Early the next morning an individual sneaks into Topaz room and notices that Topaz is not alone. Observing the girl with mismatched hair the individual looks at her with anger in their eyes.
????: "Wake up this instant!"
Topaz jumps awake and pulls Neo behind him, the poor girl barely conscious after the abrupt wake up call. In front of Topaz stands a girl who if he had to guess was around his age. She had short brown hair and brown eyes that showed nothing but rage.
Topaz: "What are you doing here? And who are you?"
????: "Who am I? Who are you, and why do you have a human here?"
Topaz: "My name is Topaz, and we are in my parent's house. As for Neo, she is my girlfriend."
????: "Your parent's house? This is the chief's house, and his only child is Haley."
Topaz: "Where on Remnant were you yesterday? Everything was explained then, well aside from Neo being human."
At that moment the door to the room was flung open and Topaz's father rushes into the room.
Alex: "What is going on here? Emma, why are you here?"
Emma: "Oh chief Alex, good morning to you sir."
Alex: "Emma, why are you in my home so early in the morning? Final time I'm asking."
Emma: "Oh, sorry sir. Your father told me to fetch the newest addition to the challenge for today. I saw a human in bed with a stranger and panicked."
Alex: "Human? What human?"
Alex looks into Topaz's room and sees Neo sitting on the bed trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes.
Alex: "Topaz, why does Neo look like a human?"
Topaz: "Hey dad, Neo is a human, but her semblance can make her look like a faunus. I told her to do it so she wouldn't be attacked."
Alex: *sigh* "You really are my son, I guess. I guess your grandfather wants you nice and early for the challenge. Follow Emma and she will lead you to where you need to go. Good luck, and don't forget your bag."
Topaz: "Thanks. I got this, don't worry dad. Lead the way Emma."
Emma grumbles to herself and turns to make her way out of the house. Topaz gives the sleepy Neo a kiss goodbye and follows after Emma. Following after Emma, Topaz tries to start a conversation with her multiple times, only to be either ignored or growled at. Taking the hint Topaz decided to stay quiet and follow the angry girl. The two make their way through the village before coming to the main gate. Exiting the village Topaz sees a group standing in front of Topaz's grandfather.
Grandfather: "Nice of you to finally join us Topaz. Thank you for escorting him Emma."
Emma: "It was my pleasure sir."
Topaz: "Good morning everyone."
Grandfather: "Alright everyone, allow me to explain how your challenge will be going."
????: "Excuse me sir. Are you sure that this year's match will be fair for us? I'm pretty sure I heard that Topaz is 18 while the rest of us are 16."
Grandfather: "You are correct in that statement. And for that reason, Topaz will be facing a major handicap come the combat stage of the challenge. Should he make it, that is."
????: "Okay, that sounds good to me."
Grandfather: "Alright, so to start the challenge, everyone will be going out and trying to find a material they believe is strong enough for their spear. I must remind everyone that a weak material will only lead to your own injury. You will have three days to find a suitable material. Anyone who doesn't collect a material in that three-day timeframe fails the challenge and will be forced to wait another month to retry. Everyone else, after collecting the material you will make your way east, until you find the lava pits. Hidden within that area, there is an ancient forge that uses the lava as its base. Be warned, those lava pits are home to a unique type of grimm that you will encounter. After you find the forge, you will use the forge to make your spearhead, and shape the shaft of your spear. From there you will combine the two to complete your spear. After having your spear in hand, you will return here so you can begin the spiritual aspect of your journey. After that is said and done it will be the combat portion. Good luck everyone, your three days start now."
Topaz looks around at the group and sees everyone with a confused look on their faces. Topaz chuckles to himself and mentally thanks Professor Port for his long lectures for preparing him. Quickly taking off thinking of what a good material would be to use for his spear, Topaz continues to run and think for another twenty minutes. Stopping to take a short break to mentally prepare himself for the upcoming days. As he sits down Topaz opens his bag to see what he all has to work with. Topaz sees that his father is smart when it comes to packing, there's food and spare clothes. Digging into everything Topaz notices his father did him a favor and gave him something that can be used for his spearhead, the alpha deathworms tooth that had dropped.
Topaz: "Way to go dad, that's half the trouble done already."
Packing everything back into the bag, Topaz continues on, looking for something sturdy he can use to complete his spear. Deciding to search around the lava pits, Topaz made his way east. Smelling sulfur in the air Topaz knew he was getting closer. Seeing the large pits of lava scattered about, Topaz sees a giant tree growing out of the middle of the largest lava pit. It was pure white in color with orange lines going up and down it, giving it an on-fire look. Making his way carefully over to the largest pit, Topaz sees the lava in the pit being to rise, and from the risen lava something that looks similar to a beowolf. The creature stands about the same height as an alpha beowolf, with the usual black base that all grimm have, the creature also has deep red plates instead of the normal white, with bright yellow decals on them. Facing the new creature Topaz prepares himself for anything, and he is glad he was mentally prepared as the creature spits a large ball of fire towards him. Dodging to his right, Topaz rolls and transforms himself into his lion form. Leaping forward, he slashes the creatures throat and kills it instantly. Looking around for any more unwanted company, Topaz sees nothing and reverts his form to normal. Topaz enhances his leg strength and leaps into the tree, landing gently on one of the outstretched branches. Grabbing a branch large enough to be used in a spear, Topaz tries pulling the branch off, only for it not to budge.
Topaz: "Argh, of course it won't be that easy. I need a rock."
Jumping back to solid land, Topaz looks around to try and find a rock big enough to do what he needs. Finding one, he picks it up and turns to leap back into the tree. Only to see three more of the lava creatures rising out to meet him. Setting the rock down, Topaz turns and grabs a smaller rock. Tossing it up and down in his hand he smiles and turns to face the creatures.
Topaz: "Heads up!"
Throwing the rock as hard as he could, Topaz stares in amazement as the rock goes through the skull of the nearest creature, and explodes out the back of its head, showering the area behind the creature in molten rock. The other two creatures which were covered in the molten rock began making their way towards Topaz, before freezing in spot. Wondering why they froze in place, Topaz cautiously makes his way over to them, and sees that the molten rock that coated them had cooled of and hardened in position. Chuckling to himself, Topaz grabs two more rocks and makes quick work of them. Topaz takes out his scroll and writes that bit of info down.