can still tell what it is, otherwise it's zero points for you. Now, you all are going to be in actual danger, keep your eyes open and stay vigilant. I cannot stress this enough. I don't have anything else, so I look forwards to seeing you in three hours. You may begin the test. Oh, And please, for me and everyone else who might care about you, don't die." Miss Himeko's voice signaled the beginning and we set off.

Our formation was simple. Ravi and Carmine were in the front followed by Me and Teller. I had my daggers out and was trailing the party. I covered Teller, and was responsible to reacting to attacks from behind.

Moving through the forest, the canopy of leaves above us blocked out a large portion leaving it relatively dark, hindering the sight of the other members in the group. Not to the point of complete blindness of course but it did make sight slightly less useful. We traveled relatively slowly being sure that there was not going to be anything that we had to worry about. None of us have been in a situation like this before and we had no clue to expect. The overall feeling was tense. Thinking back to the few times I went hunting with Natalia, I started to get nervous. I know this isn't the same forest that we went to with her, but if the monsters were that strong we were in a sizable amount of trouble, should we make a mistake.

Slowly trekking, a ruffle in the bushes made a noise drawing our attention. Leaping out of the bush a white bunny attacked Carmine. Acting fast and swiping her sword down towards the rabbit, she missed and it flew under her sword, before pivoting around and charging again. This time striking in a horizontal arc the rabbit ran face first into her sword dying. Watching how easily her sword sliced into the rabbit, and the bloody carcass that remained made me feel uncomfortable, and I could feel my stomach turn. Bending down, Carmine pulled out a knife and expertly took the horn off the rabbit, before pressing forward.

" What about the rabbits body?" I asked. It seemed like a waste to leave it there, just killing and leaving the body seemed wrong.

" Aww, does princess feel bad for the bunny." Carmine said mockingly " Something will come along and eat it, come along now or that same something will eat you too."

This girl was a complete idiot. Looking back at the body I hesitated, before quickly picking it up, placing it into my storage, and carrying along. I decided I would bring the body back to New Home. They could probably use it for food or something. Maybe I could try to cook for myself for once.

Passing forwards, deeper still, into the forest we came across a few more rabbits, and they were really easy enough to kill. They were predictable, and simple to catch, making them easy prey. We started to feel more comfortable with the monsters in the forest, until a scree echoed in our ears. At the same time, another rabbit jumped out of the grass, and Carmine was about to kill it when a bird swooped down from the trees snatching it and flying away. Obviously not too far though because it came back with some friends. Flapping their wings over head they dispersed over us taking different sides.

Suddenly they attacked simultaneously. Like the bunnies they attacked in straight lines, diving down to attack us. As they fell, they began to spin, turning their large beaks into a drill of sorts. Carmine dodged the first strike and attempted to kill the bird like she did the rabbits, but her swords clashed with the birds large beak and almost flew out of her hands. Diving forwards, she just barely managed to dodge the second and Ravi's intervention kept the third from crushing her head.

Once the birds lost momentum they quickly took to the air again and started to circle looking for a vulnerable spot, to attack. This time they decided to try and attack me. The fist bird swooped down into it's spiraling freefall, accelerating towards me. Stepping to the side I stab upwards attempting to end the Bird with as little pain as possible, but it's spiral motion caused it's body to spin alone the blade and ended up pretty mangled. The second had already started it's attack and so had the third so they were unable to react in time ultimately meeting the same fate as the first.

[User has Killed Ringed Raven Lv7]

[User has Killed Ringed Raven Lv5]

[User has Killed Ringed Raven Lv4]

[User has gained Exp:(37×2)]

[User has leveled up]

[User has leveled up]

[User has leveled up]

[User has leveled up]

The notifications had startled me and made it so I almost missed the second and third raven's. I grumbled as I dismissed them all. ' Cynthia can you keep those from popping up. I don't feel like dying because those distracted me.'

' Affirmative.'

' Thank you'

" How's that for a little princess." I sneered at Carmine, trying to hold back a gag at the blood covering my hands as I returned to reality. Some had made it onto my face and clothing as well, and the overwhelming smell with the sight of the dead birds wasn't pleasant.

" Whatever, it just caught me off guard. You got lucky." Carmine denied " Don't think this means I will accept you are actually as good as people say." I couldn't help but roll my eyes.

" Everyone, I think we should take a small break, we've begun seeing monsters more often now, and even though I have no doubt we'll be okay, we should make sure were prepared." Teller said, then leaned up against a tree, and I saw the nearby plant move.

" Teller don't move." I called out. " Slowly walk forward, and when I tell you, Run."

" What are you talking about princess? You're just trying to scare us aren't you?" Carmine questioned, weakly pointing her blade at me.

I gestured to Carmine, "You, shut up.Teller move it." I compressed a small ball of Sunfire in my hand, and hid it behind my back. I didn't know how this thing senses but I didn't want to risk agitating it, as much as possible.

Teller slowly inched forward, as I approached him. I kept my eyes locked on the side of the tree, when all of a sudden I noticed it twitch.

"Run!" I yelled, as the bush beside the tree shot towards Teller. I grabbed him by the hand and pulled him towards me, tossing the orb of light forward, as a sharp green maw clamped down onto the area Teller was just standing. With a snap of my fingers the orb ignited bowing the entire plant into embers. The embers fell and lit the ground alight causing a fire to begin to spread. I quickly dowsed it with a chilling moonlight mist to put it out.

"Oops." I said. My magic was a whole lot stronger than I remember. "Well, we need to be careful, so, yeah. Is everyone alright?" I asked. The flash of light had blinded the others making me feel a little bad, however I think they missed me lighting the forest on fire, so that's a plus.

" Thanks for the save." Teller said as I helped him off the ground.

" No problem. So, are we going to continue? Or do we need that recovery time?" I asked.

" I'm fine." Ravi voiced.

" I'm alright." Teller affirmed

" I guess I'm fine." Carmine said hesitantly. I could tell she was wearing. She wasn't overly powerful, and had been the one who wanted to deal with everything we've faced so far. I won't deny she had some skill, but she was wearing. I could tell the bird scare wasn't helping her either.

" Well then lets press on." Continuing forward we made it to the middle of the first ring of the forest. This was where goblins and the such begin to more heavily occupy the area. You could tell because goblins are known to create small huts and the such, occasionally building their huts out of wood. A conspicuous stump in the middle of the otherwise dense forest was rather conspicuous. Pulling out my time piece I looked at the time. It had only been about thirty minutes, and we had already amassed thirteen points. We were going to be fine.