Yesu ran faster than she could ever remember running.

Something zoomed between the trees to her left.

The second guard.

Yesu took a bend, sliding down a small slope.

His black clad figure sped past before realizing.

Then rounded a corner.

A blast of wind slammed into her back.

Yesu fell, rolled, got back up, and continued running.

An action per second.

The first guard paused momentarily, frowning in confusion.

"What are you doing?" The second yelled at him from between the trees.

He was already a few meters away from Yesu.

Yesu saw the black form speeding to her like a glitch.

It was already a second away.

Then Yesu did something unexpected.

She turned in the direction of the incoming figure with an outstretched hand.

And caught the guard mid motion.

In his upper arm.

The guard was unable to slow down in time.

His shoulder twisted from the force.

The joint cracked.

Yesu let go.

And he was down.

Not too far behind, the first guard stood transfixed to the spot, eyes wide.

Yesu took one look at him and resumed her race.

His gaze followed her, lingering even as she was out of sight.

The second guard groaned in pain.

"Hey!" He yelled at his partner. "What are you doing just standing there?"

The first jerked out of the trance.

"I’m not going after her." He said firmly. "No way."

The second groaned again, holding his shoulder joint tighter.

"Fucking Helios coward." He seethed.

***

As Yesu went on, she realized the forest around her looked completely different from the one her squad was stationed.

The trees were more spacious, canopies less dense, shrubs smaller.

The light from the sky above touched almost everywhere and everything, making the forest look enchanted.

It was already afternoon but Yesu couldn’t guess the exact time.

Although it wouldn’t be long before seventeen hundred, she was sure.

She paused, looking around.

Had she been taken far away from the trial grounds?

She realized she hadn’t thought of asking Doctor Heckman about it.

But then again, he had said she had taken five minutes to wake up the first time, and ten the second.

Which meant her transportation had only taken fifteen to sixteen minutes.

Yesu knew it was possible for the guards to have taken her very far in such a short period of time, considering their Ability types.

She wondered if the squad would have realized by now that the Scales were missing.

She went and sat under a tree.

Then a thought suddenly occurred to her.

If she could recall the map information she had studied the day before, then maybe she would be able to find her way back.

But then how was she to know exactly where she was to keep going?

Yesu shook the doubt out of her head and tried visualizing the map.

The single image she had put to memory was scattered in fragments.

Lines. Symbols. Routes.

Routes. Symbols. Lines.

All separated.

Yesu concentrated harder.

It got even worse.

She sighed and leaned on the tree bark completely.

"Maybe it’s because I hit my head." She muttered. Then nodded in conclusion. "That’s definitely it."

She sighed once more and went still, listening to the natural sounds of nature.

She could hear the hollow knock-knock of a woodpecker, birds chirping, mosquitoes whining about.

She could hear branches creak and groan like old bones. Leaves shiver and hush in the winds.

All the sounds blended together in a song.

A mosquito flew into her ear.

She slapped a hand hard against it. Her ears rang.

And that was when she heard something different in the synchronized noise.

The rushing of water.

Yesu sprang to her feet and followed the sound.

A cloud had drifted over the sun. The forest enchantment had been put on hold.

The sound led her down a hill.

She gently pushed away branches obstructing her path.

She could see an open space ahead.

Yesu quickened her pace.

She emerged before a fast flowing stream.

Just then the sun also emerged, from beneath the cloud.

It was truly a beautiful sight.

The light sparkled in the water body moving swiftly through rocks, fallen branches and twigs.

A beacon of life in the empty looking forest.

Something caught Yesu’s eye.

A few steps away, someone was crouched by the bank of the stream.

Wearing an identical camouflage uniform.

A student.

12-A was boldly printed at the back of his jacket.

Yesu looked relieved.

So she was still in the trial grounds after all.

One of the student’s hands was submerged in the flowing water from the wrist downwards.

He seemed to be searching for something.

Yesu took a step forward.

"Excuse me." She called.

The student turned in alarm.

Olwen.

On seeing her, his alarm instantly shifted to surprise.

Yesu’s brows creased, trying to remember.

Then her eyes lit up in recognition.

"Frost Mellow?"

Olwen frowned in confusion at the naming, then quickly realized what she meant.

He smiled and stood to his feet.

"It’s Olwen." He said gently, gaze flickering to the print on her jacket.

Yesu’s eyes followed. She grinned.

"Don’t worry, my class isn’t paired with yours."

Olwen was amused.

"What are you doing here then?" He looked around then added, "Not chasing someone, surely?"

Yesu’s grin widened.

"No. I got separated from my squad. Now I’m trying to find my way back."

Olwen was puzzled. "Separated?"

"It’s a long story." Yesu waved a hand dismissively. "I’ll tell you some other time."

Olwen gave a slow smile.

"Some other time?" He echoed.

Yesu nodded in urgency.

"Yes. Right now I need to get to my squad before the Vault opens at seventeen hundred."

"What Vault?"

The question came quickly. Too quickly to be ingenuine.

Yesu looked at Olwen, taken off guard.

"The Vault." She repeated.

Olwen’s expression was blank.

"What Vault?" He asked again.

Yesu stared at him unbelievably.

"The Vault. Every class has to submit Scales to earn points." She said.

No response from Olwen.

Yesu went on.

"There’s only one Vault for two paired classes. Only one class gets to submit their Scales. And it opens for an hour. Seventeen hundred."

Olwen remained silent with a confused look on his face.

Yesu studied him.

"You don’t know?"

He faced the stream, brooding.

Yesu seemed rooted to the spot.

When he turned to her again, he had a solemn look on his face.

"This Directive you just mentioned, it seems to be false."