Sitting in a carriage was actually pretty nice for a change. He would be on time if he were to walk, but getting to relax a bit in the cart before it all starts was very refreshing. Hanma had been picked up by a farmer on his way to Fiery Forest. To his surprise, he wasn’t the only one in the carriage who was going to be taking the exam.

“Always happy to pick up future explorers. You’ll be the one keeping us alive after all!” While the man wasn’t completely wrong, he did sound like he had no idea how dungeons actually operated. Monsters didn’t leave its premises as they were bound to it. Although dungeons could spawn in important places, like the mine in Cairn, it didn’t mean that they were in any life-threatening danger.

The man was laughing a bit too over-enthusiastic, nobody really replied to him. A small ‘thanks’ was all he got.

Before Hanma left he went to see Garth. After all, why would he even bother if Garth decided to go alone and get killed? He notified him of his plans and asked him to wait for a week. Garth couldn’t be happier and said he’d likely be training anyway before actually attempting the dungeon. He did find it odd that the guild made no attempt at all to put a bounty on the dungeon. Even if they had more pressing matters, how long would it really take to put up a bounty? It’s as if they purposely didn’t want anyone in there. Maybe they had a feud with the Tsutharoth mining company? No one seemed to be able to want to answer that.

There were two other travelers in the carriage. A boy with a rather large basket that he sat down on the ground after climbing in the cart. It was sealed off properly so nobody could see what was in it. He had one of those farmers hats and looked downwards so it was rather hard to see his face. The other one looked older. The other boy was a bit older, had a small sword strapped to his belt and was currently sound asleep. He didn’t mind the bumping and rocking of the carriage at all. His hair was shaved into the form of a mohawk and very short. His clothes looked like old rags it had picked up somewhere. One would guess he could have been homeless but the sword told you otherwise. It was in pristine condition, though a bit weird to wear one without scabbard. Hanma thought he may have lost it somehow and should get one before accidentally cutting himself.. Hanma himself was carrying an axe it had forged a while ago. It had not been sold yet so he took it himself. He wasn’t quite as versatile with the sword yet.

After a while, the carriage came to a halt. “This is as close as I get! Good luck to you all!”

Hanma walked to the front of the carriage and said his thanks. He noticed the other two had already left. He followed them but didn’t talk to them. The two in front of him seemed to get along after a while and he picked up some of their small chats about where they came from and what their goal was. The farmer’s boy wanted to be secured of a spot in his town’s guild if the time ever arose he would want to become a full-fledged explorer. The ragged clothed one said it came from out of the mountains a day or four from here. His family is one with great explorers so naturally, he had to become one as well, he reasoned.

The farmland was left behind as they walked into the forest. After an hour of walking with nothing happening in particular, the forest seemed to change. Now and then you would see a red tree sprout between the green ones but as they strode on they became more and more frequent until the green was fully replaced with red. They had entered the Fiery Forest.

“It’s not far from here.” the farmer turned to Hanma. “Just a little more and we should reach the rendezvous area. From there on out we have a couple of hours to rest.”

“Ah, thanks. How is it you know all this?” Hanma asked the farmer boy.

“It’s not my first time I’m partaking in the trial. Last time was a bit…. Well let’s say things did not go as I was expecting them to. I ate the wrong kind of mushrooms, not the ones that make you sick, and I started tripping really bad. Somehow I woke up at the entrance and was disqualified. Not that I could go on anyway.” The farmer was awkwardly smiling. This was also the first time they had a conversation and somehow Hanma felt like he could become friends with him. Something he rarely did.

“I’m Hanma. Nice to meet you.” Hanma put his arm forward.

“Tak, nice to mee you Hanma.” Tak shook his hand.

“My name is Wackerion, friends call me Wacko.” Hanma had a quick giggle when he heard that.

“Nice to meet you as well.” Instead of walking behind the two he now walked with them. He started telling a little bit about himself as well. He thought it wouldn’t hurt.

“You’re a blacksmith? How cool! You must be trying to become a wandersmith right?” Tak couldn’t keep in his excitement when he heard it.

“Uhm.. not really. There’s something I need to do in my village and it involves entering a dungeon. What’s past that, I have no idea.”

“Well, I’m sure you’ll do good. You seem strong. I guess all blacksmith are strong seeing as they are doing hard labor all day. I’m in the field but most of the animals do all the hard work. That and I mostly tend to the small animals.”

They continued to have a chat and after a couple of minutes, they saw the clearing where they are supposed to meet. In the back stood a gate that would be the entrance of the exam grounds. The perimeter was set off with a small fence and spanded several kilometers wide. Crossing that small fence would mean immediate disqualification. This much Hanma knew but that was all his father had explained to him. He believed it was best to try it rather than him explaining everything. He had also meant for him to take the exam when he returned from his expedition. Naturally, that thought hadn’t crossed Hanma’s mind for a while.

“Welcome! The name’s John. I’ll be your examinator for the next couple of days. Please join the group, you should be the last to arrive. If not I’ll give them a seperate explanation.”

Hanma, Tak, and Wacko joined the group of teenagers who were already sitting down on the grass facing John. In total there were around 20 of them.

“Today we will be the start of the Survival exam of this year. Currently, forty of them are held around the country and you can be proud of yourself to attend one of them. The challenge ahead will be rough, but let’s not fret about that. I am sure most of you will make it if you keep your wits about!”

John told them about the perimiter and not to cross it unless you wanted to be disqualified. Furthermore that the area did not have any monsters roaming around. They did a full sweep of the area before today. This did not mean that wild animals, which roamed the forest, would ignore them. That’s why it was permitted to bring a weapon but only a weapon.

You couldn’t take any other tools with you. Hanma quickly took off his ring and slowly put it in his pocket. He certainly wasn’t planning on giving it to anyone so it was best he hid it.

At last, he told them about the time limit. They had seven days to get back to this very clearing. If they got lost and didn’t make it in time there would be a team sent out to rescue them. Depending on how deep into the forest they were it could take a couple of hours. They would then be escorted back but not given a copper badge which signaled that they had completed the exam.

“That’s all. Any questions?” Nobody seemed to have a question for John.

“Alright, you can rest for now. I’ll call you all to gather ten minutes before we start.” The three boys that met eachother on the road stood up and began walking to a tree to rest at.

“You there, farmer boy. Come here real quick. I’ve got to check the contents of that basket.”

“Yessir!” Tak put down his basket in front of John and opened it up.

“I see, it would be quite bothersome if you had to carry that in your hands yes. Well alright, it’s permitted. Just be careful with it alright?”

“Will do!” Tak walked back to the duo and they went to sit under a tree.

“I am going to rest for a bit. Don’t mind me” said Wacko.

“Same here.” Tak also laid down. Hanma soon followed but he didn’t know if he could actually rest. He was beginning to feel very nervous right now.

I hope John didn’t notice my ring. I don’t see anybody else wearing any jewelry. Also, what’s with this year's trial. Normally you’d had to venture out into the forest and the perimeter would be a lot smaller. Does this mean we can complete the trial in less than seven days? I should have asked John when I had the chance. Gotta stop hesitating like that. Time to rest now.