We walked through the silent hallways of the lodging. Elizabeth walked ahead with light, almost floating steps, while I watched the outer courtyard through the window. Some children ran among the trees, laughing with a joy that seemed out of place... or fake.
She stopped for a moment, staring at the scene with narrowed eyes. "It's strange, isn't it?" she said without looking at me.
"Yeah," I replied. "How can they play... in this place?"
Elizabeth let out a soft sigh, as if she had thought about it many times before. "I understand the trauma... but pretending it doesn't exist? Ignoring where we are? That's dangerous."
I looked away, facing the shadows of the corridor. "It's like they're trying to convince themselves they're still normal children. But the truth will crush anyone who's unprepared."
She didn't reply, but the silence that followed was heavy — complicit. We kept walking until we reached a door at the back of the lodging. When we passed through it, we followed a stone path lined with garden beds and vines that formed natural arches, until we reached a wide clearing.
There, a training field. The grass was well maintained, slightly damp with morning dew, and some dry leaves rustled beneath our steps. On one side, straw-padded wooden dummies; on the other, a packed-sand area where two youths fought with focused vigor.
The girl was impressive. Tall, with straight black hair tied in a tight braid, blood-red eyes that gleamed even in the shadows, and a well-defined body shaped by rigorous training. Her skin was pale like aged ivory. She wielded a spear with mastery, spinning and thrusting in almost dance-like movements, her breathing heavy, but controlled.
The boy looked a bit older than me — maybe fourteen. He was slim, refined in appearance, with slightly pointed ears — an elf, perhaps. His brown hair fell to his nape, and his green eyes scanned the field with calculated precision. He carried two daggers in hand and a leather sheath to store them.
They trained in silence, as if the world around them had vanished. Their movements were sharp, but not reckless. There was discipline there. Technique. Honed instinct.
Elizabeth then clapped her hands, the sound echoing softly through the clearing. Both of them stopped, turning toward us at the same time.
As soon as they saw me, their expressions hardened. Their hands clenched reflexively. The air grew dense for a moment, as if the mana in the area responded to the tense atmosphere.
"Calm down," said Elizabeth, raising her hands with a calm smile. "I can explain everything."
Elizabeth turned naturally and introduced us. "This is Arthur. And as you know... he is the Host of the Nodule."
Those words echoed like a seal. The air around us seemed to grow heavier for an instant, not from intimidation, but from a silent recognition of what that meant here. Mérida and Ravael looked at me with sharp eyes — the kind of eyes used to living in distrust to survive.
She then pointed to the two with her usual calm. "The girl is named Mérida. She's a vampire from the northern lands. And the boy, Ravael, is a noble-blooded elf, trained from a young age in blades and tracking."
I nodded, keeping my composure. "Nice to meet you."
Elizabeth approached them and began to explain in detail everything we had discussed before. She had a precise way of speaking, without embellishments, but with just the right amount of tension that the words demanded. While she spoke, their eyes occasionally turned to me — observing, weighing.
When she finished, silence reigned for a brief moment. Mérida crossed her arms, her gaze still serious. Ravael just lowered his chin slightly, thoughtful.
I took a deep breath, stepped forward and smiled slightly, controlling my tone. "I hope we can work well together."
"Mutually," the two responded at the same time — curt, but sincere.
I then turned to Elizabeth. "You forgot to explain the most important part. Pay attention."
The three nodded. And then, with a low but firm voice, I continued: "From what I was told, all newcomers with less than a year in the sect will be taken to a test. We'll be thrown into a cave for six months. No rescue, no outside support. Just us, the monsters, and who knows what else."
I paused briefly, letting the weight of the information settle. "We'll be confined with minimal resources. Inside, there are traps, creatures... and perhaps, each other."
The atmosphere shifted. Even the birds seemed to fall silent for a moment.
Elizabeth was the first to break the silence: "So it's like a jar of insects. They're going to force us to evolve or die. And only the most venomous will survive."
I nodded slowly. "Exactly."
Silence returned, heavier now. Ravael seemed restless, but not out of fear — it was the kind of restlessness from someone who needs action to process things.
"If that's really the case," he said, "then we need to train. To understand each other's limits. Trust has to start here."
I nodded. "Training is the minimum."
This fight will be good to measure trust — and future risk of betrayal or loyalty.
We walked together to the training clearing. The field was damp and cool, with shadows cast by tall trees. I picked up a wooden sword among the training weapons. Ravael chose a pair of curved daggers. Elizabeth took a mana-infused staff — simple, but functional. Mérida chose a spear with a thick leather-wrapped tip.
I stepped into the center. "Who's first?"
Mérida walked toward me with confident steps. The smile on her lips was light, but her crimson eyes gleamed with a mix of excitement and hunger for challenge.
"Let's make this interesting, Arthur," she said, spinning the spear between her fingers with predatory grace.
I replied with a restrained smile. "Sure. Show me what you've got."
She took her stance, feet apart, knees slightly bent. Her movements resembled a feline about to pounce. I gripped my wooden sword tightly, activating the minimum amount of mana to reinforce my reflexes — not enough to awaken aura, but enough to be ready.
She struck first.
Mérida came like a living spear — fast, precise, elegant. The tip of her weapon sliced through the air in a direct thrust toward my chest. I leaned instinctively, feeling the wind of the thrust pass close to my shoulder. My wooden blade met her spear shaft with a dry thud, deflecting it.
I twisted my hips and launched a side kick at her abdomen. But she was lower, more flexible — dodged in a low spin, her hair brushing the ground, and slid back lightly. Her red eyes gleamed with focus.
I advanced with speed, taking advantage of my lightness and the subtle mana reinforcement in my muscles. Fast, short attacks to maintain rhythm. But she didn't retreat — she danced. Each step of the vampire seemed calculated, each retreat led to a counter. Her spear cracked the air with aggressive grace, almost hypnotic.
I was faster. But she was more precise.
The battle continued, a constant whirl of thrusts and dodges, strikes and cuts. At each clash of weapons, our bodies separated and reunited. At one point, my mana claws extended without me noticing — a reflex from the Nodule reacting to adrenaline — but I quickly retracted them, focusing on control.
After a few minutes, both breathless, we stepped apart.
"You fight well," I said, still catching my breath.
Mérida smiled with slightly pointed teeth. "You too. Too fast. Almost annoying."
She laughed, and I joined with a faint smile.
We made way for the next round. Elizabeth walked calmly to the center, her staff light in her hands. Ravael, by contrast, spun his bow between his fingers, already nocking a training arrow with a confident smile.
"Ready?" he asked.
"Since before you were born," Elizabeth replied, with her usual calm tone.
He shot first. The arrow flew with a light but accurate snap. Elizabeth spun her staff and conjured 『Magic Missile』 — the mana sphere collided midair with the arrow, dispersing both.
Without hesitation, Ravael moved to the side, shooting two arrows in sequence. Elizabeth used 『Mana Reinforcement』 subtly, creating a thin layer around her body. One arrow ricocheted, the other grazed past.
"You're improving," she said, launching another 『Magic Missile』 — this time with ice affinity. The sphere froze part of the ground, forcing Ravael to change direction.
He leapt over the frozen area, spun in the air, and released a short arrow aimed at her shoulder. Elizabeth dodged with minimal effort, as if she already knew where he was aiming.
The duel continued at an accelerating pace. Elizabeth began using 『Mana Enchantment』 on her staff, reinforcing the impacts, and employed small mana bursts to generate gusts or brief pushes. Ravael retreated with mastery, moving like a hunter through tall grass.
But in the end, he stumbled on a root that sprouted from the soil — Elizabeth had discreetly used 『Plant Manipulation』. Not a grand trap, but enough.
The final 『Magic Missile』 came straight at him, and even with sharp reflexes, he was hit in the chest. He fell back onto the packed sand with a dull thud.
Breathless but smiling, Ravael raised his hand. "Yeah, I still can't beat you."
Elizabeth grabbed his fingers and pulled him up with strength. "Maybe next time."
Her smile was faint, almost imperceptible. But it was there.
The sun hid behind the distant wall of trees. Shadows stretched across the training field as I watched the three — potential allies. Maybe... unlikely friends.