“This…” Essairyn murmured and lightly stepped off the magic circle as if in a trance. “…looks exactly like the fairy settlements in the Spirit and Demon Forest. Except…it’s completely deserted with no homes… ”

Despite its lack of animation compared to the faelyte town of Miqun, the carved out hollows in the treetops were still a mystical sight beckoning the astonished travelers to walk through its spacious maze.

Darren glanced at the gap around the tree trunk which they had ascended, noting out loud, “This must be how they spied on us since the foliage is pretty continuous as far as I can see.”

Essairyn slowly walked on the boughs and ventured past the security of the large branches to the smaller ones. The interlaced floor didn’t even shake when she stomped on it, only the topmost layer quivered before bouncing back up. A quick flash of using it as a trampoline entertained her mind for a second.

“There’s no illusionary spell…” She mumbled pensively. “And while still solid, the roads are overgrown…an abandoned faelyte settlement?” If that theory wasn’t correct, then she supposed this forest could have been connected to the Spirit and Demon Forest at one point. Compared to others in the area, such as the one near the Welforts and on the mini-mountain range, this forest towered higher. And though plainer and smaller in size, it was similar to the Spirit-Demon Forest with many of the same types of trees and plants. Perhaps the spirits and demons living there attributed to more diversity of the flora? But if these two forests were once connected…then it must’ve been during the Great Elemental War before the terrain and land got messed up. She recalled a geography lesson about certain landforms that were created during the elemental gods’ battles.

Darren looked at her quizzically. “You think the fae people used to live here? If so, they sure didn’t leave anything behind. But it’s been centuries since they last roamed the world, and this area seems pretty tidy to me? I’d think it’ll be more overgrown with branches growing into this space after all that time.”

“True…unless…” Essairyn’s mind whizzed about. “…the knights keep it neat for an evaluation location.”

The two looked at one another in concurrent realization.

“If so,” began Darren thoughtfully, “then the question now is how the other side figured this secret out so quickly. Maybe it’s not that original of an idea, but with the stations on the ground, you wouldn’t think of climbing trees first, especially when most of the trainees are nonmagical and can’t reach this far. It’s highly possible that the Neu’arth students might know, though. Or, since Izlende Ryrarin is a mage, she realized this before us. I wouldn’t be surprised because of her prior experience in tactical situations. At the very least, if the knights know and purposefully withheld the information in order to add another hidden layer to the exercise, then––” Darren halted, reflecting upon his words. “Um, no pun intended. If that’s even considered a pun.”

Essairyn giggled and ushered him to continue.

“––we’re still following the rules because there’s no red paint marking off a ceiling to the playing field. So we should be safe to pursue whoever has the device up here.”

Essairyn grinned and gave a nod. As they sprinted off together, they kept a lookout for anyone else in their surroundings. But instead of a person, Essairyn spied a strangely flying leaf. Alarmed, she chased after the zooming leaf and snatched it from the air. As she drew the leaf closer, she discerned faint light particles around it trembling and dissipating. The interrupted magic bound to the leaf was unable to resist against her enclosed fingers.

“Huh!” The sound was louder than she anticipated due to her chagrin at finding out how the other team could communicate with one another. “Sneaky,” she murmured as her eyes narrowed, “but smart.”

“Nice catch,” said Darren, coming up behind her reading information sprawled on the leaf. “What does it say?”

“X to station 9. Party D wiped by 2. Device safe. Returning, Y.”

“Hmm, to think my silly guess was actually right on the money. It’s hard trying to predict what their strategy is from this alone. But, they might know where our device is from spying.”

Essairyn shook her head, replying, “I don’t think it’ll be that easy for them because of the wait time before being allowed to move. It hasn’t been thirty minutes yet, so they haven’t seen anyone recharging our device.” She paused and then added with a half-chuckle. “At least, I don’t think our team is stupid enough to do that… But, they could be relaxed in the beginning knowing it takes time to reach our base. Either way, going back to tell them about this finding will only let the spies and device get away.”

With the advantage of the other team not yet knowing that Essairyn and Darren had discovered their communication secret, the two made haste for station nine and ascertained their course by checking below the treetops through the trunk gaps.

Before arrival, they spotted the back of a person racing ahead of them. Reducing their footsteps to a hush, they watched the man ‘X’ jump down to station nine through a trunk gap. Approaching the gap, they stealthy observed the situation below. The man from earlier was explaining to someone who appeared to be the leader of the group. The leader didn’t seem too pleased and quickly shouted orders while gesturing. While Darren and Essairyn couldn’t hear anything, it was enough to see.

“It looks like they’re forming another group. Should we wait and ambush them when they come up?” Darren looked at Essairyn and she nodded in agreement. It was time to clean up what they had started.

They quickly hid behind some nearby tree trunks and counted down the seconds for the enemy’s arrival. A minute passed, and then two, and then four. Nearing five minutes, Essairyn finally popped up from her crouched position in exasperation.

“Just what’s taking them so long?!” She exclaimed under her breath and stormed over to the tree gap above station nine.

She knelt and peered down with narrowed eyes and palms flat against the leafy ground. To her surprise, a battle was well underway at the station. Their former assault group along with the secondary one were laying siege to the station and cutting off any means of exit for the opposition. In the time since they had left their group, reconnaissance had revealed that the yellow team had most of its forces spread out at each station under control. Unluckily for station nine, the wielder of the device happened to be there at the same time when the two assault groups launched their attack. While Essairyn didn’t know the specific details on what happened after they left their group, she smirked in mild amusement at the chaotic scene before her.

Seeing the girl’s entertained face after he left his hiding spot, Darren curiously bent over to look beyond the gap. At the sight of the tussle, he let out a snort. No wonder it was taking the spy and his new group so long to return.

“Well, I guess that’s that. The game ended without us actually stealing the device ourselves. Now we just watch to see whether our team lets this chance slip by.” Darren’s body loosened some of the previous built up tension and crossed his arms behind his head while observing the scuffle. “Or did you want to join the fight too?”

Essairyn shook her head and smiled. “It’s pretty fun watching from here. Besides, in case they miss the device, we’ll have to track it so that the spy doesn’t escape again.”

“True.” Darren leisurely bobbed his head once toward Essairyn. “That reminds me, in the fight earlier on our turf, did you notice that you feel hurt when you get hit, but there’s no cut?” He stood up straighter and gestured a slicing motion across his arm.

“Yeah, I was surprised that the knights programmed it that way. They probably reasoned it’s more beneficial for us to experience the physical hardships of war as they always lecture us about.” Essairyn’s tone was sarcastic upon speaking of the knight’s fiendish training methods.

“However, that does make worried about the simulated pain of death. I can’t even imagine what it must be like…” Essairyn shivered and subconsciously clutched her heart.

“Do you think that this is also part of their plan? For us to hesitate because we know how much pain we’re dealing to others?”

Darren’s words prompted a troubled sigh from Essairyn. “We always knew about the horrors of war, but only now, I suppose, can we actually feel some of it ourselves. Just like the simulated deaths—they may be without blood or actual loss of life, but it still evokes a strange feeling…I can’t help but feel repulsed despite knowing that I did it.”

Darren exhaled deeply while tipping his head back to peer up at the leafy canopy. “Just what is this game really for? Even with their safety precautions, it still feels so…cruel. I don’t understand. If this land is in a period of peace, then are they preparing for another war? But an actual full blown war hasn’t occurred since the Elemental one.”

Essairyn could only shake her head. “They’ve been doing this kind of combat evaluation for decades, maybe even centuries. We barely even know about the political-economic-social landscape of As’pyze much less across all of Sol’h’meyr. Since we’re unaccustomed to everything, we might be jumping to drastic conclusions.” Essairyn exhaled slowly as she continued with soft fervor.

“That’s why I want to travel this world. I feel like everything I’ve been reading is so limited. On the Elemental War, the goddess Cyrienne, why demons and spirits fight one another despite being born out of the same source, why elementals seem to be both revered and hated… It’s like what Lachlan told us, the history of Sol’h’meyr is propagated by those in power—magical power. I think…” Essairyn recalled the frigid treatment from her classmates and Aispin’s words on how high ranks were treated like idols. With Izlende Ryrarin’s sudden appearance, Essairyn now understood. “…this world might be more unequal and biased than I first thought.”

Darren chuckled wryly. “Well, it’s not like we aren’t used to that back on Earth. We’re all humans after all. Err, uhh, I guess not all of us are actually humans in this world, haha, but you know what I mean. We all still have flaws, so magic still can’t magically make everything right.”

“Yeah…and what even is right? Equality? In terms of opportunity? But people will still complain or be jealous, quick to point fingers at others rather than at themselves.” Essairyn sighed and lifted her hand up to a nearby leaf on a branch. “I thought freedom in this world granted by magic could fulfill my wishes for an exciting life, but in the end, I’m still—”

“We don’t have to find the answer yet.” Darren turned to Essairyn with a serious, earnest expression. “Isn’t that what life is all about? Finding your purpose, your happiness, whatever it is…”

A doleful yet comforted smile traced Essairyn’s lips. “Because in struggling, we are living. If life was easy, then this might as well be heaven.” She chuckled lightheartedly, easing them out of a heavy mood. Darren smiled warmly at her. But before he could say anything in return, an arrow suddenly landed in-between the two of them.

Essairyn blinked at the arrow which hadn’t even pierced the ground of foliage. She casually reached out and picked it up, twirling the shaft between her fingers. Spinning around to face the intruder, she whistled. “No wonder I didn’t feel any threat from behind me. That was a pretty lousy shot. You might want to practice archery a little more before trying to sneak attack. Good try though, and I know you’re behind a trunk three trees away from me, so there’s no point in hiding now.”

The man in question jerked in his hiding place, trying to remember how many trees away he was from the two members of the opposing blue team. He stood stiffly in place, still not wanting to reveal his location in case it was a bluff. In reality, Essairyn just made up any random number as she proceeded to step forward toward his ‘hiding spot.’ Hearing the girl’s footsteps, he opted out of being a sitting duck and bolted away before she got near. At least, he would have the advantage of distance to run away before they caught him.

Seeing the fleeing man, Essairyn shook her head amusedly. Instead of blindly walking straight to find his hiding spot, she sidestepped to the right in order to catch a glimpse of where he was. But the man inadvertently made her job easier, thinking that she wouldn’t be able to reach him in time. With a charming grin, she raced after him. In a matter of seconds, he was prone on the ground, dead from a slash to the back of the neck.

“Well that was easy.” She swung her blade as if to clean off imaginary blood and then insouciantly glanced at it before placing it back in its sheath.

“Do you think more spies are coming back not knowing the situation at station nine?” queried Darren once Essairyn was within range.

“Perhaps, but now with that sneak attack, we lost sight of the battle below. Although… I guess I got distracted before this even occurred.” She coughed, smiling sheepishly at Darren.

He lightly chuckled while shaking his head. “Let’s go join the fun then.” A roguish, lopsided grin flashed across his face, and she grinned back in agreement.

But just as they were about to jump down, a burst of silver light blasted several of their team members off their feet. Taken aback by the switch in the situation below, they crouched by the tree gap and observed as the three Neu’arth students swept through their blue team.

“Crazy…” Essairyn mumbled. “I can’t believe that they’re strong enough to face off our top players alone.”

“Yeah, they’re willingly fighting outnumbered at least five to ten times in order to let the low ranks group up on individuals. But, Izlende is allowed to use her magic in combat in order to raise the difficulty level, so I guess it’s not too unexpected that we’re being pushed back this hard.”

Essairyn bobbed her head at Darren’s deductions and smiled wickedly. “Then let’s give them a run for their money. Ready for surprise attack, part two?”

Darren smirked. “You know it.”

Rapidly approaching whistles drew Izlende’s attention to the skies. Seeing two figures slow their descent with magic a few meters above the ground in order to land both safely and swiftly, an excited grin spread across the young woman’s bored face.

“Gutsy, I like it.” A ring of magic extended from Izlende and blew nearby cadets away. Twirling her magic spear-staff, she dashed toward the two alighted travelers in anticipation.

“Where the hell were you two?!” Their former assault team leader bellowed upon them landing.

“Didn’t you see just now?” Darren said mock-innocently, pointing above them as he helped the other man push back a group of opponents surrounding him.

“Ha ha. Very funny.” The leader turned away with a last grudging reproach. “You could have arrived sooner. The tables have turned against us with the Neu’arthans arriving. Even these low ranks are annoying now that they’re ganging up on us like this.”

“Jeez man, you’re really starting to sound like Hætherin!” Darren joked nonchalantly as he fended off an opponent with a shove of his sword. Essairyn’s ways seemed to be rubbing off on him. But perhaps, this was his true nature that was finally starting to relax and reveal itself.

The leader shook his head, saying nothing. He wasn’t surprised by Essairyn’s stunt ever since being in the same class with her. But he figured at least Darren wouldn’t be the same based off his initial impression of him earlier that day. However, it appeared the rumor was true about them being travelers who arrived together. Eccentricity among travelers wasn’t uncommon.

Thus, after surreptitiously observing Darren’s combat abilities, the leader mentally accepted him into the advanced class. He was unlike the others who loathed such cases of partiality. As long as those who moved up from lower classes were capable, he paid no further mind to the situation. But not everyone was like the straight-laced assault team leader. Most didn’t care one way or another after an initial spark of jealousy. It was the outspoken ones who ended up setting the tone of the entire class.

“Welp, here she comes,” announced Essairyn as she took a defensive stance. To be cautious, she had chosen to not land near Izlende but kept her eyes on her while descending. "Of course she was the only one who looked up before we landed.”

Essairyn stepped forward to met Izlende’s heavy strike with her blade, feeling the vibration of clashing metal tingling in her fingertips. After skidding a few feet from the blow, Essairyn leapt backwards to regain distance as Darren struck from behind the silver-haired girl. Anticipating the strike, Izlende swiveled on her heel and blocked it before dodging Essairyn’s incoming combo attack.

“Huh, not bad, cadets,” she complimented after the swish of Essairyn’s blade left the vicinity of her face.

“…not a cadet.”

“Hm?” Izlende looked at Essairyn who stared her down for a split second before charging forward with a sharp stab and pivot into multiple slashes.

“I’m not a knight cadet.”

Essairyn’s self-assured whisper tickled Izlende’s ear as she dodged and parried. Surprised by such forceful attacks, Izlende found her body unconsciously retreating. But just as she realized and belatedly dodged a sneak attack from Darren, she found a familiar figure by her side.

“Having trouble?” Theryn sniggered as he fended off Darren.

“Not at all, I was just…pleasantly surprised by a few trainees.” Izlende gritted her teeth but was smiling broadly at Essairyn who didn’t let up the heat.

“Rakun is handling most of them by himself, so no worries on his end. He seems to be having a blast in fact.” Theryn reported casually while exchanging blows with Darren.

“I’m not surprised. That stoic, gentle face can’t hide his love for sword fighting. He’s a total nerd, way more than Ennrion who only picked it up as a matter of course.”

Theryn chortled. “Yeah, Ennrion only has eyes for you, after all.”

Izlende blushed faintly. “Shut up and concentrate.”

“Roger, madam.”

The silver-haired girl wasn’t even able to roll her blue-gray eyes at Theryn with Essairyn’s continuous onslaught. She felt as if the other girl was slightly improving as their fight continued. Intrigued, Izlende asked, “What’s your name?”

Essairyn raised an eyebrow as a corner of her mouth quirked up in amusement. “Essairyn. You can call me ‘Sairyn.’ Nice to meet you, Izra.”

Izlende burst out laughing and leapt backwards for a brief respite. “The pleasure is mine…Sairyn.” She grinned charmingly as she burst forward to clash blades. “So you didn’t join the Order, I take it?”

Essairyn smiled as she launched herself off a horizontal block of Izlende’s staff and spun over the head of the other girl. “Yep.” Landing while rotating, she delivered a slash to the back and whispered, “In fact…” But the blow only hit Izlende’s shoulder as she turned to face Essairyn again while hopping away. “I’m joining that same mission in Farinheld with you.”

“Oh?” Izlende glanced at her invisible wound as her gray bracelet flashed a green bar fleetingly. “So you’re the mage Bodraig was referring to in his magigram? Haha! No wonder your blows have so much force behind them––you’re enhancing them with magic. I rather envy you.”

Confused, Essairyn tipped her head as they looked at one another in a short pause. Seeing her expression, Izlende chuckled. “They call me a battle mage, but I’m actually just a white mage that heals.” She pointed to the scar on her head. “The reason why I can do more is because of the power I gained from a spirit god that fought a demon god. She felt bad that I almost died in their scuffle, so she bestowed me greater magic. Otherwise, it’s not possible for a white mage to be anything more than a support.”

Fascinated by the story of Izlende’s scar, Essairyn felt her eagerness for the Farinheld mission soar. I was doubtful at first, but to be working with such amazing teammates… I can learn so much from their experiences! But shortly after her speech, Izlende gave Essairyn no more time to think as they returned to fighting.

In the middle of their clashes, Essairyn heard Darren shout in pain. Alarmed, she disengaged Izlende to cast a glance at his situation fighting Theryn. Seeing the determination in Darren’s dark hazel orbs even as his green bar plummeted below half, Essairyn’s panic abated. She couldn’t interfere when she already was struggling to make any gains on Izlende, but jumping into his fight would do neither of them any good in the long run if they stayed together. Only he could break his limits.

However, upon returning to her fight, Essairyn saw Theryn about to land a vital strike on Darren from the corner of her vision. Just as the blow was about to connect, an abrupt holler snapped the tension.

“HALT!” Hætherin’s booming voice out of nowhere froze everyone in place. “The yellow team’s device was picked up and placed at blue team’s base by Leœss Grange! This mock battle is over. Return to your quarters and await your individual evaluation results tomorrow.”

At the news, everyone relaxed as cheers of victory erupted among the blue team. Senior knights in other areas announced the end of the mock battle, and the trainees helped their ‘dead’ comrades up who had awakened from their slumber and slowly headed back to campus.

“Are you okay?” Essairyn frowned at Darren’s exhausted face.

“I’m fine.” He replied unconvincingly. “I just have a long way to go when I can’t hold my own against a knight ranked the same as me.”

Essairyn gave small, empathetic smile. “I feel you. Izlende is the same knight rank as Theryn. Even if she’s stronger in combat than him because of her mage abilities, it doesn’t feel so great knowing she still held back.”

“You mean by not using magic against you?”

“Yeah, she only amplified her body and strikes with magic, as if she was under the same constraints as me. So, I would’ve been one of those trainees easily blown away if she had decided to use a spell. There’s no way I could 1v1 her under that circumstance or even if I could use magic myself.”

“That bad, huh?”

“Well, she’s a rank B mage.” Essairyn shrugged helplessly. “I may not know my rank until the end of this two-week training, but I do know that it’s not B rank, haha!” She smiled weakly and looked down. Despite combat abilities and overall skills being a part of one’s mage or knight rank, the cap was set at an individual’s regular m’u. Thus, same ranked knights and mages could vary greatly depending on expertise. A core goal of early training was to match one’s abilities to their magic capacity before exceeding either or both in specialized studies.

“I thought living an ordinary life was enough for me,” Essairyn began slowly, “I was okay. But I was just fooling myself. Some part of me never gave up that dream.”

Darren paused to decipher her ambiguous words. “…What’re you trying to say?”

Lucid lavender eyes suffused with quiet intensity bore into his own. “Do whatever you want Darren. What others say you can or can’t do… You can do whatever you want.”

The words almost seemed laughable in their simplicity. Yet they stirred him, pricked his core. He fully understood her message which was like a continuation of their treetop conversation before they were interrupted. This girl was a figure who always seemed spontaneous yet sure of herself, by his side, yet ahead of him at every step. He thought he wouldn’t ever be able to piece together this irregular puzzle, but in reality, she was the same as him as he was to her.

Wanting to be more than what they were. Wanting more than what opportunities were given to them. Wanting more out of life and yet never daring to take that step beyond the ordinary. They were not the only ones who had ever felt this way. Perhaps it was a smoldering longing shared by every individual that eventually dwindled to ash in light of their truth—the truth of their existence dictated by the world and their circumstances.

He didn’t say anything. She could read his eyes to know that he understood. So with the faintest quirks of a smile, she gestured with her head to follow their team after Leœss.

“Still never got to talk to that dude, so I better catch him now.”

Darren returned the light atmosphere with his own smile and murmur of agreement. Walking through the forest together, they quickly caught up to Leœss who was surrounded by advanced and intermediate students clapping his back in a congratulatory manner.

However, an ashen brunette who had been a part of their primary assault team looked none too pleased by Leœss who was in the secondary assault team. She felt as if the honor had been stolen from her and groused loudly.

“That was anticlimactic. It wasn’t even an hour, and yet they boasted that this game would take us forever!” She harrumphed with a roll of her amber eyes and hand on her hip before sending Leœss a glare of distaste. “Too bad the standard has lowered this round of recruiting. What a bore.” With a final click of her tongue, she turned to leave.

“Apologize.”

She turned around at the threatening voice. It was Leœss. Her scowl twisted into a smirk. “About what?”

“You know.” Leœss stated calmly, staring straight into her eyes. “The Knights made this decision after evaluating that the intermediate class wasn’t suitable for me.”

“Tch.” She scoffed and turned away. “Whatever.”

A secure hand on her shoulder prevented her from leaving. She jerked her head back to glower at Leœss, challenging his intentions to fight. He merely stared with the same expression.

“Hold up.” Two burly arms separated the two figures who looked like they were about to exchange fists. “Enough with that. The game is over.”

“Well I’m done here.” She spat and whipped her ponytail in the air as she spun haughtily away. “I don’t want to be around the cheats who don’t belong here.”

“Cheats? What do you mean?” The man narrowed his eyes at her.

“Exactly what I said.” She raised her brows lightly and pointed flippantly at Leœss and Darren. At that remark, Essairyn lurched forward at the girl, but Darren lifted an arm up to block her. The message he sent over his shoulder with his eyes told Essairyn to not get involved.

“Instead of being petty, maybe you should focus on doing something that catches their attention rather than whining.” Unknowingly, Darren had struck a nerve with the brunette who had great difficulty entering the advanced classes.

Toning down her reddened face, the girl mockingly remarked, “That’s rich coming from you. At least this dude was at the top of his class.” She jutted out her chin at Leœss disparagingly. Seeing Darren’s face mix with confusion, she guffawed. “What a way to take advantage of your connections.”

“Hey, stop making the situation worse. What’s with you today?” The former assault team leader stepped forward, frowning in displeasure.

“Just ask her.” The girl continued with a head jerk in Essairyn’s direction, ignoring the former leader. She tromped away after a final sweeping glare at everyone.

Darren followed the indicated direction and met surprised lavender orbs. He tipped his head to the side, perplexed why Essairyn was suddenly brought into this.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” He said with a half-hearted laugh. But instead of Essairyn quelling the unpleasant, churning suspicion arising in his gut by laughing along with him, her face was serious with a tinge of nervousness. “Essairyn?”

Her brows furrowed and then loosened and then furrowed again as her thoughts wavered on what to say. She didn’t want to lie, and yet she couldn’t tell the truth for fear of hurting the stronger connection they had formed today.

“Essairyn.” Darren’s face hardened. His tone demanded answers to her silence. “Did you also ask the Knights to let me join the advanced classes?”

She looked hesitantly up at Darren, her eye contact swaying as she strove to utter reasonable words. How does she know? And why did she reveal it now of all times?! Her mouth opened and closed like a fish. She internally yelled at herself. Why can’t I say anything? I should just say it casually like it’s no big deal. Why am I acting like this? Deep down, she didn’t want to admit it, that she was afraid of how he would react.

After their last argument, she was worried he would change his mind and stay in Byar’non, leaving her behind. He was the last link she had to Earth, a reminder of her past life, that she actually lived in another world, that this still wasn’t a dream. So that she could remember. So that she could retain her memories of everyone. Essairyn felt that if she were the only traveler, she might just forget everything like it was a dream, as if this had been her only reality. Wanting to forget, wanting to remember. Both freedom and confinement from her past. She needed someone with her on this journey that connected to her past, no matter how faint. But she denied this within herself because her self-inflicted amnesia in order to forget the pain of what she had lost was only just beginning.

Darren too, was the same in this balancing game of memories. But it hadn’t struck him yet because of Essairyn’s almost constant presence since he arrived. Unlike him, she had started alone without anyone to explain to her what happened. In this this moment, however, he could only focus on Essairyn’s dubious behavior.

“You… Please tell me you didn’t ask after I specifically asked you not to.” His tone was accusing yet pleading to be wrong. Her silence confirmed his suspicion. “You did?” His voice softened in vehemence, underlaid with disappointment.

“Why…” He shifted his head, furrowing his brows as he struggled to grasp what he most wanted to say. “Why do you have to decide things for me?” His eyes narrowed indignantly, desperately. He couldn’t understand the girl’s motive. The power separation between them was clear. Why did she have to forcefully drag him to her level and further make it obvious to everyone that he didn’t belong? That… he didn’t belong in this world.

“I’m sorry!” She urgently blurted. “I just thought it would be better if—”

“If I moved up when I wasn’t supposed to because I wanted to join a mission I wasn’t supposed to?!” Darren’s pitch elevated as he stumbled on. “It’s great that you can convince the Knights like that, but how about me?” Sarcasm cut his words. “I can’t do that. I can’t do anything that you do! So, we’re the same knight rank?! I’m—!!” He briefly paused as he quelled his cursory tirade and clenched his fists. “I’m not like you.”

His voice dipped into a distinct whisper. “I thought… we had gotten closer. And that I could understand you now. But… I was wrong.” He straightened his tense posture and stared at her firmly. "We’re too different, Essairyn. …Maybe, it’s better that I don’t join you after all.”

“What’re you, confessing?” A random boy wised off with a stifled snicker.

Darren stiffened at the inapt remark and snapped his head toward the wise-ass, cursing sharply for him to leave. “––jackass.” He grumbled under his breath before registering the spectating crowd. “What’re you all watching?” He barked, waving his hands for them to scram. After they reluctantly began dispersing, he huffed to himself and spun to walk away.

“Wait!” Essairyn rushed over earnestly. “I’m really sorry! It’s my fault. I didn’t think that it would turn out like this and make you so upset. Are you really not going now?”

Darren peered at her from the side, silent as he swallowed down hurtful words. You were going to pretend that you never had any involvement and silently lie to me forever? Why? Why do you go to these lengths? We don’t even know each other that— His steely expression wavered underneath.

Despite his insecurities about his own abilities, he still honestly wanted to participate in the mission. He wanted to stay with Essairyn and learn more about this world. He just hated this feeling of losing out. It was just like when he tore his ACL. He could never play basketball the same anymore after the surgery. Soon, everyone was getting ahead of him. He couldn’t understand why others recovered just fine, but he was falling behind. It was a minor injury, he would repeatedly tell himself. It’s no big deal. He would be back to normal in a few months. But he didn’t get recruited into the the college teams he desired. And he didn’t want to settle for some no name group.

However, both that and the injury were excuses. He was just too afraid to go after what he wanted. Perhaps, he was never that passionate about basketball, he would tell himself. Where did people get their passion and drive from? He always wondered about that. Maybe, people just did things they were good at because others gave them compliments, and accomplishing something above average made them feel better about themselves. They thought this talent must be their calling. But then, they’d realize how small their talent was in comparison to others. They questioned themselves why they were doing this in the first place, asking if they even enjoyed doing this. They gave up because they would never be able to catch up. And the potential of their talent was lost forever.

Thus, upon realizing that his newfound superhuman abilities weren't unusual in this world, Darren was naturally dispirited. So, he stubbornly turned away, unwilling to admit defeat to Essairyn. Unfortunately, he had met his match in stubbornness. There was no way Essairyn was going to let him leave on this sour note.

“Hold up!” She whirled around in front of Darren with her palm out to stop him. “Don’t tell me that you’re going to listen to them! So what if I asked the Knights? They were the ones that agreed. And you know how they are, they like putting us through misery!” Darren nearly had to bite the inside of his mouth to restrain a smile or laugh from escaping at her brutally blunt description of the Knights. “And whether or not those mean words are true—they’re not—are up to you!” She finished boldly with a fierce gaze.

He sighed. This girl was just too much. “I don’t care.” He lifelessly replied and stepped around her. She swooped right back in front to block him. “Hey!” He frowned at her and dodged to the left. She shifted to mirror him.

Frustrated, but not wanting to publicly vent as he had just done before, he closed his eyes and contained it. Essairyn stared at him standing still. Just as she wondered if she pushed him too far and was about to ask if he was all right, Darren suddenly unsheathed his sword and knocked her away with a direct blow.

Completely off guard, she was swept a few meters to the side, pulling up grass along the way. Clutching her stomach from the bitter swipe, she staggered up from the uncovered dirt beneath her feet. “Haha, you didn’t hold back. Good.” Her eyes twinkled ambiguously. “I deserved that honestly.”

Darren’s forehead crinkled with mixed emotions. He didn’t expect her to take the brunt of the blow. Based on her typical reaction time and casting speed, she should have blocked it with a barrier. But he had forgotten that they were still wearing the bracelets that limited external magic flow until they exited the playing field or the day was over. Shoot. I just wanted to trick her in order to leave so that I could properly think instead of yelling at her again. But now I actually hurt her… But damn, I want to wipe that smirk off her face now.

Darren narrowed his eyes at her provocative air. This girl had the habit of provoking him at the most unforeseen moments. Exhaling a long breath, he resigned himself up to his fate. Under these conditions, now was as good of a time as ever to spar with Essairyn whose magic was limited. He had secretly wanted to test himself against her, and unexpectedly, he had created the perfect situation for it to occur.

With a steady arc of his sword, Darren readied his stance. Seeing this, Essairyn grinned. Communication could also be delivered wordlessly through the crossing of swords. It was an unspoken challenge between the two of them. Whoever won would win this argument. They would fight themselves out of a fight.