This place is strange. Very. The solemn atmosphere—painted red in action. The obnoxiously loud silence cries out in pain. The hum of insects one would expect—the cheerful melody of chirping birds. Where was it all? Is there no animistic life?

 Deep in his mind, gentle winds stroked his skin like a soft brush along the sun’s ticklish yet gentle rays. Alum was utterly perplexed. Heaving a sigh, he looked at his hand—slight burn, a little swollen and a few blisters.

 It could have been worse.

 At one point, he reached a lonesome tree by the river. The leaves danced in the wind peacefully, rustling. Cautiously, he approached, uncertain of nameless dangers. For all he knew, the tree might as well be more than ‘a tree’.

 His eyes wandered, swimming toward the river leading to the lake. The stream was relatively weak, and the surface was clear. The water had no sign of contamination; it looked as pure as the spring waters—his reflection, scowling at his sight.

 Slowly, gently, he dipped his blistered hand. And as if pierced by needles and sewn—it stung. Painful. Yet tolerable—he endured. He took his hand out of the water, and whilst everything looked normal, he felt the energy drain from him. Somehow, he healed.

 Powers, huh? Like his?

 As if being called, the waters crawled up his legs, embracing his body. It was cool and sombre. Lazily, he reached out his arm. Slowly, water gathered, shaping a protective layer—suddenly, moving to his hand, moulding into a shaped blade.

 Observing it, intrigued by it, it moved as he wished. Alum heaved a sigh, shaping it into a sphere and levitating it above the palm of his hand. Instantly, it hardened and became ice. Instantly, it sublimed into vapours. As fascinating as it was to play around with it, his head started to throb, and he felt the warmth inside intensify. Sparks blue, glittery current coursed through his body to his palm.

 Electricity?

 Alum walked closer to the tree, still a little sceptical, disbursed and launched a needle of ice at it. With no response, his guard lowered. He closed the distance and placed his hand on it. He gazed up at the branches, the leaves.

 Now sure that there were no dangers, he relaxed and leaned toward the tree. He watched the stream as light rays glittered in the dancing waters. He played a little more with the water, manipulating what currently was there—or materialising it from thin air.

 I see. If they all have abilities like this, I hardly see any issues with surviving out here. But how will they do? If it’s Noel, he can probably manage. Emely, albeit clumsy, would manage. Either way, I can take care of her if it comes to that.

 Time passed while he rested under the tree, manipulating sparks of lightning and water. He started to feel a little fatigued. Checking his watch, two hours had passed. He let out a yawn, got up and stretched. The sun was still high in the sky, but he was getting stale.

 He sifted his attention to the lake, to where the water flowed. It was still a bit far away, and he noticed some other students closing in on him. They frowned upon noticing, not saying a word. Some kept their head low, avoiding him entirely.

 Alum recognised some of them; they were one of the bunch that had curled up. He shifted his attention to where the others were. They seem to have gathered dry material but also made huts made out of earth or stone. Taking a closer look, he could tell that their teamwork had improved.

 Even if you ask me for nobody to be depressed, it is quite a heavy toll.

 Alum yawned. Nobody was at a standstill anymore—except for him. But all of a sudden, he heard a shriek and cries. It came from the group that just walked past him. They were on their bums and, in a panicked state, crawled backwards—away from the waters.

 Calmly, Alum watched; however, he had a strange suspicion and decided to head over. As he approached, he noticed a dark, shadowy figure in the river and a foul smell—like a damped rotten carcass.

 “S-Stay away! Don’t get closer!” the girl said, trembling and shaky.

 “Calm down, Jayne,” one of the men said. “You must’ve imagined—”

 The water erupted loudly. Hastily, Alum rushed toward them; each step was light as if gliding over a smooth surface—which he also did. He took advantage of the fact the ground was damped and made a slide for himself. But realising he wouldn’t make it in time, he used the scattered water to form threads, ensnaring the creature.

 The creature was rough looking, like moss growing on stone, with dark algae-looking mush sticking to it. It had four limbs, a sharp spine and a sharp tail.

*Cries*

 It screeched and growled, making all kinds of sounds as it crashed to the ground, its limbs tied by threads of water. However, it freed itself. It stood on two legs, and sharp claws showed themselves. By that time, Alum already arrived and stood between it and the terrified people.

 It twitched—its movements were radical and irregular. Resentfully, it glared as its legs sprung into action. It dashed toward him. It was swift; in a matter of seconds, it closed the distance—leaping directly at him. But because of the people behind him, he couldn’t sidestep. He materialised water threads around its neck as if keeping it on a leash and slid under it to dodge; he also kicked it from underneath.

 He put a considerable amount of energy into the kick, but despite having the ground helping him, the creature did not budge much. However, that was fine. As he kicked its lower part, he pulled the thread to assist with turning the creature over, making it fall on its back.

 “Ahhh!?”

 Seeing the terrific creature more closely, some came to a realisation and began to run away, screaming. But Alum was not so kind. He bound their legs, making them all fall. While the creature was down on its back, Alum had created more threads and completely tied them, freezing the threads. It struggled as each time the ice started to crack, Alum would just fill it.

 “Where are you going?” Alum coldly inquired.

 The other students turned, their eyes wide as they gasped for air. Staring at the squirming creature as it rolled around and struggled to break free. Even with its brute strength, it was difficult for it to escape with the constant loss of energy. It became sluggish as it soon fell quiet, motionless and exhausted.

 Seeing that the creature was exhausted and no longer posing a major threat, Alum glared at the other’s stupefied faces.

 “Well? Where were you running?” he voiced with a spine-chilling tone.

 “A-Away from that thing…” a man replied. The blond man slowly calmed down, still astonished and confused as to what had just happened. “What…was that?” he asked.

 Alum shrugged. “Who knows?” he replied while approaching them. “It’s still alive, weakened though.”

*Gulp* 

 “I-I see…” the blond replied.

 Indifferent to the man’s flustered state, Alum asked, “What’s your name?” while dismissing the other three.

 “Ah… it’s Stig.”

 Alum crossed his arms, inspecting the individual more closely. He had blond, unkempt hair, somewhat lazy blue eyes and a built body. “What can you do?” Alum asked after having inspected him head to toe.

 “Huh?” Stig suddenly felt his chest tighten; his legs were heavy yet again.

 I have a bad feeling about this.

 “What do you mean…?” he reluctantly queried.  

 “Kill it,” Alum imminently replied. “Or are you saying you can’t?”

 “…Well, no, that’s not it. Why?”

 Stig looked around him, the two girls who were with him were petrified, and the guy beside him was on the ground, curled up, sobbing with his eyes covered.  

 Alum’s head tilted to the side. “What do you mean why? It’s dangerous, is it not? Is that not apparent?”

 What’s he trying to pull off? Is he using me? For what? Why? I don’t understand! I know what you can do. Why make me do it?! You shouldn’t have any problem doing it yourself, do you!? Ahhh! Screw it! I’ll do it! B-But what if it tries something? What if it breaks free? Then what? Do I die—this fucker…

 “Well?”

 “…Are you sure it’s safe? It won’t kill me, will it?” Stig was still reluctant to get close to it even though the creature was exhausted.

 Alum did not reply, however. He stood there, waiting.

 Shit… Stig cursed in his mind.

 Alum watched as Stig walked closer to the creature. He was fearful, reluctant—even angry. He came to a stop and raised his hands. Steadily, the ground tore, and earth gathered above the creature. As it clumped together, it became heavier. Stig started to pant; he fell to his knees, struggling to keep the chunk afloat.

*Ahhhhhhh!*

 Stig groaned, raising the object higher up in the sky. He released his control, and the sphere came crashing down. The impact was loud and shook the ground. It could be heard from a distance. But Stig was left in a daze, staring at the result.

 Vividly, he remembered the loud cry of the broken bones. The recall of shattered ice sharply stung, and a not-so-deep wound dripped blood from his cheek.

 “—Too slow, too inefficient, too crude,” Alum remarked. He then turned to the other three. “What are you three doing? Go tell the others.”

 “Y-Yes!” the two girls replied.

 As for the guy still shivering and covering his eyes, Alum disregarded him; it wasn’t important for now. He turned to the creature and ignored Stig, who blankly stared at him, probably expecting Alum to say something.

 He could be useful—they all could be. They just have to harden their resolve a bit. I wonder if there are more of these strange water creatures? Sharp claws, blade-like fins and tough exterior. What is it? Exoskeleton? It was greyish, solid. It should be intimidating enough but also easy enough.

 “What’s going on!?”

 Alum turned his head toward the voice. It was Noel and the others. Noel looked mad, and so did Miu, who comforted the girls.

 “Alum, what’s the meaning of this? What’s going on? What is that giant boulder?” Noel tried to ask calmly, but his irritation showed. “…Why did you bind them when they tried to flee? What if they got injured—possibly die!?”

 “They won’t. Anyways, take a look at this.” Alum turned his gaze to Stig. “Stig, remove the boulder,” he said coldly.

 The exhausted Stig looked at him and gulped. “Y-Yes, of course…” 

 Stig removed the boulder, beneath was a strange creature; it was still moving and twitching. However, its body was too damaged for it to be able to move. The students got closer and watched in horror, covering their mouths. Noel stood there, speechless at what he saw.

 “…What is that?” Noel asked, his gaze not leaving the creature.

 “Not sure, something that came out of the water?”

 “…..”

 Silence. In total silence. Breaking that was Alum himself. “There’s probably more of them,” he casually mentioned. Unanimously, they all gulped. However, Alum wasn’t going to stop there.

 Suppose I can instil fear and paranoia. Break their spirits little by little; they’ll fall further into despair, arriving in suffering’s embrace. Perhaps a few would slowly feel the glint of rage—resentment. Other than bravery or stupidity, how can cowards overcome primal fear? But can I shoulder it all before I die at their hands?

 Alum began to circle them. He created water needles and threads, morphing and shifting the water as he pleased, changing its state instantly and seamlessly.

 “Have you noticed? At least, I am bothered by it. Why is it that it is so quiet? Where are the animals? This place is green, vast and open. There is a river, a lake and a forest, a pretty good place for life to flourish, no? It’s as if they all vanished. No matter. You should all brace yourself.”

 Everyone was too stunned to say anything; some observed quietly while others trembled, fell onto their knees, and mopped at the ground. 

 I know they have a lot on their plates. There is a lack of food—clean water? Perhaps not. At least they managed to make some shelter, but how will that hold up? Ironic. It’s packed, yet nothing on is filling.

 With those questions in mind, he stood before Emely. He could tell by the look of her eyes—it was not the ideal result she’d hoped for. But she knew they’d all be a liability if they didn’t put themselves together. 

 Soon, they won’t have time to be depressed. It will likely be despair. If they adapt. Good. They’ll crawl out of misery. After all, red cries.