The five prospective students entered the gymnasium, the chosen sight for their entrance exam. After careful consideration the formation would be Viktor, Dali and Luis in the front while Jenna and Mateus would follow them up with their ranged weapons. A teacher approached them as they entered the testing room.
The man had a buttoned-up shirt and a loose jacket hanging from his shoulders, piercing ice blue eyes peered at the each of them from behind circular frames and his white hair hung in a ponytail behind him. "I am Instructor Moire, and I will explain to you what we will be looking for in this examination. While teamwork is nice, it will not be necessary so keep in mind that part of your group may fail to qualify." He explained.
Viktor looked to each of his new companions with a worried expression. The news that even if they did well, he might not be able to attend the academy only pushed his resolve, and from the looks the others were exchanging they came to their own judgements.
"The reason why we asked you to split into groups of five is because the curriculum for Military Operations this year will be carrying out missions across the nation in groups of five. In addition, to train your leadership ability, each group must designate a leader to guide them. While your group is in combat, it is still plausible for them to fight, they will focus most of their energy on commanding the rest. We will be testing you individually based on leadership skills and teamwork. Your first task will be to dispatch this group of Garna Plants." Instructor Moire explained and he backed away to allow the group to get in a formation "Let us know when you are ready to proceed but the applicant who is to be leader first will be Viktor Hellenski."
The five examinees gathered together as they thought about their next move. "Garna Plants? Anyone familiar with them?" Dali asked the group and each person looked at each other, the only one who didn't step forward.
"Its rare for us to run into them but they tend to come in when wintertime comes around, fleeing the territory of Bergs located in the Northeast. They have a cold breathe attack that can freeze people if you aren't too careful, but they aren't too strong either. I'd watch out for them when they're with their boss though." Luis told them.
"It looks like we are dealing with Ice attribute creatures then." Viktor commented, he looked around at his companions as he asked his next question. "Is there anyone unfamiliar with the attribute system?" Dali and Luis looked at him confused while Jenna and Mateus nodded.
As part of his studies knowing how to protect his territory also introduced the bestiary of creatures commonly found in the lands, knowing their attributes as well as how to counter them was vital knowledge for those working with and against monsters. As a primary heir of his lands, Viktor obviously familiarized himself with said system. Mateus as a second son, probably took a few lessons in the events something happened to his elder brother, while Jenna was the daughter of a ship's captain, probably learning as she helped around the ship. In comparison, Dali and Luis, lived as any other village kid and only were taught basic subjects.
"The Ice element is one that cripples foes with chilling attacks, anyone who has the fire attribute will have an easier time handling these guys while those with the earth element will be susceptible to them."
"I don't know about elemental attributes?" Luis asked and Mateus spoke up. "There are two elements that a person holds within themselves, it is said that these two elements are determined by the two prominent religions that have a high following in this country be it Ignism's One True Faith as foretold by the Head Priest backed by House Vorelle or the myriad of spirits that make up the world as spoken through the soothsayers of House Iari."
"What's important right now is to determine each of our attributes. I myself have the attributes of Fire and Ice... but I am to lead this time around and not fight." Viktor
"Lightning/Water" Jenna answered
"Water/ Earth" Mateus replied.
"No idea" Luis sighed.
"I probably got checked but I don't remember" Dali shrugged.
"Earth is weak to Ice so I'm going to have to put Mateus in the back for this battle. You can guard Jenna so that she can get some shots off with her weapons. Luis and Dali can hold the front." Viktor announced and everyone moved accordingly.
"If you are all ready for the exam let us begin!" Instructor Moire exclaimed and with a wave of his hand three plants emerged from the ground.
These plants had icy blue leaves and a green stem that had a venus flytrap head, leaking from their mouths were acidic blue liquids that dribbled down their stem.
"Whoa! What is this surge of power?" Luis freaked
"Do you think it's the formation we are taking?" Jenna asked her friend Mateus who shrugged. "We've gotten into a formation before, but it never had any effects like this."
"Its probably the new squad initiative that they've explained before." Dali suggested.
"Anyway, Dali go forth and chop them to pieces!" Viktor ordered and Dali smirked at the idea. "It'll be just like home."
Dali swung her axe as if she was chopping wood and one of the Garna Plants shuddered at the strike. Jenna focused her eyes and took a shot that pierced the plant and hit the one behind it, the first withering as the last of its vitality disappeared.
Mateus cheered at Jenna's takedown and positioned himself in-between the plants and his friend.
Luis, seeing how well everything was going rushed forward to slam his pickaxe down, only for the icy blue jaws to close itself around his weapon.
Luis panicked and struggled to pull his weapon from its maw but to no avail. The plants finally seemed to react and the one not holding the weapon lumbered forward and spat a glob of liquid at Luis, A chill ran through him and Luis felt parts of his body freezing up.
Viktor mentally berrated himself, Luis had mentioned he came from a miner family, one of his elements has to be Earth, the attribute that was weakest to their current foe.
"Dali, get him out of there, Jenna see if you can lay a covering fire!"
The following members nodded their head before executing his orders, Dali swung her axe, breaking the ice off of Luis before dragging him away, Jenna fired a shot that briefly slowed the plants. Luis sat in the center of their group now, shivering and a bit blue from being partially frozen and his weapon still in the mouth of the plant.
"Looks like we're going to have to have you two with long distance attacks, have you guys practiced magic before?"
Dali was the only one who shook her head to the question. Viktor looked at the three who said they have and they each briefly explained what they've learned before.
"I have Wind Spells despite them not being my primary elements." Jenna explained.
"I have Earth Spells to reinforce defenses." Mateus replied.
"I have Earth Spells to blow up the earth." Luis shivered.
"Sorry Dali but you're going to have to be our shield, Luis and Mateus can prepare your spells to help Dali tank as well as at least do some damage to the plants."
The four of them repositioned themselves so that Dali was in the front, Jenna behind her and the boys in the back preparing their spells to fire at a given moment.
Dali surged forward and struck the nearest Garna Plant and it recoiled with her strike, Jenna fired a shot from her pistol and it tore through the plant, wilting as the attack took the last of its vitality. The final plant seeing that it was alone roared and started to swirl cold air around it.
"It's preparing an ice attack, Dali brace it!" Viktor ordered and Mateus finished casting his spell as earthen armor surrounded Dali. Luis finished casting his own spell and the earth erupted, briefly stunning the Garna Plant, dispersing the cold winds whilst Dali remained unharmed due to the armor on her.
Dali swung her axe once more and cleaved the plant in two, the essence of the plant disappearing as she hefted her axe on her shoulder.
As the last plant withered away the group cheered and Instructor Moire appeared once more. "Congratulations, it is time to test the next person, Luis Valdez please step back to command."
Luis passed by Viktor and gave him a clap on the shoulder. "You did great my man." He smirks and Viktor smiles in return. He joins the rest of the group as the Luis settles himself down.
As Luis settled himself in the command spot, Viktor swung his twin blades around and he feels empowered for some reason. "How do you feel?" Dali asked and Viktor grins, "It feels as if I'm alive, my limbs seem nimbler, I feel more durable."
"I felt like that when you took command, though it seems to have subsided" Dali explains and she gives Viktor a light punch. "Right now, it feels as if I can take on any attack that comes my way."
"I feel as if I can shoot at anyone who attacks at a range." Jenna pipes up and Mateus just sighs. "It seems that I didn't get a special feeling." Jenna goes to console him when Instructor Moire announces to the group "We will begin the trial once more, but this time the foe will be Stilt Stalkers."
In the distance two puppets stalked into the room, their long legs alone made their height over five feet tall. and at the top were two goggle wearing puppets with pipes in their hands.
"Stilt Stalkers, they are puppets made from the Chels Society as sentries, their long legs allow them to have a vantage point while the pipes are to subdue wanderers and attackers alike." Viktor explained, the unique appearance found only in the notorious puppet-making group, that he learned in his history lessons about their failed attempt at forming an empire, now their relics, in the form of puppets, could be found all over the continent.
"Get ready everyone!" Luis bellows and Viktor prepared himself, he nodded to Dali, before nodding to Jenna and Mateus.
"Mateus, prepare the spell to bolster our defenses, Jenna you fire at them, Viktor and Dali please protect them!"
Viktor prepared his twin blades in an X position while Dali hefted her axe. In the distance the Stilt Stalkers readied their weapons. Before they could act however, Jenna quickly sent a shot toward them. One of them flinched as its shoulder was hit, the blowpipe aiming off in the distance as they fired.
Viktor felt an impact as his cheek stung. Grimacing he held his ground while behind him Jenna gave out a cry as she discharged her own weapon back at them.
One of the Stilt Stalkers jerked while the other one toppled due to the shot cleaving one of its twig-thin legs. It gave a silent scream as it collapsed onto the ground, struggling to get up. Dali held her place providing cover for Mateus. Viktor frowned at the sight but held his place as well, Luis was the shotcaller this time around, the test may be testing their cooperation and teamwork and he didn't want to fail because he saw a better chance to take out the enemy.
Mateus finished casting his spell and with a glow Viktor saw earthen armor don his arms. "Alright, all-out attack guys!" Luis commanded from the back and Jenna was the first to act, firing her pistol and knocking down the standing Stilt Stalker. Both of the enemies floundered as they attempted to get up, but by the time they did Viktor was already there slashing with his twin blades, Fire and Ice erupted from his swords as it chopped one of the Stilt Stalkers in half. The other only had time to raise its head before Dali cleaved said head in two.
"Next person to the stand, Dali Torres" Instructor Moire announced as he stepped into the arena. He waved his hand and a wave of ice flashed across the broken puppets before them. A snap of his fingers and the puppets broke into millions of pieces, the chilling wind clearing the sawdust from the arena.
Charging into the arena two aqua-furred beasts snarled at the examinees. Dali eyed the two beasts as she identified them as Mist Ferrets, their ability to cover the area in mist and strike was a constant problem for her village. Growing up, learning wind spells was a staple for the locals in Ludmirik, unfortunately she wasn't the greatest when it came to magical prowess and found other things to do in her free time.
Remembering their earlier talk, she looked toward Jenna who knew wind spells. In position she glared at the Mist Ferrets who took a step back due to the intensity and thought about how to go about this new role. "I'll play it off like I do with my siblings." Dali smirked to herself and stomped a foot. "Listen up! Today we are facing Mist Ferrets weak to the wind, they can make a smokescreen to obscure your vision and then strike so Jenna is our best bet at dealing with them!"
Viktor was shocked at how different Dali became; the laidback girl who just went along with people had such a commanding presence. He focused back on the fight. Dali on the other hand laughed. "Jenna, I know you have wind spells so use them, clear the mist with a breeze. Luis, Mateus I want you to be the vanguard of this fight, Viktor is weak to water attacks so he will focus them at a range, what spells do you know?" Dali inquired and Viktor prattled the spells that came to mind. "Mainly fire and ice spells, is there one you need in particular?" he asked, and Dali nodded. "Any that can freeze them is fine. Let's do this!"
Dali observed as Jenna readied a spell, next Viktor also prepared a spell. The first ferret lunged forward, but Luis knocked it away with a swing of his pick, the second moved in close and started to shake, mist started to rapidly appear in the arena. "If you can't see them just guard, no use in fighting them in their battleground. Luis's form was rapidly disappearing in the mist, but he held up his weapon ready to intercept an attack. Jenna gave a call as her spell finally finished. "Breeze!" A gust of wind blew across the field, dispersing the mist and revealing two ferrets poised to strike. Seeing that their cover was blown the two lunged.
"Chilling Wind" Viktor cried out and caught the two both of them freezing due to the water still on their bodies. Mateus hefted his weapon and slammed it into one of them, shattering the beast to pieces. "Time to strike, everyone...NOW!" Dali cheered and the four people converged and koed the last beast.
"That was exhilarating!" Luis exclaimed, catching his breath after fighting another battle. Viktor, lightly winded, nodded and looked to the two friends. "Let's keep this up, just you two left Mateus and Jenna."
"Swift work, nicely done Ms. Torres." Instructor Moire applauded politely. Dali strode forward a huge smile plastered on her face as she welcomed herself back into the group. "That was such a rush, I'm glad I got to experience that."
"Good work on leading us, but what I want to know is how you changed so drastically?" Luis asked, curiosity getting the best of him. Mateus nodded his head to show that he also wanted to know, Jenna didn't act as brazenly as the other two, yet she swept some hair behind her ear as if to listen to her answer. Viktor smirked at his companions, but he wouldn't deny that he was also curious to her change in personality.
"Ah this is just how I act with my siblings since the place we live in is quite dangerous. It's the frontier you know, well... the old frontier since this area succeeds it." Dali rubbed the back of her head. Viktor ran that information in his head and came to the conclusion though Mateus opened his mouth first, beating him to it. "The territory formerly owned by The Theocracy of Shiraxia. Still heavily contested by two religions which claim the region's capital Iako-Mortalis as their holy cities and was annexed by The Rames Empire only fifteen years ago."
"While it is annexed territory, officially we're under the jurisdiction of the House of Evans." Dali confirmed, and a voice interrupted any more questions. "We don't have all day, may Jenna De'Clark step into the leadership position."
Jenna waved as she went to go take her place. The group waited for an effect to take place and for a battle to begin when Professor Moire came out with her in tow. "We will not be conducting a battle for Ms. De'Clark due to her leadership ability not being related to battle at all. Now will Mateus Hargrave step into the leadership position."
Jenna took the place of Mateus who went to replace Jenna. Dali raised an eyebrow at the pistol-slinging girl. "So, what was that about?"
"As soon as I took my place, Instructor Moire started getting several pings on the monitor. It seems that when I take command I can see where monsters are. It would have interfered with the results since the monitor was picking up monsters from the other arenas, so they'll review it later. I just hope Mateus places well."
After a moment a door opened to reveal a lumbering golem creature, electricity sparking from its large arms.
"Teslen Guardians that inhabit ancient ruins, my father finds them in undersea temples." Jenna explains and everyone nodded. "Earth is their primary weakness and they deal nasty damage to wind and water"
"Luis, you should have the earth element, you're our front line, knock it down!" Everyone nodded and Jenna fired a shot at the golem, it ricochets away as it fails to pierce its metal hull. Viktor frowned and moved forward, igniting one of his blades he slashed, and the fire flew from his blade and onto the golem. It continued to advance unperturbed. Dali went forward hoping her axe could chop its leg to make it fall but it only lodged itself in there. The golem came to a stop, and it hummed, before electricity discharged from itself hitting all nearby.
Viktor felt a prickling sensation as electricity washed over him. The sound of Dali's screaming drowned out anything else. For Dali, the feeling of the electricity burned, and she slumped stunned. Luis seeing this panicked and ran forward with his pick and hit the golem with all of his might.
The pickaxe chipped the golem's core, the core flashed and dimmed, before brightening as it unleashed another lightning attack. Dali collapsed to one knee, the damage causing her to lose strength, Viktor held on and seeing Luis, a little roughed up but otherwise fine, gaining strength from seeing how his companion's fare. Jenna was away from the brunt of it, but she nursed one of her arms as she had been hit by the second attack.
Jenna took some distance and this time shouted out. "Captain's Order: Rally to me!" From within Viktor and Dali felt a burning from within before a surge of energy filled them. "What is this?" Dali exclaimed, her weakness from before disappearing. "A personal skill, my dad taught this to me just in case." Jenna grimaced.
Without a delay, Dali fell back. "I felt that I could take on the world, but that thing hurts!" she sighed. Viktor took a few steps back and observed the situation they were in. Quite frankly he didn't see them winning this encounter. With Jenna having the water attribute and Dali most likely having either water or wind as her attribute it left only Viktor and Luis to take care of the golem.
"Enough!" A voice called and the four examinees paused. The golem stopped mid-step and turned its head to the doors to see an elderly man walking in. "Headmaster Morales!" Instructor Moire gasped. Indeed, the elderly man that walked in was the man who gave the speech earlier that day. "It seems that this scion from one of the Thirteen Major Houses doesn't have the potential we had hoped for. I apologize for testing you like this, but it is customary to ramp up the difficulty for one such as you." Headmaster Morales apologized and then turn to the rest of the group. "We will be ending your exam here; we will conduct an exit interview with each of you individually and then get the results back to you before the start of the semester. Hopefully we will be seeing some of you back here." Headmaster Morales bowed and then with a twirl of his cape he left the scene leaving the group dumbfounded.
"It is as the headmaster says, you are all dismissed." Instructor Moire said and then left himself.
"That sucked, do all children of the major houses get tested like this?" Luis asked and Mateus nodded. "Yeah, my brother also got tested in a similar manner, so I was partially expecting this, it's another reason why that Deu'Frey girl wanted to team up you see, since we're all going to face a harder trial might as well do it together."
"You are plenty good as you are, what they did was ridiculous." Jenna scoffed and Mateus put his hand on her shoulder. "Don't be like that Jen, we're called Major Houses for a reason, when we are needed, we have to be exemplary. United it is what makes our country strong."
"I still hate it." Jenna puffed her cheeks and Mateus laughed. "Difficulty aside, I think we all did pretty well, hope to see you all here semester start?" Dali faces each of them, a grin threatening to split her face apart and Mateus returns it. "You bet; I wouldn't miss it for the world."
"If he is coming then I am as well" Jenna agreed.
"I'll do what I can to make it here, though letting you guys know that if I don't get accepted then my parents want me to try one of their schools of choice. They already have me enrolled haha." Luis sighs and all eyes turned to Viktor. "I can't possibly say I can't make it if you are all taking the time to be there. Count me in"
"It's settled then to the five of us!" Dali exclaims and the group cheers.
Each of them finished their interview and started to head home. The next time they all would see each other would be the start of the semester, a month away.
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