When Noah and Moxie arrived at the base of the transport cannon, a dozen other teachers and three times that many students had already congregated in the area. Noah quickly spotted Isabel and Todd standing to the side of the group and approached them.

Todd raised a hand in greeting. Then he saw Moxie beside Noah and his eyes widened. He elbowed Isabel and she whipped her head around to look in their direction.

“Oh crap. Are we in trouble?” Todd asked.

Isabel returned the elbow and he hopped away with a yelp, batting Isabel’s hand away.

“You two ready?” Noah asked with a grin, ignoring Todd’s rhetorical question.

They both nodded.

“We didn’t practice yesterday or the day before so we could rest a little bit before the fight. Both of us are good to go.” Isabel said with a smile that wasn’t as confident as her words.

“Don’t stress things too hard. Just do what you’ve been doing. This is going to be a piece of cake.”

“What does cake have to do with it?” Todd asked.

“I – uh, never mind. Old saying. You youngsters wouldn’t get it. It’ll be easy is what I meant.”

Todd crossed his arms in front of his chest. “Come on. You’re literally a year older than me at most. Maybe two. I’ll accept kids, but youngsters is a bit much.”

Noah rolled his eyes. “You’ll live, Todd. And I’ll stop treating you like a kid once you stop acting like one.”

Isabel chuckled and Todd sent her a mock glare. She shook her head and gave Noah an appreciative smile.

“I’m not worried about passing the test. That’ll be easy.”

“Easy?” Moxie asked, speaking up for the first time. Isabel and Todd sent nervous glances at her.

“Don’t intimidate my students, Moxie.”

“I’m not intimidating them, but shouldn’t you be making sure they don’t get overconfident? Defeating a Slasher isn’t a simple task. This is a culmination of everything they’ve learned this far. There’s a reason it’s one of the most difficult tests in the second year.”

Noah just shrugged. “I’ve seen what they’re capable of. A Slasher isn’t going to be a problem.”

Moxie stepped closer to Noah and lowered her voice. “If you’re planning to kill the Slashers for them, you really shouldn’t have challenged Allen to anything. He’s going to be watching you like a hawk to make sure you don’t interfere.”

“Cheat? I’d never do something like that.”

Isabel and Todd exchanged an embarrassed glance. Moxie shook her head in befuddlement.

“You actually think you’re going to win the challenge against Edward?”

“I don’t know. I’m going to try.” Isabel set her jaw. “Why do you care, Magus Moxie?”

Moxie opened her mouth. Then she closed it and shook her head. “Never mind. I’m going to go find my own students. Best of luck, Vermil. I’ll see you once we’re in the Scorched Acres.”

She strode away, pushing through the crowd and vanishing amid the sea of professor uniforms. Todd watched her leave, then sent a sly glance in Noah’s direction.

“Teacherman, is she–”

Todd sputtered as Isabel elbowed him. He glared at her and rubbed his side.

“Save your energy for the test,” Noah said with a chuckle. “I have complete faith in both of you. Just focus on doing your best. Don’t let anything else into your mind during the exam. This is just you versus the Slashers. Take revenge for everything they’ve done.”

“They haven’t really done anything other than get killed,” Todd said. He laughed, dodging another one of Isabel’s elbows.

Ah, right. That was just to me. I forgot. Doesn’t matter in the end. They’re going to do great.

Noah couldn’t help but notice that of all the students, the ones that were wearing Shields were the most confident. There weren’t many of them, and he couldn’t see the entire crowd, but it looked like a little under a quarter of the kids in attendance had them.

The rest of the hour passed by quickly for Noah, but judging by the way Isabel and Todd were shifting around uncomfortably, it was probably agonizing for them. Professors and students continued to pile into the group, all chattering with varying degrees of worry.

“Attention!” a sharp voice called. A lanky man lifted into the air, standing upon a flying sword that was clearly far more cooperative than Noah’s considering he had yet to fly into a wall. The man wore a half-cloak that ended just above his waist. It had six stitched golden bands running along its back.

The talking came to an abrupt halt and everyone looked up at him. After waiting for a few moments, the man spoke again.

“For those of you that do not know me I am Tenfort, and I will be here as an added measure to ensure our students don’t encounter any monsters beyond their ability to handle. All professors will obviously be expected to help should something slip past me, but your main focus should be ensuring that your students are properly evaluated. Please begin making your way up the stairs, but do not leave the area once you arrive in the Scorched Acres until the test officially begins.”

Tenfort flew back into the crowd as it shifted. Everyone slowly started moving toward the transport cannon and climbing the stairs, one group at a time. It wasn’t exactly slow, but Noah couldn’t help but wonder why they hadn’t just had people enter the cannon when they arrived rather than waiting the entire hour.

Unfortunately, he wasn’t in charge of the event. As such, he and all the others had to be content with waiting around. It took a little over half an hour for everyone to funnel through the cannon.

And then, finally, they were all standing in the Scorched Acres. Tim had evidently changed the location they’d been sent, as instead of arriving in a densely packed forest, they’d materialized in a large, open clearing that had clearly been prepared a long time ago.

A large stone pedestal sat in the center of the clearing, and Tenfort had taken residence up on top of it. His eyes were glazed over when Noah and the others arrived, but after a few minutes and once everyone had arrived, he shook his head and turned his attention toward the growing crowd.

“As always, professors will be responsible for their own exams. I have ensured that there is nothing more dangerous than a Slasher within a reasonable range, but it is possible that other monsters could wander in. It is the responsibility of the professors to ensure that these threats are dealt with, should they arrive. With that said, the exam will now begin. Everyone will be pulled back to Arbitage in exactly three hours.”

Several students and their teachers immediately sprinted into the forest, moving before Tenfort had said his last word. Before Noah could even say anything, he spotted Allen and Edward approaching them.

“Ready to lose?” Edward asked with a sneer. He had a large gourd slung over his back, and something inside it sloshed around with every step he took.

“Your pupil is a snot nosed brat,” Noah informed Allen. “That reflects poorly on his teacher.”

Allen’s eyes narrowed and he turned his nose up. “You would do well to know your place, Vermil. I trust it is acceptable that we keep an eye on each other to ensure that no, ah, below the table activities occur? Just… given your history. We wouldn’t want any accusations of cheating.”

Noah bared his teeth in a flat smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “I was about to suggest the same. The two of us can stay together and try to keep up with our students. If they get ahead of us, they can bring back any Slashers they kill to prove they handled it.”

“You think they’re going to move that quickly?” Allen asked with a scoff. “You’re all talk, Vermil.”

Noah turned his back on Allen and gave Todd and Isabel an encouraging smile. “Get to it, kids. No changes to anything we’ve been practicing. And make sure to stick close for the first fight. It’ll be more entertaining for me that way.”

The group set off into the forest, moving at a brisk pace. They passed several other groups watching as students squared off against Slashers to varying degrees of success. Noah winced as he watched a boy fail to read a Slasher’s attack and dodge in the wrong direction.

He flashed with golden energy as a wall of magic formed between him and the monster. It’s claws scraped against the shield and he scrambled back before climbing to his feet. Noah repressed his frown.

If that had been Isabel or Todd, they would have died. Those Shields are really useful, especially when you know you’re about to get hit or against magic. The school should really be providing them for everyone.

“Problem, Vermil?” Allen asked. “Regretting your bold words?”

“No, I was just a little bored,” Noah replied. “I wonder how much your student is going to use that Shield of his as a crutch. Can he even fight without it?”

“He has no need to fight without it. He is a valued member of the Linwick family. Unlike you.”

Noah didn’t grace Allen with a response. A howl echoed through the trees in front of him, and a second one answered it. Todd and Isabel quickly glanced at each other, then lowered into fighting stances. Isabel drew her sword and Todd’s arms erupted in flame.

Edward looked back at Allen, who gave the boy a nod. Water poured out of Edward’s gourd and swirled around his body like a snake. A second later, a Slasher burst out of the trees, its nostrils flared and eyes fixed on Todd, the closest person to it.

Todd stepped forward, readying a beam of flame, but Edward sprinted in front of him. He slashed his hand downward and the water followed the motion, carving a bloody furrow through the Slasher’s chest. It roared in pain, hurt but not severely injured.

“That was mine!” Todd exclaimed.

“Should have been faster,” Edward replied. The Slasher swung a hand at Edward, who didn’t even bother dodging it. It slammed against his cloak, which glittered with golden light and stopped the blow in its tracks.

With a yell, Edward thrust his hand forward. The water carved into the Slasher’s dense fur once more. And, once again, he failed to achieve a fatal blow. If anything, he’d just made the Slasher even angrier. It lunged at Edward, but it was like watching a truck drive into a reinforced pole. As long as Edward expected his attacks, the Shield was able to block them.

At least, to a degree. From what I understand of Shields blocking physical attacks, they have to actually use a physical manner to block a physical attack, like Moxie’s vines. So the thread must be magically reinforcing itself before he gets hit. Great for body shots, but useless for head shots.

As if it had heard his thoughts, the Slasher whipped its hand for Edward’s head. This time, the boy flinched backward. It wasn’t enough. One of the claws nearly carved into his neck before threads spun free of his extravagant robes, catching the claw and yanking it to the side.

“Very impressive,” Noah said.

“As I said,” Allen said with a smug smile. “He is a valued member of the Linwick–”

“Not him. The Shield.”

Allen glowered at Noah, but before he could respond, a tree shattered into fragments as a Slasher charged through it. It skidded to a stop across from them and bared its teeth, letting out a furious howl. Noah smiled.

“Todd, this one’s all you. Edward’s a little preoccupied tickling his opponent to death right now, so please make your fight a little more elegant.”

“With pleasure,” Todd replied, cracking his knuckles.