The Path 028 (Patreon)

As day gave way to night within the Labyrinth of Corridors, Will found himself alone atop a makeshift tower constructed and reinforced using Earth Magic. He wasn't exactly a loner, but as he didn't want to get too close to anyone his current age, lest they get entangled in his affairs, he kept his distance. At least when he could.

Interrupting Will's contemplative reverie, Ishyll ascended the tower's ladder, beaming as he declared, "I have come to relieve you, my Lord."

"Your consideration is noted but unnecessary," replied Will, keeping his back to the ashen-haired youth. 

"Hmmm...?"

Tilting his head to the side, Ishyll briefly deliberated before climbing the rest of the way up the tower and asking, "Does something weigh upon you?"

"Always," replied Will, smiling as he turned his head to meet the youth's gaze, adding, "But that isn't why I'm staying awake. My instincts tell me this night won't be a peaceful one."

"Is that why you had us prepare such comprehensive defenses...?" asked Ishyll, gazing ahead at the dark corridor the tower had been constructed to observe. It was five meters wide, but the height of the walls that gave it form made it appear narrow, claustrophobic, and menacing...

"Not quite," replied Will, preempting Ishyll's question by explaining, "That was largely to reduce tensions between individuals and ensure everyone was nice and tired before bed. Now, unless something transpires to drive them apart, they are primed to work together..."

Blinking in surprise, Ishyll opened his mouth like he had something to say but failed to find the words. He had already come to understand that Will was exceptional, but he still ended up stunned each time they interacted with one another.

Heralding an abrupt end to the conversation, a pair of ghostly blue lights, reminiscent of will-o'-wisps, appeared at the far end of the corridor. Will was the first to notice them, but Ishyll spotted them soon after, his pupils shrinking to the size of pinholes as dozens of additiona pairs appeared.

Confirming the ashen-haired youth's suspicions, Will relaxedly hummed, "Speictreachbh...aka, Spectral Wolves. It appears the organizers of this event don't want us lounging about..."

Before Ishyll could ask him what they should do, Will leaped down from his perch and began walking toward the shadowy mass of wolves while rolling his head and shoulders to limber up a bit. Then, at nearly the same time as the wolves themselves, he darted forward faster than they could approach, hands spread wide and trailing behind him as he gathered two orbs of bright, blindingly white Aura in his hands.

With bodies comprised of shadow superimposed atop a wolf's skeleton, the Spectral Wolves at the head of the pack dispersed like smoke as Will reached them and clapped his hands together, producing a hemispherical pulse of shimmering white energy. That wasn't enough to take them out completely, as replacement shadows emanated from tiny holes in their skeletons, but it would take time for them to recover. Time Will didn't give them as he materialized a halberd meant for mounted combat, sweeping through six in a single flourish.

Leaping forward in the wake of Will's attack, several additional Spectral Wolves intended to take advantage of the opening his attack had created, but such logic didn't apply. Instead of fighting against the momentum of his halberd to fend off the wolves, Will simply stowed it away, freeing his right hand to unleash a shockwave and another pulse of light-elemental Aura.

Retracting his hand, turning his body, and stepping forward with his left foot, Will gave his right hand a chance to recover from the numbness it was experiencing by extending his left forward in the facsimile of a gun, gathering bright fiery red Mana at its tip.

"Boom, headshot," hummed Will, firing the compressed energy from his finger as an opportunistic wolf leaped at him. Fireballs typically exploded omnidirectionally when they made contact with a target or surface, but as Will's entered the Spectral Wolf's open mouth, it blossomed from the back of the creature's head like a flowery pillar of destruction, forming a vortex that continued further down the corridor.

Blinded by his own attack, largely due to the fact his eyes had adapted to the night, Will was nearly caught off guard as one of the Spectral Wolves managed to sneak around and flank him. However, as it was effectively a mass of Mana, he had no trouble perceiving it, allowing him to catch the creature by the neck with his gauntleted hand. The anti-magic properties of the gauntlet caused the shadows enveloping its body to disperse nigh instantaneously, so it offered no resistance as Will tightened his grip like a vice, reducing the vertebrae in its neck to fragments of bone and dust.

"And that makes thirteen..." remarked Will, grinning like a demon as he passed his gaze over the remaining wolves. There were still seventeen remaining, but after seeing how quickly he had dealt with their kin, none were eager to be the next to approach.

"If you're not going to come, then scra-"

*BOOM*

Before Will could finish telling the wolves to scram, a lightning bolt arced over him, striking the center of their formation. At the same time, several arrows zipped past him, originating from Ishyll and another archer within the five-person group that came to support him.

"Protect Lord William! Rout the enemy...!" bellowed Ishyll, using Magic to load and fire his crossbow as quickly as possible.

"Move it, meathead...!" shouted Aisha, going out of her way to pass within a few centimeters of Will, sickles in hand, as she charged directly into the group of Spectral Wolves. At that point, the shadowy canines had already lost their resolve to fight, so while they didn't exactly roll over and accept their second death, they only put up a perfunctory resistance.

'This ought to boost morale nicely...' thought Will, smiling as he pretended to lower his guard by slipping his hands into his pockets. He doubted the youth would make a move, but when the group first appeared to back him up, he felt Azir attempting to probe his Mana and Aura reserves with a bit of hostility seeping through.

Meeting the youth's gaze as he approached and stood beside him on his left side, Will teased, "Holding grudges isn't healthy. If you want to have a go at me, go for it. I won't do something petty like eliminating you or your sister in retribution."

Furrowing his brows, Azir ignored Will's remark in favor of focusing on and supporting his sister. She had a habit of tunnel-visioning and leaving her back wide open, so it was his responsibility to ensure she didn't suffer as a result...

'How precious,' mused Will, finding Azir's concern for his sister endearing. At the same time, it reminded him of Tim and Dori, causing him to wonder if the two had already been eliminated. It was evident from the scars and calluses on Tim's hands that he trained hard, but there was only so much a person could learn without the oversight of someone with greater skill and experience. At their current level, Tim and Dori would be fortunate to defeat even a single Spectral Wolf, much less a whole pack. Ohta, on the other hand, gave Will the impression he would be fine, regardless of what the exam threw at them...

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'I guess the rumors about that guy were true...' thought Ohta, opening his eyes and frowning after losing his connection to most of his Familiars. He still had a few scouting the area, but the group he assigned to sweep the Labyrinth of examinees had been annihilated.

'But it's strange. When I saw him in the waiting room, it didn't seem like he had that much Mana...'

Crossing his arms and adopting a pensive expression, Ohta impatiently tapped his right index finger on his left bicep as he contemplated his next course of action. It took him nearly the entire day to discreetly spread his Familiars around the Labyrinth while avoiding the invisible Observers that monitored them for broadcasting. He had more he could unleash, but if he took things too far, it would invariably draw attention...

'I knew that guy was going to be trouble the moment he approached us...' sighed Ohta, visibly deflating. The only reason he had come to Axial and registered for the Academy was to repay Tim and Dori for the compassion they had shown despite the fact he had mugged them. The last thing he wanted was to get involved with the nobility, but with Dori jumping at the chance to accept Will's proposal and the latter gifting him a pair of shoes, Ohta felt like his straightforward desire to repay someone's kindness was becoming a major burden...

As the thought of running away crossed his mind, Ohta habitually reached up to caress the thin black choker around his neck. He didn't know where it originated or how it had come to be around his neck, but he felt soothed whenever he touched it. There was no sound, but he couldn't help feeling like an indistinct voice was whispering, 'Don't worry. Everything is going to be okay...' whenever his fingers grazed it.

Closing his eyes and exhaling a protracted sigh, Ohta concluded that the simplest course was to scout Will's group before joining it alongside Tim. He had previously attempted scouting the Guardian, but a veritable fleet of Observers patrolled the area, making a ground approach difficult.

Rising to his feet, Ohta took a moment to stretch his hands over his head, a high-pitched groan emanating from his throat. Then, slipping his hands into the front pockets of his tattered jacket, he leaped from his perch atop the obelisk adorning the Labyrinth's center, skipping across the encircling walls without triggering any of their sensors...

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With the Spectral Wolves eliminated, Will and his unnecessary backup returned to their encampment to find most of their other members awake and steeled for combat.

Noticing two people missing, Will raised his right brow and asked, "Where are Johann and Maeve?"

Surprised by Will's query, the group defending the camp looked around like a bunch of chickens, clearly having no idea where the duo had gone or how to respond.

Taking charge of the situation, Ishyll shouted, "Split into groups of three and search the area! If you find anything amiss, make as much noise as possible! The rest of us will come running!"

As they were already fully awake after being informed that a horde of Spectral Wolves had appeared, the camp defenders quickly organized a search party under the direction of Ishyll. Those who had gone to Will's aid were implicitly exempt from this duty, so Aisha waited for the larger group to disperse before commenting, "It's obvious they got scared and ran away. Are you really going to let such cowards rejoin us?"

"It's perfectly natural for people to flee in the face of danger," stated Will, turning to meet Aisha's disproving gaze with a relaxed smile as he added, "Besides, I'm a pretty forgiving person. You and your brother wouldn't be here if I weren't."

"Oh, yeah!?" exclaimed Aisha, brandishing her sickles as she appended, "You wanna go again, you...you...chickenrider!"

"Maybe in the morning," replied Will, maintaining a relaxed posture but ready to react the moment Aisha attacked. He barely had any Mana and Aura left, but since his physique was the equivalent of an average Third-Grade Practioner, he didn't require it to fend off a brat at the First Grade.

"Grrrrrrr..."

Baring her teeth like a wild animal, showing off some rather prominent canines, Aisha very clearly wanted to attack, but the experience of being buried alive was still fresh in her mind. Even now, she wasn't entirely sure what Will had done, so, despite her desire to wipe the cheeky smile off his face, she eventually returned her sickles to her hips and replied, "You're a jerk..." before dragging her brother off by the hand...

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