The deserted field was covered in thick smokes and dust particles. There are traces of green blood splatters all around the ground and the most noticeable factor is the ground being destroyed mainly because of the Astrochist's elemental power. Other than that, there are also traces of red blood which is obviously coming from the warrior's hard work. Their figure is apparently feeble, but considering the fact that they have passed the test, it's obviously a winning piece for them.
Stell and the other Earth elemental users didn't take the time to rest, they've continued to work on some things while helping the injured individuals. Lynn was one of them. Lee has broken some of his limbs and decided to take a rest on the nearby hill. Using their healing skills, they treated at least half of the injured Astrochist and brought them to the center to line them up.
After treating them, Stell decided to lay down on the ground to rest and to take a breath. He grabbed one of the medical aids that were lying around the field to treat his wounded arms. He suffered a lot of damage because of the scorpion's continuous swings of their deadly tail. It is a good thing that he managed to evade it, but what's bad news for them is that, if some of them took the tail directly, they might die because of the poison.
It's pretty rare to have these kinds of monsters, but venomous creatures like those scorpions are not ordinary. They are a bunch of monsters that may become a threat someday to humanity. This is also the reason why capitals all around the world do have a magical barrier to prevent these kinds of creatures from entering the town. They need to have an army of these kinds before they break down the shield in which no one is really worried about that kind of scenario.
Stell wrapped his arm using the bandage and he managed to endure the pain. After that, he took his uniform off and started treating the other wounds as well. He noticed that there's a lot of scratches and bruises. A few seconds have passed and someone approached him.
"Umm... Hey..." A soft woman voice reached out to him.
Stell was fixated on the lookout but he turned his back to see who called him. It was the girl that he saved earlier when she fell down.
"Oh..." Stell let out a stunted expression as he stood up.
"Are you feeling well now?" He asked. She nodded.
"Yes, Umm... Thank you very much for saving me!" She bowed. Stell felt embarrassed when she did it.
"Oh! Yeah! No... Uh, please raise your head, it's nothing special." He modestly rejected the gratefulness of the girl.
"No! I want to thank you for saving me. If it wasn't for you then I wouldn't be able to stand here and survive. You saved my life so thank you." She kept on bargaining him. Stell smiled it off as he realized that he was acting like an idiot. He tapped her shoulder and as soon as she gazed at him, Stell was brimming with confidence.
"Don't worry, it's part of the plan, to save everyone from danger." He executed the perfect words he could say in this situation.
"Hey, don't slack off..." Lee suddenly interrupted their conversation.
"Woah, Lee. Are you okay? you look like you're about to die now..." Stell teased him while smirking.
"Compare to you, I only broke one limb. I didn't really suffer any wounds. Anyway, how's the situation now. What do you think should we do?"
"Well, almost forty of them are injured. I didn't expect it to rise though, some are unavailable to stand because of mana depletion. The rest are injured. I think we should take a break for a while and let the mana users rest to gain their energy again. Then after that, we will use our powers to create a wagon that will carry the injured individuals and reside with the mountain.," Stell said.
"Alright then, I'm going back to the field to the stakeout. We might get ambushed again." Lee said.
"Nah don't worry about that, remember what you said about them following us? Well, it seems like it is true."
"What? How though?"
"There were some scorpions who escaped the ultimate blast earlier, but as soon as the spell ended, they were gone. I've also noticed that there are some footprints on the top of the hill. We weren't there when we first came here. So there might be actually people who were monitoring us." Stell raised his arm to stretch as he talked about it.
"I see, well, I'll see you guys later..." Lee walked away.
"So umm, what can I do for you again?" After they talked, Stell asked the girl.
"Oh umm, nothing, I just came here to thank you. So uhh, can I ask what's your name?" She asked. It is noticeably that she is flustered from asking.
"My name is Stell, nice to meet you." Stell held out his hand.
"I'm Rena, nice to meet you as well." Both of them shake hands.
"You know, I wasn't really expecting something from you that is capable of saving the others." She followed up. Stell twitched and his face became red.
"I-Is that bad...?" Getting embarrassed, he turned his head sideways and let out a soft pretty indiscernible sound. Rena heard this.
"Not really, I just find it surprising. Because every time you do something in our class, you're always the first one to try new things and you're that kind of person who doesn't really care about his environment and..."
"And...?" Stell gave her a menacing look full of curiosity on what she was about to add-in.
"F-Friends..." She inadvertently spoke out the word despite having to know that Stell might get insulted over that fact.
"Sorry..." However, this concluded fact has been shattered to pieces when she heard Stell apologize.
"Eh?" She was surprised by Stell's reply.
"I'm sorry that I'm kinda rude to everyone else. I'm not really used to socializing." He said while scratching his hair.
"Oh... that's why... Well..." Rena sighed. She closed her eyes and smiled.
"Everyone doesn't have that impression of you anymore..." Followed by a soft reply. Stell comprehended her words in a confused manner.
"What do you mean?" He asked. In order for Stell to view his surroundings in a special way, Rena stepped aside for a moment to let him see what she meant. And when she did that, Stell finally recognized what she is implying. He saw all of the Astrochist that was part of his class.
"Yo! Stell! Thank you for saving me back then!"
"Hey man! You really did your best to save us!"
"Not only that, but you also lead us in a perfect way. You're the reason why we're able to pass the test. That's really awesome, man."
"We're rooting for you to be our leader, Stell..."
Numerous impressions were read aloud. Stell was not expecting this kind of change at all. It is obvious that they were happy now unlike before. Being able to save many of your friends and companies is one of the most beautiful things you can offer while you still have the energy. That's why there were so many tactics and sacrifices. It is still just a trial yet, it's one of the most life-changing experience they could ever have.
Upon hearing their exchanges of impressions, Stell made a big smile and everyone cheered.
(Nile, is this what you meant by cooperating with your precious allies? I thought you were just joking about things. I finally understand you. I wonder what you're up to now? I hope you're okay with how things go on. Please be careful.)
And thus, Stell's trial was successful.
8:00 AM Northwest.
The place was full of abundant structures and vined buildings and stones. The trees were dead and numerous branches are scattered around the area. The fog is so thick that you won't even tell what is hiding from beyond.
Aella's team can be found walking around. They are formed in a group of 4 members for each.
"Hey, Aella. Are you sure this is the place that we're going to stay? It looks really scary and I don't want to go further in." A girl named Sofia was clinging into Aella. Aella smiled it off but deep inside she is also scared of venturing the ruins.
"We don't have a choice, this is the place that we're told to go in. To be honest with you, I'm also scared." She replied while eclipsing the factor of her fear. Everyone has been also feeling the same lately, however, there are some boys who were bold enough to go in the front line.
"Don't worry, we're going to take on anyone who's going to hurt you guys. We'll take care of things in the frot. You guys support us and get ready to attack from behind." While they are in the middle of a conversation, a good looking gentleman tried to calm them down. His name is Hayato. Among the other elemental users, Hayato is preferably stronger than all of them. This is because he has trained hard more than anyone else.
"Thank you..." Aella responded.
"He is really a good man..." Judging from his appearance, it is common that most of their girls will fall head over heels to him. Not only that he is good-looking but he is also a great warrior. They can bet that they will be okay as long as Hayato will be on their side.
"Anyway, this place is really creepy don't you agree? I mean, I get that we're here to test or soul powers because we are a bunch of wind elemental users. But the thing is, I'm not really fond of going inside this place." Another fine man named Krone joined in their conversation as they pass by.
"Yeah, I'm pretty confident that they were going to give us an easy task but this is not what I'm expecting at all," Hayato replied.
"It looks like they were actually testing us. We can't afford to die here if we want to pass." Krone followed.
"But what do you think is this place? I mean, it's pretty old but I wonder if there's a lot of people who used to live here." Sofia asked.
"If my deductions are correct, this is a sanctuary." Hayato answered seriously.
"Sanctuary?" Everyone asked.
"Yeah, look at those buildings over there. They are mostly used for refugees' orders. There's a lot of shrines as well and caves. Not only that, there are old bags and equipment here that are mainly used for adventures. Don't you think it is kinda weird for them to stay in this place? I mean, they may be a lot of refugees here in the past but I can't help but think that they died in some kind of an unknown death." Hayato said.
Aella and Sofia let out a small shriek. As they climb around the rocks, they finally reached the location. Some groups are already there but they were totally goofing off.
"We're finally here..." Krone said.
There are 3 kinds of unique buildings here, one is preferably the scariest place because it is placed in the middle of the ground. There's also a lot of tombstones and rusty ornaments and strange boulders all around the place. The second one is the abandoned village near the site. The roofs are destroyed and there are traces of skeletons everyone. And finally, the last site that was getting some attention is the shrines that were situated near the field.
"That's weird, we've been here for like thirty minutes now. I don't see anything." Aella reminded them.
However, as soon as they started leaving the area, the place falls into its dark pit. The sky turned black and the clouds were seemingly off and strange. It forms a pattern that is beyond human comprehension.
"This is..." Krone was surprised.
"Yeah, it's finally here. Our trial will now commence." Hayato responded brimming with confidence.