"Hello there, I'm Lilah Lest. Nice to meet you."
Ezra and Nova looked at this girl in front of them, staring at her for a while. She was short and almost looked like a child.
"Are you sure you're eighteen?" Asked Nova.
"How the fuck do you ask a lady that?" Yelled Lilah.
"Forgive him. He is outspoken." Said Ezra, apologetically.
"I was just saying was we were both thinking." Nova tried defending himself.
"Anyway, I'm Ezra, and he is Nova." Said Ezra.
"I see. So you're the careful one, and he is the reckless one." Said Lilah.
"The fuck you say." Yelled Nova attracting unwanted attention.
Lilah chuckled softly as Ezra tried to calm down Nova.
"You guys are interesting." She said before looking at the sea. "Have you guys heard?" She asked.
"Heard what?" Asked Ezra.
"About the first test." Answered Lilah.
"No, we haven't." Ezra said, still confused.
Lilah looked around and leaned closer to them.
"Apparently, this is the first test. A test to weed out the weak. The boat ride is where the professors see which students have exceptional qualities." Lilah said.
"How sure are you about this?" Asked Nova.
"I have a friend who is a senior, so he's ever attended one of these tests."
"Oh, so do you think the test is about to begin?" Asked Ezra.
"I don't think so, I know so. At least not now, but very likely the next coming days, so keep your guard up."
"Thanks, short girl. But you don't have to worry about us. We are very strong." Said Nova.
"Short girl. You bastard." Shouted Nova before she punched him in the gut, making him spit out some blood.
"Damn, she's strong." Ezra said, surprised.
"That'll teach you." She said, "Tell me if you see anything unusual."
"Sure thing." Said Ezra.
He helped Nova up as Lilah walked away found another student to tell about her theory.
Ezra looked at her briefly before helping Nova stand up.
He wanted to ignore what the girl said but decided to keep it as an option because the chances of such a test happening were very high.
Five days passed, and their journey was coming to an end. The ship had reached a region with a thick fog that made it incredibly difficult to see.
"This fog sure is thick. Will the ship be okay?" Asked one of the students.
"The ship is perfectly okay. This is normal. It's a fog shield that makes it hard for pirates to enter the Academy Sea space." Replied Josephine.
"So this isn't a test, right, Ms. Josephine?" Asked another student.
"A test. That's madness. There has never been a thing. The tests begin at the academy. Who would spread such a rumour?" Asked Josphine, laughing out loud.
Everyone looked at Lilah, angry that she had gotten them worried. Lilah didn't try defending her rumour and instead went over to Ezra and Nova, who were from the food court.
"What's going on here?" Asked Ezra.
"You two. I'm glad I caught you." Said Lilah.
"She's now trying to manipulate those two." Said some angry students.
Ezra and Nova could sense that the atmosphere had changed and everyone appeared to be angry. They heard what they had said.
"Hey, short girl. What's going on?" Nova asked Lilah.
"What do you mean? Nothing is wrong. Remember, we have to be prepared for the test, right?" Said Lilah.
"Hey, you two. Don't listen to her. She's a liar. There is no test." A male students Yelled.
"What do you mean? There is." Said Nova.
Just then, a giant creature emerged from the ocean. It towered over the ship ship and had all the students in shock.
"Is that a monster?" Asked a female student.
"What's the meaning of this, Ms. Josephine?" Asked some students, but Josephine was nowhere to be seen.
Fear began to invade the students' minds. Many of them collapsed to the ground and began to recite prayers underneath their voices.
The students were beginning to lose hope when they heard someone laughing out loud. They looked at the person laughing, and it was none other than Lilah.
"Why are you laughing?" Asked one of the students.
"Because I despise people that doubt me. And plus, it's really funny to see your faces that have lost all hope of living. I depise those people even more." Said Lilah as she continued to laugh at them.
"What are we supposed to do?" Asked a male student.
"Don't look at me. I'm gonna fight that thing." Said Lilah as she faced the giant monster.
"That's madness. You could die doing that."
"I'm not gonna die." Said Lilah.
"We are screwed."
"I'll join you, short girl." Said Nova.
"Sure thing. If you can, keep up."
"First, hold on. We can't bet on you beating that thing, so we need to first make sure that we can at least make it out of here safely." Said Ezra.
"You're right. If we don't have a clear route to take, then even if we defeat this thing, we'll still be lost and most likely crash into one of the continents." Said Lilah.
"What do you mean crash into on of the continents?" Asked Nova.
"I mean that the area we are in is an area between the southern and northern continents." Answered Lilah.
"That could be bad. We need to stay on the right path." Said Ezra.
"But we can't see if we are on the right path with all this fog, and all the crew members have just vanished." Said the other students.
"Then we need a guide. Do any of you have bird powers?" Asked Ezra.
"I do." Responded a female student, a girl with black hair.
"Can you fly above the fog and guide us through?" Asked Ezra.
"I think I can." The girl then bonded with bird and developed wings. The girl then thrusted up and took flight above the fog. Just as she was about to reach the top, she looked into the monsters eyes and immediately got scared.
A gust of wind blew her back onto the ship.