The alarm blared through the dormitories. A red light pulsed across the hallways.
"First mission," Marcus muttered, already pulling on his gloves. His hands glowed faintly with residual energy from last night's healing.
I followed him outside, our bags slung over our shoulders. The campus training fields had transformed into a temporary mission zone. Wooden barriers, stone walls, and crates marked the objective: C-rank field retrieval mission.
"Easy," I said. "Or at least it should be."
Marcus didn't respond. He was scanning the area, calculating paths, barriers, and likely enemy positions.
I smirked. "You really take this seriously, huh?"
He gave me a faint smile. "If I don't, we'll die."
The briefing officer appeared via hologram.
"Retrieve the core object from the field. Enemy units are dangerous but manageable for a C-rank pair. Avoid unnecessary damage to the environment."
I glanced at Marcus. He raised an eyebrow.
"Seems simple," I said. "Right?"
"Simple doesn't mean safe," he replied, eyes sharp.
The moment we entered the field, a mutated training golem charged at us. Its limbs were thick, irregular, and bristling with spikes.
I stepped forward instinctively. "Stand back."
Marcus raised his hands. A faint barrier shimmered around us.
"Wait!" he warned. "I can heal you, but every hit you take… I feel it too. If you get injured badly, I won't be able to protect you after."
I smirked. "Noted. Don't get too dramatic on me."
The golem swung its massive arm. I dodged, countering with a punch that barely cracked the reinforced stone. It hit harder than I expected, sending debris flying.
Marcus flinched visibly. His glow dimmed slightly.
"See what I mean?" he muttered.
I ignored him. The creature lunged again. This time, I blocked it with my arm. Pain shot up my body—but that wasn't the worst part. Marcus's reaction was instantaneous: his glow flared as he tried to patch my wounds. His knees buckled slightly, his face paled.
I froze. The reminder hit me: I wasn't just fighting for myself. Every hit I took dragged him down too.
"Enough!" I yelled, and something inside me stirred.
I struck the ground with my fist, not to destroy, but to control the battlefield. The stones under the golem's feet cracked and shifted, forcing it to stumble.
Marcus caught himself against a nearby crate. "Careful! You're making me take it all!"
I gritted my teeth. "I know. Just… trust me."
The golem regained balance and swung again. This time, I used the debris to shield Marcus and redirected the attack, creating a small path toward the core object.
He took a deep breath, focusing his glow. The injuries I had sustained stabilized—but his posture sagged, exhaustion plain on his face.
"Not… much longer," he muttered. "Keep moving!"
I nodded. The adrenaline kicked in. We moved as a unit, silent but synchronized. His barriers protected me, and my evasive maneuvers kept him from being overwhelmed.
Finally, the core object glowed at the center of the field.
"Go!" I shouted.
Marcus sprinted forward, using a brief boost of healing energy to cover me, and we reached it.
The field was silent for a moment, both of us breathing hard. Marcus sank to one knee, his glow flickering weakly.
"You… did it," he said.
"We did it," I corrected.
He gave me a faint smile. "Next time… don't make me feel it this much."
I smirked. "Next time, you'll just have to survive it."
Neither of us spoke again for a while. Outside, the academy watched, noting our performance. Everyone assumed this pairing was lucky. Only we knew it wasn't luck—it was restraint, strategy, and an unspoken understanding: we couldn't fully trust ourselves yet.
And in the quiet after the mission, I realized something:
This wasn't just about surviving.
This was about learning to control our limits… together.
And I had a feeling the next mission would push us beyond anything either of us had faced.