"Look, it's young commander Claiomh!"
The young commander was quite famous in the village, often attending rehearsals together with his father.
Dark blue eyes, shiny red hair pulled back into a ponytail, and an elegant bearing, traits that ensured the young commander was very successful among members of the fairer sex.
Meanwhile Rada and Rei arrived in front of what looked like a huge portal.
"This is where the trial will begin, but only after the judge from the capital has given the go-ahead," Rei explained.
In the meantime, Rada was looking at the portal with glowing eyes.
"It's a magic portal?!" he asked aloud, his voice attracting everyone's attention.
"Shh! Lower your voice!" she scolded.
Disdain was reflected in the eyes of the other participants, but how could they know, nothing like this existed in her world.
"Yes, it's magical.
After some time of silence, Rei explained, "Once through the portal, each of us will be taken to a different point in the forest."
Her gaze grew darker in the meantime, "You might accidentally run into Alcas, try to be careful."
Noticing her concern Rada could only reassure her "It'll be fine, after all I've had the best teacher in months."
"You bet!" replied Rei with a proud look beating her chest.
"They're here!" one of the participants pointed towards the group of judges headed by Evan, flanked by Logar and Aaron.
"This year, the capital examiner will be me, Evan Claiomh, as every year the best of you will be taken to the capital. You will be taught them for 5 years, each of you will be a pillar that will support your village, so I want you to give your all today, both for yourselves but most importantly for your loved ones!"
The vigour with which Evan spoke left a mark on each of the boys, despite the delicate appearance of his features, the young commander had the makings of a true leader.
"Like every year, each of you will be given basic hunting equipment, there is no time limit, only once you have the heart of your prey can you go out."
The staff began to distribute the equipment which was based in: A dagger, bow and arrow, and rations.
Rada saw that each participant magically made the rations they received disappear.
"What the hell???"
He looked towards Rei for an answer and saw that she too made her rations disappear, at which point his eyes almost popped out of their sockets.
"May I know how you make rations disappear?" he asked in a whisper.
"Huh? Each pearl has its own space, it can store any kind of material that has no life, the amount of stuff it can receive is related to the power of the pearl itself," Rei explained with a strange face.
"What!? Pearls can do something like that too?" Rada was completely speechless.
He looked at his hand, at that moment he regretted not being able to open his spirit door in time.
"It's okay, you don't have to possess a pearl to participate," seeing his agonised look, Rei tried to reassure him.
"That said, I wish you good luck and let The Wild Hunt begin!"
When the speech was over, Evan looked at the participants, there was neither disdain nor derision in his eyes. He knew well that the level of the young people in the village was not comparable to that of the capital.
However, sometimes, in the midst of so many rough stones, a real diamond could be found.
Evan's eyes were suddenly drawn to Rada, whom he saw carrying the rations still with him, plus he didn't have a familiar face.
"Who is that boy with the puppy in his arms?" he asked doubtfully.
"A young man who came to join the village recently commander, his name is Rada," replied one of the staff.
"He recently joined the village you say? Who is looking after him?" asked Evan in amazement.
"The Bran's clan sir, apparently the elder also seems to have taken care of him" replied the staff member in a serious tone.
"The Elder!?" Evan was even more amazed to hear the news.
(If that old man is taking care of him, it can't be just anyone...) Evan said to himself.
It was common knowledge that there was bad blood between the capital and the Elder, and few knew the reasons why, even Evan was unaware.
All he knew was that the Elder of the village of Bran was not to be provoked in any way. Even his father, famous for his indomitable courage, had a trembling voice when he spoke of the Elder.
This left Evan somewhat doubtful, but he never questioned his orders.
Looking at Rada, he thought for a few minutes before calling back to one of his most trusted men.
"Orders commander?" the man asked.
"Keep your eyes on that boy, I want to know everything he does" ordered Evan.
"I'm going" the man who answered to the name of Encar, immediately left in the direction of the forest disappearing completely.
Both Logar and Aaron immediately noticed the attention the young commander paid to Rada, but neither of them said anything, even though their expressions were very different.
"Those who have received their equipment this way please," one of the staff invited the boys ready towards the portal.
"Alright, I'll try to catch up with you as soon as possible, just be careful" Rei looked at Rada for a few more moments as she turned to go through the portal.
The latter followed her with his eyes before seeing her disappear into thin air.
"You too..."
Shortly after, Alcas crossed the portal as well, not before turning back to him, his grin full of malice not portending anything good.
"I'll wait for you on the other side!" he said.
Rada slowly shook his head, he knew there was a chance of colliding against him, but it mattered little, bad luck he was sure to run away.
"Well it's our turn."
He looked towards Kiba's small furry head, the pup gave him no answer, he was sleeping again.
Taking a deep breath, his heart began to pound, he didn't know if it was from worry or anticipation of what he would face.
He stepped through the portal without looking back, it was a strange feeling, it was like stepping through a soap bubble, only as he did so the scenery around him quickly changed.