(—-)
The forest was wet and muddy, so it was a little difficult for the cadets to traverse. It had rained heavily moments before, and it was still drizzling
Yesynore stood in front of the cadets, as their guide. "We will be searching this forest, as this is where the target was last seen. If you see the target, scream as loud as possible."
"Yes, sir!" They responded firmly, continuing to follow behind.
The travel was certainly tedious.
"Holy shit. This is… too much for me to handle," Lio whined, barely being able to keep his head up. Leah and Kai were in very similar conditions.
"This is so much worse than the training…" Leah sighed.
Oscar noticed this. "Stay focused, you guys."
All three of them let out an even heavier sigh but continued to trudge through the mud.
Evan followed behind Oscar, in admiration. So did Almi.
"Why are you two watching me?" Oscar asked, immediately noticing their presence.
"W-we just would like to see how you walk… That's… that's all!" Almi blurted. Oscar stayed silent after hearing this.
Leah and Kai snickered. Lio continued to observe the arrows in his quiver, trying to take his mind off things.
Yesynore suddenly stopped, after thinking of an idea. "To make this search more efficient, We will be splitting into groups of 3."
The soldiers nodded and split into groups. Of course, Kai, Leah, and Lio came into a dilemma.
Lio was the first to speak. "Someone has to go alone."
"It can't be Oscar. What about you, Kai?" Leah asked.
"No way. Why did Yesynore make it like this anyway-"
"I'll go alone."
Leah, Kai, and Lio turned their heads, surprised
"B-But why? You have the most value in this entire unit!"
"Value isn't decided by power. At least, that's not what I believe."
Oscar gripped onto his sheath.
"I won't forget to scream if I encounter that monster."
[Cast: Cryo Steps]
Platforms of ice formed. Oscar dashed onto each one, getting away.
"Damn it! Why the hell would Yesynore make it like that?!" Leah complained.
"Oscar's strong. He'll fair well against the target."
[Cast: Dragon Claw]
The head of a fellow cadet came flying into the air. Everyone went screaming. The worst part? Nobody had seen the perpetrator. So they attacked whoever, in fear.
Naturally, everyone tried to get as far as possible from the chaos. Thus causing everything to be spread out.
-
Oscar's head was planted into the ground after he slipped on one of his ice steps. He sighed.
Slowly, he managed to get himself out.
"The mud's still stuck in my ear…"
He shook his head, trying to get the mud out of his hair and ears. It was somewhat successful.
All of a sudden, the forest slowly became covered in a thick, red mist. Oscar's light blue eyes widened, trying to see better.
"Must be the cast of the target…"
He sighed, coughing a bit.
"You're the strongest one… aren't you?" a voice spoke. Oscar's body shivered, contrasting with how he thought he was feeling.
"I knew something felt strange about my casts. It's you, huh? The target."
"That's me."
[Cast: Cryo Steps]
Using the ice to propel him even faster, Oscar dashed at the man. A green-haired elf with a crazed smile.
In an instant, a wing sprouted out. It blocked the strike.
"Not fast enough at all."
[Cast: Dragon Claw]
Tou swiped his claws at Oscar, just narrowly missing. It barely scraped his shirt.
[Cast: Ice Zone]
The surrounding area became intensely cold.
"At this rate, all of your cells will die if you don't get out of my zone."
"That would be true if I was a regular elf."
"Huh?-"
The second wing sprouted out, and Tou flapped his wings. He cut through the air, speeding toward Oscar.
[Cast: Dragon Claw]
If Oscar had raised his sword just a millisecond late, the trees would have been decorated with his blood, and his head would've been a new ornament.
He started to sweat.
"Are you getting nervous? At this rate, you'll need more than one person to beat me!" Tou cackled.
[Cast: Gale Step]
Lighter and quicker than the wind, Yesynore appeared.
[Cast: Blade of Shu]
"Yesynore! How's the situation going on with the cadets?"
"Everyone's killing each other. I need you to handle that, while I handle this."
Oscar nodded, sprinting away. Tou looked annoyed.
"Interrupting a fight isn't-"
[Cast: Downward Pressure]
An intense force pushed down on Tou, to the point where he could not move. Yesynore was getting closer and closer.
[Cast: Scale Explosion]
The scales on his body exploded in every direction, digging into Yesynore's skin. He bit his lip to ignore the pain.
"It seems I'll have to try much harder."
[Cast: Artemis's Breeze Dart]
A large arrow, made of raging winds, formed above Yesynore's head. He shot it.
It was fast.
But Tou was faster.
"Too slow!" he moved to the side, evading it with ease.
Yesynore looked at him with shock.
"You seem to have casts related to wind. Shall I try it?" Tou asked, mocking Yesynore. He flapped his wings. The wind became stronger and stronger.
Finally, Tou shot it toward Yesynore. Yesynore was so stunned, that he couldn't even move.
But, Evan jumped in the way. A clean decapitation.
"Eh? Did I miss? Guess I'll just try again."
Yesynore snapped back into focus, seeing the death of his Cadet.
"You… bastard!"
[Cast: Calm Gale Dragon]
Calm winds started to form. They represented the shale of a dragon, towering over the trees. Anyone in the forest or outside of it could see it.
"A cute imitation."
"This'll be your end!-"
[Cast: Dragon Claw]
Tou sliced Yesynore's chest. He dashed away, but the hit still connected. He was bleeding, and he bit his lip even harder to contain it.
"You're really stupid. You should use that attack immediately. No one is going to wait for you to attack."
Tou raised his arm.
[Cast: Flaming Tiger Dart]
An arrow cut through Tou's arm, cutting it clean off.
[Cast: Web Creation]
Webs were formed, binding and restricting any movement.
"Quick, finish it, Oscar!" Lio, Kai, and Leah yelled.
Oscar nodded.
He sliced.