It's really helpful to have an earth element lover with me, the only other more convenient element and the water element, ultimately getting pure water to drink isn't easy. With Amael's help I got rid of a huge amount of dirt, I don't know whose idea it was to make a rune matrix that can be opened with a key made of a composite crystal, it had such a mana isolation property. and the earth element.
I had to dive in the mud to get the damn key, the job was left to me because Amael is not able to feel the key and I can. So, it was up to me to dive in the mud and retrieve the crystal key, I would be really pissed if I didn't have Amael to clean all the mud off my clothes.
As I pass the rune matrix and leave the mud pool behind, I find two new auras, it feels like we bumped into two people at the same time, I just hope I don't lose two spots on my team now. Both seem to be fighting each other, I'm screwed, I doubt it's possible to recruit both at the same time.
Both are gray core fighters, but one of them is in the early stage and the other is in the intermediate stage, they both have the same element, two fire element fighters are trying to burn themselves in mine from a forest. I don't think one of them is a very smart warrior as the trees within this rune matrix are already on fire slightly, it won't be long before all the trees are on fire.
When I guided Amael to the two hot-headed idiots I ended up noticing something, both Amael and I have the fire element too, which means that with our arrival two more fire users will join the fray, thank goodness the rune matrix Should it be able to isolate the fire here or because of the current fight in the forest the fire would spread throughout the entire forest, I doubt that with our arrival the temperature of the fight will decrease.
The worst part is that my other element will only help the fire spread even faster, maybe Amael will be able to put out the fire with her earth element.
As I approached the two fire warriors, I could see them clearly. Both warriors are fighting without caring about the forest, when one of them strikes a wave of fire in the nearby trees. Will they never fight in a forest before? It looks like they will band together to attack forest fire than a fight between two warriors, I feel like I'll regret finding out the reason for the two idiots' fight.
I made a sign for Amael to be ready to intervene in the fight in case of shit in the negotiations, I left the protection of the trees because we don't have much time, soon the flames in the forest will be very strong and will dominate the entire matrix. I doubt a burning forest is a good place to convince them to join my team.
As I leave the shelter of the trees that are only slightly singed, I stand between the two arsonists.
"Hey! How is your test going? Funny?"
Just as I expected, the two warriors stopped fighting and looked at me like I was crazy or if I was a reality error.
"I believe you already know me, but I'll introduce myself anyway, I'm Ulric Ferris. And the principal loves me, and that's why I was thrown into this test without a weapon."
"But leaving aside the past, and better that we focus on the future is your future has just changed, I won't say it has improved, but I can assure you that it has gotten even more complicated and challenging. Happy with the news?"
It took a while for the two warriors to recover from the shock that my presence caused them or they will simply muster the courage to insult me.
"Why are you here? And what are you talking about?"
"You are crazy?"
Good reactions, and both will stop attacking each other.
"It depends who you ask? But we should focus on another point now, I doubt your fight is caused by the rune matrix, so I think it's better to stop firing through the forest and go straight to the reconciliation part so we can all get out of here before everyone else. we died of suffocation because of the fire, the air and isolated by the matrix, if you pay attention, we are already breathing smoke, but it is still not very concentrated."
"He's crazy.
Looks like the blond warrior has already found the answer to his opponent's question.
"Why should we listen to the shit you're talking about?"
"Because we have the same problem."
"What problem?"
"The test! What else would be the problem that the four of us have in common."
"Four?"
"Four?"
With their reaction I gave a signal with one of my hands that was on my back, and seeing my signal, Amael comes out of the trees wielding his staff and releasing a very intimidating aura form. It's really funny when you remember he's a wizard.
"Yes, four. But I would like you to start answering my past questions, rather than keep asking unimportant questions, how about we start with your name?"
The warrior with reddish brown hair was the first to answer me, it seems he recognized Amael and doesn't want to pick a fight with him. It seems Amael is quite famous at the institute, I just hope it's for a good reason.
"My name is Nathan, and I want to know what exactly you want?"
Seeing that his opponent started to behave, the blond warrior also introduced himself.
"I am Mauro."
"Well, it's a pleasure to meet you both today. I have very important information about our test, interested in hearing?"
Both are still very suspicious.
"I'll take your silence as a yes, maybe you don't know, but this test is not an individual test, and it takes a team to get a good grade on it."
"Why would you know about the test and we don't? The principal obviously doesn't like you, so don't like one of the teachers telling you the secrets of the test."
"I agree with Nathan, and it's hard to believe you."
"I understand your skepticism, and if I had it in your place I would have the same doubts, but I'm not, I've been chosen to be the leader of one of the teams that must be formed within this maze of rune matrices. It may seem weird to you that I was chosen as one of the leaders, but as our friend Nathan said earlier, the director doesn't like me."
"So, it's normal for her to audition for me to become even harder than it should have been, she picked me as one of the team leaders just to screw me up on the test. Who would put a student like me in a leadership position, I don't have equipment, I don't have social capital, I'm not a member of a powerful or famous noble family and ultimately my level of power is not high."
"The only reason that can explain my position as team leader, is the director wanting to screw me, which is something normal for her to do. I've even lost one of the spots on my team because I was only told about my being a leader and the conditions to recruit a student after I've located and stolen another student's equipment, they'll wait until I move to another rune matrix to get me warn."
"The rule that I was not informed is that teams are made up of ten students and a leader, but the leader must recruit all the students he finds in the matrix, if a student does not accept to join the team, the leader has lost a team member permanently. In my case, I can only make a team with nine students now, because I've already lost one of my vacancies."
"If you refuse to join my team I'll lose two spots, but I'm not the only one losing in this situation. If you decide not to believe me or simply don't accept me as your leader, you will also be losing, your test will become much more difficult because of that."
I gave them a break to absorb my lies and truths, I just hope Amael doesn't have a confused or stupid face behind me. If they see any change in Amael's face they may not believe my words.
"What kind of penalties will we face if we refuse you?"
"I think it's easy for you to guess what the penalties would be. This test phase is a race against time, the sooner the teams are formed, the more time we will have to get to know each other and improve our teamwork."
"The bigger and stronger the team we got the better our chances of passing the next test, but you must remember that I'm not the only one recruiting, and the fact that I'm not an idiot makes me a good leader, never it is known who else was chosen as leader. At this point the other leaders must be recruiting the team members or failing, the more people who refuse to join a team, it will make the teams' remaining spots more disputed and difficult to get."
"Think carefully before refusing my invitation, because the chance of you finding a team better than mine or with more power than mine is very difficult. I may not have equipment right now and this makes my battle power diminish, but probably before the next phase of testing I will have this problem resolved."
"My team can have up to ten people and of these ten people, two already have a gray core, with you two joining my group, it will be four people out of ten with a gray core. That's not a bad number, especially if the next few people have gray core as well, which would be lucky as there are a lot of black core warriors and mages inside this labyrinth."
After I dumped the information on Nathan and Mauro, who are having a bit of a hard time believing me since I'm a suspicious person to them, but because of a lot of information that rings true they must be having a hard time making a choice. as important and no turning back as that.
"Think about it, sometimes your life can completely change with a simple wrong decision, but it's a shame you don't have a lot of time. The flames in the trees have not stopped spreading, we don't have much time inside this matrix and your answer must be given before we leave here."
Time does not stand still when you are at a difficult crossroads in mine of a burning forest! The first one to break was Nathan.
"I agree to join your team, but if you're lying to me about teams, I'm going to kill you!"
"I accept these terms, and you Mauro?"
"I join your team too."
There were already four vacancies, only six to go now.
"I'm happy with your decision, but we'd better get out of this burning forest before we're poisoned by the smoke. What is the way out of this matrix?"
"I do not know."
I look at Nathan.
"I do not know either."
Crap.
I scream up into the burning forest.
"You can open the matrix to get us out of here!"
They all look at me like crazy, even Amael looked at me as if I had lost my mind, but their faces changed when a portal opened at the edge of the rune matrix,
"Go!"
The four of us came out of the oven that that burning forest had become. I just hope that we don't suffer any penalty for that.