Forest Behind the Academy, Afternoon.
The students' footsteps could be heard as they entered the forest behind the academy. Sunlight filtered through the dense trees, casting shadows on the damp ground.
Instructor Van stood tall before them and spoke in a loud voice,
"Today, we won't be training in the arena. You will be training in the forest. The task is simple: find the flag I've hidden in the forest. The first team to emerge with the flag wins."
He pointed to the names, which had been arranged into teams. "First team: Damian, Rin, Tessa. Second team: Kaien, Elric, Liam. Third team:..., and so on."
Damian stood with Rin and Tessa, exchanging glances. Not far from them, Kaien stood with Elric and Liam. Elric looked confident, while Liam looked ready with a serious expression. Kaien simply stared straight ahead, calm as always.
Before leaving, Damian turned to Rin and Tessa. "We must be careful. Don't waste our energy on unimportant things."
On the other hand, Liam was trying to enforce discipline among the community. "Elric, please don't do anything stupid."
Elric slapped his chest confidently. "Relax. I'm not a child."
The words hadn't even faded when they'd only been walking for a few minutes into the forest. "Hey, look at this!" Elric exclaimed enthusiastically, stopping near a large tree trunk. He pointed to a blue mushroom glowing faintly in the darkness. "That's really cool. Do you think it's edible?"
Kaien closed his eyes briefly, as if expecting this to happen. Liam immediately raised his hands to his face, holding back his frustration.
"Elric…" Liam shouted.
Instructor Van, who was watching from afar, maintained his impassive expression. But deep down, he probably regretted putting Elric on any team at all.
The forest behind the academy felt different as they ventured deeper. The sounds of other students being released together were no longer audible, replaced only by the sound of twigs snapping underfoot and the occasional gust of wind rustling the tall leaves.
Kaien walked at the forefront of his team. His magical wolf walked, observing their surroundings, its snout occasionally sniffing the ground, then moving straight ahead as if it knew the right path. There was no hesitation in Kaien's steps; every movement was calm and measured, as if he had memorized how to survive in dangerous places.
On a different path, Damian walked with Rin and Tessa. They couldn't see Kaien directly, but the premonition that they would meet in the depths of the forest kept Damian on guard.
Rin glanced at Damian. "If we run into Kaien's team, we have to be careful because they're all strong."
"Okay, if we do, we'll just run away. I can't handle dealing with Elric and Liam," Damian said with a smile.
"AGREED!" Tessa shouted.
Meanwhile, on Kaien's side, Liam walked closely behind him.
"You certainly seem used to this kind of terrain," Liam said to Kaien.
Kaien didn't look back, just shrugged slightly. "Experience."
Behind them, Elric was busy coming up with a name for his new move, whistling nonstop. Liam took a deep breath, while Kaien remained focused on the road.
The footsteps continued to carry the two teams deeper, without realizing it.
Damian and Kaien's team finally arrived at a small clearing in the middle of the forest. Kaien, walking at the front, showed no hesitation. However, as soon as he stepped into the center, a faint sound was heard. Click.
Blue light immediately flashed on the ground, forming a rapidly expanding magic circle. In an instant, a transparent dome formed, engulfing Kaien and Damian, who instinctively pulled him back. Instead of saving him, Damian was trapped inside.
From outside, Rin and Tessa ran in panic. Liam and Elric also screamed, but their voices couldn't penetrate the dome. They could only make out the faint shadows of two people inside.
Inside the dome, the air turned tense. Illusions began to form. Dozens of enemy shadows appeared from all directions, charging relentlessly. Damian immediately raised an ice wall to protect himself, but the shadow attacks penetrated his defenses as if they were nothing.
"What the hell?!" Damian exclaimed, sweat dripping down his forehead.
Kaien closed his eyes for a moment, his expression calm despite the chaos. "It's a mental illusion. Their attacks aren't real... but they can break our focus. We must work together to destroy this dome."
"How?!" Damian replied quickly, tense.
Kaien opened his eyes and stared at him firmly. "Trust me."
Damian was silent for a split second, then nodded curtly. He channeled mana into the ground, forming a protective barrier of ice. Meanwhile, Kaien summoned the magic wolves even within the illusion. They combined their power and attacked the dome wall.
From the outside, the dome trembled violently. Fine cracks appeared, then shattered with a loud crash.
Damian and Kaien gasped, but remained upright. Sweat beaded on their faces.
Liam immediately shouted, "Master Damian, are you okay?"
Elric added mischievously, "If you can't escape from a dome like this, you're weak."
Tessa and Rin breathed a sigh of relief, though a faint smile appeared on their faces.
Damian lowered his head, holding his breath, while Kaien stared at him briefly with a faint smile. For the first time, Damian truly felt something different, that perhaps he could trust Kaien completely.
The two teams' pace quickened as they reached a more open forest. In the center of the area, a giant tree towered, its trunk thick and branches spreading wide. And at its peak, a bright red cloth fluttered, the flag they had been searching for.
All eyes immediately turned upward. Elric, standing at the front, pointed at the tree with exaggerated enthusiasm.
"This is my job! No one can match my climbing skills!" he declared confidently, before anyone else could even react.
Damian let out a short sigh, while Liam immediately covered his face with one hand, already predicting what was about to happen. Rin and Tessa exchanged glances, holding back laughter.
Elric began flexing his arm muscles like an athlete before a competition. "Watch and admire!" he exclaimed.
But before he could touch the tree trunk, Kaien, standing beside him, moved. Calmly, he raised his hand. A glowing magic circle appeared on the ground, and a large magical bird emerged, flapping its wings gracefully. The bird flew swiftly up the tree, its talons gripping the flag, and then dropped it to the ground.
The flag rolled toward Damian. Everyone turned. Elric stared blankly at the flag, which was now only a few steps away. His mouth hung open for a few seconds, until he finally shouted, "KAIENNNNN..."
Damian stepped forward, picked up the flag, and patted Elric on the shoulder. "You lost, buddy."
Rin burst out laughing. Tessa had to cover her mouth to keep it from going too loud, while Liam just let out a long sigh, giving Elric an "I told you so" look.
"Sorry," Kaien interrupted.
That comment intensified the atmosphere. Damian could only cover his mouth with both hands, hiding his smile.
Instructor Van, observing from a distance, shook his head slowly, jotting something down. This time, the trial was officially over, and Damian's team successfully retrieved the flag, although the method employed was not entirely serious.
End of Training.
Damian's team's footsteps sounded heavy as they finally emerged from the forest. Their breaths were still labored, their clothes covered in dust and mud. But in Damian's hand, the red flag still fluttered clearly. They were the first team to complete the task.
Instructor Van stood at the forest gate, staring at them with an unreadable expression. He lowered his notebook and nodded briefly.
"Your teamwork... is better than I expected."
Several other students who had just left turned to look at him, some whispering, others looking impressed. Damian didn't dwell on it. Instead, he glanced to the side, his gaze fixed on Kaien, who was walking not far from his team, along with Liam and Elric.
The curiosity he had been harboring since the magic trap finally became unbearable. In a low voice, Damian said, "Earlier... you could have gotten out of that trap on your own. Why did you wait for me?"
Kaien paused before answering. A faint smile appeared on his face, thin but unmistakable. "Aren't we on the same team?"
Damian paused. The answer was simple, but it sank deep into his mind. He could see the sincerity behind Kaien's gaze, something he found hard to ignore.
For the first time since Kaien's arrival, Damian felt a slight warmth in his chest. It was different from the suspicion or wariness he'd felt before. Something was slowly growing—perhaps trust, perhaps the beginning of something bigger.
Liam, who was walking behind, carrying his equipment, glanced at Damian. He smiled faintly, though he didn't say anything. Rin and Tessa were busy catching their breath, while Elric was still grumbling loudly about "Damian cheating."
Damian's thoughts were still on Kaien's words. One team.
And deep down, he knew, it was the first time he truly believed that Kaien might not be just another student. He was one of them.