The massive beast thundered towards them creating resounding splashes in the water. Its attention fixated solely on the five of them, utterly disregarding Sensei, who stood there, reveling in laughter with his hands casually at his sides.
Zack frantically unraveled the scroll he had snatched earlier, only to find it blank. "It's blank!" he exclaimed, swiftly evading the charging beast.
Tess, her irritation mounting, hurled a sword towards Sensei. With a subtle tilt of his head, he evaded the projectile, his smile vanishing into an austere expression. Ignoring the beast's presence, she conjured another sword and lunged at him, her determination unwavering. Lanse followed suit, leaving Zack, Szedra, and Zino to contend with the formidable creature.
"Tell us how to teleport right now!" Lanse demanded, brandishing his swords and slashing at Sensei, each strike finding nothing but empty air.
A sword pierced the side of the beast, eliciting a piercing shriek of agony.
"Hey, over here!" Zack bellowed, frantically waving his hand to divert the creature's attention. As it charged toward him, Zino and Szedra launched a coordinated assault from behind, attacking the beast with their own blades.
Zino struggled to accept the reality before her, desperately trying to convince herself that the colossal creature was nothing but a fake. Its prior slumbering form seemed so incongruous with the idea of inflicting harm upon it.
Sensei's agility surpassed their expectations as he deftly held off Tess and Lanse single-handedly. He skillfully evaded the blades, while retrieving shurikens from his back and hurling them at his opponents. Tess narrowly dodged one of the deadly projectiles, her side bangs falling victim to its swift trajectory.
"This son of a gun!" she seethed.
"I juiced up double with the Priman's super-soldier enhancement," Sensei declared, a smug grin dancing upon his lips. His head floated above the water's surface, seemingly detached, while his attire seamlessly blended with the brownish hue of the water.
"Priman? What do they have to do with this?" Lanse interjected, but Sensei paid him no heed. He deftly evaded Lanse's sword, which swung perilously close to his head, continuing to speak as though the near miss never occurred.
"Fortunately for you, the effects will wear off soon. However, this examination will conclude well before then, in eight minutes," Sensei remarked coolly.
Tess pondered to herself, recognizing the immense strength Sensei possessed. She surmised his Shinralite super-strength must be responsible for his incredible speed, feeling the lingering pain in her ribcage. She couldn't help but wonder how their trainer could inflict such agony upon her.
Her musings ceased when Lanse received a swift kick to the face, causing him to stagger back with a bloody nose. A smile graced his lips as he triumphantly lifted the pouch he had sliced off Sensei's back. Turning it upside down, he released all the shurikens into the water, rendering them harmless.
"Your head is next if you don't tell us how to teleport," Lanse said, his words promising a dangerous edge.
The weight of desperation hung heavy in the air as Lanse's chilling words pierced through the tension.
Sensei's eyes widened in a mixture of surprise and resignation before settling into their usual size. "Why am I not surprised it's you?" A knowing smile played on his lips as he teasingly lifted his shirt, revealing a gleaming metal belt snugly secured around his waist. "That's why you're my favorite cadet."
Tess clenched her teeth in frustration, her determination turning into a lethal surge. With a swift and forceful motion, she unleashed a sword towards Sensei's head, aiming to silence him and extract the answers they desperately sought.
But before her blade could find its mark, Sensei's deft fingers pressed a concealed button on the metal belt, triggering his sudden disappearance. Her sword sliced through empty space, the whooshing sound echoing through the air as it missed its intended target.
Lanse, consumed by a burning rage, hurled his swords into the water with a violent splash, a physical release of his pent-up anger. "We still can't teleport!" he raged.
"This thing had a flashlight?" Zino asked, her words laced with a mix of confusion and curiosity.
Tess was startled to find Zino in such close proximity, her sudden presence jolting her senses. Casting a quick glance behind, Tess spotted Zack and Szedra swiftly making their way through the water, their faces etched with urgency. The absence of the menacing creature did not go unnoticed.
"Where's the creepy crawly?" Tess asked out loud.
Zack replied as he neared her, "We defeated it."
"You guys?"
"Yes we defeated it," Szedra said, stressing the word 'we.' "Why must you sound so surprised? We're not useless you know!"
"With that many swords lodged into its back it's not coming back for now," Zack added.
Lanse interrupted them, "Hey, why are you arguing about crap? We still need to figure out how to teleport the hell away from here!" he snapped.
Only Zack and Zino showed visible signs of being shaken by his explosive outburst, their expressions reflecting a fragile vulnerability amidst the mounting pressure.
Amid their frustrations, their focus turned to the enigmatic wrist device, its surface offering no tangible clues to unlock the elusive teleportation capability they desperately needed.
Apart from the obvious large black button on its side, there was nothing else that seemed to enable them to teleport. But the damn thing didn't work. Tess hated not knowing what to do.
"Are you sure the scroll is blank?" Zino asked Zack.
The others remained engrossed in their examination of the wrist devices, their concentration unbroken until a sudden sound shattered the silence. Something struck the palm of a hand, followed by Zino's heavy sigh.
"Two minutes," Lanse said.
Panic gripped Tess's heart as the realization of their impending failure loomed ominously. She couldn't believe they were going to fail because they had no idea how to work a dumb device.
In that crucial moment, Szedra's eyes fluttered open, her attempt to glean a vision ending in disappointment. "I can't get anything. If it hasn't come by now, I know it won't."
"Worthless!" Lanse raged as his despair led him to raise his hands to the top of his head in a gesture of resignation.
But before despair could fully settle, Zack's voice rang out with defiant fervor, rebuking Lanse's choice of words and defending Szedra's honor. "Hey!"
Zino cradled the scroll securely under her left arm, her gaze fixated on the button Tess had previously attempted in vain. A flicker of recognition danced in her eyes as she pointed to the black button at the side, her voice brimming with conviction.
"I truly believe we should press this black button. The symbol on top... I'm certain I've seen it before," she said.
Lanse, his frustration evident in his restless movements that created undulating ripples in the water, dismissed the suggestion. "I already tried that," he grumbled, his voice carrying a tinge of exasperation.
Undeterred, Zino persisted, her voice carrying a glimmer of optimism. "What if we all press the button at the same time? Maybe that's what Sensei meant by teleporting at the same time, all together."
Tess's face lit up with hope, her smile radiating infectious enthusiasm. "Yes, that has to work! Didn't Sensei mention teleporting at the same time? It must mean all of us at once!"
Lanse, ever the cynic, scoffed dismissively. "You mean before he vanished into thin air? He could have meant anything. Besides, that has to be the dumbest idea I've ever heard."
Zino's brow furrowed, her disappointment evident, while the rest of the group chose to ignore Lanse's negativity. It was clear that he struggled with keeping certain thoughts to himself.
Zack stepped closer, offering Zino a comforting pat on the back. His gaze shifted briefly to Lanse, his eyes flickering with a mix of anger and realization. Tess couldn't help but wonder if Zack had only just noticed Lanse's true nature.
Szedra, her voice devoid of emotion, interjected with a suggestion. "Let's give our twenty seconds a try," she monotoned, positioning her finger over the button and inching closer to Zino and Zack.
Tess followed suit, closing the distance, but the realization struck them that Lanse was missing. They turned their attention towards him, frustration seeping into Tess's voice.
"Hey, Mr. 'I'll-carry-this-entire-team'! We need you for this to work, so get your sorry butt over here!" Her words carried the weight of command, urging him to join the crucial endeavor.
Lanse met her gaze with a lowered brow and a fiery glare in his crimson eyes, questioning her audacity to order him around. But with a sense of urgency, he reluctantly hastened over, completing the circle formation they had formed.
Like the others, he positioned a finger above the black button, though he remained the only one to keep his eyes open.
Szedra's voice broke the silence, her monotone tone cutting through the tension. "Five seconds."
Lanse hurriedly closed the gap, his presence sealing the circle. Alongside his companions, he poised his finger above the button, bracing himself for the impending moment. Despite his reservations, he found himself unable to resist the shared determination that engulfed the group.
"On two... One, two," Szedra counted down.
In perfect synchronization, they pressed the button, a surge of anticipation coursing through their veins. As the cool breeze of air conditioning swept over their heads and the familiar sounds of the mission base enveloped their ears, their eyes snapped open, brimming with a mix of astonishment and relief.
The white light bathed their surroundings, casting an ethereal glow. A subtle vibration ran through the device strapped to their arms, signaling the end of their allotted time.
"We did it!" Zino exclaimed, a triumphant cheer escaping her lips as she proudly lifted the scroll in her hand.
Zack's face lit up with genuine admiration. "You really carried the whole team, Zino," he commended, a wide grin spreading across his face.
As they reveled in their success, their attention was drawn to the approaching figure of Annie, accompanied by the blond-haired man who had abandoned them earlier. A flat, circular drone tirelessly glided behind him, erasing the muddy trail left in his wake.
Tess folded her arms, her eyes narrowing as she caught sight of him. The slight headache she had tried to ignore earlier surged back, intensifying the ache throughout her body.
He came to a halt before them, a green towel draped over his shoulders, his expression serious. "Cadets, you've passed the exam," he announced, the weight of authority in his voice. "That's good news for your first mission."
At his words, Lanse detached himself from the group, walking away towards the archway. He peeled off his gloves and removed his elbow pads, his competitive spirit unable to bear not emerging as the victor.
"You can take the rest of the day off. This session is dismissed," Sensei declared, his final words hanging in the air as he and Annie began to walk away.
Tess's eyes sparkled with sheer joy at the prospect of those magical words. Without even pausing to confirm if she had heard correctly, she darted towards the archway, swiftly passing by Lanse as if he were invisible, eager to reach the elevator.
The clinging mud inside her boots served as a constant reminder of their arduous ordeal. Reaching the living complex, she dashed to her room, craving the refreshment of a speedy shower. However, the warm water cascading over her body proved too soothing to resist, coaxing her into a state of drowsiness.
Succumbing to the allure of the invitingly soft bed that beckoned her, Tess succumbed to sleep, momentarily forgetting her fatigue and the world outside. As Tess laid herself down, the weight of exhaustion settled upon her, an overwhelming force ready to sweep her into an unstoppable slumber.
She didn't need to glance back at the leaves that marked her path; their positions were etched into her memory. Still, curiosity tugged at her, and as she turned, her intuition proved right.
The alarm device in her room was nothing short of frustrating. Its limited functionality offered only an a.m. option, rendering it useless after noon. To make matters worse, it lacked a countdown feature, as if designed to keep her trapped within Primus's confines.
Thankfully, she had the foresight to keep her phone charged, even though it served little purpose without service. Setting the volume to maximum, she placed it beside her pillow, knowing it would rouse her from sleep in precisely two hours.
When she finally awoke, the shrill ringing in her ears persisted for a few minutes, a consequence of subjecting herself to such a blaring alarm in such close proximity. Swiftly, she gathered a small bag and filled it with valuables, then made her way to the kitchen to gather provisions.
Zino caught sight of her and greeted her with a warm smile, oblivious to the bag Tess discreetly stuffed with food or the half-eaten bun she hurriedly devoured to free her hands for sealing the bag shut. The odor from the dirty dishes still loomed in the air.
Passing Zack and Szedra, who had transitioned from the pool to the television room within the short span of time she spent in the kitchen, Tess made her way through the archway leading to the hallway.
It was there that she noticed Lanse, leaning against the wall on her left, engrossed in reading something on his black tablet. The fact that he didn't look up made her feel like a ghost drifting past, but she refused to let it dampen her spirits. The inquisitive glances of Primus workers who caught a glimpse of her when she paused before the teleporter room door reassured her of her existence.
Running her hand over the lower section of the door, a hologram keypad materialized. Excitement mingled with trembling hands as she entered the code: 2399. The screen flickered red, accompanied by a robotic voice uttering the dreaded words, "Incorrect code, please re-enter."
Tess gasped, unable to believe she had entered the wrong code. Biting her lip, she steadied herself and painstakingly re-entered the digits. Yet again, the crimson glow and robotic voice echoed, causing her bag to slip from her left shoulder.
Falling to her knees, she pressed her head against the door, a mixture of despair and frustration flooding her being. Her anguished moan pierced the air, drawing the attention of Primus workers who glanced her way, concern etched upon their faces, questioning if she was alright.
"I frecking hate this place!" she exclaimed, her words laden with the weight of her frustration and disdain.
As Tess wiped away the tears streaming down her face, she gathered herself and headed back towards the living complex. Unfortunately, she crossed paths with Szedra in the hallway of the female dorms, her expression clearly displaying anger. The image of the mounting pile of dirty dishes flashed through Tess's mind, causing her to clench her teeth in frustration.
She couldn't bear another round of Szedra's incessant nagging in the mornings. Like an agitated bull, Tess let out a sharp exhale through her nose and marched towards the kitchen. She flung her bag onto the floor with a thud and began filling both sinks with water, the forcefulness of her actions reflecting her pent-up frustration.
She forcefully tugged on the gloves, feeling a surge of resentment with every filthy dish that awaited her. Being thrown into tasks without being consulted or given a say was something she despised.
After an intense four-hour marathon, Tess managed to power through and wash the towering pile of dirty dishes accumulated over three weeks. Her determination and efficiency proved Jeremy's statement true – she could accomplish anything she set her mind to.
Tess silently hoped that Szedra, the incessant presence in her life, would finally grant her some much-needed respite.