“This is ridiculous.  End the trial!”  The goblin spent the last two minutes shouting at the screen; the only sound in the room.  Even she, with her passion for regulation, had been pushed past her limits.  Suierrillax didn’t disagree, though she kept her mouth shut.  Mayhew’s Phase Three had dragged on far longer than anybody expected, at this point competing for the record for “Longest Phase Three” in their branch’s history.

The last several weeks had been full of grumbling as Mayhew worked his way through the settlement systematically, which she could understand.  The provided resources were meant to put a timer on the applicants, a sentiment which he subverted entirely.  With no other Practicums still going, all attention had been focused on him. 

The results were twofold: everybody agreed that the difficulty for his trial was the highest among any applicant in his group, just as everybody realized that there would be consequences for mentioning the fact.  Still, his performance had been good.  Despite the relative boredom of watching him explore, he probably would have passed if he’d just finished the second layer and called it quits.  Instead, he ventured into the heart of the settlement, and woke something that had no business being there.

Suierrillax pulled up her dossier, looking at the titanic creature Kyle stirred up.  It was part of the igneous sandfish species that had infested the area, though this variant was particularly powerful.  Igneous Glaivebeak…  The information freely provided from the Collective was always sparse where C Grades were concerned, and this was no exception.

Igneous Glaivebeak – a rare mutation of igneous sandfish, believed to be among the apex of their species.  They drain heat from their surroundings to provide energy, and are highly resistant to most forms of physical and energy-based attacks.  They are territorial and boast significant offensive potential.  Any sightings should result in evacuation and deployment of a C Grade or higher Mercenary team. 

While they didn’t stack up particularly well against many of the other C Grade threats that existed, they were nothing to scoff at.  Hiring a C Grade Mercenary squad was expensive enough to nearly bankrupt most regular factions in the Collective.  Some C Grade monsters could be handled by a high-leveled D Grade group, and this wasn’t one of them. 

All this to say, Mayhew didn’t have a chance.  She watched as he dodged behind the dense city structure in the second layer, only for it to be ripped to shreds by a seemingly endless barrage of obsidian skeletons.  She estimated that the beast still had over half of its total “ammunition” ready to be fired off, and from what she’d seen, his barrier skill wasn’t up to the task of blocking that much damage. 

She sighed, slumping forward into her chair.  Suierrillax had been genuinely interested to see what the young human would be capable of, and now his life would be cut short due to some big-shots politicking.  It really didn’t seem fair, but she already did what she could.  If the Artifact Retrieval had been compromised in this way, how bad would Labyrinth Escape have been?  C Grade threats were never meant to be part of a Practicum.

A whisper of power flowed through the room, and the proctors grew silent, looking around.  A deep, masculine voice rang out, an unmistakable aura of authority and power behind it.  “Job accepted.”

A figure appeared in the entrance hall, stepping onto the teleportation platform. Before she could get a decent look at who it was, the platform flashed, leaving an empty room.  Suierrillax perked up, eyes fixed back on the screen.  Maybe there’s a chance…

~~~

Kyle dove as far as he could, but he knew it wouldn’t be enough.  The beast was pursuing him to the outer layer of the settlement, and without cover he would be dead.  An explosion sent him flying once more, and he struggled to stand.  He still clutched the remaining shard tightly, though his arm was becoming a scorched mess.  Although he’d avoided getting struck head-on by the attacks, the shockwaves alone were wearing him thin.  His condition had gone from ragged to truly wretched, pushed well beyond anything he expected. 

He looked up, feeling the sand below him start to rise as the target for the makeshift rail gun was locked.  “I’m sorry, C.H.A.D.D.”

He watched as the distant skeletons flew toward him, and knew he wouldn’t survive the attack.  He activated Storm Shelter, one last act of defiance.  I didn’t want it to end this way. 

A loud explosion rang out, followed by five more in short order.  His barrier was pushed to its limit, and as before, the seventh would break it, taking his life along with the barrier.  Auric Perception was going wild, a testament to his impending death.  See you soon, Grandpa.

He closed his eyes, waiting for the last attack to come. 

He waited some more. 

[DR. MAYHEW, YOU MAY WANT TO OPEN YOUR EYES.]

Kyle did, and his jaw dropped.  A 3-meter-tall figure wearing red and silver armor stood before him, a massive shield in one arm, a hulking greatsword slung in the other.  It looked at him, and Kyle could make out dark green skin and two small tusks beneath the helm.

“Gotta say, kid, some nice work here.  Your Practicum is over.  Go back to the camp and get settled.  I’m going to handle things here, and we’ll return to the Hub together.”

Kyle looked at the figure, not entirely sure what to say.  “But it isn’t over yet.  Does this mean I fail?”

He didn’t know why that was the first question he had, and immediately regretted it.  If the ogre cared, he didn’t show it.  “There’ll be time to talk about that later.  Now head back.  I got hired to do a job, and it’ll be nice to stretch my legs a bit.” 

With that, the ogre strode forward, mana pouring out from his body with nearly physical force.  Only then did Kyle appreciate how powerful the aura was; surpassing both the monstrous fish and dragon by a fairly wide margin.  His gaze looked back to the now-approaching form of the fish, and his eyes widened.  The skeletons that had been suspended the air were gone.  How did he -   

SKREEE-AAAAAAAWWWW

A familiar energy washed over the area, and Kyle watched as the volcanic sand swirled around the beast’s broadsword-like nose, flashing out towards the ogre, creating the same onyx blade that had sliced the tower in two.  Only now could he appreciate the true magnitude of the strike as he heard the high-pitched whine.  The beast hadn’t used it on Kyle during his retreat, but was clearly holding nothing back now.

The ogre raised his shield, and a quiet whisper of energy seemed to flow out.   A silvery outline of a barrier sprang to life, and it was as if the very concept of the onyx blade ceased to exist as it crossed the line formed by the ogre’s skill.  The sand fell to the ground in a pitch-black rain, none of the agitated violence remaining.  The ogre didn’t even break stride as he advanced, clearly unbothered by the attack.

As much as Kyle wanted to stay and watch, he knew when it was time to follow orders.  Focusing all his healing energy on his left arm as it burned, he limped back to camp.  The sounds of battle were fierce behind him, explosions ringing out as the creature shrieked and roared.  What felt like an eternity later, he made it.  The shard seemed to let out a pulse as they approached, harmonizing with its brethren.

Looking back the direction of the ruined settlement, he could see massive gouges cut into the dunes, the remaining pieces of the city being reclaimed by the dunes as the two C Grades clashed.  Kyle heard that when two C Grades clashed, maps would need to be redrawn.  He chalked that up to hyperbole, but no longer.  He couldn’t make out the specifics, but the sheer scale of their fight made it feel like he was watching a natural disaster. 

Shaking his head, he dropped the shard, looking first at the mottled and scorched flesh of his arm, then at the angry dark scars on the stonebloom armor.  As he watched, the burned piece of armor was infused with veins of golden light, then regenerated back to the dull gray he was used to.  His arm would take longer to heal, though without the constant damage from the explosions he was able to focus on it.

For now, he had one more task to accomplish.  “C.H.A.D.D., get as detailed a scan as you’re able.  I’m going to try putting these back together.”

[YES, DR. MAYHEW.]

With that, he began to break open the containment spheres, each shard beginning to glow and pulse in unison with the others.  Carefully, he layered them together according to C.H.A.D.D.’s schematics.  They seemed to ripple as they flowed into one another, until the final piece was inserted.  The complexity of the work was incredible, each of the formations flowing and shifting into one another. 

He sat near the orb, deactivating Ignition as he felt his body slowly recover.  The orb wasn’t emitting heat anymore, though Kyle suspected it still could.  The notes they recovered indicated that the inscriptions that prevented realignment had been mostly removed, and it appeared as though they were correct. 

It was well beyond his current understanding, but based on the notes, Kyle fully expected that this was far and away the most valuable artifact he’d retrieved.  It would be invaluable for a fire-affinity awakened, likely able to provide insights and value beyond D Grade.  Even to non-awakened, it had the potential to contain and release tremendous amounts of energy, likely making it possible to power entire cities with thermal power alone.

While that was of limited use to Kyle, the most interesting piece was the way the inscriptions were able to flow together.  He could already see applications with different types of plants and seeds.  If he inscribed them correctly, he could theoretically configure the growth to create a variety of effects.  C.H.A.D.D. would be the ultimate beneficiary of any breakthroughs in that regard, which excited Kyle.  Creating opportunities for his companion was still important, even if C.H.A.D.D. encouraged him to be more selfish. 

He leaned back in the shade of the tent, watching the inscriptions move.  “C.H.A.D.D., do you have enough?”

[I BELIEVE SO, DR. MAYHEW.]

With a nod, Kyle stood, lifting the orb and moving to the depository.  Nothing happened.  Kyle frowned, and tried again.  Still, nothing.  “It’s not working.”

[I NOTICED.]

“Why isn’t it working?”

[I HAVE NO IDEA.]

“That’s not particularly helpful.”

[I’VE BEEN HELPFUL ENOUGH TO MAKE UP FOR IT.]

“Fair point.”  Kyle didn’t have the energy to argue, and slumped back down, listening to the sounds of combat as his eyes closed.

Nearly an hour later, Kyle woke to the sound of whistling.  He saw the hulking form of the ogre as he ducked through the tent, looking around.

“Good place you got here.” The ogre finally said, sitting down cross-legged.

Kyle saw some fresh cuts and a few new scratches in the armor, but otherwise the man was unharmed.  Something to look forward to, I suppose.  “Thank you for rescuing me, though I’m still not entirely sure why or how you got here.”

The ogre grinned, revealing his tusks.  “I didn’t come here to save you, that would be against the rules.  I was hired to hunt an Igneous Glaivebeak, which I did.  Anything else is just a happy accident.  The name’s Ghork, by the way.  I’m with the Mercenary’s Guild”

“A pleasure to meet you, Ghork.  So where does this leave us?”

Ghork sighed, expression getting more serious.  “Your Practicum officially ended the moment before I accepted this job.  You’ll be evaluated on everything you turned in up until that point.  I got paid full price to kill that Glaivebeak and return with any stragglers, and you fall into that category.”

“Wait, so the shards – “

“None of ‘em count for anything.” Ghork confirmed, a smile on his face.  “Though, since the practicum is over, I’d imagine you can sell that orb for a pretty penny.”

Kyle’s head swam with all the information.  All that work, and I won’t get anything for it.

Ghork seemed to see the frustration in Kyle’s features, and patted him on the shoulder with a hand that could easily crush stone.  “Don’t get too worked up; you’re alive after all.  Come on, let’s get going.”

Kyle nodded numbly, grabbing the sphere before walking back to the teleportation platform.  The exhaustion washed over him like a tsunami.  One way or another, it was done.  With one last look at the remains of his camp, he stepped onto the platform.  A moment later, the two were whisked away.  The volcanic sand was already moving to reclaim the destroyed city; covering the lifeless body of the beast that had once claimed the area as its domain.