(Author

---------------Chapter 16: Phoenix Squadron----------------

"Greetings and welcome to the royal hunting grounds. My name is Julio and I will be your proctor. All who anger me will die so be silent!" Julio shouted as the mages and Practitioners gathered. "I don't care who you are or how powerful you are. This trial requires a party of no less than five and no more than five. If the number dwindles, that is your problem. Collectively, only the top fifty groups that bring the most magical beast cores get to continue. In short, the maximum number of people expected to move to the final trial is two hundred and fifty. I know for a fact that there are well over a thousand of you left. How many, I don't care. The lowest amount of people expected to pass, if all four other members of a party die, is fifty."

"Now, mages and Practitioners, the time has come for the fourth trial to begin. Once you confirm a party of five, you will be given a rank 4 magical beast egg of a Blazing Phoenix. One person must choose to own the phoenix. That person must protect the phoenix egg. If the egg does not get stolen or breaks within three days, you pass," Julio beamed. "You don't expect to be given a phoenix egg and not pay a price? Well, you have five minutes to form a team. The guards will tell you the details. Good luck."

Many mages silently cursed the man while the Practitioners hastily formed parties. Agemo found Bakura and the others and they had to decide who would own the egg. Agemo immediately told them he didn't want it. The real reason that he didn't was because he already had an Emerald Steel Dragon egg. Of course, he didn't tell them that. In the end, Bakura was chosen. Karen was the only mage so she couldn't have the egg as they might need her against other mages. Jasper and Kairi were both at the peak of the second stage. In the end, Bakura took the egg as he was the weakest and the party would lose less fighting power if he was chosen.

"Ah yeah, rank 4 magical beast and it's a phoenix!" Bakura cheered as he got the egg from a guard.

"As you carry the egg, you are the official leader of the party. You must now choose a name for your party before beginning the trial," the guard said as an attendant wrote their names on a scroll.

"What?" Jasper and Karen cried, paling as they dreaded what name Bakura would choose.

"BWAHAHAHA! No way! Oh, this is awesome. I feel the power," Bakura cried and caressed the phoenix egg. "I declare my party to be the Phoenix Squadron. Yeah. That's it. The Phoenix Squadron.

"Very well. The Phoenix Squadron has been verified as the party of Bakura Asano. Leader is Bakura Asano. Mage present in squadron. Mage is Karen Song. Practitioners present in squadron. The three others are Agemo Miura, Jasper Fowl, and Kairi Yamada. Bakura Asano has been given a phoenix egg. The requirement to pass is one demonic core of a rank 4 magical beast or three demonic cores of a rank 3 magical beast. Note that ranks do not determine how powerful it is, but its potential and how dangerous it is. If, at the end of three days, you fail to meet any of those conditions and Bakura Asano does not possess a phoenix egg, you will fail."

"Be advised that most magical beasts of the first and second rank are weaker than you. However, do not underestimate them if they travel in groups. Most of them are found in the forest, but you're quarry hides in the mountain region of the hunting grounds," the attendant continued. "Most rank 3 and 4 magical beasts are of the second and third stage. Guard the leader well and I wish you luck, Phoenix Squadron."

"I get to keep the egg right?" Bakura asked while the others headed into the forest.

"After the period of three days, it is your choice to break, eat, keep, sell, or hatch the egg," the attendant said. "To hatch it, you must pour spirit energy into it. However, note that a phoenix chick is hard to raise and more difficult to keep safe than an egg."

"Thanks!" Bakura waved and rushed to follow the others while carefully holding the egg with his other arm.

"So, what do we do first?" Karen asked.

"We get as far away from the entrance as we can," Agemo answered. "There are bound to be others who will try to steal eggs and loot our storage bags. I would head to the mountain region first, but I want to see how others fare first and plan appropriately. We need to familiarize ourselves with the area and make traps. We also don't want to be tracked by others and have them find out if we have the demonic cores or not."

"Can't we use our own demonic cores?" Bakura asked as he tenderly held the egg.

"Who are you and what the hell have you done with Bakura?" Jasper asked, incredulous at the sudden change of Bakura.

"What? I like phoenixes. My hometown worships one of them as a god. Although, it is the Sacred Omen Phoenix of the Saint level from the legends. Still, I always wanted one," Bakura answered. "I aim to have two of my magical beasts as phoenix and reserve the third spot for the Sacred Omen Phoenix. If I never find one, oh well. Hopefully some of the slave vendors sell those magical collars so I can bind other phoenixes of different types if I catch one."

"I..." Jasper began but was speechless. "Whatever man. Still, we should be able to use our demonic cores, right?"

"I don't think so," Agemo sighed, shaking his head.

"Is there something there?" Kairi asked as she saw Agemo look above at a tree.

"A ninja," Agemo thought, but didn't saw anything.

"I can sense several large collections of spirit energy that appear faint," Agemo said. "One of them is up there."

"You can sense me?" a voice asked and a man in black linen clothing wearing a silver phoenix mask appeared.

"Darkness element. I presume it's a movement technique that makes you invisible in the shadows," Agemo nodded. "I'm sensitive to spirit energy. May I ask if our question is true?"

"It is. We are always watching, but watching only. If you die, you die. We just watch and hold the mirror crystals so the audience in the stadium can see different people. It always shows the most interesting scene. No doubt people are watching us speak. The mirror crystal does not need to visibly target your direction," the proctor nodded. "Remember, only demonic cores you kill in the hunting ground count. We are always watching."

"Yup. A ninja," Agemo thought as he watched as the proctor stepped back into the tree's shadow and vanished. "I can turn into shadow, but not like that. Oh, I want to learn that. Teleporting from shadow to shadow and tracking your enemy soundlessly. Too awesome. I wield a katana though. So, I'm more like a samurai albeit with a katana with a cross guard about two inches on both sides of the katana."

"Damn. We need to hunt rank 3 and 4 magical beasts after all," Jasper sighed. "We also got to watch our backs from other competitors and ensure Bakura's safety."

"Like a boss," Bakura grinned. "Go my peons! Vanquish the enemy! BWAHAHAHA...Ow!"

Bakura cursed as Karen smacked his head with her staff and said, "Damn. That hurt, Karen! You mad witch! What if it becomes a bump? Wait! Don't hit me! Stop, you witch!"

"Do they like each other or not?" Agemo whispered to Jasper as Karen chased after Bakura while trying to smack his head.

"They're not mature enough to know their own feelings yet? You can say it's a complicated sort of relationship. We're not teenagers though this is their lovey-dovey behavior. I really hope the girl I like, someday, is not like that," Jasper shrugged. "Oi! Karen! Stop will you? Bakura's the one holding the phoenix egg."

"Um, Agemo? How will you fight?" Kairi asked.

"Ah, right. I'll be using a bow and arrow," Agemo said as he pulled out a silver bow from his storage bag and put a quiver of arrows on his back. "I normally never use them, but we're going hunting. It is best to ambush the prey and target their limbs before going close quarters with them. I only have a limited amount of arrows though."

"Take this," Kairi said and gave him a quiver that was entirely black but had two lines of jade going down the quiver. "It's a magical item. Once you put a type of arrow in, the quiver automatically replaces it. It's mainly used by archers in guilds that can't be Practitioners. I don't know how to use a bow and arrow so you can keep it."

"You sure?" Agemo asked. "Thanks. I'll put it to good use."

"I was in the archery club in college?" Agemo thought as some memories flashed of him in a linen uniform shooting a target with a compound bow first before going to the recurve bow. "The Sentinel Bow is different as it shoots straight like a bullet."

"We're going to the outer edge of the forest and observe how others fare in the mountains first," Jasper said as Karen and Bakura returned. "Bakura, you will stay in the back with Karen. You better not fight at all, Bakura. Karen, your priority is healing magic and barrier magic around you and Bakura. Don't let anything near him. Kairi and I will take point with her spear and my twin swords. Agemo, I'm pretty sure you're the strongest of us as you defeated a third stage Spirit Shaman. You will provide support with your arrows and kill anything that slips past Kairi and me. Oh, doing a sneak attack with that arrow on any lone magical beasts would be helpful."

"Solid plan using their specialties," Agemo approved. "Okay. I can do that. I'll also use my spirit sensitivity to sense any dangers nearby. I'm pretty sure the proctors are the source of all the faint spirit energy."

Agemo and the others went deeper into the forest. Jasper took out steel wires and Agemo helped him set the wires. Steel wires were as thin as a hair, but cut like the edge of a sharpened steel sword. If someone or a magical beast, moved fast enough, they would be cut without knowing how. Bakura and Kairi watched as Karen would do a follow up and use plant magic to hide the steel wires on the ground. Agemo suggested bear traps and Jasper smiled evilly and set them all around the forest too.

"Why go to such extremes?" Kairi asked.

"Well, we need to protect Bakura. If it does not kill them, it should wound them enough to make them bleed. Animals are sensitive to smells, especially blood. Some herbivores are even able to detect bloodlust. The scent of blood should drive the weaker beasts away while the stronger ones tire themselves out killing whatever's bleeding. Then, I shoot my arrow for the kill. If they live, you and Jasper finish them off," Agemo answered.

"The less competition, the less people we have to face in the third trial. I really want to avoid elimination matches as we already fight one-on-one matches during the tournament. I don't want us to reveal our true strength then," Jasper nodded. "Good thing my father loved to hunt in the mountains. I wouldn't have so many traps otherwise."

"I thought you were a noble?" Bakura asked.

"I'm not the first or second son. I'm free to do as I please and chose to pursue immortality by becoming a Practitioner," Jasper said as he set the last of his traps. "Hopefully we can draw some of the rank 3 magical beasts from the mountains."

Karen and Bakura hid among the treetops as several Practitioner groups fell victim to Jasper's traps. Kairi and Karen couldn't bear to watch as Agemo shot the mages first while Jasper sprung forth to kill the others before they could recover. Kairi paled but proceeded to take the phoenix eggs. Some groups had rank 1 demonic cores, but they really needed rank 3 or 4 demonic cores. Bakura didn't switch his egg, even if he saw bigger ones. Karen watched, horrified, as Agemo and Jasper cracked some eggs and added them into the pot of soup they made as night fell.

"Not a bad first day. Even if we didn't get any of our goal of three rank 3 demonic cores or a rank 4 demonic core, we got a lot of storage bags," Jasper said. "Nice call on the traps."

"I'm surprised you didn't throw up like the others," Agemo said as he passed bowls of soup around.

"Not my first time hunting. Sometimes, my dad brought me along when he went to kill bandits. He knew I wanted to be a Practitioner and wanted me to get used to the blood early so it wouldn't disturb me if I am alone and need to kill to save my own skin," Jasper answered. "Still, we can't do this tomorrow. No doubt, others will have heard about all the disappearances. We should head to the mountains tomorrow."

Agemo left the area and went to the stream nearby. As he had set traps, he memorized the layout of the area. He began cultivating as he sat on a large rock in the middle of the stream. Small ripples formed as Agemo let his spirit energy flow. The vermillion energy was like a snake as it coiled around his spirit energy as it spread throughout his body. He felt a refreshing feeling as the Eclipse Indestructible Body technique was finally mastered after a year. The white energy had went into his body and began part of his skin.

"The breathing technique is a success. I don't think I can make it any better," Agemo brooded. "I need to think of a way to defend my soul. For now, I'll practice my two spirit techniques. I don't dare to use the Black Cloud Desolation. Thunder spirit techniques are safely used from the third rank on."

Agemo closed his eyes and retreated his mind into the Mystic Stone. The soul lake had gotten bigger and deeper. The outlines of both the metal, face mask spirit and the White Ocean Tiger spirit had completely formed. Agemo opened his eyes and began to practice his technique. Using the Radiant Howl technique, blades of water slashed the bank of the stream. Sword marks littered the area as Agemo repeated the technique several times. When the night got dark enough that the moon illuminated the sky, Agemo returned to the camp where the others were resting.

"Done training?" Jasper asked as he cleaned his bear traps.

"Still up?" Agemo asked as he sat down by the fire.

"Someone's got to keep watch. Kairi's got the last shift until dawn," Jasper answered. "Can I ask you something? Why do you pursue power?"

"Would you believe me when if I told you I was reborn and became a Practitioner out of the blue?" Agemo sighed and stared at the moon and was lost in his thoughts. "I've been on the run from a long time. I lost some memories along the way. I began to wonder even why I started running. Next thing I know, I can stop running and began cultivation."

"Have you never stopped and enjoyed the world?" Jasper asked.

"Ha! I never once thought about it," Agemo chuckled. "Perhaps when I am stronger, I'll be able to relax and enjoy the life of the mundane. The life of an ordinary person. However, there are too many Spirit Knights in the world."

"True. You can run westward and avoid the Hyperion, but there are still Spirit Knights and elite mages who will do whatever they want and take whatever they want," Jasper said sadly. "You need strength to protect yourself and what's yours. Money only delays that. There aren't that many Spirit Knights outside of the Kingdom of Kasara or the Yan Empire, but it is precisely that which makes it unsafe."

Agemo drank some lion wine and said, "Yeah. This world's dangerous. We might be strong amongst ourselves, but we are nothing to Spirit Knights. I'm gonna rest. You should switch with Karen once you're down cleaning your traps. They worked well. We'll have to come up with a different tactic tomorrow. How many teams did we kill or scare away?"

"Heh. We got thirty seven phoenix eggs, minus the two we ate in the soup. We also scared a few others. There should be less people tomorrow. We're lucky none of the villainous people were strong enough to kill us. There'll be even more powerful ones tomorrow. I saw some wounds on some of the participants prior to falling into our traps. We're hunting defensively, but there must be a few groups who are even more aggressive than we are," Jasper said as they nodded as the night went on.

"A new day. A new day," Bakura repeated happily. "Now we can really start the hunt."

"You guys gonna be okay with killing now, if the need arises?" Agemo asked, looking at Karen and Kairi.

They nodded and Agemo took the lead with his spirit sense while the others followed him. Kairi was also sensitive to spirit energy, but not on Agemo's level. She was in the rear to detect any people or beasts that might try to sneak from the flank or from behind. They approached the mountains as they left the forest. Karen and Kairi threw up as they found bodies of people scattered all over the place. Bakura and Jasper also struggled as they forcefully swallowed it down. Agemo felt no disgust or any discomfort as he looked over the area.

"I guess my demonic nature has even changed my mentality," Agemo thought. "So many bodies but a part of me enjoys seeing so many. However, why are there so many bodies here?"

"Something wrong?" Jasper asked as he rinsed his throat with water from his gourd.

"There's too many bodies here. Some have not even drawn their weapons," Agemo said as he looked through the bodies and the way they laid on the ground. "None of them have any storage bags. This was not done by a magical beast. Look. The ground has too many scorch marks. It doesn't seem to be through fire. Most of the bodies also seem fried."

"Fuck, a rogue party with a third stage Spirit Shaman," Bakura cursed. "I recognize marks like these. They're made by lightning. I was struck by lightning when I was a kid once. Was paralyzed on the bed for weeks. Lucky to still be alive then."

"You mean people did all this on purpose?" Kairi gasped. "Not even assassinations among nobles is this ghastly."

"Your family must have been important," Karen said. "I've passed through some towns where whole clans were annihilated. I had nightmares for days, but I never saw them get killed. What do we do? We can't face that kind of power while protecting Bakura."

"I can fend for myself!" Bakura said as he bumped his chest with his fist.

"The bodies are fresher toward the mountain. We might have no choice," Agemo said as he walked closer to the mountains to check the other bodies. Hm? This body is different. He didn't die like the others. He died from multiple wounds."

"A second stage Spirit Shaman. Probably just became one too. That robe...I've seen it before," Jasper said. "It was during the maze trial I did with Kairi."

"That's a member of the Blood Vein Sect," Kairi said. "I have photographic memory. I never forget what I see, no matter how much I wish not to. I know eight of them passed the trial. They really hated mages. Those fiends wearing the black and crimson seamed robes."

"Well one's dead so there'll be seven left. Do you remember how strong they are?" Karen asked.

"I only know that only two of them was not at the first stage when the second trial ended,"Kairi answered.

"Seven people, minus the one that died, killed over two hundred?" Agemo frowned. "That's way too unreasonable if they just entered the second stage."

"It was poison," Jasper said as he took a closer look. "See there? Some of their mouths have foam inside them. They all probably gathered outside the forest and grouped together as they were too scared. A different kind of trap. How heinous."

"Probably a third of the participants died here. It can't be all of them," Agemo said. "We know what they look like now. To be sure, we avoid all people we might see. Even if they cry for help, don't assist them. It might be cruel, but it might also be a trap."

"Agemo, take point. Kairi will bring the rear. We need to get those demonic cores and get the hell out of here. The faster we pass the trial, the better," Jasper said as he spat on the dead Blood Vein Sect member.

"What about the bodies? What are those proctors doing?" Kairi asked.

"Their job," Bakura said coldly. "They said their job is to watch, right? That's what they did. Watch. We better go."

Agemo looked at the ground for tracks. He saw footprints in the ground and began to follow the trail, focusing his spirit energy into his eyes. He could see several concentrations of spirit energy ahead. He turned back to face the others.

"Do any of you have mounts?" Agemo asked.

"No," they all answered.

"I see. Kairi, lead the others toward the top of that mountain ledge there. Jasper, try to come up with a plan to make a landslide. I don't know Karen's capabilities so I leave it to you," Agemo said as he withdrew his magical beast tiger and went atop it. "I'm gonna lure those bastards in. Make a small cave and hide Bakura in there. I'll try to take on the leader."

Right. Be careful," Jasper said Kairi began leading them toward the Cliffside at a run.

"I need to get rid of those kinds of people here," Agemo snarled and his tiger broke into a charge to the right.

He led his tiger through the field and to the foot of the mountain. He put the tiger away and nocked an arrow. He let his spirit energy flow into the earth and spread out. He closed his eyes and put his palm on the ground. Then he sensed them. Six signatures, not seven, were close together. One of them had a high concentration, compared to the others.

"Found you," Agemo growled and ran higher up the mountain before walking in their direction.

He saw them, six people in black and crimson robes huddled together. He could see the body of a naked girl. He didn't sense her spirit energy. She was dead for sure. He wanted to use the Sentinel Bow and kill them all, but the people at the stadium were watching. They would obviously covet the bow and he wasn't strong enough to protect himself. He reinforced the silver bow and string with his spirit energy as he pulled the bow string back. He focused most of his water spirit energy into the arrow.

Water was an element that ruled the planet. Life needed water to survive and water could also take life away. Water could become as hard as steel or cut like steel. Agemo began incorporating the Radiant Howl technique into the arrow. The arrow began to let out a soft howl as water began to form along the edges of the arrow.

"Die," Agemo said coldly as he pointed at the closest member to the dead girl and released the arrow as it pointed just a little bit higher.

The arrow burst forward from the strength of the bow and began to lower as its velocity started to decrease. It made a perfect arch into the center of the back of one of the Blod Vein Sect members. Due to incorporating the technique, the arrow howled as it sailed through the sky and burst a hole through a boy's chest. He only coughed blood once before falling forward and died before hitting the ground. Agemo quickly nocked and fired another bow as the five turned to look at who did it. This time, he targeted the person holding the phoenix egg.

"No! Fourth Brother!" they yelled, Agemo only hearing it faintly as the arrow pierced the upper area of a boy's chest.

The boy let go of the egg and it crashed onto the ground. Agemo smirked and shot another arrow, but the leader flicked it aside with his sword. It looked similar to the curved sword of the Egyptians and a boy with shining white hair and pale complexion glared at Agemo's direction with crimson eyes.

"Get him! Kill him!" the leader yelled.

"Kairi and Jasper should be able to handle the others with the ambush," Agemo thought as he raced back to the left of the mountain toward the cliff side.

"Not yet," Jasper warned Karen as Agemo burst into view. "We need to wait for them to get closer. We all saw him turn into a trail of shadows. He won't get hit by our landslide."

"Just let me know when," Karen shouted as he spread her mana into the rocks.

"Closer.....closer......four people are chasing him! Wait, one of them seems to have lighting crackling over his body! It must be him! The leader," Jasper said and saw them all begin ascending them trap Agemo at the base of the cliff.

Jasper and Karen were not on the top of the cliff with Bakura and Kairi. They could not see the enemy from there so they moved to the top of the slope of the mountain to the right of the bottom of the cliff. Jasper yelled at Karen and Karen made her mana explode within the rocks. The ground trembled and the mountain slope turned into a rockslide. Large pieces of rock and clouds of dust started to accelerate as it raced downward. Agemo nocked another arrow and shot before using his dark spirit technique to weave through the rockslide.

Jasper and Karen watched as the leader focused lightning on his feet to move out of the way as the landslide crashed into his subordinates. He howled his rage as he saw it happen as if in slow motion. He focused lightning into his hand and threw it at Agemo. Condensing lightning into a ball in one's fist goes against the laws of physics. Some people would call such an act, a feat of the gods. That's why people of the third stage formed bodies of an Archon.

Agemo could move fast, but even he wasn't as fast as lightning. It smacked him in the chest and he smashed against the cliff side. The leader was mad with rage. He and his boys had succeeded in their plan and had a good time before the girl offed herself last night. The next day, he and his boys were ambushed and now they're all dead!

"I'll kill you!" he roared as Agemo got up. Agemo threw his bow into his storage bag and drew Rain Slayer. The leader used his lightning to wrap around his sword as he slashed at Agemo. Agemo deflected the sword and tried to punch the guy. The leader was smart and let his body pulse lightning. Agemo was shocked and sent back by the sudden counter.

"You think you can kill me? I'm not like that dumb fuck you beat! I know who you are! Your technique is not enough to escape lightning!" he roared. "You're not the only one with movement techniques! Now, die at the hands of me, Balmus!"

Balmus roared as he appeared next to Agemo in a flash and brought down his sword. His eyes widened as the sword made a clanging sound as it hit Agemo. Agemo quickly leaned forward and grabbed the side of the head of Balmus. He grabbed the right arm to prevent Balmus from escaping and had his thumb pierce into Balmus's left eye!" The boy screamed with pain and a lightning bolt fell from the sky, blasting Agemo away.

"Argh! My eye! MY EYE!" Balmus screamed as he rolled on the ground.

Agemo turned into a wisps of darkness and sped toward his katana. He grabbed it and turned toward Balmus who stood facing him, mad with rage. Balmus went berserk and hacked, mindlessly, at Agemo. Ademo remained clam and blocked or deflected each strike, making Balmus frustrated even more. Agemo leapt back as Balmus began consolidating lightning spirit energy into his sword. He was going to use a technique to end it all!"

"Kill. Kill. Kill. Kill! I'll kill you!" Balmus screamed as lightning crackled violently.

Agemo roared as well as he prepared to use his living spirit technique, Radiant Howl. As the technique was a part of him, he could utilize the technique as he saw fit. It didn't need a sword to perform the technique. All it needed was an edge, like that of a katana or arrow. He could manipulate it, not because he mastered it, but because it was one with him. Nine crescent blades of water sprung forth from his slash as a tenth, larger one followed. Balmus roared and slashed at the water blades in turn, creating a large explosion of lightning bolts. The nine crescent blades neutralized most of the lightning as the giant, tenth blade cut Balmus clean in half.

"Agh!" Agemo screamed as the lightning bolts hit him and buried him into the mountain.

"Agemo!" Jasper and Karen screamed and ran to help their friend.

They were too far away to help and the pace of Balmus was too fast to track. Agemo was deeply buried in the mountain. Karen carefully used her magic to ease the earth away as she hardened the earth around Agemo to form a cave. Slowly, she pushed the soft earth out and Agemo rolled out of the mountain as a cave formed. Agemo was unconscious and Jasper carried him on his back while Karen carried Rain Slayer.

"Whoa! You guys made it back! All of you!" Bakura grinned excitedly as they returned to the others. "What happened?"

"Agemo managed to kill a few and the plan worked. The landslide managed to kill the minions but the leader escaped and even managed to throw a ball of lightning at Agemo. Even with his movement technique, he got hit. The fight was fierce. Especially when Agemo poked the guy's left eye out."

"Damn hardcore," Bakura cried as he looked at Agemo.

"What happened to him?" Kairi asked.

"He got hit by a lot of lightning bolts. They were more concentrated than the others. He was nocked a few feet into the mountain. It took Karen a lot of work to get him out without collapsing the hole he formed as he went in," Jasper admired and pat Karen's shoulder.

"He needs a lot of healing. I'm sure those monsters killed some magical beasts of the third rank. Kairi and Jasper, you guys go collect them and come back. I'm sure the proctor can verify if we asked him. It is not interfering with the trial as he has to inspect them anyway for them to count," Karen advised and Jasper and Kairi left after laying Agemo on a blanket.

"I feel so fucking useless. I didn't get any action," Bakura sighed as he watched Karen begin healing Agemo. "He's gonna be okay right?"

"My earth magic may not be that powerful, but I am confident with healing and barrier magic. I'm a White Mage after all. Well, apprentice anyway," Karen shrugged as she held her staff over Agemo as she healed him.

"I don't understand why those siblings would make the tournament so hard this year. I saw my elder sister participate two years ago," Karen sighed. "Such monstrous people weren't allowed to participate then."

"What can we do? One is an Arch Mage and the other is a Spirit Master. They are like gods among men in the Mortal Realm. Spirit Sages don't even care about the world. Who knows if they are still here anyway?" Bakura shrugged. "Once I become a Spirit Knight, I'll be considered an expert and finally contend with others."

The two remained silent as they brooded on how powerless they were. Jasper and Kairi returned an hour later. They were in luck. They had three rank 3 demonic cores. One of the people Agemo shot was holding them out of his storage bag. Jasper and Kairi didn't mention the body as they had it buried before they returned. Agemo woke up at sun down and the the four Practitioners began cultivating while Karen went on watch at the entrance of the cave.

They stayed in the cave for the last day and returned to the dormitories after turning in the three rank 3 magical beast cores. Several people thanked them for avenging their loved ones. They saw, from the crystal mirrors, that they didn't take the storage bags and some of the more powerful members of the guardians went into the hunting grounds to retrieve them. All in all, only a hundred and five people passed, twenty one groups.