After a surprisingly short but still difficult battle, the Reflezard hits the ground with a lifeless thud with Dom falling beside it.
A peaceful silence quickly fills the air of the forest clearing, lasting for a couple seconds before Dom begins to push himself up with a groan.
He gets to a knee and breathes heavily with his chest heaving. He stares at the defeated beast for a moment before smiling as he forces himself to stand.
Several meters away, Dae remains seated on the ground, his eyes fixed on the floor as he tries to catch his breath.
"You alright?" Dom asked as he approaches with his bloodied hand on his gut.
"You should really think about yourself first." Dae grumbled as Dom stops in front of him. "I thought you were dead."
Dom gives a tired laugh. "Sorry, I took so long. He really sent me flying back there." He reaches out for Dae who takes his hand and groans as Dom pulls him to his feet.
"Understandable. I'm honestly surprised that you even survived that attack." Dae winces in pain before looking at the beast again. "If I didn't see it for myself, I would have never believed you could defeat a Reflezard."
Dom grins as he pats Dae's back, making him wince a little. "It was a team effort. I couldn't have done it if you didn't slow it down for me."
Dae stares at Dom for a brief moment before smiling. "I guess… you're right." They both suddenly stumble a little once a distant explosion echoes through the clearing.
Dom's eyes widen in realization. "I totally forgot about the exam."
Dae looks at his trembling wounded leg with frustrated eyes. "I can't run anymore."
"Then I'll carry you. Where's Sam?" Dom asked as he turns to look around before stumbling to a knee with some blood escaping his lips.
"What did you expect after taking all those hits. It's a miracle you're still standing." Dae grumbled as Dom forces himself back to his feet and wipes his blood-stained lips.
"I'm… fine. I can still run. Where's Sam?"
Dae points to the bush where he could see Sam still groaning in pain. "He should be fine if he stays hidden." Dae commented before looking up at the sky, his eyes noting the sunlight and the weather itself. "I'd estimate that we still have about an hour and a half left to reach that goal."
"Then… we still have time." Dom grumbled as he walks towards Sam with a noticeable limp in his steps. "I'll just… have to carry both of you."
Dae tries to reach out to stop Dom but instead falls to the ground, his body now heavier than before. He looks up at Dom who continues towards Sam before stumbling again, his body visibly trembling.
"You can't do it. And if you even manage to carry us, he's already failed the moment his partner died." Dae groans as he tries to push himself up. "If he remains hidden, he can be safe until the trainers come later. There's no point in lowering our chances of passing even more by carrying him."
"Don't… worry." Dom mumbled between breaths before giving Dae a forced smirk. "We won't fail."
Dae stares at Dom's confident expression for a moment before sighing in defeat. "Do what you want. It's not like I can stop you anyway." Dom laughs as he moves over to Sam. As he did, Dae smiles a little before laying his tired head to the ground and closes his eyes…
Some time later…
A team of two recruits both tired and injured, support each other as they enter the large clearing in the center of the forest… where they see a large blue swirling portal being projected between two pillars.
They share a satisfied smile before moving into the portal… and arriving back in the Academy training ground where the trainers along with other recruits were seen waiting. As the medics quickly rush towards the mages, Johan hums on his cigarette as he looks at his pocket-watch.
"15 minutes left." Johan mumbled with narrowed eyes just as Sandra approaches him.
"Don't you think it's strange, sir?" Sandra asked and Johan glances at her while she looks at the different recruits. "Despite being the best recruits in the entire Academy's history, they're still not here."
Johan lowers his watch with a sigh. "I was thinking the same thing."
Sandra turns to the opened portal with worried eyes. "Do you think something happened to them?"
"Who knows?" Johan said as he places his cigarette in his mouth while staring at the portal. "Like I said, whatever happens out there, they're on their own. If they got killed or fail to get here on time, then so be it."
Sandra frowns at him. "Isn't that a little cruel, sir?"
He shrugs. "We're soldiers, Sergeant. A little cruelty runs in our blood." Sandra sighs and turns back to the portal with a hopeful look on her face.
As time ticks by, the trainers along with the other recruits wait with somewhat tense expressions as they wait for the star recruits. Johan pulls out his pocket-watch again and narrows his eyes at the time.
"5 more minutes." He said and the tension increases a little more.
"Come on, guys." A female recruit said with a very worried expression just as a hand touches her shoulder. She turns to find Roger shaking his head at her.
"There's no point in hoping for them, my dear. If they've not made it here yet, then it's likely they'll fail. It's sad but that's just how life is." Roger said with a superficial sad look that makes the girl cringe. "Don't worry. As the second strongest team, we'll be sure to-"
"Roger." His lackey said and Roger's brow twitches.
"What?" Roger grumbled before noticing the lackey pointing at the portal. He turns to the portal and his eyes widen when he along with everyone else began to see the portal distort with an irregular figure appearing through it.
Once the figure was through… the recruits and trainers were both relieved and shocked… to find an injured and exhausted Dom barely standing on his feet as he bears the weight of two equally injured mages on his back.
Dae forcibly opens his eyes which quickly recognize their surrounding. "We… made… it."
Dom forces a smirk. "I told you… We won't… f-" Before Dom could finish, his legs finally give out and he falls with a heavy thud with both Dae and the already unconscious Sam dropping on top of him.
The medics along with some recruits rush over. "Damn." One of the medics said as he rolls Dom over, his eyes seeing the different bruises and cuts on his already feverish body.
"Dom, Dae, Sam." The female recruit said as another medic pulls Dae's burnt shirt off while another checks Sam's vitals.
"They're supposed to be the strongest mages in our set and yet…" Roger's lackey mumbled with Roger similarly confused and concerned beside him.
"Hey. Where's David?" A recruit asked and once Dom recognizes the girl to be David's girlfriend, he grits his teeth in frustration while Dae frowns. "Dom! What happened?! Hey!"
"Get back!" Sandra shouted and the recruits move away as she along with Johan and some other trainers arrive. "Jesus." Sandra frowns as she gets on her knees to get a closer look at their damaged bodies, even noticing some rashes most likely caused by insect bites.
Johan moves closer to look down on them. "What happened?" He asked with a serious look and Dom turns his tired eyes to Johan.
"We… got attacked… by… Reflezard." Dom mumbled between groans as the medics treat his wounds.
"That's impossible. The Reflezard is a rare and dangerous A rank beast." A trainer said.
"All the beasts we used were B rank or lower." Another trainer said.
Sandra frowns at them. "Are you sure?"
"Yes." Dae panted, getting their attention. "It was a lizard-like beast… with a big and fast body. It also… had a very hard shell that… reflected my spells." The trainers were shocked to hear the textbook description of the beast while Johan narrows his eyes in suspicion.
"But that… it can't be true." Sandra said while shaking her head. "I personally reviewed and cataloged every single beast we sent into the field. There's no way I would make a mistake like that." She looks at their wounds again, her frown deepening as their words looked more believable.
Before anyone else could speak, Johan drops to a knee in front of them with still serious eyes.
Without saying a word, he closes his eyes, releasing his aura shroud before opening his eyes which sends his mana into their heads. Dom and Dae's pupils dilate instantly as Johan enters their mind. Within seconds, he searches through their memories like fast moving pictures until he confirms the beast, the battle and the outcome.
Once he sees this, he closes his eyes and exits their mind. "They're telling the truth." Johan said as he stands.
"Are you sure?" Sandra asked and Johan nods as he lets out some smoke. She turns back to them with a guilty look on her face. "I am so sorry, you three. I thought I double-checked the catalog before approving it. I must have made a mistake."
"I doubt that, Sergeant." Johan sighed as he snuffs out the cigarette, leaving Sandra confused.
"Um…" They both turn to see the worried recruits still looking at them. "Are they going to be okay?" The female recruit asked and Johan glances at the medic who nods, making the recruit and some of the other recruits' sigh with relief.
At that moment, a familiar bell rings through the field, and they all turn to find the portal gate distort before closing.
"Time's up." A trainer said and David's girlfriend's eyes widen with tears already streaming down her face.
"What about David? Where is he?" She asked and Dom closes his eyes tightly with visible pain written on his face.
"I'm… sorry." Dom mumbled and the girl falls to her knees while a few other female recruits move to comfort her.
"This is a mess." A trainer said sadly, and Sandra nods with a frown.
Johan, still maintaining a neutral expression, stares at the broken girl before sighing while rubbing his head. "Start working on rounding up the remaining recruits and beasts." Johan said to Sandra, who despite her still frustrated expression, nods in understanding. "You five. Help her out."
"Sir!" The five other trainers said with a salute before following Sandra who works on reopening the portal through the terminal.
Johan looks back at the conflicted recruits and sigh. "Well, regardless of this mix-up, I'm honestly impressed that you both managed to kill a Reflezard." Johan said, drawing the boys' attention. "That's a beast that give even A class veterans a run for their money. And you did it while protecting someone else."
Both Dae and Dom weakly glance at Sam who was now placed on a gurney and rushed away, passing some medics bringing two more gurneys. "Even if you didn't complete the exam, I'd still give you a passing grade for doing that alone. You did good work, soldiers."
Dom grits his teeth while Dae just closes his eyes as the medics began to load them on the gurney. In that moment, Johan sighs again… before turning to find a recruit glaring at him.
"With all due respect sir… don't you think you're being a little inconsiderate?" The recruit asked and Johan looks around to find some other recruits feeling the same way.
Johan lets out another sigh. "I do feel bad about what happened but that won't change anything." The recruit clenches his fists with frustration. "I promise to get to the bottom of this but... in some strange fucked up way, I still consider this a lesson."
"Lesson?" Roger asked.
Johan looks back at the medics putting the final straps on the boys who had both already lost consciousness. "Not everything goes according to plan." Johan said as the medics lift the boys up while he turns back to the recruits.
"I said it when we first met, right? What we need from you is the power to able to complete any and every operation given to us regardless of the risk. This is a practical example of that."
Once Johan said that the frustrated recruit holds his tongue with the other recruits doing the same once they saw the sad logic in Johan's words.
"I apologize but unfortunately, that's just the way things work." Johan closes his eyes as the medics finally carry Dom and Dae away. "Anyway…" Johan grumbled as he folds his arms and stares at the recruits.
"Out of the 40 recruits sent into the field, 29 of you were able to pass through the gate on time but only 22 of you qualified for the passing grade."
"Damn it." One of the recruits grumbled with teary eyes once he remembers his partner getting killed by a Gorback. The other single recruits had similar expressions on their faces.
"The 7 of you including the ones still alive in there will have to retake a different exam in the next 2 months to continue." Johan commented and they nod in agreement.
"But for the rest, you are no longer recruits. From today, you're all fully authorized magic knights. On behalf of the Royal Capital, I congratulate you." Johan said with a salute but only a few of the recruits saluted back with the others still looking conflicted or in tears.