As we walked away from the entrance to the magic matrix where the marsh beast is still pounding the matrix barrier, he is really stubborn or just very vindictive, but upon reaching the center of the matrix we were attacked by some magical beasts, aviaries with the earth element, wind and water.
It looks like the matrices in this piece were created to punish troubled students, and that's a problem for us as it doesn't help the examiners move us to another aria in the maze, they probably think this aria is the best place for my group to be, killing the magical beasts was a complicated task but it was not difficult.
This matrix must have been designed for two people or one, as our group and made up of four magic beasts had no chance, it's a shame we didn't gain anything keeping so many magic beasts, if we were to sell their cores and their bodies all in the four, we would earn a considerable amount of gold coins, but the rules forbid that. The headmistress wouldn't miss the chance to cut down on testing expenses by selling the monster's remains, she must also be recycling the golems' materials, doing this is a complicated job, but I doubt the headmistress has a problem recruiting mages and artisans to recycle or extract the materials and bodies that are left over from the test.
The next two hours were a series of matrices that only had magic beasts and golems, neither one of them had a challenge, but it was still enough to diminish the power of my team, they are all tired is my sword broke in my do on the way, I kept using the broken sword, but it was undoing little by little and even its hilt broke.
Others' equipment will only wear out a bit, but they can service your equipment now that we're taking a break. It's been several hours since the test started, I don't know exactly how much time has passed because of the slight illusion that is affecting the feeling of all four, but after so much exercise it's normal to need to take a break to rest is to eat.
While I roasted the meat of magical animals, Mauro couldn't be silent for long.
"I want to know what you're going to do?"
I think he's talking cumin.
"Should I be doing something different than what I'm already doing?"
"I want to know what you will do about our situation; most students should already be in a group while we are still in this deserted aria of the maze."
"I thought you were talking about lunch, as we don't kill even a beast that only contains the element of life, there is no meat option other than the meat of ordinary magical animals."
"I want to hear a straight answer from you, Ulric. I'm tired of your snide and witty comments you use to evade our questions!"
I thought I had enough fun with Mauro.
"Okay, let's be blunt now. There's nothing to do but keep going in one direction, being here isn't necessarily a bad thing, as we haven't found other students, we haven't lost a spot yet by putting a weak person on our team, I doubt another team can say the same."
"But we are only four people, even if a team has some members with black cores, they will still have more combat power than us."
"You didn't see the second advantage of being here, Mauro. Any student we find here will be a strong enough student to piss off the examiners, they won't be much weaker than you or the second idiot arsonist who were the reason we got thrown into this labyrinth aria."
It is to prove my point a few meters from us a portal have opened alerting my companions. I think I should try to roast more meat inside the maze, it seems that every time my meat is getting ready a student enters my matrix just to interrupt my lunch.
Is the smell of meat attracting students.
My luck is really changing, because from the open portal a person I know very well appears and she is not alone. Hilda comes out of the portal dragging another student tied up by ropes who doesn't seem to hurt much, but of course she's unconscious, I have to admit I'm curious as to why Hilda is dragging someone and if the unconscious student counts as a part of my team.
I went to receive Hilda and her prisoner while the rest of the team prepared for the battle that wasn't going to happen. By going towards Hilda, I already gave the calm signal to bad teammates who were still ready to fight, Hilda is so intimidating?
"How's your test going, honey? It looks like you made a new friend during the audition, but I think you have to train your communication skills a little more."
"What a cruel boyfriend. I bring presents and you don't even greet me in the right way, I think I should go after another boyfriend."
"I know you like to joke around and make lots of jokes, but I have no interest in taking prisoners, but I have to admit your timing is perfect, now I have two more members for my team. See Mauro, we got two more strong companions, if we were in another aria of the labyrinth maybe we would have filled up with weak people on the team."
After I started talking calmly with Hilda the rest of the group finally let their guard down against her.
"Who is your friend, Hilda?"
"She's called Vanessa, I've seen her before at some balls, she's the daughter of one of the neutral families or she was neutral, I don't exactly know her family position anymore, but that's not important now. She's a gray core warrior who awakened the pure lightning element, she's very strong and did a good job of taking down."
"Okay, but because you're dragging her through the maze."
"Simple, you are a team leader, aren't you?"
"Yes."
"She will now have to join her team, simple."
"Really simple, but how did you know I would be a team leader?"
"When I found out that we should group the idiot who tried to recruit me into a group I automatically decided to be on your team, I had full confidence that you would be one of the team leaders the director wouldn't allow it to be different after she took out all her equipment before the test, as I doubt, you'll recruit people you don't like even if it means staying with one less person on the team, I'm sure being a member of your team was the right choice."
"I turned down entry to three different groups on my way here, and on my journey, I met Vanessa, I joined her on a makeshift team, but when she wanted to join one of the weak groups because she knew an idiot on the team, I hit her in the back and took her away."
I doubt Vanessa will consider Hilda her friend anymore. Hilda's recruiting method is really unique and straightforward, people like her must be every leader's nightmare during this test.
"Well, how about untying poor Vanessa and joining our meal, I really want to hear how the teams you refused to join before Hilda were doing."
When we all sat by the fire, I continued my conversation with Hilda as I took the meat out of the skillet.
"Where did you get that skillet and these spices, Ulric. Not one of your companions looks like their owner."
"Why do you think that."
"Because if one of them owned the frying pan he would be cooking with it, but since you are the one cooking it must be yours."
I cannot disagree or find fault with Hilda's logic.
"I got all this in the bag of a warrior I defeated at the beginning of the test, he was very weak, but he carried a lot of useful things like this skillet and a very wide selection of spices."
"What kind of person brings that kind of thing to a test like this? Is it because you don't have armor on now?"
"He was fat, his armor didn't fit me and the sword I stole from him already broke, it was of poor quality. But I would like to know how you got here, this aria and to punish the rowdy students and as far as I could see there must still be more than a dozen arias to go through to get out of this labyrinth aria"
"I must have been moved through the portal here after I took down Vanessa, that should be enough to get punished by the examiners, but that has an Ulric problem. Ingredi shouldn't even annoy an examiner, so the chance of having her in the group should be pretty slim."
"True, but it's already lucky I have you with me. It's not good to be too greedy, and it's natural that our team is made by people who don't know each other."
"But I know Amael and Vanessa."
"Do you know Amael?"
"Yes, his father helped my aunt when she was starting out as an adventurer. They ended up developing a friendship, I've already met Amael during some of my family's parties."
"He didn't mention it.
When I look at Amael, he just keeps eating. Looks like he was hungry.
During the meal I keep talking to Hilda about what she or I went through during the test so far, when she heard about the swamp beast, she wanted us to come back and kill her, but when I remembered her core was the institute her excitement decreased more not disappeared.