It was finally time for our final exam.
Our last practical.
And I wanted nothing more than to get it over with so I could crawl back into bed and hibernate like a bear in winter.
But first, I had to pass this trial.
Our exam site was a stretch of crumbling ruins, as big as a small village, nestled at the westernmost edge of the Night Sanctuary.
This whole area was a graveyard of shattered buildings, collapsed archways, fractured pillars, and leaning towers that looked one breath away from toppling.
I heard that this place used to be one of the training grounds for Selene’s Sentries — her most trusted warriors.
But now it was cut off from the rest of the Sanctuary. Left to rot. Used for training new Awakened in the skills of Stealth Monster Hunting and Wilderness Survival.
Standing at the threshold of the ruins, I saw vines curled around the withered walls of old buildings, creeping through cracks in the stone.
Gnarled roots had split the cobbled roads. Pools of still water collected in sunken courtyards, green with moss.
Beneath the ruins lay tunnels and caverns, some half-collapsed, others crawling with nightmarish monsters best left undescribed.
The ruins above weren’t very safe either.
The entire site was infested with harrowing creatures — Spirit Beasts that slithered, skittered, or stalked through the shadows.
Those beasts were dangerous, unpredictable, and just wild enough to remind us that this wasn’t a game.
Even if the rules pretended it was.
Our objective for this exam was to capture a single flag hidden somewhere near the heart of the ruins.
The first team to retrieve it from its pedestal would be declared the winner. Everyone else would lose.
But our passing grade would depend on more than just winning.
Points would be awarded for teamwork, individual performance, smart strategy, and how many opponents we managed to take down.
“…osbane!”
Each of us was equipped with a single black orb strapped to our belts. Smooth and small, the orb was designed to absorb a specific amount of magical or physical damage before shattering.
Once it broke, you’d be eliminated.
“…Theosbane!”
This was the same kind of orb they’d given us during our Evaluation Exam.
Only this time, we were given just one. Not three.
“Hey, Theosbane!”
A sharp voice snapped my attention.
I turned to the four Cadets standing around me.
They were my teammates.
And in the last twenty-five hours, I’d somehow managed to remember their names. They should’ve felt honored by that alone.
…But they didn’t.
“Did you even listen to a word I said, Theosbane?” the tall guy scowled at me like I’d personally insulted his ancestors.
That was Reiner Tovak, the unofficial leader of this squad. He had dark violet hair and an angular face that most girls would describe as handsome.
He was also the head of the Commoner Faction back at the Academy.
His Origin Card was called «Abyssborn». It let him sprout four to five tentacles from anywhere on his body. Emphasis on anywhere.
Yeah, I’m not to blame for any obscene images that may have popped up in my head.
…Moving on, the other guy in the group, aside from Reiner and me, was Erwin Holt.
Erwin was blond, introverted, and permanently attached to his sniper rifle like it was his emotional support weapon.
His Origin Card was «Laplace’s Deadeye». It allowed him to predict his target’s movements for the next three seconds. It wasn’t the same as Future Sight — so he could still be ambushed.
Then there was the Squad’s healer — a green-haired girl with golden piercings and a resting bitch face that was only directed at me. Her name was Liora Glade.
Her Origin Card, «Altruistic Mercy», lets her heal her allies by absorbing their pain. But because of that, she couldn’t heal herself.
Finally, we had Veyna Rosen — dark-haired, dagger-eyed, and for someone with rose in her name, her personality was all thorns.
Veyna’s Origin Card was «Phantom Walk», which basically turned her into a real-life assassin by allowing her to become completely undetectable in the shadows.
…Honestly, even I had to admit that this was a strange Squad.
Not because of the composition.
No, that part, they had nailed.
There was a sniper, a mid-range fighter, an assassin, and a healer.
Even without me as their fifth, they looked solid enough to give anyone a serious challenge. Even most of the main characters.
But what made them weird was… them. These people.
They came from wildly different backgrounds.
The boys — Erwin and Reiner — were commoners.
The girls — Liora and Veyna — were nobles.
Back at the Academy, they were the leaders of opposing factions.
And yet here they were — teamed up, socializing, acting like they were best friends in a coming-of-age drama.
What was that about?
Did my little stunt really bring nobles and commoners together already?
I mean, I knew it would happen eventually — obviously — but this was faster than I expected.
Maybe, as the de facto leaders of their respective factions, they were trying to set an example. Forge an alliance. Promote unity among peers.
If so, then I was impressed.
For nobles to swallow their pride, and commoners to let go of their prejudice — for both sides to recognize they were stronger united than divided — that was, honestly… admirable.
Even though I had to give them a little push.
And credit where credit’s due:
My teammates were strong.
They were in the Top 20.
I had fought them myself. I knew how dangerous they were.
Liora’s healing was fast. Too fast. She was a problem.
An even bigger problem was Reiner and his tentacles. He had pushed me to the edge in that match.
And Veyna was a menace once the sun dipped. She stabbed me so many times I almost passed out from blood loss.
But the real pain in my ass was Erwin. I still remembered how he’d shattered my defensive Card with a single bullet and almost sealed that match for others. Almost.
So, truly — aside from the plot-armored main characters — I couldn’t have asked for better teammates.
My only problem?
“Of course he’s not listening,” Veyna muttered with venom. “Why would he? We mortals are beneath the great Lord Theosbane, aren’t we?”
“I swear to the Monarchs,” Liora snapped, “I told you all to leave him and go in without him. He’s just going to disrupt our synergy!”
“Just listen to what I’m saying, Theosbane!” Reiner barked. “Can you do at least that? Can you just listen?! Please!? I’ll beg if you want to!”
My only problem was that these guys didn’t like me very much.
…Or at all.
I offered them a my most charming smile — the kind that said ‘Don’t worry I’ve absolutely got this,’ while also screaming ‘You should probably worry. A lot.’
“Of course I was listening,” I lied smoothly. “Every single word. Beautiful speech, Reiner. Very rousing. Almost brought a tear to my eye.”
Reiner’s eye twitched. “I wasn’t giving a speech. I was discussing our plan.”
I nodded solemnly. “And yet, it filled me with such passion that it felt like a speech. That’s how good of a speaker you are.”
Veyna groaned and muttered something under her breath that could’ve either been a curse or a praise. I chose to believe the latter.
Erwin didn’t even look up. Just kept polishing his rifle like he was imagining my face at the end of the barrel.
Liora pinched the bridge of her nose. “Can you, just this once, try to work with us?”
“I can,” I said earnestly. “I absolutely can.”
“Will you?” she asked.
I paused. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Veyna growled. Reiner looked like he was about to sprout a tentacle and choke me with it.
Look, it’s not like they thought I was weak.
They knew better.
They’d seen what I could do when I actually got serious.
No, instead, their problem with me was that I was too chaotic.
…Too unpredictable.
Which, to be fair, I was.
“All examinees,” Selene’s voice suddenly boomed across the ruins, amplified tenfold, “prepare yourselves. The trial begins in sixty seconds.”
Immediately, a red countdown appeared in the sky, numbers ticking down with dramatic flair.
60.
58.
57.
I hadn’t completely lied before. I had been listening to their plan earlier.
Reiner had suggested a straightforward strategy.
Since the ruins were cloaked in darkness — like the rest of the Night Sanctuary — our biggest advantage here was Veyna.
She could turn fully invisible in the shadows and had night vision.
So the plan was to use her.
While the rest of the Cadets would need to summon light sources just to see, Veyna could move undetected.
And even if anyone tried to use a night vision Card or anything similar, the glowing runes etched into their Card’s surface would be bright enough to catch the eye of every Spirit Beast skulking in the darkness.
But since Veyna’s Origin Card also turned invisible in the shadows along with her, she could be our scout — our eyes and ears in the dark. She’d guide us through the ruins, mark threats ahead, and lead us straight to the heart of the map.
If everything went right, we’d be able to avoid fights until the very end.
It was a good strategy. Simple and effective.
…Which is exactly why it wasn’t going to work for me.
Because the plan required one crucial component:
Cooperation.
And I… had a complicated relationship with that word.
“Just stick to the plan,” Reiner said as if reading my thoughts. “Stay close. Cover Liora from the left. Don’t engage until we signal. Understood?”
I gave a serious nod. “Crystal clear.”
9.
8.
“Please stick to the plan,” Liora echoed, wagging a finger like an exasperated kindergarten teacher scolding a particularly unteachable child. “All you have to do is cover my left. No improvising. You’re our strongest member. Once we reach the center, we’ll need your strength. We’ll support you. You grab the flag. Easy. Just… try to be a team player. Try.”
I placed a hand over my heart, like I was swearing an oath to the gods themselves. “Don’t worry, healer girl. I can be a team player.”
“Swear it,” Veyna growled. “Swear you will be.”
“I swear,” I rolled my eyes like their doubts were offensive, “on everything holy and unholy. I swear it on my family, on my dear twin sister, and on my loving father that I will be a completely rational, strategic, calculated asset to this team.”
2.
1.
Veyna nodded, satisfied — until she froze mid-thought, perhaps finally remembering that I was disowned.
Oathing on my family meant nothing.
She opened her mouth—
But the horn blared.
I willed Essence into my legs and launched forward like a cannonball.
“THEOSBANE!” Reiner’s voice howled behind me.
“It’s not you guys! It’s me!” I yelled over my shoulder, already halfway across the courtyard. “I tried! Believe me, I did!”
I leapt over a broken wall, hit the ground in a roll, and bolted through a narrow alley between two crumbling buildings.
Somewhere ahead, a Spirit Beast shrieked — the sound rattled my bones like loose coins in a tin cup.
I grinned.
This was going to be fun.
Behind me, Veyna screamed, “I knew he’d do this!”
Yes.
Yes, you did.