"Oh my goshhh! I have goosebumps!" Des practically squeals as soon as Malachi leaves, grabbing Pearl's hand and pressing it against his arm. "Can you feel them?"
"Stop it, you guys," I say, rolling my eyes so hard they might actually fall out of my head. They're so good at making something into what it's not.
"Aaahhh!" Pearl gasps dramatically, clutching her chest like she's in some kind of period drama. "What if he likes you??"
I give her my best "yougottabekiddingme" stare. Like, seriously? We're doing this right now?
"Come on. Who knows?" Pearl replies to my death glare, completely unbothered. "You could be the future Mrs. Della."
Des jumps in, his eyes sparkling with mischief. "And we would be best friends to the future queen of Asta. Ooh, and you'll make us have noble titles!"
"Oh, I would make an amazing snobby rich noble..." Pearl says, already getting into character. She takes her handkerchief and covers her head, then ties it below, close to her neck, looking absolutely ridiculous but also kind of iconic?
"Would you like some tea, Sir Desmond?" she says in her best snobby rich folk accent, pinky finger extended and everything.
"Why, yes, Lady Pearl. Jolly good weather we're having," Des replies in his own terrible snobby rich folk accent, and honestly, I can't even with these two.
Both of them burst into giggles while I just sit there. Once they've entered their delulu bubble, it's quite impossible to bring them back to reality. They've probably forgotten I even exist at this point.
Thankfully, Professor Thorne's voice cuts through the courtyard, calling students back into the hall for the second section.
I turn to both of them and say, "Shall we?"
They both nod, still grinning like idiots, and we turn and head back into the hall.
"Students, settle down," Professor Thorne speaks, her voice commanding instant silence. "We have ascertained that the reason for the situation earlier was due to equipment malfunctioning, and we apologize to all of you, especially student Amara Cole for the danger she was put in."
I feel people turn to look at me. Just great.
"We assure you all that it won't happen again," she continues. "We will now begin the next part of this Assessment."
She goes on to explain the second portion: Combat Readiness and Spell Accuracy. Basically, we have to prove we can cast spells, make good decisions under pressure while escaping obstacles. Students will enter in groups of three, so hopefully, this section will go fast since there are 250 first-year students. The last group will have four members because math, I guess.
A massive screen appears out of nowhere, displaying names sorted into different groups. There are 83 groups total, and I scan through them trying to find my name.
Group 48: Amara Cole, Kai Arden, Juni Becker.
"Ughhhh," I groan out loud. "Can't believe I'm stuck with this annoying guy."
"Wait, who'd you get?" Pearl asks, leaning over to look at the screen.
"Kai Arden," I say flatly.
Des's eyes go wide. "Ooh, the guy from the library? The one who—"
"Yes, that one," I cut him off. "Mr. 'You Should Train More.'"
Pearl giggles. "Maybe this is fate? Forced proximity trope?"
"I will end you," I threaten, but there's no real heat behind it.
"What group are you guys in?" I ask, scanning the screen for their names.
"Group 23," Pearl says, pointing at her name. "I'm with Lena Frost and some guy named Sali Webb."
"Lena Frost? Isn't she super talented?" Des asks.
Pearl nods. "Yeah, I'm lowkey nervous. What about you, Des?"
"Group 61," he sighs. "With two people I've never even heard of. Iris Tam and Rowan Cross."
"At least you don't have to deal with Sir Know-It-All," I mutter.
"True," Des laughs. "But hey, Juni Becker is in your group too, right? She's a noble, so maybe she'll keep Kai in check?"
"Or they'll team up against me because noble solidarity or whatever," I say.
"Amara, bestie, you're being dramatic," Pearl says, patting my shoulder. "You'll be fine."
"Just... be careful, okay?" Des says, his voice softer now. "Both of you."
"We will," Pearl promises.
"Group 1, please proceed to Station 2," Professor Thorne announces.
And just like that, it begins.
Groups go in one after another. Some come out looking proud, others look shaken. One girl from Group 15 comes out crying, and her friends immediately rush to comfort her.
"Group 23, proceed to Station 2," Professor Thorne calls.
"That's me!" Pearl squeaks. "Wish me luck!"
"You got this!" Des and I say at the same time.
We watch as Pearl disappears into the station with her group members. The waiting is honestly the worst part. Like, what even happens in there?
About ten minutes later, Pearl's group emerges. She looks a little roughed up but okay, and she shoots us a thumbs up from across the hall.
More groups go. Then finally: "Group 48, proceed to Station 2."
"Good luck, Amara," Des says, squeezing my hand.
I take a deep breath and walk toward the station. Kai is already there, looking all confident and put-together. Juni Becker stands beside him. She has that classic noble look with perfectly styled ginger hair and an air of superiority.
"Amara," Kai acknowledges me with a nod "Quite a scene you made today."
"Kai," I reply, keeping my voice neutral.
Juni barely glances at me. Cool, cool. Jokes on you, I love being ignored.
We step into the station together, and immediately everything goes dark. Then there's this weird pulling sensation, like being sucked through a straw, and suddenly;
We're in a cavern.
The air is damp and cold, and the smell of moss and something else, something metallic, fills my nose. The walls are rough stone, glittering with some kind of luminescent crystal that provides just enough light to see by. Water drips somewhere in the distance, echoing through the space.
"Whoa," Juni breathes.
A voice; Professor Thorne's, speaks: "Your objective is simple. Escape the cavern while avoiding different traps. You have thirty minutes. Your scenario difficulty: Beginner Level. Begin."
"Beginner level," Kai says confidently. "This should be straightforward. We just need to find the exit."
Wow, like I didn't know.
He shoots me a look. "Stick beside me so you don't end up being a burden to us. If only you had actually trained properly instead of—"
"Oh my God, are we really doing this right now?" I snap.
"I'm just saying, you need to take this seriously. In a real combat situation, you could die."
"This isn't a real combat situation, it's a simulation," I point out.
Juni clears her throat. "Can you two not? We're wasting time."
She's right, unfortunately. I bite back my response and start looking around. There are three tunnel openings leading out of this main chamber.
"We should split up," Juni suggests. "Cover more ground."
"Bad idea," Kai says immediately. "We should stick together. Safety in numbers."
"But we'll be faster if you wen—"
A low growl echoes through the cavern surprising us.
We all freeze in place.
"Um," I say. "Did the voice say beginner level?"
Another growl, closer this time. And then another. And another.
"That... doesn't sound beginner level," Juni whispers, her face going pale. "No one mentioned monsters."
From the leftmost tunnel, something emerges. It's huge, easily eight feet tal, with matted fur and glowing red eyes. Its claws scrape against the stone floor, and drool drips from its massive jaws.
"What the actual..." Des would be freaking out right now if he were here.
"Shadowbeast," Kai identifies, his voice tight. "That's... that's S-rank."