Bazz had finally realized the weight of the situation on him.
He had just stumbled upon an enemy in his own ranks, and while it would've been a critical mistake in a high-stakes exam.
The person before him was soone his best friend was really fond of giving him very little decisions on what to do.
So in his mind, it was torn between loyalty to his friend and the competitive drive that fueled his every action.
If Rel were to get hurt, would Jan retaliate fiercely, or would he forgive the mistake?
As he watched his teammates turn their heads towards him, Bazz could only clench his teeth in pity.
He had to make a choice.
Bazz clenched his fist and his knuckles turned white as he channelled his elental attribute of wind.
A surge of power coursed through his veins and his muscles coiled like a spring.
"Sorry, Rel," he muttered through gritted teeth, "but this is a practice exam, after all."
BOOOOM!
He twisted his body and lunged forward in the blink of an eye.
His fist unleashed a massive gust of wind that erupted on impact, sending leaves swirling and alerting everyone nearby to their location.
Unsure if his attack had connected with Rel, Bazz waited as the dust settled.
Once it cleared he realised that Rel was gone.
"What the hell was that?" a voice from Team A echoed through the forest.
"Why is Bazz running like an idiot?" another asked, their voice laced with confusion.
"Did he attack thin air?"
tap...tap...tap...
The sound of rapid footsteps echoed through the trees, and monts later, Jae erged from the foliage, her bow at the ready.
"I just got here," she panted, "but can soone tell what happened?"
One of the extras stepped forward, a look of bewildernt on their face.
"Bazz just attacked soone out of nowhere."
Jae's brow furrowed. "That doesn't sound like him... unless the target was from the opposing team."
Her eyes suddenly glowed with an intense light as she activated her Sensory Aura.
Within a 250-ter radius, she spotted two figures dashing through the trees.
One was Bazz, his expression stern while he chased after the person running from him.
While the other was a blur of red, moving with incredible speed and agility.
To her surprise, it was Rel, seemingly unscathed from Bazz's attack.
A slow grin spread across Jae's face. This was getting interesting.
"Let's see if he can react to this," Jae said, with a proud smile spreading across her face.
With practised ease, she drew her bow and her hands glowed with a faint, ethereal light as she channelled her aura.
The arrow that materialized in her grasp shimred with a dark purple hue, a testant to the potent energy infused within it.
Jae didn't want to disrupt the chase entirely, rely slow it down and give Bazz a chance to catch up.
huuu...
She took a deep breath, aligning her aim with the last known trajectory of Rel's movents.
TAKKKK!
The arrow shot through the air, a silent streak of purple slicing through the forest to et its target.
Jae's enhanced vision followed its path, piercing through the trees and undergrowth.
She was confident that Rel would not be able to outrun her arrow.
But as the projectile neared its target, sothing extraordinary happened.
In a blink of an eye, Rel shifted his body, his movents impossibly fast.
He faced the oncoming arrow head-on, his hand outstretched.
A black fla, laced with streaks of white, erupted from his palm, engulfing the arrow completely.
With a sickening crunch, the aura-infused projectile shattered into dust.
Jae gasped as her eyes widened in disbelief.
"What was that power?"
She had never seen anything like it before.
But if an opponent like Rel could stop a full-force shot so effortlessly, it ant he was more than just an ordinary archer.
***
[Pinnacle Academy, Dystopic Simulation - The Central Apartnt Field]
"Has anyone seen Rel?"
Jan asked as his voice echoed through the desolate halls of the six-story apartnt building.
A quarter of Team B gathered in the lobby, and exchanged uncertain glances.
"Not since the start," Lyra replied, her steel wind fans twirling gently in her hands.
"I figured he'd be with us by now."
"I hope he's okay," Camila added, a worried look clouding her features.
"He didn't seem too thrilled about this whole exam thing."
"He'll be fine," Jan reassured her, though he hesitated for a mont in his voice.
"Rel's a smart guy. He probably has a plan."
After walking into the front side of the abandoned apartnts a tense silence fell over the group as they surveyed the insides of the building.
The walls were adorned with graffiti, and the air hung heavy with the scent of dust and decay.
The only sound was the distant echo of footsteps and the occasional clang of tal on tal as other mbers clashed in the distance.
"Maybe he's already found a flag," Marcus, a burly boy with a spiked mace, suggested hopefully.
"Or maybe he's been eliminated and is waiting to respawn," chid in Anya, a petite girl with twin daggers strapped to her thighs.
"Either way, we need to find the flags,"
Jan said, his voice taking on a more determined tone.
"Let's split up and cover more ground. Camila and I will take the top two floors, Lyra and Alice, you take the middle two. The rest of you, fan out and search the lower levels."
With a quick nod, the team dispersed, each pair heading towards their assigned floors.
As Jan and Camila climbed the stairs, a sense of unease settled over them.
"Do you think sothing happened to Rel?" Camila whispered.
Jan shook his head.
"I don't know, Cami. But I have a feeling we're not alone in this building."
Jan's eyes glowed a bright blue, and from a distance, he could hear two people ascending the stairs towards the sixth floor.
"Prepare for combat," Jan said, drawing his sword and imbuing it with aura.
"And make sure to take this fight seriously."
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