"But where have the others gone? Samuele?" Sofia turned around, looking for all the other six Adventurers who would be taking the exam with her. Samuele, who had entered with her, was not there.
"It's just the three of us in this area. They split us up." Said Lucia, looking around.
"Well, on the bright side, we are not completely alone." Said the only boy in the group with a smile. He had wavy brown hair that framed his oval face. Big, bright green eyes and a slender physique. He approached the two girls and introduced himself. "My name is Paolo, nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you. I am Lucia and this is Sofia." The girl introduced herself to both of them. Sofia remained a step behind the other girl. She looked around, searching for something to do. She saw something and sharpened her eyes. She was about to call Lucia's attention by taking her by the sleeve, but something interrupted them.
"Hello, Adventurers!" A voice rang out from above their heads.
"Welcome to the first test of this exam. Your purpose is simple: all you have to do is overcome the obstacles that will come your way and arrive at the place where the second test will be held. Good luck to you all." Said the figure, then suddenly disappearing.
"Short and concise." Said Paolo in an almost amused tone. "Too bad we don't even know where to go."
"Maybe we do." Said Sofia, drawing the attention of the other two. "There's a village that way." She pointed to the spot where said village was located.
Indeed, there were small wooden houses there. The two were not surprised that they did not see it at first glance. It was far away and looked tiny from there. To Lucia, that village brought back memories.
They walked toward that direction.
"Is that a musical instrument you wear on your back?" Sofia asked Paolo in a curious tone. It looked like a mini-sized guitar to her.
"That's right. It is a ukulele. I usually play the guitar, but during quests I carry this."
"Why is that?"
"I never walk without it. Just in case I get inspiration for a song, at least I can play it and see if it's good or not. Another reason is to cheat boredom in case we get stuck somewhere. It also helps me concentrate... In short, I prefer to take them with me if I can."
Once they reached the village, they found people lying on the ground, injured. Sofia ran to one of them and checked on her. "She's still breathing, but she needs treatment."
"So do the others." Lucia said, approaching another wounded person.
"Can we save them?" Paolo asked.
"Maybe I can. I'm a Healer, but I don't know if my mana points are enough to save all of them." Looking around, Sofia saw that there were more or less a dozen of them.
"Use just enough to keep them from dying, then. We'll take care of the rest." Said Lucia. She turned to Paolo, as if she wanted confirmation from him. The latter smiled, nodding his head.
"Of course!" He exclaimed.
Sofia began to heal the first wounded man. A noise, however, caught the attention of the group. Lucia and Paolo turned alarmed, drawing their swords and watching closely. Sofia turned for a few moments before returning to heal the woman.
The noise intensified. Something was coming toward them, and from the sounds they were making, they sounded like dangerous creatures.
"What do we do?" Paolo asked with a slight note of concern.
"We defend Sofia and the wounded, of course."
From behind some houses appeared wolves twice as tall as normal. These headed toward the two, who began to throw slashes to defend themselves from their fangs.
Meanwhile, Sofia moved on to the other nearest wounded man. She did not have time to check who was more injured than the others. The "Heal" skill, she recalled, restored part of the subject's life points at the cost of the Healer's mana points. Even if she managed to heal all of them, she would have little or no mana left for subsequent obstacles. And if her companions were injured, how would she help them? She shook her head to put those thoughts out of her mind. She was a Healer and would fulfill her role at that precise moment.
"These wolves are tough!" Paolo exclaimed, hurling a slash at one of the beasts and slashing its back. The wolf fell to the ground with an agonizing howl.
Lucia decided to use her "Air Slash" skill to strike several wolves at once. These fell to the ground with a thud and did not move again.
"How far away are you, Sofia?" Lucia asked her aloud, casting her a quick glance.
"I'm almost finished. I miss the last one."
The moment the girl finished healing the last wounded resident, all the wolves were killed. All three caught their breath before turning their attention to the wounded. Paolo was moving a woman to put her in one spot with the others, when she woke up and weakly grabbed him by the collar. The boy did not expect this and called his companions, who came to see what had happened. Meanwhile, Paolo gently laid her on the floor in a sitting position and holding her by the back.
"A monster..." Said the woman in a feeble voice.
"We have already killed those wolves. You are safe now." Said with a reassuring smile Paolo, but the woman shook her head.
"It wasn't the wolves..."
"Who did, then?" Sofia asked, trying to remain calm and pronouncing the words slowly.
"It looked like a humanoid beast... It had hair all over its body and... it was tall..." Said the woman, panting with each sentence.
Lucia seemed to understand what beast she was referring to. He gently held her hand and asked her a question. "Where can we find him?"
The woman shook her head almost imperceptibly. Then she opened her eyes wide. "I saw it ... going in the direction of the forest..." She said. Tears stained her face. "Please...help us."
Lucia gave her a small smile and nodded. "We won't let it hurt you again. I promise."
Hearing those words, the girl fainted.
Lucia's sweet look turned into a hard one. She turned her head toward Paolo and spoke. "Put her with the others." The boy nodded and did as ordered. Then he turned to Sofia. "Will they recover even in this condition?" She asked.
"I don't know, I think so." The girl replied nervously. "I've treated them just enough to keep them out of life-threatening conditions, but I don't know if they will need any more treatment."
"It will mean we'll be back. Do you have any mana points left?"
Sofia nodded.
"Then let's go to that forest."
Once Paolo rejoined them, the three headed toward the forest. It was about a hundred meters away from the village. They went into it and walked, paying attention to their surroundings.
"From the description the woman gave, did you figure out what kind of monster it is?" Paolo asked, keeping his eyes wide open and checking point.
"There are several creatures that fit that description, but the wolves that attacked us make me think of only one option." Said Lucia.
"Are you talking about the Werewolf?" Sofia asked, also thinking it might be something like that. Lucia nodded.
"Exactly. Usually, Werewolves live with those of their own kind, but this one seems to be the pack leader of those wolves."
"And for what reason?" Paolo wondered curiously. Lucia shrugged her shoulders.
"I don't know and, honestly, I don't care. The sooner we kill him, the better."
A howl interrupted their conversation. It came from far ahead of them. They heard thuds, at first light, becoming louder and louder. The noise grew louder and louder. They heard the rustling of trees in front of them. They squinted their eyes, carefully observing where the noise was coming from. A shadow became more and more visible and gigantic.
"Move!" Paolo exclaimed, jumping to the side. Lucia and Sofia did the same, narrowly dodging something that hit the ground with a loud thud.
The three looked at the artificer and saw a being about three meters tall, standing on ground covered with huge cracks. It had long black hairs covering its entire body, fangs instead of fingers, and jaws with frighteningly long and sharp teeth. The monster turned toward them with red eyes and an angry look. "You are dead...!"
The three of them opened their eyes wide with a mixture of surprise and terror. They did not have time to think of anything as the monster attacked them again with rapidity.
Paolo managed to block its fangs with his sword, but was equally sent down a few meters further back.
"This is a fucking Werewolf?" Shouted Paolo in an incredulous voice, quickly getting up again.
Lucia did not answer him. She did not know what to say. She got into an attack position and spoke. "Sofia, do you have enough mana for that ability of yours?"
"Yes, but only for one use." She replied, staying on the rear.
"What skill are you talking about?" Paolo asked, confused.
The Werewolf attacked Lucia. The latter dodged and tried to pierce the wolf with her dagger. Although the blade had a damage bonus against creatures of darkness, such as this one was, it did not seem to do much damage to him. His tough skin meant that the blade did not go in deep.
Paolo took the opportunity to attack from behind the wolf.
YOU ACTIVATED "ACTIVE SKILL: CRITICAL STRIKE!"
His sword became covered with a light glowing aura. Sofia opened her eyes wide and, almost without thinking, used her skill on him.
YOU ACTIVATED "ACTIVE SKILL: SPIRITUAL REINFORCEMENT!"
This skill enhanced the offensive and defensive abilities of the person on whom it was used. Paolo hurled a slash straight at the neck of the Werewolf, which went through him almost with ease. The beast's head fell and rolled to the ground.
Paolo was amazed, not at how he had killed the monster, but how much more powerful he had felt. Then he turned to Sofia. "Was that the ability you were talking about?" He asked, receiving a nod from the girl with a proud smirk.
"We'd better go back to the village and check on the villagers." Said Lucia, holstering her dagger and walking toward the forest exit. Approaching Sofia, she patted her on the shoulder and smiled. "Well done."
Sofia reciprocated and smiled back, with a slight blush covering her cheeks. "Thank you."
"Yeah, thanks!" Paolo exclaimed in a wry tone.
Lucia rolled her eyes with an amused smile. "Well done to you, too."
They walked down the same road they had taken on the way out, and as they came out of the forest, they were stunned. If before there was an expanse of green in front of them with a village about a hundred meters away, now there was a stone wall blocking the way. It was as long as the view allowed, but it was about ten meters high.
Paolo jumped to the top of the wall, but found himself banging his head against something and fell to the ground, holding his head in pain. "What was that?"
"It's an invisible barrier." An unknown female voice answered.
The three looked toward the voice and saw a female-shaped figure sitting cross-legged on the top of the wall. A mask covered her face.
"Who are you?" Lucia asked, looking at her with attentive eyes.
"No one you need to care about." She answered in a cold voice. Even with the mask on, she seemed to be looking at them with indifference. "Turn around and leave. You can't pass through here."
"We came through here and the wall was not there. Where is the village? There are wounded people!" Sofia exclaimed, worried about those people.
"You don't have to worry about them. They are fine now that you have rescued them."
"I almost forgot. This is a test. Obviously, the citizens were not really in danger." Lucia thought aloud, shaking her head in embarrassment.
"That's right. This is a test, one you cannot pass. Surrender now and you will not suffer."
"What do you mean?" Paolo asked.
After a few seconds of silence, the masked woman replied. "Beyond these walls, there is hell. A hell of fire and blood, where every step is a death trap, where every breath is a poison, where every glance is a curse. Death, destruction and despair will be all you will find beyond. And you would not be able to face it."
"We are Adventurers." Affirmed Lucia with determined eyes. "We will face whatever we find, be it death, destruction and despair."
"Are you sure?" The woman asked in a sarcastic tone. "I will tell you how your beautiful outing will go. Once you see what lies behind the wall, you will show your true colors. You are not a team, but just a group of selfish people, and you will act as such. Everyone will think for himself. You will betray each other."
Paolo laughed at her. "You don't even know us. How do you know we will act like this?"
"Because everyone does that. You have no principles, no values, no ties. You would cross this wall and throw hoes at each other to try to survive, but what will await you is only a slow and painful death. I want to spare you the humiliation of seeing your comrades watching you with defiant and deceiving eyes. Turn back, now that you can. There is nothing for you beyond this wall."
The three remained silent, not knowing what to do. Paolo and Sofia cast glances at each other. Lucia looked at no one but the ground beneath her feet. She put her hand in her chest, where her heart is, and looked up in the direction of the woman.
"I am a Thief and I am able to defuse the death traps in our path. I will take care of defending the group."
Paolo and Sofia were confused by her words, but then they understood.
Sofia looked at the woman and put her hand in her chest. "I am a Healer I am able to heal my companions from all kinds of poisons. I will take care of the health of the group."
It was Paolo's turn to put his hand in his chest. "I am a Warrior and I will face our enemies. I will be in charge of guiding my companions through the hell of fire and blood that will await us.
The woman watched them in silence, almost as if peering into their souls. The three became nervous. Despite that mask, the woman was disturbing them.
"Good." She said. "I see you are not intimidated by my words. Maybe you have more courage than I thought. Or maybe you are just stubborn people who don't want to listen to reason. In any case, mine was just a suggestion. I will open a passage through the wall for you. But know that once you are inside, there will be no way back. You will have to face the consequences of your choices."
Just as he said, an oval passage opened in the wall, showing what would be on the other side.
The three looked at each other with smiles of victory.
"Go now. Your next challenge awaits you, Adventurers."
The group did as they said.
"Women first." Said Paolo, with a wave of his arm inviting them to pass. Sofia and Lucia thanked politely and crossed the gap, with Paolo closing the line.
END OF CHAPTER.
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Yes, guys. He is a musician adventurer. Don't ask why. I wanted this way. And I love it xD
Two more chapters to go. Honestly, I can't wait until it is all published so that I can get this off my chest. It was supposed to end in February this year, but instead fate (a.k.a. my lazy ass) decided to put it off until the first day of November. It will be All Saints Day when it ends, now that I think about it...
Comment, review and leave a power stone.
See you tomorrow, same time. Bye!