I ran over to Axel, who was face-to-face with the irritated Error. Picking him up, and ran as fast as I could.
Behind a tree, through a family of bushes and over a series of fallen trees. My legs groaned, while my rib-cage still agonised in pain.
I kept running, non-stop, panting and begging for this exam of death to end. The Error tailed behind us. Then suddenly, a hooded figure erupted from the swamp trees. Claymore in hand.
The figure swung the blade once, decapitating the hungry monster. The head dropped onto the ground as it took in its final breaths.
The figure exhaled:
"Hu… Glad that's dealt with!" announced the female figure.
"W-who are you?!" I asked.
"Oh, me? I'm Reina. And who might you be?"
"I'm Horacio," I responded whilst keeping a fair distance between "Reina" and me.
'She handled the monster way too easily… Like a bit too easily…'
I looked down, only then remembering to put down Axel from my grasp.
"Thank you, Horacio."
"You're welcome."
"So, I take it that you two are a squad?"
"Yeah!" responded Axel.
"Interesting, I'd like to join the team too. Mostly cause I need some help completing the exam. The monsters have gotten a bit stronger. Could I join?"
'HELP?! WHAT HELP DO YOU NEED?! YOU LITERALLY BEHEADED A WRAITH RANK WITH ONE SWING OF YOUR BLADE!'
"Stop kidding with us, we saw what you did, you decapitated that Wraith rank like it was nothing! What help would you need from us?!" I remarked.
"Yeah, true, I guess… But I have another goal here. I can't disclose it yet. However, I need some people to help me out on it."
"Uh huh… Well, I guess you could join the team—"
"YAY!"
"BUT!"
"But what?"
"But you cannot come closer than four meters until we actually trust you."
"Oof, that hit a spot… I just saved your weak asses, and this is what I get? Tch."
'DON'T TCH ME, WE DON'T EVEN KNOW YOU! PLUS YOU HAVEN'T EVEN REMOVED YOUR HOOD YET! WHO KNOWS WHAT YOU COULD BE, MAYBE YOU COULD BE A DIFFERENT KIND OF HUMAN-TO-ERROR TYPE ERROR!'
Axel looked blankly at our argument before pulling out a piece of meat from his bag, "OH IS THAT MEAT?!" Reina yelled, "YEAH IT IS! DO YOU WANT SOME?" Axel yelled back as he provided a piece of meat.
Reina put the claymore away, back in its sheath, which hung at her back. And dug into the meat. Biting on it like she hadn't eaten for days, "Sorry for my manners, it's been days since I last ate," she said as if she had somehow read my thoughts.
The wind blew her coat made of brown bear hide. Almost exposing her face, but she pulled the hood even further on before we could get a glimpse of her, as if there was a secret behind the coat that covered Reina.
Axel and I looked at each other, confused as to why she was so secretive about her face.
"Alright, now that we have someone who might take care of us, I can sleep in peace!" I declared as I lay in the soft, overgrown forest bed. I closed my eyes, slowly drifting off into the darkness of sleep. Axel lay right beside me, joining me in the short nap.
Whilst Reina sat still on the stone, facing the evening sky. Bone in hand.
***
The figure's cloak blew in the wind as she stood atop the beast. Her claymore was soaked in blood.
"Gah, I'm hungry! If only they would provide some food to use during the exam!"
She leapt off the Error, walking into the void within the forest. Soon her digestive walk was interrupted by the sound of logs crashing.
'Another one? Already? Tch…'
The figure lurked in the curtain of leaves and bushes, following the path of destruction created by what seemed to be the footprints of an Error.
She arrived at the scene, where the two unknown boys fought the beast. Running for their lives, 'Hmm, they're tired, better get moving quickly.'
She pulled out her claymore from the sheath slung across her back, leaping out of the tree tops and slicing off the monster's head in one quick movement.
'Easy.' She thought to herself before sighing aloud.
The figure looked at the guy who didn't seem much older than her, as he inquired her name, "Reina is my name, what is yours?"
***
We awoke two hours later, mainly due to the strong breeze. Surprisingly, no Error had pestered us this time! In fact, there wasn't any sound except the sound of snoring Axel and the breeze.
Reina then proceeded to come out of the trees, "Ah, so you woke up. We should move to the next region soon. I doubt Axel told you this, but there are two goals, not just one:
First: Surviving the 14-hour exam.
Second: Exploring at least 3 of the 4 regions.
If you fail to complete either of these two, then you'll most likely be kicked out."
'Great… just great!'
I tapped Axel awake, "Get up, we gotta move."
"Ughh, whyy—"
"Because we have to!"
Axel looked at me, pissed off. Probably also wishing that this acursed exam would END.
Reina slung her sheathed claymore to her back, stretching her hands and legs right after. While I sat, waiting for everyone to get ready.
That's when Axel gave us the worst possible announcement, "Uhm, bad news, we've run out of food…"
'NOOO, NOT THE FOOD!!!'
"Let's just cut that Error up—" suggested Reina,
"WHAT?! ERRORS ARE EDIBLE?!" I responded in shock.
"Indeed, they are. You just have to cook the meat right and it'll taste… heavenly." Vivid pictures of juicy-looking meat suddenly swarmed my mind. I swallowed in my saliva, "So, uhm, can we just get the meat for now? We can cook it later."
"Definitely. However, I doubt you two have experience cutting up Errors for food, so lemme do that part," explained Reina.
She pulled out her claymore and went back towards the Error's body, which lay deep within the forest. That was the last of us seeing her again for a while.
Axel and I sat silently on the stones. Tired, bored, you name it. This "exam" was far worse than any normal exam; it was more like a to-the-death gladiator fight in ancient Rome, but with MONSTERS.
____________________________
Reina came back a few minutes later, the head of the monster dragging behind her. Her claymore dripped blood from the edge of the blade. She paused. Looking around, face tensed.
"Run—"
"Eh? What do you mean?" I asked her.
"Don't ask, just run, quickly. Follow me!" and she began running. Axel and I also took off, wondering what had happened.
"Mind telling us what happened, Reina?""I SAID DON'T ASK!" yelled Reina in a whisper, "AND SPEAK SOFTLY!"
'Okay, okay, geez. Sorry for asking.'
Then, suddenly, to answer our questions, five people in dark brown cloaks erupted from the trees. Swords, maces, guns, you name it. It was all in their hands. 'These guys ain't kidding with us. They got some real talking to do.'
I summoned Ignis, blocking the attack from the person with two maces. I winced as my rib cage groaned even more. 'Push, push harder. This shit can't end here. Not on my watch.'
Axel took out his Glock-19 and began firing at the person with daggers. Reina, on the other hand, had already killed two of our ambushers.
Noticing this, the hooded figure standing in the back—like as if he's the protagonist or villain—yelled out the command, "Stop!"
Taking this chance, Reina dashed over to us, "Let's get moving, yeah?" and held us in her arms. Me on her left and Axel on her right. Leaping through the tree tops with no pause.