It's upposed to be 3.5k. It's 6k, more words than I bargained for so late post. It's still Wednesday tho... in my country. :D
Recap: With most of the candidates already acquiring the cards they need to continue their course toward district 5, many of them begin to approach and enter the town in between. With the sun already set and a looming threat in the forest before district 5, what dicisions will our candidates make moving forward? Find out in this chapter of "CASTERS".
1815Hrs
(POV). Ricko Tera-Nara.
"If my coordinates are correct, they should be somewhere around here." I followed the signal from their prowatches with my own. After a few seconds more of walking, I spotted a glow in the distance. The closer I walked, the clearer the image became. Lighting up the dark forest are two blue crystals. "Hmm?" Upon closer inspection, I noticed the two crystals piercing into both of my comrades skin.
"Wake up!" I heard a puny voice screaming. I looked beyond my comrades and spotted a tiny monkey jumping on a man's chest. "Come on, Aiden. It's been over an hour."
"No way! A talking monkey?" I asked, walking closer.
"Huh?" It's eyes widened, as I came into the light of the crystals. "St-Stay away! Or I'll-I'll unleash my deadly magic!" Wings appeared out of its back and it hovered up quickly. "Raaaaar!"
"Raaaar?" I laughed. "Are you trying to scare me off? That's cute as fuck." It got scared and flew back down screaming.
"Aiden!!!" It screamed. The guy suddenly pitched up, causing the monkey to fly back into the air.
"I'm going to kill you!" He yelled, thrusting his hand forward. "Seth!" A giant spikey crystal released from the ground and flew toward the monkey. The monkey dodged quickly and the crystal pinned into a tree ahead of the guy.
"Well that escalated quickly." I said. The monkey wore a shocked and frightened face. Is he never not scared? Those crystals released extraordinarily fast. It's not an Unravel 'cause not a Monarian word was said. This guy's the True-Caster from earlier. The one who robbed his cluster of their cards.
"A-Aiden.." The monkey called while hovering right beside the crystal.
"Talvic?!" He jumped to his feet and extended his arm. The monkey flew to him and hugged him. "You tried to forcefully awaken me again, didn't you? I told you that's dangerous. I could have accidentally killed you."
"I know. But you said if I was in danger, I should wake you up."
His eyes widened, "There's danger?!" He looked around and his eyes landed on me.
"Hey," I wave. "What's up?" One of his eyes glowed blue beneath his mask. He looked down at his prowatch for a second then looked up at me.
"Tera-Nara of the 4th district. You have both numbers, so what business do you have here?" He paused then looked at his prowatch and laughed cynically. "Those sneaky little magical worms took my cards. I'm surprised they left me with one." He looked back up at me. "Is that why you're here? For me to claim both of yours?"
"If we clash now, neither of us will pass the examination. We're most likely near equal power so our fight would be quite lasting." I informed.
"I don't mind."
"You should. Several extensive rules were added to the examination while you slept." He looked back down at his watch.
"The town before district 5 is a safe zone. Once you enter the safe zone, you cannot continue the examination until 30 Candidates have entered, or until the time reaches 1900 hours. Only those with two cards can enter the safe zone. The cards inside your projector watches will glow red when you're inside the town. Once they shade to green, the examination continues." He stared at the watch. "This is bullshit. It's already 1817."
"An extensive fight would not be wise. However," I squinted my eyes. "You missed a rule."
"Absolutely no killing." He huffed. "The examiners are soft as fuck."
I laughed, "Strong words from a man that spared my teammates even before that rule was put in place. The wounds on their body look critical, yet they're still alive even after all this time went by. These are your crystals, no doubt. They pierced in the exact spot needed to close off the critical artery. You're also releasing some of your magical essence into them through the planted crystals to keep their body alive. You can't even deny it 'cause I can sense your magic within them. It's amazing that you also kept this up while you slept. But I wonder why you saved them. Why didn't you kill them?"
"Don't over think it."
"It's nothing to ponder on. I think you're one of those wanna be bad boys trying to shed the skin of his former self. But morality has clouded your mind, making way for reluctance."
"I don't take pleasure in being called weak. I'm going to make you eat those words." His eyes glowed and the huge crystal that released from the ground shattered. Now tiny sparkling crystals the size of a grain of rice surrounds him.
I smiled, "I may talk a lot, but when it comes to executing," My eyes glowed purple. "I don't fuck around. You really wanna do this?" A sudden beep on his watch made him look down at it.
"Well," He paused. "It must be your lucky day. The fools forgot to collect the cards from those two girls. That girl has the card I need. She's not using it so why don't you be a gent and hand it over?" I stooped down and ejected her card.
"What's the magic word?"
"I don't say please."
I sighed, "Only because we don't have time, I won't continue teasing you." I tossed the card. "This is thanks for saving them." He caught it and implanted it into his watch. Crystal wings suddenly shot out of his back.
"See ya." He and the monkey flew into the air.
"Hey." I called, causing him to stop and look down at me. "Don't pretend to be someone you're not. People will like you more that way."
"I'm not looking to be liked, I'm looking to be feared."
"Really? Well you're already failing with me." I smile, and he smiled back.
"Soon." He flew away. I stood paused for few seconds, then started blinking quickly.
"Oh? This is interesting. He actually intrigued me. But who are you beneath that mask, Aiden?"
I walked over to the girls and summoned a flat glass beneath them. I then release five percent of my shadow into the glass.
"Take them home, then return to me ASAP." I commanded. The glass hovered up from the ground and flew away with them on it. "I forgot to ask him what happened to Layla. If she's got both of her numbers we'll end up in the same area. No time to waste now. Glisar! Manta ray!"
(POV) - Seth.
"Okay, one more time." I said to myself. I looked left then right, making sure that no one was in this area of the town. I extended my arm to the side. "Reqx! Quick release!" The beam shot from the necklace and into the ground. The sword emerged from the fire quickly. I gripped a hold of it and released flames from my feet to strike quickly. I jammed my sword into the ground then stooped down and concentrated a heavy amount of flames beneath my feet. The force shot me high into air. "Reqx!" The sword pulled from the ground and flew toward me. I caught it and in that moment I noticed the necklace glowing. After catching the sword, I threw it forward as hard as I can then began to fall from the sky. "Subsea!" The sword shifted into a silver and red board. "Catch me!" It flew toward me at once and landed right beneath my feet. I hovered back down to the floor. With excitement in my eyes, I raised my arms to the air. "Yes!" I shouted, then quickly lost my balance. "Woah, woah!" I fell off and dropped onto my ass. "O-ouch. I guess I need more practice on the balance." I lifted the stone of the necklace to my eyes. "I was right. The objects released from this can also be remotely controlled by it. Uncle would have loved this during our hunting runs. I still don't understand why the jacket that appeared on me has now disappeared. I don't even know know how to summon it."
"At least you're having fun." Kaleb appeared. "That necklace is a complete mystery. It's origins and full capabilities are completely unknown so be careful."
"I know that. And It's not fun, it's training. Vertae!" The board turned into a mist and absorbed back into the necklace. "You're back so soon. I'm guessing it didn't go well."
"Not at all."
Rewind
"Here," Kaleb gave me the cards he claimed from Aiden. "Throw these as high as you can over the town." I nodded. I took hold of them and threw them into the sky. "Scatter." He clipped his finger and they seperated like fire crackers, landing in different areas of the town.
"Well, Seth. It looks like becoming Kakyumies are our best shot at saving your life, and also figure out Alex's."
"Ya." I balled my fist realizing that almost all of the candidates are already gathered in this town. "No matter what, we must make it to district 5."
Kaleb and I walked toward the front entrance off the town, Alex still on his back.
"Hey look, there's a clock, and some words..." I pointed up at the sign in front of the entrance. "But it's a clock."
"Tick Tock Town, it says." Kaleb read. "Odd. I've never heard of such a place before. There's high traces of magic in it so there's no doubt that it's a Caster town outside of a district."
"A Caster town? I thought everything outside of a district was human territory."
"It's mutually shared. There are towns for Human tourists that want to experience magic. They come, they enjoy, they leave. Same for Casters. There are towns out there that compliment our curiousity and give us a sense of Human capabilities. Districts are strictly Caster territory, and Human clans are strictly human territory. I heard that there are ways to override these rules, even if it's only temporary."
"I think I understand." We continued walking. The moment we entered the the town, I felt something pass through me, or me passing through something. "D-did you feel that?"
"Seth!" I looked back, and Kaleb was standing outside of a blue transparent wall.
"Where did this come from?" I asked.
"You can see it? From my end there's nothing. Feels like I'm just being stopped by an invisible wall." Our watches beeped. "New rules have been added." He read them out to me and we both understood the reason why he couldn't past. "Seth, Catch." He took Alex off of his and tossed her into the town. I caught her as soon as she passed through.
"So only people with two cards can enter?"
"That's right. Alex has the card from one of the girls from the Hush hush district, while you have one of the cards the X Caster took from his cluster. I must acquire my card before I can enter the barrier surrounding this town. I have until 1900 hours, which is basically 40 minutes from now. What's worse is that those who've entered the town can not leave until the time is up or until 30 of us make it inside. If this is true, I fear I may have made a grave mistake by telling you to toss the cards into tick tock town. I'll be back soon. Find an inn for Alex to rest in. Rashi!" He disappeared.
Fast forward. Present.
"After acquiring my card, I entered the barrier and searched for the one's we scattered. I found one of the cards and attempted to toss it back to the outside of the town and the barrier would not let it pass back through. A dozen people can't become Kakyumies, because of me. I scattered 13 cards throughout the town. On top on that, 30 people already can't get into the town so they're eliminated as well. All together there are 60 of us. But 30 plus 13 minus 60 is 17. So in total, only 17 of us are going to make it into this town."
"Are they going to be executed like me if they fail?" I asked. He denied. "Then I wouldn't worry too much about it. There's always next time for them." I smiled, trying to get him to stop beating himself up.
"You're right." He grinned. "Besides, a no killing rule was added so maybe they'll be safer taking method 1 next time. Anyway, how's Alex doing?"
"I'm fine." I heard her mumble. I looked back and she was exitting from the building. "Ugh! My head hurts."
"Alex!" We both shouted her name when we saw her. I hugged her tightly.
"That kinda hurts." I backed away.
"Sorry."
"What happened?" She asked. "My body feels sore."
"What do you remember?" Kaleb answered with a question. She balled her fist. "I was going up against 3 girls from district four. They cornered and... I think they knocked me out."
"Yes," Kaleb nodded. "That's exactly what happened. Seth and I rushed to save you. We managed to get all three of our numbers. Now we're here, in the town before district 5."
"I sort of understand. What I don't get is, why was I sleeping in a barn?" Her hair began to float and her magical essence started to rise. "I woke up with a horse trying to eat my hair!"
"Yup, she's definitely angry. Seth was supoosed to take you to an inn." He pointed my way.
"What?! Way to throw me to the beast. Besides, this is an inn!" I pointed up at the sign.
"That says Tick Tock Barn, you idiot!" she proclaimed.
"It does?" I question. They sighed at my response. My eyes widened drastically when I felt its fast approach. I turned around to it and Alex and Kaleb stood at my side in the same direction. "I'm not the only one feeling this, am I?"
"Multiple magical essense approaching. Roughly four individuals." Kaleb said. "They're not even trying to mask their pressence."
"They want us to know that they're coming." Alex said.
"I thought this was supposed to be a safe zone." I presumed.
"A safe zone?" She questioned.
"You should probably read up on the new rules." Kaleb told her. "Here they come!"
The four of them flashed in the front of us, lined off. Our watches beeped off when they appeared and so did theirs.
"Rano Qu, Treston Ere, Vargo Yura, and Natalia Dex." Alex read. "Two of you are from district 3. One is from district 2 and one is from district four. Let me guess, you're all in an alliance."
"It was necesary for getting to this point of the examination." Natalia explained. "We may have to split soon. During the second half we'll have to fight or completely evade the Silver Casters ahead of us."
Natalia can easily be recognized as the leader of this alliance. Her skin is flawless but quite soft and her eyes are a radiant blue. Her hair is so pale it can almost resemble white in the light. At first glance she'd be mistaken for a princess, but is she really someone of noble importance?
"What do you want from us, if you already know that you're going solo when we leave this town?" Kaleb asked.
"I wanted to meet you all. Is that so wrong?" She asked with her hands apart. "Only a handful of us are going to make it to district 5. Those who make it will train together. Why not meet each other now, since we may end up being classmates?"
"Alex and Kaleb Kytazah, and Seth. Just Seth." The guy at her side read. He's a big guy, not in height but in size. He's nearly round like a marble. "I'm Treston Ere. Nice to meet you all."
"Seth, huh? You're the True-Caster with physical fire magic. Your tips and tats gave it away." The guy at her far right eyed me. He's dressed in all black, and has blades and other unfamiliar weapons.
"What is that weapon on your side?" I asked him.
He reached down and raised it up, "This?" I nodded. "Ha, you really were a forest junky. This is a kunai, a weapon of battle. 90% of the Casters in my district use these on missions and even locally."
"He's from the Hush-hush district, Seth." Kaleb informed. "He's a ninja assassin, Vargo Yura of the 4th district." He's from the same district as the girls who attacked Alex.
"So you really grew up in the forest, with nothing but a Human?" She asked.
"Yes,"
"Ooooh," Her eyes sparkled. "So does that mean that you're a virgin?"
"What?!" Alex shouted. "What kind of question is that?"
"Umm..." Kaleb chuckled.
"Nat, don't just ask people that straight up!" Treston yelled at her.
"What?" She shrugs. "I'm just curious. So are you?" Vargo shook his head as well.
"What's a virgin?" I asked. Everyone went quiet and their faces were dumbfounded.
"Well, it's-"
"Don't answer that!" Alex Interrupted. "Alright, we've met you. You can leave now." Natalia smiled and then squinted her eyes at me.
"All of the candidates are gathering in a restaurant on the south side of town called, the Tick Tock Tavern. You all should come." She turned away. "Especially you, Seth." She dragged my name. "Rashi," She disappeared and so did the others.
"So... What's a virgin?" I asked again.
"No!" Alex responded, and Kaleb burst into laughter. He wrapped his arm around my neck. "We'll have a guy talk soon. But right now our only focus is passing the exam."
"There was no Casterian activated and it didn't seem like she had a hidden agenda." Alex analyzed.
"I agree. But still, we must keep our guard up." Kaleb replied. "That guy who didn't say anything seems like a major threat. Rano Qu of district 2."
"We have to be cautious moving forward. This town already gives me the creeps with clocks looking at me at every turn. Let's get going."
"We're going to the tavern, aren't we?" I asked.
"We must scout out the competition. Seeing them in their natural habitat will surely give us an advantage of their personal characters." She smiled.
"What do you mean by, "natural habitat?" I asked.
Later
Alex opened the tavern door and ducked as soon as she did. I jumped to the side too because a flying bottle was coming right at us.
"I'm not drunk! Give me some more saki, damn it!!" A guy screamed at the bar.
"All I'm saying... is that I'm fast. Rashi!" Another guy started running around. He ducked under a table and hid. "You can't see me."
"So this is their natural habitat." Our watches started beeping off all of a sudden.
"Holy shit!" Kaleb's eyes widened. "We're in the heart of the examination."
"What does that mean?"
"15 of us are in this tavern, and only 17 of us can get into the town. In here is basically every candidate remaining in the entire examination." Kaleb said.
"In here's too loud! I've read the rules and there's something sketchy about them."Alex turned back to the exit. "I'm heading back outside to review them further. You know what to do in here."
"Ya, I'm on it. Let's go, Seth. There's a table in front of an empty couch at the back" Kaleb and I walked through the restaurant, dodging people and things. We ended up sitting in the back, in front of an armored statue standing against the wall behind us.
"Seth!" I looked up, and Natalia flew on top of me with her arms around my neck. I looked down at her, and her boobs were rubbing against my chest. "You made it!" My heart started to race.
"Y-you're drunk!" I stuttered out. Her cheeks were red and her eyes were barely opened. I just saw her minutes ago and she was fine. What the hell did she drink?
"I'm naaawt." She dragged her voice, pointing her finger to the side. "That guy over there is drunk."
I looked to the side and there was a guy laying flat on the floor. People were poking him with straws to make him move but he wouldn't.
"Is he dead?" They asked.
"If he is, he won't need his money." Someone ran forward. The guy's shadow rose from the ground quickly.
"You touch him, you die!" It said, rocking back and forward. A shadow resembling a sword appeared in its hand. "I-I kill you all!" The shadow fell to the ground and was absorbed back into the floor. "Damn it, you drank too much... master."
"No way! His shadow's drunk too!" They shouted.
"Told ya." She pulled me from my seat and dragged me across the restaurant.
"Kaleb help!" I scream.
"You'll live," He waved goodbye.
"That's not reassuring!" I yelled. She pulled me to a table where three other girls sat.
"This is my new friend, Seth. He's a virgin."
"Oh, really? He's so cute!" One of them squealed.
"Wait, is he the True-Caster that was on trial? So he's like strong and shit!" The other girl came extremely closed to my face and started touching my hair. "He's so beautiful! I want him!"
"No!" My heart is definitely doing things it hasn't before. Like trying to break out of my chest and run to the exit.
"Stay!" I hit against my chest really hard. They all stared at me with wonder. "Um, so what's a virgin?" I asked again.
"Oh, and then there's that," Natalia added. "He doesn't even know what it means."
"Now I want him even more!"
"Interesting," The young woman who hadn't said anything before spoke up. "A man that doesn't think like the others. He may be the most untainted one here. Tell me, what do think about us?"
"Well, you make my heart race really fast. And then there's," I looked down at my pants, gulping as it was starting to show.
"Oh my God!" One of them shouted. I clamped my hands to the front of me quickly, pushing it down.
"I'm sorry. It usually only gets like that when I go to sleep and wake up having to take a piss," I explained. They all started to chuckle, making me feel embarrassed.
"I guess all men are the same, subconsciously, that is."
I backed away from them and quickly ran back to where Kaleb was.
"I hate you," My face saddened. "I may have just understood what they meant by a virgin. Why didn't you just tell me?"
He laughed. "I was going to. You'll get over it eventually. It's nothing to be embarassed about. Girls are just weird. So what if you've never had sex with one before. " He slid a small glass to me. "Just relax and have a drink, your time will come."
I took it and tossed it into my mouth. My eyes widened at the feeling of it going down my throat. "Ahh!! What kind of magic is this?!"
"Magic?"
"It burns!! I don't get burned! My chest is on fire!! I'm melting on the inside!!" I gripped his shirt and shook him. "You poisoned me!! You killed me! I trusted you!"
"Seth, stop! You've never had alcohol before? Calm down!!" He removed me from him. "You'll feel fine in a moment. If I'm nonchalant, then you should be too."
"Okay alright," I nodded. "I don't know what that means, but okay." My body shivered.
"Good. I've already gathered most of the information on the candidates in here. Some are secretive about their magic and others are just straightforward. The guy on the ground there is Ricko Tera-Nara. Even drunk, he can probably beat half of the candidates in here. He has two Unravels. One allows him to control glass that he summons, with his mind and the other is a bit more animated than that. It's a shadow manipulating Casterian that allows him to command his shadow, giving it the ability to act on orders without needing to have Ricko around."
"Umm... What's an Unravel?" I put my hand over my mouth, feeling myself hurl a little.
"In short description, Unravels are legendary Casterians. Once acquired, they only require one word activations. Seth, they can rival your True-Caster power. Along with Relics." He raised his palm to me and said. "I know you'll ask what they are as well so let me explain. Relics are materials, objects, something inanimate basically. But most importantly, Relics are objects taken over by a former Caster's soul." My eyes widened. "Caster souls that do not pass through the betwixt and move on to the world of the dead, end up being trapped in the world of the living. These souls eventually lose themselves and inevitably get attached to an object, making it its territory. If a Caster bonds with that soul, he or she is granted the power of that object. These, are Relics."
"So, they're alive?" I was curious. sentient
"In a sense, yea. There are two types of Relics that you'll come across. Internal Relic and External Relics. Internal Relics are Relics that reside inside the caster body, granting them near invincibility. They take on a Relics manifested form making them elusive to physical attacks. It's a good defensive ability and can also be an offensive ability with the right Caster's creativity. Even so, the offensive ability isn't as nearly as great as an External Relic. External Relics amplify Monarian Casterian and also physical magic. External Relics are objects you hold or wear. They look plain when they're not in use so there's no way to tell when someone has one before they use it, same as Internal Relics."
"I-I can't focus right now."
"Wow, lightheaded. I don't think you should have any more to drink."
"I wasn't planning to."
"I hope you can still focus." He looked around. "Keep in mind that everyone that's made it this far is skilled one way or another. A brief analysis of the 12 candidates. Ricko Tera-Nara, Duel Unravel, and a noble of district 4. Vargo Yura. Ninja assassin of district 4, possibly having a hidden Relic."
He's the drunk guy that ran under the table early. At least he knows how to let loose.
"Tesia Ranu. She's also an assassin," He pointed at one of the young women at the table.
It's the one who said that not all men were the same. She seems extremely seductive but more mature than the other girls. She's drinking but she's not drunk—a very alert person with a dark wardrobe. Black with maroon lines makes up her entire outfit.
"Hmmm. It seems like her power is well hidden." He said.
"How do people's magical capabilities stay hidden?"
"When you don't use it in the eyes of a dragonfly, the examiners don't learn anything to update their system. Here's one you already know, Natalia Dex of district 3. Hmm... She's a mystery. So are the other two girls at the table. Preya Ty and Reya Ty, sisters of District 2. Not twins, but close enough to be."
"And you said none of their magic was revealed? None, out of the four of those girls?" I was shocked.
"That's right. And what's even more peculiar is that Natalia had her card taken from the X Caster. She started from scratch and still made it here."
"Well, that's reassuring." I sarcastically stated. "They're all so beautiful though, goddesses."
"They're all beautiful monsters, demonists. Don't underestimate anyone here thinking they're damsels in distress. Now onto Treston Ere of district 3, another familiar name. Skilled in the intellectual and technology area as far as information goes, knowing quite a few Casterians. Rano Qu of district 2. This guy is a mystery as well, and extremely quiet."
"Who is he, again?" I asked and Kaleb pointed to a corned.
"Over there. He's the guy whose hair is a shade of pink. He was with Natalia earlier. Now that I think about it, only True-Casters have duel-colored hair. I doubt that he's one of them, we'd know by now. Then there's Kellus and Kalisa Kotenzo of district 3, a clan known for their Demon nature more than their pacifist nature. They're easily recognized for their skin tone and hair texture."
They're the ones not drinking anything. Earlier, Alex described them as being extremely powerful.
"Lastly, there's Victoria Keskar of district 1 as well. The Keskar family invented the Kiza Kito. She's developed a unique way of self teleportation. Not surprising, seeing as that family is skilled in the field of an artisan."
"A teleportation Casterian? Now that's pretty cool." I paused. "Wait a minute. 1... 2.." I counted on my hand. "That was 11. Plus Alex, you, and I are 14. You said 15 out of 17 of us were in here, right? So who's the person you missed?"
"Wow, you know how to count?" He wore a shocked expression.
"Of course, I can count!" He laughed.
"I'm just teasing, or maybe I'm not. I had a drink too, you know?" He shook his head to catch himself. "The guy I left out is named Sickari Escador. He's a noble of district 3. The radar shows him being in our field of surroundings but I don't see him."
"So you know how he looks?"
"Not exactly. The information said that he has a full body External Relic. I'm thinking that anyone like that would be noticeable on the spot." He explained. "Oh, look at the time. Two minutes before 1900hrs," Kaleb montiored.
"Did you say a full-body External Relic?" Natalia came stumbling over. "I'm sorry about earlier. I got carried away." She leaned against me. "You smell really good."
"I-It's fine." I stuttered. "What were you saying about the Relic?"
"Oh, yeah. The guy with the Relic has been with you all night." She said and confusion was in our eyes. But at the moment I felt a rush in my stomach and couldn't hold it. I pushed her off of me then turned to the back of the couch and just hurled my stomach out.
"It's his first drink, he'll live," Kaleb said to her while patting my back.
"I still hate you!" I said, wiping my mouth. "Wait... there's more." I started to hurl again.
"I hope it's magical puke. You know, rainbows and shit," he snickered.
"I hate you!" I yelled, finally stopping and breathing heavily to catch my breath. "Oh, I feel much better now!"
"But now I'm disgusted. To throw up on one's feet," My eyes widened to the echoed voice. "...is quite an insult. Are you challenging me?" I looked at the armor standing behind us.
"Did that display armor just speak?" Kaleb asked behind me.
"I think so." I nodded. "So, it's not a showpiece?"
"I was trying to tell you that. The full-body Relic you guys were looking for, is this armor Sikari's wearing." Natalia explained. "He's been behind you two all night."
"No way!" My eyes widened. He heard everything we talked about. Luckily, it's information that he already knows and nothing crucial or meant to be kept secret. What's even more surprising and frightening about this guy is that he's two inches from me and I can't sense a shred of magical essence.
"I'm sorry! I'm not challenging you!" I apologized. The tavern door burst open and Alex marched inside.
"Oh, it's Alex. Hey, Alex!" I waved. "Over here!" She looked my way and fear entered my body from that one stare.
"You idiots!" She yelled. "I'm gonna kill you!"
"Ahh!" Kaleb hugged me in fear. "What did we do?!"
"I was going to ask you that!" I hugged him back. Alex slammed her hand on the table in front of us when she reached.
"We're in quite a dilemma because you didn't read the rules correctly! The examiners tricked us! All of us!" She spoke in general.
"Tricked?" I released myself from Kaleb.
"What do you mean by tricked, Alex?" Everyone in the tavern went quiet, waiting for her response.
Rewind.
(POV). Alex.
After exiting the tavern I kept rereading the rules and rearranging the wordings.
"Damn it! I know there's something wrong with this, the way they wrote it." I stressed while scrolling through the rules on my prowatch. "I just can't figure it out."
"Frustrated?" I looked back to an unfamiliar voice. Her face is one that I've seen before though.
"You were on the Kiza Kito with me." I pointed. "We came from district one together."
"Yup. I'm Victoria. You can call me Vic."
"I'm Alex." She sat down beside me.
"Nice to meet you. So what's got you worked up?" She wondered. I was reluctant on telling her, but I'm blocked.
"Maybe you can help me out. I may be looking into nothing, but I'd rather not take the chance that I could be right. I think there's something wrong with the new rules.
"Something like what?"
"They're telling us exactly when to continue the exam instead of letting us move at our own pace."
"I think you're just being paranoid." She answered. "The rules weren't demanding. In fact, one of them wasn't even a rule at all, it was just a suggestion."
"The town before district 5 is a safe zone. Once you enter the safe zone, you cannot continue the examination until 30 Candidates have entered, or until the time reaches 1900 hours. Only those with two cards can enter the safe zone. The cards inside your projector watches will glow red when you're inside the town. When the shade of the cards turns to green, the examination continues." I looked back and saw the guy from district 3, Treston. "The rule never told us that we absolutely had to stop here, meaning that they used a form of manipulation that made us think that we should. Once we entered in, we were trapped automatically."
"I came to the same conclusion," I responded to him. "Then there's that big clock tower at the center of the town. It's not what it seems. I actually thought I sensed magic coming from it at one point."
"That doesn't seem odd, given that the town's name describes a clock. It's a Caster town, so of course, it's gonna be magical based. I wouldn't be surprised if the entire town was a clock." My eyes widened when Vic said that. "It might as well be since there are clocks around every corner."
I stood to my feet quickly, "Ishina!" I boosted into the air and kept running higher and higher.
"Where are you going?" She asked.
"I've gotta see something," I boosted up until I was high enough to view the entire town. "She's right. The town is one giant dialog clock." My heart began to race as I realized. "Monarian is written on the streets of the arms. A Casterian is going to be activated at 1900hrs, and there's nothing we can do to escape it."
Fast Forward
"You idiots! I'm gonna kill you!" I shouted, marching over to them. I slammed my hand on their table, showing my anger. "We're in quite a dilemma because you didn't read the rules correctly! The examiners tricked us! All of us!" I spoke to everyone in the tavern. Because not just the three of us are trapped in here, it's all of us.
"Tricked?"
"What do you mean by tricked, Alex?" Kaleb rose slowly. Everyone in the tavern went quiet, waiting to hear me out.
"Mon del Amirano." Everyone activated the mind cleansing Casterian to purge the alcohol from their system.
"I'm saying that-" A beep started going off on all of our prowatches.
"It's 1900hrs." Someone said.
At that moment, the clocks inside the tavern began wildly clicking and spinning in circles. The sound of a roaring scream began echoing from outside of the tavern.
This frightened all of us. I ran back to exit and everyone else quickly followed. When we got out, we saw that the giant clock at the center of the town wore a demonic face. The roaring screams were coming from it and the largest amount of magical essence I've ever felt in my life. All of the clocks throughout the town were spinning wildly.
"No way!"
"This isn't real, is it?"
"Wha-what the hell is going on?!!" everyone became frightened.
"This is exactly what I was trying to say," My voice began to quiver because I didn't know what to expect now. "If I was awake, we would have avoided this. In fact, we could have been in district five by now."
"You're Alex, right?" A girl gripped my hand. "What's really going on?"
"We're all trapped in here because the town itself, is the obstacle before district 5. And all of us foolishly walked into it."
End of Chapter 9
(January 30th, 2018.)
Thank you so much for reading!!!