"I did," replied Leo, holding up the shortest straw. "Olympia, patch up Maeve as best as you can. I need her in decent shape."
"Yes, boss," Olympia responded with a mock salute.
"Jack, stay close. I might need your metals if things go sideways. Let's move, team—I've got a beast to take down!"
Unlike Maeve, Leo encountered his beast much faster than anticipated. If not for his heightened mitra sensory, he might have been torn apart instantly. Initially, he thought he saw a swarm of fireflies, but as they got closer, he realized it was a cat-like creature. The shimmering spots on its matte black coat revealed it to be a nebulon. The beast slinked through the woods, sizing up its prey before growling and pouncing at Leo. He barely dodged the attack, feeling a chill on his chest as he checked his armor—his chest plate had been ripped off. The nebulon shredded the metal in its jaws before continuing its assault.
Leo dodged and weaved, trying to buy time without a clear plan. Spotting a weak, slanted tree, he acted. Creating a portal beneath it and another behind him, he watched as the tree crashed down, smashing the nebulon's right forelimb. The creature whimpered, and its shimmering spots migrated to the injured area, causing its limb to sublimate and heal rapidly.
The nebulon locked eyes with Leo and made a strange gurgling sound. The spots on its neck converged, and suddenly, a beam of light shot from its mouth. Leo quickly summoned a boulder from the ground, using it as a shield. The beam cracked the boulder, but it gave Leo just enough time to dodge. Even so, the heat singed his chest.
"Leo, behind you!" Jack warned, but the next blast struck Leo's back, shattering his upper armor and sending him crashing into a boulder. His vision blurred, and he struggled to stay conscious. In his disoriented state, he saw a small, white ball on the ground—Jack had crafted it from the remains of his chest plate. The nebulon limped closer, preparing another attack. Leo, acting quickly, grabbed the ball and shoved it into the beast's mouth just as it fired. The nebulon choked, its own attack blasting through its neck, killing it instantly. Leo let out a sigh of relief, collapsing as he felt the burn sear his arm.
The cloaked figure reappeared, offering Leo the chance to leave after passing the test. Leo declined, choosing to stay and support his team.
Jack was next. Despite it being afternoon, the thick forest canopy made it seem like night, making visibility difficult. Jack's battle was quick and efficient. His opponent, a ferrofox, manipulated its metallic fur to attack. The forest floor, rich with metal ores, gave Jack the upper hand. He filtered through the ores, selecting those denser than the fox's fur, and restrained it. With a swift strike, he pierced its head, instantly ending the fight.
Olympia was last. Though she had patched up Maeve's wounds to the best of her ability, she felt the fatigue setting in. Her opponent was unlike the others—a wraith, a humanoid entity more rational than any beast. Known to be powerful familiars for spellweavers, wraiths were challenging to hunt or tame. Olympia wasted no time, launching a barrage of fiery projectiles. The spells had little effect as the wraith shrugged them off and retaliated with its own spells, which Olympia deflected with a shield. The spells that missed her and hit nearby trees caused them to wither and die instantly. Sensing the danger, her teammates backed away.
Unfazed, the wraith continued its assault. Olympia's shield began to crack under the pressure. Seizing the moment, she enchanted a boulder, sending it flying at the wraith to distract it. While it was momentarily stunned, she moved in, binding its hands to the ground with runes. She quickly drew a pentagram on its chest, biting her thumb to smear blood over it. The pentagram burned into the wraith's flesh, releasing dark, corrupted mitra.
Olympia knew she couldn't kill the wraith—it needed to be exorcised. Channeling her mitra into her hands, she plunged them into the wraith's chest, chanting, "Saleim im nova!" With its mitra blocked, she fought to break past the barrier around its core. The wraith struggled, but she yelled the incantation again, crushing its core. The wraith shattered into pieces, its power dissipating.
With the wraith defeated, the squad finally relaxed, fatigue washing over them. In two weeks, they would face real beasts and, hopefully, secure their beast contracts.