(Ersa)

               Ersa stood on the rooftops of Nebulus University with her newfound team, impatiently waiting for their turn to be teleported to Fariyoh Forest. Her hair blew in the slight breeze as she looked at the forest surrounding the school in a crescent shape. She hoped there’d be some Erseugen worth her time in there. She had to find a way to stand out and get noticed. Then maybe someone from her past would recognize her.

 

               She glanced at the tall tan guy out of the corner of her eye, minty hair shining in the morning light. She’d definitely get noticed being on the same team as him. His name was Pyaar and though he was extremely attractive, Ersa still wasn’t sure if she liked his personality or not… He reeked of trouble just from the disheveled looks about him. He was, afterall, one of the guys who got in a fight in the gym earlier. Not the best way to make an impression.

 

               “Larry…” Ersa heard from behind her. She turned to see the pale blonde guy laughing at the girl with pale skin and dark green hair named Serafina. The petite girl named Jet who Ersa had seen in the locker room earlier smacked her pale forehead. “No, it’s Lux LOOOOOOOOH! What about that can’t you remember?!”

​

               “I’m sorry, Jerry.” Serafina frowned, pouting. Now Jet’s friend Amber joined in the merriment. She wondered how long Jet and Amber had been best friends before being stuck on the same team. Come to think of it,  she was amazed that Serafina even got in to Nebulus University. The entrance exams were quite extensive both physically as well as mentally and she didn’t look to be much in either department. Perhaps her parents were fabulously wealthy?

​

               She looked over her new team. Most of them looked more ready to walk down a runway than trek through mud. Serafina especially. With her light purple dress with puffy sleeves, Ersa hopes she didn’t mind getting dirty. Earlier, she had seen her grab about seven different items from her backpack that she had explained she wanted to use as a weapon. She was currently using a parasole that matched her dress as her weapon of choice.

 

               Only Chan looked ready for the wilderness. He wore a bright orange tracksuit and had attempted to pull his thick hair back with a headband. Regular ponytails were out of the question for him.

 

               Now, Ersa, she scolded herself. Looks CAN be deceiving. The left corner of her mouth twitched at this thought. She herself looked a little less combat ready and a little more runway ready.

 

               “I hate my life.” she heard the emo guy named Kai mutter for the millionth time since breakfast. He looked like he wanted to jump from the roof and land on his face at that moment.

 

               “You OK, Pyaar?” Chan asked turning her attention to him as he put a hand on Pyaar’s buff shoulder, a concerned look on his face. Bad move.

 

               “I will personally rip that hand from your arm if you ever touch me again.” Pyaar growled through clenched teeth. Hmm, maybe she didn’t like him. Still, she was stuck on the same team as him.

 

               Chan removed his hand. “Ok, then.”

 

               Ersa faded in and out of everyone’s conversations until it was their turn to be teleported into Fariyoh Forest.

 

               “Amber, Chan, Ersa, Jet, Kai, Lux, Pyaar, and Serafina.” Professor Soji’s assistant, another old-looking grumpy guy named Gus called their names.

 

               “Finally.” Pyaar muttered as they all stepped forward and took their places in the electric blue glowing Magical Circle, the large teleportation crystal glowing and floating in the center.

 

               Magic Circles were extremely hard to create and even more difficult to maintain. Ersa had recently read a book all about Magic Circles, so the details were still very fresh on her mind.

 

               Magic Circles were created for one of three reasons: creating, destroying, or summoning. Everything else the Magic Circles were used for was a duration of one of the three. The Circles were tools for highly advanced magic users to focus and use raw magic in its natural state. Magic Circles could be highly unstable if used improperly, or one syllable from the incantation was messed up.

 

               Creation Circles were most often used for mass healings and creating objects out of thin air. For creating the Creation Circle, one had to use several crystals to draw a complex pattern on the ground using magic. While the circle was being drawn, an incantation had to be sung or spoken in order to achieve the proper results.

 

               Destruction Circles were used for destroying and were the easiest to create. Despite being the easiest of the three, they were still very difficult to create. They were not quite as rare as creation or summoning, but more difficult to master. As the name implies, one can only destroy using this magic circle. These circles were created using crystals and magic and appeared perpendicular to the ground, floating in the air in front of the caster. Every so often, a powerful warrior would accidentally create a Destruction Circle in the heat of battle, wiping out entire battalions with a single blow.

 

               Summon Circles were normally used to contact an angel, demon, or deity. For summoning demons or dark deities, one had to make a blood sacrifice of a pure sentient being, such as a newborn goat or duck. Unfortunately those pure animals were few and all endangered, so no one was allowed to kill them. Now that Ersa thought about it, perhaps it was good they were not allowed to use them. She didn’t want demons to be running around wildly. Angels and light deities were summoned much easier, as all one had to do was present the blood sacrifice of an Erseugen.

 

               To make the summoning circle, you used the blood of the sacrifice to create the intricate patterns and designs, all while chanting an incantation or praying to summon the desired eternal being. These were extremely difficult to create. They took a ton of magical energy and concentration. Even the most highly advanced magical beings struggled with summonings.

 

               The teleportation circle and crystal they were about to use was a type of summoning. This one worked slightly opposite though. Instead of being summoned to the place of the circle, they were being sent away to the forest beyond the school. Teleportation was hardly ever used, for it was an extremely inaccurate and dangerous means of travel. Very unpredictable. There was even the risk of getting lost in another dimension or disappearing from existence.

 

               Gus cleared his throat and gave them the speech he was required to every time a group was teleported. “If any of you mess up the incantation, you’ll end up staying here-a failsafe we installed so you don’t end up in an alternate dimension-and you’ll be immediately kicked out of the program. Also if you do not make it back before sundown you will be kicked out. Now, grasp hands and repeat after me.”

 

               They all obeyed and in a flash of blue, they all found themselves in the middle of Fariyoh Forest, very queasy. Lux squatted behind a tree and retched all over it. The others all sat down or bent over for a moment to calm their insides before focusing on the task ahead. Ersa had to steady herself on her feet before gathering her surroundings. She breathed deeply, letting the crisp fresh smell of nature wash over her and calm her.

 

               The forest was surprisingly bright and sunny for being nicknamed the “Forest of Terror.” However it was called that for a reason. Ersa looked around, on guard for any Erseugen that may be lurking about. She nervously fiddled with her bracelet, wondering briefly if she should change her weapon to something more practical.

 

               “Alright, team.” Chan stepped forward, reaching into his afro and pulling out a silver rapier as he did so. “Weapons at the ready. We’ve got about ten hours to make it back to Nebulus University. It’ll take us about an hour to get from the edge of the forest to the university, so as long as we make it out in nine, we’ll be making good timing.”

 

               “Who put you in charge?” Pyaar crossed his strong arms, his weapon, a golden war hammer, still in miniature and clipped on his belt. Here we go… Ersa huffed. She knew Pyaar was going to be problematic, she just didn’t think so soon.

 

               “No one.” Chan answered honestly. “I simply thought it’d be best if we all worked as a team and had a bit of a strategy so we-”

 

               “Look,” Pyaar’s cold emerald eyes glared at Chan’s kind amber ones. “The profs may have said we’re a ‘team,’ but I don’t plan on being dragged down by any of you.” He looked at them with his icy gaze. Dragged down?! How dare you little twat!

 

               “Excuse me?” Ersa stepped forward, hands on her hips. “We’re all guardians in training here. Did we not all get accepted into the exact same program?” she raised her eyebrow at him, silently daring him to fight her. Though she didn’t want to be known as the girl who started fights, she’d be more than glad being known as the girl who finished them. Pyaar was pissing her off more than any other low life form like him ever had. What the hell was his problem?

 

               “I don’t like where this is headed…” Lux mumbled to Amber as everyone slowly backed up.

 

               Pyaar turned to her, a dangerous gleam in his eye. “I’m just sayin’ if I wanted to babysit damsels in distress, I would’ve gone into the military. Don’t expect me to ever save any of your asses when you can’t handle the pressure. You’re all weak cunts who don’t deserve the time of day.”

 

               “WHAT?!” Lux barked. Amber gave an angry “hmph.” Kai and Chan looked at each other uncomfortably. Jet looked about ready to personally feed him to an Erseugen. Even Serafina looked slightly less dazed and a bit perturbed. Ersa could feel the anger begin to well up inside her. Pyaar needed to be reined in. He was too smug, too high and mighty, too much of an asshole. She saw something far off in the distance and quickly formulated a plan.

 

               She grinned at him mischievously. “I suppose that’s just the way a simpleton like you would think. But unlike some people who feel the need to show everything from the get-go,” she looked him up and down, sizing him up, “I feel it wiser to wait for the opportune moment to show my true strength.”

 

               “Oh, I get it.” Pyaar taunted, rolling his eyes. “You’re one of those ‘behind the scenes’ girls who’s all talk and no action, ain’tcha? The only weapon you can use is your mouth.” he sneered. “Weak ass bitches like you shouldn’t even be here.”

 

               “I’ll give you one last chance to change your shitty attitude. Or else I’ll be forced to play my hand.” Ersa’s silver eyes danced dangerously as the tips of her hair began to turn red. Whenever she used her magic, or got overly emotional, her light pink locks turned bright red, sometimes even giving off a slight glow, depending on how powerful her emotions and magic.

 

               “Ha!” Pyaar smirked, taking a step forward. “I’d like to see you try. All talk, no action. Like I said; I’M NOT BABYSITTING YOU!”

 

               Ersa’s lips curled in a dangerous smile as she held her arms out to her side. Dangling on her left wrist was her silver bracelet with dozens of tiny multicolored crystals hanging from it. As the magical power inside her began to grow, the rest of her hair turned from light pink to bright red and whipped madly around her. “Red, white, pink,” she said, beginning her incantation. As she did so, the bracelet began to spin on her wrist. A red, a white, and a pink crystal flew out and floated in a triangular pattern above her head. “Oh gods above, I beseech ye, grant me the power to chastise mine enemy.” She closed her eyes as Pyaar grinned wildly at her, crouched and ready for the attack. He whipped out his war hammer. “Light of Heaven Holy Trinity Cannon!” she finished, opening her eyes and clapping her hands together. As she did so, a bright pinkish red sonic beam flew out from her hands. Just before it hit Pyaar, it split in two, multiplied, and hit several monstrous black targets that were charging at him from behind.

 

               “Erseugen?!” Lux gasped as about half a dozen grizzly black monsters fell to the ground, defeated. “Oh my gods! A-and she just destroyed an entire pack of them?!” he looked at Ersa. “Holy shit!” he beamed. “Wahoo!” Serafina and Amber cheered. Chan nodded his approval.

 

               From the looks of it, these were beowolves. A large bear-like creature with sharp claws, hind legs and a long snout like a wolf, sharp fangs, and pointed ears. They had dark fur, usually black, and reddish-orange eyes. The alfas and more powerful beowolves had a white or light colored spot on its forehead.

 

               Pyaar looked at Ersa, a flash of fear and awe crossing his face. Ersa sauntered up to him, a smug look on her pretty face. Most first years struggled to defeat one Erseugen and that normally took hours to do. She stood on her tiptoes and whispered in his ear, “Next time I won’t show you mercy.” She warned.

 

               “Looking forward to it.” Pyaar smirked, danger dancing in his eyes.

 

               “If you two are done flirting,” Jet huffed, annoyed at this waste of time. “We do have the rest of the forest to get out of.” She gestured towards the surrounding trees.

 

               “WE WERE NOT FLIRTING!” Pyaar yelled, steamed at Jet’s comment.

 

               “Oh, I was.” Ersa teased as they all walked deeper into the forest.

 

               “Oh snap!” Lux whispered to Amber who giggled as they followed on. Ersa glanced over her shoulder at the hulking carcasses, an unsettling feeling washing over her. She reminded herself that all Erseugen have no souls, they’re just vessels for mindless creatures who followed their instincts to destroy and devour everything and everyone that’s good. She followed the others deeper into the trees, forging ahead. She tried to not let the others see her legs wobble and her heavy breathing as they pressed on. Every spell cast had a side effect of some kind. Usually fatigue, like this one. But the more powerful ones had a higher risk of losing life and limb, one had to be careful.

 

               Pyaar grumbled ahead and she frowned. She wasn’t sure why, but Pyaar had an extremely negative aura that made the worst in you want to come out and just-destroy things. She didn’t just not like him, she downright hated him. Just her luck to end up with a pain in the ass teammate who got on her usually unshakable nerves. Maybe a beowolf would carry him away and they’d be done with him. Guess she’d just have to wait and find out.

 

(Chan)

 

               “We should totes have a team name!” Serafina sang happily as she skipped alongside her team. They were all in the middle of a fight between a queen scyllus and about a hundred smaller scyllus. The scyllus were vicious creatures with huge snakeheads, long scaly bodies and scorpion tails. Both ends were deadly and poisonous. Every scyllus pack had a gigantic one that was their queen. The queen controlled all the scyllus and was nearly impossible to kill.

 

               They had accidentally stumbled upon the queen’s nest while taking a “shortcut” through the mountain. Their frey had begun when Chan accidentally stepped through a skull. The noise had echoed throughout the caverns, alerting the scyllusto their presence. There were so many scyllus that no one had come close to landing a hit on the queen.

 

               “Dear gods. No stupid-ass team names!” Pyaar grumbled across the cave as he swung his golden warhammer, three scyllus being swung into the walls of the dark cave from his strength. Green sparks flew everywhere from the impact and power from his magic.

 

               “I second that!” Lux beamed as he stabbed another scyllus with his glowing plasma sword. He rushed at five more, severing the heads from the bodies. His speed was incredible, even by Chan’s standards. He dodged a swing from something’s tail as Lux continued. “Not what Pyaar said, but I agree with Serafina. A team name would be-”

 

               “SHUT UP!” Jet interrupted, “Now is NOT the time to be discussing team names!” she dodged a swing from a two-headed overgrown scyllus and rushed at it. With a mighty jump and heave, she cast a spell that made a huge glowing blackish blue orb appear in her hands. She threw it at the monster, incinerating it and turning it to black dust.

 

               “Where’s Kai?” Amber stopped suddenly, choking a scyllus with one hand, mace in the other. Hey, yeah. Where is Kai? Chan frantically looked around, hoping Kai hadn’t fallen into a pit or met some untimely demise.

 

               “Gone again.” Jet huffed, joining Amber by severing the head from the body with one blast from her gloved hand. “I swear next time I see that kid I’ll-”

 

               “I found a way out of the cave!” Kai called from a distance. He ran back to them, his kunai and chain glowing a light yellow. He used it as a guiding light for his teammates.

 

               “Kiss him?” Amber nudged, giggling.

 

               Jet grumbled to herself and everyone followed the glowing chain out of the mountain and into the sunlight. Chan made sure everyone was out before following, creating a wind tunnel to blow the Erseugen back and confuse them.

 

               “Gods, that was dumb!” Ersa pulled Chan aside as soon as he emerged from the darkness. “What the bloody hell happened back there?!”

 

               “We’re lucky no one was killed!” Chan glared angrily at Pyaar, who had insisted they all go through the mountain because it was a “short cut.”

 

               “Next time we’re going around the mountain, LIKE I SAID.” Ersa scowled, silver eyes glowing and hair bright red.

 

               Pyaar crossed his arms. Luckily he seemed to be too out of breath to have any sort of rude comeback.

 

               “Well,” Lux added in angrily. “If Jet hadn’t wandered off-”

 

               “I was trying to keep up with Serafina!” Jet snarled through gritted teeth. The two of them began arguing back and forth as everyone else started playing the blame game and angrily yelled.

 

               Dear gods, please let us get out of here alive. If the Erseugen don’t tear us apart, we sure will. Chan rubbed his temples, trying to devise a plan.

 

               “I just wanted to play hide-and-seek.” Serafina frowned.

 

               “OK, THAT’S ENOUGH!” Ersa yelled, shutting everyone up.

 

               “UUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGH!” Jet yelled and smashed her head into a nearby tree, splitting it in half.

 

               “OK, we all need to take a breather.” Ersa stepped in the middle of everyone. “Clearly we’re all frustrated that it’s been nearly eight hours and we’re still nowhere near the edge of Fariyoh Forest. We’ve done nothing but argue and complain at each other. The only real progress we’ve done is defeat any Erseugen we’ve come in contact with. Instead of having this be a contest of strength and who’s right and who’s wrong, why don’t we elect two of us to formulate a plan to get us out of here as quickly as possible. We avoid any and all creatures we come in contact with, we just run.”

 

               “Whatever.” Kai flipped his bangs.

 

               “Works for me.” Chan nodded his approval.

 

               “Just get me outta here.” Jet whined.

 

               “I mean,” Lux gave an exasperated huff, “It kind of sounds like you already have a plan, so why don’t you just be the leader?”

 

               “HELL NO!” Pyaar yelled angrily. “No way am I following this know-it-all bitch.”

 

               "Alright,” Ersa spoke up before more arguing could ensue. “How’s this: we take a vote and whoever gets the majority wins. You can vote as many times as you want, but you cannot vote for yourself. Got it?”

 

               Everyone seemed to be in agreeance, so Ersa continued.

 

               “Alright, let’s start with Kai, since you’re standing to my left.” Ersa began. “Raise your hand if you vote for Kai.”

 

               After several minutes of debate, a bit of confusion on Serafina’s part, and a lot of resistance from Pyaar, they decided Chan and Ersa would be co-leaders. Chan felt his strong chest puff out a little more. How honored he was to be elected the leader. Even though they weren’t much of a team...

 

               “Alright.” Chan began. “Here’s what I think we should do based off of Ersa’s previous plan. Kai, you seem to have excellent eyesight. You’ll be our overhead scout from atop the trees, warning us of any immediate dangers. Amber and Jet, you stay to the left, Pyaar take the back, Lux and Serafina take the right, and Ersa and I will take the lead, finding and adjusting the most direct route to Nebulus University. Stay on your guard and whatever you do, do NOT engage the enemy. Avoid any and all conflict, got it?”

 

               “Yessir!” Serafina saluted. Everyone else nodded. It may not be the best plan, but at least it was a plan.

 

               “Then let’s go.” Chan’s amber eyes blazed with determination as they sped off.

 

               They kept running for a good thirty minutes straight, avoiding any Erseugen they would have otherwise come in contact with. They seemed to be going at a steady pace. Chan didn’t get too comfortable though. Anything could happen between now and-

 

               “Uh, Chan?” Kai called up from the trees. “There’s another group a ways away struggling… They’re in the opposite direction of where we’re headed…”

 

               “Let’s go say hello!” Serafina suggested, veering off course.

 

               “No!” everyone except Chan hollered in protest. Serafina pouted but kept running.

 

               “We can’t just ignore them.” Chan turned to Ersa. “They could seriously need our help!”

 

               “Screw them!” Pyaar growled. “If they ain’t got what it takes to be a Guardian, they shouldn’t be here.”

 

               “That’s not the point.” Chan insisted. “As Guardians in training, it is our duty to serve and protect the Realm and all its citizens. We can’t abandon our comrades in need!”

 

               Ersa sighed, Chan could see her weighing the options in her head. “If we don’t get out of here before sundown, we will be the ones who need help…” she bit her lower lip. “Blast it all.” She looked at Chan “Run on ahead, I’ll catch up in a sec.” Chan nodded then sped off into the trees.

 

               “OK guys,” Chan heard Ersa’s voice fade as he sped towards the cry for help. “Anyone who wants to get out of here, keep heading straight ahead in a northwest angle like this. You’ll get to the school. The rest of you, follow me. We’re going to kick some major Erseugen arse.”

 

               “Yay!” Serafina cheered.

 

               “Finally some action.” Pyaar yelled.

 

(Kai)

 

               Chan got there moments before Kai and the rest of them. Holy Terra. Kai rubbed his eyes, not sure if what he was seeing was real or not. In front of him was a gigantic hydra-dragon with sharp bloodied talons and dark grey scaly armor all over its body. He recognized the creature from a picture he had seen in a textbook long ago. He looked around, taking in the scene as quickly as possible. Two of the other group’s members were off to the side, bloodied and hurt badly. They looked like they possibly lost a limb or two. Four others were trying desperately to get away from the beast, making sad attempts to steer clear of its many heads and fire breath. The rest, he assumed, had been eaten by the enormous dark grey hydra-dragon.

 

               Hydra-dragons were native to realms in the far north, namely Kre-K’asha Realm. Seeing one so far south was extremely rare. They were some of the most vicious and terrifying of all Erseugen. This one towered at least 50 feet tall and about 150 feet from nose to tail. The foliage was completely decimated for a good mile all around the beast. Flattened or burned down, it was gone.

 

               Kai saw a blur run past him and focused on it. It was Chan rushing around, stabbing at several of the head’s eyes, attempting to blind it.

 

               “Get out of here!” he yelled to the frightened students as he bravely fought the beast. One of the heads caught him off guard and hit him, sending him flying into several nearby trees, knocking them over. Just as they were about to fall on one of the girls in the group, Serafina appeared out of nowhere and stopped it.

 

               “Hey, Mr. Tree!” she scolded, holding it up with incredible strength. “It’s not nice to fall on people, you know!” Kai wondered momentarily if she was part giant. She lacked the height of even a half-giant, though, so the thought disappeared as quickly as it had formed.

 

               Chan jumped back up, surprisingly resilient, just as the rest of the team flew in to help.

 

               They’re all completely insane. Strong and insane. Kai shook his head and ran over to Chan to help him out, kunai and chain at the ready.

 

               “Amber and Lux!” he heard Ersa yell from the far side of the clearing. “Patch those two up and get them back to Nebulus ASAP!” she jumped into the fray. Using an incredible amount of strength and determination, she kept yelling commands at everyone as well as fought off the fireballs heading in her teammates’ directions.

 

               “Serafina!” Kai hollered to the oblivious girl as she used the hydra-dragon’s tail for a jump rope.

 

               Chan turned and looked at her. “Get the rest of the students back to the school, Serafina!”

 

               “Aye-aye, Chan-Chan!” she saluted and skipped off to help the students.

 

               “Amber!” Chan hollered, disappearing from Kai’s side to rush over to the blonde, who seemed to be frozen in place. Chan pushed her out of the way just as several fireballs flew past.

 

               His kind heart will be his downfall. Kai frowned, slashing away a head that kept snapping at him.

 

               He saw Chan quickly grab a machine gun from his hair, temporarily changing out his rapier for heavy machinery. He muttered a quick spell and let his magic fly, tearing into the hydra-dragon.

 

               Kai ran around, being careful not to sever any of the heads, for fear two would grow back or more. Thinking fast, he ran around the side of the monster and jumped up on its scaly back. He ran full-steam ahead towards one of the heads, not totally sure of what he was doing but letting his muscles guide him. Kai ran up the long neck and jumped up. He cast a spell, poisoning his blades and aimed for one of the heads, landing a blow in one of the hydra-dragon’s blood red eyes.

 

               It wailed in pain and began shooting fire at random until it quickly turned to water, the poison taking affect. Kai jumped off, running to safety and in disbelief that had actually worked.

 

               “Nice one.” Chan yelled across the lawn as Ersa appeared beside Kai.

 

               “I have an idea.” she smiled and quickly explained her plan.

 

               A moment later, she ran to each of the others as they kept the beast occupied.

 

               Just as they all began to set the plan in action, the hydra-dragon lifted its heavy wings, as though it were getting ready to take off. Huh. And here I thought those things were unusable. Apparently the textbook was wrong. Just goes to show, don’t trust a book about facts more than 100 years old.

 

               “Shit!” Chan jumped out of the way as one of the heads breathed fire in his direction. He looked naked, shooting a heavy gun out in the open at a huge Erseugen.

 

               Suddenly, the hydra-dragon began to glow emerald green as thousands of thorns rushed out from the ground and ensnared it. Out of the corner of Kai’s eye, he saw Pyaar glowing the same color, war hammer planted firmly in the ground.

 

               That was his cue. He lifted his hands above his head, his kunai and chain wrapping around the hydra-dragon, trapping it in place.

 

               Jet then cast a spell that surrounded the heads in a dark cloud, obscuring their vision.

 

               “Chan!” Ersa hollered, appearing behind him. “In just a moment, we need you to run underneath and cut the legs and tail so it’s incapable of movement. There’s a tiny point in hydra-dragon’s scales that are its weak points; just behind each knee and just under the tail where it connects to the body. From there we can attack it easier. The only way to kill it is from the inside…. So I’m going to let it eat me.”

 

               “WHAT?!” Chan yelped as he kept shooting the hydra-dragon and dodging its blind attacks. Hey, if she wants to die… Kai shrugged to himself. Though surely Ersa wouldn’t sacrifice herself so early in the game.

 

               “Trust me.” Ersa flashed her grin again, making Chan look even more nervous. “It’ll work. I’ve got a spell.”

 

               Chan sighed. “Just tell me when.” What strange co-leaders they’d ended up with.

 

               “NOW!” Ersa hollered. Kai’s kunai and chain wrapped tighter around the hydra-dragon, trapping it even more. At the same time, Pyaar made the thorns and plants lift the beast up slightly. Next Chan ran as fast as he could, switching out his gun for his rapier. In the blink of an eye, he had slashed every one of the hydra-dragon’s legs just behind the knee. As he did this, Ersa jumped up and used one of her crystals, creating a protective shell around herself. She dove into one of the hydra-dragon’s wide-open mouths. In a few moments, the hydra-dragon cried out in a deafening pained sound. Then everyone heard a sickening cracking sound. In the next instant, the head Ersa had just entered exploded from the inside. Blood, acid, and brains flew everywhere as the beast wriggled in pain.

 

               Kai shielded himself as they all watched in horror as two heads grew back.

 

               “Dammit!” Ersa angrily yelled. “I couldn’t get past that bloody neck.”

 

               “Nasty!” Jet gagged and ducked as a tooth missed her head by a fraction of a second.

 

               Chan barked “EVERYONE GET BACK! RETREAT TO THE TREES!”

 

               Kai turned around and bolted, flight instincts taking over. As he ran, he saw out of the corner of his eyes Chan followed closely by Jet. He assumed Pyaar and Ersa were close behind.

 

               His heart beat wildly in his chest to the rhythm of his feet. His only thought being how could they be so foolish as to believe they could take a fully grown hydra-dragon.

 

               His senses were hyper-aware of the forest rushing by. He prayed to the Eleven; Dear gods just let me get out of here alive. I swear I’ll be nicer to the village idiot. I’ll respect my grandfather more, just please let me not die!

 

               As Kai continued to make pie crust promises to the gods, he didn’t notice how much time had passed and that he could see the mile-high wall of the university up ahead.

 

               He noticed the others to his left and right running top-speed towards the campus.

 

               “THREE MINUTES UNTIL SUNDOWN MAGGOTS!” he heard Professor Soji yell from atop the wall through a speaker system.

 

               Thank gods, I can make it! He thought as the group entered the field surrounding the university. There were 10 miles from the treeline to the wall, but Kai could use a spell to help get him there quickly.

 

               He pulled out his kunai and chain and grabbed a clear pure magic crystal. Shattering this crystal and absorbing its magic would allow him the ability to cast one advanced spell without ripping his body to shreds. He crushed the crystal using his kunai, feeling the energy rush through his weapon and body. He mumbled a spell under his breath and swung his chain, throwing it across the field, landing a direct hit on the wall. He pulled back as he ran forward and felt a brisk kick as he jolted seemingly instantly across the field, making it to the wall in the blink of an eye.

 

               He turned around to admire his work as he saw a multitude of scenes unfold. His mind barely had time to process as he saw his teammates slam into the wall next to him, one at a time.

 

               “What?” Kai stared in disbelief. He then noticed the vine attached to his leg that Pyaar held in his hand, a shadowy rope attached to Pyaar’s waist, held by Jet, and an actual rope attached to Jet’s arm, Chan on the other end.

 

               “Oh…” he said, realizing they had chained themselves together as he cast his speed spell. “Way to go guys...” he said as they all fell out of their imprints in the stone wall.

 

               Chan coughed and pointed across the field menacingly.

 

               Kai looked across the field just as an explosion of trees and flame danced across the sky, giving way to the hulking beast they had just tried to defeat. Fuck.

 

               The skies around him seemed to be bursting into flames as the sun set.

 

               Kai squinted, noticing a pink flash darting around the hydra-dragon. Is that… ? “Is that Ersa?!” he looked at Chan who nodded.

 

               “THIRTY SECONDS ‘TIL SUNDOWN!” Professor Soji yelled.

 

               At that moment, Kai, along with several others, were fixated on Ersa who was locked in battle with the hydra-dragon across the field. He noticed various attacks coming from her as the beast reached the edge of the field.

 

               Ersa stopped suddenly and made various formations with her hands as a gigantic wall of light pink energy burst from the ground, stopping the beast.

 

               She then crouched down and in a flash of pink appeared beside Kai hand splayed on the wall, feet curled up to her chest. She looked like a spider who had just caught her prey. There were blood red crystals implanted in her upper thighs that shattered and faded away. As they faded, Kai noticed her veins fading as well. Above her head several crystals spun in a circle reminding him of a halo. She jumped down from the wall and was about to head back out. She looked ready to devour the beast.

 

               “TIME’S UP!” Professor Soji yelled, snapping Kai back to reality. “All of you who are not at the wall are hereby expelled from the program.”

 

               Kai heard screaming as he saw the hydra-dragon fly around the wall of energy and begin charging across the field, engulfing several students out in the field into flames.

 

               His heart beat faster as he felt Ersa’s power beside him. He knew she was about to charge at the beast again. Before she could, he heard a loud boom and saw a small figure zoom across the sky.

 

               This caused the beast to buck back for a split second. Kai looked closely, recognizing the figure as Professor Soji.

 

               The professor jumped up, high above the beast. With one fell swoop, he slammed his elbow down on the beasts’ body, snapping all their necks simultaneously. Kai was in shock and awe of the professor’s superior abilities. As the corpse slumped down, Professor Soji turned to face all the students who had passed.

 

               “YOU HAVE JUST WITNESSED THE POWER OF A TRUE GUARDIAN OF THE REALM! NONE OF YOU CAN HOLD A CANDLE TO MY GOD-LIKE FLAME! NONE OF YOU ARE EVEN WORTHY TO HOLD THE TITLE GUARDIAN IN TRAINING-YET SOME OF YOU HAVE ACTUALLY PASSED. GO TO YOUR QUARTERS AND AWAIT FURTHER INSTRUCTIONS FOR TOMORROW.” The professor then crouched down, creating a crater in the ground around him. He jumped up, flying across the field and over the wall into Nebulus University.

 

               Silence befell everyone.

 

               Ersa calmed down and collapsed to her knees, coughing up dark flem. Chan rushed to her side, grabbing her before she fell completely into the ground. “Are you ok?!” he asked as Ersa snapped back.

 

               “Yeah, I’m alright. Did the rest of our team make it?” Ersa asked.

 

               “O-of course!” Chan looked at her in disbelief. “But more importantly, what the hell were you thinking?! We could barely put a dent in it together!”

 

               Pyaar stepped forward. “Yeah, what the hell were you thinking making that thing chase after us? I could've died!”

 

               Ersa glared at Pyaar with a look so furious, Kai stepped back.

 

               She rushed at Pyaar, crushing his shoulder into the wall, leaving another imprint. “WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU?! I WAS PROTECTING ALL OF YOU! SO DON’T GIVE ME THAT SHIT! IF IT WASN’T FOR ME, YOU’D HAVE DIED TWO SECONDS AFTER YOU RAN AWAY! I’VE BEEN IN COMBAT WITH THAT THING FOR THE PAST HALF AN HOUR, AIDING YOUR SAFE ESCAPE! SO YOU’D BETTER SHUT UP AND PRAY THAT I DON’T LET YOU GET KILLED NEXT TIME. I DON’T BABYSIT DAMSELS IN DISTRESS.” She let go of his shoulder, smoke trailing behind her in her fury as she walked away. Pyaar massaged his shoulder, trying hard to not look in pain.

 

               “Uh…” Chan coughed, breaking the awkward silence. “How about we go find our rooms…”

 

               Kai turned and walked away before Ersa could go off on him.

 

(Chan)

 

               It took Chan several minutes to find room 666, his new dorm. When he finally found it, he heard a bunch of commotion going on inside. He breathed in and out to calm himself and opened the door, hoping he was just hearing a loud TV. When he opened the door, he came face-to-face with the rest of his seven teammates cramped into a small room that clearly wasn’t built for eight. This was going to be difficult.

 

               “Wait...” Chan looked at everyone fighting over beds and mirror space. “This can’t be right. Co-ed rooms? What is going on here?”

 

               “Ah,” Kai sounded frustrated beside him. “So you agree there’s been some kind of mistake?”

 

               “Well...”

 

               “As one of our elected leaders, you should go talk to someone about this.” Kai demanded, crossing his arms. “AND FIX IT!”

 

               “Chan!” Ersa waved him over to the double doors leading outside their room. He hurried over, happy to be out of the mess temporarily. “This can’t be right. Eight people? One room? Co-ed? Come on.” she slid the glass doors shut, muffling the noise.

 

               “I’ll stay here and try to mediate this chaos.” Ersa nodded at the door. “If you’ll go talk to someone about this.”

 

               “Who?”

 

               “By the gods, I DON’T BLOODY KNOW!” Ersa was getting madder by the second and Chan decided he was glad he would be leaving in a few moments. “A professor? The Headmistress? A JANITOR?! Just-anyone!”

 

               “’Kay.” Chan nodded then rushed back in the room, out the door, and down the hallways as fast as he could.

 

               This is a nightmare. He shook his head and dashed down the hallways. Surely someone would help him fix this… There was no way this was right…