Within those thirty minutes, Remillia and Edge set their plan into motion.
Edge gathered all the surviving mbers, strategically avoiding direct confrontation with the enemy at all costs. They moved like shadows through the place, only engaging when they had the nurical advantage.
anwhile, I was darting back and forth between the extraction site and various locations, desperately searching for the remaining artifacts. I tried to avoid the enemies as much as possible, knowing that I couldn’t afford head-on clashes. The fight earlier had drained my mana to dangerous levels, and I was at a serious disadvantage.
But my attempts to be hidden seed futile. No matter where I turned, the enemies seed to spot after stealing the artifacts. Even though there only one or two, I had no choice but to run away from them.
I would always shout at the top of my lungs, whenever enemies would ran up to .
"Edge!"
"Help !"
"They’re chasing !"
"Where the hell are you?!"
Luckily, every ti I shout, Edge and the others are always there to protect from the enemies.
When the thirty minutes were finally up, I collapsed onto the ground, utterly exhausted.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
We were resting just outside the excavation site. The ones that were eliminated are wincing from pain while being treated by the mages using potions while so needed to use their hands with soothing energy to treat their wounds and bruises. So survivors were celebrating, exchanging smiles and laughter despite the bruises and scratches that wounded their skin, while others were deep in conversation, sullen faces reflecting on the results of the training.
In front of us was a floating large holographic screen showcasing the result of the test.
————————————
Scavenger Hunt Combat Test
Ti Limit: 3 Hours
ATTACKERS
MVP: Edge Killian
SVP: Remillia Lockhart
Remaining Attackers: 41 / 115
Artifacts Stolen: 53/ 100
DEFENDERS
MVP: Cypher Knoxx
SVP: Angela Forbes
Remaining Defenders: 36 / 115
Artifacts Retrieved: 47/ 100
ATTACKERS WIN
————————————
Angela sat alone in a quiet corner, pulling her knees to her chest in an attempt to block out the noise of celebration around her. The victory of the test only amplified her sour mood. Not only had they lost, but she was also feeling increasingly frustrated by Cypher’s actions.
When they only had thirty minutes remaining left. She accidentally spotted Remillia sneaking through the halls, her arms filled with stolen artifacts. The sight should have been a clear opportunity to alert her teammates.
"There’s so—" Angela started, ready to shout out a warning, but before she could finish, Cypher interrupted her with a casual indifference.
"Has anyone found any artifacts here?" he asked, casting a glance at the group. No one answered "Let’s move upstairs."
"Cypher! I saw soone!" she exclaid, pointing urgently in the direction where she’d seen Remillia.
Cypher rely looked where Angela was indicating. "But no one’s there."
She decided to drop the matter, thinking that maybe she’s just imagining things. But not long afterwards, she spotted Remillia again. This ti, she didn’t hesitate to call out, catching the attention of their group.
"I found soone!" she shouted, pointing with urgency, her voice slicing through the din of the others. But once again, Cypher moved quickly to shield their vision.
"What are you doing? Move!" she exclaid, the irritation boiling over in her tone. But as she focused back on the space where Remillia had been, to her confusion, she vanished again.
Angela’s suspicion deepened, mixing with a twinge of jealousy. Was he deliberately hiding Remillia even though she’s on the enemy team?
She decided to keep quiet and sure enough, she caught Cypher looking to where Remillia was then he subtly changed their route so they won’t bump into Remillia.
She had enough. She silently watched for the right mont, glancing back toward Cypher, who seed oblivious to her intentions. When she finally spotted Remillia slipping into view, she seized the mont.
"I saw an enemy! She has many artifacts with her!" Angela shouted to her teammates, rallying them to action.
They sprinted towards Remillia, she was almost close in catching her when Edge’s group shielded them from her.
"Move!" she yelled at Edge, anger bubbling over as she itched to catch Remillia herself.
"You have to get through us first," Edge replied calmly.
She wanted to fight them to vent her pent-up feelings but she realized that their group was outnumbered.
"I’ll count to ten to give you a chance to run," Edge said, beginning to count.
She was left with no choice but to retreat, the opportunity slipping away with each passing second. She watched, helplessly, as Remillia disappeared into the halls.
She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard noises not far from her.
"Let’s give it up for Remillia and Edge!" soone shouted, followed by a chorus of cheers echoing through the crowd.
"Remillia the snatcher of artifacts!" another voice called out.
"Edge the handso leader!" a third voice chid in, eliciting laughter from those around them.
"By the way, how did you find all of those? Heck, I didn’t even find one!"
Their cheers just rubbed on her nerves, and she instinctively covered her ears in annoyance. Hearing that they won was a sharp reminder of her own grievances. Just as she was about to sink deeper into her irritation, she felt soone approach her. It was Edge.
"Why the long face?" he asked, a teasing lilt in his voice.
"Because of you, we lost!" she shot back, glaring daggers at him.
Edge scoffed, an amused glint in his eye. "? Why is it my fault?"
"Because if only you hadn’t shown up at the mont you did, we would have won!" she pouted, crossing her arms defiantly. The frustration bubbled up once more—she wanted to bla him for everything. Even though he was just doing his job.
He chuckled, and that sound only fueled her irritation further. "Silly, even if I wanted to move, we would still win. I hate to admit it, but Remillia’s in my team; that’s why we won."
"Argh! Stop talking to !" Angela exclaid, throwing her hands up in exasperation.
Did he co here just to annoy her? It felt like it. His teasing deanor only deepened her displeasure, and she wished he would take her seriously for just a mont.
As he leaned against the wall, casual and carefree, Angela couldn’t help but feel the urge to storm off. Instead, she slouched further into her seat, trying to sulk away the swelling sense of defeat. Why did he have to make everything feel so trivial?
"Really, Angela. You’re better than this," Edge said, his tone shifting to sothing more genuine, though there was still that familiar mischief lurking beneath it. "Stop sulking. You were great out there, and next ti, you’ll show them what you’re made of. You just need to trust yourself more."
"Easy for you to say," she muttered, casting her gaze to the ground. But a part of her acknowledged his words. Edge might be frustrating, but he often had a way of knowing how to pull her out of her head, even if it didn’t feel like it in the mont.
At that mont, Adrian erged from the excavation site. His usually composed deanor seed out of place as he walked out, and the tension in the air thickened when Instructor Jude approached him with a scowl that could send shivers down anyone’s spine.
"Joshua, why did you co out so late?" Instructor Jude asked, he was trying not to shout at a student.
Adrian rely stared blankly at him, his lips pressed together in silence. "...," he didn’t answer, seemingly caught in a mont of confusion.
"I checked your location, and it looks like you stayed in the sa spot the entire ti," Instructor Jude continued, his brows furrowing deeper as he stepped closer, towering over Adrian.
Adrian, for so reason, looked completely lost, as if the ssage of Jude’s words hadn’t fully registered with him.
~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~ ~~~
As soon as I got back to my dorm, I slumped onto my bed, feeling really exhausted from the test. Macaron flapped his wings and settled comfortably against my back, his warmth giving a small comfort.
Macaron asked, concerned.
I let out a deep sigh. "If I explain it to you, I’m sure as hell you won’t understand it," I mumbled, burying my face in the pillow.
Beep! Beep!
"Macaron, can you read my ssage for ?" I prompted, lifting my head just a fraction.
I felt Macaron fumbling over my smartwatch with his claws.
My head imdiately perked up at the ntion of ’dance.’
"Ballroom dance... Dance... Christian... That f*cking bastard!" I exclaid, throwing my hands in the air. My mind flooded with thoughts of the recent back-and-forth with Christian.
I sat up and grabbed my phone, quickly ssaging Christian. {Make sure I see you at the singing competition or I’ll make the rest of your school life a living hell!}
After I hit ’send’ not even a minute passed by when I received a reply from him. {It’s done! As soon as I got back, I contacted the instructor to be Hannah’s partner in singing!}
Satisfied from his reply, I stretched my muscles and hopped off the bed to change a new pair of clothes and et Kairos.
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