Day three of the Azure Clash dawned with a crimson sky.
Some students saw it as a bad omen.
Others blamed the cafeteria explosion yesterday.
Kael blamed the early morning bells interrupting his dream about a beach made of pillows.
---
Special Announcement
As students gathered at the arena, the Head Instructor stepped forward.
"Today's event," he declared, "is not on the schedule."
Murmurs rippled through the crowd.
"It is a test devised by the Academy's hidden council."
Even louder murmurs.
"A surprise assessment known only as…"
"The Crimson Trial!"
The name echoed, dramatic and strange.
Kael blinked at Lyra. "That sounds made up."
"It probably is," she muttered.
---
Trial Rules
The Crimson Trial involved navigating a giant shifting labyrinth—one filled with traps, magical beasts, and illusions.
Teams were chosen randomly. No magic tools allowed. No flight.
And worst of all:
No naps.
Kael audibly groaned.
He was placed in a team with Lyra, a nervous alchemy student named Bim, and Elira—who was scribbling everything down with a bright sparkle in her eyes.
"I've been waiting for a real test!" she said.
Kael yawned. "I've been waiting for a chair."
---
Enter the Labyrinth
The gates opened. Mist poured out.
Kael tripped on the threshold.
"Cursed already?" Bim gasped.
Kael stood up and brushed himself off. "Stupid rocks."
They entered.
The mist inside the labyrinth messed with their senses. Trees grew sideways. Some floated. The air shimmered like a dream.
"Stay close," Lyra warned.
Kael nodded. Then walked into a wall.
The wall turned out to be a mimic.
It roared.
Kael screamed.
But not in fear.
In boredom.
"AGH, why now?!"
He swatted the mimic mid-yawn.
The mimic exploded into sparkles.
Elira blinked. "That was a high-level cursed creature."
"I was aiming for a fly," Kael said, scratching his cheek.
---
The Trials Within
The Crimson Trial wasn't just traps.
Each team had to pass "Fated Challenges."
Kael's group found three.
1. A riddle gate guarded by a talking skeleton.
Skeleton: "Answer correctly, or suffer eternal itchiness!"
Kael: "How do you scratch if you're a skeleton?"
Skeleton: "That's... actually a great question."
The gate opened.
2. A room of mirrors that created evil versions of the team.
Dark Lyra: "I'll beat you with fire!"
Kael, mistaking her for the real Lyra, handed her a sandwich.
It exploded.
Again.
Both Dark Lyra and the illusion room vanished.
Elira: "Did you just weaponize lunch again?"
Kael: "Unintentionally."
3. A pressure plate puzzle floor.
Step wrong, get zapped.
Kael fell asleep standing on the correct tile.
Everyone else had to leap across.
He woke up after it was over.
---
Crimson Beast Encounter
Near the center of the labyrinth, the group encountered the trial's final test:
A massive red creature with three horns and scales made of mana crystals.
It roared.
Lyra readied her magic. Elira pulled out enchanted scrolls. Bim panicked and summoned a bubble shield.
Kael looked at the beast.
Then looked at the ground.
"…Can I nap now?"
The beast charged.
Kael stumbled forward, tripping on a tree root.
He accidentally body-slammed the beast's leg.
A mana crystal shattered.
The beast howled in pain and fainted.
Silence.
Elira slowly clapped. "That… counts."
---
Outside the Labyrinth
Spectators watched everything through projection crystals.
Kael's unintentional victories were being analyzed by scholars, mages, and confused officials.
One noble asked, "Is he cursed with absurd luck?"
Another said, "No, I believe he has mastered 'Flow of Accidental Impact,' a lost martial art."
Even Headmaster Aelric just sighed. "He's doing it again."
---
Aftermath
Kael's team finished first.
Lyra was impressed. Bim fainted from stress. Elira was already writing a paper titled: "Kael Drayke: The Living Mystery of Magical Probability."
Kael?
He finally found a couch at the medical station.
And slept like a baby.
---
End of Chapter 19