The female ran through the playground structure, sliding under the swing set.

Ash extended his hand, trying to catch her, but he was far too slow, and instead, he hit his head against the swing set. He quickly stood up, running toward the opponent.

The female was fast, now far past the playground. She approached me, forming water on her hand that diverted into ice.

Ash slammed his foot on the floor, reaching out to the girl.

The girl's hand was now a blade-like icicle. The icicle reached my throat ever so slightly.

I remained on the floor, unable to get up. All I could do was remain in eye contact with the approaching blade.

Time felt slowed down like I was forced to wait. Her hand-etched nearer every second, and all I could do was wait.

I narrowed my eyes at the blade, twitching my finger in an attempt to activate a link, but to no avail.

Her hand neared my face, cutting a part of my chin, but her hand shifted to my left arm. She punctured my left arm, cutting it in half.

"What!" The girl yelled, trying to move closer. However, she couldn't.

"Ahhh," Ash grunted, now a few feet away. He gripped a chain of metal that connected to the opponent's ankle. He pulled the chain, hurdling the girl toward him.

The girl clawed at the floor, trying to resist. Her efforts were futile as she was pulled toward Ash.

In a swift manner, Ash dragged the girl toward him, punching her in the face as soon as she was pulled up in the air.

The girl fell to the floor, unconscious from the hit...

I was forced to stop looking when the pain spiked — a brutal pain advanced toward my wound. The mist began forming on my severed area.

I clenched my teeth, my face scrunching up because of the pain, but I fought the distress. I pushed every ounce of strength in my muscles, standing up and walking to Ash.

Every second was of the essence.

Ash remained focused on the girl, wrapping chains around her neck, even to the degree where he ignored my presence as I stood behind him.

"Just go away," Ash whispered, clenching his fist as he winced, but he turned around facing me, letting go of his fist, consequently thrusting the chains to tighten. The chains kept tensing until the girl was turned into mist.

Ash and I gaped at each other in the eyes, not saying a word, but we nodded, knowing a single truth: we needed to do better.

It wasn't stated, nor was it ever said, but we both knew we messed up. We should have been more organized.

Ash lowered his lips, looking away, then back at my left arm. "You idiot."

"I know," I fidgeted, aggressively tapping my leg on the ground. I avoided eye contact with my arm, fixating on the sky. "The mist keeps getting worse."

"I can see that," Ash clicked his tongue, approaching me. "Sit down, you fucking dumbass."

Taking a seat, criss-cross, I closed my eyes. "Now what."

"Just keep your eyes closed."

"Sure," I whispered, breathing in and out from my nose.

"Try not to move!" Ash yelled as some type of material wrapped around my legs and my right arm.

"What's-" I tried asking, but Ash cut me off.

"Just shut up, please," he bickered, moving another type of material around my waist and head.

I kept quiet, biting the inner parts of my cheeks.

"This is going to sting," Ash whispered. "Just try not to move!"

"What are you going to do?" I asked, shutting my eyes even harder.

Ash cleared his throat, affirming. "I'm going to try to stop the mist from going further." Ash grabbed my shoulder, causing me to spasm in pain.

I forced my eyes open, witnessing chains around my body. Chains were attached to multiple points of my body. I opened my mouth and stared at Ash, who operated on my left arm. "What the hell are you going to do?!"

Ash closed his eyes, punching me in the face. My head yanked backward, and Ash propelled another of his chains, causing me to lay on the floor.

"I'll kill you," I barked, trying to escape from the chains. It felt like thousands of ants were eating my body alive as each and every part felt an aching nibble.

Ash formed a barrier of rock around my face, blocking my eyesight from seeing. He handled my arm, dripping a substance onto it, but this substance was no cooling godsend. No, it was a fiery substance, almost like molten lava from the bottom pits of hell.

The chains rattled as I tried escaping, but Ash's barrier rendered even my voice from penetrating. All I could do was squirm like a worm.

What should have been seconds felt much more, and of course, it did; each damn second was crowded with misery.

After five minutes, Ash recalled the chains and facial barrier. He sat next to me, waiting for a reply.

My arm had a rough brown metal around it, causing the slashed meat to close up. I narrowed my eyes, peeking at my arm. "It still hurts."

Ash lowered his head, face-palming himself. "Do I look like a fucking doctor? I just stopped the mist. That's all I can do!"

I closed my eyes, trying to use my left arm, but I couldn't. My arm was ineffective... Anger visibly showed in my eyes as I opened them. I stood up, but I failed, falling back to the ground and slamming my head against the floor.

Ash grabbed my right arm, pulling me up and placing my arm around his neck. He dragged me forward as he walked. "We need to hurry. This purple team shit is almost over."

The time left was now 20:45.

Ash sat me down on the swing set while he sat on a spring plaything. He formed a stern face, leaning forward. "Catch your breath. Knowing the Headmaster, this whole mess is about to get even more crappy."

"Yeah," I whispered, gaping at my once visible mist wound. The wound had been sealed with brown earthen metal.

Ash bounced back and forth on his spring plaything — a toy horse. He remained serious as he played on the plaything. Only if he could see himself...

I continued to stare at Ash. "Why didn't you use those chains during training?"

Ash bobbed back and forth, creating eye contact with me. "I can't."

"What do you mean," I tilted my head. "They seemed really effective."

Ash shook his head, avoiding eye contact. "I don't enjoy them."

"Huh," I furrowed my brows, narrowing my eyes at him, and I stood up, nearing him.

"Don't pry into it," Ash tightened his lips and closed his eyes.

I neared Ash, a few inches away from him. I pointed behind him, blinking.

Ash opened his eyes and grabbed my hand. "I told you to stop!"

"ASH!" I yelled, staring at the hole in the air. "What is that behind us!"

"What are you talking about," Ash let go of my right hand and stood up. He turned his head, gaping at the same scene.

Another burst of white and black mist formed, clashing against the whole area. The white and black mist touched everything, consuming Ash and me in the process.

I was now in a new location in a blink of an eye.

We were located in a forest area, the same place we started, but now a farmhouse was present. The red house had a pathway towards it, but towering wheat surrounded every other part, almost scaling seven feet in height.

Ash stood still, scouting the area.

On the other hand, I was focusing on keeping a calm mind. The pain was still prevalent, but I noticed the more mana I entered, the less distressing the pain was.

"Good news or bad news," Ash whispered. "What do you want to hear first?"

"Good?" I half-smiled, crinkling my nose and tightening my eyes.

"We have fifteen minutes until we're done," Ash scratched his head and shrugged, but he looked away, sighing. "I think we're not alone."

"Where are they?" I questioned, gripping my right hand.

"Who cares! Let's get out of here," he eyed an area, pointing with his head.

We ran away from the farmhouse, entering a large bush that Ash eyed. But before we fully could, three individuals — all Khausfallian — came out of the bush, bumping into us.

Ash accidentally tripped one of the individuals, causing the rest to trip backward. The two males and one female all fell back from Ash's foot.

Both Ash and I now had a new objective: run away from this group. We looked each other in the eyes, running back to the house.

We both ran as fast as we could, ignoring the opponent's bickering.

'Hopefully, they didn't see us,' I tightened my facial expression as I ran. For the first time, I hoped being short came in handy...

As we dashed forward to the farmhouse, we used the pathway. We were halfway through the pathway when an eruption occurred at the entrance of the farmhouse.

The house's door fell down the stairs, making it all the way down to the ground. A boy held his leg out in the air, positioned like he kicked the door off.

"I just wanted some damn shut-eye," The boy yelled, placing his hand back in his pockets — combat uniform. Two other males came behind him, one to his right and another to his left.

Before Ash and I could do anything, the other team full of Khausfallian's cornered us, now a few feet behind us.

"We're screwed," Ash lowered his head, slumping ever so slightly.

I looked at him, gulping my own spit. "We're screwed."

The Khausfallians neared us, and so did the three familiar faces in front of us.

The three boys in front of me were the same idiots who wanted me to join their fan group. Though that was probably just an excuse for me to not snitch.

Still, none of that mattered because, at that moment, we were screwed.

"My luck can't get any better," Valis smiled, skimming his fingers through his hair — blonde and black. He raised his hand, twitching his fingers. "Today is my day!"

Ash grabbed my right arm, pulling me into the wheat. He kept running, pulling me with him. "HURRY, HURRY, HURRY!"

We ran against the wheat as we sprinted through the never-ending patch. The wheat caused an itching sensation beyond belief.

"Damn it," I tried saying, but I couldn't, unable to speak as I gasped for air.

Ash stopped pulling me, coming to a stop. He moved some wheat out of the way, creating eye contact. "We need to third party them!"

I nodded as I clenched my teeth, trying to ignore the lingering pain.

Our conversation halted as a storm of air passed and ripped apart the wheat from the ground.

I grabbed Ash while Ash molded metal around his hand onto the ground. I swung into the air, but I wasn't taken away since I grabbed Ash.

"WHAT THE HELL!" I yelled, trying my best to stay hooked on Ash.

The wind pushed against my body, reminding me how deadly magic was.

I was in an event where no real harm could be done, yet I was still afraid. I was afraid of what the pinnacle of magic could be. Even if I wore magic combat gear, which could protect most magic attacks, I still felt fear... I guess the combat gear was useless in this area, but still, I was scared.

The wind ceased, lifting most wheat off the ground. I fell onto Ash, but I quickly got off him, looking for the source of magic.

The third team full of Khausfallians seemed confused, but so did Valis's team. The Khausfallian team had two individuals attached to vines. The missing Khausfallian teammate — male — wasn't visible. Valis's team all had ice attached to them, most of it melted, but the ice was apparent at their feet.

The once lush wheat farm was no more but a wasteland of damaged vegetation. The ferocious wind tore apart the ground, making the footing treacherous with the number of holes. Unlike the general area, the partially sturdy farmhouse appeared undamaged.

The Khausfallian female — tall and muscular — tore the vines that held her.

She Ignored her teammate, nearing the middle of the ruins while fire poured out of the sides of her lips. Every step she took generated an immense magic burst, but it was soon prevalent why. She stood tall, darting at Valis's team and then my team. "WHO?"

Valis smiled, showing his teeth, but he stopped, stroking his right hand through his hair. "I was just about to ask you the same-"

"AHHHH," the Khausfallian female yelled. Her scream developed a burst of fire, approaching Valis.

Valis used his left hand to block the attack, creating steam from what I believe was his water magic. He shook his left hand in the air while he kept his right in his hair. "That's not very ladylike." He twitched his right eye, walking down the farmhouse stairs. "You brat."

The Khausfallian's teammate came behind her, touching her shoulder. "I'll help."

Valis's fangirls also came near the chaos. The overweight human chewed on some type of plant while speaking. "We... will... also... help..."

I whispered into Ash's ear. "Let's leave now."

Ash nodded, eyes wide open. "NOW!"

We both began running, but two types of magic hurled at us, blocking us from escaping. An array of icicles and smog of red heat.

The female Khausfallian yelled. "You two won't be going anywhere!"

Valis, on the other hand, smiled, looking at me. "Don't worry, I'll be coming after you guys." Valis pointed at his teammates, then at us. Letting his smile disappear, he turned back at the Khausfallian female. "Once I'm finished with this brat."

His teammates ran at us, forcing Ash and me to get ready.

The Khausfallian female wrinkled her nose and yelled, looking at Valis. "This is between him and me!"

The male Khausfallian nodded, leaving her alone and nearing us.

"This is not too good," I whispered.

Ash didn't respond, but instead, he gaped at the others, creating metal chains and wrapping them onto his arms.

I stood behind Ash as the three opponents ran at us. My mind was depleted, it all came down to this, but I didn't know what to do. It was now or never, and all I could do was be a liability at best.

Linking to places was far too risky after doing it so many times. I only had one option left.

"Ash, we're going to run a frontal attack," I said, placing my right hand in the air. "Version 3!"

Ash slightly tugged his lips to the right. "Roger that!"

The skinny dwarf from Valis's team stopped and began exchanging blows with the Khausfallian male.

The fat human was attempting his best at what could be loosely described as running. He could be better described as a blob, but still, thanks to his speed, Ash and I were allowed to prepare.

I focused on the blob, getting ready to launch an attack. I would shoot as soon as he passed through an ambient sphere.

Ash blocked the blob's punch. Using his chains as a defense, he kept a solid stance, not allowing the blob to overtake him.

The blob grew more sweaty, causing Ash's chains to be soaked with sweat.

Ash tried to wrap a chain around the blob, but the chain eroded and broke.

The blob pushed Ash, propelling Ash a few feet away. The blob spat out the green herbs that he chewed on. He fell to the ground and ate what was unmistakably dirt, and after thirty seconds, he stood up, dirt all over his face.