Chapter: Survival Exam

Two weeks had passed and it was finally the day of the Survival Exam. Personally, I was excited to go on this Exam, since it should allow me to compare myself to other students, but I can't say the same for Hanako as she seemed a little nervous as did Catherine. Everyone from the RisingSun was done eating breakfast and were ready to head out.

"Good to see you all ready on time, head into the survival camp strong and come out strong, show them what the RisingSun Dorn is all about! " Silva announced with a smile

"No matter the challenge, remember to give it your all okay," Louis said as he waved to us from the Risingsun balcony

"Right!" We all said at the same time

We all waved goodbye before making our way to the Academy busses, where we were met by every first-year student that was attending the Survival Exam.

"Every student has been sent a message, check your student portals, the number you are given is the bus you will board" An announcement was made through the multiple speakers that were around

"Bus number 34," I said looking at my portal

"I'm also 34, Hanako said looking at her portal

"67" Krow said looking at his portal

"15," Catherine said

"Sweet I'm also 15," Leo said

"30," Catherine said

"Looks like I'm also 30"

"Well, good luck to you all! I'll be seeing you all again" I said with a smile

We all waved to each other, before going off to our designated buses

Slowly we all made it onto the busses, there were about 90 rows of busses to fit all of us and when every student was finally on a bus, the buses took off to who knows where. The bus I was on was filled with so many interesting looking students, and just by gazing at them I could tell, there were a lot of strong ones. Hanako and I sat next to each other in the middle row of the bus.

"Ken and Hanako!, haven't seen you two in a while," Josh said from the seat in front of us on the opposite lane

"Oh hey Jo" I replied

"It's Josh, not Jo!" Josh replied a little annoyed, that I keep forgetting his name

"My bad, anyways how are you feeling about this exam?" I asked

"Well I feel the same way most people feel, which is curious and a little anxious"Josh replied

"I wonder what the first survival task is going to be?" Hanako asked

"According to my data analysis, it should be some sort of task involving the mind and how we cope under pressure," a girl said sitting across from me and Hanako

"and who are you?" Josh asked

"I'm Annie" the girl replied as she was deep into her laptop that was resting on her lap

Annie had short black hair, with bangs hanging over her eyes, wearing big round glasses that brought out her cuteness. She had sunflower yellow eyes that made her intelligence shine. She stood around 1.626 meters tall.

"What makes you think that?" I asked

"Well two weeks before now, I made it my job to at least have an idea of the first task and through my research, I've concluded that it's going to be a mental task" Annie replied still deep into her computer

"Something to do with the mind huh?...then it'll most likely involve illusion magic," I said as I rubbed my chin

After a forty-five minute drive, we finally arrived at a shipping port. I looked out the window and saw several giant cruise ships docked. I've never seen a ship this big, just looking at it was overwhelming but it was also amazing! I can't wait to board it. All the academy busses had arrived, and slowly all the students were allocated to a ship.

The inside of the cruise ship was enormous, filled with luxury furniture and countless rooms, as well as restaurants, it was like living in a palace. This was normal for many students but for me, it was simply spectacular. Everyone slowly got comfortable and started to enjoy their journey to our destination. Hanako, Cathrine, Koko, and Mira headed straight for the bathhouse, while Krow, Drew, and Leo accompanied me on exploring the ship since my curiosity was practically forcing me to, otherwise I wouldn't be satisfied.

"Wohhhhh, I feel like a billionaire!" I said with an overwhelmed look "I can't wait to go home and tell Lily all about this!"

"Yeah I know exactly what you mean," Drew said looking around also amazed

"Everything is so classy, this is what it must feel, to be a noble" Said Leo, who was also amazed

"Yes, I could definitely get used to this" Krow added on

"I'm liking how this Exam is starting off!" I said as I jumped from one place to another, amazed by absolutely everything

"Let's enjoy this trip while we can" Said Drew

We walked around for an hour or so looking at all the different facilities within the ship, it had a large indoor pool, a small hospital, an arcade, even a full set bowling alley, and many more, and we tried them all. But as we explored the ship Krow and I started to realize that there are no teachers on this ship, in fact, there was no living being in this ship apart from us students, all the facilities were operated by robots, including the waiters.

"This is strange," I said, as we walked down an empty hallway

"Yeh I agree, no teachers supervising a bunch of students on an expensive ship that's sailing to who knows where...is definitely suspicious" Krow added on agreeing with me

"Well it doesn't bother me one bit," Leo said with a malicious smile "it just means that there are no rules"

"Leo whatever trouble you're thinking of starting, don't" Drew said glaring down at Leo

"Maybe this is part of the exam" I suggested

Just before anyone else could say anything, a loud scream echoed throughout the hallway we were in.

"That came from the lounge room, let's hurry," I said before we all ran off towards the lounge room

When we arrived at the scene, we were all shocked at what just happened, on the ground was the lifeless body of a female student. All the students standing around were confused as well as shocked, the scene puzzled them.

"W-what the hell is happening?…" One of the students said with a puzzled look

"Is she…d-dead?..." Said another student

"When did...th-this..happened?"

It took time for them to realize what just happened, a fellow student is dead on the ground. Soon most of the students started to panic, screaming and running, but you can't blame them, that's a normal reaction in an event like this.

"Hey guys, come take a look at this" Krow said as he looked out the many windows of the ship

Drew, Leo, and I looked out the window, only to see that the entire ship was surrounded by a thick fog that seemed to spam forever, you could no longer see the other cruise ships or the sea. "The hell is happening now!?" Leo asked confused

"Since when did we submerge in this thick fog?" Drew asked "and it seems like not many people have realized it"

"This isn't just any normal fog," Krow said as he looked at the three of us "It's a Phantom Nest"

"What's a Phantom Nest?" Drew asked

"It's an expert level illusion and summoning spell, the fog is riddled with countless phantoms that prey on fear and eat the souls of those that are afraid" I explained

"And with this massive panic, it's only going to be easier for the phantoms to cast fear and steal souls" Krow added on

Just then, a swarm of pale distraught ghosts came rushing into the ship, flying around in a chaotic manner attacking anyone that was filled with fear and anyone on the verge of being filled with fear. The phantoms only made the situation worse, some students tried to attack the phantoms with several spells, but just as expected it was no use, their spells had no effect as they just passed through the phantoms as if they were hitting air. Soon more students started to drop on the ground soulless as the phantoms entered their bodies and ate their souls.

"This isn't looking good! Let's go look for Hanako and the others, and make sure they are okay" I shouted over all the background noise

Before we could continue forth, a group of phantoms blocked our way, Leo cast a fire spell but it simply phased through the phantoms.

"That's useless Leo, normal spells and physical attacks won't be useful against them," Krow said

The once luxury ship is now a total mess and in chaos, completely different from how it originally was. More students were dropping to the ground by the minute and the chaos only made the situation worse, which brought in more and more phantoms.