Loud ringing and sudden vibrations forced Avryn awake. The noise jolted him up from the bed as he let out a gasp. He frantically looked around for the source of the noise. A device on the end table was making it. He remembered from his readings that that was an alarm clock. That was his first time actually seeing one. Such things were a rare sight back home in Kuldrin.

  He grabbed the clock and examined it further. It continued to vibrate and make the loud noise. He fiddled with it until he found a button. He pressed it and the noise and vibration stopped. He placed back on the end table.

  “Wonders of modern technology, huh,” he looked at it.

  It was early in the morning when he woke up. He took to a shower and then readied his gear. He made his mental notes. He noticed a pamphlet placed on his desk. It had a map of the academy drawn, and the next steps.

  “Well, before we continue, we should grab some breakfast,” he reminded himself.

  A soldier with an empty stomach was an ineffective one. A lesson that was drilled into his head years ago. He paused himself and supressed those memories. It was all in the past now. There was a whole world of food that he wanted to try, besides.

  He headed to the cafeteria, admiring the courtyard’s beauty as he went. He listened and saw the cafeteria was already hard at work. He saw at least a sample size of the whole student body. A few hundred people filled the cafeteria halls.

  He took a deep breath. Already, a lot of food was there for the taking. He heard the chatter and friendly banters. He never saw this many people at once. The uniforms caught his eyes as well. It was mostly black with pink accents. Certain students sported capes of pink gradient leading to a slightly transparent black at the ends. They also sported a peculiar flower as its main motif.

  He grabbed his fill of the food and sat down at the nearest table. His neighbor particularly had a mountain of food. He was amazed all that could fit a single plate.

  “Readying yourself for the big test later, eh?” he asked.

  “I am,” a familiar voice replied.

  Avryn looked up to the side and saw he was speaking to Valoche. Tvira was just beside him and almost finished with her plate. Valoche recognized him too and greeted him. They continued the conversation they left off yesterday.

  All the while, Avryn snuck in some glances to see if he could find Rinna everywhere. It seemed she was not present. The topic transitioned to the upcoming trial they will undergo. They didn’t know what will go down, but were advised to be ready for anything.

  Breakfast was finished. The freshmen were gathered at the east wing of the Academy. Aldric was there waiting for them. This part had a more modern look to it. A lot more crystals were found here.

  “Courtesy of the Baradovian nation. This is our fifth year having simulation tech to aid us in training recruits such as yourselves,” he toured them around the facility.

  He explained further that through combining magic and technology, it allowed the ability to recreate the look and feel of front lines at The Lost Lands. It would transport them into a pocket dimension, crafted with the consultation of the mages, soldiers, and scientists of The Chain, the alliance of the nations.

  It would simulate the expeditions carried out in that place, supplemented by all the intel from all previous missions. There were also failsafes in place if anything would go awry. He gestured to one of the operators and nodded.

  Unauthorized duplication: this tale has been taken without consent. Report sightings.

  The batch and Aldric were transported to another place. Dark, dull, and grey grass spawned beneath their feet. The sky dimmed above them. Trees and mountains formed beyond them.

  “The privilege of being in the Lost Lands at the comfort of still being in the Academy,” he marvelled like a child at a toy store.

  Stone and wood came to life and formed into a large structure. This was one of the real outposts constructed in The Lost Lands. Aldric reassured them any damage they feel was fake.

  “Actually, why don’t I show you all instead,” He was given a knife.

  He demonstrated by stabbing his own chest. Some audible gasps escaped from the crowd. He then spontaneously did some jumping jacks, and a cartwheel. Worry quickly turned into laughter.

  “See? No pain. Only fatigue from doing such things at my age,” He jested.

  The simulation ended and they are transported back to the simulation room. Aldric gave them the details of the trial: They would navigate through the forests of the Lost Lands to find ruins, fighting or avoiding enemies along the way. Then they must find and procure a piece of an artifact that was placed there. Finally, they must move to a designated evacuation zone. They would work in pairs.

  “Do we get to choose our partner?” A student asked.

  “They’ll be the first person you find when you spawn,” The headmaster smiled.

  Easy enough, Avryn thought to himself. There were no further questions asked. The trial began and Avryn’s batch was transported. He found himself surrounded by trees. There were only a few spots where the sunlight peeked through. Finding the ruins was the priority. He needed to find a vantage point to get his bearings.

  He walked through the forest at a stroll’s pace. He was confiden in himself, the true fight was maintaining his energy through it all. He found elevated land after twenty minutes of searching and made his way up.

  Relief came to him when he saw Rinna overlooking the landscape. He approached her,

  “Ah a friendly--”

  She turned and brandished her weapon on his face. Avryn raised his hands,

  “…face,” He continued.

  He took this time to examine her weapon. He was staring down its barrel. It was a half-halberd and half-rifle hybrid weapon. He smelled fresh gunpowder from it. She realized it was Avryn and lowered her weapon.

  “Guess you’re my partner now,” She stated.

  Avryn was unsure whether she was angry, disappointed, or even happy. Her expression was unchanging as ever. She looked like a doll in this instant. She beckoned him to come forward.

  He stood beside her and scanned the area. He saw the ruins just to the northwest of where they were.

  “Before we proceed,” She turned to him. “How good are you in a fight?”

  “If nothing else, it’s the one thing I’m good at,” He reassured her.

  She observed him. Looked him up and down.

  “If you slow us down, you better make up for the lost time,” She stepped to the destination.

  “Yes, ma’am,” He followed right beside her.

  “Just a yes would suffice,” She commanded.

  They descended back into the forest, now with a proper sense of direction. A distinct smell in the air gave pause to Avryn. He signalled to Rinna and they took cover. There was no mistaking it. It smelled of wet dog. No, there was a strong scent that overpowered it: death.

  “Corpses are nearby,” Rinna whispered.

  “Yeah, the corpse of whatever’s been eaten by scavenging animals,” He turned to her.

  “You don’t know what Corpses are, do you?”

  Rinna gave Avryn the quick rundown. Corpses were animals corrupted by twisted magics after The Downfall. He remembered reading about this Downfall. The history books said it was the destruction of the old world of Eyur. It resulted in the near destruction of humanity.

  He peeked over the cover and had a better look at what they were dealing with. He saw a pack of four dogs. Their skin was dark as night, their stink emitted a visible shadowy aura, and their eyes glowed a faint purple. Regular animals were one thing, but these were truly something else.

  He relayed what he had seen to Rinna.

  “Can we take them?” He slowly unsheathed his sabre.

  Rinna sighed and readied her halberd in gun mode.

  “We need make this quick. Noise will attract possible reinforcements,” She crouched and took aim. “I’ll cover you.”

  Avryn nodded and proceeded. His sabre in tow, he snuck behind one of them. Their flesh felt chippy and flakey with how his blade reacted. He alerted the other Corpses. A bullet to one of the other’s head swiftly followed.

  Rinna charged in and joined the melee.

  “Aim for their heads, destroy the brains,” She advised him.

  “Right,” Avryn followed suit.

  The Corpses were disposed of relatively quickly. Avryn examined them. They didn’t looked all too different from a dog. Rinna explained these Corpses are called mutts by the soldiers. Luckily they were easy to fight. She hurried him along to their objective.

  “We should focus on finding the artifacts. Fighting every single group of Corpses out here would be detrimental,” She stepped quickly.

  “You’re right. Just wanted to see how these Corpses operate,” Avryn explained.

  “There’ll be plenty to fight if we pass this trial, now let’s go,”

  The two raced along the path to the ruins. It took a good near hour of travel but they made it to the ruins. Broken stone and dried mossy carpets layered the floor. There were a few pedestals that stood in its center.

  Avryn scouted the perimeter as Rinna secured the artifacts.

  “Pieces of coin,” She fiddled one of them on her hands.

  She called on Avryn and passed him his piece. Avryn examined it as well. Real silver. He pocketed the coin. Rinna commented some other pieces were already taken.

  “So, what’s next?” Avryn sat on an old stone chair.

  Rinna looked towards the sky,

  “We need to wait for the evac zone. For now we can rest a bit.”

  Avryn had a sinking feeling. This felt too easy so far. A trial should be difficult first and foremost. Perhaps the real test was waiting for them at the evacuation zone. He looked to Rinna whose stare was a thousand miles away. Perhaps she thought the same. They planned their next move.