I listened to every step the instructor took; they faded with each second that passed. The way she talked about Father, it sounded like she was familiar with him. But when she gave her briefing earlier, Father hadn’t reacted to her at all. Could it really be a coincidence? Or was he just so well-known here that everyone carried some opinion of him? But that was something I could ask him later. After all, I was still stuck in this muddy and deep-as-hell-itself hole. Sure, all the flags the group had gathered for me were still here, but what was the point of them if I was going to be stuck here until the end of the exam? I needed to get out. Fast. I took a careful look at the opening; it was around three and a half times my height. The width of the hole was just enough to accommodate both me and Phil-man behind me. It wasn't claustrophobic, but still a little cramped. Speaking of, I hadn't heard from my partner-in-pit in a while. Did the fall hit him badly? "Hey, are you alright?" I asked. I heard no response. My worry for him spiked. Don't tell me he got knocked out— I turned to face him. Thankfully, he was still standing and breathing, but his face was downcast, his eyes narrowed tightly, and I could hear the faint sound of his teeth gritting. "Tch." he clicked his tongue. "This... this is all my fault," he said, gripping the flags tightly until his knuckles turned white. ...Literally, how is it your fault? "This is no one's fault. What are you talking about?" "If... If I had reacted faster, I could've pulled you away from the hole." Hey, even I could barely react to the sudden pitfall. How could he possibly have stopped it? Still, it seemed like he was taking this pretty deeply. But he was putting all the blame on himself for some reason, when really, all the blame belonged to that instructor up there. “Listen here.” I took a step closer. The movement jolted his head up, his eyes wide. ...Am I really that intimidating? I let out a heavy sigh. "Forget about whose fault it is for now. We should focus on getting out of here." I crossed my arms as I eyed upward. Phil's shoulders tensed, then they eased slightly. "Y-You're right, Lady Carine." His eyes flicked upwards as well. “But how? The edge of the pit is higher than we could ever reach. And these walls...” he dragged his hand along the side, coming away with a smear of mud. “Even if we managed to climb up, we’d just slide back down.” I was staring at the rim of the pit intensely. “Then… maybe we should call out for help. If the others hear us, or even another group, they might—” “No. Don't.” The word left my mouth sharper than I intended. He blinked. “…No? Why?” I swallowed. I had the key to getting out of this hole. Not exactly a concrete plan, per se, but it could be our only chance. And if I was going to use it, I couldn’t afford to draw the wrong attention first. I calmed myself as I faced Phil once more. “Don’t call for help. We'll wait it out.” Phil tilted his head, confusion written plainly across his face. “…Wait? For what? We don't have much time left until the trumpets are sounded!” I didn’t answer him. Instead, I raised my thumb and index finger to my lips. With a deep breath, I blew a sharp, piercing whistle that echoed through the forest. "Feyt? Why did you stop again?" Attila asked. "Come on, we should be moving—" I raised my hand to stop her. I needed to focus. "Huh?" she said, tilting her head. I closed my eyes for a better hear, then, with clear sound, I listened to my own whistle. It was high-pitched, easily distinct from the flaps of wind and the cheers and grunts of examinees. And thanks to that, I believe I have found a straight direction to head in. I turned to Attila, keeping my expression firm. "I'll head deeper inside. There's something I need to do." "What?" Attila said in surprise. "But we haven't even gained enough points for all six of us! We only have around seventy—" "Then keep my share!" I said, turning to face the direction of my other self. I needed those points, yes, but I needed both of my goals fulfilled more than I needed them. If, and only if, I could save myself, I'd just give myself fifteen points. It wasn't the easiest path I could take, but it was the only choice I could make. I began sprinting through the woods, ignoring Attila's surprise behind me. We were nearing the center of the forest, so the western forest shouldn't be far. And thankfully, my theory was correct. The center of the forest was significantly more pleasant than the eastern forest. No cliffs, no jagged rocks, no thorns. It wasn't a cakewalk either, but I could breeze through it. The reason I stopped Phil-or-something from calling for help is that I was coming to help. I opted for a high-pitched whistle so that I could easily sift through all the noise to find it. If we did end up calling for help, Cornellia might pop her head back in, and I couldn't afford that. As I ran through the forest, cries echoed around me. "Is that an instructor?! And he's got a yellow flag!" "H-Hey! She stole my flags!" Voices from every direction came, desperate and startled. More and more examinees were clashing with instructors. It seemed I wasn't the only unfortunate one. It was clear that this was the turning point of the exam for all of us. I clenched my teeth. I could only hope I wouldn’t run into another one before I reached myself. I was standing still in the pit, closing my eyes so that I could focus on getting through the forest as fast as I could as Feyt. But that focus was disrupted. “Lady Carine? Shouldn’t we call for help?” Phil’s voice was uncertain. “What exactly are we waiting for?” "Mm..." I grunted, hoping it was enough of a signal to tell him to quiet down. I needed to focus on running through an entire jungle here. A single trip from a vine could be catastrophic both for my score and my head. "If we're waiting for rain, I doubt the water will be fast enough to fill up the pit..." he mumbled. I wasn't even registering what he was saying. I was focusing on the path ahead of me. Man, there are a lot of big trees on the way here. "Are we, perhaps, waiting for the others to return?" Phil continued. "I... doubt they would be able to. Sure, one of them is enough to help us get out, but how do we know if they'll even—" My god, impatient much?! I snapped my eyes open and leveled a hard stare at him. “We are waiting for someone.” That, at least, shut him up for a moment. I knew he was anxious and all, but I needed time to focus, you know? "Someone?” he repeated quietly. “Then… was that whistle before a signal? But Lady Carine, the forest is huge. How do you even know if anyone—” "He heard it, I'm sure," I cut him off coldly. "Now, just wait. He'll come soon." The scenery was starting to look both strangely new and familiar. I didn't need to guess why; I was here as Carine before. I looked through my memories to find the path I took before and followed it quickly. In just a moment, I found it. An unnaturally gaping hole in the ground. But I couldn't relax yet, as in the distance, I heard a harrowing voice. The sickening thud of flesh against wood, breathless grunts, and a cold, mocking voice clouded over them. "I gave you all a chance to run away, and yet here you are again. Are you that determined to leave this forest in shame?" "Ugh—! W-Why are you so... huff... insistent?!"  A feminine voice groaned, in pain yet defiant. Eveliana. "Y-Yeah... huff... shouldn't you be... hunting other examinees by now?" That was Kyro, his voice wasn't as booming as before. I also heard the breaths of a tired Clarissa, standing between them all. No response came. Instead, their words were immediately followed by the sound of clashing wood and flesh. For more chapters visıt 𝗇𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗅•𝖿𝗂𝗋𝖾•𝗇𝖾𝗍 So Cornellia decided to keep watch from a distance after all. She hadn't even looked for other examinees, just keeping her eyes on my group. This was all starting to sound more personal than anything. But those three, instead of fleeing, had turned back to save me, even when I wasn't watching. Were they waiting for Cornellia to go away before moving in to save me? Was my favor truly the only thing they want? Whatever their reason, they were buying me time without even knowing. I couldn't waste it. I dropped my wooden sword by a nearby tree. My gaze darted, searching for anything useful—a vine, a branch, anything long and sturdy enough. Behind me, the battle escalated. "You won't hit me like last time—Ack!" "I-I'm out of arrows!" I rushed over, my fingers digging into the damp bark as I dragged it toward the pit. The sound of wood scraping through dirt was agonizingly loud. I hoped it wouldn't catch the attention of a certain someone in the forest. Thankfully, it only caught the attention of another certain someone below. "Is someone up there?" he said. He was about to shout for help, which was redudant since I was coming already, so I grabbed him by the shoulder, shushing him with a glare. I reached the edge and peered down. Two faces looked up: my own, which I couldn't believe how much I missed seeing for some reason. My features were streaked with dirt, but my gaze was still sharp. Then there's Phil, his expression a mix of relief and surprise. "Watch your head," I warned. Both me Phil and I made room by sticking to the muddy walls, our oh so bright uniform stained beyond belief. With a grunt, I maneuvered the log over the edge, lowering it with controlled effort until it jammed securely against the opposite side. I stayed by the pit, holding the log from up here to keep it stable, being careful not to fall in myself. Phil turned to me—Carine—with a firm gaze and nodded. I nodded in response and began to climb first. I held my wooden sword with my teeth to free up both of my hands. The log itself was thankfully dry and easy to grip, and eventually, I emerged from the earth's wound with a silent breath for fresh air. Phil followed suit, his sword tucked on his back and our flags stored on his belt. When both of us were finally free, I breathed a sigh of relief. But there was no time to rest. Because the forest had gone silent. The sound of battle, the grunts, all had gone silent. Instead, a new voice cut through the silence like a knife. “Well. Isn’t this touching?” I quickly got up and turned to our guest, Carine's sword at the ready, Feyt ready to dash for his. "What's a Standardized examinee doing here?" She stepped out from between the trees, her coat floating slightly behind her in the wind, the yellow flags on her shoulders swaying like bait. Instructor Cornellia.