The six students stood in silence, the pale blue sky beneath their invisible floor still pulsing with a dreamlike light.
No one spoke.
Instead, they watched each other closely, gauging each others strength, posture, or confidence.
A minute passed in this unspoken assessment.
Then, one of them stepped forward.
He wore a crisp blue uniform, and his expression was carved from calm certainty.
His voice, when he spoke, was sharp and practiced, like someone used to being listened to.
"My name is Niko Salverdes. I am the fourth son of House Salverdes of the Kingdom of Vel'Therin, and a mage of the Combat Aspect." He paused deliberately, letting his presence settle over the group. "Since we've been paired together for the final test, I'd like to propose that I take the lead."
Another pause. He scanned the others, waiting for any form of resistance, but none came.
"I believe that under my direction, we can complete this test with both speed and excellence." He smiled, the kind of confident smile that probably made parents tell bedtime stories about him.
"Now, if everyone agrees, I suggest we introduce ourselves. Knowing our team is the first step to victory."
They all exchanged glances.
Still, no one objected.
Then, the boy in black with the too-friendly smile finally spoke. "Name's Rylen... just Rylen. A Knight with a Utility Aspect. Nice to meet you all." The smile stayed locked in place the entire time, which somehow made him even more annoying.
Next was the nervous girl.
She gave a small bow, her blue uniform fluttering slightly in the wind. "Uhm… hi everyone, I'm Liri. A Support Mage. It's… nice to meet you." She still looked like she might fall off the invisible cloud at any second.
Then the girl in black stepped forward. She didn't bow, didn't smile. Just looked at them with a gaze sharp enough to cut steel.
"Seraphina. Knight." That was it.
Kael raised an eyebrow. 'Wow. And I thought Theo was the emotionally unavailable one.'
Theo, predictably, followed next. "Theo. Mage."
Kael sighed. 'He still is, I guess.'
Lastly was him. All eyes turned.
"Kael. Knight… I guess."
He had no idea what a Combat, Support, or Utility Aspect meant.
"Great, now that we know ourse—"
Before Niko could go any further, they all simultaneously received a notification from their respective Archive interfaces.
[Task Assigned: Obtain Totem from Guardian]
[Reward: Admission into Obsidian Fang Academy | 1 Archive Credit]
[Team 417 – Assigned Leader: KAEL DARVEN]
Kael blinked.
'Wha..'
Then slowly looked up.
Every member of the team was staring at him with different expressions.
Theo looked amused for some reason.
Seraphina maintained her usual indifferent expression.
Rylen's smile seemed to have doubled, if that was even possible.
While Liri was looking around confused, as though she didn't understand the situation at all.
And lastly, there was Niko, who was staring at him as though Kael had just stolen his family's entire lineage.
Kael rubbed the back of his neck.
'You've got to be kidding me.'
Before anyone could say another word, the air quivered.
Reality rippled around them like water disturbed by a thrown stone.
Then...
They fell.
No warning, no ground beneath their feet, no gentle fade. Just instant, brutal gravity.
Kael barely had time to yell before the sky flipped upside down and the massive forest floor surged up to meet them.
'I didn't sign up for this!'
His inner scream echoed through his mind as trees, rocks, and distant ruins grew clearer by the second.
But just before they hit the ground, everything stopped.
They hung, suspended midair by some invisible force, just inches from impact.
Then, just as suddenly...
Thud!
The spell wore off, and they all hit the earth with a collective groan.
'Yep. Definitely hate this school.'
He sat up slowly, brushing dirt from his shoulder as he took in their surroundings.
The forest around them was massive, towering blackwood trees with silver-veined leaves stretched so high they blotted out the sun.
Shafts of soft, golden light streamed through the canopy in irregular slits, casting shifting patterns on the moss-covered floor. Strange glowing fungi clung to fallen logs.
The air smelled like old parchment and ozone, arcane energy thick and alive.
Somewhere in the distance, a low, guttural animal howl echoed through the trees… but it didn't sound natural.
Above them, the sky was still visible, but not real. It shimmered like glass, reflecting fractured images of their group, as though some unseen force was watching from above.
This wasn't just a forest.
This was the Vault, and it seemed terrifyingly alive.
After a few minutes of getting their bearings, the group stood in a loose circle, tension hanging in the air like fog.
No one spoke at first.
Then Niko stepped forward, brushing a leaf off his shoulder with a deliberate gesture.
His voice was calm, his smile polite, but something in his eyes had hardened into sharp steel.
"It seems the Academy decided to choose our leader for us." He turned to Kael, his smile not quite reaching his eyes. "Congratulations… Kael, was it? I suppose we're under your lead now."
The way he said "congratulations" made it feel more like a thinly veiled threat than praise.
Kael raised an eyebrow. 'Yeah, he definitely doesn't look happy about it.'
Rylen chuckled lightly, hands behind his head. "Well, I don't mind. It'll be fun watching how this plays out."
Theo gave Kael the faintest smirk, just a twitch of his lips. "You're going to get all of us killed," he muttered, loud enough just for Kael to hear.
Kael's brows twitched, but he didn't say anything.
"Since you're our designated leader, Kael," Niko said, his tone still controlled, "perhaps you'd like to make the first decision. Do we wait, stay and draw a plan, or do we begin moving immediately to find a guardian?"
All eyes turned to him again.
Kael exhaled slowly.
'First I fall from the sky, now I have to act like I know what I'm doing…'
He scratched his head.
"Let's just start by moving. I don't like the idea of sitting still in a forest that smells like wet earth and stale magic."