[: Daniel’s POV :]

Zone A, If I had to sum it up in one word, it would be Forest.

But if I was allowed a second word, it would definitely be horror.

It couldn’t decide whether it wanted to be peaceful or horrifying.

Not because the trees were scary.

No, trees don’t bother me.

It’s the fact that at any moment something could be staring at you from behind those trees.

Something hidden, something breathing, something waiting for you to drop your guard and...

*Snap.*

"HOLY SHIT! WHAT WAS THAT SOUND!?"

Fendrick practically climbed up Silvia like a terrified squirrel.

She groaned, prying him off though it seems like she wasn’t bothered by it.

"Fendrick, get off me! It was just a branch!"

"It did not sound like a branch! Branches don’t sound like that!"

I sighed.

"You’ve said that for the last twelve sounds."

"BECAUSE NONE OF THEM SOUNDED LIKE A BRANCH!"

We had only been in the forest for about ten minutes, and Fendrick had already tripped over a vine, insulted a bush and declared war against a passing butterfly.

A freaking butterfly.

Truly, a natural warrior.

Silvia walked ahead confidently, hands behind her back, humming lightly.

"Honestly, Fendrick, you’re acting like a child."

"I AM being hunted like a child!"

"No monsters have even shown up yet."

"That’s what makes it worse!"

I pinched the bridge of my nose.

"We just started"

"You should relax. This place is full of first-year-level monsters. Nothing dangerous."

Fendrick turned to me with the deadest stare I’ve ever seen.

"Daniel... I’ve seen what ’nothing dangerous’ means to you"

"Last week you said the golem practice was ’easy.’ I almost died."

"You only almost died because you ran towards the golem."

"I WAS TRYING TO HELP YOU!"

"I didn’t need help."

"THAT’S THE PROBLEM!"

Silvia burst into laughter, unable to hold it in anymore.

I felt something warm in my chest at the sound.

I hadn’t realized how much I missed this—just... being around people like this.

If peace had a voice, it was Silvia’s laugh and Fendrick’s complaining.

As we walked deeper, sunlight filtered through the canopy in streaks.

The air felt thick, humid, buzzing with mana.

The magical device on my wrist displayed our team name and point tally.

Right now it was still at zero.

"Look," I said, tapping the device. "If we don’t hunt something soon, the other teams will leave us in the dust."

"I vote for going back," Fendrick said immediately.

"No," Silvia said. "Vote denied."

"I didn’t know this was a dictatorship."

"It is when you’re being dramatic."

He clutched his chest.

"I am deeply wounded."

Silvia rolled her eyes, but she smiled.

Fendrick smiled too, though he pretended not to.

Sometimes I wonder how they aren’t dating.

Then again, I also wonder how Fendrick hasn’t been killed by a falling fruit yet with his luck.

I don’t know whether to say Fendrick is a fool or the fact that there’s still something bothering him.

We continued walking until...

*Growl...*

Silvia froze. I instantly shifted my stance.

Fendrick whispered, "...D-Daniel? That one wasn’t a branch, right?"

"No," I said calmly. "That one wasn’t a branch."

"OH MY—"

"Shh!" Silvia hissed, slapping a hand over his mouth.

"Do you want to attract more!?"

He shook his head violently.

The bushes ahead rustled.

Leaves parted.

And out steppeda four-legged creature with a body covered in moss and bark-like armor. Its emerald eyes glowed.

Its tail swayed like a vine.

Sharp wooden fangs protruded from its jaws.

The seal on its forehead told me its species.

A Verdant Howler, rank F.

Basically a wolf fused with nature.

Cute, in a deadly "I’ll chew your arm off" way.

It snarled and lowered its stance.

Fendrick whispered, "Oh shit oh shit oh shit—"

"I’ll take ca—"

"FIRE FIST!"

Before I could finish, Fendrick suddenly roared, lunged forward, and his entire right arm exploded in flames.

He punched the monster straight on the skull.

"Wha—Fen—"

*BOOM!*

The Verdant Howler’s head snapped back, and Fendrick landed in front of it with a proud, shaky stance.

"Oh... oh my god," he gasped, staring at his own flaming fist. "I did it... I ACTUALLY DID IT!"

"You’re still in danger—"

"I’M AMAZING!"

The monster shook its head, growling louder now.

Silvia stepped up, eyes narrowed.

"Ice Shard!"

The temperature dropped instantly.

Dozens of floating spikes of ice manifested around her and shot forward in a deadly rain.

*Shh-shh-shh-shh!*

Each one pierced through the monster’s limbs, torso, and neck.

The Verdant Howler staggered, collapsed, and finally fell limp.

Silvia flicked her hair. "And that is how you finish a fight."

Fendrick spun around. "HEY! I weakened it!"

"Barely!"

"I distracted it!"

"I froze it!"

"I punched it!"

"I ended it!"

I watched them bicker again.

A smile tugged at my lips.

They were proud.

Truly proud.

And I... was proud of them too.

"Guys," I said.

They both paused, looking at me.

I held up the device on my wrist.

It flashed:

[: 10 points :]

"We got our first points."

Silvia beamed. "See? Teamwork!"

Fendrick puffed out his chest. "All thanks to me!"

Silvia elbowed him. "Thanks to *us*."

He scratched his cheek. "Fine... thanks to us."

Then he looked at me.

"Daniel, why do you look so calm? Aren’t you excited?"

I shrugged. "I’m happy."

"Then tell your face to join the party!"

I laughed quietly. "My face is doing its best."

We moved on, stepping over the fallen Verdant Howler.

"Should we take the core?" Silvia asked.

"It’s only an F-rank," I said. "It won’t be worth anything."

"Still," she said, kneeling. "We can sell it later."

Fendrick pointed dramatically. "Aha! This is why she’s the money-maker of our team!"

"What does that even mean?" Silvia asked.

"You think about loot! I think about survival! Daniel thinks about—actually, Daniel, what do you think about?"

They both looked at me.

I blinked.

"...Lunch."

Silvia burst into laughter.

Fendrick groaned.

"You know," he said, "I was expecting something philosophical. Something deep. But no. Food."

"Food is deep," I said.

"No, it’s not!"

"Yes, it is."

"Explain!"

"It nourishes the soul."

Silvia wiped tears from her eyes from laughing too much.

We continued walking deeper into the forest, sunlight flickering between leaves like tiny bursts of gold.

Even though this was a competition...

Even though there were monsters, ranked students, dangerous beasts...

There was no fear in my chest.

Just warmth.

Maybe this is what being young was supposed to feel like.

We walked for another twenty minutes without encountering anything too dangerous.

Some rustles, some glowing bugs, some small critters.

Then—

*Grrrrrrr...*

Fendrick screamed again.

"IT’S BACK FOR REVENGE!"

"It was just your stomach," Silvia said.

He paused. Looked down. "...Oh."

"Maybe eat before screaming next time," I said.

"I can’t control my instincts!"

"What instincts? Your instinct is to run."

"To SURVIVE!"

Silvia clapped her hands. "Alright, children. Focus. We need more points."

Fendrick gasped. "Did you just call us children?"

"Yes."

"Daniel, back me up!"

"She’s right."

"Traitor!"

I shrugged. "I never promised loyalty."

Silvia nodded approvingly. "Good. Because loyalty should be earned."

Fendrick crossed his arms, muttering, "Unbelievable... surrounded by villains..."

"Silvia’s not a villain," I said.

"What about you!?"

"I’m neutral."

"That’s even worse!"

Silvia giggled again.

Eventually, we reached a clearing where sunlight pooled like water.

A creature lurked at the center.

This time it was larger, twice the size of the Verdant Howler.

Thick vines wrapped around its limbs, and three glowing eyes stared straight at us.

A Bramble Mauler.

Still F-rank, but tougher.

Fendrick whispered, "Daniel... buddy... pal... I think I should lead."

Silvia tilted her head. "You?"

He straightened. "Yes. This is my redemption arc."

"Redemption from what?" I asked.

"From everything."

Before we could stop him, he charged forward.

"FEEEEEEENDRICK NO—"

"BURNING SPIRAAALLL—!"

He tripped.

Mid-spell.

His flaming spiral exploded sideways, setting a tree on fire.

Silvia facepalmed.

I sighed.

The Bramble Mauler stared, confused.

Then Silvia lifted one hand.

"Ice bind."

Cold air swirled and froze the creature’s legs instantly.

"Daniel," she said sweetly. "Would you?"

"Sure."

I stepped forward, gathered mana, and struck the Bramble Mauler with a clean, controlled blow that knocked it out cold.

The device beeped.

[: +20 points :]

Silvia smiled. "Good job."

Fendrick lifted his head from the ground. "I contributed..."

"You contributed fear," Silvia said.

"And chaos," I added.

He held up a shaky thumbs-up. "Teamwork..."

And somehow... that made me smile again.

We took a short break by a fallen log. Silvia handed out water.

Fendrick lay spread-eagle on the ground complaining about life.

I leaned back against a rock, watching the shifting patterns of sunlight through leaves.

Silvia sat beside me.

Fendrick sat on my other side, somehow close enough that he kept bumping into me.

For a moment, everything felt... right.

Silvia nudged me gently. "You look happy."

"I am."

"Good," she said softly. "You deserve to be."

Fendrick pointed at me. "HEY! Why does *he* get emotional scenes!? I almost DIED!"

"You tripped," I said.

"I ALMOST died!"

Silvia hugged him from behind, surprising him. "There, there. You were very brave."

He turned red instantly. "DON’T—DON’T DO THAT WITHOUT WARNING!"

"You’re cute when you’re flustered," she teased.

"I—I—I— DANIEL STOP LAUGHING!"

"I’m not laughing."

"You’re SMILING! That’s JUST AS BAD!"

I smiled wider.

We hunted three more monsters after that.

Every fight ended up with Silvia saving Fendrick and somehow... we were making progress.

[: +85 points total :]

But the points didn’t matter.

What mattered was that for the first time in a long time, I felt alive in the right way.

Not as a weapon.

Not as a burden.

Not as something dangerous.

Just as... Daniel.

A student.

A friend.

A teammate.

Someone who belonged.

And as we continued deeper into the forest, Fendrick screaming at shadows and Silvia teasing him endlessly...

I knew—

This...

This was a day I wouldn’t forget.

Not because of the monsters.

Not because of the hunt.

But because of them.

My team.

My first real team.

And the warmth they brought into a place I once thought was all darkness.