Walking out of the brush, Dean stopped close to the edge of the clearing where the registration shacks were located.
Something felt off, though he couldn't quite place it yet.
He looked ahead and found Astrea still at the edge. She stood alone with her umbrella up as usual, but her eyes were down the path he was coming from.
'What is she doing?'
Dean took a step before it actually dawned on him.
'Where is her companion?'
Dean's eyes began scanning ahead when the rustle from a near-by bush pulled his attention.
He saw the vampire support system coming out from the bush while adjusting her dress with both hands as if she had just finished taking a piss.
Astrea's shoulders relaxed as she turned towards the clearing again with her vampire companion flashing a smile.
Glancing back for a moment. Astrea's eyes met his before she turned away without a word.
Dean couldn't help the thought.
'Was she waiting for me?'
He shook his head at the absurdity. They had just met for the first time like a few minutes ago, and if it wasn't for the scoreboard, he wouldn't have known her name.
But the deeper he thought about it. The weirder it felt.
'She'd been stalking me…right?"
The whole engagement with the Mag-Titan made him forget all about it. This girl had been following him even before he entered the restricted zone.
And she must have knowingly entered alongside him. But why?
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Walking into the clearing, eyes trailed him, and it wasn't just one or two for that matter.
But his focus was to confront Astrea. What was her deal?
The murmurs grew longer the moment he entered the fray.
It was as if they had been waiting for him.
"Were they in a team together?" A low voice asked no one in particular
"A Vermith and a human?"
"A Gray for the matter."
"There's no way, Gray and Saint would make more sense," an experienced voice answered like it were in his place to.
Dean kept walking, the wind sprite on his left fluttering as its body shifted even as Ash remained motionless, even in its transformed state, with both its eyes covered, seemingly asleep.
Thinking he had heard it all. Dean began moving towards Astrea when the whispers grew more confident.
"Why is that moron keeping his familiar active?"
"Must be trying to show off." A boy amongst a small party answered the question.
"The trial has been going on for hours. Isn't that just stupid, or is he trying to kill himself from exhaustion?"
It was neither the former nor the latter. Dean indeed felt the drain. He'd been feeling it for the past thirty minutes.
But the Sage circuit perk was working over-time right now.
If it wasn't for his exceptionally small verge consumption. Ash would have drained him unconscious already.
The wind sprite was light-weight but Ash… with its volcanic plating was stylishly pulling his verge capacity apart like he was maintaining a high-end girlfriend he couldn't afford.
Dean stopped near the center of the clearing and dismissed the wind sprite which disappeared in a flicker of light.
He left Ash for now.
"Oh, the thief arrives."
Dean wanted to walk away but changed his mind.
He turned to see Rogue a few feet from him with two participants he didn't recognize flanking him.
"Ohh.. You found a new set of twins?" Dean mocked as he placed a hand on his waist.
Rogue's smug smile began to fade as he crossed his hand.
"You're one to talk. With your useless familiars."
Rogue spoke while turning to face his companions, who snickered.
"I didn't need them to make you eat sand last time. Did I?" Dean said as he began walking away.
Astrea chuckled under her umbrella as the people glanced at her before looking away quickly.
"So you're the one running this time," Rogue said louder. Hoping to steer something up in Dean.
Dean sighed as he stopped mid-step.
'How shameless could one get?'
He actually wondered what gave this lad so much bravado after what happened between them earlier. It definitely wasn't the two dead-beats with machetes by his side, or was it because of that?
Dean looked up toward the scoreboard that was blank at the moment. 'Yeah it's definitely because of that.'
Dean exhaled through his nose before he spoke.
"Don't let seventh get to your head, blondie."
Rogue definitely didn't take that as a compliment. His expression darkened as his jaw tightened.
"At least I made top ten," Rogue called after him.
Dean didn't answer.
"I wasn't even trying, you sucker. You thief." Rogue tried getting a reaction but Dean simply ignored.
A few people laughed at the exchange, but Dean didn't care. He moved close enough and leaned on one of the many shacks.
'I wasn't trying either,' he thought.
'Until I got petty. That is,' he rubbed Ash's head.
If only he hadn't gone over the threshold and had to face a Mag-Titan. He would have left that idiot in the dust.
'And then get the W.S.A on your ass?' Another thought ran through his mind.
Before Dean could dwell further on his thoughts, a soft and yet commanding female voice cut through the clearing.
"Participants."
Everyone turned instantly.
Harlequin stood on a platform with hands clasped in front of her and a neutral expression.
"The trial concluded earlier than scheduled," she continued. "There are several reasons for this. We'll address them shortly," she paused while pointing upwards.
"For now, check your final scores. Results are uploaded immediately."
She had barely finished speaking when several names began appearing on the score board.
Names filled the list, and Dean watched as his name climbed.
13th.
Dean frowned.
11th.
9th.
Someone swore under their breath.
7th.
It kept going…
5th.
4th.
3rd.
And then it stopped.
3rd place: Dean Gray
The clearing went silent for a split second, and then it exploded with chatter.
People were complaining about their positions changing. Some people were happy, and each person focused on themselves until someone yelled—or growled.
"How did that fucking Gray get to third?"
"Third? He was thirteenth, just above me." A girl spoke.
"Did he cheat?" The girl's friend asked.
The boy who began complaining initially had started charging towards one centre where officials were.
Rogue's eyes widened.
"H-he must have C-cheated,"
Everyone's attention shifted to Dean, who was just standing there.
He stared at his name like it didn't belong to him, but immediately he felt the eyes on him. He scoffed with a smug smile.
It appeared as if he was sure of the score, but in reality, he had no clue how that happened.
Thinking through the incidents during the trial. It was the night bleater then the armadillo, the hounds and those common class monsters.
'What else?'
Dean's eyes widened as he remembered.
'...Those shadows.'
The creatures Astrea had killed with her spear. She had killed three of them, and they had all died close to him.
He looked at the black box.
'It must have absorbed all the flux cores as mine'
Dean almost laughed.
He'd come third because of his stalker. He didn't know how to feel about it exactly but there was a situation he felt when he saw Rogue at the tenth position.
He turned to look at the boy. His smug smile turned into a sneaky grin as he brows furrowed.
'How do you like me now…sucker.'
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